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Prof. Dr. Mahmud Es'ad COSAN Dear Brothers and Sisters! Peace, mercy and blessings
of Allah be with you. I thank you for attending the presentation. Praise be to Allah. May the
peace and prayers be on his beloved Prophet. May Allah place us
among
those whom He loves. May He grant the intercession of the Prophet
on the
Day of Judgment. It would be very difficult,
if not impossible at all, for a servant to describe the manners (akhlâq)
of the Prophet in a complete sense. It must not be an easy task
to
describe a person whom was loved and chosen by Almighty Allah to be the
best of
all men to come to this world from the time of Hadrat Adam to the day
of
resurrection. I shall attempt to describe
some manners of the Prophet that are shocking for us, interesting for
the
youth, and amazing for those who grew up in modern cultures. Akhlâq i.e., the code of conduct, the
manners of a person, is a social phenomenon; it occurs in interpersonal
relationships in the society. When we study the code of conduct
of the
Prophet, we learn about his treatment of people around him. That
is very
important for us because it will be an example for us to follow. How was the akhlâq of
our beloved Prophet? The Mother of the believers, Hadrat Aisha
was asked
this question. Her response was very brief, but effective: ["His akhlâq
was the Qur'an."] By the way, Hadrat Aisha
was a very knowledgeable person. She was one of the greatest
scholars. Some older companions of the Prophet would come to her
and ask
about various matters. She would answer them in details.
She was an
expert in jurisprudence. Her nephew asked her once: "My Dear
Aunt! I am not surprised that you are knowledgeable on Tafsir,
Hadith,
and Fiqh. What amazes me is your knowledge on medicine. How
did you
learn about medicine?" Obviously, she had a curious mind and good
memory. The akhlâq of the Prophet
had no match. It was excellent and unmatchable. There are
verses in
the Qur'an about the akhlâq of the Prophet. For instance, at the
end of
Surah Tawbah there is the following verse: Bismillâhir rahmânir
rahîm
(Leqad jâekum rasûlun
min enfusikum)
"Now there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves."
There are scholars who pronounce the word enfusikum as enfasikum
which means 'the best, the excellent, among you." That is true,
too. The personality of the Prophet was excellent, yet he was a
human
being from among us. The pagans would ask time to time, "Why
didn't
Allah send an angel as a messenger? Why did He send a messenger
like one
of us, a son of
Adam." The prophet, the messenger
is sent to the mankind; the message of the Qur'an is for the
mankind. The
messenger is to be taken as an example to follow. That is why
Almighty
Allah has sent messengers who were human beings. The messenger
would have
a nafs, two eyes, a heart, feelings, happiness, and sadness just as we
do. He would eat food, drink water, sleep, work, and get tired as
we
do. Prophets came to people
to show them how to be a good servant to Allah while living a
human life. Many people had a hard time
accepting a human messenger. They wanted something
extraordinary:
"There should have been two angels with him all the time. He
should
have a magic garden from which he could take various fruits and eat
them." Well, Allah sent you a
messenger, a human being just like you. Many people failed to
understand
the excellence in this natural disposition. Of course there are
many who
had a good understanding, too. Some people choose a path
with an intention of better servitude to Allah, and they isolate
themselves
from the society. Could a person be better by staying away from
the
society and living alone? If everybody lived in isolation, the society
would
collapse. Everybody would have to tend his own needs. That
would be
the end of the advancement. That could not be right. There are such inventions
practiced as a form of worship. None has any wisdom in them. What
we have
to do as human beings is to live a human life in the society utilizing
all that
Almighty Allah granted for us and try to earn His consent in this
life.
This is the essence of the matter and many people failed to understand
this. We have to make sure that we understand it correctly. The aforementioned verse
uses the expression min enfusikum "from among you" a
messenger was sent to you. Azîzun means honorable, valuable,
dear;
(aleyhi mâ anittum) "whatever makes you sad, would make him sad,
too. He would not want you to be sad." If it is pronounced
with out any pause, (azîzun aleyhi mâ anittum) "whatever makes
you
sad becomes a heavy burden on him." In both meanings, there is
an indication that he has high social manners. The Prophet is not
selfish; he sympathizes with the problems and sadness of others.
This is
an important characteristic. Almighty Allah praises the manners
of the
Prophet in this verse. (Harîsun aleykum) "He is extremely protective
towards you." In other words, he is protective just like a mother
protecting her child or like a hen protecting the chicks. He has
love and
affection for you. (Bil mu'minîne raûfur
rahîm) "He is
very soft hearted and merciful towards the believers." These
are the praises by Almighty Allah on the social character of the
Prophet.
Al raûf and al rahîm are the attributes of Allah, yet
Almighty Allah
uses these attributes to describe our beloved Prophet. This is an
important point. There is a verse(Al-Qalam: 4):
(Wa
innaka le-âlâ
khuluqul azîm)
"And you are upon a mighty morality!" Here is another verse (Al-Ahzab:21):
 (Leqad kâne lekum fî
rasûlullàhi uswatun hasenetun limen kâne
yarjullàha wal
yawmal akhirah, wa dhekerallàha kathîrâ) [You have had a good
example in the Messenger of Allah for whosoever
hopes for
Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah often.]
