Life of the Holy Prophetsa In Light Of the Treatment of Non-Muslims

 

Being the Text of a Lecture for 4^th Annual Jalsa Salana of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Cameroun

on Friday 22^nd May 2015 at Masjid Huda, Mamfe, Manyu

Verily you have in the Prophet of Allah an excellent model, for him who fears Allah and the Last Day and who remembers Allah much. [33:22]

 O ye who believe! be steadfast in the cause of Allah, bearing witness in equity; and let not a people’s enmity incite you to act otherwise than with justice. Be always just, that is nearer to righteousness. And fear Allah. Surely, Allah is aware of what you do. [5:9]

The emergence of many Jihadi groups among Muslims today has given horrible names to the most blessed of human being, Muhammad Mustapha^saw and to the final destination of religious journey- Islam. From Taliban to Al-Qaeedah, to Boko Haram, to ISIS and the rest of them; the ideology is one: the total annihilation of non-Muslims or at least those whose school of thought is different from theirs. The type, dimension and the consequences of behaviour and actions of these groups need not be reiterated here as they are always in the news. A very pertinent question here, however, is: how did the Holy Prophet Muhammad^saw treat those whose ideologies were different from his? To give answer to this question is our assignment this afternoon at this august and blessed Jalsa Salana Cameroun. And the answer will, by Allah’s Grace, be based on the intellectual and inspirational standing and guidance of his Holiness Hadhrat Mirza Masroor Ahmad^atba, Khalifatul Masih V and the worldwide Head of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community. For today he is the foremost champion of religious tolerance and an ardent promoter of human value.  In his series of Friday sermons entitled The Blessed Model and the Caricatures, he has beautifully highlighted the high moral attitude of the Holy Prophet^saw to the non-Muslims. 

The Holy Qur’an repeatedly mentions beautiful teachings of Islam pertaining to good conduct with the non-Muslims, the safeguarding of their rights, fairness and justice with them, freedom of their religion, and that there should be no coercion in matters of faith, etc. There are many such directives relating to both Muslims and non-Muslims. These are enshrined in the verses I recited at the beginning. Indeed, fighting is also permitted in certain situations. It is permitted only in the event that the enemy initiates a fight, breaches pacts, and is brutally unjust or oppressive. Even in these circumstances, no group or party of a country has the right to wage war against the oppressing party. It is up to the government to decide what to do and how to end the oppression. It is never the duty of any Jihad organization to rise and take up the task.

At the time of Holy Prophet^sa, specific situations were created for wars, which left Muslims with no choice but to fight back in defense. However, the current day Jihadi organizations, with their militant slogans and actions, without having any warrantable reasons and rightful authority, have given others the opportunity, and courage to become audacious and shameless enough to make nonsensical attacks on the holy person of Holy Prophet^sa, and they continue doing so. Whereas, the holy Prophet^sa was personification of compassion; a benefactor for humanity and a great defender of human rights who would not miss a chance to facilitate the enemy even at the time of a battle. Each step of his life, each of his deeds, in fact each moment of his life is testimony to the fact that he was an embodiment of compassion with a heart that surpassed all others in fulfilling the requisites of compassion and kindness. He did so at the time of peace, at war, at home, outside the home, in his daily routine as well as in honouring the pacts with people of other religions. He established high standards of freedom of conscience and freedom of religion and tolerance. When he entered Mecca as the great conqueror, he granted amnesty to the conquered people and gave them total freedom of religion. Thus, he established an excellent example of the Quranic injunction:

There should be no compulsion in religion. Surely, right has become distinct from wrong; so whosoever refuses to be led by those who transgress, and believes in Allah, has surely grasped a strong handle which knows no breaking. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.

A major blessed model that the Jihadi groups and many other Muslims of today fail to emulate in their treatment of people of other faiths and conscience.

Religion is a matter of an individual’s heart and mind. The prophet^sa only desired that people accepted the true religion and thus made their lives better both here and in the Hereafter, and tried to achieve forgiveness for themselves. However, there is no compulsion. Muhammad^sa’s life is replete with similar illuminating examples of tolerance, freedom of religion and conscience; few of which shall now be enumerated. These examples are perfect illustrations of how harshless he was in treating non-believers in his course.

