Our tongue is just unable to describe in depth the features of a man who is unique in the whole creation, beyond whom there is no wiser, or loftier or more magnanimous one. Our pen is just unable to depict his true features. Our thought is just too weak to appreciate him wholly. In order to describe him, I do not have any other way except resorting to the sacred verses of the Holy Quran, which are God's speech and to the narrations and the religious news which are the miracles of the men of God.
Defining the Great Prophet(s) of Islam in this volume is like pouring the wholly sea in an earthern pot.
He is the first wisdom; he is the closest to God; and he is the most complete of beings. He is distant from all worldly and selfish motives. We will notice the following features for Mohammad(s) in the most authentic narrations:
1- اوَّل ما خَلَقَ اللهُ العَقْلُ.
2- أوَّلُ ما خَلَقَ اللهُ نُوري.
3- أوَّلُ ما خَلَقَ اللهُ رُوحي.
4- أوَّلُ ما خَلَقَ اللهُ القَلَمُ.
5- أوَّلُ ما خَلَقَ اللهُ مَلَكٌ كَرُبيٌّ.
The five series of description belong to only one truth and one light. They are differing titles for just one single being. The highest manifestation of God's revelation is found in him. He needs nothing and nobody except God; neither does he observe any body but Allah.
No pen can ever depict this sacred being since he is God's most magnificent Messenger.
The more a being is distant from the worldly shackles, the closer he is to God. He was a sacred being who did not need even his physique. He was the manifestation of
أقْبَلَ إلى الدُّنيا رَحْمَةً لِلعالَمِينَ.
This shows that his light is manifest in all beings in the world: he is the most beloved and the purest of all creatures. Besides, one who associates with him is a perfect being who deserves the paradise. And one who ignores him belongs to the hell. This fact may be discerned in the following narration which is reported at the beginning of the book on wisdom by kafi of his book called Osul:
عَنْ أبي جَعْفَرٍD قال: لَمّا خَلَقَ اللهُ العَقْلَ اسْتَنْطَقَهُ ثُمَّ قالَ لَهُ: أقْبِلْ فَاقْبَلَ ثُمَّ، قَالَ لَهُ: أدْبِرْ، فَأدْبَرَ، قالَ: وَعِزَّتي وَجَلالي ما خَلَقْتُ خَلْقاً هُو أحَبُّ إليَّ مِنْكَ، وَلا اكْمَلْتُكَ إلاّ فيمَن اُحِبُّ. أما إنِّي إيَّاكَ آمُرُ، وإيَّاكَ أنْهى، وَإيّاكَ اُعاقِبُ، وَإيّاكَ اُثِيبُ.
The Prophet Mohammad(s) is the most magnificent creature, the summary of the two worlds; He is the light for all beings, the flower of all flower gardens, the light of the garden of creation. He is the most elegant manifestation of وما أرْسَلناكَ (And we have not sent you but to all the men as a bearer of good news 34:28); he is the nightingle of the garden ofوَما يَنْطِقُ عَنِ الهَوى “He does not speak out of desire. 53:3”
The Prophet(s) is the key to the hidden treasures, the torch for the society of believers and the giver of the mercy:
وَما أرْسَلناكَ إلاّ رَحْمَةً لِلعالَمِينَ.
(And we have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds. 21:107)
The Prophet Mohammad(s) is the base for all existence and non-existence; he is the manifestation of the hidden world and of intuition; he is the discloser of the secret of مَنْ رَآني; he is the discloser of the heavenly revelation; he is the describer of the content of نَحْنُ الآخِرونَ السّابِقُونَ and he is the discloser of the secret اِهْدِ قَوْمي إنَّهُم لا يَعْلَمُونَ. He is the wakeful of لا يَنامُ قَلْبِي. He is the resident of أبيتُ عِنْدَ اَبي and he is the candle for لي مَعَ الله. He possesses the titles and attributes of a sublime God's messenger; he is our assistant on the Doom's Day; he is the leader to the believers; he is Abulqasem Mostafa, Ahmad, Mahmoud, and Mohammad(s).
Mohyeddin talks on Hathrat Mohammad's attributes in the following manner:
صَلَواتُ اللهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَحَمَلَةِ عَرْشِهِ وَجَمِيعِ خَلْقِهِ مِنْ أرْضِهِ وَسَمائِهِ على سَيِّدِنا وَنَبِيّنا أصْلِ الجُودِ، وَعَيْنِ الشّاهِدِ وَالمَشْهُودِ، أوَّلِ الأوائِلِ.
اَنّى هُمْزمِلى عَمُوخُونْ كَتْ لِكْسِكوْخُونَ اِينَ هَوْ پارقَليطارُ وخارِ قُدْس هَوْبِت شارِربْبى شمّى هَوْيت قِلپ لوخونْ كُل مِندى وهَوْبِت مَتخِررَ خون كل مِندى دِمرونِ الَوْخُونْ.
Lahiji in the interpretation of Golshan Raz explains the line of poetry with the content “There is just one line from the onset to the end”: From the first wisdom to the lowest which is the human state and then from humanity to the Divine there is one circle on which all creatures make their journey: They all come from the deep layers and then go there once again:
كما بَدَأكم تَعُودُونَ.
“So shall you also return. 7:29”
God's great wisdom has made it imperative that this journey on the above-mentioned circle should be carried out with a guide who possesses God's attributes. Those groups of people who are guided in this manner are superior to others and possess the attributes of the men of God. They are God's men because they are obedient to the Prophets.
On this journey, the Prophets acts like caravan-masters because they have been trained and educated for this specific task. As the caravan-masters manage the camels and their loads, so do the Prophets protect people from going to extremes in their moral affairs. They lead people towards the right path.
In comparing the prophets to the caravan-master there is an allegory to human spirit which sometimes goes out of control; at this stage it is called baqara in the terminology of Gnosticism. Upon being trained, it will be called badaneh which is a being trained, it will be called badaneh which is a camel which becomes slaughtered in Mecca on the festival Day of Azha. The story goes like this: The Prophets are the guides to people. And the true guidance is special only to those people who have submitted the camel of self to the sword of the disobedience of one's self to be slaughtered with it. It is as though the mission of the Prophets had been to connect these people to God:
وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى دَارِ السَّلَامِ وَيَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ.
“And Allah invites to the abode of peace and guides whom He pleases into the right path. 10:25”
The Prophet excel other people in that they have connected with God and have given up their very exisistance to join Allah and have adopted God's attributes. In this transformation some are closer to God than others.
The complete and whole person who is absorbed by God is Hathrat Mohammad(s). Other men of God possess Only some of God's attributes. That is why the statement:
كُنْتُ نَبِيّاً وآدَمُ بَينَ الماءِ وَالطّينِ.
Is issued to include him.
The Strange Secret in Mohammad's Creation and his Genealogy:
Ibn Babereih, also called Saduq who, in autenthicity and sincerity, is unique among Shiite scholars, reports from Imam Jaafar Ibn Sadiq(s) who reports from the sample of world's pious ones Imam Ali(s), saying: God created the Prophet Mohammad's spirit prior to the creation of the skies, the earth, the heaven, the pen, the paradise or the other prophets. With this spirit, God created the following twelve curtains:
(1) The curtain of power; (2) The curtain of magnanimity; (3) The curtain of grace; (4) The curtain of generocity; (5) The curtain of prosperity; (6) The curtain of benevolence; (7) The curtain of status; (8) The curtain of guidance; (9) The curtain of Prophethood; (10) The curtain of excellance; (11) The curtain of reverence and (12) The curtain of forgiveness.
Then God put that spirit behind the curtain of power for twelve thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ رَبّيَ الأعْلى.
The spirit was then put behind the curtain of magnanimity for eleven thousand years it was saying:
سُبْحانَ عالِمِ السِّرِّ.
The spirit was then put behind the curtain of grace for ten thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ مَنْ هُوَ قائِمٌ لا يَلْهُو.
The spirit was then put behind the curtain of generocity for nine thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ الرَفيعِ الأعْلى.
Then the spirit was put behind the curtain of prosperity for eight thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ مَنْ هُوَ دائِمٌ لا يَسْهُو.
The spirit then was put behind the curtain of benevolence for seven thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ مَنْ هُوَ غَنيٌّ لا يَفْتَقِرُ.
The spirit was then put behind the curtain of status for six thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ العَلِيمِ الكَرِيم.
Then the spirit was laid behind the curtain of guidance for five thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ ذِي العَرشِ العَظِيمِ.
The spirit was then put behind the curtain of Prophethood for four thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ رَبِّ العِزَّةِ عَمّا يَصِفُونَ.
Then the spirit was laid behind the curtain of excellance for three thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ ذِي المُلْكِ وَالمَلَكُوتِ.
The spirit then was put behind the curtain of reverence for two thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ اللهِ وَبِحَمْدِهِ.
And finally the spirit was put behind the curtain of pardon for a thousand years, saying:
سُبْحانَ رَبِّيَ العَظِيمِ وَبِحَمدِهِ.
Then God wrote the Prophet's name on the table; and the name was shining for four thousand years. Then his superior name was shown by God which lasted for seven thousand years. This spirit or light was still shining till it was laid in Adam's sperm by God.[1]
Later this spirit or light was transferred from Adam to other people till it reached Abde Manaf and then it reached Hashem. From Hashem it reached Abdolmottaleb; then it reached Abdollah. According to him all his fathers were monotheist and pious. And some of them, such as Ibrahim, Ismael and Nuh were among the great Prophets:
أشْهَدُ أنَّكَ كُنْتَ نُوراً في الأصْلابِ الشّامِخَةِ والأرْحامِ المُطَهَّرَةِ.
This is because clean wombs do not coincide with idolatry and the rejection of truth. Therefore, those who assume the Prophet's fathers were atheists are either ignorant or hypocrates or liars.
After Abde Manaf, Amrolala, who was a distinguished man came to be the head of the Qoraish Household. Since he used to have many guests and since many camels were slaughtered in his parties and since many camel bones used to be broken at his parties he was conseguently called Hashem. After him, his greatest son, called Abdolmotalleb resumed the leadership of Qoraish and the protection of kaaba (Mecca).
Abdolmotalleb was distinguished among Qoraish tribe to the degree that he excelled all his predecessors. Among his triumphs are the following:
1. He was the substitute for Hashem, his father, and continued to keep his father's feats. He kept his father's guest-house to entertain everybody even the birds and the desert beasts.
Hashem used to slaughter a camel each day and put it on the mountain of Mecca to feed the beasts. Abdoolmottaleb, too, continued this good custom.
2. Abdolmotalleb and his elder son Harith reconstructured the ZamZam well once again and surfaced its water after years of hiding for the people of Mecca and those tribes who attended Mecca. In this process, he discovered a lot of Gold which he dedicated to the house of kaaba.
3. Besides these honors, he got the honor to serve Hathrat Mohammad Ibn Abdollah(s).
Abdolmotalleb's newly-married son left Mecca towards yathreb in business where he passed away when quite young.
At this time, his young wife, Bent wahab, was pregnant with a boy who was destined to light up the world's darkness.
The bride, who was away from her husband's tomb, gave birth to her son whose protection was carried out by his grandfather, Abdolmotalleb. So far as he was living, he used to nurture his beloved nephew and at the time of his death he used to utter Mohammad's name. He did not recommend anything to his household except for the protecton of Mohammad(s).
4. The people of Mecca, including the tribes of Qoraish or thaqif, Hawazen and Batun were all idolaters. There were some Christians and Jews among them as well. It was only the Hashem Household, especially Abdol motalleb, who believed in the religion of Ibrahim Khaleel. Abdol motalleb took pride in worshipping God among other idolaters.
Believing in God was one of the honors of Abdolmotalleb which caused him to be reckoned as among God's men. One good reason for his piety is his struggle against Abrahe, the king of Ethiopia, who had come to destroy the house of Mecca with his elephants, with no success, however.
Without getting terrified in front of Abraha's superficial glory, Abdol motalleb only asked him to return the plundered camels to him. Finally, as Abdol motalleb had anticipated, Abraha's army was annihilated by a great number of birds which were God's army.
Among his axioms are: A tyrant will not die unless he is punished in this world. There is another world after this one in which every body will be treated Justly. If a tyrant is not punished here, he will definitely be chastised in the other world.
Concerning soul and the world of souls, the great Gnostics say that soul is a unique phenomenon; it is, in their view, the mover of the bodies of the plants by nature; it is the mover of the beasts with their own option; and it is at the stage of wisdom in man. The soul is a delicate and unanalyzible substance. It comes from God: it is the God's command itself. The body, on the other hand, is a dirty analyszible substance belonging to this world. Now let us see how the world of souls operates:
When God decided to create the world of souls first He looked at the most elite light. That elite was lighted and burned. From this the soul of Mohammad(s) was then created. Later from the elite, God created the souls of the prophets; then from the elite, God created the souls of His men. Later the souls of Gnostics and then the souls of the pious ones, and then the souls of the believers then the souls of the un-believers, then the souls of the infidels, then the souls of the beasts and finally the souls of the plants were created.[2]
God's Good News Concerning Mohammad(s):
The kind God, through His heavenly books and Prophets gave the good news of the appearance of Hathrat Mohammad(s).
Reporting all those good news requires several volumes. However our policy in this book is to be short in exposition. Therefore, only some samples will be presented here:
When Ibrahim and Ismael(s) built the house of kaaba, which is the most spiritual building in creation, they asked God for some favors. Among their request was the appearance of Mohammad(s) among human beings:
رَبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمْ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ.
“Our Lord! And raise up in them an Apostle from among them who shall recite to them thy communications and teach them the book and the wisdom, and purify them; surely thou art the Mighty, the Wise. 2:129”
This was the request of that hero of monotheism and his son concerning Mohammad(s). That is why the Prophet(s) is reported to have said:
أنَا دَعْوةُ إبْراهِيم.
“I am the result of Ibrahim's invocation.”[3]
In the above verse from the Holy Quran, Ibrahim and Ismael offer three reasons for their request from God for the Prophet's Prophethood:
The first aim is the reading of God's signs to people. This sentence refers to the awakening of ideas by the attractive verses of the Holy Quran which are revealed to the Prophet(s).
Yatlu (meaning recitation) which is from the base “talavat”, literally means arranging things successiuely. When things are read systematically, Arabs use the word talavat. Thus, successive reading is an introduction to getting people educated.
The second aim is the teaching of the Holy Quran. This is because the third objective, which is real education, does not materialize unless people are made aware.
Then the third aim, which is cleansing, is introduced. Tazkieh means both cleansing and causing growth. Thus man's scientific and practical perfection is mentioned as the third objective of Mohammad's Prophethood.
The point to be stressed here is that human knowledge is limited and is mixed with a lot of ambiguous points and frequent errors. Human knowledge is not hopeful of what it knows; this is because it has been aware of so many errors of the practioners.
Then it is time for Prophets to come among people equipped with knowledge based on revelation to remove people's errors and to teach them what they do not know and ensure them of what they already know.
It should be mentioned here that half of our personalities consists of wisdom; the other half is our wishes and instincts. Thus we will need both training and education. Our wisdom should grow and our desires and instincts should be directed towards the right path. Thus, Prophets are both trainers and educators; they will bring about both education and nurturing.[4]
الَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ الرَّسُولَ النَّبِيَّ الْأُمِّيَّ الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ ...
“Those who follow the Apostle-Prophet, the Ummi, whom they find written down with them in the Tavrat and the Injeel… 7:157”
Since the Prophet(s) is not referred to by name and is only described with the adjectives “messenger, prophet and Ummi”, and since they are followed by the expression.
الَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُ مَكْتُوبًا عِنْدَهُمْ فِي التَّوْرَاةِ وَالْإِنجِيلِ
“whom they find written down with them in the Tavrat and the Injeel”, we will conclude that Mohammad(s) is described both in Tavrat and Injeel with these three adjectives.
وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُمْ مُصَدِّقًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِنْ بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُبِينٌ.
“And when Isa, son of Marium, said: O children of Israel! Surely I am the apostle of Allah to you, verifying that which is before me of the Tavrat and giving the good news of an Apostle who will come after me, his name being Ahmad; but when he came to them with clear arguments they said: This is clear magic. 61:6”
We see how wrong the deprived ones of wisdom think about the unique person who is appointed by God to let people enjoy prosperity both here and in the Hereafter.
Mohammad(s) is the only unique pearl of the sea of creation. He is the instructor whose knowledge excels that of the angels, jinn or human beings. He is the prophet who culminates the status of Prophethood but seems to those people as a magician and his miracles seem to them as magic. What could be said to these animals which look like men?
For ignorance there is such a darkness which could only be illuminate by the light of knowledge. And for the wickedness there is such a blackness which could be eliminated only through the lightness of knowledge. For doubts there are such clouds of darkness which could not be eliminated except by the rays of truth. For tyranny there are such curtains which could not be removed except by the rays of justice.
Hathrat Mohammad(s) was such a light whose rays reached every quarter of the world of humanity. These rays reached men's hearts and penetrated their thoughts to rescue the believers from errors.
اللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنْ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاؤُهُمْ الطَّاغُوتُ يُخْرِجُونَهُمْ مِنْ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ.
“Allah is the guardian of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the ligh; and as to those who disbelieve, their guardians are shaitans who take them out to the light into the darkness. 2:257”
Thus, those believers who follow Hathrat Mohammad(s) are the distinguished ones who have become illuminated; they are knowledgeable as against the ignorant ones; they are complete as against the defective ones; they are complete as against the defective ones; they are men of conviction among others who are victims to their own anxieties and doubts; they are men of justice where others are stuck deep inside injustice; they are after truth while others have forgotten the truth: but God will make them forget themselves, however.
And those who believed in Islam got rid of the darkness of ignorance, wickedness, doubts, aggression, and going astray: they then started to live properly.[5]
أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ كَمَنْ مَثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِنْهَا.
“Is he who was dead when we raised him to life and made for him a light by which he walks among the people, like him whose likeness is that of one in utter darkness whence he cannot come forth? 6:122”
This title is used in the precious book of Anisol A'alam written by Mohammad Sadiq Fakhrol Islam who was one of the most distinguished holy leaders of Christianity and then was converted into the prosperous religion of Islam and was led to the right path of life while suffering a lot of hardships.
Mohammad Sadiq Fakhrol Islam writes: I was one of the most distinguished members of Nazarenes (The Christians). I was babtized in Orumieh Church and got my education in the presence of the Christian scholars. Among my instructors were Robie Yuhanna Bekir and Qessis Yuhanna John and Robie Azhe and other teachers from the sect of protestanism. I had teachers from the Cathlec sect such as Robie Talu and Qessis Kurkez and among other monks and nuns. At the age of twelve I was a graduate in the study of the Tavrat and Injeel and in other Christian Knowledge. I had become a Qessis. Then I decided to study other religions. After suffering a lot of hardships I had the honor to be the student of a great Qessis of the Cathlec sect. He enjoyed a great fame in piety. The members of Cathlec sect everywhere in the world got the answers to their questions from this scholar. In return, they would send him precious gifts. I used to attend his lectures on the idealogy of different nations. There were many other students in his lectures besides me.
Each day there were four hundred or more students in his presence. There were many nuns who took part in these lectures as well.
The lecturer had a special liking towards me, however. He had appointed me as the key-bearer of his stores of food and beverages. He had submitted to me all the keys except for one key to a small store-room. I thought the small-room was the treasure-room. Then I used to tell myself this Qessis is a world-monger and used to utter:
تَرَكَ الدُّنيا لِلدُّنيا.
(He expresses piety in order to get more wealth).
For sometime I was engaged in studying the beliefs of Nazarenes (Christians) until I reached the age of seventeen. Then the Qessis became ill and told me: O my spiritual son, tell the students I may not teach them today.
I left the Qessis and found the students engaged in discussing scientific topics. In their research they came upto the word Farqelita in soryanin and piroclotus in Greek whose emergence after the Christ was reported in the sections 14, 15 and 16 of the fourth enjeel by Yuhanna. There Jesus Christ had said:
“After me Farqelita will come.”
The text for the enjeel verse in the original language runs like this:
اَنّى هُمْزمِلى عَمُوخُونْ كَتْ لِكسِكوْخُونَ يْون اِينَ هَوْ پارقَليطارُ وخارِ قُدْسَ هَوْبِت شارِريّبى شمّى هَوبِت قِلپ لوخونْ كُل مِندى وهَوْبِت مَتخِروَ خون كل مِندى دِمرونِ اِلَوْخُونْ.
“I have told you something when I was with you. But Farqelita, the spirit of the truth will advise you and will lead you towards the right path. He will teach you a lot.”
These students, then, got into a hot discussion, each one having a specific opinion of his own. Coming to no definite result, they scattered.
Then, I returned to the Qessis. He asked me: O my spiritual son, what was today's discussion on? I told him about their differing opinions on the word Farqelita. He asked me what my idea was on the issue. I replied I had chosen the opinion of a certain scholar. He told me: you have done nothing wrong. But the truth is different from what they say. They are not aware of the true meaning of this sacred name. Only the genuine scholars know the true meaning of this word. I threw myself at the feet of the lecturer, asking him: O reverend father: you are well aware of the fact that I have gone through a lot of hardships in order to learn. You know that I am a zealous follower of Christianity. I spend all my life worshipping. What happens if you give me the honor to know the meaning of this term?
