Good morning Sister Yumna, I never knew Jewish settlers lived in Madinah. It is heartbreaking to know the experience of Abdullah ibn Salam once he declared that Prophet is a messenger of God. Someone who has that level of integrity and discipline can easily find a Messenger of God instantly. It is unfortunate that people are too tied to the religion disowning him quickly forgetting Rabbi is a man of great integrity and spiritual discipline. That feeling of not thinking outside the box to recognize the Messenger of God is deeprooted for thousands of years. Frankly, mostly the Messengers of God had more criticism than following during their lifetime. People recognize their credentials as one who came to direct the human beings towards right living only after hundreds of years after they left their mortal coil.
Respected Viswa Sir, Thank you so much for your comment. Not only Prophets;but I feel we value the most important and genuine persons/blessings in our life only after they are gone and taken away from us. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) has said: “Take advantage of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before your busyness, and your life before your death.” May God bless you with health and wisdom.
Let me admit that I have not read the post in total. I have however, read Quran and life of Prophet Muhammad. I can not claim to have understood it but on the whole, all religions speak of the same values. As you said, we value their teachings after they are gone. But at the same time, it is also true that all that is written is not vouched for. There was no way of doing that. Thanks for the post.
Brother HariLakhera, I am glad to see you here.Thank you so much for your response. will get back to you
What I mean to say is that all religious books contain myths that prevailed with the word of mouth, the reason being that there was no method of writing or recording. But Faith can not be proved, it has to be felt.
Thank you for your comment.Faith can not be proved! Completely agree. But just to share: Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) lived in the end of 6th century to early 7th century. A radiocarbon dated copy of the Manuscript of the 7th-century Qur'an written on a parchment is currently preserved at the Cadbury Research Library,University of Birmingham, and and could have been very well written during the Prophet’s life. The famous manuscript of Uthman at the Al-Hussein Mosque in Cairo, Egypt, consists of 1087 folios, with only four folios missing. This signifies 99% of the entire Quran text and dates back to 7th century. There are many other manuscripts of the Quran which are preserved in Tashkent,Turkey,France and Russia and all dating back to 7th/8th century. Again,Faith can not be proved
"and and could have been very well written during the Prophet’s life." The very use of word 'could' makes it maybe. There is no point in questioning FAITH. In every religion there are staunch believers and doubters. Both have survived and will. The most important thing is how human we can be.
In the Name of God,the Most Beneficent,the Ever Merciful ! There is truly no place like home. It doesn't matter how well you are treated at any other place or how luxurious it is; there is no place like home. Same was the case with immigrant Muslims. They missed Makkah so much that many of them literally fell sick. When Prophet (peace be upon Him) came to know; He made a du'aa (supplication):"O Allah, make Madinah beloved to us like Makkah, or even more." And slowly but surely, the love of Madinah entered their hearts, so much so that when the Muslims would go away from Madinah, they would count the days when they will be going back to the city. And when the Prophet (peace be upon Him) would see Madinah in the distance, he would fasten his camel to reach home quicker. And indeed, even today, when we visit Madinah, there is a sense of love for Madinah that is not felt elsewhere. Soon after the pillars of the new Islamic community were well established on strong bases of administrative, political and ideological unity, the Prophet (peace be upon Him) commenced to establish regular and clearly defined relations with non-Muslims. All of these efforts were exerted solely to provide peace, security, and prosperity to all mankind at large, and to bring about a spirit of rapport and harmony within his region, in particular. Geographically, the closest people to Madinah were the Jews. The Prophet (peace be upon Him) decided to ratify a treaty with them with clauses that provided full freedom in faith and wealth. He had no intention whatsoever of following severe policies involving banishment, seizure of wealth and land or hostility. The treaty came within the context of another one of a larger framework relating to inter-Muslim relationships. The most important provisions of the treaty were the following: 1. The Jews of Bani ‘Awf are one community with the believers. The Jews willvprofess their religion, and the Muslims theirs. 2. The Jews shall be responsible for their expenditure, and the Muslims for theirs. 3. If attacked by a third party, each shall come to the assistance of the other. 4. Each party shall hold counsel with the other. Mutual relation shall be founded on righteousness; sin is totally excluded. 5. Neither shall commit sins to the prejudice of the other. 6. The wronged party shall be aided. 7. The Jews shall contribute to the cost of war so long as they are fighting alongside the believers. 8. Madinah shall remain sacred and inviolable for all that join this treaty. 9. Should any disagreement arise between the signatories to this treaty, then Allâh, the All-High and His Messenger shall settle the dispute. 10. The signatories to this treaty shall boycott Quraish commercially; they shall also abstain from extending any support to them. 11. Each shall contribute to defending Madinah, in case of a foreign attack,in its respective area. 12. This treaty shall not hinder either party from seeking lawful revenge.[Ibn Hisham1/503,504] In-Sha-Allah,To Be Continued...!