The hardship and pain of the thirteen year period in Mecca after his claim of prophethood is known to all. The Prophet^sa and his Companions^ra endured great suffering and torment. They were laid on the scorching midday sand while hot stones were placed on their chests. They were flogged. Women were killed by having their legs torn apart. They were martyred. A range of tortures were inflicted on the Prophet^sa himself. At times the innards of a camel were placed on his back while he was prostrating, which would make it impossible for him to get up. During his visit to Ta’if children threw stones at him, hurled abuse at him. Their leaders kept on inciting them. His injuries made him bleed profusely from head, and his shoes were filled with blood. Then there is the incident of Sha’b Abi Talib (Valley of Abi Talib) when he, his family and his followers were held under siege for many years. They had nothing to eat or drink, and children starved. A Companion felt something soft under his feet at night which he picked up and put in his mouth, imagining it to be food. Such was their desperation due to hunger.

Eventually, compelled by these circumstances, the migration to Medina took place; the enemy did not leave him alone even in Medina and invaded the town. They tried to incite the Jews of Medina against him. Under the circumstances, which have just been briefly described, if war ensues and the victim has a chance for reprisal, and attempt is made to requite oppression with oppression; wouldn’t there be justification for it?  It is said that all is fair in war. However, our Prophet^sa established high standards of compassion and mercy even in these situations.

It had been a very short time that they had left the relentless persecution of Mecca, the memories of which were still raw and fresh; the Holy Prophet^sa was mindful of the pain of his followers more than his own pain, yet he did not breach the Islamic rules and regulations. He did not contravene his inherent high morals that constituted his teachings. Regarding this, in history, a narration has the following to inform us:

At the Battle of Badr, the spot where the Muslim troops had encamped was not very suitable. Hubab bin Mundhar inquired from the Holy Prophet^sa whether the choice of the area for encampment was by Divine revelation or he had chosen it himself from a strategic point of view. The Holy Prophet^sa replied that he has chosen it due to its elevation thinking it would be a good place strategically. It was submitted to him that it was not such a good area. They should head for the water spring and take control of it, and make a reservoir there. This way they would have access to water and the enemy would not. The Holy Prophet^sa accepted this counsel and they moved to that spot and encamped there. After a short while a few people of Quraish (the then persecutors of Muslims) came by to drink water, the Companions tried to stop them from getting the water. The Holy Prophet^sa refrained his Companions^ra to do so, and said, "Let them take water."

Such was the high standard of the character of the Holy Prophet^sa even when dealing with the enemy, who had totally blockaded even the food and drink of the Muslim children just a short while ago. Discounting all that, he did not stop the soldiers belonging to the enemy who had come to get water from the spring, which was under his control because this would have been beneath the moral code.

The biggest objection raised against Islam is that it was spread 'with the sword'. The people who had come for the water could have been put under duress for accessing the water and forced to accept their conditions. The pagans fought many battles in this manner. However, this is not what the Holy Prophet^sa did. It could be said here that maybe this step was taken to gain favour to avoid war because the Muslims were in a weak position. However, this was not the case. The bloodthirsty tendencies of the pagans of Mecca towards the Muslims were common knowledge to all Muslims, therefore no one ever entertained this vain imagination in particular, and there was no question that the Holy Prophet^sa would be under such an illusion. He did so because he was the very personification of compassion and kindness who upheld human values; because it was him indeed who was to give the teaching to appreciate these values. And these excellent attributes of his have been aptly described by Allah that:

انّك لعلى خلق عظيم

There is an incident of a non-Muslim who was an arch enemy of Islam who had received the death penalty. Not only was he pardoned by the Holy Prophet^sa, he was also given the freedom to practice his own religion while staying among the Muslims. His story is as follows:

‘Ikramah, son of Abu− Jahl, fought wars all his life with the Holy Prophet^sa. At the time of the victory of Mecca, despite the declaration of amnesty, he attacked some troops and caused bloodshed in the Ka‘bah. It was for his war crimes that he had been given the death penalty. Since, at that time, no one could stand up to the Muslims, therefore, after the victory of Mecca, he ran off towards Yemen to save his life. His wife sought forgiveness for him from the Holy Prophet^sa who most graciously pardoned him. She then followed her husband to fetch him back. ‘Ikramah could not believe that he had been pardoned despite the fact that he had meted out such cruelty, killed so many Muslims and was fighting till the last day, how could he be forgiven? However, she somehow managed to convince him and brought him back. When ‘Ikramah came in the presence of the Holy Prophet^sa he wanted to have confirmation of his clemency. On his arrival the Holy Prophet^sa made an amazing gesture of goodwill, and stood up as a mark of respect for him in his capacity as the leader of the enemy. On his asking he told ‘Ikramah that he had indeed pardoned him. ‘Ikramah inquired if his pardon was on the grounds that he stayed firm on his own faith? That he had not embraced Islam, and he still maintained his idolatrous stance, was he still forgiven? Confirmation of this by the Prophet^sa moved ‘Ikramah immensely and he cried out, 'O Muhammad^sa! Certainly, you are extremely forbearing, compassionate and benevolent to your kindred.' Seeing the miracle of the supreme civility and act of kindness of the Holy Prophet^sa ‘Ikramah embraced Islam.

