(1928) A Brief Sketch of the Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Presented by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman...

8/9/2019 (1928) A Brief Sketch of the Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Presented by the Ahmadiyya Anjuman Isha'at (Lahore,

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A brief sketch of the life of

THE PROPHET OF ISLAMPRESENTED 3Y

THE AHMADIYYA ANJUMAN ISHAAT ISLAMLAHORE

to all fairrnttnded non^MitsWms on the?occasion;of the

FOURTEENTH CENTENARYof that great benefactor of humanity

BYMT2lHAMJSmp' ALi; MCA;, LL.B,,

President :of~the; Anjuman.


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THE PROPHET OF ISLAMIt was in the year 571 of the Christian era that

the Holy Prophet Muhammad was born. At the timeof his birth Arabia was steeped deep in the worst formof idolatry that has ever prevailed in any country. TheKaba, the spiritual centre of Arabia, was full of idols,and every household had, in addition, its own idols.Unhewn stones, trees and heaps of sand were alsoworshipped. And in spite of this vast and deep-rootedidolatry, the Arabs were, as Bosworth Smith remarks,materialistic. " Eat and drink '' is, as he says, " theepicurean tone of the majority of the poems that havecome down to us." There was practically no faith in alife after death, no feeling of responsibility for one'sactions. They, however, believed in demons, and diseaseswere attributed to the influence of evil spirits. Ignoranceprevailed among the high as well as the low, so much sothat the noblest of men could boast of his ignorance.There was no moral code and vice was rampant. The


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THE PROPHET OF ISLAMIt was, in the year 571 of the Christian era that

the Holy Prophet Muhammad was born. At the timeof his birth Arabia was steeped deep in the worst formof idolatry that has ever prevailed in any country. TheKaba, the spiritual centre of Arabia, was full of idols,and every household had, in addition, its own idols.Unhewn stones, trees and heaps of sand were alsoworshipped. And in spite of this vast and deep-rootedidolatry, the Arabs were, as Bosworth Smith remarks,materialistic. " Eat and drink " is, as he says, " theepicurean tone of the majority of the poems that havecome down to us." There was practically no faith in alife after death, no feeling of responsibility for one'sactions. They, however, believed in demons, and diseaseswere attributed to the influence of evil spirits. Ignoranceprevailed among the high as well as the low, so much sothat the noblest of men could boast of his ignorance.There was no moral code and vice was rampant. The


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leading men could keep brothels. Women were " inmost degraded position, worse even than that in whthey were under the laws of Manu in Hindusta(Bosworth Smith). Woman was looked upon as mchattel. Instead of having any right to inheritanceproperty, her own person formed part of the inheritance,that the heir was able to dispose her off as he would,he did not like to take her, were she his own step-mothfor a wife. There was no settled government, no lin the land, and might was practically right. Theylonged to one race and spoke one language, yet they wethe most disunited people, and tribe made war on trand family on family, on the most trivial excuse. Tstrong among them trampled upon the rights of the weand the weak could not get their wrongs redressed. Twidow and the orphan were quite helpless and the slawere treated most cruelly.Among this people was born Muhammad, an orphfrom his birth who lost even his mother when six yeold. He came of the noblest family of the Quraish,like the rest of his countrymen he was not taught readand writing. He may have tended sheep for some tiand the noblest of the Arabs had no contempt for toccupation, but in his youth he was chiefly occupiedtrade. It was, however, high morals that distinguishim from the first from all his compatriots. The HoQuran, which according to Muslim as well as non-Muslauthorities contains the most trustworthy account of tProphet's life, says plainly that he was possessorsublime morals (68:4). Leading generally a reserv


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for four years between the Quraish and the Hawazin,yet he did no more than gather up arrows that camefrom the enemy and hand them over to his uncles. Hedid not even take to trading for love of wealth butsimply out of regard for his uncle Abu Talib whom heloved to heJp. Thus says Muir: "Mahomet was nevercovetous of wealth, or at any period of his career energeticin the pursuit of riches for their own sake. If left tohimself, he would probably have preferred the quiet andrepose of his present life to the bustle and cares of amercantile journey. He would not spontaneously havecontemplated such an expedition. But when the proposalwas made, his generous soul at once felt the necessityof doing, all that was possible to relieve his uncle and hecheerfully responded to the call."Above all, his earlier life was marked by that rarecharacteristic, rarest of all in Arabia at the time, loveof the poor, the orphan, the widow, the weak, the helplessand the slave. Before he had affluence of means, he wasone of the members who took the oath to stand by theoppressed and formed themselves into a league aschampions of the injured. When at twenty-five hemarried the wealthy Khadijah. He spent freely for thehelp of the poor. No slave came into the householdbut was set free by him. He had acquired such a famefor the help of the poor that when after the Call, theQuraish demanded him of Abu Talib to put him to death,the old chief refused and praised him in a poem as theSayyid (the chief) who "protected the orphans and thewidows." Earlier than this when he received the Call


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were weary and helped the poor and gave relief to thoswho were in distress and honoured the guest and lovehis kinsmen.To these great qualities was added his anxiety foa fallen humanity. The Quran refers to it repeatedl(9:128; 18:6; 26:3; 35:8). As years went on, thgross idolatry of the Arabs and their evil ways pressethe more heavily on his heart, and he spent hours isolitude in the neighbouring mountains. Still later, hrepaired for days to a cave at the foot of the mounHira,. and it was here that the Divine Light shone ohim in its full resplendence. At first, fearing whethehe would be able to perform the great task, his anxietsoon gave place to absolute faith that truth woulultimately triumph and he set to work with a strength owill and an inflexibility of purpose which could not bshaken by the severest opposition of the whole of ArabiaHis message was from the first for all, for the Araidolaters as well as the Jews, the Christians and the Magiwho came in contact with him. Nor was it limited to thtown of Mecca, for Mecca was the centre to which menand women flocked in thousands every year from alparts of Arabia, and through this assemblage the Prophet'message reached the most distant corners of Arabia. Hiwife Khadijah was the first to believe in him, and shwas followed by others who were either his most intimatfriends or knew him on account of close relationship thim. As Muir remarks, " it is strongly corroborative ofMahomet's sincerity that the earliest converts to Islawere not of character, but his own bosom