In the Name of God,the Most Beneficent,the Ever Merciful ! Change In Qibla The next major incident mentioned in the books of seerah is the change of Qibla(direction which Muslims face during their Prayers) — and it occurred around 5-16 months after the emigration of the Prophet(peace be upon Him). When the Prophet (peace be upon Him) emigrated to Madinah, initially, the qibla was still Bayt al-Maqdas (jerusalem). whenever the Prophet (peace be upon Him) prayed in Makkah facing Bayt al-Maqadas in Jerusalem, He(peace be upon Him) would in fact put the Ka'bah in front of him.He (peace be upon Him) would situate himself in such a way that the Ka'bah was in front of him and Bayt al-Maqdas was also in the same direction. when the Prophet (peace be upon Him) moved to Madinah, he had to turn his back to the Ka'bah when he was praying.But in His heart,He (peace be upon Him) desired to face Kaaba. Allah revealed in the Quran, "Indeed, WE see you [O Prophet] turning your face towards heaven. Now WE will make you turn towards a direction that will please you. So from now on, turn your face in the direction of Masjid al-Haram(Kaaba); and wherever you are, turn your face in that direction" [see Quran, 2:144] In chapter Al-Baqarah of Quran, Allah mentions the concept of abrogation: "Whenever WE abrogate a ruling or WE cause it to be forgotten, WE then bring forth something better than it, or something equivalent" [Quran, 2:106]. So there is a wisdom behind abrogations. And Allah mentions, "WE changed the qibla only to test those who followed the Prophet (peace be upon Him) versus those who rejected the Prophet (peace be upon Him)" [see Quran, 2:143]. Therefore,every commandment is actually a test. For the Muslims, it was a test to see whether they would implement this new ruling from Allah without any doubt in their hearts and Obey Prophet. For the Jews, there was a clear message: 'This Prophet came in the line of your prophets, so he is facing the same qibla as yours (and indeed, for the first year and a half of the Prophet's time in Madinah, he faced Bayt al-Maqdas).The purpose primarily was to demonstrate to the Jews that this prophet is from the same tradition as their religion, but he is not sent only for them but towards all mankind. In-Sha-Allah,To Be Continued...!
In the Name of God,the Most Beneficent,the Ever Merciful ! After the change in qiblah, the back of the Prophet’s Mosque became the front, and the front became the back.Therefore, the Prophet (peace be upon Him) commanded that the back of the Mosque which used to be the front be covered up by a shade because the number of people who were emigrating to Madinah to learn were increasing — so they needed a shelter. The first batch of emigrants, every one of them was given a household and the household basically adopted him for a while, took care of him until he got on his own— however, as the number of increased, a public shelter was built inside the Mosque and the shelter became known as the Suffah. And the people who stayed there became known as ‘people of Suffah’.Suffah literally means a platform. The People of Suffah have a special status.They gave up everything and spent their life in the remembrance of God, memorization and implementation of Qur’an, learning and studying, disseminating knowledge and teachings. It is reported from one of the Companion that, “Whenever we would get some food or harvest of dates etc, we set a portion for the People of Suffah.A string was hung between the 2 pillars of the Suffah, and food was put on it so that the people could eat without having to ask for food.This custom lasted up until 1940s/1950s — about 1300 years! [A particular area is demarcated in the form of an elevated platform till date and called “place of Suffah” in the mosque of Prophet And Allah knows best.] It was solely by his character and wisdom, that the Prophet (peace be upon Him) erected the pillars of the new society by inculcating ethics and virtues in them.The following are a few examples; A man asked the Messenger of Allah which of the merits is superior in Islam. The Prophet (peace be upon Him) replied: “To provide food and extend greetings to one whom you know or do not know.” Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) : "Extend peace greetings, provide food to the needy, maintain uterine relations, observe prayer at night while people are asleep, and you will peacefully enter the Paradise.” Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him) : “None amongst you believes truly till one likes for his brother that which he likes for himself”. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him): "He will not enter Paradise, whose neighbours are not secure from his wrongful conduct.” Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him): ”To remove something harmful from the road is charity”. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him): "Charity erases sins just as water extinguishes fire”. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him): ”He is not a true believer, who goes to bed full and knows that his neighbour is hungry.” Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him): "Show mercy to people on earth so that Allah will shower mercy on you in heaven”. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon Him): "Forgive him who wrongs you; join him who cuts you off; do good to him who does evil to you; and speak the truth even if it be against yourself." In-Sha-Allah,To Be Continued...!