Glimpses of the Prophet's Life

Foreword

We are proud to present in this booklet a topic that is so dear in every Muslim's heart.

It is the life of our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him and his progeny). It is needless to emphasise the importance of learning this sub- li me example and practical expression of the Islamic message. The Tradition of the Prophet is regarded as the model for all Muslims and defines the general features of a Muslim's life.

The Prophet's attributes and qualities are su- preme and an understanding of his personality requires very careful study of his contempo- rary conditions. However, we hope that this booklet will be stimulating for further readings of a more extensive nature.

This wonderful article was written by our brother Talip Alp and was initially published by the Muslim Youth Association in the United Kingdom.

Since our first publication of 5,000 copies created such a great demand for the book- let, we have decided to reprint this booklet regularly.

We pray to the Almighty Allah for guid- ance and success in our work.

World Organization for Islamic Services ( WOFIS)

(Board of Writing, Translation and Publication) Ist May 1976 Tehran - IRAN In the name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful

Introduction

"Ours is an age of scientific progress, an era of technological advancement, a cen- tury of ceaseless inventions.

In this time of phenomenal material development man has attained a high standard of knowledge of natural sciences compared with what he knew about a century or so ago.

Consequently the knowledge and experience he has gained over the last few decades have given him courage and confidance to the extent that made him undertake highly perilous and adven- turous projects. He has successfully reached the bottom of oceans and climbed to the heights of the sky. Now-a-days he is wildly engaged in a keen competition to land on other planets.

Having witnessed all these achieve- ments one might tend to think that man ought to be congratulated on his multiplicity of contributions to the world of civilisation in the field of science and technology. Unfortu- nately facts exist that prevent us from feeling very proud of belonging to the human race.

The bitter experience acquired from the last two World Wars has led to disappointment and resentment. The initial optimism induced in the people's mind by the victories of man's intellect over the forces of nature abandoned its place, after the two catastrophes, to feel- ings of indignation and utter disgust.

The crystal-clear evidence points to the fact that the monopoliser of knowledge turned out to be devoid of such human qualities as mag- nanimity, sense of justice and equity, care for humanity, in short all values that serve to distinguish men from beasts. Mistakes of the past filled people's minds with distrust and added to their disunity and enmity.

Under the prevailing circumstances the prospect of world peace, to be realistic, is not at hand, nor have we any reason to believe that those responsible for the present chaos and misery are in quest of world peace and happiness.

On the contrary, all that the big powers of the world hanker after is supremacy over the rest of the world. Modern society is sick and bewildered.

It should be noted that this is not the first time that man has stumbled into the same pitfall created by the absence of true guidance; one that takes into full con- sideration man's weaknesses as well as his virtues. No one in his right senses can suppose human intellect to be capable of formulating a way of life which, if followed strictly, would save him from falling into error.

Many present-day ideologies claim to have the goodwill and qualities that will lead man to prosperity and happiness. However, in prac- tice they have been seen to be insincere as well as incompetent to provide man with what they have promised him - rather than solving our problems they have added to them by creating a world torn by dissensions and social ailments.

" In our opinion the world is in desperate need of Islam - the religion of peace and submission to the Creator of the universe - the religion of Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Muhammad, upon all of whom be peace. Having witnessed the bankruptcy of all too many "isms" once again we feel the-urge to refer to the Last Prophet of Islam as the last hope for the salvation of us all.

In reply to a request of an old student seeking his advice al-Ghazali wrote: "My dear and beloved son, may Allah number you among His obedient servants and lead you along the path of His friends. Know that the source of the best of advices is the Messenger- ship of the Prophet upon whom be the peace and blessings of Allah. If by now you have acquired some enlightenment out of this source what would you need my advice for? But if still you have not derived beneficial lessons from it then what did you earn and learn during all these years?" (1).

Al-Ghazali remarks on another occasion "If one considers the sayings of the Messenger of God (p.b.u.h.a.h.p.) and what is related in the Tradition about his concern for showing to people the true way and his graciousness in leading men by various acts of sympathy and kindness to improve their character and con- duct and to better their mutual relations - lead- ing them,

in fine, to what is the indispensable basis of all betterment, religious and secular alike - if one considers this, one comes to the necessary knowledge that his good will to- wards his people is greater than that of a father towards his child." (2) The study of the life of the Prophet can never be overemphasized for only by a careful examination of his personality throughout a life-long struggle can one understand the spirit of the Divine Message with which he was entrusted. Says the Qur'an:

"Verily in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much". (Qur an, 33:21) It also states:

"...... And whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take (accept) it, and whatsoever he forbids you, give it up". (Qur'an, 59:7) Clearly, these two Quranic verses are sufficient to urge a Muslim to undertake a serious study of the Prophetic Traditions and behave accordingly.

Fortunately the way of life of God's Messenger, private and public, has been record- ed in considerable detail. His followers went so far as to count the number of grey hairs in his beard and even write detailed descriptions of his shoes.

The first written work (siyar) relating to the life of the Prophet is ascribed to `Urwah, who is said to have met some of the companions of the Prophet, and his stu- dent az-Zuhri. Some have ascribed the first written work to Ibn Is'haq who passed away in Baghdad in the year 150 A.H. The oldest and most reliable of such books that have come down to us are those written by al- Waqidi (d.207 A.H.), Ibn Hisham (d.313 A.H.) and at-Tabari (d.315 A.H.) (3).

A great deal of the sayings of the Prophet, however, started to be written during his lifetime (4) and were compiled after his passing away. It need hardly be stated that the "science of Tradition" is highly developed and the method of authenti- cation is very impressive.