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deceiver abroad and his actions at home."His first revelations laid stress on the great powerand majesty of the Divine Being, and on the inevitability

of the Judgment. The Quraish mocked at first, treatedhim contemptuously and called him a mad man. In spiteof this he went gaining adherents by twos and threes,until within four years the number reached forty andpersecution grew bitter. At first the slaves were tortured ;men like Bilai, a negro by birth, who when made to lieon burning gravel under the Arabian midday sun wouldcry " One, One " to the bewilderment of his persecutors.But the fire of persecution once kindled could not belimited. Converts of high birth were made to sufferalong with the poorer followers. The Prophet himselfdid not escape the cruelties of the persecutors. TheMuslims could not gather together or say their prayersin a public place. Still he went on gaining new ad-herents, and his opponents became severer in their per-secutions, so much so that some of the humbler convertswere put to death in a most brutal manner. The Prophet'stender heart melted at the sight of this brutal treatmentof innocent men and women, and caring little that hewould be left alone among exasperated opponents, headvised the small band of his followers to betake them-selves to a place of safety. Eleven men and women leftMecca in the fifth year, and migrated to Abyssinia.Thither they were followed by a deputation of theiropponents that waited on the ruler of Abyssinia for theirextradition. The Muslim case was put by their leaderbefore the king as follows :"


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make good our obligations to our relations, aill-treated our neighbours. The strong amous would thrive at the expense of the weatill at last God raised a Prophet for our reforation. His descent, his righteousness,integrity and his virtue are well-known toHe called us to the worship of God, and baus to give up idolatry and stone-worship.enjoined on us to tell the truth, to make goour trusts, to have regard for our kith akin, and to do good to our neighbours.taught us to shun everything foul and to avobloodshed. He forbade all sorts of indecethings, telling lies and misappropriating orphanbelongings. So we believed in him, followhim and acted up to his teachings. Thereupour people began to do us wrong, to subjeus to tortures, thinking that we might abjuour faith and revert to idolatry. When hoever their cruelties exceeded all bounds,came to seek an asylum in your country,"The Negus was touched deeply by this statemeand by a recitation from the Holy Quran and refused

deliver the Muslims to their enemies. More Musliwent to Abyssinia next year, until the total reached 1excluding children. The Quraish tried their utmostcheck this tide of emigration but all in vain. They ghowever exasperated beyond all measure at the Prophand the little band of Muslims that remained with hAbu


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8the Hashimites and the Muslims in a small quarter, wherethey suffered the utmost privations for three long years,being allowed liberty of action only during the time ofthe pilgrimage. These three years were years of thehardest suffering for the Muslims, and Islam itself madelittle progress during this time.

Released at last from this imprisonment, the Prophetthough facing disappointment on all sides, had still asmuch faith in the triumph of the truth as ever. IfMecca was now quite deaf to his preaching he wouldturn to another place. He went to Taif, another greatcity of Arabia. Here, however, he found the groundeven harder than at Mecca. He was not allowed evento stay there after ten days, and as he walked back hewas pelted with stones. Dripping with blood and noteven allowed by his persecutors to take rest, he at lastreturned to Mecca, a sadder man than when he left it.But while man would not listen to him, yet would heopen his heart to God Who was always ready to listenand he prayed to Him thus when coming back fromTaif: " O My God ! to Thee do I complain of the feeble-

ness of my strength and of my lack of resource-fulness and of my insignificance in the eyes ofpeople. Thou art most Merciful of the merciful.Thou art the Lord of the weak. To whomwilt Thou entrust me, to an unsympathetic foewho would sullenly frown at me, or to a closefriend to whom Thou hast given control overmy affair? Not in the least do I care for

that I have


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controls all affairs in this world as wellin the hereafter. May it never be that I shouincur Thy wrath or that Thou shouldstdispleased with me. There is no strength, nopower, but in Thee."He feels that no man lends his ear to his message

yet his faith in the goodness of God and in the ultimatriumph of his cause is as unshaken as ever. To hiGod is all in all and the opposition of the whole worlis nothing. With marvellous calmness he undergoes tseverest hardships which he has to suffer for workinfor the good of these very people who take pleasureinflicting on him the cruellest tortures. All these, hsays, are insignificant so long as he enjoys the pleasuof God! What a firm faith in God, what a cheerfresignation to His supreme will, what an unalloyespiritual happiness!Three years more passed away at Mecca amdist tmost trying circumstances. In the meanwhile Islam toroot in Medina and spread fast. As the thirteenth yeaof the Call drew to a close, seventy-five Muslims (incluing two women) from Medina came to performpilgrimage and swore allegiance to the Prophet, thathe chose to go to Medina, they would defend him againhis enemies, just as they defended their own childrand wives. Then it was that the Muslim exodusMedina commenced. The Prophet chose to remain aloamong an enemy that was growing more and morexasperated, and see his followers safe at the new centrIt shows the depth of his love and concern for h


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of the Muslim archers made a mistake in vacatincertain position which they had been strictly commmannot to leave on any account. The Muslim armyattacked from the rear and suffered a severe loss befowas able to rally round the Holy Prophet. The enleft the field unpursued by the Muslims. Two year lthey came with a huge army determined to give a crusblow to Islam at Medina. The Muslims found tselves unable to fight them in the open and dug a dround the city, the battle being thus known as the battlthe Ditch. It is also known as the battle of the Alon account of the Quraish coming along with allallies that they could summon to their help. The loestimate of the invading army is 10,000 and the hig25,000. The siege continued for about a month, wa severe midnight gale cast such terror into the hearthe enemy that it took to flight before the morning. Athat the Quraish could not gather up courage to atMedina. But all along they did their best to inciteother tribes, against whom the Prophet was competo undertake expeditions now and then.Towards the close of the sixth year of the Flithe Holy Prophet went to perform a pilgrimageabout 1,500 of his companions, but was not alloweenter the sacred territory. A truce was here arrafor ten years,, but its terms were violated by the Meccabout two years later, and the Holy Prophet theremarched on Mecca with an army of ten thousand.Meccans were unable to meet this army and the Promade an announcement of a general amnesty to alldid not offer violence, and a bloodless conq