The lecturer then burst into tears, saying: O my spiritual son: I will not withhold anything from you. Although knowing the meaning of this word brings forth a lot of good results, we will both be killed by Christians if the meaning of this word is spread. I will tell you on condition that you would never utter the meaning of this world in my name. Both of us will be in danger if the meaning of the word is revealed. They might even take off my corpse from the grave to burn it if they know I had told you the secret.
I assured him I would not utter it to anybody. Then he said:
This name is one of the sacred names of the Prophet of Islam. It means Ahmad and Mohammad. Then he gave me the key to the small store-room. He asked me to open up a certain safe and take him certain books. I took the books to him. These two books were written in soryani and Greek prior to the appearance of Mohammad(s). The pages of the books were skin. In these twq books the word Farqelita was translated as Ahmad and Mohammad(s).
Then he continued: O my son: be aware that the Christian scholars, interpreters and translators all agreed, prior to the appearance of Mohammad(s), that the word meant Hathrat Mohammad(s). After his appearance, however, the Qessis and priests distorted all the books on interpretations, dictionaries and translated texts and invented another meaning for this word which was not meant by the auther of enjeel. They committed all this in order to collect more wealth and engage in more jealousy.
From the style and order which is used in the present-day enjeel it is clear that by the word Farqelita is neither meant substitution nor the descending spirit on Youmoddar.[6] This is because in Jesus Christ's word the appearance of Farqelita depends on the departure of Christ(s): Jesus Christ has said: Farqelita will come as soon as I go.[7]
This is because the gathering of the two qualified prophets at the same time is not proper. This is in contrast with the descent of the ghost on the day of Youmoddar. By the word ghost here is meant the Holy Ghost who descended when Jesus Christ and the apostles existed.
The author of the first enjeel or Mathew in the third section says: As soon as Jesus Christ(s) came out of the Jordon River getting baptized by Yahya, the baptizer, the Holy Ghost, in the form of a pigeon, descended upon him (Mathew, section 3,16).
With the presence of Jesus Christ, the ghost had descended upon the twelve apostles. This is vividly stated by the author of the first enjeel in the tenth section:
Jesus Christ(s), strengthened the twelve apostles when he sent them to the cities of Israel to expel the evil ghosts and to cure the dieases.
By the word “strengthening” here is meant spiritual and not physical strength. And by spiritual strengthening is meant the confirmation of the Holy Ghost.
In the twentieth verse of the above-mentioned section Jesus Christ, addressing his apostles, says:
It is because it is not you who talk; rather, it is through the soul of your father that you can talk. By “The soul of your Father” is meant the Holy Ghost, indeed.
In the same way the author of the third enjeel in the ninth section vividly states that Jesus summoned his twelve disciples giving them the power to heal all diseases and control all devils.
The author of the third engeel in the tenth section says that the disciples confirmed the existence of the Holy Ghost. (Here by disciples is meant those seventy students of Christ).
In the seventeenth verse, it says: those seventy students returned happily, saying: O God, even the evils obey your name.
Thus, the descent of the ghost did not rest on the departure of Jesus Christ(s). If the word Farqelita had meant the Holy Ghost, then Jesus would have contradicted himself. A prophet would never have done that, however. Thus by the word Farqelita is meant nobody except Ahmad and Mohammad.
Then, I asked him: what is your opinion on Nazarenes? He answered: the religion of Nazarenes is abolished because of the appearance of Mohammad's religion. He repeated this for three times.
Then, I asked him: now, what is the path to salvation? He said: the only available path to salvation is to follow Moahmmad(s). I asked him: are his followers people of salvation? He just said: well-done, well-done, well-done.
Then, I asked him: what stops you, then, to follow Mohammad's religion?
He answered: O my spiritual son. I only realized the truth behind Islam at the old age. Internally, I am a Moslem, but externally I can not leave my social position that I now have. You see how Christians respect me. They will kill me if they suspect that I am a Moslem. Even if I escape them, the Christian kings will ask the Moslem kings to hand me over under the pretext that I am the manager of the church treasures and that I have embezzeled them. I doubt the Moslem authorities could protect me then.
O my spiritual son. My staying among Moslems will not be to my benefit. If I stay among them I will live as a desparate and poor person. They would not respect me and I would die of hunger among them.[8]
I fear God. I can not stand hardship. Internally I am a follower of Mohammad(s).
Then the lecturer burst crying. I cried too. After my crying I asked the man: O reverend father, Do you order me to accept Islam?
He answered: If you wish for salvation, you have to accept God's religion. Since you are young, God may prepare you worldly means so that you may not die of hunger. I will always pray for you. You should confess on Doom's Day that I was internally a Moslem. Most Qessis internally feel as I do. They do not dare to free themselves from worldly status. Or else there is no doubt that today Islam is God's religion.
Since I have seen the above mentioned two books and I have heard this lecturer's statements the love of Mohammad's has gone through me to the degree that this world is a worthless thing to me. I was not carried away by the short-lived status of this world. I said good-bye to the lecturer. He gave me some money for my journey.
The only thing I carried with me were two or three volumes of books. At a midnight I entered the city of Orumyyeh. I went to the house of Hassan Aqa Mojtahed the same night. He became very happy when he observed my desire to turn into a Moslem. I asked him to carry out the ceremony. I asked him not to tell anybody about my turning into Islam for fear that my relatives might hurt me. Then at night I carried out the ceremony of ablution and I repented my blasphemy. Coming out of the bath I once again uttered the Islamic motto and both internally and externally I converted into a Moslem:
الحَمْدُ للهِ الَّذي هَدانا لِهذا لَولا أنْ هَدانا اللهُ ما كُُنّا لِنَهتَديَ.
I thank God that He did not let me die in blasphemy. After the recovery from the ceremony of circumcision I started reciting the Holy Quran and studying Islamic knowledge. Then I left for Atabat to continue with my studies. I was busy worshipping God in those sacred places.
The accidents that I went through during my stay in Karbala, Najaf, and Kazemein are not to be written. On the day of Qadir khom in the presence of Imam Ali(s), I observed the world of ghosts, the barrier and the Doom's Day. I could visualize the souls of the sacred ones. I repeatedly saw in my dreams Hathrat Mohammad(s), Hathrat Sadiq(s) and other Infallibes.
There were twenty six problems for me concerning the principles of religion. Nobody could solve them for me. Nobody could satisfy me by giving me the right answer. I asked God to help me solve them. I resorted to Mohammad(s). Then at one night, In my dream, I met with Hathrat Rasul and Imam Sadiq(s). I asked the Prophet(s) for dolution. He asked Hathrat Sadiq(s) to answer my question.
Then that Hathrat opened up the questions for me and I found out the truth behind the Ethna Asharyyeh religion.[9]
The Significant Issue of the birth of Mohammad(s)
With his marriage, Abdollah opened up a new chapter to his life. He made life happy for himself with his marrying Ameneh. After a while he joined a caravan leaving Mecca for Damascus for business. When he left Mecca, Ameneh was pregnant. After several months the caravan came back. Abdollah's father was waiting for his son. His bride was also looking at the caravan, hoping to see her husband. But there was no sign of Abdollah. After research it became clear that on the way home abdollah had fallen ill in Yathreb, staying there for recovery. This news made everyone cry.
Abdolmotalleb sent his eldest son, Harith, to Yathreb to take Abdollah with him. But when he entered Medina, he found out that Abdollah had passed away of the disease he had been inflicted with. Upon his return, Harith told the story to his father and Ameneh. What was left from Abdollah were five camels, a few sheep and a woman-slave called Omme Ayman who became Mohammad's nurse later on.[10]
With the death of Abdollah, the Prophet of Islam became an orphan even before he was born. He became orphan to recognize the status of the orphan and to take care of Moslems later on. He became orphan to receive more favors from God and to perceive better God's favors.
When Abdollah passed away, Ameneh was not, in fact, lonely. God was with her. The God of Mohammad(s) had not left her alone. The God of the world had not let her alone. This is because Mohammad(s) was to guide the world. Although the death of her husband was a torture to Ameneh, her body felt a great joy by keeping her child inside herself, why? Because she used to hear good news concerning her child. Didn't God order the mother of Moses to put him in a box and to throw the box in the river to let God carry him on the waves of the river? Yes, it was God Who saved the life of Moses the klim(s) in this way. Why the door of God's favors was open to the mother of Moses and not to the mother of Mohammad(s)?
But this door was also open to Mohammad's mother since she continuously received good news from within herself that the child she was carrying was to become the master of all creatures. He would become the torch for humanity and a teacher for man.
O offended lady, be content that you end up lucky. Your child is God's true and genuine substitute on earth. Be happy and rejoice.
Trust God to help him out of any evil. Do not worry since God is his guardian.
Ameneh(s) used to hear sounds and see magnificent manifestation. She was delighted. The time of pregnance was nearing its completion. The chilld was ready to be born and so was prosperity for human kind. Mohammad(s) was getting ready to enter the world.
Ibn Ishaq writes in Syyareye Nabavvieh: Ameneh, the daughter of Wahab, the mother of the Prophet(s), used to say that when she became pregnant with God's messenger she was told: you are pregnant with the master of this Ommat. He was told to utter the following when Mohammad(s) was born:
اُعِيذهُ بِالواحِدِ مِنْ شَرِّ كُلِّ حاسِدٍ.
“I ask God to protect him against any jealousy.”
Based on authentic narrations, Allameh Majlesi, in his precious work Maraatol Oqul, interpretation on Osul Kafi, writes:
The Imamyye Shiites respect the beliefs of Abutalib, Ameneh, and Abdollah Ibn Abdolmotalleb and Mohammad's ancestors upto Hathrat Adam(s).
The symbol for piety, virtue and dignity, Ameneh says: when I received his male seed from Abdollah there was a light which lighted the skies and the earth.
There was famine for consecutive years. But upon the transfer of that male seed to Ameneh it began to rain and people prospered to the degree that that year was called the year of victory.
The year Mohammad(s) was born is called Amol Fil. It was the year when Abraha wanted to attack the kaaba (Mecca) with his many elephants but he and his elephants were completely destroyed.
Mohammad's birthday occurred on the morning of the seventeenth of Rabiol Awall. It is proper to listen to what Ameneh says concerning his birth:
She says: I was worried for several days. I knew he was going to be born. That night pain started. I was alone in my room. I was thinking about my lost husband and my staying in Batha, away from my homeland Yathreb. I was shedding some tears. I decided to call Abdolmotaleb's daughters next to my bed.
Suddenly, I heard a voice. I saw some women gathering together around me, talking about me.
Their voice was so quieting as I forgot about my pain.
I raised my head to see who are gathering around me.
How beautiful they were! How elegant they were. What fragrance they have used. There was light around their faces.
I thought they were Qoreyshi ladies. I wondered how they had entered my room and I did not know who had informed them of the event.
As it was the Arab custom, I cordially asked them where they had come and who they were.
The woman sitting on my right side said: I am Mary, the mother of Christ, Emran's daughter.
The second one introduced herself as Asyeh, the God-believing wife of pharaoh.
The other two women were two angels. A warm and soft hand touched my side. My pain went away. But then there was some eerie felt in the space of the room. Then there was a spiritual light.
In this heavenly light I could see my son in my bosom. He then put his forehead on the ground whispering something. I became delighted.
The three white-clothed creatures had taken my son away from my bosom. I did not know who they were. They were not of Hashem Household. Neither were they Arabs. Maybe they were not even human beings. Btu I was not worried. And I lacked the power to take back my child from them.
These three had brought a tub and an ewer together with a piece of silk, whiter than cloud and very soft. They washed my son in the tub and put a seal between his shoulders. Then they wrapped him in the silk and took him to the heavens.
For several minutes I was speechless. Btu suddenly I was able to shout:
Omme Othman! Omme Othman!
I tried to tell her not to let them carry my son but all of a sudden I saw my beloved son lying in my bosom.[11]
Strange incidents on the birth of Mohammad(s)
It is reported from Imam Sadiq(s) who has said that the Satan used to ascend to the seventh sky listening to the sky news. But when Jesus Christ(s) was born, satan was deprived of three skies. It could ascend only upto the fourth sky. But when Mohammad(s) was born, Satan was prohibited to ascend to any sky.
When Mohammad(s) was born, the Qoraishi said it was the time for the Doom's Day.
When Mohammad(s) was being born, Amr Ibn Omayye who was the wisest at the pre-Islamic time, said: look at the stars which are people's guide in finding their way; if one of them falls, it is time for all creatures to get destroyed.
The day Mohammad(s) was born, every idol in any place of the world collapsed. The kasra veranda shook and fourteen notches of it broke away. The Saveh lake which was worshipped for years just sank and became dry. There was water in the Semaveh desert and the Fars Fire temple which was on for a thousand years was extinguished.
The most learned magus dreamed that night that a camel killed some Arab horses, passed the Tigris River and entered their city. On that night the Kasra Arch broke in the middle. The Tigris Rived broke in to two sectios and there was a castle inside it.
On that night there was a light form Hijaz and spread all over the world reaching the east. Any king throne was overset.
All kings lost their speech on that day. The monks lost their knowledge and the magic of the magicians was not effective any more.
Ameneh says: when my son was born, he put his hands on the floor and raised his head, looking all around. Then there was a light which made everywhere illuminated. Through that light I could see the castles in Damacus. In that light there was an announcer who said: you have given birth to the best perison in the world, call him Mohammad.
It is narrated on page 454, volume one of Osul kafi, on page 302 Rouze Kafe, and on page 297, fifteenth volume of Beharol Anwar: Qhen Mohammad(s) was born, Fatima, Assad's daughter, and Ali's mother came to Aboutaleb with a lot of Joys, informing him of the birth. Abu Talib told her: Are you amazed? You will become pregnant and will give birth to a vizir for him.
The Nicknames, titles and Names of Mohammad(s)
He is the referent for all good and proper nicknames, names and titles.
Obviously every name denotes its referent; it tells about the personality it stands for. It is the habit and custom of people to be unique and distinct from others. This makes communication possible among people. They will in this way recognize one another.
The Nicknames
The prophet's first nickname was Abolqasem.
Prior to his prophethood God gave him a son named Qasem who passed away in Mecca before Prophet's emigration.
God decided that this obedient servant of God enjoy His special favor.
Other nicknames for that Hathrat are Abuttaher and Abuttayyeb. After his Prophethood, God gave him a son named Abdollah, nicknamed as Tayyeb and Taher. Beyond doubt, Mostafa was the basis for cleanliness; his body was clean and his soul void of any sins; his dody and soul were immune against evils. His soul was free from any want except worshipping God. His attention was centered towards God only.
Our beloved Prophet(s) was not only clean both mentally and physically, but was decided to make everyone clean. He did his best to cleanse people's souls. He was determined to clean those ready from their defects and to equip them with high morals.
Years after the Prophet's emigration there was another son for the Prophet(s) called Ibrahim. Thus, the Prophet got the nickname Abu Ibrahim. After the birth of Ibrahim, Jibraeel came to the Prophet to give God's revelation to him. At that moment, Jibraeel used this nickname by saying:
السّلامُ عَلَيكَ يا إبراهِيم.
Who was Ibrahim? He was the son of the Prophet. He died early in life. But
The Prophet had among his anscestors a father called also
Ibrahim. It was Ibrahim, the God's khalil. In the sacred verse 109 of the surah saffat (37) God says:
وَسَلامٌ على إبراهِيم.
“Peace be on Ibrahim”.
Ibrahim Khalil Al-Rahman was a Prophet who was loyal to God and believed in one God and vehemently invited people to monotheism.
It was Ibrahim who, together with his staunch son Ismaeel(s) cleaned kaaba (Mecca) of the idols and made it a place to worship only one God.
Another nickname of the Prophet was Abu Al-Sebtin, since he was the grandfather to Hassanein (Hassan and Hossein), his dearest grandsons. His family foundation was based on these two and his Shariat got light out of these two. They were two significant branches of his life. These two were of comfort to him both here and in the other world. His shariat was strengthened because of these two.
Mohammad(s) was the father of these two. These two founded the tree of velayat and were the speaker for the righteous commandments of Islam.
Two other nicknames of the Prophet(s) were Abol Aramel and Abol Masakin which were appropriate titles for him. His heart was full of affection and his soul was a tidy ocean of generocity. Wherever an orphan existed, he was his father and where there was a poor he helped him out and protected him.
The widows forgot their panic and pain since they were under his protection and the poor were at ease due to his generocity. He was happy when he saw people happy and he felt depressed when he found people in pain.
He was a wise and caring gardener who had come to take care of the world garden. Wherever he observed a broken branch he cared a lot. He preferred assisting the needy to any other thing. This is because he had come to the earth to fulfil his task of helping others. He had come to awaken people to go the right path.
Associating with people kindly and amicably is the method of Mohammad(s).
A true believer always works and with his incomes helps others.
Islam wants us to sincerely worship God and protect others and care for them in accordance with his power since the essence of God's religion is loving the truth and caring for others.
Names
His name was Mohammad(s) which is, after the names of Allah, the most magnificent name.
The word “Mohammad” means “Praised” or “the praiseworthy one”.
The dear Prophet Mohammad(s) has excelled all in his perfection. In knowledge and wholeness he is supreme. In him wisdom, anger, lusts, and desires have all become moderate. He has justice, wisdom, bravery and piety.
Since he has these supreme qualities, he is to be praised by all.
He was a lover of God, a giver of good news. Therefore, he is the most praiseworthy of all creatures.
His other name is Ahmad. He is the substitute of Allah over the earth.
Among people, he deserves praise the most. Anybody who follows him deserves praise as well.
Titles
The Great Prophet(s) has got numerous titles all of which are relevant to his supreme spiritual features.
Among his titles one is Aqeb, meaning he has come after all other Prophets to educate people.
After him nobody will deserve Prophethood since he is the last name in the list and his book is the last one sent from the heaven.
Another one of his titles is khatam, which means he terminates the list of the Prophets. He was also Fateh, meaning he was victorious in his mission. His prophethood was complete and whole. Therefore, his principles and religion do not need any complementizer. This was the very secret of his being the last one.
In accordance with God's commands he declared:
لا نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي.
God has praised him in the Holy Quran through this expression and guided people to realize this fact. God in the fortieth verse of the surah Ahzab (The Allies) refers to him as:
خاتم النَبيّين.
(The Last of the Prophets).
His other names is Hasher since the gathering of people on the day of judgment depends on him. Among mankind anybody who enjoys prosperity owes it to him and therefore praises him.
His arrival was to help God and to propagate monotheism. He therefore annihilated idolatory altogether.
Anybody who listened to him got rid of the satan's mischiefs and entered the divine realm. Therefore, his other name is mahi, one who cancels the evil and annihilates blasphemy. Thus, he is the terminater of prophethood. He is the only one who deserves the names Aqeb, Khatam, Hasher, and Mahi, discussed above.
Since our great leader, Mohammad(s) was of the Arab race, his other name is Arabi. And since his birthplace was Mecca, he was called Makki. And since mecca and the territory in the south west of Hijaz is called Tehame, he has the name Tehami, as well. And since that place is a great desert, it is called Batha; therefore the Prophet's other name is Abtahi. His other names are Yathrebi and Madani since he migrated to Yathreb which is also called Madina. He has also the name Qorashi since he is related to Nather Ibn Kananeh which is also called Qoraish. His other name is Hashemi since his great grandfather was called Hashem. He was also called Motallebi since his grandfather was Abdolmotalleb. His other name was Zohari since his mother was the daughter of Vahab Ibn Abd Menaf Ibn Zohreh.
Our great Prophet(s) was Mostafa, meaning he was perfect. He ws void of any imperfection. He believed in God without any doubt. He was selected by God to guide people. He was always sincere with people and God alike. He was always loyal. Prior to his Prophethood, he was called Amin among people because he was extremely trustable. People could rely on him in their wealth and secrets.
God sent Mohammad Mostafa(s) to the mankind so that we conld follow his way, to be steady in his path till they prosper both here and in the Hereafter.
He was a Prophet of repentence. Since his religion is moderate, and since people enjoy God's favors, due to God's benevolence people are always free to repent from the wrong they had committed and to correct their ways of life. People should know that God forgives and is that he generous and giving. Mohammad(s) was a Prophet of benevolence.
In the verse 107 of surah Anbiya (The Prophets) God has called him:
رَحْمَةٌ لِلعالَمِينَ.
“A mercy to the worlds.” God says:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ.
“And we have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds”
He brought the means for prosperity for many, but there are some wicked souls who did not benefit from his benevolence.
In the Holy Quran we will read that Mohammad(s) was Abdollah because he had earned the lofty position of being God's proper servant.
Attaining the lofty position of being God's sincere servants requires one to destroy his pride and selfishness.