This is the manner in which Islam was spread; with excellent manners and with freedom of conscience and religion. The act of supreme civility and freedom of religion with which a person like ‘Ikramah was treated got him smitten in a moment. The excellent treatment Holy Prophet^sa also afforded prisoners and slaves was a splendid one and like Ikramah, the prisoners’ and the slaves’ mind got enchanted with the beauty of the Prophet^sa’s high moral.

An incident about one of the prisoners is related as follows:

Sa’id bin Abi Sa‘id narrates that he heard Hadrat Abu Huraira say that when the Holy Prophet^sa sent an expedition to Najad, a person from the tribe of Banu Hanifa , named Thumamah bin Athal, was brought in as a prisoner. The Companions tied him to a pillar of the Prophet^sa's Mosque. The Holy Prophet^sa came to him and inquired, 'O Thumamah, what is your excuse or what do you think will be done with you?' He replied, 'I have a positive expectation. If you have me killed, you will be killing a murderer. If you show me goodwill, you will be, favouring a person who values kindness. If you want property you may have as much as you like.' His people could give property for him. The next day, the Holy Prophet^sa again came by and asked Thumamah what did he wish? He replied that he had already said the previous day that if a favour was bestowed on him it would be a favour on a person who valued kindness. The Holy Prophet^sa left him there. On the third day he returned and inquired, 'O Thumamah, What are your intentions?' He said that he had already said what he had to say. The Holy Prophet^sa ordered that Thumamah be freed. Thumamah went to a nearby date orchard and bathed there, he re-entered the mosque and recited the Shahadah and said, 'O Muhammad^sa by God I disliked your face the most in the world, but now it is so that your face is the most beloved to me. By God, I disliked your faith the most, but now it is so that my most beloved faith is the one you have brought. By God, I disliked your town the most, but now this is my most beloved town. Your horse-riders held me although I wanted to perform Umrah . What do you say about this?' The Holy Prophet^sa gave him the glad-tiding, congratulated him for accepting Islam and ordered him to perform Umrah , saying that Allah would accept it. When he reached Mecca someone asked him if he had become a Sabian. He replied, 'No, I have believed in Muhammad^sa, Prophet of God and by God, now not even grain of wheat shall come your way from Yamamah.

Another tradition relates that he was either beaten up or an attempt was made to beat him on which he had said that no grain would come and this would not happen until permission was given by the Holy Prophet^sa. As a result, he went back to his people, and the grain export was stopped. The situation got quite bad. Eventually Abu Sufyan took a plea to the Holy Prophet^sa saying that people were starving, and asked for some pity to be shown to his people. The Holy Prophet^sa did not say you would only get the grain if you accepted Islam. Rather, he promptly sent a message to Thumamah to stop the embargo as it was cruel. The young, the elderly, the sick needed food and it should be available for them.

Two major information are in here for us about how the Prophet^saw treated non-Muslims: Thumamah as non-Muslim prisoner; he was treated well and his request for mercy was granted not for him to convert but out of value for human dignity that was an inherent feature of the Prophet’s life. 2. The embargo that was placed on exportation of wheat from Yamamah to Mecca was lifted by the order of the Prophet^saw to Thumamah not because the persecutors of the Prophet relented but also out of the Prophet’s sheer kindness and compassion for humanity.

There is another example of the Prophet’s establishment of human values and of fairness to non-muslims.

‘Abdur Rahman bin abi Laila narrates that Sahl bin Hanif and Qais bin Sa‘d were sitting at a place called Qadsia when a funeral procession went by. They both stood up. When they were told that the funeral was that of a non-Muslim, they replied:

Once a funeral procession went by the Holy Prophet^sa who stood up as a mark of respect. He was told that it was the funeral of a Jew. To this the Holy Prophet^sa replied:

اَلَيْسَتْ نَفْساً

Was he not human?