(Le'amruke) (Al Hijr:72) Almighty
Allah takes an oath on the
life of the Prophet. There are other verses that Allah takes an
oath. For instance,
(Wal asri) "By the asr!"(Asr:1) (Wat-tîni waz-zaytûni wa
tûri sînîne ...) "By
the fig and the olive and the Mount Sinai ..." (Al Tîn: 1-2)
Like these, Almighty Allah
says (Le'amruke) "By your life!" to the Prophet. These
are examples from the Qur'an indicating how Almighty Allah loved the
Prophet. There is the Surah Fath
(Victory) that starts with the verse:
(Innâ fatahnâ leke
fathan mubînâ. Liyaghfira lekallàhu mâ taqaddeme min zanbike wa mâ
ta-akh-khara...)
[Surely we have given thee a manifest victory, that Allah may forgive
thee thy
former and thy latter sins, and complete His blessings upon thee, and
guide
thee on a straight path, and that Allah may help thee with mighty help.
(Qur'an
48:1-2)] The Surah ends with the following verse:
(Muhammedur rasûlullàh,
wallezîne ma'ahû ashid-dâü 'alal kuffâri ruhamâu baynakum terâhum
rukke'an
sujjadâ...)
[Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are
hard
against the unbelievers, merciful one to another. You see them bowing, prostrating, seeking
bounty from Allah and good pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the
trace of
prostration....(Qur'an 48:29)] All of these verses praise
our beloved Prophet. They state that allegiance to the Prophet
means
allegiance to Allah. This is very important. In a hadith the Prophet
said:
(Innehû subhânahû
eddebenî fe ahsene te'dibî) or
(Eddebenî rabbî
fe-ahsene te'dibî)
"I was educated by my Lord." Almighty Allah educated him,
granted him the manners. His father and mother died, so he became an orphan. His
uncle Abû Tâlib looked after him, yet Abû Tâlib did not accept
Islam.
There was nobody around from his family to teach him the good code of
conduct.
Almighty Allah isolated him from the surroundings and granted him the
good
character with wisdom. He was recognized as a trustworthy person
by his
people. He was a different person respected by all. You must be all familiar
with the incident that took place while the Kâ'bah was repaired. People
of
Makkah tore down the walls of Kâ’bah that had been deteriorated and
about to
collapse. While they were rebuilding the walls, it was time to
place the
Hajar-al-Aswad--the Black Stone. The stone was to be placed in
its place
before the construction of the wall continued. There was a
disagreement. One person said: "I am from an
honorable tribe of Quraish. I ought to place the Black Stone in
its stage
on behalf of my tribe." Somebody else opposed: "Not at all! My
tribe is more honorable than yours; therefore, I must place the stone
in its
stage." The argument grew and they
were about to pull their swords. Someone suggested: "Wait a minute!
Masjid al-Haram is not a place for fighting. Wait for the next
person who
enters through the gate. We would appoint him as an arbitrator
and accept
his choice." It was like a
drawing: They did not know who would come through the gate, nor
did they
know whom the person would choose. The next person who
arrived through the gate was the Prophet Muhammad SAS. The gate I am talking about
was the gate of the circumambulation (tawaf) area that was
around the
Kâ'bah and surrounded by a wall. The gate was known as
Bâb-us-Salâm. At the present, the wall was moved away and the tawaf
area was enlarged moving the gate far away. As the Prophet entered
through the gate, they commented: "Good. Muhammad al-Amîn (The
Trustworthy) has arrived. We accept his judgment." They
were
happy that an equitable person was to be the arbitrator. He was
not
appointed as a prophet, then. He was an orphan from
Quraish. He was
not rich, nor did he have
a high position in administration. He was trustworthy.
People would
entrust their valuables with him. Almighty Allah raised him in
such way. They explained the problem
to the Prophet: "We have a disagreement on who is to place the
Black
Stone in its stage. We were about to start a fight. Tell us
which
one of us should place the Black Stone into its stage. We will
accept
your decision." The Prophet said,
"Bring me a sheet." They brought him a strong sheet like a
tablecloth. He placed the Black Stone on the sheet. He
asked
them: "Now each one of you should hold the sheet from one
side." When they did, he asked them to lift it up. They all
lifted the stone with the sheet. Then he picked the stone and
placed it
into its stage by his hands. The stone was placed by a good
person, and
nobody got offended with the solution. It was an excellent
solution. This describes the status
and resourcefulness of the prophet Muhammad before he was appointed as
a
prophet. He had such
a character. He was known to be merciful. He was known for
his
clean life. He was famous for not worshipping any of the 360
idols that
were kept in Kâ'bah. He was a quiet person. His past was
not
tainted with idol worship or anything bad. You are familiar with the
events
that were unrolled after he was appointed as a prophet. The physique of the prophet
was excellent, his face and body was beautiful. You know that
among the
prophets, Prophet Joseph was known with his beauty. He was a son
of
Prophet Jacob from Canaan. As a result of the envy of his
brothers,
Joseph was sold as a slave. Later, he was brought to Egypt.
He was
a slave in the house of the ruler of Egypt, yet he was extremely
handsome. To demonstrate his beauty, the wife of the ruler
invited women
of the high class in her residence and gave each one a knife and an
apple to
peel. She called Hadrat Joseph:
(Wa qàletikhrujna
'alahinna)
"Come forth attend to them!" (Qur'an 12:31) As Hadrat Joseph
entered the room,
(Felemmâ raeynehû
akbarnahû wa qatta'ne eydiyehunne ...) "And when they saw him, they so admired
him that they cut their hands saying, 'God save us! This is no
mortal; he
is no other but a noble angel.'" (Qur'an 12:31) They had knives
and
apples to peel. They were shocked by the beauty of Hadrat Joseph,
cried
"Allahu akbar" and cut their hands in confusion. Qataa means
cutting, qattaa means cutting excessively. They inflicted
excessive cuts
in their hands. This is a true story stated
in the Qur'an. We can imagine how handsome Prophet Joseph
was.
