The Prophet's Mission

Lover of nature and Quite, worried about human sufferings, Muhammad very often retired toMount Hira' for meditations. One night, laylatu'l-qadr(the Night of Majesty) a voice addressing him, commanded O Recite in the Name of the Lord. O Deeply excited by the strange phenomena of Divine Visitation, Muhammad hurried home to his wife , Khadijah, who listened to him attentively and said that " I bear witness that you are the Apostle of God." After an interval, the voice from heaven spoke again "magnify the Lord." This was a signal for him to start preaching the gospel of truth of One God. In the beginning Muhammad invited only those near him, to accept the new Faith. The first to embrace Islam among women was khadijah and among men ` Ali. Soon after, Zayd ibn al-Harithah become a convert to the new faith followed by abut baker and 'thman. ' Umar hitheto a violent opponent of Islam, notorious for the persecution of the Muslims and a bitter enemy of the Prophet, embraced Islam, later. (The Brief History fourteen Infallibles of Islam, P. 18)

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The Message of Islam

The spirit of the message of Islam can be summed up and shown in this phrase: La ilaha illa'llah."- There is no god but Allah. It means that, apart from the One and Only Allah, nothing must be worshipped. This is the great, fruitful, abundant secret of the tree of Islam. For if we compare Islam to a tree, and its ideology to the seed or the root, we must realise that the health and fruitfulness of the tree is connected to the health of the roots. And then we see how strong, how steadfast and steely the basis of the ideology of Islam is, as revealed in this one phrase.

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Contentment and Faith Go Together

If all man's wishes were rooted in material things alone, and man felt no desire in his soul to transcend the material world, happiness would come from securing material things. But we know and see that man screams out with the voice of his spirit against the depths of technology and materiality. With every increase in material things the craving of society for the spirit and for spiritual wants increases, and this phenomenon is clearly evident in the recalcitrance and disorder in society. The proof is the complete disruption and crisis which has cast its shadow over civilised societies since the beginnings of the twentieth century, to the point where the spiritual upheaval of society, especially among the young, is out of control. The Russian psychologist and sociologist, Sorokin, said: "Because, in the culture of a materialist civilisation, man is only an organism with life, and is in no way attributed with the values and absolutes of goodness, beauty and wisdom, no way has been envisaged to reach spiritual perfection and spiritual wants." Unless the sublime spirit of man which, like the keen-winged falcon, desires the exaltation of flying above the mountain ridges and peaks, soars to places far from human hands, and unless it is refreshed at the source of spiritual virtues, it will not be free of these disruptions and outbursts. All the crimes and desires for gratification are signs of the breaking of natural roaring waves which will not be quiet until they reach the safety of the shore. And the shore of safety is only faith in One Limitless Power, Infinite Knowledge, Pure Perfection and keeping away from imaginary gods. By remembering such a power, and having true faith in it, the heart finds contentment. The Qur'an recites this great truth in the shortest of sentences:

"In remembrance of Allah are the hearts at rest." (XIII:28)

Indeed the peace of hearts is only in remembrance of Allah. Only leaning towards and attention to God can regulate human nature and guide it to happiness. Islam weighs the value of man by this very standard and criterion and says:

"Surely the noblest among you in the sight of Allah is the most godfearing of you." (XLIX:13)

The aim of Islam is to show, to indicate the better and higher horizons, and to save man from the ash-cloth of his material skin and his lusts, so that man may know the real pastures of green and luxuriant pleasures, and desist from journeying in the furnace of material ways and walk in the true way of contentment.

"O ye who believe! Respond to Allah and His messenger when He calls you unto that which will give you life." (VIII:24)

By acquiring knowledge of Islam, the dead soul and dormant faculties of man will be made alive, will rise up and grow, and this life will reach the source through the windows of the laws and the perspective of the aims of Islam. Now let us look at some of these perspectives:a Islamic fraternity; watchfulness by the people; the status of knowledge; work and effort; the structure of the family.

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Islamic Fraternity

Islamic brotherhood is based on the highest human virtue, for it is far from hollow rootless formalities. It is a reality for the strengthening of self-sacrifice in the Muslim individual and the keeping alive of the spirit of purity, sincerity and faith. One of its direct practical results is the creation of responsibility and sympathy between individuals in all aspects of life. On the basis of this brotherhood, a Muslim cannot refrain from sharing his brother's difficulties.

The project of initiating Islamic brotherhood in the first days of Islam was so skillfully and interestingly put into action that the poor and the rich were brothers in heart and soul. The Prophet (S.A.) explained Islamic brotherhood in this easy and expansive way: The believers are brothers one to the other, and are in the likeness of one man in that if one part is in pain, the other parts will not be at peace." Imam Sadiq (A.S.) said: "The spirit of Islamic brotherhood does not allow you to be full and your thirst quenched while your Muslim brother is hungry and thirsty, nor that you should be clothed and your Muslim brother naked. You must wish for him what you wish for yourself. Support him as he supports you. When he is traveling, guard his property and honour. When he returns, hurry to see him, give him respect as if you were his and he were yours. If he is fortunate, give thanks to Allah for his gladness. If he is in difficulty, help him."