The effaced part of the Messenger's Life
The effaced part of the Messenger's Life
The true character of Islam is outwardly dynamic and extrovert and the present perverted Islam’s character is inwardly, inert and introvert. The Messenger of Allah was an entirely different person from what he is thought today. Today
one aspect of the life of the Messenger, the real aspect is given almost no importance. The aspect of the teacher of a Deen is known, discussed, taught and widely accepted all over the populace one who encouraged good qualities and excellent moral behavior. The other aspect of his life as a head of state, a warrior, a commander of an army are neglected, not given any importance, not taught and not mentioned. The ignorance about this aspect of his life has reached such a stage that this fact has lost its credibility in this populace which believes itself to be his Ummah. Most of the claimants of being Mo’men, Muslim and Ummat-e-Mohammadi is horrified if they are informed that their leader, the Messenger of Allah had ordered 6 assassinations, rewarded people in 3 cases who brought the enemy’s head and presented it before him, ordered torture of prisoners in at least 1 case and another was within his knowledge, and even permitted his followers to lie with the enemies in at least 2 cases, because they are not acquainted with this aspect of the Messenger of Allah. They have completely forgotten that besides of being teacher of a religion he was a head of state, a warrior and a commander of an army. He was as modest as a newlywed bride; on the other hand he was a commander of fierce fighters, the very mention of whose name created fear and awe in the hearts of enemies.
These assassinations and torture of prisoners and lying are practiced by every head of states today only in much greater scale. Every modern nation state has got its own intelligence departments and secret services for its security. Whenever necessary for the security of state its head orders assassinations which are duly carried out. The Messenger of Allah had ordered only 6 assassinations; today’s heads of states are credited with much more. He had ordered torturing of prisoners only on one occasion and the process was only beating; today’s heads of states are carrying out these in thousand times bigger scale and in ways which are hair-raising, gruesome and cruel. Only a few like Guantanamo, Abu Gharib, Baghram Airbase are known, unknown and innumerable are the secret prisons in Europe and all over the world. The permission to lie given by the Messenger is insignificant compared with the lying, deceit, dishonesty practiced by the modern day nation-states, example: Iraq and Afghanistan.
We have entirely forgotten that besides being the Messenger of Allah he was a head of state. If we do not realize this fact we shall never understand his order of killings of certain persons and permitting some of his followers to lie in special cases. If we confine him to a role of great religious personality like other religions, we shall never understand these activities. As the head of a state he had to fight, order killing of other people and perform other duties which any head of state must.
Now we should understand why and how this populace has lost this aspect of the Messenger’s life.
Islam consists of three things. We find these three things at least thrice in the Qur’an, in Sura Fatah- Ayat-28, Sura Tawbah, Ayat-33, Sura Saff- Ayat 9 in which Allah says, “He has sent forth His Messenger with Hedayah (Guidance) and the Deen-ul-Huq (true system of life) so that he may prevail it above all other Deens (systems of life).” The Hedayah here is the Kalema La Elaha illa Allah (There is none to be obeyed other than Allah), Deen ul Huq is the edifice consisting of the Shariyah, do and don’ts, right and wrong, just and unjust, Halal and Haram, permitted and not permitted, good and bad all based on the Kalema, the foundation, La Elaha illa Allah (There is none to be obeyed other than Allah) i.e. on the Hedayah. Then He entrusts His Messenger with prevailing this Deen ul Huq over all other ways, systems of life in the world. The Hedayah, the Deen (Shariyah) and the struggle (Jehad) for prevailing this over all other ways, systems of life--these three together is the whole of Islam. There is no Islam outside or beyond these three fundamental topics.
This is consistent with the definition of the real Mo’men given by Allah in the Qur’an.139 Here we get three criterion of a real Mo’men. The first is to believe in Allah and His Messenger, this means La Elaha illa Allah, Mohammad Rasul Allah (s.m) i.e. to obey none other than Allah and His Messenger (this includes believe in the Shariyah, the Deen ul Huq, the true way of life), the second is never to falter, and the third is Jehad e fee sabillillah i.e. utmost struggle to prevail the Deen based on the Tawheed. This consistency will be found throughout the Qur’an. For example, says, “O you who have attained faith! Shall I point out to you a bargain that will save you from grievous torment? You are to believe in Allah and His Messenger, and to strive hard (Jehad) in the way of Allah.140 Here also the same three things. Whoever complies with these three Allah promises him Jannah that is accepted him as a true Mo’men. Not only that, He promises him help and a victory very soon to come.