Prophet Muhammad was more handsome than Prophet Joseph. About our beloved Prophet,
one Bedouin said: "His face was shiny like a sword." He meant a
metallic shine. Somebody objected: "His face was not shiny like a
sword, it was bright as moon and sun!" There have been reports
about the physique and appearance of the prophet [which are recorded in
hadith
books]. Those who had never seen the Prophet inquired from those
who had
seen him: "How was his face? How did he look like?" There
is a famous report to answer that question:
(Men raâhu bedîheten
hâbehû, wa men khàletahû ma'rifeten ehabbehû, yeqùlu nâituhû lem erâ
qablehû wa
lâ ba'dehû mithlehû)
"One who saw him for the first time would melt-down before the awe of
the
Prophet." He was truly awesome for a person who saw him for the
first time. The person would shake out of fear. Once a Bedouin
came to
the Prophet. He entered the door and his hands and feet started
shaking. The Prophet had such awe. However, (wa men
khàletahû ma'rifeten) "if a person spent sometime with him, got to
know him a little, (ehabbehû) he would fall in love with him. (Yeqùlu
nâituhû) To describe him to another person, he would say, (lem
erâ
qablehû wa lâ ba'dehû mithlehû) 'I have never seen anybody like
him before
I saw him and after I saw him.'" The Prophet had a truly
unmatched
beauty. I would like to read some poems
from Yunus and Suleyman Chelebi. There have been many poems
written about our beloved Messenger. Through the centuries,
people who
were in love with the Prophet produced masterpieces about him.
One such
poet wrote: Mâ
in
medahtu muhammeden bimaqàletî, "I am not commending
Muhammad with my words, yet I am making my words honorable by
mentioning
Muhammad." The following lines are
from Suleyman Chelebi: Yüzüne
müshtâkdurur ins ü melek, Anxious to see the beauty of his face--not only
mankind and angels, Here is something from Yunus:
I would give up my life on your path
We all know that he did not
have anything at all. His people were against him. They
wanted to
kill him. He was sent as a prophet into a society that was
dominated by
ignorance. For instance, having female offspring was considered
as a
disgrace, so they buried their girls alive. Even Omar ibn-i
Khattab
committed such a cruel act before he accepted Islam. Once Hadrat
Omar
talked about it with tears in his eyes. When he was digging a
hole to
bury his daughter, some dirt came to his face got into his beard.
His
little daughter tried to clean his face without knowing that she would
be buried
there. Can you imagine a little
girl being buried alive? Can you imagine how wild people were
then?
They would worship idols. The Prophet was sent to such a society,
yet he
managed a social revolution in a short time. There were great
changes in
people. They became civilized. I would like to give you an
example of this change. Once Hadrat Omar was traveling from
Madina to
Makkah. He was the president of the Islamic State, the
Caliph. Iran
had been conquered and the Muslim lands got larger. He was
accompanied by
a person – not by an army of guards. They stopped at some place
for
rest. There were a flock of sheep and goats. Hadrat Omar
called the
shepherd. He requested a lamb: "Give us one of the
lambs." "I am sorry, I
cannot. I am not the owner!" "Come on now.
Slaughter one of them for us. I will pay you the money."
They
wanted to eat some meat and pay for it. The shepherd responded: "The sheep do not belong to me. I am not
the owner. I am only a shepherd. I cannot sell you any of
them." "You can sell it, then
tell the owner it was a wolf that ate the lamb." Hearing this, the shepherd
responded: "Suppose we fooled the owner. How about
Allah? Can we fool Him, too?" This indicates that during
the time of Hadrat Omar, even the shepherd who spends most of his time
away
from people and in wilderness had an excellent character, a good
akhlâq. You must have heard another
incident about Hadrat Omar: Once he was patrolling the streets of
Madina
at night, he heard a woman screaming at her daughter: "O girl,
put
some water into the milk." The daughter of the woman responded:
"Mom, didn't the Caliph have it announced during the day that we shall
not
add water to the milk?" "Never mind what the
caliph announced. How would he know that we added some water to
the
milk?" "Well, Mom, the Caliph
would not know, but Allah will see it. How could we do it?" The girl was aware that she
had to obey the Caliph. She had to obey the authorities. It
was the
awareness of the good citizenship. She opposed to her mother. Hadrat Omar made sure that
he would remember the house. The next day, he came to visit the
family: "I want the hand your daughter in marriage for my
son." He did not even see the girl. Among the offspring of
that girl was Omar ibn-il Abdul'aziz, the most equitable of the caliph
of the
Umayyad dynasty. These are some examples of
what kind of civilization Prophet Muhammad raised. People were
aware that
they lived in a society and that they had to obey the rules. The akhlâq
of people had been improved. They had a strong belief in Allah
and they
did everything with sincerity. The Prophet knew that he
was the most honorable of the mankind:
(Ene sayyidi banî âdeme
yawmal qiyâmah wa lâ fakhra!) "I
will be the master of the children of Adam on the Day of
Resurrection, and I do not brag about it! It is the order of
Allah. From
the time of Prophet Adam (peace be with him), my lineage has been
noble; there
were no illegitimacy. And, I do not brag about it. There
will be
many things to be granted to me on
the day of
Resurrection, and I do not brag about it." He had all the
qualities
to be proud of, yet he never bragged about them. He lived a
humble
life. I will give you some examples of how humble he was: He would wear very simple
clothes made out of wool. He would repair his shoes and
clothes. He
would ride on a donkey while the royal people rode on horses or
camels.