It was mere truth, sincerity and sound reasoning that he came, selected by God, to lead people to the right path, to teach them that this world is but transient and that the other world is eternal, ever-lasting. Thus, the wise ones make the best in this world to prepare the provision for the other world.
Mohammad(s) was God's favor, sent by Him, God's substitute on earth, God's messenger.
He was a genuine believer of God and His shariat; he was loyal to the previous prophets; he was appreciative towards God's assets; and he was a preacher of the Islamic sacred laws.
He was confirmed by Allah.
He was God's special asset; he was kind towards people; he was the morning of prosperity; he was the true dawn; he was the true guide to people; and he was a light for religion and for people.
He was elected by Allah; he was a guide to people; he was the one to be imitated in manners; and he had got pureness from God.
He was a scholar of hidden knowledge; he was thankful towards God's favors; he was extremely patient towards events; he remembered God continuously; he was content with what God had bestowed upon him; he was a genuine judge; he was the leader of people, putting them on the right path; he was the reader of God's Quran.
He was the harbinger of monotheism and prosperity; he was the essence of progress for people.
He was resolute in the right path of shariat and he was infallible.
He was modest, sincere, pious and hard working.
To the last moment of his life he did not refrain from fighting for God. He was zealous to guide people on the right path.
He brought people the good news of God's benevolence and would prohibit people from going astray. He was giving. He forgave people for their wrong-doings.[12]
Upon his birth, Abdolmotalleb asked his daughters Atekeh and Safiyeh to search for a proper nurse for Mohammad(s). They asked the Bani Hashim nursing mothers but he did not suck the breast of anyone of those women.
Abdolmotalleb, extremely depressed, left home to attend kaabe (Mecca) sitting there, thinking.
Now an elderly man from Qoraish, called Aqil Ibn Abi Waqqas, came upto Abdolmotalleb, asking him the reason for his worries. Abdolmotalleb said: O sheikh of Qoraish, my newly-born nephew does not suck any woman's breast; therefore I can not eat or drink anything. I do not know what to do. Aqil said: Among Qoraish women I know one who is called Halimeh, the daughter of Abdolah Ibn Al-Harith, who is unique in honesty and status. Upon hearing this, Abdolmotalleb sent a servant towards the tribe of Bani Sa'ad Ibn Bakr, in the vicinity of Mecca, asking for Abdollah Ibn Harith.
The servant brought Abdollah Ibn Harith to Abdolmotalleb within a short period of time. Now the elderly men of Qoraish were gathering around him. Upon seeing him, Abdolmotalleb showed him a lot of respect, telling him: I have sent for you to let your daughter breast-feed my nephew if you permit her to. If he accepts your daughter's milk, I will make you and your tribe wealthy.
Upon hearing this, Abdollah became extremely delighted and left there swiftly to announce the good news to his daughter.
Halimeh performed the ceremony of ablution and put on her nice fragrance and put on elegant dress and came to Abdolmotalleb with his father and husband.
Her right breast had dried for years; therefore, she put her left breast into Mohammad's mouth. But he did not pay attention to her left breast; he would prefer the right one. She finally put Mohammad's mouth onto right breast, telling him: my dearest, this part is dry. But upon touching the right breast by Mohammad's mouth, milk started to pour out. Halimeh and others became puzzled. That generous woman said: O my beloved son; your work is strange. I swear to God my twelve children all were fed with my left breast; none of them was fed by the right one.
Abdolmotalleb became extremely delighted and told Halimeh: If you stay with us, I will offer you a thousand Derhams a month plus a Roman dress plus thirty kilos of bread and meat. But Halimeh refused Abdolmotalleb's offer.
Abdolmotalleb then said: now that you wish to return to your own residence I will entrust my son to you on two conditions:
My first condition is that you should respect him to the extreme and you should take good care of him. Halimeh answered; I swear to God as soon as I saw him I immediately loved him, so you do not have to recommend anything.
Abdolmotalleb's second condition was that Halimeh should bring back the child each Friday because he could not tolerate being away from the son for a long time.[13]
The desert-dwelling Arabs and the Bani Sa'ad tribe well remembered three years of famine on their land, having received no rain. Their cattle were on the verge of destruction, as a result.
But on the day when Halimeh started breast-feeding the child (Mohammad) conditions started to change drastically.
Suddenly the clouds gathered above and started pouring rain. The ground became green and the sheep's breasts were filled with mild. Not only did Bnne Sa'ad tribe get rid of draught but the other tribes became prosperous as well. The poorest tribe became the richest.
Mohammad's maturation was amazing as well. When he was four years of age, he could accompany his foster brother, zamreh to the desert, grazing the cattle. He loved the job of a shepherd.
The previous prophets, too, were fond of the job of a shepherd. Each one of them was a shepherd for some time. They, in fact, practice guiding animals prior to guiding human beings.
Among the Prophet we know, Ibrahim and his sons Ishaq and Ismael, Moses and Jesus Christ(s) each had the dress of a shepherd on for a while till they changed this dress into the dress of prophethood and started guiding people.
The Bani Sa'ad tribe in general, and Halimeh in particular, noticed strange things in this Hashemi child.
Examples for these strange behaviors were his unusual maturation and growth, his adult-like speech, and his divine meaningful silence.
On the day when he wanted to go to the desert with his brother zomreh, Halimeh took his hand and led him to her tent and combed his blach, curly hairs, putting some collyrium on his eyes and let him wear a necklace consisting of some engraved beads.
Looking at the beads, Mohammad(s) asked: what are these?
This is talisman
What is its use?
The bearer of it is immune against the evils of jinns and Ens.
Laughingly, Mohammad tore the necklace, saying:
I have somebody who will protect me against all evils. I would not need this necklace.[14]
أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَى وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى وَوَجَدَكَ عَائِلًا فَأَغْنَى.
“Did He not find you an orphan and give you shelter? And find you lost (i.e. unrecognized by men) and guide them to you? And find you in want and make you to be free from want? 93:6-8”
Halimeh Sa'adieh breast-fed Mohammad(s) for two years and took care of him for five years and then returned him to Ameneh and Abdolmotalleb.
From the day when Ameneh lost her generous husband she was looking forward to going to Medina to pay tribute to her husband's tomb and to pay a visit to her relatives.
She started her trip to Medina with Mohammad(s) and a kind woman called Omme Imen. She stayed there for a month. She met her husband's tomb and her relatives. However, the trip to this city and the house reminded Mohammad of his father. So he was extremely depressed. Another distressing factor for Mohammad was the loss of his mother on the way back at a place called Abwa'.
Omme Imen took the orphan to Mecca and delivered him to his honorable grandfather Abdolmotalleb.
Now the third disaster occurred to Mohammad(s): his honorable grandfather, too, passed away. He kept crying at the funeral.
Prior to his death, Abdolmotalleb asked his beloved son Abutalib to take care of Mohammad(s). Abdollah, the father of Mohammad, and Abutalib both shared a mother.
Abutalib, the father to Imam Ali(s) acted as a kind father to the Prophet(s). The hardships Abutalib endured were unique.
But the conditions at Abutalib and Abdolmotalleb time were different.
Abdolmotalleb who and high politico-social standard among his people and reigned Batha like a throne-less king, could easily protect Mohammad(s). But Abutalib lacked such a power to protect Moahmmad(s).
As Mohammad(s) became oldr, the number of his enemies increased as well.
Abutalib was extremely worried about Mohammad's life so much so that when he wanted to head toward Damascus for trade, he had to take his beloved nephew with him.
This trip of Mohammad(s) sent the first wave of monotheism among the idols and idolators of Mecca.
On this trip, the secrets which were hidden to people of Mecca and even to Abutalib were disclosed. The burden of protecting Mohammad(s) was now becoming heavier and heavier each day on Abutalib's shoulders.
The Qoraish went to trade two seasons out of four seasons of the year. As the Quran says (106:2):
رِحْلَةَ الشِّتَاءِ وَالصَّيْفِ.
During the winter they used to take the produce of Damascus to Yemen and during the summer they took the Yemeni produce to Damascus.
During that summer in Hijaz, the caravan was passing the Batha Sands. However, the heat did not hurt Mohammad at all Since there was a piece of cloud over his head during this trip.
God, through his benevolence, had established this piece of cloud over the caravan for their protection against the desert heat because of one person. Nobody knew why this extreme heat had become tolerable. Why does it have a spring-like flavor to it?
Travelling on the Hijaz desert during summer is completely hard and at times hazardous. It couses sun-burning poisoning and other disturbances.
But the weather of Damascus and syrina during summer is not biting; rather, it is soul-freshening. Carvans from Mecca to Syria usually suffer a lot of headships: but it was not the case this time.
On this trip nobody got sick; nobody was hurt with heat. The camels, under their heavy loads, dancingly walked; they behaved as though they had come from pastures.
One of the merchants from Bani Thaqif, known as Jandab, repeated the expression: “What a blessed journey?” several times.
In the Bani Sa'ad tribe they called Mohammad a “blessed one” because they could vividly nothice that Ale Sa'ad had risen from the ashes of poverty onto the gold of prosperity by Mohammad(s).
Some eyes secretly watched Mohammad(s), but he was, as usual, deep in his thoughts. Finally, they reached Damascus. There they could see trees, flowers and green pastures.
Every body rejoiced; everybody was smiling; they went forward; they passed the fertile lands.
The Amazing Story of Bahira, the Monk
The Qoraish caravan was heading forward when from distance the city of Bosra appeared with all its glories. But fro the Mecca caravan the city was not that important. So they decided to stay next to the village of Bahira, six kilometers away from the city.
For years, in a temple, next to the village of Bahira, there was an old monk worshipping God. He was a Christian. He was not only a pious man, but a learned man, as well.
This man was knowledgeable in different religions and was aware of social changes. They said even he could predict people's future because of the ascetism he had gone through.
This monk was called Serjius and was living in a temple next to the village of Bahira; he was extremely pious.
Only God knows what he was thinking on the previous night because when he woke up the following day he was a completely different person.
He sometimes left the temple looking at the distance. It was as though he were waiting to see a traveler.
At the mid-day there was a weak stretch of dust in the distance. It was clear that a caravan was coming from Hijaz to Damascus. Serjius was looking at the sky instead of the road.
The caravan was getting nearer and closer and the dust was becoming thicker and darker. Finally the caravan rested beside a pasture aay from the road.
The monk now focused on the caravan. He was not aware that his servant, too, was watching the caravan.
- It is you?
- Yes, your reverend
- Did you watch the Qoraishi caravan?
- Yes, it is a big one.
The lip of serjius trembled a little and then said:
- Yes, very big. Bigger than befor.
After a minute, he said:
- Tell the masters of Arab to be my guests tonight.
The serrant got close to the caravan and greeted the merchants. Then he conveyed the monk's message in the following manner:
“Tonight the Arab lords are our guests at the temple.”
These merchants who had passed this path many times in the past had never been treated so elegantly and had never heard such a nice title before.
What does it mean? Who is the Arab lord among us, they wondered.
They accepted the monk's invitation, each one feeling pride in being called a Lord.
They wanted to go to the Last member because they did not want to lose the title of Lord.
Thus, the monk had invited the Lords. Anybody who did not attend the ceremony was not considered a Lord. Thus the issue that night was not haring dinner on the table of a generous Christian; rather, the title “Lord” was at stake.
Everybody was to attend the party. But what about the merchandise. They could not trust the slaves, not the camel driver. Was it advisable to leave everything unprotected and attend the meeting?
What was to be done? Who is the one who is man enough to sacrifice being not Lord and stay with the merchandise?
They looked at each other for a solution. But nobody dared to ask the other to stay with the merchandise.
But suddenly everybody's eyes fell on Mohammad(s).
Trustworthy, trustworthy!
This was the first time Mohammad(s) got the title “trustworthy”. He would stay with the merchandise. He had made up his mind.
Abtalib furiously cried: My nephew is the Lord of Lord. He must attend the party of Serjius.
But Mohammad(s) sadi: No, my dear uncle. I prefer to stay next to the merchandise.
Nobody could believe his ears. How is it possible for a Qorashi youth, a Hashemi raised by Abdlomotalleb to show this degree of sacrifice and grace?
Serjius has asked the Arab Lord to attend his party. For a young man, this is a good charce. If he loses this chance, he will never get it again. At what Juncture could he then receive such a title?
They asked him: why don't you want to attend, dear?
He answered: let me stay alone. I will both keep your merchandise and think. When the wealthy Arabs sqw that the issue of guarding the merchandise was solved, they became delighted. They put on their constly clothes and headed for the temple.
The sun had not yet set in the water of the Mediteranean sea and the monk was standing at the entrance of the temple waiting for the guests. He saw the merchants. He looked up at the sky. Where was the piece of cloud, he asked himself.
The guests arrived and greeted him. He answered them in the usual manner. Then he welcomed them and asked them: Didn't my servant convey me invitation?
Yes, he invited us to be your guests.
Didn't he ask everybody to attend?
Yes, he did so.
Serjius then said sorrowfully: it seems not everybody is present now, however.
One Qoraish impolite man said: only an orphan stayed there to watch the merchandise.
Abutalib's hand touched his sword: you rascal. I would not tolerate these idle talking. Mohammad is not an orphan. He is a trustworthy person.
The monk was embarrassed. Others interfered and the issue was solved. They explained to the monk that there was a Youngman with them and since he was trustworthy they asked him to watch the caravan in their absence while they are here.
The monk became happy and asked them: will you accept my guarantee of your merchandise? I will guarantee to compensate any loss to your merchandise. Then go and get him.
They were sitting eating when the eyes of serjius fell on that piece of cloud. He saw the cloud was moving over the head of Mohammad(s). then Mohammad(s) arrived.
The monk, who was extremely puzzled, was staring at Mohammad, telling him: come nearer, I want to see you better.
The Arabs were busy eating bread and meat. Only Abutalib was carefully listening to the monk's words:
- What is your name?
- Mohammad.
The monk waited a little and repeated the name Mohammad several times. Then he asked:
- From which tribe?
- From Qoraish.
- From which family?
- From Ale Hashim Ibn Abd Manaf.
- Why didn't you want to attend my party?
- I had accepted to guard the merchandise. Becides, I preferred to be alone.
- What to do in private?
- To think, to watch the skies, the stars, and the world.
- What are you thinking on?
Mohammad stayed silent. The monk repeated his question. Then he said he wanted to see Mohammad more.
- I am in front of you, see me.
- I want to see between your shoulders.
- I let you do that.
The monk went behind Mohammad. The merchants now had become curious. What was the old man to see?
Serjius turned down Mohammad's shoulders as if he were studying a sacred book. Then he told himself: it is him.
Abutalib, who was silent upto this moment, asked: What do you mean?
The monk replied: this is the one who is mentioned by Christ to come after him.
The monk then asked Abutalib: what is your relation with this youth?
- He is my son.
- It is not so.
- Why isn't it so?
- Because he should be an orphan.
The smile went off Abutalib's lips. How did you know he is an orphan? Yes, he is orphan; he is my nephew.
- Then take care he remains anonymous. Do you understand, O Arab Lord? If the jews find out who he is, they will kill him.
- What wrong has he done that you fear they might kill him?
The monk was pre-occupied. After a while he answered;
His future, what he will produce, those events which will occur to him.
Abutalib asked: Do you know that his future is hidden.
- I have read in the sacred writing on his shoulders what was readable and I have heard from the white cloud that was over his head what I should hear. What else am I supposed to say?
After some silence: let us eat some meat and bread.[15]
The youth of the Messenger of God included three phases: being a shepherd, engaging in trade, and serving his people.
It is narrated from the Prophet(s): there is no Prophet who has not served as a shepherd. People asked him: O Messenger of God, Even you? Yes, he answered.
In another narration, in answer to the above question, the Prophet(s) answered: Yes, I have engaged in the act of shepherding for the people in Qararit.
Abu salamat Ibn Abdol Rahman narrates that a group of people brought some fruits from Arak for the Prophet(s). He said: collect the darker ones since I did the same thing when I was a shepherd. They asked him: were you ever a shepherd? He answered? He answered: Yes, and there is no Prophet who has not been a shepherd.
When he was 24 years old, the Prophet(s) used to lead a herd of cattle to the desert like Moses.
The Prophet(s) picked up the job of a shepherd so that he could one day rescue this herd of men who are miserable and who are under the pressures of the wolves of lust, anger, injustice, lies and the illegal actions.
Mohammad(s), while living in his uncle's house, acted as a shepherd.
Then his uncle complained: this is not a lucrative job. Mohammad(s) looked amicable at his uncle, asking him: what else am I supposed to do?
Abutalib answered: the same job that your ancestors were engaged in: that is the trade, my dear And then he made the suggestion: Khadijeh is one of the wealthiest merchants in city. Her trade extends to Egypt and Ethiopia. She is looking for a trustworthy man to entrust in him her trade. My dear son, intratuce yourself to her.
But the Prophet's self-esteem and moral high status made it difficulf for him to go straight to Khadijeh and make the suggestion. So he told his uncle: Maybe she will send for me. This happened incidentally. And she sent somebody to ask Mohammad(s) for discussion. Khadijeh told him: what has made me fond of you is your honesty and trustworthyness. I am ready to pay you twice as others and I will appoint to you two slaves of mine to be at your service.
The Prophet(s) discussed his meeting with Khadijeh with hisuncle. His uncle said: this is a means of the life God has prepared for you.
The Qoraish caravan was ready to move. Khadijeh's merchandise was with this caravan. She gave Mohammad(s) a fast camel together with precious articles and asked his two slaves to obey Mohammad(s) wholeheartedly.
The caravan reached its destination. The merchandise was sold and Mohammad(s) made more profits than others. He also bought some goods from Tehameh.
In this voyage, Mohammad passed the Land of Ad and Thamud for the second time. The abominable silence which governed that unyielding people led him more to the other world. Furthermore, he remembered the days when he crossed the desert with his uncle. The caravan got close to Mecca. Addressing Mohammad(s), Meysareh told him: It is better for you to arrive at Mecca letting Khadijeh know of the big profit we have made this year. The Propeht(s) found Khadijeh in her pavilion. She welcomed him and asked him enter the pavilion. He told Khadijeh all about Mohammad's grandeur on this trip. Meysareh added:
When we reached Bothra, Mohammad and I sat under a tree. There was a monk there called Nastura. He said: nobody sits under this tree except for the Prophet. Then he asked me if I except for the Prophet. Then he asked me if I could see any red spots in Mohammad's eyes. I said yes. He said: He is the last Prophet of God.
Meysareh continued: once in bargaining there was some agument between Mohammad and a merchant. The merchant said: you swear to Lot and Ozza, then I will accept your words. But Mohammad(s) replied: To me the most wicked creatures are Lot and Ozza which you worship.[16]
Twenty years prior to Mohammad's Prophethood, a man arrived in Mecca, in the month of Zelqa'adah, with a merchandise. Ath Ibn Vael bought it but refused to pay the due price. There was a quarrel between them. That man saw the Qoraish men sitting next to kaaba. He started moaning and sang some songs. He excited those men with pride. Now Zobeyr Ibn Abdolmotalleb rose and some men followed suit and gathered at the house of Abdollah Ibn Jadan and vowed to protect the oppressed ones.
When the meeting was over, they came to Ath Ibn Vael and took the goods away he had bought and returned it to its original owner.
Mohammad(s) was one of the participants in this meeting, which secured the rights of the oppressed. About the significance of this contract he said:
“At the home of Abdollah Jad'an I observed a pact. If today (the days of Prophethood) I had been invited to it, I would have participated without any delay. I would not break my promise even if I received the most precious assets.
Mohammad's entry into this contract gave it such a momentum and significance that everybody was obliged to carry out its articles. This pact came to be known as Helfol Fozul.
The witness to this happened at the governorship of valid Ibn Ontabeh, the nephew of Mo'avieh Ibn Abu Sofyan, who had been appointed by the latter as the governor of Medina.
Imam Hossein(s), who never accepted injustice all his life, got into dispute with the governor of Medina over a piece of territory. In order to break the foundations of injustice, Imam(s) told the governor:
If you do me injustice, I swear to God I will draw my sword and will stay at the Mosque of the Messenger of God and invite people to the contract to which their ancestors vowed to stay loyal. Then Abdolah Ibn Zobeir rose and repeated the same sentence and added that they would rise and carry out justice or they would prefer to die.
Hossein Ibn Ali's invitation was accepted by all brave men like Mesvar Ibn Makhrameh and Abdol Rahman Ibn Othman who came to assist Hossein(s). The governor got frightened and quit his unjust dealing.
Khadigeh's great soul and her chastity and virtues could not be expressed in words.
It was destined for Mohammad(s) to have a unique wife through whom he could have a daughter such as Fatima who was to become the mother to eleven Infallible Imams to continue the culture of truth upto the Doom's Day.
Khadijah had already heard about Mohammad's human characteristics but the descrittion of Meysareh, the slave, of Mohammad(s) at the end of their voyage brought khadijah's heart closer to him.
