11 October 2009

Seerah of Muhammed*

*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an

The Conversion of Hamzah

Abu Jahl insulted the Prophet* and threw a stone on his head, causing some bleeding. This was witnessed by a slave girl. Hamzah, Muhammed's uncle was very strong and fear-inspiring. He was an avid hunter who would circumambulate the Ka'bah every time he returned from a hunting trip and before he entered his home.

On hearing of this abuse he became furious and went straight to the Ka'bah, straight to Abu Jahl and hit him very hard with his bow. Some members of Banu Makhzum rose to the help of Abu Jahl, but Abu Jahl calmed them down by admitting his error. Hamzah then declared his conversion to Islam out of pride. When he reached home he was confused and made a du’a to Allah to guide his decision – and the next day he went to the Prophet* to declare his Islam properly.

The Conversion of `Umer ibn al Khattab

[This happened after the Muslims had migrated to Abyssinia.]
Umer was a strong, capable and passionate man. He loved wine and amusement, and despite his very harshness of character, he was gentle and compassionate toward his loved ones. As for the Muslims, he was one of their strongest opponents in the early years.

Umer learned of the Prophet*’s meeting one day and went there after he decided he would kill Muhammed* and thus relieve the Quraysh of its burden, restore its ravaged unity, and re-establish respect for the gods that Muhammed* had castigated. On the way there, carrying his sword, he met Nu'aym ibn `Abdullah (who was secretly a Muslim). After he learned what `Umer was about to do Nu'aym said, "By God, you have deceived yourself, O `Umer ! Do you think that Banu `Abd Manaf would let you run around alive once you had killed their son Muhammed*? Why don't you return to your own house and at least set it straight?" When `Umer learned that Fatimah, his sister, and her husband, Said ibn Zayd, had already been converted to Islam he stormed over to her house.
Umer asked her what she was reciting but she refused to cooperate. Flying into a rage Umer attacked Said but managed to hit his sister as she protected her husband. She then exclaimed: Yes, indeed! We have become Muslims. Do what you will!". After calming down a little Umer asked his sister to let him see the manuscript which she and her husband had been reading together. He became impressed and was directed to where the Prophet* was teaching and became a Muslim despite the initial doubts of the other companions.


Hadith (Riyadh as-Salihin): On Repentance (seeking Forgiveness)

Allah Almighty says, "Turn towards Allah, O believers, every one of you, so that perhaps you will have success," TMQ 24:31
the Almighty says, "Ask your Lord for forgiveness and then turn in repentance to Him," TMQ 11:3
the Almighty says, "O you who believe! Turn in sincere repentance to Allah." TMQ 66:8

Abu Hurayra said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'By Allah, I ask Allah's forgiveness and turn towards Him in repentance more than seventy times a day."

Al-Agharr ibn Yasar al-Muzani said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "O people! Turn in repentance towards Allah and ask His forgiveness. I turn towards Him a hundred times a day."

Abu Hamza Anas ibn Malik al-Ansari, the servant of the Messenger of Allah reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah is happier about the repentance of one His slaves than one of you would be about finding your camel which had strayed away from you in the middle of the desert."
In the variant of Muslim, "Allah has greater joy at the repentance of one His slaves when he turns towards Him than one of you would have over his mount, which, having escaped from him with his food and drink in the middle of the desert so that he has despaired of finding it and gone to a tree to lie down in its shade, suddenly appears standing by him while he is in that state, so that he takes its reins and then says out of the intensity of his joy, 'O Allah, You are my slave and I am Your Lord!' getting confused because of his intense joy.'"

From Abu Musa 'Abdullah ibn Qays al-Ash'ari is that the Prophet*, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah Almighty will stretch out His hand during the night, turning towards the one who did wrong during the day, and stretch out His hand during the day, turning towards the one who did wrong during the night, until the day the sun rises from the place it set."

Abu Hurayra reported that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "Allah will turn towards anyone who turns in repentance before the time that the sun rises from the East."


The Second Phase of the Prophet*’s Dawa: Public Interaction

The following Quranic verse marked the transition of the call from its Private stage to that of public interaction: "Therefore proclaim (openly) that which you are commanded, and turn away from the polytheists. Verily, we are sufficient unto you against the scoffer. Who take with Allah another god but they will come to know." [TMQ 94-96]

Why did the Prophet* receive such a violent reaction?
This was because he challenged the major corrupt practices in the Meccan society, especially those practised by the ruling elite (the Malla’). He would, in straight-forward language, outline their evil ways with no compromise to the message or the audience. He was challenging the very order of society and their values by talking about Islam, believing in One Allah alone and submitting only to Allah (and His Messenger) and to no-one else. The ruling classes were threatened by these ideas. After all, the Prophet* was only challenging their ideas and did not physically fight against their evil practices. This was a struggle of ideas.