He would take somebody with him while he rode. We know that
Abdullah
ibn-i Abbas was one such people who rode with the Prophet. He would milk the
sheep. He would sit down with his servant and eat his meal with
him. His words were revolutionary towards the slaves. He
would eat
food with them and encouraged all to free them. He would shake hands with
rich and poor. He would greet people first. He would attend
the
invitations when invited. He would say, "I would not refuse the
invitation even if it is for a meal out of the trotters,
i.e., feet of a
camel." It was the simplest meal,
then. It would be put in a pot and boiled for long time.
Some fat
and jelly would come out. It is not a luxurious meal. He
would not
refuse an invitation for such a meal. Once he was served bread
and vinegar. He dipped the bread in vinegar and ate it. He
praised
the vinegar: "Vinegar is a good sustenance." He never refused
any type of food. He never had a loud
laughter, yet he would smile. In our daily reading book, there is
a line: Min ma'dina mantiqin wa muktasabin
Our beloved Prophet was
generous, too. His generosity was unmatched. No matter what
he
received from people or from the spoils, he would give away before the
day
ended. If he received something in the evening, he would
distribute it in
that evening. When he was about to die,
he felt that there were about three dirhams of money in the
house. He
asked them to give it away. He would say, "The prophets would not
leave any material things as inheritance." He did not accumulate
wealth or property. He never approved piling up wealth. Once his servant brought
him a meal that was from the previous day. He asked the servant:
"Why did you keep it? You could have given it to the less
fortunate.
Almighty Allah would provide for each day." He deemed improper to
store food. When he was sad, he would
not sulk. He would not talk much; he would contemplate. Once, a person saw the
flock of sheep that the Prophet was tending. It was a nice
flock.
The person commented: "What a nice flock, o Prophet of Allah!"
The Prophet responded: "Do you like it?" "Very nice
sheep; they are very nice, o Prophet of Allah!." "Well then, let them
be yours." "Do you mean all of
them, o Prophet of Allah?" "Yes, let all of them
be yours!" He replied:
"Hadrat Muhammad-i Mustafâ gives things away with a giving that there
is
nothing comparable. He gives things away like a person who has no
worry
about becoming poor." He would never store things
for the next day. There would be days without a hot meal prepared
in his
house. His companions said once: "O Prophet of Allah!
We
have been eating dates for food. It makes us so thirsty. We
have
nothing to eat but the dates and dates." "I am like you;
I haven't had any meal but dates for the last two months. I eat
what you
eat." Out of hunger, somebody
tied a rock on his abdomen. The worm rock must have comforted his
empty
stomach. He showed the rock to the Prophet. The prophet
lifted his
shirt and showed the people around that he himself tied two rocks to
quiet his
stomach. The Prophet did not live a life different from his
companions. All of these deprivations
were not because he never received anything or he could not be
rich. It
was his choice. Once the archangel Gabriel told him that Almighty
Allah
would grant him all kinds of material wealth if the Prophet
desired. The
Prophet did not choose to be a rich person. He would not
accumulate
anything because he did not have any worries about tomorrow. He
could
have been a rich person if he wanted. He chose to give away
whatever he
received. Once he was given a
comfortable bed. That night he missed the tahajjud prayer
because
he overslept. In the morning he asked that bed to be removed
because it
was too comfortable to wake up for the prayer. He did not prefer
the
comfort, the wealth; he preferred the humble way. He would look after the
widows and protect the orphans. He was merciful towards
them. He
would not get angry or seek revenge for himself, yet he would get angry
if an
order of Allah is violated. For instance, when Mecca was conquered, he was in a position
to take revenge, yet he forgave them all. Some commanders of army
units
had made some statements that they would take revenge from those who
had
inflicted major losses on Muslims. The Prophet removed them from
their
positions to prevent such actions. He turned to the Meccans who were shivering out of the fear
of their ends and asked: "What do you expect from me?" He
implied: "You have tried to prevent me from conveying the message of
Allah
for so many years. You sent armies on me. You had fights
with
me. What shall I do to you? What do you expect me to do to
you?" He forgave them all. That was the conduct of the
Prophet
in general. He was attacked in
Taif. People of Taif stoned him and chased him out of the town.
His heels
got wounded. A man in an orchard house called the Prophet
in. He
rested there for a while. The archangel Gabriel arrived and said,
"O
Prophet of Allah, I could destroy this town if you wish." The Prophet did not want
any harm on people. His companions would request: "O Prophet of
Allah. The pagans are giving us a hard time. Could you
curse on
them?" He would refuse: "I am not a Prophet
who curses people. I have been sent as a Prophet of mercy.
Be
patient. The nations that lived before had to deal with more severe troubles than you are
subject to. You be patient." He never wished anything
bad for anybody. This is one of the most important
characteristics of
Prophet Muhammad. Zayd RA was the servant of
Prophet Muhammad. He said: "I served about twenty years to the
Prophet. He never abused me, nor did he question me for the
things I did
or failed to do." The Prophet was very gentle and soft to his
servant. As a matter of fact, Zayd RA was given to him as a young
slave man.