My lady: you do not know what a nice man Amin (Mohammad) is. He is just great! He is kind! He is a true gentleman! His face, his manners, his speech, his stature, his kindness are extra-ordinary. He was my master, but he talked to me like a brother. He used to help me. He nursed the camels with me. I have stories to tell about this man. I have seen strange things of him. On the journey two of our camels became sick. I became upset, but he smiled at me, trying to comfort me. He went upto the camels, he touched them. They rose as if they had got rejouvinated by his touch.
Meysarah continued to describe Mohammad(s) and Khadijeh listened carefully. Now Khadijeh was not listening any more since she had connected with Mohammad, the Amin, directly through her thoughts. She and Amin had now common grounds in cleanliness and virtues. Now there was no need for Meysarah to talk. She said: stop talking. You have made my love towards him twice. You and your spouse are free to go. I will also pay you tow hundred Derhams plus two horses plus a costly dress.
Khadijeh then told Varaqe Ibn Nofel, the wise one, what she had heard. He replied to her that the owner of such traits should be a prophet.
The Islamic scholars have written on Khadijeh, this superb human-being in the following words. “Khadijeh is one of the most virtuous women of the paradise”. Sheikh Saduq reports from the Great Prophet(s).
“The paradise is fond of four women: Marium, Assyieh, Khadijeh and Fatima. Khadijeh was the first woman who accepted Mohammad as a Prophet(s).”
One day there were some people visiting Khadijeh. Among the vistitors there was one jewish scholar. Accidentally, Mohammad(s) passed by. The scholar asked Khadijah to take part in their meeting for a while. The jewish scholar asked Mohammad to let him observe the signs of Prophethood on his face. The Amin (Mohammad) accepted. Khadijeh told the scholar: If his uncles become aware of your curiosities about him, they will become upset since they fear the jews might hurt him.
The jewish scholar replied: It is impossible to hurt Mohammad since he is being trained and protected by God to guide people. Khadijeh asked him: How do you know? He said: I have seen the signs of the Prophet at the End of Time. Among his signs are that he has lost his both parents and his uncle takes care of him and marries a woman of Qoraish. Then he pointed to Khadijeh, telling him: How lucky is a woman who becomes his wife!
One night Khadijeh saw in her drams that a burning sun turned round over the city of Mecca and then came down to her house. She described her dream to Varaqa. He said: you will marry a man who will become famous all over the world.
These facts together with Khadijeh's own pureness, cleanliness, health, virtue and piety which had kept her safe from the customs of the pre-Islamic era, caused her to make a proposal of marriage to Mohammad(s).
Mohammad(s), in his free time, used to go to the Mountain of Hara next to the cave, thinking and contemplating on the creation. It had become clear to him that everything except God is perishable. He had separated himself from everything and had joined God.
Mohammad(s) got himself involved in various activities: he was a shepherd, and a gardener; he drew water from the wells, he fed the camels and the sheep and he used to take care of the date-trees.
Whatever jobs they recommended he would carry out, paying the wages he received to his uncle to relieve him of his hardships.
The uncle was content with his nephew, who was a reminder of his dead-brother. Something ambiguous worried him. He asked himself: what should be done? What is wrong?
Through a woman called Nafiseh, the wise, pious and honorable Khadijeh sent her proposal to Mohammad(s). The Prophet discussed the proposal with his uncles. Finally, the marriage with the marriage portion of five hundred Derhams took place.
When the marriage ceremony was held with the participation of the relatives of the both sides, Abutalib read the following sermon:
“All praise is due to God who put us among Ibrahim and Ismaeel offsprings and made us the bases of Ma'ad, and the tribe of Mozar and the keeper of Kaaba and chose us a house to which everybody wishes to attend. That is the place of security. Thanks to Him for letting us govern this territory.
You have known Mohammad(s). He has proposed to Khadijeh, the daughter of Khoild, and has paid her marriage portion from my possessions. I swear to God this is a huge event.”
Khadijeh was a chaste, kind and sincere woman. She was wise and intelligent. She had told Mohammad that she loved him and she was sincere.
By her action, Khadijeh on the surface, belittled herself by marrying an orphan. But deep inside she was aware that she had raised her spiritual status upto the heavens.
The wealthy and proud women of Qoraish stopped communicating with her. The girls who were around her day and night stopped seeing her. But she did not care a bit.
This learned lady acted as an advisder to Mohammad(s). She was the only woman who got this status in Mohammad's life. She spent about forty million gold coins of her wealth in spreading Mohammad's ideology. Upto her death she was Mohammad's Only wife and after her death this dignity was enough for her.
The Prophet(s) loved Khadijeh after her death as much as he did when she was alive. This caused Ayeshe use sarcasm on several occasions.
Ayeshe says: we had slaughtered a sheep. The Prophet(s) sent some portions of it to Khadijeh's old friends. Mohammad remembered Khadijeh so dearly that I became jealous. I told him: O Messenger of God, You count no woman in this world except Khadijeh.
The Prophet(s) became silent. This silence of his made a fire inside me. I asked him: Isn't it enoygh to talk of a gray-haird old lady? Thank God after her you have had young girls as wives. I felt he became angry and said:
“That is enough, Ayeshe. When Khadijeh loved me I had nobody to care for me. When she confirmed my Prophethood, others denied me. On those days when I was poor, her wealth helped me. Above all, I have Fatima from her.”
When Khadijeh was alive, she was a true friend to the Prophet(s). When in trouble from the infidels, he relied on Khadijeh for comfort.
The three-year-long compulsory stay at Abutalib's Sha'ab and her problems due to her loneliness made Khadijeh ill. Her only friend was Mohammad(s) since all the Qoraish women had left her because of her marriage to Mohammad.
The lady who was once the queen of Qoraish and the master of Hijaz, and who was the envy of all women was extremely lonely.
The lady, whose business was the most lucrative one in the Arab trade world, rested on a mat now at her death. There were nobody around him except his honorable husband and her small daughter, Fatima. Her other two daughters, Zeinab and Roqayya were not in Mecca that day.
Little by little, her breathing became harder and harder. The Prophet(s) ordered others to take Fatima out of the room and he took Khadijah's skinny hands in his own hands.
For the last moment of her life, Khadijeh opened her eyes and saw the Prophet's eyes filled with tears. She said:
O Prophet of God, be content with me.
The Prophet replied: I hope my God, too, is satisfied with you. Khadijeh then asked: Where is Fatima?
Don't worry about her. Your God will protect her.
My God is a good guardian. That would be enough.
Then, the Prophet leaned over Khadijeh and said: Now, Jibraeel revealed onto me and sends God's greetings to you. Khadijeh, becoming extremely satisfied, said:
اِنَّ اللهَ هُوَ السّلامُ وَمِنْهُ السّلامُ وَإلَيهِ يَعودُ السّلامُ وَعَلى جَبرائِيلَ وَعَلَيكَ يا رَسُولَ اللهِ السّلامُ.
On her last berath, she witnessed to the uniqeness of God and to the Prophethood of Mohammad and left world for ever.
When Mohammad(s) was thirty five years of age, he took part in the rebuilding of kaaba and Qoraish tribe was content with his decision.
The reason for the reconstruction of Kaaba was stated by Ibn Abbas and Mohammad Ibn Jabir Ibn Mo'tam as the Followinf: Flood which came from The surrounding mountains entered the Kaaba and sometimes over flew it. The Qoraish were worried it might get ruined.
The height of Kabba was a little more than one's stature. The Qoraish wanted to make it taller and build a roof over it. But they did not want to destroy the building. But after the treasure of the Kaaba was stolen, they decided to rebuild it.
When everybody was ready for the rebuilding and reconstructing of kaaba, Abu Vahab Ibn Amr Ibn A'ez Ibn Omran Ibn Makhzum, who was the uncle of Prophet's father tore away a piece of the stone of kaabe which then fell down and stood in its place. Addressing the Qoraishi, he said: you should not use any illegal money in building this house.
While they had decided to rebuild the kaaba, people were frightened to destroy it. So they postponed their activity. But valid said: I will start this job. Taking an axe in his hand and standing over the wall of kaaba, he said: O God, you know our intention is right. Please protect us from going astray. Then he ruined part of Kaaba.
People waited that night to see what could happen to Valid. They said: if he is dead, we will not ruin the kaaba any more and will restore the ruined part. If nothing happens, it shows God is happy with us and will continue with our work. The following day Valid resumed his work. People, too, helped him since they reached the bases Ibrahim had laid.
Then, they were ready to collect stones for the kaaba. The Prophet(s), too, carried the stones. When the building reached the stage where the black stone. Should be fixed, there were disagreement among Qoraish tribes. Each tribe wanted to fix it by their own. The dispute became severe and they were ready to fight.
The Qoraish tribes waited for four or five nights and then gathered in the mosque to discuss the issue.
The eldest man of Qoraish, Abu Omayye Ibn Moqayreh, said: O Qoraish, let the first person who enters the mosque decide what to do. Now, Mohammad(s), enters the mosque. When they waw him, they said: this is Mohammad, the trustworthy, we will accept his decision. When Mohammad was close, they told him the story. He spread his cloak over the ground and put the stone on it and then said: one man should come from the four Qoraish tribes and four of them should hold the cloak and raise it. They did so and the Prophet(s) put the stone in its proper location. In this way, the Great Prophet stopped blood-shed through his wisdom, and intellect.
The Magnificent Event of Prophethood
The history of creation, no doubt, has not seen any event more magnificent, greater, more honorable and more profitable than that of the Porphethood of Mohammad(s).
In this great event, the foundations were laid for the mental, spiritual, and intellectual growth of man. The bases for the growth of sciences and man's great civilization were founded through this event. An unextinguishable light began to glitter in the heart of darkness and an unvanishable sun began to shine from the horizon.
As it is stated in the last verse of the sacred surah of Baqarah:
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ.
“The apostle believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord”, that Hathrat, son the on the twenty seventh of the month of Rajab accepted the revelation with complete assurance, quiet and peace of mind. Through his acceptance of the revelation, he resumed the act of awakening the ignorance-stricken world prior to the advent of Islam.
The historians have claimed that after the descent of Jibraeel to Mohammad, he returned home, and being in doubt whether it was revelation or something else, he informed Khadijeh of the event and she assured him that he was the Prophet of the Ommat. Historians claim that Khadijeh then went to Varqa, who assured her that Mohammad was the Prophet. They also claim that Adas, the jew, too confirmed Mohammad's Prophethood till Mohammad became quiet. Nothing can be more wrong than the above claims, however. These claims are in contradiction with the verses of the Holy Quran. It seems they are the fabrications of the jews of those days whose crimes are not hidden from anybody's sight. I am amazed why the Sunni scholars and some Shiite simple-hearted learned ones level this sort of accusation against Islam.
Is it not the general belief that Mohammad(s) is superior to all angels, Ins and jinns alike? We read in the Holy Quran that the position of Prophethood was bestowed upon Yahya when he was but a child. We read in the Holy Quran that upon his birth, Jesus Christ stated the principles of God's religion. This is even more true in the case of Mohammad(s) who is the last Prophet and from whose heart the Holy Quran rose and shone in those dark years.
These writers would not have committed these errors, however, if they had referred to their wisdom, the Holy Quran, Nahjolbalaqa and Divine knowledge for more verification.
Imam Asqari(s) has stated:
“When the Prophet(s) was forty years old, God found his heart the best, the most obedient, and the greatest of all hearts. Therefor, He bestowed upon his eyes a greater light. Then God ordered the doors of the sky to open and let huge groups of angels come over the earth. Mohammad(s) was surrounded by God's favors from every direction. Then Gabriel revealed himself to him. Shaking Mohammad's arm, he said: O Mohammad: Read. Mohammad(s) asked: what should I read?”
What Mohammad(s) had in view was: should I read to you the verses of the creation, or the verses of souls or the verses of the Holy Quran?
Gabriel answered:
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ.
“Read in the name of your Lord who created. He created man from a clot. Read and your Lord is most honorable, who taught to write with a pen, Taught man what he knew not. 96:1-5”
The revelation started with the following basec issues: the reading of the secrets of creation, the reading of God's names and attributes, the issue of pen, the issue of education and the issue of learning. These five issues are the very foundation of all divine and human knowledge and of the growth and the evolution of human wisdom.
Upon the return of the angels to heaven, Mohammad(s) left the Hara Mountain for Mecca. Every stone and tree that he passed by conveyed their respect to him and told him in their specific language:
السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يا نَبِيّ اللهِ، السَّلامُ عَلَيْكَ يا رَسُولَ اللهِ.
When he returned home, the rays of the light in his face illuminated the house. Khadijeh asked: What is this light in your face? Mohammad(s) replied: This is the light of the Prophethood. Say:
لا إلهً إلاّ اللهُ، مُحَمَّدٌ رَسُولُ اللهِ4.
Then Khadijeh witnessed to Mohammad's Prophethood and sincerely believed in him.[17]
Then Mohammad(s) told khadijah: I feel extremely cold. Cover me with more clothes. When she put a blanket over him, he went to sleep. Once again the angel of revelation was revealed to him, saying:
يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ قُمْ فَأَنذِرْ وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ.
“O you who are clothed. Arise and warn, and your Lord do magnify. 74:1-3”
The Prophethood of Mohammad(s) was an answer to man's all spiritual, material, and worldly needs. It was a panacea for man's mental, spiritual and physical pains. Now nobody could resort to any excuse anymore.
The point at issue here is that we are human beings by nature; therefore, man looks for quietness and peace of mind. All we do in life is to arrive at such an objective. Of course, sometimes we commit errors in selecting the best path of action. Unfortunately, we will realize our errors when we do not have any more chances left.
Now, if we wish to turn into real human beings, we have to be alert and not to waste our precious time and follow these true leaders' light. We should take the axe and destroy the doors of whims and unnatural desires and make our souls free.
We should stop procrastinating our affairs. We should make our provisions for our future. We should benefit from our beloved Prophet(s).
In adjusting ourselves to the acts of the leaders of Monotheism, we should put forth our best efforts so that we could get free from our lust-ridden actions and return to the heavenly traits of those great leaders.
It is time for us to decide to stay on the path of perfection. We should not fall prey to Shaitan's ways, however.
The world at the time of Prophethood was a strange world. It is shown in the verses of the Holy Quran and narrations and in history that the world was empty of right ideas and good morals.
At that time idolatary in its different disguises and forms, the governaments of superestitions, illogical ideology, moral vices, wrong-doings, tyranny by the despotic leaders, prostitution, and evil-doings all prevailed.
At that time, there was no security and ease of mind. There was no sign of spirituality, honesty, humanity, or loyalty.
At that time only lusts, anger, meanness, debauchery, hypocrisy, and stupidity and burying girls alive were rules of the day.
On such a day, God selected Mohammad(s) to free the world, through the teachings of the Holy Quran, from the evil-doings and to open to man the doors of prosperity.
Mohammad(s) in the Mirror of the Holy Quran
A great part of the Holy Quran deals with the making known of the Great Prophet's objectives. It would be impossible to mention and interpret all those verses of the Holy Quran which deal with this significant issue. Here we will select only some samples to make known some aspects of that Divine personality and his aims.
هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ بِالْهُدَى وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ.
“He it is Who sent His apostle with guidance and the religion of truth, that He might cause it to prevail over all religions, though the polytheists may be averse. 9:33”
The religion of truth is a collection of true, correct, and logical principles and ideas: it is a belief in the Almighty God, Prophethood, the Imamate of Imams; it is a belief in the angels, the Holy Quran, the Doom's Day; it is a belief in good morals and ethical principles which will lead to man's prosperity.
Then the Great Prophet(s) was appointed by Allah as a prophet to propagate and spread these three principles among people in order for them to go the right path and abstain from going astray.
God's guidance in its natural form prevails everywhere and finds its manifestation in the rule-governed activities of man. If a man is outside this circle of guidance, he readily would get corrupt and would carry out corruption. He would instantly be deprived of God's favors. For this very reason, God elected His Prophet(s) to bring forth a true religion to make His servants benefit from it.
The great differences that exist between those trained in the true school of Islam and those who have been deprived of such a training is so clear as to need no explanation.
Those who are equipped with the religion of truth possess a clean heart filled with affection and love towards God and will remain completely healthy. They possess, in general, ethical values and in the words of the Holy Quran, are a source of favors, generosity, piety and proper actions.
But those who are away from the religion of truth possess the hearts of the wolves, the spirits of the wicked, and the organs of the beasts. Their activities are negative, their existence is harmful and their presence is nuisance. They do nothing but destroy other people's rights and do harm to others in general.
The one who is away from the right path will not see any hindrance in carrying out actions involving injustice, deception, treachery, lying and leveling accusation, and engaging in theft, debauchery, jealousy, and accumulating wealth. He is deep inside these vices and is deprived of all phases of honesty, health, loyalty, assisting others, piety, manhood, seeking the truth, struggle against injustice, and generosity, all of which are the results of not believing in the true religion of God.
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ إِنَّا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ شَاهِدًا وَمُبَشِّرًا وَنَذِيرًا وَدَاعِيًا إِلَى اللَّهِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَسِرَاجًا مُنِيرًا .
“O Prophet! Surely We have sent you as a witness, and as a bearer of good news and as a warner and as one inviting to Allah by His permission, and as a light-giving torch. 33:45-46 »
In all his activities and sayings, the Prophet(s) is always a witness of God for people
As we see in the twenty first verse of the sacred surah of Ahzab (The Allies), the Great Prophet(s) of Islam is a good sample for humanity upto the Doom's Day.
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا.
“Certainly you have in the Apostle of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the latter day and remembers Allah much. 33:21”
The most generous Prophet of Islam used to say:
مَنْ أحْيى سُنَّتِي فَقَدْ أحْياني، وَمَن أحْياني كانَ مَعِي فِي الجنّةِ.
“One who enlivens my ways of life has kept me alive and one who keeps me alive will enter the paradise with me.”
Imam Sadiq(s) has said: I do not like to see a Moslem leave this world having not carried out the Prophet's ways of life at least once.
We see in a narration:
خَيْرُ السُّنَنِ سُنَّةُ مُحَمَّدٍ صلّى اللهُ عَلَيهِ وَآلِهِ.
The best ways of life are those adopted by God's Prophet(s).
Why? This is because the Great Prophet(s) was directly and indirectly raised up in God's ways. God let His own names and attributes manifest in Mohammad(s). This was so evident that he mirrored God's traits and characteristics. He has declared:
أدَّبَني رَبّي فَأحْسَنَ تَأدِيبي.
“God educated me and it was a good education.”
There are many references in the Holy Quran to the Prophet's behavior:
فَبِمَا رَحْمَةٍ مِنْ اللَّهِ لِنْتَ لَهُمْ وَلَوْ كُنْتَ فَظًّا غَلِيظَ الْقَلْبِ لَانْفَضُّوا مِنْ حَوْلِكَ.
“Thus it is due to mercy from Allah that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard-hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you. 3:159”
إنّكَ لَعَلى خُلُقٍ عَظِيم.
“And most surely you conform yourself to sublime morality. 68:4 »
قُلْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تُحِبُّونَ اللَّهَ فَاتَّبِعُونِي يُحْبِبْكُمْ اللَّهُ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ.
“Say: if you love Allah, then follow me, Allah will love you and forgive you your faults.3:31”
Sheikh Mofid reports from Imam Baqir(s) who has said that the Great Prophet(s), at the time of his demise, said:
لا نَبِيَّ بَعْدِي وَلا سُنَّةَ بَعْدَ سُنَّتي.
There will be no Prophet after me and there is no right ways of life after me, either.
The Prophet of God has said:
أكْرِمُوا أوْلادي وَحَسِّنُوا آدابي.
Respect my offsprings and carry out my ways of life well.
Imam Ali(s) has stated:
فَاقْتَدُوا بِهَدْي رَسُولِ الله4 فَإنَّهُ أفْضَلُ الهَدْي وَاسْتَنّوا بِسُنَّتِهِ فإنَّها أشْرَفُ السُّنَنِ.
Follow the ways and approaches of the Prophet in your life because they are the best ways of life. His methods in life are the most honorable ones.
Imam Ali(s) in his Nahjolbnalaqa has encouraged us to follow our honorable Prophet because he is a great man worthy of following those who follow him are lucky ones. The most beloved man for God is the one who closely follows his Prophet and imitates the ways which that great man has followed and has set for us to follow.
The Prophet(s) always begged God to lead him towards the righ mannerisms and to keep him away from the vices.
اللّهُمَّ حَسِّنْ خَلْقي وخُلْقي، اللّهُمَّ جَنِّبْني مُنْكَراتِ الأخْلاقِ.
And Allah accepted the Prophet's invocation and provided him with the sacred verses of the Holy Quran.
Saeed Ibn Hoshsham says: I asked the Prophet's wife about his behavior. She asked me: Don’t you recite the Holy Quran? I answered positively. She then added, “His manners are based on the Holy Quran.” The Prophet(s) carried out what the Holy Quran had taught him to do and he carried out the Quranic commands swifter, better and more sincerely than others.
خُذْ الْعَفْوَ وَأْمُرْ بِالْعُرْفِ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ الْجَاهِلِينَ.
“Take to forgiveness and enjoin good and turn asid from the ignorant. 7:199”
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنْ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ.