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power had left no stone unturned to blot out Islamand to crush the Muslims, who had expelled them fromtheir homes and had not even allowed them to leadtheir lives in peace at a distant place, who had per-secuted hundreds and shed innocent Muslim blood. Butthey knew the Al-Amin of old, they knew that he hada generous heart within his breast. " Thou art a noblebrother, the son of a nobler brother " was their un-hesitating reply. But the treatment he accorded to themexceeded even their own expectations. " This day," hesaid in the words of Joseph to his brothers, "there isno reproof against you." They were yet unbelievers,but mark the magnanimity of the great soul who wouldnot even reproach them for their evil deeds, who letthem go even without taking a pledge from them forthe future. Here was a practical proof of that laudableprecept, love thy enemy. Not only was Mecca con-quered but with it were conquered also the hearts of thebitterest foes of Islam. They now saw with their owneyes how the combined force of opposition offered bythe whole country had proved an utter failure againstthe mighty truth which came from the lips of a manwho stood alone in the midst of all opposition. Therighteousness of the cause was now only too clear tothem and men and women came forward spontaneouslyto embrace the faith. There was not a single instanceof conversion by force. And those that still adhered tothe old religion were treated in the same spirit offriendliness as the members of the Brotherhood. EvenMuir has to admit:


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14he intended to follow the course he had pursuat Medina, and leave the conversion of tpeople to be gradually accomplished withocompulsion."

The fall of Mecca was a signal to the wholeArabia. In fact, the Quraish of Mecca were generalat the bottom of all organized opposition. With tonly exception of the battle of Hunain which hadbe undertaken against the Hawazin immediately aftthe conquest of Mecca, regular warfare between tMuslims and the non-Muslims in the whole of Arabnow came to an end, and even at Hunain, the unbelieviMeccans fought on the side of the Muslims. ButIslam was freed of trouble from within, the Christipower on the north viewed its strength with a jealoeye, and persistent news as to preparations of the RomaEmpire to attack Arabia could not be ignored. Accoringly an expedition of thirty thousand men was ledthe Holy Prophet personally to the northern frontieWhen he reached Tabuk, however, he found that hmarch had a restraining effect on the enemy, and thebeing no hostile force in the field, the Holy Prophreturned without either attacking the Romans or declariwar against them. In fact, he always observed thQuranic injunction to fight only with those who toup the sword first to fight against the Muslims. Aftreturn from Tabuk, peace was practically establishedthe whole of Arabia though the Islamic territory wnot quite free from groups of marauders. It was ththat deputations from far and near began to cometo wait upon the Prophet and to learn the truth abo


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purest monotheism; nay, it was a conversion of tentire nation, from one end of the vast Peninsula to tother, in all spheres of life, ignorance, superstition abarbarism giving place to a rational outlook on all aspecof life. And with his task thus accomplished, the HolProphet performed his last pilgrimage to the SacrHouse towards the end of the 10th year of the Flighand in the eleventh year on the 2nd of Rabi-ul-Aww(corresponding with June 632 of the Christian eracommended his soul to the great Maker, with the word" blessed companionship on High " on his lips.

I have given a very brief outline of the life of tHoly Prophet Muhammad. The most outstandicharacteristic of that life as even the brief outline givabove would not fail to show us the amazing succewhich the Prophet achieved. The transformatiwrought within the short space of less than a quartof a century is in fact unparalleled in the historythe world. There is not a single reformer who broughabout such an entire change in the lives of a wholnation inhabiting such a vast country. None in fafound his people at such a depth of degradation as tProphet found the Arabs, and no one raised thematerially, morally or spiritually to the height to whiche raised them. So deep-rooted was their idolatry, spowerful the bonds of their superstitions and their usagethat the propagandic efforts of the Jews and thChristians carried on for hundreds of years one aftthe other, with the material power of kingdom at theback, could not bring about the least change in the


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Twenty-three years' work of the Holy Prophet, howevequite metamorphosed them. Worship of idols andall objects other than God, whether in heaven or earwas now considered to be a disgrace to humanity. Ntrace of an idol was left throughout the whole of ArabiThe whole nation awakened to a sense of the true dignof manhood and realized the folly of falling prostrbefore things which man was made to rule and befopowers which he was required to conquer as the HoQuran had plainly stated. Superstition gave placea rational religion. The Arab was not only cleansof deep-rooted vices and bare-faced immorality; nahe was further inspired with a burning desire for tbest and noblest deeds of the service of, not countand nation, but what is far higher than that, humanitOld customs which involved injustice to the .weak athe oppressed were all swept off, as if by a magicianwand, and just and reasonable laws took their placDrunkenness to which Arabia was addicted from tiimmemorial disappeared so entirely that the very gobleand vessels which were used for drinking and keepiwine could no more be found. Gambling was now quiunknown and the loose relations of the sexes gave plato the highest regard for chastity. The Arab whprided himself on ignorance became the lover.knowledge, drinking deep at every fountain of learnito which he could get access. And greatest of all, froan Arabia the various elements of which were so costantly at war with each other that the whole countwas about to perish, " on the brink of a pit of fireas the Quran so tersely puts it from these jarring an


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down as if they were but toys before the reality of thnew faith. No man ever breathed such a new life osuch a wide scale a life affecting all branches of humaactivity; a transformation of the individual, of thfamily, of the society, of the nation, of the countryan awakening material as well as moral, intellectual awell as spiritual. Here are a few testimonies fromnon-Muslim sometimes anti-Muslim writers:" The prospects of Arabia before Mohamet wer

as unfavourable to religious reform as thewere to political union or national regeneration. The foundation of Arab faith wasdeep-rooted idolatry, which for centuries hastood proof, with no palpable symptom of decayagainst every attempt at evangelization froEgypt and Syria" (Muir).

