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Allah,
the light of the Universe, declared in His book,
the Holy Qur'an:
"I
am Allah - the Lord of the Universe"
And
Continued to announce:
"The
Qur'an is Revelation from Me. There is no manner
of doubt in it. There will never be any change
in it. If you entertain doubt about its
veracity, you human beings, bring out the like
of it or of only ten of it's A'yahs, or even
only one You will never be able to do it."
And
for the last more than one thousand four hundred
years they have not been able to meet the
challenge. Not that no one tried. Some famous
intellectuals of their time did. But they failed
miserably.
"Even
if the entire races of humans and Jinns join
hands they hall not be able to bring out the
like of it though each one of them helps the
other in this venture."
The
Germans collected thousands of copies of the
Qur'an transcribed during the centuries in all
the nooks and corners of the world. They
compared one to the other. They admitted, after
considerable study and effort, their inability
to find any discrepancy, difference or
alteration. Did not the Lord guarantee its
preservation?
"Verily!
We have revealed this scripture/guidance and We
sure are going to guard and preserve it."
He
revealed this book to the Prophet whom He
entrusted with the mission of Islam. Like in the
case of His book, He assured His prophet:
"Allah
will protect you from people."
In
the first revelation, He simply bid him:
"Read!
in the name of your Lord......"
In
others, He addressed him endearingly:
"O!
One wrapped in a shroud!"
Or.......
"O!
One wrapped in a blanket."
Yet
at other times. He called him by titles unknown
to man before and after such as - Twa-ha!"
or "Ya-seen!". Titles whose
meanings have not yet been discovered.
At other places in the Qur'an, He conferred such
titles on him as:
"The
illumining sun!"
And
many more, each one more eloquent than the
other.
The
mission entrusted to him was to:
"Teach
them the Book and the Wisdom".
He
was conferred with the unique honor of:
"The
Seal of the Prophets."
So
none to appear after him. And none has!
Says
the Qur'an:
"Obey
Allah and obey the Prophet."
And
assuredly:
"If
you obey the Prophet, you obey Me."
Obedience
and love go hand in hand:
"If
you love Allah, follow me, Allah will love
you."
People
came to follow and love him in an unprecedented
manner and on an un-heard of scale. All those
who ever came in contact with him - even those
who could not during his lifetime.
He migrated from his ancestral city - Mecca - in
order to continue with his mission. Those who
believed in Allah and His prophet followed suit.
They fought by his side against their own
nearest kith and kin. Some shielded him with
their own bodies sustaining scores of wounds.
Defending him, a lady follower was severely
wounded on a battleground. Another lost her
father, husband and son. But she did not grieve
for them. Her only worry was the safety of the
Prophet. Mere kids vied with one another to join
battle along his side and they performed acts of
valor.
His enemies, which included his own real uncle,
throughout the span of twenty-three years of his
ministership, tried their worst to do him every
conceivable kind of harm. They called him
"crazy". They dubbed him as sorcerer,
a sooth-sayer, and a poet. His own aunt strew
thorns of his path. Others placed filth of a
camel's stomach on his shoulders while he was
engaged prayers. One even tried strangulating
him. Some set urchins to pelt him with stones
till his ploring blood soaked his shoes. All
Meccans, except one, refused him protection
commonly granted during his times to any one who
asked for it. They drove him and his kith and
kin from their homes and confined them in a
narrow place besieging them for three years and
depriving them of food and help. They tried
their utmost to batter him for the best beau of
Mecca. Their purpose was to compensate the tribe
of the Prophet before killing him. They also
plotted his conjoint killing. They offered huge
rewards for capturing him during his migration
from Mecca.
They engaged him in unequal battles around
Medina. They targeted him during battle. They
resorted to desertion before and during battle.
They invited him for talks but plotted to kill
him by sliding a boulder from the top of the
wall by which he sat reclining. The raised a
rival mosque to create dissensions. They
poisoned him through a show of hospitality. They
tried way-laying him in a narrow pass during his
return from a campaign.
But he stuck to his mission whole-heartedly, all
alone. Then a small band of the very poor
persecuted slaves joined him as also did his
wife, a friend, two boys. There was a mere
trickle of fresh supporters for a long time. He
met persecution with migration to Medina. The
Constitution of the Muslim State was drafted and
introduced. This was followed in quick
succession by battles against invading
confederates and internal foes, campaigns,
treaties, patient propagation of Islam and
reformation of social life. Then came that
unprecedented entry into Mecca, bloodless and
forgiving. There was great expansion in the
number of Muslims and of the territories of the
Islamic Republic at the minimal cost.
The pinnacle was reached with his address at the
last Pilgrimage:
"All
of you are from Adam. And Adam was of clay.
There is no preference of a white over a black
nor of an Arab over a non-Arab. The most
honorable in the eyes of Allah is one most
pious among you."
He
was not lettered. Yet he trained and educated
his followers. He laid down:
"To
seek knowledge is the duty of every Muslim - man
and woman."
He
emphasized that, for this, they may "have
to go even to China". Consider the distance
and times. He founded as open university. Its
resident students were all the very poorest of
the community.
He was a small trader. Yet he led them on the
battlefield, time and time gain.
He was a commoner orphan. Yet he ended up as the
master of all that he surveyed in and around
Arabia. He was never crowned nor ever addressed
as a king. he never went to a school much less a
law college. Yet he was the greatest teacher and
the greatest legist. The portals of Lincoln's
Inn stand honored by his name.
Despite centuries of old prejudices against him:
Carlyle paid him tribute of brilliance under the
caption:
Hero as a Prophet.
The survey of centuries of most influential
personalities in history carried out towards the
end of the twentieth century by Michael H. Hart
places the Prophet right at the top.
Today after 1400 years, Muslims all over the
world turn to him and his life for guidance and
inspiration. And they will continue to do so for
all times to come.
He worked and worked. He prayed and prayed till
his missionw as fulfilled. During the Last
Pilgrimage, mounted on a camel he asked more
than a hundred thousand pilgrims thrice:
"Have
I fulfilled my mission?"
Thrice
they responded with one voice:
"Yes!
O Prophet of Allah".
Each
time he said:
"Then
be my witness, O Allah".
More
than everything else, he has been and shall ever
be the most beloved of us Muslims, of whatever
color, creed, clime, and country or time. His
domain is our hearts. He is dearer to us than
our lives. THE DEAREST
Maqbool
Elahi (December
12, 2000)
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