MUHAMMAD - THE PROPHET OF ISLAM

P. RAJESWARA RAO

At present, every seventh person in the world is a Muslim. Their total population is over one hundred crores. The resounding call of Allah-o-Akbar (God is Great) rises out of the minarets five times a day from Moracco to Indonesia, from Siberia to Kerala, from Yugoslavia to China. Edward Gibbon wrote that if Muslim warriors had not been defeated at Tours in 732 A. D. the Koran instead of the Bible would be taught at Oxford and Cambridge. They are massed in a broad belt from Moracco to the Philippines. Islam, which means surrender, is the name given by Muhammad to the religion he preached. It is the youngest of the great religions of the world. Arabia, where it arose, occupies a central position in the hemisphere comprising the continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. The traditions of early Islam with its emphasis on democracy, freedom and rationalism have a continuous validity and vitality and they have effectively asserted themselves with remarkable resilience during the long history of Islam.

It was in the year 570 A. D., that Muhammad was born in Mecca, the sacred city of Arabia, where Adam settled after his expulsion from the paradise. He belonged to the noblest family of Arabia, the quaraish, who were held in high esteem. His father was Abdullah and Amina was his mother. He was born as a posthumous child and his mother too died when he was six years old. He was brought up by his grandfather and uncle. Every one was impressed by his ways and manners. His form was stately and commanding. A rich widow, Khadija, entrusted to him the sole charge of her business. They were happily married, though she was fifteen years older than him. Of his children by her, only Fatima survived, from whom sprang the progeny of Sayyids, well-known in the history of Islam.

At that time, Arabia was steeped in superstition. People were materialistic and had no moral code as such and vice was rampant. They were disunited. From the age of forty, Muhammad began to retire to the cave of Hira often for meditation. He saw visions which he regarded as messages from God. The Quoran was revealed to him during a period of twenty-three years. The month of Ramzan, which is the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, is significant as Quoran was first revealed to Muhammad in this month. Khadija became his first convert. As he gathered adherents, persecution began. Some of them even migrated to Abyssinia. He too left for Medina in 622 A. D. The history and tradition of Islam is bound up with Hijra or the flight. Muslim era itself is reckoned from this event and it connotes the birth of Islam.

A mosque was built. He regulated prayers and provided for refugees by establishing a brotherhood between them and those who came to their help. He united the various tribes living in Medina. He preached the unsheathing of the sword in self-defence. He declared that Mecca was the holy city and proceeded there at the head of ten thousand followers. The battle of Badar he fought has long passed into legend. He became the master of Mecca and purified Kaba by removing all the idols therefrom. He wrote letters to the rulers of the neighbouring countries in 628 A. D., inviting them to accept Islam. On that day, the universal power of Islam was founded. Islam means quest for a correct life.

At the same time, he issued a unilateral solemn declaration of peace, friendship and good neighbourly relations with the Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians. His catholic character can be inferred from an organisation called “Ikhwantus-Safa” (the brotherhood of the pure) consisting of persons belonging to different creeds. The most misused word “Kafir” means the perverted. Such persons are found in every faith. Priests may quarrel and philosophers may argue, but it is the prophets who realise the religious truth.

As the head and founder of the Islamic Republic, he never wore a crown. He appointed no army, no police and imposed no taxes. He intended it as a perfect State subsisting on voluntary contribution Zakat (one-fortieth of one’s income) for the uplift of the common man. His life was simple. He used to do manual work, milk his goats, patch his clothes and mend his shoes. He was truthful, humility personified, generous to the enemies and dispensed equal justice to all. His hospitality became proverbial. His respect for womanhood has been epitomised in the saying “Paradise lies at the feet of mother.” His life was in conformity with the highest standards of morality. He married at the age of twenty-five and he was fifty when Khadija died. His subsequent marriages, which may appear objectionable to the modern mind, were in the nature of compassion for the forlorn condition of the persons concerned, who were widows and far from being beautiful. He used to spend three-fourths of the night in prayer and in reciting portions from the Quoran.

He passed away in 632 A. D., in a hut, which later became a part of a mosque. Abu Bakar took over the inheritance and created Arabian Khilaphat (Khilafa means simply successor). Umar succeeded Abu Bakar. Then Islam spread to Syria, Palestine and Egypt. Since Umar did not name a successor, Ali, a son-in-law of the Prophet, was elected to this office. After him, the position passed on to Murawiyah. Thereafter, the Khalifa became hereditary and he was the Emperor. The Abbasides later replaced Ummayads. Later, Usman’s empire of Turkey took over the Caliphate and led the Muslim world with the exception of Shias and Moroccans. It was finally abolished by Kemal Ata Turk in 1924. Subsequent efforts to revive the institution did not succeed.

Five main duties are prescribed for every Muslim, namely, prayer (Namaj), Fasting (Rosa) during the month of Ramzan, pilgrimage to Mecca (Haj), Alms-giving (Zakat) and finally Jehad or the holy war is enjoined on them for the vindication of their creed. The one sacred scripture of Islam is Quoran, and its daily recitation in all the Muslim schools and mosques makes it the most widely read book in existence. It is in rhymed prose and for the most part highly rhetorical, acknowledged as a literary masterpiece unrivalled in its excellence and retaining its pristine purity. It is divided into 30 parts comprising one hundred and fourteen chapters, called Surahs (literally series), each ostensibly complete in itself. Few books in all human history have warmed more hearts or exercised more widespread influence than this. Anyone who examines the passages therein, which are lucid as well as deep, terse as well as epigrammatic, is bound to be impressed. The unity of God is the one great theme and it leeks to bring before man the potentialities that are hidden in him and to guide him towards the path of lasting peace. Though Islam abolished priesthood, theologians, jurists and scholars became powerful and also became advisers to kings and often interpreted Quoran.

The religion preached by Muhammad is ethical in its appeal and practical in its approach. There is absolute equality among the brothers in faith. In all matters of private law, wife is the equal of her husband. The veiling of woman is not a religious edict, but a social custom. For example, Ayasha, the wife of the Prophet, led an army in battle. His daughter, Fatima, took an active part in disputes concerning inheritance. Islam is the creation Of a single mind and is expressed in a single sentence “There is one God and Muhammad is his Prophet.” It evidently borrowed its idea from Judaism, its dogmatism in asterism from Christianity, its philosophy from Greece and its mysticism from India and Alexandria. It created a unified culture, law, language, religion, economic forms and social standards. It embraces a wealth of races, the idea of oneness of humanity, with peace as the basis, is the contribution of Muhammad to human heritage.

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