" During the youth of Mahomet, the aspect of thPeninsula was strongly conservative; perhapnever at any previous time was reform morhopeless" (Muir)." Causes are sometimes conjured up to account foresults produced by an agent apparentlinadequate to effect them. Mahomet aroseand forthwith the Arabs were aroused tonew and a spiritual faith; hence the conclusiothat Arabia was fermenting for the changeand prepared to adopt it. To us calmly reviewing the past, pre-Islamite history beliethe assumption" (Muir)."


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and there of the surface of a quiet lake;remained still and motionless below. Tpeople were sunk in superstition, cruelty avice Their religion was a groidolatry; and their faith, the dark superstitiodread of unseen things Thirteyears before the Hegira, Mecca lay lifelessin this debased state. What a change hthese thirteen years now producedJewish truth had long sounded in the earsthe men of Medina; but it was not until thheard the spirit-stirring strains of the ArabiProphet that they too awoke from theslumber, and sprang suddenly into a new aearnest life" (Muir)." And yet we may truly say that no history cboast events that strike the imagination inmore lively manner or can be more surprisiin themselves, than those we meet with in tlife of the first Musalmans; whether we cosider the Great Chief, or his ministers, tmost illustrious of men; or whether we taan account of the manners of the severcountries he conquered ; or observe the couragvirtue and sentiments that equally prevailamong his generals and soldiers " (LifeMohamet by Count of Boulainvelliers) ." A more disunited people it would be hard to fintill, suddenly, the miracle took place. A ma


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" Never has a people been led more rapidlycivilization, such as it was, than were the Arabthrough Islam

" (New Researches bHirshfeld)."Such then, very briefly, was the condition of thArabs, social and religious, when, to use aexpression of Voltaire ' the turn oArabia came ' ; when the hour had alreadstruck for the most complete, the most suddeand the most extraordinary revolution that haever come over any nation upon earth.(Bosworth Smith)." Of all the religious personalities of the worldMuhammad was the most successful " (EnBr. llth ed. Art. Koran).Yet there is another feature distinguishing the Hol

Prophet of Islam from all other teachers, and thatthat while the achievements of every great man are limitto generally one aspect of life, those of the Holy Prophecover the whole field of human conditions. If, foinstance, greatness consists in the reformation of a degraded people, who can have a greater claim to greatnesthan the man who uplifted an entire nation, sunk loas the Arabs were, and made them the torch-bearers ocivilization and learning? If greatness lies in unifyinthe discordant elements of society into a harmoniouwhole who can have a better title to the distinction thathe man who welded together a people like the Arabsrent into warring tribes with blood feuds extending oveLike the sands of the Arab


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20these things from Arabia. If it lies in displaying himorals, who can be a match for one admitted by frieand foe as Al-Amin, or the Faithful? If a conqueris a great man, history cannot point to the like of tProphet, who rose from a helpless orphan to be a mightconqueror and king; nay, who founded a great empirthat has withstood all these thirteen centuries the unitworld attempts at its destruction. If the living driviforce that a leader commands is the criterion of greaness, the Prophet's name even to day exerts a magicharm over four, hundred million souls spread afl ovthe world, whom it binds together in a strong chord ofraternaity, irrespective of caste, colour or country.Of the many benefits conferred by the Holy Prophon humanity in general, for which he is called Rahinaul-lil 'alamin or a mercy for the nations, I would mentioonly one more. He taught, what no teacher before hihad ever taught, not only that a prophet had appearein every nation, but also that a Muslim must believeall those prophets just as he believed in the PropheMuhammad. "There is not a people but a warner hgone among them " says the Holy Quran. And agaiit defines true Muslims as those "who believe in thwhich has been revealed to thee and that which warevealed before thee." In these words, the Prophet ladown the basis of a universal peace. He not only taughow one individual could live at peace with anothebut also how different tribes and families of the humarace could live in peace and harmony with each otheand to crown all, what nobody in the world had eve


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21earth but has had a Divine Messenger of its own. Pro-fession of faith in all the religious reformers, raisedamong different nations, is in fact the only thing thatcan bring peace to the different warring factions ofhumanity that follow this or that prophet, and it wasto bring about universal peace that the Holy ProphetMuhammad laid down in clear words that a prophet wasraised in every nation and that a true Muslim mustbelieve in all the prophets.

It may be added here that the Muslim's faith inthe prophets of other nations is not limited to thoseprophets who are mentioned by name in the Holy Quran,for twice does the Holy Book plainly say : " And Wesent apostles We have mentioned to thee and apostlesWe have not mentioned to thee." It was for this reasonthat when the companions of the Holy Prophet camein contact with the Magi of Persia, they accorded thesame treatment to them as they accorded to the Jewsand the Christians, which shows that they treated themas the followers of the Book. With the plain wordsof the Holy Quran that "there is no people but awarner has gone among them " ringing in their earshow could they do otherwise. And a Muslim is boundto believe that a vast country like India, and a hugenation like the Hindus could not be without a book orwithout its prophets.A misconception prevails generally among all non-Muslims. It is that the Holy Prophet Muhammadpreached his faith with the sword. It is a myth pure


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23a few quotations from the Holy Quran:"And had there not been God's repelling som

people by others, there would have been pulledown cloisters and churches and synogogueand mosques in which God's name is mucremembered" (22:40)." And fight with them until there is no persecutioand religion is only for God" (2:193)." And fight with them until there is no more persecution and all religions should be for God(8:39).The conditions under which the permission to fighwas given to the Muslims have already been described