The father of the young man found him and wanted to pay the ransom of
freedom
to the Prophet to take his son back. The Prophet told the father:
"Ask him. He is free to go. I do not want any money to let
him
go. The young slave chose to stay with the Prophet: "O Prophet of
Allah, I would like to stay with you." The father of the young
man
insisted that the Prophet send the child to his tribe. The
Prophet
said: " I cannot tell him to leave if he chooses to stay with
me." Well, it was a good decision
on behalf of Zayd RA. He served the Prophet. That was the
conduct
of the Prophet. The Prophet used to sleep
on an old piece of rag. His life was so simple and humble that
his wives
had a hard time with the simplicity. There were little cells for
the
wives of the Prophet by the Masjid
of the Prophet. When the Massaged was enlarged during the time of
Umayyads, these little cells were demolished. The companions
wept:
"We wish that everybody saw these rooms to infer how simple a life the
Prophet lived." These rooms had about one
yard width and three yards length. You could hardly fit a bed in
them. A person could fit well in there, but two persons would
not.
These were the size of the rooms. The wives had a hard time with
the simplicity. Once Hadrat Omar RA visited
the Prophet. He saw the marks of a straw mat on him. There
was a
clay pot with water and a handful of barley next to him. That was
how the
Prophet lived. Having seen that, Hadrat Omar sobbed. He
also lived
in the same society, yet what he had seen must have been below the
average life
standard of that time. That made Hadrat Omar Ra cry. The Prophet had established
the Islamic State, and he was the president. He would receive
ambassadors
from neighboring countries, yet he maintained his simple life
style. He
had the means for a better living because the Muslim land was expanding
and
goods had been brought to him. The Prophet lived like a
slave. He
never hurt anybody. He would not eat while leaning on
something. He
was heard saying, "If I had gold as much as the mountain Uhud, I would
spend it all for Allah." Prophet Muhammad would
encourage his companions to spend for Allah. Once he visited his
daughter
Hadrat Fatima and Hadrat Ali at their residence. One is his
daughter; the
other one is his son-in-law. Hadrat Ali was the son of Abu Talib
who was
the uncle of the Prophet. Hadrat Ali was raised by the
Prophet. In
the residence, the Prophet
saw a curtain and turned back. It would worth four dirhams--an
amount that can buy several bunches of grapes. Hadrat Ali ran
after the
Prophet and asked: "O Prophet of
Allah! Why did you turn back? Was it the curtain in the
house?" The Prophet responded:
"O Ali! You could have sold it and given the money to the
poor." It was no more than a
simple curtain in the house of the daughter of the Prophet. At another incident, Hadrat
Fatima and Ali showed their hands to the Prophet and said: The prophet responded:
"I will teach you something. After each prayer, say 33 times 'Subhanallah,'
33 times 'Alhamdulillah,' and 33 times 'Allahu akbar.'
Almighty Allah will grant you ease. It will be better than
keeping a
slave." That is how the Prophet
looked at the life and this world and how he lived. For the
social
interactions, these are some of his advice: Prophet Muhammad insisted
on the respect for the parents. He ordered Muslims to maintain
prayers
for them even after they die. Once, before delivering his Friday
sermon,
he said "Amen!" three times. The companions were curious, so
they asked after the sermon: "O Prophet of
Allah! Why did you exclaim 'Amen!" three times before delivering
your sermon?" "Angel Gabriel made a
prayer: 'Let the nose of a person be rubbed to the ground who lived
with his
parents --or at least with one of them-- and failed to earn the
paradise.' That is why I said, 'Amen!'" In other words, the Prophet
says, "If a person's mother or father is alive, and if a person fails
to
earn paradise in getting their blessings, it is a shame."
The
parents must be respected and served. In another hadith the
Prophet said: "If a person has his parents look at him with love and
affection, he would receive rewards as though he freed a slave for
every look
he receives." The companions asked: "O Prophet of Allah!
What if they look at him or her many times, for instance 360 times?" The Prophet responded:
"Allahu akbar! If they look at him 360 times, Almighty
Allah
grants the person the rewards of freeing 360 slaves." This also means a
recommendation for children to respect and serve their parents.
In
return, the parents have responsibilities towards their children: "Give
your children beautiful names, raise them with the best manners, the
manners of
the Qur'an and with the love of the Prophet."
(Allimû awlâdekumul
kitâbata, war rimâyata was sibâhah) "Teach your children
how to read and write, how to use arms (weapons) and how to
swim."
These are some of the recommendations of the Prophet. If the parents fail to fulfill their responsibilities, their children will have claims on them on the Day of Judgment. That is why the parents must fulfill their responsibilities, and children must respect and serve their parents. These are the recommendations regulating part of human relationships. A group of people came to
Prophet Muhammad SAS and said: "O Prophet of Allah! Let us prostrate
before you!" The Prophet did not allow
it: "In our religion, a person cannot prostrate before another person.