“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good to others and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful.16:90”
وَاصْبِرْ وَمَا صَبْرُكَ إِلَّا بِاللَّهِ.
“And be patient and your patience is not but by the assistance of Allah. 16:127”
وَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا أَصَابَكَ إِنَّ ذَلِكَ مِنْ عَزْمِ الْأُمُورِ.
“(O my son) and bear patiently that which befalls you; surely these acts require courage. 31:17”
مِنْهُمْ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاصْفَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ.
“So pardon them and turn away; surely Allah loves those who do good to others. 5:13”
ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ.
“Repel evil with what is best, when lo! He between whom and you was enmity would be as if he were a warm friend. 41:34”
It is upto the people to follow the great Prophet(s) closely and learn what the Holy Quran taught him. In this way people could arrive at the worldly prosperity and could benefit abundance in the Hereafter. In doing this, they could avoid going astray. God Has made our obligations clear. There is no excuse for anybody, however.
Concerning the Prophet's right mannerisms, generosity and pardoning, Imam Ali(s) has said:
Among the prisoners-of-war of the tribe called Tei who were brought into Medina there was a girl who told the Prophet(s): O Mohammad, what would happen if you made me free so that I could escape the reproaches of the Arab tribes. I say this because I am the tribal chief's daughter . My father used to protect and give shelter those who lacked it. He used to free the Prisoners-of-war. He used to supply the travelers with food; he would greet others and would never let any needy go without his need having been met. I am the daughter of Hatam Ta'ee.
The Great Prophet(s) replied: O girl, what you said are the characteristics of a true believer. If your father were a Moslem, I would ask God's blessings for him. Then the Prophet(s) added: let the girl be free because her father loved good mannerism and Allah loves good morals.
When the girl was being freed, Abu Bardat Ibn-e Dinar rose from his place and asked the Great Prophet(s). O, Messenger of God, Does God love good morals? The Great Prophet(s) replied: I swear to God, in Whose power lies my life, that only the possessors of good morals may enter the paradise.
Then the Prophet(s) added: Among the good morals that Islam recommends are the following: proper association with people, being generous towards them, being lenient to them, and treating them amicabley; spreading among people the right ways of living, and feeding them; being the first in greeting them; paying visits to the sick, whether the sick person is a well-wisher Moslem, or a sinner; taking part in the Moslem's funeral processions; treating the neighbors kindly, whether they are Moslems or not; paying respects to the senior citizens; accepting people's invitations and inviting them; pardoning people; reconciling two disagreeing persons, being honorable and magnanimous; making sacrifices; suppressing one's anger and rage and then pardoning the wrong-doer.
Islam has prohibited the following features and considers them among sins:
Performing useless actions; involving in music and songs of any sort; treason, hypocracy, and unfounded revenge; telling lies, back-biting, jealousy, greed, injustice, aggression, tricks, evesdropping, agitating people, lack of association with relatives, being bad-tempered, pride, selfishness, improper praise of others, cursing others, spite and animosity, theft and aggression.
Anas says: The Prophet(s) never refrained from giving us the right pieces of advice; he always recommended that we carry out the right things. A good sample of what the Prophet(s) believed in was the following sacred verse from the Holy Quran:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَأْمُرُ بِالْعَدْلِ وَالإِحْسَانِ وَإِيتَاءِ ذِي الْقُرْبَى وَيَنْهَى عَنْ الْفَحْشَاءِ وَالْمُنكَرِ وَالْبَغْيِ يَعِظُكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ.
“Surely Allah enjoins the doing of justice and the doing of good to others and the giving to the kindred, and He forbids indecency and evil and rebellion; He admonishes you that you may be mindful. 16:90”
We should, however, be aware of the fact that the Prophet(s) possessed all the high standards of morals prior to teaching them to others; in the same way, he did not have the pernicious features that he advised people to avoid.
Moaz says: The Prophet(s) told me: I recommend to you that you be pious in all worldly affairs; that you get involved in honesty and decency; that you keep your promises; that you do not take part in treason; that you respect your neighbors; that you treat the orphans generously; that you be amicable in speech; that you volunteer to be the first in greeting people; that you take part in good deeds; that you curtail your wishes; and that you be faithful. The Prophet(s) recommended the following, as well: the understanding of the Quran, the love for the Hereafter; the fear of the Resurrection Day; being humble; avoiding cures; to avoid refuting the teller of the truth and confirming the liar; not obeying the sinner; to avoid disobeying the just leader; and to avoid performing sins and corruption. The Prophet(s) recommended that I repent secretly for any sin I have performed secretly.
This is how the Prophet(s) invited people to the proper mannerisms, piety, and good deeds.
The Prophet(s) was the most enduring, righteous, and pious of all men. He never touched any woman who was not his wife.
The Prophet(s) was the most generous of all. He never kept any money. Rather, he would stay out of his home at nights to give the money he had to a needy person.
From what Allah had given him, the Prophet(s) would spend some with contentment and would freely give away the rest to the needy.
The Prophet(s) used to make his own shoes; he would repair his clothes himself and would help the family members with their house chores.
The Prophet(s) was unique in modesty; he would not stare at people; he would accept the invitation of anybody and would compensate for any favor he would receive, even for a sip of milk.
He would not make use of alms; he would accept the invitation of the slave-girls as well as that of the needy. He would not get impatient for his own benefits, but he would get upset when he was faced with injustice. He would carry out benefits, but he would get upset when he was faced with in- justice. He would carry out justice even if it was not in his own interest. Even at the time of need, he would never ask a non-Moslem for assistance.
Once a friend of his was murdered by the Jews. The Prophet(s) did nothing but carry out the justice.
At times he would fasten a piece of rock on his stomach to struggle with hunger, but he would eat anything which was available.
He would avoid asking for anything and would eat any clean and lawful food.
The Prophet(s) liked to eat bread, dates, meat, sweet paste, honey, and melon.
Prior to his visiting God the Prophet(s) went on being hungry. He had not eaten wheat-bread for three consecutive days when he met with God. He had refrained from eating. Rather, he had preferred to give the food to the needy.
The Prophet(s) would accept people's invitation without delay. He would pay a visit to the sick. He would take part in the funeral processions. And he would walk among his foes without any body-guards.
The Prophet(s) was more silent than any body else. His gtood nature and affability was unique to him. His eloquence in speech was superior, as well. Worldly affairs did not frighten him. He would wear anything which he gained lawfully. He would sit next to the slaves and non-slaves alike.
The Prophet(s) would make use of any palfrey: Donkeys, mules, horses and camels made no difference for him.
He loved fragrance; he would refrain from bad smells. He would associate with the poor and would respect the scientists and scholars. Through his generosity he could attract the decent people. He would assist his relatives with no discrimination.
The Prophet(s) would accept the reason for any apology. When he engaged in humor he would say nothing but the truth. He would not engage in boisterous laugh. He would not condemn lawful plays and games. Some ignorant people might speak harshly with him, but the Prophet(s) was most patient. He used to have a camel and sheep on whose milk he and his family would feed. In the matter of food and clothes he and his slaves and family members were equal.
The Prophet(s) would not spend his time in getting involved in anything except for God. He would attend at his followers' gardens. He would never humiliate a poor man for his poverty. A king's glamour had no effect on him. He would invite both the king and the poor to the right path of the faith.
The Prophet(s) would not read or write. He was grown up in the deserts, grazing the flocks of the cattle. He was an orphan. But God had taught him all the standards of good mannerism and all the knowledge essential for this world and Hereafter.
During his life, the Prophet(s) never used curses. He avoided cursing any aggressor Moselem, either the servants or the slaves. In the Ohod Holy war, his companions asked him to curse his foes. He replied: My Prophethood was a favor offered to people by Allah. I was appointed as a Prophet to bless people, not to curse them.
Anas says: I served the Prophet(s) as a servant. Never did I hear reproachment from him. And if his family members rebuked me, he would say: let him alone. He never criticized his sleeping place. If there was a bed spread on the floor, he would rest on it, or else he would sleep on the floor with no bed or pillows.
The compassionate God Has described him in the Torah (The Old Testament) in the following words: Mohammad(s), my selected servant is neither quick-tempered, nor cruel, nor harsh in manner. He would not punish; rather he pardons. His birth place is Mecca. He is extremely knowledgeable.
In the Bible, God has described Mohammad(s) in the same manner: Mohammad(s) was the first to greet people. He patiently listened to people when they spoke to him about their miseries. When he shook hands with a person he would not draw back his hand first; rather he would let the other person draw back his hand.
The Prophet(s) would shorten his prayer if anybody entered his room while he was praying. He would then ask what the person needed. Upon satisfying the person's needs, he would then resume his praying.
The Prophet(s) had not specified any particular place for his staying. He would sit at any location which was available. He usually sat facing Mecca. He would spread his aba (cloak) on the ground for a visitor to sit on, even if the visitor was a stranger.
He would treat any visitor as if he were his closest relative. In his presence there were modesty, decency and respect.
To show respect and care towards others, the Prophet(s) would call people by their nicknames. If anybody lacked a nickname, he would creat one for him.
He was late to get angry and first to pardon and reconcile.
The Prophet(s) was the kindest of all and cared for people more than anybody else. He was the most helpful man for others. When he rose from his place, he would say:
سُبْحانَكَ اللّهُمّ وَبِحَمْدِكَ أشْهَدُ أنْ لا إلهَ إلاّ أنْتَ، أسْتَغْفِرُكَ وَأتُوبُ إلَيكَ.
He was the most eloquent. He spoke little but conveyed significant information when he talked. He would say: I use the most eloquent form of language. The paradise residents would speak like me.
The Prophet(s) was logical in his discourses. He used some pauses between two sentences to give time to his listener to comprehend his intentions. When he talked, his language was filled with melodies. He used to change his pitches a lot.
Most of the time, he was silent. He would not talk unless he had to. He always told the truth whether he was delighted or irritated. In his giving advice he was sincere. He considered himself one member of society and would not consider any privileges for his own.
He was the most sociable person among others. But he would contemplate and think deeply on those occasions when the holy verses were revealed to him: at those critical moments he would deliberate on the Doom's Day.
Under hard situations, he would ask God for His assistance and guidance and begged God: O God! Show me the right way so that I may follow it. Let me know the indecent actions so that I will avoid them.
Imam Hossein(s) says: I asked my father, Imam Ali(s) about the Prophet's morals. He answerd: Prior to entering the house, he would ask for permission. The Prophet(s) would divide his time in three portions: One Portion of time was spent on Praying; another part of his time was spent to associate with his family and the third part was spent for resting. However, during his rest, he would meet with his followers and with people in general. He would consider more prestige for those who were learned. Of course, this respect was proportional with their faith.
There were some individuals who needed something. The Prophet(s) would satisfy their needs. He would assign some jobs to people so that they might be useful to themselves and others. He would ask people to let him know if any person was in need of anything. In his estimation anybody who could give him such information would have a strong position on the Doom's Day.
The Prophet(s) avoided getting involved in argument, talkativeness or anything which was irrelevant to him. He would not do the following concerning people: he would not backbite; nor did he reproach anybody; nor did he try to find fault with others.
He would not embark on any discussion unless it brought him heavenly reward; and when he started a discussion, his audience were attentive.
The Prophet(s) showed extreme prudence in four things: he did the right thing so that others could follow him suit; he avoided performing viscious deeds so that people refrain from them; he tried to do what was in the interest of people; and performing those affairs which could bring forth the reward both here and in the Hereafter.[18]
We will continue our discussion concerning the status of the Prophet(s) by referring to the Holy Quran:
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ.
“And we have not sent you but as a mercy to the worlds. 21:107”
The Great Prophet(s) got the position of Prophethood at a time when ignorance and superstition dominated over the world and tyranny, plunder, homicide, burying the girls alive were the rules of the day.
It was a time of disunion and hypocracy; when human thought was not functioning properly. It was a time when human conscience was dormant. The people in Iran and Rome and Saudi Arabia were suffering from tyranny and injustice. There was nobody for them to resort to. The oppressed ones were getting annihilated by the oppressors. Man was caught in the claws of corruption. There was no sign of monotheism, light, and mental health. It was a time when the scientists were made fun of. The free men were being taken as slaves. Man had shut down all the doors of prosperity. Men did not pay any attention to human dignity. And in the words of the Holy Quran in the sacred verse 103 of A'lay Imran (The Family of Imran): Men were on the brink of a pit of fire before the time of Prophethood.
وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنْ النَّارِ.
It was under such conditions that Mohammad(s) was appointed by Allah as a prominent Prophet to bring forth blessings for humanity and to save man from the quagmires of corruption, and to open the doors of prosperity to man.
The Great Prophet(s) used to frequently utter the following utterance for the people Mecca:
فَإنّي قَدْ جئتُكُم بِخَيرِ الدُّنيا وَالآخِرَةِ.
لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمْ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ.
“Certainly Allah conferred a benefit upon the believers when He raised among them an Apostle from among themselves, reciting to them His communications and purifying them, and teaching them the Book and the wisdom, although before that they were surely in manifest error. 3:164”
It is a fact that, prior to the prophethood of Mohammad(s), people were in mere corruption. Through the Prophet(s), God put forward three programs for the salvation of man from corruption.
1) The recitation of God's communications;
2) The purification of self from rascalities and vices;
3) The teaching of the Book and the wisdom.
Man's ignorance towards monotheism, faith, the resurrection, the Book, and the punishment on the Doom's Day and the domination of shaitan over him and his engagement in his numerous lusts had put him in a precarious and devastating situation.
To awaken people from pure corruption, the prophet of Islam read to them three types of verses:
1) The verses on creation
2) The verses on man
3) the verses on shariat
1) The verses on creation
These verses attract our attention to the creator:
وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَى وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا تَجَلَّى وَمَا خَلَقَ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنْثَى.
“I swear by the night when it draws a veil, and the day when it shines in brightness, And the creating of the male and the female. 92:1-3”
وَالشَّمْسِ وَضُحَاهَا وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَاهَا وَالنَّهَارِ إِذَا جَلَّاهَا وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَاهَا وَالسَّمَاءِ وَمَا بَنَاهَا وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا طَحَاهَا وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا.
“I swear by the sun and his heat, And the moon when she follows him, And the day when it shows it, And the night when it draws a veil over it, and the heaven and Him who made it, And the earth and Him who extended it, And the soul and Him who made it perfect. 91:1-7”
وَالْفَجْرِ وَلَيَالٍ عَشْرٍ وَالشَّفْعِ وَالْوَتْرِ وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَسْرِ.
“I swear by the daybreak, and the ten nights, And the even and the odd, and the night when it departs. 89:1-4”
أَفَلَا يَنْظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِلِ كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ وَإِلَى السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ رُفِعَتْ وَإِلَى الْجِبَالِ كَيْفَ نُصِبَتْ وَإِلَى الْأَرْضِ كَيْفَ سُطِحَتْ.
“Will they not then consider the camels, who they are created? And the heaven, how it is reared aloft, And the mountains, how they are firmly fixed, And the earth, how it is made a vast expanse? 88:17-20”
Will they not think on the majestic castle above our heads which contends all the magnificent stars, galaxies, and clouds?
Will they not consider the mountains which lie on the earth and are firmly connected to its core and function as its protector so that it would not go apart in the face of storms and floods?
Would they not think about the expanse of the earth which stores all sorts of minerals and nourishments inside?
الَّذِي خَلَقَ فَسَوَّى وَالَّذِي قَدَّرَ فَهَدَى وَالَّذِي أَخْرَجَ الْمَرْعَى فَجَعَلَهُ غُثَاءً أَحْوَى.
“(Your Lord) Who creates, then makes complete, And who makes things according to a measure, then guides them to their goal, And who brings forth herbage, then makes it dried up, dust-colored. 87:2-5 »
وَالسَّمَاءِ وَالطَّارِقِ وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الطَّارِقُ النَّجْمُ الثَّاقِبُ.
“I swear by the heaven and the comer by night; And what will make you know the comer by night is? The star of piercing brightness. 86:1-2”
أَأَنْتُمْ أَشَدُّ خَلْقًا أَمْ السَّمَاءُ بَنَاهَا رَفَعَ سَمْكَهَا فَسَوَّاهَا وَأَغْطَشَ لَيْلَهَا وَأَخْرَجَ ضُحَاهَا وَالْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ دَحَاهَا أَخْرَجَ مِنْهَا مَاءَهَا وَمَرْعَاهَا وَالْجِبَالَ أَرْسَاهَا مَتَاعًا لَكُمْ وَلِأَنْعَامِكُمْ.
“Are you the harder to create or the heaven? He made it. He raised high its height, then put it into a right good state. And He made dark its night and brought out its light. And the earth, He expanded it after that. He brought forth from its water and its pasturage. And the mountains, He made them firm, A provision for you and for your cattle. 79:27-33”
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ الْأَرْضَ مِهَادًا وَالْجِبَالَ أَوْتَادًا وَخَلَقْنَاكُمْ أَزْوَاجًا وَجَعَلْنَا نَوْمَكُمْ سُبَاتًا وَجَعَلْنَا اللَّيْلَ لِبَاسًا وَجَعَلْنَا النَّهَارَ مَعَاشًا وَبَنَيْنَا فَوْقَكُمْ سَبْعًا شِدَادًا وَجَعَلْنَا سِرَاجًا وَهَّاجًا وَأَنزَلْنَا مِنْ الْمُعْصِرَاتِ مَاءً ثَجَّاجًا لِنُخْرِجَ بِهِ حَبًّا وَنَبَاتًا وَجَنَّاتٍ أَلْفَافًا.
“Have we not made the earth an even expanse? And the mountains as projections thereon? And we created you in pairs, and we made your sleep to be rest to you, And we made the night to be a covering, And we made the day for seeking livelihood. And we made above you seven strong ones, And we made a shining lamp, And we send down from the clouds water pouring forth abundantly, that we may bring forth thereby corn and herbs, And gardens dense and luxuriant. 78:6-16”
When the Holy Quran, through the verses, enticed human reasoning and wisdom to think on the phenomenon of life and on the creation of so many differing kinds of things, plants, animals and invisible beings whose number is beyond our imagination, the scholars, philosophers and learned elite started to find out some of the secrets of the world and through their continual efforts tremendous amounts of information were collected. No doubt, all these feats took place due to the Holy Quran which encourages man to deliberate on the creation. Below you will read an article by professor Rezerford, most part of which is referred to in the Holy Quran. First read the article; then look at the verses of the Holy Quran. Then, you will observe the miracles of the Holy Quran.
At the outset, you would ask the following question: what is the relationship between the researches on the creation of the western scholars and the Holy Quran? To answer this question we should say that the west was deprived of books, libraries, sciences, and universities upto five centuries ago. The movement of the Islamic science and knowledge from East to west caused the renaissance and awakening of people and created knowledge and insight and centers of education. This fact is accepted by all western scholars. They have written books and articles on this issue. However, the reference to all those sources are beyond the scope of the present work. Thus, we will observe that the vigilance and enlightenment of the Western nations and their scientists are closely related to the Holy Quran and have been influenced by the Prophethood of the Prophet Mohammad(s).
Professor Raz Ford's Article
“After centuries of vehement discussions over the appearance of life over the earth, there are now some researches which provide us with a more exciting and at times more horrifying answer than Darwin's Theory of evolution which considered man as an offspring of primates.
An observation of these researches reveals to man that life began in its earliest forms in the seas of the earth [Imam Ali(s) in his first sermon of Nahjolbalaqa refers to this same phenomenon as “Zabad”].
It is nearly three billion years sine the first stage of the Earth life has come to an end. At that time the heat on the surface of the earth depended on nothing else except on the sunshine.
The first layer of the earth was a barren desert covered with molten metals which was always made turbulent by continual earthquakes.
Steams and burning geysers were emited from the spores and holes of the first layer of the earth and scattered all around. Finally, the atmosphere of the earth was saturated with steams and the dark, thick clouds stopped the sun rays from penetrating into the earth atmosphere.
Then it was time to rain: the dense clouds poured down torrents of water. This lasted for centuries till all the holes on the earth were filled with water and great oceans and seas were created. Then the clouds dissipated and the sun began to shine on the earth. But the earth was still a life-less globe consisting of rocks, and water. Although the main agents of life such as Hydrogen, Carbon, Nitrogen and especially oxygen existed on the earth, they were not free and would not create the conditions for life.
For instance, the oxygen in the atmosphere was mixed with water vapor (because the atmosphere was a mixture of water vapor, Amonia and methan). As a general rule, the oxygen of the earth atmosphere was found either mixed with hydrogen or in the iron mineral or with other earth minerals. Thus, the oxygen was not free.
The nitrogen supply was not free either. Carbon was contained in the atoms of the heavy metals (such as iron carbide) buried in the earth. Definitely everything was against the theory that at some time these elements might turn into life.
There were some terrifying events taking place on the life-less earth: The volcanoes began to erupt. The Ultra-violet rays were attacking the earth and the oceans. The tornadoes and violent and destructive windstorm had made the oceans turbulent. As a result of these turmoils the life-making elements were solved in the sea water.