Every student of Islamic history knows that the HolProphet and his companions were subjected to the severespersecutions as Islam began to gain ground at Meccaover a hundred of them fled to Abyssinia, but persecutiogrew more relentless still. Ultimately the Muslims hato take refuge in Medina but they were not left aloneven there and the sword was taken up by the enemy tannihilate Islam and the Muslims altogether. The Qurabears express testimony to this : " Permission to fighis given to those upon whom war is made because theare oppressed, and God is well able to assist them; thoswho have been expelled from their homes without a juscause except that they say, Our Lord is God " (22:39, 40)Later, the express condition was laid down: "Anfight in the way of God with those who fight with youand do not exceed, for God does not love those wh


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24desist, then God is Forgiving, Merciful. And fight witthem until there is no persecution" (2:192, 193). Ithe enemy offered peace, peace was to be accepted, thougthe enemy's intention may be only to deceive the Muslims" And if they incline to peace, do thou incline to it antrust in God; He is the Hearing, the Knowing. And ithey intend to deceive thee, then surely God is sufficien.for thee" (8:61, 62). The Prophet made treaties opeace with his enemies; one such treaty brought abouthe famous truce of Hudaibiyya, the terms of which wernot only disadvantageous but also humiliating to thMuslims. According to the terms of this treaty " if aunbeliever, being converted to Islam, went over to thMuslims he was to be returned, but if a Muslim wenover to the unbelievers, he was not to be given back tthe Muslims." This term of the treaty cuts at the rooof all allegations of the use of force by the Holy ProphetIt also shows the strong conviction of the Holy Prophethat neither would Muslims go back to unbelief, nowould the new converts to Islam be deterred from embracing Islam, because the Prophet gave them no shelter. Anthese expectations proved true, for while not a singlMuslim deserted Islam, a -large number came over tIslam, and being refused shelter at Medina formedcolony of their own in neutral territory.

It is a mistake to suppose that the conditions relateabove were abrogated at any time. The condition tfight " with those who fight with you " remained in forcto the last. The last expedition led by the Holy Prophewas the famous Tabuk expedition, and, as already stated


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troops to attack the enemy territory. There is notsingle instance of an expedition being sent to convertpeople by force; nay, there is not a single case in whicthe Prophet ever asked a man to believe on the pain odeath. The waging of war on unbelievers to compethem to accept Islam is a myth pure and simple. It wathe enemy that waged war on the Muslims to turn theaway from their religion as the Holy Quran so clearlasserts : " And they will not cease fighting with you untithey turn you back from your religion, if they can(2:217).

It is sometimes asserted that the Quran forbidrelations of friendship with the followers of other religionsHow could a boon which allows a man to have as hiwife a woman following another religion (5:5), say ithe same breath that no friendly relations can be hawith the followers of other religions ? The loving relatioof husband and wife is the friendliest of all relationand when this is expressly permitted, there is not thleast reason to suppose that other friendly relations arforbidden. The fact is, that wherever there is a prohibition against making friends with other people, irelates only to the people who were at war with theMuslims, and this is plainly stated in the Quran:" God does not forbid you respecting those whohave not made war against you on account of

your religion, and have not driven you forthfrom your homes, that you show them kindnessand deal with them justly; for God loves thedoers of justice. God only forbids you respect-


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26whoever makes friends with them, thesethe unjust (60:8, 9).Another widely prevailing misconception may abe noted here. It is generally thought that the Qur

provides a death sentence for those who desert the religof Islam. Anyone who takes the trouble to read tQuran will see that there is not the least groundsuch a supposition. The Quran speaks repeatedlypeople going back to unbelief after believing, but nevonce does it say that they should be killed or punisheI give here a few quotations:" And whoever of you turns back from his religi

then he dies while an unbeliever, these itwhose deeds shall go for nothing in this worand the hereafter" (2:217)." O you who believe ! should one of you turn bafrom his religion, then God will bring a peopwhom He shall love and they too shall lHim" (5:54)." Those who disbelieve after their believing, thincrease in disbelief, their repentance shall nbe accepted, and these are they that go astra(3:89).On the other hand, the Quran speaks of a plan

the Jews to adopt Islam first and then desert it, thcreating the impression that Islam was not a religworth having (3:71). Such a scheme could never haentered their heads while living at Medina where tgovernment was Muslim, if apostacy according to tQuranic law were punishable with death. The miscoception seems to have arisen from the fact that peop


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changing his religion but for committing murder.The man who brought about the most thoroughtransformation of a nation within twenty years, whoalone and unaided, swept off vice, and immorality froma whole country where the most strenuous efforts ofpowerful missionary nations had hopelessly failed, whoby his personal example purified the lives of vast numbersof humanity, could such a man himself be in the griof sin? An impure man could not consistently preachvirtue; how could he take others by the hand, and frethem from bondages of sin and inspire the very soldierand generals with sentiments of virtue? Could a manwho himself groped in the dark lead others to lightAnd yet an attempt is made in many quarters even to-dato depict Muhammad who had done all this as a profligate, simply because he resorted to polygamy. Whatevemay be the views on polygamy of a world itself sunkdeep in immoral practices, there is not the least doubtthat plurality of wives is met with in the lives of thgreat religious personages who by a concensus of opinioled lives of transcendant purity. Abraham who is helin reverence by more than half the world up to this dayhad more wives than one. Similar was the case witJacob, Moses and David among the Israelites, and witsome of the famous and revered sages of Hindus. Theexample of Jesus is quite out of question as accordinto the Gospels he did not rnarry, and if this examplewere followed, the world would come to an end beforlong. Yet it is true that these great sages were noled away by sensual desires to a polygamous life. Puritin all is the characteristic of thei