It
is not allowed." In fact, there was such a
practice in ancient nations. For instance, a person would
prostrate out
of respect before his father. It is not meant to worship, but a
sign of
respect. For instance, brothers of Prophet Yusuf prostrated
before
Prophet Yusuf when they brought their parents to Egypt. They
wanted to
show their respect and apologize for what they did to him before. Prophet Muhammad said:
"Prostration before a person is not allowed in Islam, yet if it were
allowed, I would ask a wife to prostrate before her husband." With these words and
others, Prophet Muhammad ordered women to obey their husbands and
described
this obedience as an absolute obedience. Whenever a husband says
"Come here," the wife should go to him. In return, the husband
has responsibilities towards his wife. These were very important
developments at the time of the Prophet. Women had no value; men
had the
absolute domination and power. It is on man's shoulders to
provide his wife with food, clothing and shelter. It is not like
that in
German society today. In Islam, man is responsible to provide for
the
family. If a woman does not want to nurse her own child, her husband is
responsible to find the child a wet nurse and caretaker. Some form of a balance is
established in the relations and responsibilities. The
responsibilities
towards one another are stated. Women are protected from the
power of
men; at the same time, men are not overburdened to allow the women be
spoiled. In the society, we see some
injustices today. In Germany, women are spoiled in the name of
freedom. It is not like that in Islam: There is a balance. There are also orders and
recommendations of the Prophet about the relationships among
siblings.
For example, there is a hadith, "The oldest brother is like a
father." The oldest brother must be respected like a
father.
In the society today, I observe that there is no respect left.
There is
no comparison with Islam. Our beloved Prophet used to
make jokes at home--this could be somehow amazing for us. He
maintained a
sweet, pleasant, and happy atmosphere in the house. He was not
sulky,
angry, or sad all the time. He had a pleasant and witty
character. Before changing the
subject, I must state that Islam has extremely reasonable and good
approaches
on sexual matters. First of all, nikah (marriage) is a
Sunnah and
a good deed. A married person earns more rewards than a single
person. For example, the sustenance a person brings to the family
is
rewarded seven hundred times. It has such a high reward. The conjugal relationships
are good deeds to be rewarded. Once Prophet Muhammad SAS stated
that the
intercourse was a good deed. The companions were confused:
"O
Prophet of Allah! That is for our nafs; it is the
satisfaction of
our lust. Is it a good deed to be rewarded?" The Prophet responded:
"Of course it is! If you were not with your wives, then you would seek
illegitimate ways. That is why it is a good deed to be rewarded."
As we can see, the approach
on the subject is natural and fitting to the human nature. In a
hadith
the Prophet said: "If a man does not go to his wife or invite her to
his
bed for forty days, he would be committing a sin." She, too, has
desires and they have to be satisfied, too. The approach is very
realistic. That is why in Islamic
societies, in the life of the companions, there were no sexual problems
or
crimes. The institution of marriage satisfies the needs well and
is
encouraged. The Prophet said: "Are you incapable of having
intercourse with your wife, taking a bath and giving her a bath on a
Friday?" He recommends a ghusl bath at least once a
week. That takes the pressures off. Today, most of the
crimes in
the society originate from the sexual matters, and Islam suggests a way
to
release the pressure. Additionally, Islam
prohibits man to look at a woman who is not a close relative. He
may look
accidentally, yet a second look is an offense. The eyes would
commit
adultery by looking at the opposite sex. The hands would commit
adultery
by holding or shaking the hand of the opposite sex. Our beloved
Prophet
did not shake hands with women. When people came to him to
declare their bay'ah,
he shook hands with men but did not shake hand with women. These
are some
interesting points in Islam. Once a person came to
Hadrat Othman, the third caliph after the Prophet. He looked at
the
person and said: "I see signs of adultery in your eyes!"
Hearing this the person was held back, confused and turned red.
He said:
"O the Leader of Muslims! Is the prophethood still continuing in
you?" He asked this because
Hadrat Othman knew that he had committed adultery with his eyes.
On the
way, he looked into somebody's house and saw a woman taking a
bath. When
he arrived in Hadrat Othman's stage, the caliph saw the signs of
adultery in
his eyes. That means eyes can commit adultery, too. Our beloved Prophet stated
that looking into somebody's house through a window or a door is a sin
just as
entering the house without permission. There are so many
precautions to
protect the privacy and honor of individuals. I cannot remember
all of
the regulations but some. There is the balance. On one
hand,
getting married is encouraged; on the other hand, looking at the
opposite sex
is not allowed at all. Islam also pays utmost
importance on the relationships and rights among relatives. It is
called sila-i
rahim: visiting the relatives and tending to their
needs. As
you study the ahadith on this matter, you can see that it also means
financial
or economical support for relatives. Our beloved Prophet had
stated that sila-i rahim increases the lifetime of a person,
and
improves the places that are inhabited. Spiritually, it erases
the
offenses. It is recommended. The Prophet practiced sila-i
rahim.
He maintained good relationships with everybody whom he had some kind
of an
interaction. He kept sending gifts to a woman who offered
something to
him during his Hegira. He would also greet her when she came to
visit
him. When he came to Madina, he stayed in Quba for a while.