The rain carried the chemical elements that were scattered in the atmosphere's vapors and the rivers started to cut valleys on their way to the seas. The chemical treasures, in this way, were being carried towards the seas. Thus, the sea became the cradle for life.
The oceans now had become a store for chemical elements. During the day the sun turned the surface of the shores into burning ovens but the surfaces of the seas, due to the currents of cold water, remained moderate in temperature.
Inside the seas, the chemical substances which were carried there by the torrential rains started to mix with the minerals contained in the rocks.
If we were present at the sea when life was appearing, we would observe the sea as it is to day: it looked wavy, blue in the clean weather and gray in the cloudy weather and foamy at the time of storms. But at that time the waves struck over rocks which were free from any contamination: there were no signs of snails or algae on the rocks. On the shores of the seas there were no mollusk or the dead fish bodies.
Now it was time to look for the carbohydrates since they were responsible for bringing forth the earliest chemical stages of life. The molecules comprising hydrogens and carbons created marvelous energy. Their growth reminded us of the living crratures. Carbohydrates did not stay idle; rather they multiplied tremendously, collecting different groups of atoms all around themselves, creating bigger units.
For decades, chemistis assumed that carbohydrates, like other organic materials, were formed only through the activities of live cells. But further investigations have revealed now that carbohydrates were created without the help of other living cells.
Upon the release of some of the agents of life there was something missing, and that was the body and outer form of life.
In order to find out how such a form and body is made let us observe what happens when a mass of organic particles are inside the ocean. These dangling particles are absorbed towards one another and make a jelly-like substance. The chemists call this state of the matter choloide: this is a state between liquid and solid (gelatin, ovi albumen or egg white, oil drops, are among choloides). If we pour choloides into water, they will not dissolve; rather, they will remain intact as drops inside water.
The life-less carbohydrates, too, were agitated inside water through the sea currents, forming slippery (mucous) drops. Recently the peculiar traits of these mucous drops have been researched with delicate scientific means.
These drops are assumed to possess a magnetic property which causes the surrounding water particles to come close to one another to build up concentrated layers. Thus, the jelly drop is covered with an amazing outer layer through which the soluble substances can pass. These jelly drops are independent entities despite the fact that they are related with the outer environment.
These drops were the physical manifestations of the cellular protoplasm. They had gathered together to build up larger entities through certain chemical activities.
At our time, the ozone which exists in the upper layers of the atmosphere, protects the protoplasme of the delicate living cells against the ultra-violet rays. But at the outset of the creation of life there was no ozone in the earth atmosphere to stop the passage of these rays into the oceans. Thus, these ultra violet rays prepared the life particle. The light from these ultra violet rays made the jelly drops ready for the start of life.
We are not aware how long it took the first manifestation of life to appear. With the passage of time the jelly drops were being “baked” in the warm seas and inside them numerous chemical compositions were being created. Now those drops or seeds which were strong enough survived and those which lacked stamina simply vanished.
Within the past millions of years drastic changes and improvements have taken place on the earth due to the functions of different catalysts, i.e., materials which make the chemical actions and reactions take place.
Most probably, the first catalysts were composed of small particles of clay which were brought into the seas. These sticky pieces of clay brought the particles together making easy the later chemical activities.
With the passage of time, the structure of the early jelly seeds became more complicated and formed larger clusters of molecules.
Finally, after a complicated series of chemical actions and reactions, and within an unlimited area of time there came into existence extremely complex particles called proteins.
The issue is now being presented in such a way that we could assume the appearance of this particle has been completely accidental. But the truth is that man has discovered the protein only after the passage of an unlimited amount of time. We simply do not know how the first protein came into being.
Inside the amazing structure of the particle of protein there are large degree of electric potentials and mutual interactions of acids and bases. There are also expansions and contractions inside this particle. This complex structure has got a huge chemical power. It can develop at all sides; it can expand and contract; it can lengthen, shorten and bend.
Both proteins and some molecules called Acid Nucleic, which develop in the seas, contain the secrets of life.
With the passage of thousands of years these substances produced protoplasms, enzymes, Insulines, and hemoglobines. They, too, produced the muscles, and organs and coordinated their mutual activities. They, subsequently, put the heart's pulses, the respiratory functions, and the functions of nerves in order.
The main step in the production of life, however, took place when proteins and acid nucleic miraculously combined together to produce protoplasm. It appears that a long string composed of acid nucleic which contained large amounts of nitrogen and phosphorus, was responsible for the creation of life. What a huge conception of the unlimited power of the Great Creator!”[19]
Now let us observe some of the verses of the Holy Quran which deal with the creation of the earth and the sky and which refer to water as the origin of man:
أَوَلَمْ يَرَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ كَانَتَا رَتْقًا فَفَتَقْنَاهُمَا وَجَعَلْنَا مِنْ الْمَاءِ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ حَيٍّ أَفَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ.
“Do not those who disbelieve see that the heavens and the earth were closed up, but we have opened them; and we have made of water everything living, will they not then believe? 21:30”
وَاللَّهُ خَلَقَ كُلَّ دَابَّةٍ مِنْ مَاءٍ فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى بَطْنِهِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى رِجْلَيْنِ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَمْشِي عَلَى أَرْبَعٍ يَخْلُقُ اللَّهُ مَا يَشَاءُ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ.
“And Allah has created from water every living creature: so of them is that which walks upon its belly, and of them is that which walks up on two feet, and of them is that which walks upon four; Allah creates what He pleases; surely Allah has power over all things. 24:45”
وَمِنْ آيَاتِهِ خَلْقُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَثَّ فِيهِمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ وَهُوَ عَلَى جَمْعِهِمْ إِذَا يَشَاءُ قَدِيرٌ.
“And one of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and what He has spread forth in both of them of living beings; and when He pleases He is all-powerful to gather them together. 42:29”
إِنِّي تَوَكَّلْتُ عَلَى اللَّهِ رَبِّي وَرَبِّكُمْ مَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ إِلَّا هُوَ آخِذٌ بِنَاصِيَتِهَا إِنَّ رَبِّي عَلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ.
“Surely I rely on Allah, my Lord and your Lord; there is no living creature but He holds it by its forelock; surely my Lord is on the right path. 11:56”
In fact, the first objective of the prophethood of the prophet Mohammad(s) was to read to people the verses from the Holy Quran so that through this means the ignorant ones might awaken and the wrong-doers might be led towards the right path and the foundation of mental growth might be laid and the world might be free from corruption, tyrany, filth, and aggression.
While living, the Prophet Mohammad(s), through the Holy Quran and what he had learned from the supernatural world, taught people the issues of creation. In this way, he could pave the way for human progress and growth. Thus, man could study the world and look for its mysteries. This made man establish schools and universities and publish books and articles on creation. Now let us return to those verses from the Holy Quran which deal with creation as such.
أَلَمْ تَرَوْا كَيْفَ خَلَقَ اللَّهُ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ طِبَاقًا وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا وَاللَّهُ أَنْبَتَكُمْ مِنْ الْأَرْضِ نَبَاتًا ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ فِيهَا وَيُخْرِجُكُمْ إِخْرَاجًا وَاللَّهُ جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ بِسَاطًا لِتَسْلُكُوا مِنْهَا سُبُلًا فِجَاجًا.
“Do you not see how Allah has created the seven heavens one above another, And made the moon therein a light, and made the sun a lamp? And Allah has made you grow out of the earth as a growth: Then He returns you to it, then will He bring you forth a new bringing forth: And Allah has made for you the earth a wide expanse, that you may go along therein in wide paths. 71:15-20”
The issue of seven heavens and some of the mysteries related to the earth, however, have not been solved yet. Regarding this, there is a vague perspective in front of our eyes and this has made us wonder a great deal. Now, let us observe some of these breath-taking issues:
The world which the astronomers depict for us consists of thousand millions galaxies and each galaxy houses thousand million stars.
Alongside one of these galaxies, the galaxy of the solar system, there is a star, which is hot and is of a medium size. Like other old stars, it has changed its color into yellow. This gold-plated star is our sun, which is the king of all stars.
At an indefinite time in the past, for some unknown reasons, some heavenly bodies were attracted by the sun and started to rotate it. The earth is one of those heavenly bodies.
The earth outer crust is only a dozen kilometers thick. Inside it, rocks and metals, are like a mass of dough with a melting heat; however, the layers of basalt and graphite over them, keep the earth from being hot on the outer crust.
Man and his companions, the animals, live between two sources of fire; one is the fire which is trapped inside the earth and the other one is the sun which sends its rays over the earth crust continually. A little change in the sun's radiation over the earth, either its increase or decrease is extremely hazardous to man's existence over the earth.
The astronomical physics teaches us that the clear, cloudless sky is a collection of innumerable suns whose rays are scattered in different directions.
Dividing the sky into several sections and taking photos from each section will make it possible to assign numbers to the stars of the blue dome above our head (here the first sky is meant). This is currently done at the observatories. At the college observatories there are some glass wards thirty five centimeters by forty centimeters, which depic more than two thousand galaxies. However, the number of the galaxies which make up the universe is more than five hundred millions.
How many stars are there in each galaxy? Some of the sections of the sky have already been studied by the astronomers. One young astronomer from the Harvard University has numbered two million stars in only one portion or section of the sky. According to the information gathered from these observatories each galaxy contains at least one hundred billion stars.
In order to grasp the great expansions of the universe, let us do a little research:
Let us assume that the volume of the earth is of the same size as the dot used at the end of this sentence. The diameter of this dot is nearly a half millimeter. Having in mind that the true diameter of the earth globe is 13,000 kilometers, we have reduced the true size of the earth globe 26,000,000,000 times. After reducing the other distances or diameters on the globe, we will get the following numbers:
- The distance between the earth and the moon is 16 milimeters;
- The distance between the earth and the sun is 6 meters;
- The distance between the earth to the nearest fixed star is 1617 kilometers;
- The diameter of our galaxy is nearly 37.600.000 kilometers.
Such are the relations and distances in the world in which we live.[20]
الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ وَالنَّجْمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ وَالْأَرْضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلْأَنَامِ فِيهَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَالنَّخْلُ ذَاتُ الْأَكْمَامِ وَالْحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ وَالرَّيْحَانُ.
“The sun and the moon follow a reckoning. And the herbs and the trees do adore Him. And the heaven, He raised it high, and He made the balance, that you may not be inordinate in respect of the measure. And keep up the balance with equity and do not make the measure deficient. And the earth, He has set it for living creatures; therein is fruit and palms having sheathed clusters, And the grain with its husk and fragrance. 55:5-12”
وَالسَّمَاءَ بَنَيْنَاهَا بِأَيْيدٍ وَإِنَّا لَمُوسِعُونَ وَالْأَرْضَ فَرَشْنَاهَا فَنِعْمَ الْمَاهِدُونَ وَمِنْ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقْنَا زَوْجَيْنِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَذَكَّرُونَ.
“And the heaven, We raised it high with power, and most surely We are the markers of things ample. And the earth, We have made it a wide extent; how well have we then spread it out. And of everything We have created pairs pairs that you may be mindful. 51:47-49”
أَفَلَمْ يَنْظُرُوا إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَوْقَهُمْ كَيْفَ بَنَيْنَاهَا وَزَيَّنَّاهَا وَمَا لَهَا مِنْ فُرُوجٍ وَالْأَرْضَ مَدَدْنَاهَا وَأَلْقَيْنَا فِيهَا رَوَاسِيَ وَأَنْبَتْنَا فِيهَا مِنْ كُلِّ زَوْجٍ بَهِيجٍ تَبْصِرَةً وَذِكْرَى لِكُلِّ عَبْدٍ مُنِيبٍ وَنَزَّلْنَا مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً مُبَارَكًا فَأَنْبَتْنَا بِهِ جَنَّاتٍ وَحَبَّ الْحَصِيدِ وَالنَّخْلَ بَاسِقَاتٍ لَهَا طَلْعٌ نَضِيدٌ رِزْقًا لِلْعِبَادِ وَأَحْيَيْنَا بِهِ بَلْدَةً مَيْتًا كَذَلِكَ الْخُرُوجُ.
“Do they not then look up to heaven above them now, We have made it and adorned it and it has no gaps? And the earth, We have made it plain and cast in it mountains and We have made to grow therein of all beautiful kinds, to give sight and as a reminder to every servant who turns frequently to Allah. And we send down from the cloud water abounding in good, then we cause to grow thereby gardens and the grain that is reaped, And the tall palm-trees having spadices closely set one above another, A sustenance for the servants, and we give life thereby to a dead land; thus is the rising. 50:6-11”
إِنَّ فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ لَآيَاتٍ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَفِي خَلْقِكُمْ وَمَا يَبُثُّ مِنْ دَابَّةٍ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ وَمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ رِزْقٍ فَأَحْيَا بِهِ الْأَرْضَ بَعْدَ مَوْتِهَا وَتَصْرِيفِ الرِّيَاحِ آيَاتٌ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْقِلُونَ.
“Most surely in the heaves and the earth there are signs for the believers. And in your own creation and in what He spreads abroad of animals there are signs for a people that are sure; And in the variation of the night and the day, and in what Allah sends down of sustenance from the cloud, then gives life thereby to the earth after its death, and in the changing of the winds, there are signs for a people who understand. 45:3-5”
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمْ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشًا وَالسَّمَاءَ بِنَاءً وَأَنْزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنْ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ فَلَا تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ أَندَادًا وَأَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ.
“Who made the earth a resting place for you and the heaven a canopy and Who sends down rain from the cloud, then brings forth with it subsistence for you of the fruits; therefore do not set up rivals to Allah while you know. 2:22”
بِِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيمِ. قُلْ هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ. اللَّهُ الصَّمَدُ. لَمْ يَلِدْ وَلَمْ يُولَدْ. وَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُ كُفُوًا أَحَدٌ.
“Say: He, Allah is One. Allah is He on Whom all depend. He begets not, nor is He begotten. And none is like Him.”
هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ.
“He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth, and He directed Himself to the heaven, so He made them complete seven heavens, and He knows all things. 2:29”
وَمَا مِنْ دَابَّةٍ فِي الْأَرْضِ وَلَا طَائِرٍ يَطِيرُ بِجَنَاحَيْهِ إِلَّا أُمَمٌ أَمْثَالُكُمْ مَا فَرَّطْنَا فِي الْكِتَابِ مِنْ شَيْءٍ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ يُحْشَرُونَ.
“And there is no animal that walks upon the earth nor a bird that flies with its two wings but they are genera like yourselves; we have not neglected anything in the Book, then to their Lord shall they be gathered. 6:38”
وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجْنَا بِهِ نَبَاتَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَأَخْرَجْنَا مِنْهُ خَضِرًا نُخْرِجُ مِنْهُ حَبًّا مُتَرَاكِبًا وَمِنْ النَّخْلِ مِنْ طَلْعِهَا قِنْوَانٌ دَانِيَةٌ وَجَنَّاتٍ مِنْ أَعْنَابٍ وَالزَّيْتُونَ وَالرُّمَّانَ مُشْتَبِهًا وَغَيْرَ مُتَشَابِهٍ انظُرُوا إِلَى ثَمَرِهِ إِذَا أَثْمَرَ وَيَنْعِهِ إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكُمْ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يُؤْمِنُونَ.
“And He it is who sends down water from the cloud, then We bring forth with it buds of all plants, then We bring forth from it green foliage from which We produce grain plied up in the ear; and of the palm-tree, of the sheaths of it, come forth clusters of dates within reach, and gardens of grapes and olives and pomegranates, alike and unlike; behold the fruit of it when it yields the fruit and the ripening of it; most surely there are signs in this for a people who believe. 6:99”
هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ ضِيَاءً وَالْقَمَرَ نُورًا وَقَدَّرَهُ مَنَازِلَ لِتَعْلَمُوا عَدَدَ السِّنِينَ وَالْحِسَابَ مَا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ ذَلِكَ إِلَّا بِالْحَقِّ يُفَصِّلُ الْآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يَعْلَمُونَ.
“He it is Who made the sun a shining brightness and the moon a light, and ordained for it mansions that you might know the computation of years and the reckoning. Allah did not create it but with truth; He makes the signs manifest for a people who know. 10:5”
هُوَ الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمْ اللَّيْلَ لِتَسْكُنُوا فِيهِ وَالنَّهَارَ مُبْصِرًا إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَآيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَسْمَعُونَ.
“He it is Who made for you the night that you might rest in it, and the day giving light; most surely there are signs in it for a people who would hear. 10:67”
اللَّهُ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ وَأَنزَلَ مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنْ الثَّمَرَاتِ رِزْقًا لَكُمْ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ الْفُلْكَ لِتَجْرِيَ فِي الْبَحْرِ بِأَمْرِهِ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ الْأَنهَارَ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ الشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ دَائِبَيْنِ وَسَخَّرَ لَكُمْ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ.
“Allah is He who created the heavens and the earth and sent down water from the clouds, then brought forth with it fruits as sustenance for you, and He has made the ships subservient to you, that they might run their course in the sea by His command, and He has made the rivers subservient to you. And He has made subservient to you the sun and the moon pursuing their courses, and He has made subservient to you the night and the day. 14:32-33”
وَأَرْسَلْنَا الرِّيَاحَ لَوَاقِحَ فَأَنْزَلْنَا مِنْ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَأَسْقَيْنَاكُمُوهُ وَمَا أَنْتُمْ لَهُ بِخَازِنِينَ.
“And We send the winds fertilizing, then send down water from the cloud so we give it to you to drink of, nor is it you who store it up. 15:22”
These verses attract our attention towards man's internal and external creation. They as well, depict Allah's power and might:
الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْغَفُورُ.
“He who created death and life that He may try you-which of you is best in deeds and He is the Mighty, the Forgiving. 67:2”
Death is the transition of this limited world into an unlimited arena to get the rewards for one's good deeds and get punished for his or her worng-doings.
The next world, whose gate is the death, is the world which the Holy Quran, one hundred and twenty four thousand prophets, the twelve Infallible Imams, the divine philosophers, the Gnostics and God-Lovers have told us about. The disbelivers of the next world do not have any valid reasons to present for their premises.
Let us not look at the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in which empirical and physical sciences (like behaviorism in psychology) dominated man's thinking. The rational man easily set aside those premises and started to accept the truth. Let us read the following article written by Norman Vincent pepl so that we may grasp the reality. It will show us that the disbeliever's reasoning is based on the lack of logic. The premises which are rooted in sound logical reasoning and are based on man's nature, logic, wisdom, the prophets' righteous proclamations and the Imam's insight can not be negated:
“When I learned of my mother's death, I went to the church so that I could deliberate in private in that spiritual environment. I wanted to feel her presence in the church because she had previously told me: “Any time you pray in this church, I will be with you.” I sat at my special desk. My eyes fell on the old and torn bible which was my loyal associate in my trips. I had a desire to find a means of comfort on that gloomy day. I laid my hand on the sacred book, gazing at a vague spot in the space. Suddenly, I felt two soft hands touching my head; I became extremely delighted.
I am a curious man by nature. In accidents of the world, I always look for the reasons and I carefully analyze the situation. I thought perhaps the sensation of those two hands was an illusion which was created due to my mother's death. However, I could not easily accept this explanation. From that day on, I have always believed that my mother is not dead and that she will always be alive.
Nothing has ever shaken my conviction that eternal life exists. I do believe on the eternality of life; this concept is irrevocable to me. I am positively certain that after death I will find my dear friends and nothing may separate me from them. And I firmly believe that everybody will preserve his or her specific personality in that huge, extended world. There is no pain there for any believer.
Man will improve and perfect himself there. This is due to the fact that life without spiritual betterment and progress is useless.
Years back I read the following sentence written by a scientist: 'At death man's life becomes extinct like a candle's flame'.
In those days when the emprisit philosophy was the rule of the day and was followed by most people, such claims looked fascinating since they could easily entice people to accept them. But nowadays, these philosophers are asked to present the rationale behind their ideology.
The truth is that such philosophizings are baseless and these philosophers could never prove their ideas.
In fact, human nature as such, which is the very foundation of our conviction, is the most reliable proof for our conviction, is the most reliable proof for our belief and faith.
When God wishes man to arrive at some truth, He will first plant the seed of this truth in man's conscience. Man's desire for eternal life is so widespread that nobody could ever deny it.
Man has not reached the supernatural truths through his mathematical reasoning. Rather, his internal belief, conviction, and revelation have helped him to arrive at these truths and facts.
Inspiration plays a crucial role in the understanding of scientific facts. As Burgeson, the French philosopher, puts it: It has frequently happened that a scientist grasps a scientific fact through revelation and inspiration. The reverse is also true in that the scientific researches have helped a scientist to believe in revelation.
The old conception of a materialistic scholar is not helpful any more. Sir James John has declared: Everything in this world is in turmoil. And Einstein's theory has revealed that energy and matter are interchangeable; both are the same thing.
When I was interviewing the wife of Edison, the great inventor, I asked her husband's opinion concerning the Hereafter. She said that her husband was of the belief that soul is a real entity which is separated from the body at death. When Edison was dying his physician heard him saying: Every thing is amazing and beautiful in the next world.