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28difficult to say at the present day, as their histories argenerally enveloped in darkness, but as the life of thHoly Prophet Muhammad can be read in the full lighof history, we will take his case in detail.The life of the Prophet may be divided into fouperiods so far as his domestic life is concerned. Up ttwenty-five he led a celibate life; from twenty-five tfifty-four years, he lived in a married state with onwife; from fifty-four to sixty he contracted several marriages; and lastly from sixty till his death he did nocontract any new marriage. The most important perioto determine whether the Prophet was a slave to hipassions is the period of celibacy. If he had not beea complete master of his passions, he could not havled the exceptionally chaste and pure life, which wohim the title of Al-Amin, to the age of twenty-five ia hot country like Arabia where development musnecessarily take place early and passions are generallstronger. His worst enemies could not point to a singlblot on his character when challenged later (10: 16). Eveaccording to a hostile writer like Sir William Muir, alreadquoted, all authorities agree " in ascribing to the youth oMahomet a modesty of deportment and purity of mannerrare among the people of Mecca." Now youth is thtime when passions run riot, and the man who is ablto control his passions in youth, and that in celibacycannot, possibly, be conceived as falling a prey to lusin his old age. Thus the first period of his life, hicelibacy up to twenty-five years of age, is a conclusivproof that he could never fall a prey to his passions. Ishould be noted in this connection that in Arab Societ


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29No; profligacy was the order of the day; and it wasamong people who prided on loose sexual relations thathe Holy Prophet Muhammad led a life of transcendanpurity, and therefore all the more credit is due to hipurity of character.Take now the next period, the period of a monogamous married life. When twenty-five years of age, hmarried a widow, Khadijah, fifteen years his senior, anled a life of utmost devotion with her till she died whehe was fifty years of age. Now polygamy was the rulin Arabia at the time; and the wife had no cause ocomplaint, nor did she ever grumble, if the husbanbrought in a second or a third wife. Marriage witKhadijah had enriched him, though polygamy in Arabiwas not limited to the rich; the poor as well resorted tit. The wife being a help-mate in the real sense of thword, because she helped the husband in earning livelihood, as the woman generally does in the labourinclasses, the poor had nothing to lose by resorting tpolygamy. The Prophet belonged to the noblest familof the Quraish and if he had chosen to marry anothewife, it would have been quite easy for him. But hled a monogamous life of the utmost devotion to his wifduring all this while. When Khadijah died, he marriea very elderly lady named Saudah, whose only recommendation for the honour was that she was the widoof a faithful companion of his who had to fly to Abyssinifrom the persecutions, of the Quraish. The main parof his life, from twenty-five to fifty-four, was thus aexample for his followers that monogamy was the rul


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Prophet, had offered her to him when he sufferedgreat bereavement of losing both his wife Khadijah anduncle Abu Talib. The girl was one possessing exctional qualities and both Abu Bakr and the Prophet sin her the great woman of the future who was best suito perform the duties of the wife of a teacher who wto be a perfect examplar for mankind. So the HoProphet accepted her, but she had not yet apparenreached the age of puberty, and her marriage was csummated towards the close of the first year of the FligIn the second year of the Flight began the seriesbattles with the Quraish and the other Arab tribes, whiappreciably reduced the number of males, the brewinners of the family. These battles continued upthe eighth year of the Flight, and it was during ttime that the Holy Prophet contracted all the marriawhich appear objectionable to the modern mind but whineither friend nor foe looked upon with disapprobatat the time. And how could they do so, for they sthat it was an act of compassion, and was not dueany indulgence of the passions. Even a Christian wriadmits this when he says : " It should be rememberhowever, that most of Muhammad's marriages mayexplained, at least, as much by his pity for the forlcondition of the persons concerned, as by other motivThey were almost all of them with widows who wnot remarkable either for their beauty or their wealbut quite the reverse." And what other motives cothere be? Let us look at facts straight in the face. TProphet had now a young and beautiful wife in Aye


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32come when a traveller would be able to go from onend of the country to the other without having any armsThe Jews and the Christians were his enemies along witthe idolaters. His best friends were falling sometimein battles and sometimes by treachery. Is it possible fa man to lead a life of ease and luxury under succircumstanses ? Even if a man had the mind to leadlife of self-indulgence, which the Prophet according tall available evidence had not, this was not the opportuntime for it. Under such circumstances of warfare, witenemies within Medina and enemies all around it, witthe number of the Muslims being insignificantly smain comparison with the enemy, with news of assaulby overwhelming numbers on all four sides, evenprofligate's life would be changed, to say nothing ofman of avowed purity of character which no temptatiocould shake turning into a profligate.

If the Prophets' days during this period were passeso strenuously, how did he pass the nights? He hadnumber of lawful wives but did he spend away his nighin enjoyment with them? There is the clearest evidencin record in the Holy Quran (73:1 4, 20) as wellthe traditions that he passed half the night, and sometimeeven more than that, in praying to God and in recitithe Holy Quran while standing in prayer. He woulstand so long that his feet would get swollen. Coulsuch a man be said to be taking wives for self-indulgencwhen the minutest details of his life as available to ushow conclusively that it was a strenuous life farthesaway from indulgence of every kind?