He
would go to Quba every Saturday. He was extremely loyal to
persons and
places. He would not neglect them. Prophet Muhammad encouraged
brotherhood and friendship among Muslims. He practiced what he
preached. He laid down regulations for the interactions between
the
elderly and the youth. The Prophet was very
merciful towards the children. Once, Hadrat Hasan or Hussain told
him: "Grandpa, our neighbors have a camel, we do not. They
ride the camel, but we cannot!" The Prophet picked up his
grandchild: "Come here! I will let you ride on my
shoulders." The child continued: "Their camel would scream like
this and that." The Prophet made the camel sound to one side and
to
the other side, too. Then he put his grandchild down. The grandchild went outside
and told other children what his grandfather did. When it was the
prayer
time, the children cut in the Prophet's way. They said: "Carry us
on
your shoulder, too." Our beloved Prophet asked the companion who
was
with him to go and bring things to give to the children. He used
to win
the hearts of the children. There was a child who had
caught a bird. The child cried after the bird died. The
Prophet
used to ask the child about the bird every time he saw him. That
was how
the Prophet treated the children. When two Muslims became
friends, "brothers for the hereafter," they will be kept in the shade
of the throne of Allah on the Day of Resurrection. Our
forefathers called
it "brotherhood for the hereafter." On the Day of Resurrection,
people will be gathered. They will have no clothes. Hadrat
Aisha
asked, "O Prophet of Allah! Won't they look at one
another?" The Prophet responded: "O Aisha! On that day,
people will be in a hurry and worry. They will have no time to
think
about being naked or other people being naked. There will be a big crowd:
people will sweat, and be scared. On that day, certain people
will be at
ease in the shade of the throne of Allah. Their face will be
illuminated;
their seats and clothes will be made of light. They will not be
prophets
or martyrs. The companions asked the Prophet: "Who will
they
be?" The Prophet said: "(Humul
mutehàbbîna fillâh) "those are the people who love one another for
Allah." The brotherhood and love
for one another for the sake of Allah are encouraged and practiced by
the
Prophet. Then there are the rights
of neighbors. The Prophet said: "Angel Gabriel came to me and
emphasized the importance of the neighborliness so much that I thought
Almighty
Allah would make the neighbors to be the heirs of a person." The relations with
neighbors are at three levels: 1. You have to carry out
responsibilities towards your neighbor. The Prophet recommends:
"Do not raise your build above the neighbors, so that it does not block
the air circulation for the neighbor." We have to watch for our
neighbor and offer him some of what we cooked for ourselves. 2. If the neighbor is a
Muslim, then there are the rights of the neighbor and rights of a
Muslim
brother. 3. If the neighbor is
a relative, his rights are tripled. They have to get along well. There are so many
recommendations of the Prophet on this matter. The Prophet also had
important recommendations on business life. He praised and
encouraged
trading. He told that a trustworthy merchant would be in the
shade of the
throne on the Day of Resurrection--just like the people who love one
another
for Allah. That is why some of our elderly became
merchants. For
instance, Imam A'zam Abu Hanife was also a merchant--not because he
loved
money, but because it was praised. The Prophet said, "It is a
good
deed to bring needed goods from other places." The merchant earns
money
from the trading, yet he is fulfilling a social responsibility.
The
Prophet praised trading very much. Prophet Muhammad SAS also
had sayings on the employer-employee interactions. His general
advice was
the following: "Pay your employee before his sweat dries." He
also said, "State the wage before having the employee work."
The employer was stopped from doing injustice to the employee.
The
employee was advised to carry out the work properly. The Prophet also stated the
conditions of good business transaction. He went to the market place
and
inspected the goods like a mayor. Once he inspected a sack of
grain. He put his hand in, took some from down below and put it
on
top. It was dry on top but wet inside. It looked good on
the
outside, yet it was bad down below. He told them not to do
that. He
said:
(Men ghash-shanâ feleyse
minnâ) "One
who cheats us is not one of us." There is also a verse of
Qur'an about being honest with trading. In fact a whole surah,
Mutaffifîn, is about it:
(Waylun lil mutaffifîn.
Alledhîne idhaktâlu 'alen nâsi yastewfûn. Wa idhâ kâlû hum aw wezenûhum
yukhsirûn. Elâ yezunnu ulâika ennehum meb'ùthûn. Liyawmin azîm.) [Woe to the stinters who, when they
measure against the people, take full measure but, when they measure
for them
or weigh for them, do skimp. Do those not think that they shall
be raised
up unto a mighty day, a day when mankind shall stand before the Lord of
all
beings?] (Qur'an 83:1-6) An imam in Netherlands told
me about something that he witnessed. It is on the taking
measurements
and weighing goods. He said: "I was called for a person who was
about to die. At 3 o'clock at night, they took me to the
person. He
was living his last moments. I started saying 'Lâ ilâhe
illallah... Lâ
ilâhe illallah... Ashhedu enlâ ilâhe illallah...' slowly so that
he could
repeat after me. The person said, 'Why are you pushing me?
Don't
you see that they keep pushing the weight of the scale into my
throat?'
Then he died." He asked the wife of the
deceased later: "What was that about?" The wife said:
"My husband was a grocer. He would use two scales: one for buying, the
other one for selling. Both scales were tampered with to display
less
when he bought it and to display more when he sold it." The scale would read less
than the actual weight when he bought something. The other scale
that he
used for sales would display, for instance, 1 kg for something that was
actually only 800 grams. He cheated everybody. Yet his
death was
not a pleasant one. Islam laid down the rules
and principles in
trading. When the Prophet emigrated from Mecca to Madina, he listed the regulations.
These rules are considered to be the First Constitution of an Islamic
State in
Madina. There are recommendations
of the Prophet on social responsibilities. For example, he
recommended
every house owner to clean the section of the street close to his
house.
Another recommendation is for the rich to help the poor for the sake of
Allah. It is the zakah. It is a duty on the administrators
and the
society to care for the poor, orphans and widows. I have stated that he did
not value the worldly things. I must also state that he is not a
meek
person all the time. There were times that he was hard on
people.
