Sunnah of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Our Demolished National Sensibility!

 The birth of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is undeniably a great blessing for the entire mankind. His teachings serve as the exemplified source of social progress and prosperity for every nation in this world, regardless of its race, creed, culture or religion. On this blissful occasion of his birth, it is immensely important that we, being his followers, conscientiously analyze our present societal dilemmas in the context of Islamic teachings presented by him and scrutinize the strategy adopted by him to free the humanity from injustice and oppression. By analyzing different dimensions of his life including the struggle initiated by him on collective basis, we can surely frame our plan of action to eliminate humanity’s prevailing adversity and wretchedness in the hands of exploitative forces.

The first and the foremost concept pertaining to the life of The Holy prophet (PBUH) is that the sole purpose of his arrival was to liberate mankind from injustice, oppression, and exploitation imposed by the domineering capitalist forces. Undeniably, he successfully accomplished this mission as designated to him by Allah Almighty. By uprooting the exploitative economic and political systems of his time, he laid the foundation of a social system based on the principles of economic justice, social equality, collectivism, peace, and humanitarianism. Each and every aspect of his life stresses upon these Islamic principles. For example, in The Farewell Sermon of The Holy Prophet (PBUH), he said, “O people, verily your Lord and Sustainer is one and your ancestor is one.  All of you descend from Prophet Adam (May peace be upon him) and Adam (May peace be upon him) was made from clay.  The most distinguished among you with Allah is the one who is the most pious.  An Arab does not have any superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab over an Arab; neither a white man over a black man nor a black man over a white man except the superiority gained through piety.” In Pre-Islamic Arabia, women were regarded as a symbol of extreme shame and hardly bore any respectful status in their society. Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) promised them provision of a dignified and autonomous life through the implementation of a system based on social equality. Several of his teachings emphasize women’s respect and their role in society. For example, in his Farewell Sermon, The Holy Prophet (PBUH) also stated, “Treat your women nicely as they are bound to you and are incapable of managing many of their affairs themselves.  Hence be conscious of Allah about them, as you have accepted them in the name of Allah and in His name, your mutual relation is sanctified.”  By analyzing the aforementioned principles of The Life of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) on collective and conscientious basis, we can formulate a strategy to overcome our present social crisis.

The second aspect of the Sunnah of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) stresses upon developing a sound understanding of the core objective behind his conscientious struggle, identification of the satanic (evil) sect of the society whom he pinpointed to be responsible for instigating the entire social chaos. He and his followers then devised a collective and conscientious strategy to counter exploitative agendas of the ruling class. A profound analysis of the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) clearly reveals that the essence of his entire struggle was meant to exterminate the political, economic and social systems of exploitation around the globe. At that time, the self-centered ruling class of Makkah had established a ruthless political setup to deceitfully enslave their nation. Same was the case at international level due to the barbarous and inhumane kingdoms or Rome and Persia.

This authoritative ruling sect of Makkah offered intense opposition to the humanitarian mission of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) by severely afflicting and persecuting him and his companions. They forced the weak and destitute factions of the society to accept their representation and demonstrate complete subservience to the hegemony of their imposed dictatorial system. They believed that The Holy Prophet (PBUH) had a desire for personal glory and authority over the Arab countries. They considered themselves to be most capable and deserving group to rule and govern because of their financial dominance in the society. The Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) mission was an open declaration of war against the exploitative and inhuman mindsets of the society who oppressed the impoverished working class of the society and exploited the religious sentiments of the simple-minded Arabs by deceitfully concealing their demonic agendas in the name of Religion.

The third principle of the life of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) is related to the historical perspective of his prophet hood. During the era of his prophet hood, majority of the known world administered and influenced by two super powers of the world, Rome and Persia. States like Bukhara, Samarkand, and Tashkand, Iraq, Yemen, Khorasan, and other surrounding areas including subcontinent were ruled by The Persian Empire. Every year, a portion of their hard earned wealth was plundered by the Persian Empire. The Roman states and the surrounding European countries were controlled by the domineering Roman Emperor, Caesar. Egypt, Western Arab peninsula and various African countries operated as per the directives of The Persian Empire. Regarding Rome and Persia, The Holy prophet (PBUH) categorically predicted: “Cyrus (Persian Emperor) will die and there will be no one to succeed him. Caesar (Roman Emperor) will die and there will be no one to succeed him. And verily, their wealth will be distributed in the path of Allah among the weak and deprived ones.” (Sahih Bukhari).

The fourth essential perspective of The Holy Prophet’s Sunnah (PBUH) relates to his struggle for the establishment of a peaceful and harmonious society, based on the ideology of humanitarianism, in an environment where the Arab tribes bore no patience and would rather wage wars against each other and instigate bloodshed over petty issues and these wars continue for generations. In the context of above discussion, consider the incident of the placement of scared Black Stone, “Hajr-e-Aswad”, in the periphery of Kaaba. An atmosphere of fierce rivalry and dispute rose among the tribal chiefs of Makkah as to who would have the honor of placing the Sacred Black Stone. This dispute soon turned into a matter of harsh enmity and various Arab tribes vowed for a deadly war against each other that would then continue for years since their traditional conception of resolving conflicts by declaring prolonged wars was dominant over any possibility of settling disputes through peace-talks and mutual negotiations. On this occasion, he stated, “Each tribe should take hold one side of the cloth so all can share in the honor”. The Arab chiefs lifted the sacred Black Stone to the point where it was to be placed and the Holy Prophet (PBUH) himself lifted the sacred Black Stone and installed it in its place. Thus, in such enmity driven atmosphere of Makkah, The Holy Prophet (PBUH), through his unparalleled social intellect and great wisdom, opted for a remarkable solution that reconciled the Arab Tribes and ended this serious dispute without any bloodshed.

The fifth point regarding the life of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) highlights his attempt to unite all Arab Tribes on the basis of a humanitarian ideology, mutual respect and harmony, in spite of the fact that those Arab Tribes have perplexed differences based on their creed, religion and geographical background. Thus, by clearly defining that the sole purpose of the Islamic Principle “Jihad” as an conscientious effort to exterminate exploitation, oppression and injustice in society, the struggle of Holy Prophet (May Peace Be Upon Him) and his companions rooted out the cannibalistic mindset of the society that aims to confiscate every human right and plunge the masses into a dusk of extreme distress and sufferings at the cost of the attainment of their selfish personal gains. A conscientious analysis of the concept of “Jihad” in the light of the Sunnah of The Holy Prophet (PBUH) signifies that it neither embraces the notion of oppression nor opposition to the existence of any nation, creed, culture, or religion. Instead, it promises them a provision of social equality, respect, and dignity.

Instead of opting to exterminate the existence of other religions, The Holy Prophet (PBUH) adopted the principles of mutual coexistence and religious tolerance by strictly following the humanitarian ideology of Islam. Non-Muslims were fully granted the liberty to freely practice their own religion and were never forced to accept Islam. They were allowed to carry out religious practices and even establish their sacred worship places such as churches, shrines and temples, and other holy places. Freedom of religion was considered to be their fundamental human right, and indeed, this Islamic principle of religious tolerance served as the basis for developing a peaceful environment of mutual coexistence and harmony in the society.

Today, there is a dire need of a collective and sincere struggle based on the authentic teachings of Islam as conscientiously explained and exhibited by The Holy Prophet (PBUH) and his companions in order to liberate the mankind from tyranny, oppression & injustice and to revolutionize it with peace, humanity and social progress!

Translation: Miss Aisha Javed, Rawalpindi