Let us now take another Was


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Hira, in the reformer in the minority of one, in thexile of Medina, in the acknowledged conqueror, in thequal of the Persian Chosroes and the Greek Heracleuswe can still trace a substantial unity, I doubt whetheany other man, whose external conditions changed smuch, ever himself changed less to meet them: thaccidents are changed, the essence seems to me to bthe same in all" (Bosworth Smith). From the cradlto the grave, the Prophet passed through a diversity ocircumstances a diversity which can hardly be met witin the life of a single man. Orphanhood is the extremof helplessness, while kingship is the height of powerFrom an orphan he climbed to the summit of royaglory, but that did not create the slightest change in hiway of living. He lived on exactly the same kind ohumble food, wore the same simple dress, and in aparticulars led the same life as he led in the state oorphanhood. It is hard to give up the kingly thronand lead the life of a hermit, but it is far harder thaone should wield the royal sceptre yet at the same timlead a hermit's life, that one should possess power anhelp yet spend it solely to promote the welfare of othersthat one should ever have the most alluring attractionbefore one's eyes yet should never for one moment bcaptivated by them. When the Prophet actually becamthe ruler of a sate, the furniture of his house was composed of a matting of palm leaves for his bed and aearthen jug for water. Some nights he would go withoufood. For days no fire would be lit in his house tprepare food, the whole family living on mere dates


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34too glad to provide him with every comfort of lifeshould he choose to avail himself of it. But worldlthings carried little weight in his estimation., Nomundane

cravingcould ever prevail over him, neithe

in times of indigence, nor of plenty. Just as he spurneat wealth, power and beauty, which the Quraish offerehim when he was yet in a state of utmost helplessnessso did he remain indifferent to them when God grantehim all these things out of -His grace.Not only did he himself live the simplest life oflabourer, but he did not even allow wealth to have anyattraction for his wives. Shortly after their immigratiointo Medina, the condition of the Muslims had changedand they carried on a prosperous trade. The later conquests went further to add to the comforts of life whichthe Muslims enjoyed. Quite a human desire crept intthe hearts of the Prophet's wives that like other Muslimfamilies they too should avail themselves of their shareof comforts. Accordingly they approached the Prophetin a body to prevail upon him to allow them their legitimatshare of worldly comforts. Thereupon came the divininjunction : " O Prophet ! say to thy wives, ' If youdesire this world's life and its ornature, come, I will givyou a provision and allow you to depart a goodly departing. And if you desire God and His Apostle and thelatter abode, then surely God has prepared for the doersof good among you a mighty ' reward '" (33:28, 29).Thus they were offered two alternatives. They must haveeither worldly finery, or remain in the Prophet's household.Should they decide to have the former, they would haveplenty of what they wanted, but would forthwith forfei


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37

deeply attached to him. The couple could not howevepull together and after a time Zaid wanted to divorcher. The Prophet dissuaded him as plainly stated in thHoly Quran (33:36, 37). But ultimately a divorce wafound necessary. The divorced woman is generally lookedown upon in popular estimation, and this was a casin which a freed slave divorced a lady of high birthBy taking such a divorced woman as his wife, the Prophewanted to remove the false notion that divorce degradewoman. Thus by this act, to which he was morallbound because the lady had been at first offered imarriage to him, he elevated the whole class of divorcewomen who would otherwise suffer life-long humiliatioin society. If he had any desire of self-gratification oif he had any passion for the lady, he would not havrefused her when she was offered to him as a virginRefusal of her hand in the first instance, and taking hein marriage when being divorced she was lowered igeneral estimation shows conclusively that his motive ithis marriage was anything but self-gratification.We now come to the fourth period. With the conquest of Mecca in the year 8 A. H. internal warfarcame practically to an end. Disturbances there were, buon the whole peace had bteen established in the countrand normal conditions were restored. And it is frothe 8th year of the Flight to the end of his life that wfind that the Prophet did not contract any new marriageWhat is the evidence of facts then? It is clearly thithat the Holy Prophet added to the number of his wiveonly during the time that he had to live in a state o


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38Before the Prophet had to enter on a defensive warfarhe lived in the company of a single wife, and after wawas ended, he contracted no new marriage, and this seall doubts at rest as to the motive of the Prophet. Iall the marriages which he contracted during the warthere was some ulterior moral end in view. There arosituations in his life under which he could not, consistentwith the moral and religious mission of his life, hetaking more wives than one. In that, he only showecompassion to the weaker sex.

Living in a country in which polygamy was trule, the Prophet had no liking for polygamy. Hepassed the prime of his life, up to 53 years of agas the husband of a single wife, thus showing that thunion of one man and one woman was the rule undenormal conditions. But when abnormal conditions arohe did not, like a sentimentalist, shirk his duty for tsake of an idea. He saw that the chastity of womawas at stake if polygamy was not allowed, and for tsake of a higher interest he permitted polygamy as aexception to meet exceptional circumstances. Exactlthus he had to resort to war though by disposition, hwas averse to it. Full forty years before his Call, hhad been living in a land where sword was freewielded as a stick elsewhere, where fighting and feudwere the order of the day, where men would flyeach other's throats like wild animals, where there wano chance of survival for one who could not use thsword, yet not once during these forty years did hdeal a blow at an enemy. The same was the case withim for fourteen years after the Call. That he wa


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39in God And if they intend to deceive thee, thesurely God is sufficient for thee" (8:61, 62). Hisacceptance of the truce of Hudaibiyya, though its conditions were humiliating to the Muslims, who were readyto lay down their lives one and all rather than acceptthose terms, is also a clear proof of his peace-lovingnature. But when duty called him to take the field tosave his community, he did not hesitate to take up thesword against an overwhelming majority. He acted asa sagacious general in all fields of battle and behavedlike a brave soldier when opportunity demanded. Heknew how to disperse an enemy in time before it hadgained sufficient strength to deal a severe blow at theMuslims. And once, in the battle of Hunain, when hisarmy was in flight owing to the severe onslaught of theenemy's archers, he was all alone advancing towardsthe enemy, till his soldiers rallied round him. By dis-position he had no inclination for war, yet circumstancesarose which dragged him into the field of battle, and hethen displayed the wisdom of a general and the braveryof a soldier. So by disposition he was not inclined topolygamy, living a celibate life of unexampled purityup to twenty-five years and a married life of a mono-gamous husband up to fifty-four, but when duty calledhim to take more women under his shelter, he did answerthe call of duty. It may be added in conclusion thatthe verse limiting the number of wives to four whena necessity for polygamy arose, was in all probabilityrevealed after the Holy Prophet had contracted thosemarriages, but he was expressly permitted to retain


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40would be incomplete without a few words as to his mannersand morals. When his wife Ayesha, the most privyto his secrets, was questioned about his morals, herreply was, " His morals are the Quran/' In other words,the highest morals that are depicted in the Holy Quranwere possessed by him.