Now, let us listen to the statements of a nurse who has observed many people at their death. She said:
It seems most dying people see things at their moments of death. Most often they talk about light and good melodies. Some others seem to be looking at some familiar faces. An unexpected wonder is often observed in the looks of these dying persons. I was sitting next to the bed of my dying friend. At the last moments of his life prior to death, he addressed his son saying: I see beautiful mansions. In one of them there is light; it is for me. It is wonderful. Then he was silent forever.
This son was telling us: My father was a man of knowledge; he would never say anything without proof. What my father told us was true; I have no doubt about it.
Doctor Tesley Watz, a physician in London, once told me: I was sitting next to a dying patient of mine. His hands were in my hands. Then I started to hold his hands more firmly. But the patient said: let go of my hand; how magnificent is over there.
On his last moments of life, Rousseau uttered the following succinct expression: Be at your ease. Look how charming is the sky over there! I am going there.[21]
أَيَحْسَبُ الْإِنسَانُ أَنْ يُتْرَكَ سُدًى أَلَمْ يَكُ نُطْفَةً مِنْ مَنِيٍّ يُمْنَى ثُمَّ كَانَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقَ فَسَوَّى فَجَعَلَ مِنْهُ الزَّوْجَيْنِ الذَّكَرَ وَالْأُنثَى.
“Does man think that he is to be left to wander without an aim? Was he not a small seed in the seminal elements, than he was a clot of blood, so He created him then made him perfect. Then He made of him two kinds, the male and the female. 75:35-39”
قُتِلَ الْإِنْسَانُ مَا أَكْفَرَهُ مِنْ أَيِّ شَيْءٍ خَلَقَهُ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ خَلَقَهُ فَقَدَّرَهُ ثُمَّ السَّبِيلَ يَسَّرَهُ ثُمَّ أَمَاتَهُ فَأَقْبَرَهُ.
“Cursed be man! How ungrateful is he! Of what thing did He create him? Of a small seed; He created him, then He made him according to a measure, then as for the way: He has made it easy for him. Then He causes him to die, then assigns to him a grave. 80:17-21”
أَلَمْ نَجْعَلْ لَهُ عَيْنَيْنِ وَلِسَانًا وَشَفَتَيْنِ.
“Have we not given him two eyes, And a tongue and two lips? 90:8-9”
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ.
“Certainly we created man in the best make. 95:4.”
فَلْيَنظُرْ الْإِنسَانُ مِمَّ خُلِقَ خُلِقَ مِنْ مَاءٍ دَافِقٍ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ بَيْنِ الصُّلْبِ وَالتَّرَائِبِ.
“So let man consider of what he is created: He is created of water pouring forth, coming from between the back and the ribs. 86:5-7”
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ سُلَالَةٍ مِنْ طِينٍ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَاهُ نُطْفَةً فِي قَرَارٍ مَكِينٍ ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ.
“Then we made him a small seed in a firm resting-place, then we made the seed a clot, then we made the clot a lump of flesh, then we clothed the bones with flesh, then we caused it to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators. 23:12-14”
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ مِنْ الْمَاءِ بَشَرًا فَجَعَلَهُ نَسَبًا وَصِهْرًا وَكَانَ رَبُّكَ قَدِيرًا.
“And He it is who has created man from the water, then He has made for him blood relationship and marriage relationship, and your Lord is powerful. 25:54”
إِنَّا خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ أَمْشَاجٍ نَبْتَلِيهِ فَجَعَلْنَاهُ سَمِيعًا بَصِيرًا.
“Surely We have created man from a small life-germ uniting itself: We mean to try him, so We have made him hearing, seeing. 76:2”
خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ نُطْفَةٍ فَإِذَا هُوَ خَصِيمٌ مُبِينٌ.
“He created man from a small seed, and lo! He is an open contender. 16:4”
Man's story of creation is marvelous and breath-taking, indeed. So are those sacred verses of the Holy Quran which deal with the Allah's signs revealed to man. Nowadays every feature of man's creation is the topic of a specific science.
Not a man, not even a tribe of men, could possibly have access to all secrets of man's creation. For every limb and organ of men there are lots of researches available. We should read these to appreciate the complexities of creation.
The sacred verses of the Holy Quran and the narrations and the Islamic news have all had their crucial role to lead man toward his inner being. Such verses were introduced above. To grasp them fully one needs to study the interpretations on these verses, books on physiology, psychoanalysis and psychology since there are points in those verses which we could not understand except with the help of above-mentioned scientific books.
The great prophet of Islam reckoned it as his duty to read the Holy Quran to people so that they might get familiar with God's commands and wishes which cover all aspects of man's life.
He was obliged to read to people the verses from the Holy Quran, which had been righteously revealed to him so that people could find the ways which would lead them to prosperity.
The Prophet(s) of Islam during his twenty three years as the prophet read the verses of the Holy Quran whether he was on voyage or at home. He read the verses at the time of war or peace, at the mosque or at the market-place, on the street or crossroads, at day or nigh, directly or indirectly. He taught people the true meaning of those verses. He made people ready to act on those verses. He put forth tremendous amounts of energy. He spared nothing from his people upto the last moment of his blessed life.
In all aspects of life, the Prophet(s) performed his human and divine responsibilities and upto the Doom's Day people of the world owe him a lot.
In order to cure people's mental and spiritual disturbances, he presented a valuable, and curing prescription called the Holy Quran. With this monotheistic prescription he left no pain incurable.
Through the Holy Quran, the Prophet of Islam could teach people that it is God's speech. He led people to realize that this Holy book could take them to prosperity.
The Prophet(s) presented the Holy Quran to people to save their wisdoms and lives. Through this book, he could ignite people's insight.
By teaching the Holy Quran to people, he could let people realize that God is the very foundation of everything, that this world is only a planation and field to be sowed for the Hereafter.
Although the verses of the Holy Quran are based on man's nature, wisdom and conscience, the Qoreish's aggressors and tyrants, sometimes ridiculed the Great Prophet(s) and would ask him to present an act of miracle to prove his point. The Prophet(s) then would read some of the verses in order to answer their questions. He would tell them: My miracle is this Quran which is sent by God. He sometimes challenged them to bring forth a book like Quran if they ever could. The inability of the Qoreish in presenting a book similar to the Quran proved that this Holy Book was God's speech. He used to recite the following:
قُلْ لَئِنْ اجْتَمَعَتْ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُّ عَلَى أَنْ يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوْ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِيرًا.
“Say: if men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Quran, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others. 17:88”
The Holy Quran invites people to believe in monotheism and to carry out Allah's commands in order to achieve prosperity both here and in the Hereafter. The Holy Quran prohibits people from engaging in idolatry and aggression and orders them to carry out justice and refrain from getting involved in injustice, transgression, prostitution and evil-doings.
The Holy Quran explicitly proclaims: Everybody is equal in front of God.
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ.
“Surely the most honorable of you with Allah is the one among you most careful of his duty. 49:13”
The Holy Quran warns those people who find an associate for God and who arrange their lives on the wrong premises of atheism and blasphemy and those who worship a life-less idol and those who get themselves involved in aggression. It promises them a severe chastisement and spreads the news that there is a judgment-day for people in the Hereafter.
As of the Doom's Day, the Holy Quran speaks so forcefully that the hearts of people tremble, saying: the judgment-day is near; it arrives at people quite unexpectedly. When it comes mothers would forget their children. Every person would forget everything except himself or herself. The world becomes turbulent; the sky becomes split; the stars get scattered; the seas become dry and the graves cloven. That is the day when people would see what they had sent there as provisions while they were alive.
On the Resurrection Day, people come face to face with a file on which every action of theirs is recorded. They would meet the paradise and the hell; the former is in its most desireable manifestation, and the latter in its most horrendous form and shape.
The Holy Quran says people's records will determine on the Doom's Day whether they belong to the paradise or to the hell.
On that day, when the infidels, the wicked, the polytheists, and the libertines look at their records they will become horrified and would shout:
يَا وَيْلَتَنَا مَالِ هَذَا الْكِتَابِ لَا يُغَادِرُ صَغِيرَةً وَلَا كَبِيرَةً إِلَّا أَحْصَاهَا وَوَجَدُوا مَا عَمِلُوا حَاضِرًا وَلَا يَظْلِمُ رَبُّكَ أَحَدًا.
“Ah! Woe to us! What a book is this! It does not omit a small one nor a great one, but numbers them all; and what they had done they shall find present there; and your Lord does not deal unjustly with anyone. 18:49”
The Holy Quran states: when people are judged justly, the well-doers will receive God's blessings and will stay in the paradise for ever. The wrong-doers will go to the hell and will stay there eternally. If some of these people have committed wrong after they had become believers, they would stay at the Barrier for some time, the length of which is determined by God's blessings.
Man listens to these facts. Those who accept them are salvaged and those who do not comply they will belong to the hell. This applies to Qoreish who heard all of these facts but strongly denied them. They showed their hatred toward the man who revealed these facts to them.
The Prophet(s), used to tell them: your atheist fathers are in eternal chastisement and you will soon meet the same fate if you persist in your adolatry. The only way available to you is for you to deny your fathers' customs and turn to and believe in God and become convinced that the Prophet Mohammad(s) is sent by God to guide you.
Then, upon accepting Islam, you will have to adapt your life with the Prophet's life standards and obey his commands. But if you disobey, God will punish you in the hell and that is where you will stay with your fathers.
Through the recitation of the Holy Quran, the Prophet(s) warned people of the Resurrection Day and made them fearful of the punishments they would encounter. He used to make them think and deliberate on what had happened to the previous nations. Those nations who considered their prophets as liars even if these prophets presented them with their miracles. They called the prophets the mad ones, the magic-stricken. They even murdered some of the prophets and threatened the rest. Then God arranged a severe punishment for them.
The Prophet Mohammad(s) read them the story of the storm, from the Holy Quran, in which the guilty nation of Noah (Nuh) were drowned. He told people of the wind which destroyed the Od nation when they disobeyed the Hud. He told them about the heavenly shout which annihilated the Thamud nation. He also told them about the stones which were poured on the heads of the Lut (Lot) nation. Finally, the Prophet(s) read to the world's nations what had happened to Firon (Pharaoh) and to his nation when they disobeyed the Musa's (Moses') invitation.
The Prophet Mohammad(s) reads to people those verses which order people to walk on the earth to observe what happened to the wrong-doers. He warns people to be prudent not to receive these inevitable punishments.
The Prophet(s), through reciting the sacred verses of the Holy Quran, used to advise people to care about their future prosperity. Those people whose hearts are fascinated by the manifestations of the Holy Quran will listen carefully to the Prophet(s). Those people will listen to him whose wisdoms are dominated with the rules of logic. There were many who listened to the Prophet(s) when he recited the verses from the Holy Quran, but never believed in his statements.
The Magnificent story of Salman Farsi
Ibn Abbas has been narrated to have said: Salman himself told me:
I am an Iranian and I was born in a village called Jey in Isphahan. My father was a farmer and was loved by his fellow-villagers. He loved me a lot. He loved me so much that he had imprisoned me at home like a girl. I was a Zoroastrian and was devoted to the Magian cult. I was so much absorbed in this conviction that I accepted the position of the special servants of the fire-temple. My father used to keep the fire burning, not letting it go off.
My father had a big garden. One day he was busy building something and could not attend to the garden. He told me: My dear son, today I am busy. I cannot go to the garden. You go there and let me know what is going on. He advised me to return quickly since he cared for me a great deal.
Salman continues to say: I set off toward the garden. I passed a Christian church where people were busy praying. I was not aware of these religious affairs before since my father always kept me at home.
Upon hearing the sounds from the church I entered the church to see what was going on. When I observed their prayer I told myself: I swear to God this religious ceremony is better than the one we observe. And I did not leave there till it was the sunset.
I left my father's field and garden. Instead, I asked those prayers at the church where I could find the origin and the spring of their religion. They told me it was in Damascus. I returned to my father and found out that he had sent people every where to look for me. When he saw me, he asked me: Where were you my son? Had I not asked you to attend to the garden?
I answered: My dear father: I was passing a group of people who were busy praying in a temple (church). I was fond of their religion and stayed with them until the sun-set. My father replied: My dear son, that religion does not have anything to offer. The religion of yours and of your fathers' is better than that. I replied: I swear to God their religion is better than ours.
Salman continues to report: My father got frightened; he put fetters on my feet and imprisoned me at home for some time. I sent somebody to the Christians asking them to let me know when their merchants' caravan would return from Damascus. I asked them to inform me of the exact time of their return to that city.
Some time later I was informed of their departure to Damascus. I took off my fetters and went to meet the caravan. We started for Damascus. Upon my arrival at that city I asked for the most learned man in the principles of Christianity.
They mentioned the name of a bishop in their church. I told him: I have become fond of your religion. I would like to stay with you and serve you and the church and learn from you and pray with you. He let me in. However, he turned out to be a dishonest man since he collected alms from the Christians for his own use and would not give away any of it to the needy. He had piled seven jars of gold and silver in this way. When I noticed his dishonesty, I hated him a lot.
When he died and the Christians gathered for his funeral ceremony, I told them: this man was a crook since he collected alms for his own benefit, refusing to give away any of it to the poor. They asked me: How do you know? I answered: I will take you to his treasure. They asked me to do so. They were led to the treasue. They then took out the seven jars of gold and silver. When they saw this treasure they said: we swear to God we will not bury him. They then hung his corpse, stoning it. They, then, appointed some one else as their bishop. Salman continues: this new bishop was a unique man. Nobody was like him. I had seen nobody so sincere in his prayers. He was not fond of this world; instead, he showed inclination towards the Hereafter. He spent all his time praying. I had loved nobody more than him.
I spent with him for a while. When he was going to die, I told him: I have been with you and I liked you more than anything else in this world. Now, you see that you are wanted by God. What would you order me to do?
He answered: My dear son. I swear to God that people have been going astray. They have forgotten decent habits. I do not see anybody who believes what I believe in, except for a man in Mousel who is of the same conviction as I am. Try to reach him.
The man continues: when the man died and the funeral was over I went to Mousel to meet the man. I told him: A certain man advised me to come and meet you prior to his death and told me you are of the same conviction as he is. He wanted me to stay with him. I carried out his demand and stayed. Gradually I found out he was the right person. But soon death came upto him, too. I told him: I was supposed to stay with you. Now you are departing me. Who would you recommend that I could meet. What would you recommend that I see? The man replied: My dear son! I swear to God I do not know of anybody who is of the same conviction as I am, except for a man who lives in Nathibein. I went to that location and found the man, telling him my story.
He asked me to stay with him and I did what I was told to. I found him of the same conviction but then it was his turn to pass away. When he was on the verge of dying, I asked him who he would recommend that I should see.
He answered: My dear son, I swear to God I do not know of anybody who is of the same conviction as I am except for a man who lives in Amurieh. Go and meet with him.
When the funeral procession was over, I arrived at Amurieh, found the man, telling him my story. He asked me to stay with him. He was of the same conviction as his associates.
Salman continues to report: I found a job over there and I could afford buying some female cows and several sheep. When his death was close, I told him I was recommended to come over to see you; now that you are departing me, what would you recommend that I do? This man, too, like others told me: I swear to God, I do not know of anybody who is of our conviction. But fortunately the day of the arrival of a prophet who is of the religion of Ibrahim(s) is near. He will get to the position of prophethood in the Arab land. His migration place is between two rough lands. There are date-palms over there and he has some observable signs. One of his traits is that he would not accept alms but accepts gifts. There is a prophethood seal between his shoulders. Go there to meet with this man.
Salman continues: He, like others died. The funeral was over and I stayed in Amurieh for some time. There came a group of Banikalb merchants. I asked them to take me to the Arab lands. I told them to accept my cows and sheep in lieu of the expenses. They accepted and they took me to the region of Al-Qora. But they very unhumanely sold me as a slave to a jew. I statyed with him, but looking at the date-palms, I realized that I was in the right location.
At that time, a relative of this Jew bought me from him and took me to Medina. I recognized the place from my earlier knowledge from this land.
At this time, Mohammad(s) had got the heavenly position of the prophethood and was staying in Mecca. Since I was a slave, I was not allowed to move around till the Prophet(s) migrated from Mecca to Medina.
I was on a date-palm, gathering dates for my master, who was sitting beneath the tree. One of his cousins came up to him, telling him: May God kill ous and khazraj who are now at Qoba with a man who came here today from Mecca. They think he is the Prophet(s).
Salman, then, continues: when I heard this, I became so perplexed that I thought I would fall on my master, who was beneath the tree. I climbed down the tree and asked the cousin: what did you say? My master became nervous and slapped me on the face, saying: It is none of your business, go, get on with your work. I replied I Just wanted to know what he says is right or wrong.
Salman says: I had some provision of food. At the evening I took it to Qoba to meet with God's Prophet(s). I met him, telling him: I have got the news that you are a well-wishing, and generous man. But there are some people with you who are strangers and in need of food. This food is alms. I assume you will need it more than they do. I took the food to him, then. The Prophet(s) asked his companions to eat it, but he refused to touch it. I told myself: this is one of his signs.
I went to the market place and purchased something. At that time the Prophet(s) had returned to Medina. I went to meet him and I told him: I have noticed you would not like to take alms. This food is a gift from me to you. Then, the prophet took some of it, asking his companions to take some as well. I told my self: this is the second sign of his prophethood.
At another occasion I met with the God's Prophet(s) at a place called Baqi'. He had come there to take part in the funeral procession of one of his friends. The Prophet(s) was sitting among his followers. I greeted him and went behind him to have a look at his shoulders, looking for the seal of the Prophethood. When the Prophet(s) noticed I was looking for something, he let his robe go away from his shoulders. I delightedly saw the seal of the prophethood there. I recognized it. I started kissing it, weeping.
The prophet(s) ordered me to turn back. I did so and sat at his front and told him my whole adventure. The Prophet(s) was delighted when his followers heard what I had to say.
Salman was still a slave and was not allowed to take part in the Holy wars of Badr.
The Prophet(s) told me: write a contract with your master. I did so. I promised to raise three hundred saplings of date-palm and irrigated them properly and pay him forty woggieh of gold.
Then the Prophet(s) told his followers: Help out your brother. They helped me through giving me the saplings of the date-palm. Some gave me thirty, some others twenty and some of them provided me with fifteen or ten saplings proportional to their capabilities. Finally, there were the three hundrd date-saplings ready.
Then the Prophet(s) said: O Salman, go and dig the ground for these saplings. When you are readg, come and see me; I will then plant them for you. I did what I was told to. Of course, my friends helped me a great deal. When I was through I went up to the Prophet(s) and told him what I had done The Prophet(s) planted all the saplings. I swear to God, who possesses Salman's life in His hands, none of those saplings became dry. In this way, I could pay to my owner what I owed him, except for the gold. By chance, people had brought the weight of one egg of gold to the Prophet(s). The Prophet(s) asked: what has that Iranian who wrote a contract for his freedom done so far? I was taken to him. He told me: Take this and pay to your master. I swear to God it was 40 woqqieh of gold. I paid it to my master and became a free man. I could, in this way, take part in the Holy war of Khandag with the Prophet(s). I was never absent from any war since then.[22]
The Prophet Mohammad(s) diligently and among a storm of blasphemy recited to people those secret verses which presented the fundamental principles of the religion.
He mode it clear to people that the Creator of the Universe is Unique, with no associate. Assuming any associate for Allah would make man miserable, and will put him in the ever-lasting fire of the hell.
The Prophet(s) told men that he had been appointed as a Prophet(s) by Allah as He had previously assigned to man some other Prophets.
He recited to the people of the world that their faith would not be complete unless they confessed from the very bottom of their heart that God is unique and that His envoy, Mohammad(s) is genuine.
The Prophet(s) read to the people that in their engagement in affairs they should always remember God and what ever they do should be done sincerely.
The Prophet(s) recited to the people that Allah has ordered us to engage in justice, to assist the relatives, to be amicable towards the orphans, and to the miserable, to do good to our parents, and to obey them-except in the cases when they disobey God. He read to the people of the world that God prohibits them from getting involved in sins, from killing others, from killing children, from adultery, from unfounded pride, from deception, from saying nonsense and from going idle.
The Prophet(s) spread the good news of Allah's favors towards those who believe and perform the righteous things and obey Allah. He informed people of the chastisement which is in store for those who disobey Allah.
As it was mentioned earlier, the Great prophet(s) of Islam, remained a teacher from the time when he was raised to the position of the prophethood till the time when he joined Allah.
The Prophet(s) continually read the Holy Quran to the Moslems and interpreted for them those sections which needed interpretation and more explanations. In sum, he taught the Divine knowledge to people.
The Great Prophet(s) used to recite to people from the Holy Quran:
نَبِّئْ عِبَادِي أَنِّي أَنَا الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ وَأَنَّ عَذَابِي هُوَ الْعَذَابُ الْأَلِيمُ.