Allah has sent His Messenger with two things, Hedayah i.e. the Kalema and the Deen ul Huq based on that Kalema, Hedayah. These two are from Allah Himself. Besides believing in these two the third condition is utmost struggle for
prevailing which is the Messenger’s and hence our responsibility. The first two things given by Allah are useless without making these two effective in human life i.e. to prevail the Deen over all others. So the third part, struggle is as important as the first two things given by Allah. That is why Allah has said in the Qur’an that If you do not go forth (for fight to establish the Deen), He will punish you grievously and place another people in your stead (that means enslave you by other nations).141 Here it is to be noted very seriously that in whole of Islam or in the Qur’an there is no crime, no sin, no fault, no shortcoming, and no mistake for which Allah has warned so grievous a punishment as enslavement by other national together. Allah has not warned or indicated grievous punishment and enslavement by other nation which of necessity is non believers for not saying prayers (Salah), not performing Hajj, nor fasting (Saom) in Ramadan, the pillars of Islam not to speak of any other minor sins or faults. Why so?
As I have stated before, sending His Messenger with Kalema i.e. Hedayah and the Deen i.e. the way of life all these are useless if they are not established and not made effective. That is why Allah has warned the grievous punishment for whoever that abandons this struggle.
Due to perversion in the Aqida i.e. to correctly understand the meaning of Islam, its goal, process of attaining the goal was perverted, this Ummah abandoned this very struggle (Jehad) within one hundred years of departure of the Messenger from this earth. Since then the Ummah ceased to be true Mo’men in the eyes of Allah and by the definition of true Mo’men.142 They also ceased to be Ummat e Mohammadi because they forsook the main sunnah of their leader. Allah entrusted His Messenger with prevailing the Hedayah (Allah’s sovereignty) and the Deen ul Huq (the true way of life) over all other Deen (Le use herahu ala Deen-e kullihi).143 The Messenger spent his life on carrying out this trust and left this responsibility for continuing this struggle (Jehad). By saying “He who doesn’t follow my sunnah is not of me and I am not of him and also he who turns away from my sunnah is not of me and I am not of him” he meant this sunnah of his. So 60 to 70 years after of his departure from this earth when this Ummah abandoned this struggle and started ruling and enjoying the vast territory won by tremendous sacrifice, blood and sweat of the true believers (Mo’men and Ummat e Mohammadi), they ceased to be Ummat e Mohammadi and also ceased to be true Mo’men by the definition given by Allah in Ayat 15 of Sura Hujurat. That this would happen was predicted by the Messenger of Allah when he said “My Ummah’s life span (Hayah) would be 60-70 years.144 History tells us that this prediction was fulfilled between 60-70 years after the Messenger of Allah after which the true Ummat-e-Mohammadi died.
Since then this nation, called the Muslim nation ceased to be Ummat-e-Mohammadi and true Mo’men in the eyes of Allah. All help, mercy, affection from Allah was withdrawn and so their decline started. In time the enemies of this nation started counter attacking and this nation, once invincible in the battlefield, started conceding defeat. The promised punishment of Allah mentioned in Sura Tawbah 38-39[145] had begun. The decline and defeat and Allah’s punishment continued till most of the area of this nation was militarily conquered by the European Christians. In fact except the central Arabia which contains the House of Allah and the Tomb of His Messenger, the whole Muslim world was conquered and the Muslim nation enslaved. Allah has fulfilled His promise of grievous punishment and enslavement of this population that still believes themselves to be Mo’men, Muslim and Ummat-e-Mohammadi none of which it is. From the above facts it is evident that no amount of Salah, Zakah, Hajj, Saom and all other pious works which is not short in coming in this populace is failing and will fail to please Allah Who demands unconditional obedience (La Elaha illa Allah) and its establishment through all out struggle and endeavor (Jehad). To be accepted as Mo’men, Muslim and Ummat-e-Mohammadi and to get back His favor, pleasure and help, this populace has to abandon and reject all the Elahs (Alehatan) in forms of cracies, isms and all that and accept Allah as the only sovereign and accept Mohammad (sm) as His Messenger and obey none other. There simply is no other way.
To go back to the original point i.e. why and how the militant and temporal aspect of the Messenger’s life is lost. As a result of abandoning the struggle, the fight (Jehad), that aspect of Islam started losing importance. Similarly, for the same reason that aspect in the life of the Messenger also started fading out and now has almost disappeared from both. As an example, when discussing the life of the Messenger of Allah to emphasize the importance of education and learning given to them by the Messenger of Allah, the example of the ransom of the prisoners of the Badr is cited. As ransom of a literate prisoner of the Badr the Messenger had fixed educating ten children of his followers. This incident of his life is praised much as his giving importance to education and a present day Muslim will hear about this many times in sermons of the Alems, in speeches by the western educated people, would read it in articles, magazines etc. throughout his life. But one would not hear or read anywhere another fact that in the same occasion the Messenger of Allah had fixed as ransom one thousand battle spears for another prisoner.146 This is how by eliminating or ignoring or giving less importance on the temporal side of the life of the Messenger only a part of his character remains evident today. That is why as this aspect of his life is absent today, his supposed followers become horrified and even refuse to believe when this side of the Messenger’s life which comprises the side of his life as a head of state, as a military commander and a political leader is presented to them. All these are due to forsaking the struggle (Jehad) warned about by Allah in Ayat 38-39 of Sura Tawbah.
