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The
Prophet Muhammad’s Message of Peace
A
major part of the Prophet’s mission was to bring peace
to the world. One of the ways in which he strove towards
this end was to attempt to convince people that all men
and women, albeit inhabiting very different regions of the
world, and different from one another in color, culture
and language, et cetera, were in fact blood brothers and
sisters. His message was crucial, for a proper
relationship of love and respect can be established only
if that is how human beings regard one another. To
inculcate such feelings, the Prophet would preach to his
followers, "You are all Adam’s offspring and Adam
was made of clay." And in his prayers to his Creator,
he said, "O Lord, all Your servants are
brothers."
The
Prophet would exhort his followers to live in peace with
their fellow men, saying, “A true believer is one with
whom others feel secure,” one who returns love for
hatred. He used to teach the believers that anyone who
would return love only when love was given belonged on a
lower ethical plane. The true believer never reasons that
only if people treat him well that he will treat them well
in return. He is accustomed rather to doing good to those
who mistreat him, and to refrain from harming those who do
him injury. The Prophet himself set the example. All his
recorded words and actions reveal him as a man of great
gentleness, kindness, humility, good humor and excellent
common sense, with a great love for all people and even
for animals.
Despite
his position as leader, the Prophet never believed himself
to be greater or better than other people. He never made
others feel small, unwanted or embarrassed. He urged his
followers to behave kindly and humbly, releasing slaves
whenever possible, and giving in charity — especially to
very poor people, orphans and prisoners — without any
thought of reward.
He
told the people that "every religion has some special
characteristic, that of Islam being modesty." In the
absence of such a virtue, no community can have lasting
peace. The Prophet’s own modesty, coupled with great
strength of character, is depicted in a well-known story
of an old Makkan woman who hated the Prophet. Every
morning when the Prophet passed by her house, she would
empty a basket of rubbish on his head from the upper story
of her house. He never once remonstrated with her about
this. One day, when the Prophet passed through this area,
no rubbish fell on his head. Thinking that the old woman
must be ill, he went upstairs to inquire how she was, and
found her ill in bed. When she discovered that the Prophet
had come to see her, she began to weep, "I
ill-treated you, and now you come to inquire after my
health!" Ultimately, she became one of his followers.
What strength of character, what patience and tolerance
the Prophet evinced in refusing to be provoked, preferring
rather to show kindness and magnanimity to one who had
wished him ill.
His
was a high moral character, so that even if badly treated
by others, he went on returning good for evil. People
harmed him, yet he would pray for them. He would remain
patient in the face of oppression and, regardless of the
provocation, he would refrain from becoming incensed. In
setting this example, his aim was to fashion souls that
were God-oriented, that found Allah so great that
everything else paled into insignificance. He wanted
everyone to have such boundless peace of mind that nothing
could disturb him. Such balanced individuals would never
then become prey to worldliness. Totally free from
negative reaction, they would then be able to turn
everything in this world, whether material or spiritual,
into food for more profound thought, rather than into
pretexts for rash and vengeful action.
The
essence of this philosophy is expressed in one of the
Prophet’s sayings: "Nine things the Lord has
commanded me: Fear of Allah in private and in public;
justness, whether in anger or in calmness; moderation in
both poverty and affluence; that I should join hands with
those who break away from me; and give to those who
deprive me; and forgive those who wrong me; and that my
silence should be meditation; and my words be remembrance
of Allah; and my vision be keen observation."
Throughout
the first thirteen years of his Mission, Prophet Muhammad
preached in Makkah, but it was in the face of bitter
opposition from the Makkans. When it became impossible for
him to stay there, he left for Madinah. Wars were waged
against him, but he showed his antagonists that the power
of peace was far greater than that of war. The peace
treaty of al-Hudaybiyyah is a clear example of this, when
the Prophet agreed to every demand his antagonists made on
the sole assurance that peace would subsequently prevail.
His
life’s experience ranged from penury to prosperity, from
defeat to success, yet whatever the degree of well-being
or hardship, he steadfastly trod the path of moderation.
At all times and right till the end, he remained a patient
and grateful servant of the Almighty, bringing his message
of peace and tolerance to mankind.
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