Simplicity and sincerity are the keynotes of theProphet's character. He would do all sorts of thingswith his own hands. He would assist his wives in theirhousehold duties. He would milk his own goats, patchhis own clothes and mend his own shoes. In personwould he dust the house, and he would tie his cameland look after it personally. No work was too low forhim. He worked like a labourer in the construction ofthe mosque, and again in digging the ditch aroundMedina.; In person, would he do shopping, not only forhis own household, but also for his neighbours or forhelpless women. He never despised any work, howeverhumble, notwithstanding the dignity of his position asProphet and King. He thus demonstrated throughpersonal example that a man's calling does not reallydetermine his nobleness or his meanness. A road-sidelabourer, a hewer of wood or a drawer of water is asrespectable a member of Islamic brotherhood as a bigmerchant or a high dignitary.His actions and movements were characterized byhomely simplicity. He did not like his companions torise on his arrival. Once he forbade them, saying, " Donot arise for me as do the non-Arabs," and added thathe was a humble creature of God, eating as others eatand sitting as others sit. When a certain man wanted


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41it. He would take his meals in the company of alclasses of people, even of slaves. When seated amongpeople, there was nothing about him to make him con-spicuous.The Prophet had a deep love for his friends.While shaking hands with them, he would never be thefirst to withdraw his hand. He met everybody with asmiling face. A report from Jarir bin Abdulla saysthat he never saw the Prophet but with a smile on hiface. He would talk freely, never putting on artificiareserve to give himself an air of superiority. He wouldtake up children in arms and nurse them. He disliked backbiting and forbade his visitors to talk ill ofany of his friends. He would ever take the lead igreeting his friends and shaking hands with them.The Prophet's generosity even towards his enemiesstands unique in the annals of the world. Abdulla biUbay, the head of the hypocrites, was a sworn enemyof Islam; and his days and nights were spent in plottinmischief against the Muslims. Yet at his death theProphet prayed to the Lord to forgive him and evegranted his own shirt to enshroud his body. TheMeccans who had all along subjected him and his friendto the most barbarous tortures were not only awardeda general amnesty but were let off even without a reproof. Twenty long years of persecutions and warfarwere absolutely forgiven and forgotten. "The mag-nanimity with which Mahomet treated a people who hadso long hated and rejected him is worthy of aladmiration," says Muir.. The fact is that no othe


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43claimed; if I have offended anybody, he may have hisrevenge."

In his dealings with others he never placed himselfon a higher pedestal. Once while he held the position ofa king at Medina, a Jew whom he owed some moneycame up to him and began to abuse him. Umar wasenraged but the Prophet rebuked him, saying : " It wouldhave been meet for thee to have advised both of us me,the debtor to repay the debt with gratitude, and him,the creditor, to demand it in a more becoming manner."And he paid the Jew more than his due. On anotheroccasion when he was out in the wood with his friends,the time for preparation of food came. Everybody wasallotted a piece of work, he himself going out to pickup fuel. A spiritual and temporal overlord .as he was,he would yet do his share of work like an ordinary man.In his treatment of his servants, he observed the sameprinciple of equality. A report from Anas says thatduring the ten years that he was in the Prophet's serviceat Medina, where he ultimately became the master of thewhole of Arabia, he was not once scolded by him. Henever kept anybody in slavery. As soon as he got aslave, he set him free.

In charity, the Prophet was simply unapproached.He never gave a flat refusal to a beggar. He wouldfeed the hungry, himself going without food. He neverkept any money in his possession. While on his death-bed, he sent for whatever there was in his house anddistributed it among the poor. Even for the dumbcreatures of God his heart overflowed with He


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44fasten her cat and keep it hungry. From his earldays he had a deep sympathy for the widows, the orphathe poor and the helpless. He would ever stand byoppressed. He vindicated the rights of women omen, of slaves over their masters, of the ruled overrulers, and of the subjects over the king. Negro slawere accorded the same position of honour as the Quraleaders. He was the champion of the oppressed andill-treated ones. He was very fond of children,while walking along he would pat and stroke those whhe met on the way. Without fail would he visitsick to enquire after their health and console them.would also accompany a funeral.Humble and meek in the highest degree, he hadthe courage of the bravest of men. Never for a momedid he harbour fear of his enemies. Even when plto take his life were being hatched in Mecca, he woufearlessly move about day and night. He told allcompanions to emigrate from Mecca, himself remainalmost alone among enfuriated enemies. With the psuers at the mouth of the cave in which he hid himsehe could yet console his companion, saying, " God is wus-" On the field of Uhud when the whole of his arfell into a sort of a trap, he shouted aloud, regardlof all dangers to his own person, to rally the confusoldiers. In the battle of Hunain when the Muslim rand file took to flight, he advanced alone towardsenemy, calling aloud, " I am the Messenger of the LorWhen a raid was one night suspected, he was the fto reconnoitre the outskirts of Medina, riding his ho


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45" God." And the next moment the same sword was inthe Prophet's hand who put to his enemy the samequestion, on which he assumed a tone of abject humility,and the Prophet let him go.The Prophet's integrity and sincerity were of universalfame throughout Arabia. His worst enemies had oftento confess that he had never told a lie. When he oncepledged his word, he kept it under the most trying condi-tions and even at a heavy cost. He faithfully observedthe truce made at Hudaibiyya, though he had to refuseshelter to Muslims escaping from the persecutions of theMeccans. His biographers are all at one in their admira-tion for his unflinching fortitude and unswearing stead-fastness. Despair and despondency were unknown tohim. Hemmed in as he was, on all sides by a gloomyprospect and severe opposition, his faith in the ultimatetriumph of the truth was never for one moment shaken.


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