Another tradition relates that at the victory of Khaybar some Muslims came upon some copies of Torah. The Jews went to the Holy Prophet^sa and requested that their Holy Books be returned to them. The Holy Prophet^sa directed the Companions to return the religious books of the Jews to them.

Despite the wrong attitude of the Jews for which they were being punished, the Holy Prophet^sa did not tolerate to even treat the enemy in a way that would have hurt their religious sentiments.

That was Muhammad^saw. The Holy Prophet^sa of Islam; the embodiment of mercy and compassion whose attributes are succinctly described in the Holy Quran that:

Surely, a Messenger has come unto you from among yourselves; grievous to him is that you should fall into trouble; he is ardently desirous of your welfare; and to the believers he is compassionate, merciful.

According to the Short Commentary of the Holy Quran edited by Malik Ghulam Farid, The verse seems to say: “It grieves the prophet^sa to see you (non-Muslims) fall into trouble, i.e., although you subject him to all manner of persecutions and privation, yet his heart is so full of the milk of human kindness that no amount of persecution on your part can make him bitter against you and make him wish you ill. He is so kind and sympathetic to you that he cannot bear to see you turn away from path of righteousness and thus put yourselves in trouble.”

Respected Chairman, dignitaries and my listeners, please permit me to end this humble presentation with few lines of Arabic Eulogy with which the Holy Founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, Hadrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad^as, the Promised Messiah and Imam of the Age, praises his Master, Muhammad Mustapha^saw. He writes in his books Aa’ina Kamalat-e-Islam:

 

اُرْسِلْتَ مِنْ رّبٍّ كَرِيْمٍ مُحْسِنٍ                               فِى الْفِتْنَةِ الصَّمّآءِ وَالطُّغْيَانِ

ياَلَلْفَتى مَا حُسْنُه وَجَمَالُه                                  رَيَّاهُ يُصْبِى الْقَلْبَ كَالرَّيْحَان

وَجْهُ المُهَيْمِنِ ظَاهِرٌ فِيْ وَجْهِه                             وَشُئُوْنُه لَمَعَتْ بِهذَاالشّاْن

فَلِذَا يُحَبُّ وَيُسْتَحقُّ جَمَالَه                              شَغَفاً^م بِه مِنْ زُمْرَةِ الْاَخْدَان

سُجُحٌ كَرِيْمٌ  بَاذِلٌ خِلُّ التُّقى                            خِرْقٌ وَّ فَاقَ طَوَائِفَ الْفِتْيَان 

فَاقَوَرى بِكَمَالِه وَجَمَالِه                                  وَجَلَالِه وَجَنَانِه الرَّيَّان

لاَ شَكَّ انَّ مُحَمّداً خَيْرُ الْوَرى                          رِيقُ الْكِرَامِ وَنُخْبَةُ الْاَعْياَن

تمّتْ عَليْه صِفَاتُ كُلِّ مَزِيَّةٍ                           خُتْمَتْ بِه نَعْمآءُ كُلِّ زَمَان

يا ربِّ صَلِّ عَلى نَبِيِّكَ دائماً                         في هذه الدُّنْيا وبعْثٍ ثان

 

(O Muhammad) You were sent by your Lord, the Noble, the Beneficent,

At a time when evil and vice deluged.

What a noble man! What a man of glory!

His breath smells like the fragrance of sweet basil.

The Protector (God) is visible in his face;

And all of his virtues shine in great glory.

That is why he is beloved. Indeed his beautiful virtues demand;

That he be adored to the exclusion of all.

Of noble character, revered, bounteous, friend of the God-fearing;

He excels all in the field of virtue.

In excellence and beauty, he surpasses all;

And in glory and cheerfulness of heart.

Without any doubt, Muhammad^sa is the best of the best—

A man of extreme generosity, the soul and strength of the nobles, the elect among the elite.

All noble virtues culminated in his person,

The blessings of all times reached their apex in him.

O my Lord, always shower blessings on your Prophet,

In this world and the next.

 I pray this little we have heard is added to our archives of knowledge about the Noble Prophet^sa for us to emulate and showcase in behaviour and attitude.

Thank you for having me.