For instance, he would go in the front during a battle. He was
never
afraid of the enemy. Once somebody wanted to wrestle with him. He
picked
the person and put it on the ground like a log. The person wanted
to try
again, yet he found himself on the ground for the second and third
times.
The Prophet was physically strong and brave. As you know, the moral
standards in Mecca before the Prophet were extremely low. People
of Mecca
were unhappy about it. Two Meccans decided to make an agreement:
"If
any injustice takes places in Mecca, we will try to stop it with our
influence." Other people joined the union. The covenant was
named Hilful Fudul. It was functional. If somebody was
wronged, he
would go to the members, then the members would seek justice on behalf
of the person. Once, a Bedouin with his
wife came to Mecca to sell goods. The woman was quite attractive.
A
shameless Meccan of some rank kidnapped the woman. The Bedouin
did not
know what to do. He was recommended to apply to the members of
Hilful
Fudul. He went to them and told them the problem. The
members of
the union picked up their swords and saved the woman. About the Hilful Fudul
covenant, the Prophet said, "If I lived in their time, I would have
joined
them." That was the approach of the Prophet on social issues. There are many ahadith
pointing to the rewards of guard duty on the borders of the Muslim
country. It is called ribat or murabata.
There are
also ahadith about fighting with the enemy at the battlefield. It
is
called mujahada or jihad. The Prophet also had practices
and recommendations for people who are leaders or administrators at
various
levels of the government. There are also recommendations for
people who
are governed. He recommends people obey the administrators,
and
administrators obey the orders of Allah. Whenever the Prophet sent
people for an expedition, he appointed a leader for the group.
Once
something interesting happened. Suppose a group of fifty or one
hundred
people were to be sent for an expedition. He checked each and
every one
of them, talked to them. He asked them how much of the Qur'an
they have
in memory. A young person was among them. The Prophet asked
him,
too: "Who are you? How much of the Qur'an do you know?"
The young person responded: "I know such and such surahs, and the
entire
Surah Baqara by heart." The Surah Baqara has 286
verses, two and half juz', about fifty pages long, about 1/12
of the
entire Qur'an. The Prophet asked again: "Do you know the Surah
Baqara by heart?" "Yes, I do!" said
the young man. The Prophet said, "(Izheb, fa anta amîruhum!)
Go, you are their leader!" The young man was appointed as the
leader
for the group because he knew the Surah Baqara by heart. This is
a
principle in the leadership criteria:
(Fal yaummahum aqra uhum)
"One who has the most knowledge of the Qur'an and other Islamic matters
will be the leader." That is why we named our radio station
AKRA, meaning "one who knows the Qur'an well." It is also an
abbreviation of AK RADYO ("White" Radio), yet our main purpose was
the first one. In another expedition, the
Prophet appointed somebody as the leader. During the expedition,
there
were some disagreements. Some people disobeyed the leader.
The
leader got angry. He ordered them: "Go and gather some
firewood."
They collected twigs, dried plants and alike and piled them up.
He
ordered: "Start a fire!" They did. When the flames were
high, he asked them: "Get into the fire!" Since the leader is
to be obeyed, he expected them to get into the fire. People did
not obey
that command and said: "We are not going to get into the fire.
Yet
we are going to tell this to the Prophet." On their return, they
consulted the Prophet. The Prophet said: "If you had obeyed
him, you would have put yourselves in hellfire. The obedience is
only for
good things. When there is a sin, you shall not obey the orders."
If we look at the manners
of the Prophet and his teachings to learn a lesson, we observe the
following: Our beloved Prophet stated the matters as whole and
stated
rules to balance the issue in all aspects. He did not authorize
anybody
without limits; he did not let anybody be oppressed. He took
precautions
for justice. He regulated interpersonal relationships
beautifully.
He lived what he preached to be good example for us to follow. If we are to summarize the
general characteristics of the Prophet's manner, with his words: "The
good
code of conduct shall be just for the sake of Allah, for His
consent--without
expecting anything in return." Once the Prophet was
asked: "What is a good character, O Prophet of Allah?" He
responded:
(Taghfiru 'ammen zalemaka tu'ti
men haramaka tasilu men
qata-ake)
"You forgive one who does injustice to you; you give one who does not
give
to you, and you keep your ties with one who cuts off the ties." What we conclude from this
hadith is that the good code of conduct is not something done in return
to some
favor, but it is doing good without expecting anything. It is for the
consent
of Allah. Even if a person receives bad treatment from somebody,
he should
continue doing good things for that individual. There is another saying of
the Prophet: "A calamity or something bad that befalls on a person is a
grace from Allah. One fails to understand this fact is not a true
believer." That is how the Prophet looked at the events--it is
not
how the way we see things. When a person gets some illness, he
should
believe that it is his destiny and be patient. That would earn
him
rewards. Calamities, too, are part of the destiny that Allah
prescribed
for us. May Almighty Allah have us
equipped with the character of the Prophet. May He have us comply
to the
code of conduct of the Prophet in our family life, in our relations
with our
relative, our Muslim brethren, and our neighbors, in our business
transactions,
and in our social interactions. May He grant you all His consent,
happiness, an orderly life, and a happy society in this life. May
He
grant you all rewards and honor of observing His beauty in His Paradise
in the
hereafter. May Almighty Allah be
pleased with you. As-salâmu alaikum wa
rahmatullahi wa barakatuh! October 24,
1995--Hannover, GERMANY
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