Hence, the Prophet* began to openly confront the system of ignorance (jahiliyah) within Quraysh.
Following the conversion to Islam by Hamza and Umer ibn al-Khattab the Prophet* arranged the Muslims into two columns, with Hamza heading one column and Umer heading the other, and then they marched around the Kaaba. This shocked the people of Mecca. For the first time they were confronted with the reality of the solid basis of the Muslims. Prior to this the Muslims prayed in private but now they prayed in the courtyard of the Kaaba.

So, the Prophet* presented the Muslims as an organised group that was challenging and changing the society, its values, ideals, practices, emotions and system of ruling and the organisation of life's affairs.

He attacked the aristocratic and money conscious values of the society:
"Woe unto every slander, traducer who accumulates wealth and counts it. He thinks that his wealth will render him immortal. Nay he will indeed be flund into the destroyer." [TMQ Al-Humazah: 1-4]
"Rivalry in worldly increase has distracted you. Until you visit the graves (as dead bodies). But nay, you soon shall know (the dire consequence of this practice)." [TMQ At-Takathur:1-3]

Concerning the hypocrisy & miserliness:
"Have you seen him who gives the lie to religion? That is he who repels the orphan. And urges not the feeding of the needy." [TMQ Al-Maun: 1-3]
"Woe unto the defrauders. Those who when they take the measure from mankind demand it in full, but if they measure unto them or weigh for them, they cause them loss." [TMQ Al-Mutaffifin: 1-3]

The leaders of Quraysh:
"The power of Abu Lahab will perish, and he will perish. His wealth and gains will not exempt him. He will be plunged in flaming fire. And his wife, the wood-carrier. Will have upon her neck a hacker of palm-fibre." [TMQ Al-Masad: 1-5]
"therefore obey not thou the rejectors. Who desire that thou would compromise, that they may compromise. Neither obey thou any insignificant oath monger. Slander, going out with calumnies. Hinder of the good; transgressor, deeply steeped in sin. Coarse (and thick) therewithal, ignore. It is because he is possessed of wealth and children. That, when our revelations are recited unto him, saith: mere fables of the men of old. We shall brand him on the nose." [TMQ Al-Qalam: 8-16]
“The pursuit of wealth has exhausted all your energies and preoccupied your life to the very end? But you will surely come to know-and you will surely come to know it well!-that your wealth will not avail a thing. Had you known it with certainty, you would have known of hell and you would have convinced yourselves of it. But it is on the Day of Judgment that you will be 'questioned concerning the moral worth of your deeds." [TMQ, 102:1-8]
“And whosoever does an atom's weight of good shall be rewarded therefore, and whosoever does an atom's weight of evil shall be punished therefore." [TMQ, 99:7-8]

Concerning society’s practice of killing their daughters:
“When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned, for what crime she was killed.” [TMQ 17:31]
“Kill not your children on a plea of want. We provide sustenance for you and for them. Come not near shameful deeds, whether open or secret. Take not life which Allah has made sacred”. TMQ :151

About their worshipping of idols:
“Have ye seen Lat. and 'Uzza, And another, the third (goddess), Manat? What! for you the male sex, and for Him, the female? Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair! These are nothing but names which ye have devised,- ye and your fathers,- for which Allah has sent down no authority (whatever). They follow nothing but conjecture and what their own souls desire!- Even though there has already come to them Guidance from their Lord!” TMQ 53.19


News

Another article taken from Saturday’s The Guardian tells the latest in the story of a lady who went to court to overturn her parent’s will. They had left part of their estate (worth £2.3million) in North Yorkshire to the charity RSPCA. She claimed the farm should have gone to her and successfully argued her case in the British courts (see Daughter wins £2.3m left to RSPCA). The RSPCA said it would appeal.
This shows how messy the inheritance laws are in the UK and this is not the first time that someone has left all their (or a lot of) wealth to a charity, or their pets or animals. Then, the surviving relatives have had to go to court to reclaim their inheritance. Very traumatic for all concerned and does not leave a good legacy for those that have passed away.

This problem is generally avoided in Islam as the laws of inheritance are quite well established, so that when someone dies it is known by everyone who is entitled to what wealth, as their wealth is divided according to a set formula. Muslims can stipulate a proportion of their wealth for a given reason or charity etc, but this is not more than a third of their total wealth. This avoids a lot of the nastiness involved in going to court to get your inheritance back.