“Inform My servants that I am the Forgiving, the Merciful. 15:49-50”
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَادِي عَنِّي فَإِنِّي قَرِيبٌ أُجِيبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِي إِذَا دَعَانِي فَلْيَسْتَجِيبُوا لِي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا بِي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ.
“And when My servants ask you concerning Me, then surely I am very near; I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he calls on Me, so they should answer My call and believe in Me that they may walk in the right way. 2:186”
قُلْ لَوْ كَانَ الْبَحْرُ مِدَادًا لِكَلِمَاتِ رَبِّي لَنَفِدَ الْبَحْرُ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَنفَدَ كَلِمَاتُ رَبِّي وَلَوْ جِئْنَا بِمِثْلِهِ مَدَدًا.
“Say: if the sea were ink for the words of my Lord, the sea would surely be consumed before the words of my Lord are exhausted. 18:109”
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ.
“The apostle believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers; they all believe in Allah and His Angels and His books and His apostles; we make no difference between any of His apostles; and they say: We hear and obey, Our Lord! Thy forgiveness do we crave, and to Thee is the eventual course. 2:285”
الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ أُوْلَئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُفْلِحُونَ.
“Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend out of what We have given them. And who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was believed before you and they are sure of the heareafter. These are on a right course from their Lord and these it is that shall be successful. 2:3-5”
إِنَّ الدِّينَ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ الْإِسْلَامُ.
“Surely the true religion with Allah is Islam. 3:19”
فَمَنْ يُرِدْ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَامِ وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَذَلِكَ يَجْعَلُ اللَّهُ الرِّجْسَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ.
“Therefore for whomever Allah intends that He would guide him aright, He expands his breast for Islam, and for whomsoever He intends that He should cause him to err, He makes his breast strait and narrow as though he were ascending upwards; thus does Allah lay uncleanness on those who do not believe. 6:125”
مَا كَانَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ يَهُودِيًّا وَلَا نَصْرَانِيًّا وَلَكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُسْلِمًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ إِنَّ أَوْلَى النَّاسِ بِإِبْرَاهِيمَ لَلَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُ وَهَذَا النَّبِيُّ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَاللَّهُ وَلِيُّ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ.
“Ibrahim was not a Jew nor a Christian but he was an upright man, a Muslim, and he was not one of the polytheists. 3:67-68”
Those who believe in the Book think that anybody who wants to be on the right way should be a Jew or a Christian. But Allah in His Quran tells Mohammad(s) to talk in the following way:
بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ.
“Say: Nay! We follow the religion of Ibrahim, the Hanif (upright man), and he was not one of the polytheists. 2:135”
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ارْكَعُوا وَاسْجُدُوا وَاعْبُدُوا رَبَّكُمْ وَافْعَلُوا الْخَيْرَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي اللَّهِ حَقَّ جِهَادِهِ هُوَ اجْتَبَاكُمْ وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ حَرَجٍ مِلَّةَ أَبِيكُمْ إِبْرَاهِيمَ هُوَ سَمَّاكُمْ الْمُسْلِمينَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَفِي هَذَا لِيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ شَهِيدًا عَلَيْكُمْ وَتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ فَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِاللَّهِ هُوَ مَوْلَاكُمْ فَنِعْمَ الْمَوْلَى وَنِعْمَ النَّصِيرُ.
“O you who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves and serve your Lord, and do good that you may succeed. And strive hard in the way of Allah, such a striving as is due to Him, He has chosen you and has not laid upon you any hardship in religion; the faith of your father Ibrahim; He named you Muslims before and in this, that the Apostle may be a bearer of witness to you, and you may be bearers of witness to the people; therefore keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and hold fast by Allah; He is your Guardian; how excellent the Guardian and how excellent the Helper! 22:77-78”
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ. الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِي صَلَاتِهِمْ خَاشِعُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ اللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَاةِ فَاعِلُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ. إِلَّا عَلَى أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ. فَمَنْ ابْتَغَى وَرَاءَ ذَلِكَ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْعَادُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ. وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَى صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ. أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْوَارِثُونَ. الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ.
“Successful indeed are the believers, who are humble in their prayers, And who keep aloof from what is vain, And who are givers of poor-rate, And Who guard their private parts, Except before their mates or those who their right hands possess, for they surely are not blameable, But whoever seeks to go beyond that, these are they that exceed the limits; And those who are keepers of their trusts and their covenant, And those who keep guard on their prayers; these are they who are the heirs, who shall inherit the Paradise; they shall abide therein. 23:1-11”
إِنَّ الْمُسْلِمِينَ وَالْمُسْلِمَاتِ وَالْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْقَانِتَاتِ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالصَّادِقَاتِ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّابِرَاتِ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعِينَ وَالْخَاشِعَاتِ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقِينَ وَالْمُتَصَدِّقَاتِ وَالصَّائِمِينَ وَالصَّائِمَاتِ وَالْحَافِظِينَ فُرُوجَهُمْ وَالْحَافِظَاتِ وَالذَّاكِرِينَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا وَالذَّاكِرَاتِ أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ لَهُمْ مَغْفِرَةً وَأَجْرًا عَظِيمًا.
“Surely the men who submit and the women who submit, and the believing men and the believing women and the obeying men and the obeying women, and the truthful men and the truthful women, and the patient men and the patient women, and the humble men and the humble women, and the almsgiving men and the almsgiving women, and the men who guard their private parts and the women who guard and the men who remember Allah much and the women who remember-Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a mighty reward. 33:35”
قَالَتْ الْأَعْرَابُ آمَنَّا قُلْ لَمْ تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَكِنْ قُولُوا أَسْلَمْنَا وَلَمَّا يَدْخُلْ الْإِيمَانُ فِي قُلُوبِكُمْ وَإِنْ تُطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ لَا يَلِتْكُمْ مِنْ أَعْمَالِكُمْ شَيْئًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَحِيمٌ.
“The dwellers of the desert say: We believe. Say: you do not believe but say, we submit; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts; and faith has not yet entered into your hearts; and if you obey Allah and His Apostle, He will not diminish aught of your deeds; surely Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. 49:14”
إِنَّمَا الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ آياتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَانًا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ. الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ حَقًّا لَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ وَرِزْقٌ كَرِيمٌ.
“Those only are believers whose hearts become full of fear when Allah is mentioned, and when His communications are recited to them they increase them in faith, and in their Lord do they trust. Those who keep up prayer and spend benevolently out of what We have given them. These are the believers in truth; they shall have from their Lord exalted grades and forgiveness and an honorable sustenance. 8:2-4”
وَأَطِيعُوا اللَّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ. وَسَارِعُوا إِلَى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَجَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمَاوَاتُ وَالْأَرْضُ أُعِدَّتْ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ. الَّذِينَ يُنْفِقُونَ فِي السَّرَّاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَالْكَاظِمِينَ الْغَيْظَ وَالْعَافِينَ عَنْ النَّاسِ وَاللَّهُ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ. وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا فَعَلُوا فَاحِشَةً أَوْ ظَلَمُوا أَنْفُسَهُمْ ذَكَرُوا اللَّهَ فَاسْتَغْفَرُوا لِذُنُوبِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَلَمْ يُصِرُّوا عَلَى مَا فَعَلُوا وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ. أُوْلَئِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ مَغْفِرَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَجَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا وَنِعْمَ أَجْرُ الْعَامِلِينَ.
“And obey Allah and the Apostle, that you may be shown mercy. And hasten to forgiveness from your Lord; and a garden, the extensiveness of which is as the heavens and the earth, it is prepared for those who guard against evil. Those who spend benevolently in ease as well as in straitness, and those who restrain their anger and pardon men; And Allah Loves the doers of good to others. And those who when they commit an indecency or do injustice to their souls remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their faults-and who forgives the faults but Allah, and who do not knowingly persist in what they have done. As for these-their reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens beneath which rivers flow, to abide in them, and excellent is the reward of the Laborers. 3:132-136”
In the above verses the expression يُحِبُّ المُحْسِنِينَ “Allah loves the doers of good to others” refers to the term “to give away abundantly”. The stem of this word is “Ehsan”.
By Ehsan “giving away abundantly” is meant to obey Allah as much as we can and not to get tired or bored in this regard, and not to be negligent of our duties towards Allah.
Three most used words in the Holy Quran are the words Iman (faith), Islam and Ehsan (giving away freely). These words are semantically related, however. The Prophet(s) of Islam endeavored to make the meanings of these words known with no ambiguity.
One day, the Prophet(s) was among his followers when a man asked him what Iman or faith meant. The Prophet(s) answered: By Faith (Iman) is meant believing in Allah, His Angels and and his prophets, and the Resurrection.
The man, then, asked: what is meant by Islam? The Prophet(s) replied: it means believing in Allah and not associating anybody with Him and keeping up prayers and paying the poor-rate and go on fasting during the month of Rmathan. Then the man asked: what is meant by Ehsan? The Prophet(s) replied: To worship Allah as if you saw him. This is because even if you will not see Him, He will see you anyhow. Then the man asked : when is the Doom's Day due? The Prophet(s) answered:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ.
“Surely Allah is He with whom is the knowledge of the hour. 31:34”
The Great Prophet(s) of Islam not only used the truth of faith, Islam and Ehsan in his teachings and instructions, but he practically showed the consequences of such a belief to people in his daily communications with people.
وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ إِذَا عَاهَدْتُمْ وَلَا تَنقُضُوا الْأَيْمَانَ بَعْدَ تَوْكِيدِهَا وَقَدْ جَعَلْتُمْ اللَّهَ عَلَيْكُمْ كَفِيلًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَفْعَلُونَ. وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّتِي نَقَضَتْ غَزْلَهَا مِنْ بَعْدِ قُوَّةٍ أَنكَاثًا تَتَّخِذُونَ أَيْمَانَكُمْ دَخَلًا بَيْنَكُمْ أَنْ تَكُونَ أُمَّةٌ هِيَ أَرْبَى مِنْ أُمَّةٍ إِنَّمَا يَبْلُوكُمْ اللَّهُ بِهِ وَلَيُبَيِّنَنَّ لَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ مَا كُنْتُمْ فِيهِ تَخْتَلِفُونَ.
“And fulfill the covenant of Allah when you have made a covenant, and do not break the oaths after making them fast, and you have indeed made Allah a surety for you; surely Allah knows what you do. And be not like her who unravels her yarn, disintegrating it into pieces after she has spun it strongly. You make your oaths to be means of deceit between you because one nation is more numerous than another nation. Allah only tries you by this; and He will most certainly make clear to you on the resurrection day that about which you differed. 16:91-92”
The Prophet(s) at any suitable situation read to people from the Holy Quran those verses which recommended the righous deeds and prohibited the wrong ones so that people could choose the right way:
وَذَرِ الَّذِينَ اتَّخَذُوا دِينَهُمْ لَعِبًا وَلَهْوًا وَغَرَّتْهُمْ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَذَكِّرْ بِهِ أَنْ تُبْسَلَ نَفْسٌ بِمَا كَسَبَتْ لَيْسَ لَهَا مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلِيٌّ وَلَا شَفِيعٌ وَإِنْ تَعْدِلْ كُلَّ عَدْلٍ لَا يُؤْخَذْ مِنْهَا أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ أُبْسِلُوا بِمَا كَسَبُوا لَهُمْ شَرَابٌ مِنْ حَمِيمٍ وَعَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْفُرُونَ.
“And leave those who have taken their religion for a play and an idle sport, and whom this world's life has deceived, and remind them there by lest a soul should be given up to destruction for what it has earned; it shall not have besides Allah any guardian nor an intercessor, and if it should seek to give every compensation, it shall not be accepted from it; these are they who shall be given up to destruction for what they earned; they shall have a drink of boiling water and a painful chastisement because they disbelieved. 6:70”
وَهُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضَ بِالْحَقِّ وَيَوْمَ يَقُولُ كُنْ فَيَكُونُ قَوْلُهُ الْحَقُّ وَلَهُ الْمُلْكُ يَوْمَ يُنفَخُ فِي الصُّورِ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ وَهُوَ الْحَكِيمُ الْخَبِيرُ.
“And He it is who has created the heavens and the earth with truth; and on the day He says: Be, it is. His word is the truth, and His is the kingdom on the day when the trumpet shall be blown; the knower of the unseen and the seen; and He is the Wise, the Aware. 6:73”
وَهَذَا كِتَابٌ أَنزَلْنَاهُ مُبَارَكٌ مُصَدِّقُ الَّذِي بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَلِتُنذِرَ أُمَّ الْقُرَى وَمَنْ حَوْلَهَا وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْآخِرَةِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَهُمْ عَلَى صَلَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ.
“And this is a Book We have revealed, blessed, verifying that which is before it, and that you may warn the metropolis [Mecca] and those around her; and those who believe in the hereafter believe in it, and they attend to their prayers constantly. 6:92”
ذَلِكُمْ اللَّهُ رَبُّكُمْ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ خَالِقُ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ فَاعْبُدُوهُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ وَكِيلٌ لَا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ قَدْ جَاءَكُمْ بَصَائِرُ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَمَنْ أَبْصَرَ فَلِنَفْسِهِ وَمَنْ عَمِيَ فَعَلَيْهَا وَمَا أَنَا عَلَيْكُمْ بِحَفِيظٍ.
“That is Allah, your Lord, there is no God but He; the Creator of all things, therefore serve Him, and He has charge of all things. Vision comprehends Him not, and He comprehends all vision; and He is the Knower of subtleties, the Aware. Indeed there have come to you clear proofs from your Lord; whoever will therefore see, it is for his own soul and whoever will be blind, it shall be against himself and I am not a keeper over you. 6:102-104”
اتَّبِعْ مَا أُوحِيَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ وَأَعْرِضْ عَنْ الْمُشْرِكِينَ.
“Follow what is revealed to you from your Lord; there is no God but He; and withdraw from the polytheists. 6:106”
وَلَا تَسُبُّوا الَّذِينَ يَدْعُونَ مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ فَيَسُبُّوا اللَّهَ عَدْوًا بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ كَذَلِكَ زَيَّنَّا لِكُلِّ أُمَّةٍ عَمَلَهُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ مَرْجِعُهُمْ فَيُنَبِّئُهُمْ بِمَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ.
“And do not abuse those whom they call upon besides Allah, lest exceeding the limits they should abuse Allah out of ignorance. Thus have We made fair seeming to every people their deeds; then to their Lords shall be their return, so He will inform them of what they did. 6:108”
أَفَغَيْرَ اللَّهِ أَبْتَغِي حَكَمًا وَهُوَ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ إِلَيْكُمْ الْكِتَابَ مُفَصَّلًا وَالَّذِينَ آتَيْنَاهُمْ الْكِتَابَ يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ مُنَزَّلٌ مِنْ رَبِّكَ بِالْحَقِّ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنْ الْمُمْتَرِينَ.
“Shall I then seek a judge other than Allah? And He it is who has revealed to you the Book which is made plain; and those who We have given the Book know that it is revealed by your Lord with truth, therefore you should not be of the disputers. 6:114”
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَنزَلَ عَلَى عَبْدِهِ الْكِتَابَ وَلَمْ يَجْعَلْ لَهُ عِوَجَا قَيِّمًا لِيُنذِرَ بَأْسًا شَدِيدًا مِنْ لَدُنْهُ وَيُبَشِّرَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا حَسَنًا مَاكِثِينَ فِيهِ أَبَدًا.
“All praise is due to Allah, Who revealed the Book to His servant and did not make in it any crookedness. Rightly directing, that he might give warning of severe punishment from Him and give good news to the believers who do good that they shall have a goodly reward, staying in it for ever. 18:1-3”
وَقُلْ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ فَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيُؤْمِنْ وَمَنْ شَاءَ فَلْيَكْفُرْ إِنَّا أَعْتَدْنَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ نَارًا أَحَاطَ بِهِمْ سُرَادِقُهَا وَإِنْ يَسْتَغِيثُوا يُغَاثُوا بِمَاءٍ كَالْمُهْلِ يَشْوِي الْوُجُوهَ بِئْسَ الشَّرَابُ وَسَاءَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ مَنْ أَحْسَنَ عَمَلًا.
“And say: The truth is from your Lord, so let him who please believe, and let him who please disbelieve; surely we have prepared for the iniquitous a fire, the curtains of which shall encompass them about; and if they cry for water, they shall be given water like molten brass which will scald their faces; evil the drink and ill the resting place. Surely as for those who believe and do good, we do not waste the reward of him who does a good work. 18:29-30”
الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا.
“Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of this world; and the ever-abiding the good works, are better with your Lord in reward and better in expectation. 18:46”
قُلْ هَلْ نُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِالْأَخْسَرِينَ أَعْمَالًا الَّذِينَ ضَلَّ سَعْيُهُمْ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَهُمْ يَحْسَبُونَ أَنَّهُمْ يُحْسِنُونَ صُنْعًا أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ وَلِقَائِهِ فَحَبِطَتْ أَعْمَالُهُمْ فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا ذَلِكَ جَزَاؤُهُمْ جَهَنَّمُ بِمَا كَفَرُوا وَاتَّخَذُوا آيَاتِي وَرُسُلِي هُزُوًا إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ كَانَتْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتُ الْفِرْدَوْسِ نُزُلًا خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا لَا يَبْغُونَ عَنْهَا حِوَلًا.
“Say: Shall we inform you of the greatest losers in their deeds? These are they whose labor is lost in this world's life and they think that they are well versed in skill of the work of hands. These are they who disbelieve in the communications of their Lord and His meeting, so their deeds become null, and therefore we will not set up a balance for them on the day of resurrection. Thus, it is that their recompense is hell, because they disbelieved and held My communications and My apostles in mockery. Surely as for those who believe and do good deeds, their place of entertainment shall be the gardens of paradise. Abiding therein; they shall not desire removal from them. 18:103-108”
وَاذْكُرْ فِي الْكِتَابِ إِسْمَاعِيلَ إِنَّهُ كَانَ صَادِقَ الْوَعْدِ وَكَانَ رَسُولًا نَبِيًّا وَكَانَ يَأْمُرُ أَهْلَهُ بِالصَّلَاةِ وَالزَّكَاةِ وَكَانَ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ مَرْضِيًّا.
“And mention Ismail in the Book; surely he was truthful in his promise, and he was an apostle, a prophet. And he enjoined on his family prayer and almsgiving, and was one in whom his Lord was well pleased. 19:54-55”
لَقَدْ أَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكُمْ كِتَابًا فِيهِ ذِكْرُكُمْ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ.
“Certainly we have revealed to you a Book in which is your good remembrance; what! Do you not then understand? 21:10”
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ.
“And we did not send before you any apostle but we revealed to him that there is no god but me, therfore serve Me. 21:25”
كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذائِقَةُ المَوْتِ وَنَبْلُوَكُمْ بِالشَّرِّ وَالخَيْرِ فِتْنَةً وَإلَينا تُرْجَعُونَ.
“Every soul must taste of death and we try you by evil and good by way of probation; and to us you shall be brought back. 21:35”
Now if we wished to represent all the Holy verses of the Holy Quran which the righteous Prophet(s) of Islam recited to the people, then we would have to bring all the verses here in this pamphelet, which would be an impossible task.
What we presented above were just samples from the Holy Quran which the Prophet(s) read to people to let them get familiar with heavenly truth. Those verses brought up the material, spiritual, individual, social, political, economic, emotional and ethical issues.
[1] Hayatol Qolub, Vol.2, P3.
[2] Zobdatol Haqayeq, P50.
[3] Al-Mizan, Vol.1, P39.
[4] Tafsir Nemuneh, Vol.1, P 456.
[5] The Prophet of Light, P6.
[6] By Yaumoddar is meant the day of penticast. According to Christianity on that day the Holy Ghost descends on the aostles and the arranged-for Farqelita is interpreted as that day (The Acts of the Prphets, section 2: Verses 1-12.
[7] Yuhanna, section16:7.
[8] Islam is a religion of love, piety, assistance, health and loyalty. If the old man had accepted Islam, he would have been protected and would have been respected upto his last day of life. What he told Fakhrol Islam stems from his fear and his suspicion. What he said stems from his desire to keep his worldly status.
[9] Anisol A'alam, Vol.1, P 6.
[10] The Eternal light, P 118.
[11] The First Infallible, P 30.
[12] Tala'at Haqq, P 17.
[13] Hayatol Qolub, P100.
[14] The First Infallible, P34.
[15] The First Infallible, P 38.
[16] The Eternal Light, P 156; The translation of Nehajatol Erab, P 102; Behar, Vol 15, P 18.
[17] Hayatol Qolub, P 370.
[18] Al-Mahajjal Betha: The Prophet's Morals and The Means of livelihood.
[19] Interesting points of the world of science, P 11.
[20] Interesting points of the world of science, P 27.
[21] Interesting points of the world of science, P 203.
[22] Nehayatol Erab, Vol.1, P 134.
source : THE LAND OF THE LOVERS An Exposition on Imam Zainol Abedin’s Sahifeh Sajjadieh VOLUME 1 BY Shaykh Husayn Ansariyan