When this struggle (Jehad) was abandoned, forsaken the military aspect of the Deen started becoming less and lesser important and at present not only has completely disappeared but it has become apparently un-Islamic and
antagonistic to Islam. As another example, we can take the subject of personal things left by the Messenger of Allah. It has been hidden from the eyes of the public that among the things of personal use after the Messenger’s departure from this world, there were 9 swords, 5 spears, 6 bows, 1 quiver, 2 helmets, 7 mails, 3 fighting robes, 1 belt, 1 shield and 3 flags (used in battles)[147] besides a bed, a pillow, a few leather water-bags, a cup or plate, a blanket, turban, staff, seal etc. The populace called Muslim knows about his robe, turban…all these things left by the Messenger of Allah because these things are mentioned whenever the things he left is discussed. But doesn’t know or hardly knows about the arms he left listed above. A picture album published by a publication supposed to be the biggest which is managed and run by the heads of the olema in this country contains pictures of almost all the important places and things of Islam shows a turban, two seals, two staffs, a chest and no weapon except only one sword.
As I have stated earlier in the book that when an unknown person dies if it is found that he has left a room full of musical instruments, there would be hardly any doubt that the dead man was a musician. Or if a man leaves a room full of different kinds of engines, hammers, spanners, screwdrivers and others such instruments then there is no doubt the dead man was a mechanical engineer. When the last Messenger of Allah died, it was found that his room was full of arms and weapons. What conclusion can be drawn from this than that the man who lived in this room was primarily a warrior even if he was also something else? That’s what he meant when he said, “I am a warrior Messenger.”148
This identity of the Messenger of Allah has no similarity with his image that we have now. At present when the Messenger is mentioned the image of saintly, timid, self effacing, meek person with a tasbih (rosary) in hand appears in our mind which is entirely opposite of the warrior who fought seventy eight battles in nine and a half years only and left a room full of arms and weapons when he died. Not only that he himself was a warrior Messenger of Allah but he trained his followers and made them such warriors that after his death though numerically much smaller they attacked Roman and Persian empire, two super powers of the then world, not one after another but simultaneously and defeated them completely and established the Deen –ul-Huq (The true system, way of life) on a great area on the surface of the earth.
The process of effacing the struggle (Jehad) or establishing the Deen-ul-Huq in the life of mankind from both the Deen itself and the life of the Messenger started from the moment of abandoning the struggle (Jehad) within 60-70 years after the death of the Messenger and continued through the centuries and has finally not only erased it but has changed its Aqidah so much that it is now believed that the struggle (Jehad) and armed fight (Qetal) are un-Islamic.
The biography of the last Messenger of Allah has been written by hundreds, probably by thousands of writers, historians, researchers in many languages over the centuries. The very first large and reliable biography of the Messenger of Allah was written by Mohammad ibn Eshaq in the 2nd century of the Hejrah. By then the correct Aqidah of Deen ul Islam had already began to pervert. By then the Jehad, all out struggle for prevailing this Deen over all other systems was abandoned indicating that the Aqidah of the Ummah had been already perverted. As I have said before that Islam consists of three things[149] and every true Mo’men must have all these three. By abandoning Jehad they abandoned half of the True Islam. They could not abandon half of the True Islam without perversion of the correct Aqidah. Their Aqidah of the True Islam was lost hence they could forsake the Jehad. Due to this wrong concept they did not realize that by forsaking half of the True Islam they were no-more true Mo’men defined in the 15th Ayat of Sura Hujurat, nor Ummat-e-Mohammadi. That is why the Messenger of Allah said that the Hayat (life span) of his Ummah would be of 60-70 years. History shows that his Ummah left this Jehad about 60-70 years after his departure from this earth and eventually ceased to be his people.
So when his first biography was written by Mohammad ibn Eshaq in the 2nd century of Hejrah, the concept about the Messenger had already been changed somewhat. The following biographies kept on changing the priority of the different aspects of his life. The dynamic, struggling, fighting, ruling aspects of his life gradually losing their importance and priority, and the spiritual aspects of his life were being given increasing importance. This continued and the present day biographies depict the Messenger of Allah as a person who is far, far away from his real-self. One who reads the Messenger’s biography by Mohammad Ibn Eshaq, Abdul Malek Ibn Hesham etc i.e. the very early biographer can get the more or less correct idea about the unique personality. I said more or less correct because even by then the correct Aqidah about Islam, its purpose, its goal, and the process of achieving the goal had already been perverted. That the Aqidah was perverted is proved by another fact. The Khelafat was de-facto changed into monarchy though the title of Khalifah was retained to deceive the common Muslims.
However, the process of effacing the image of the warrior, ruler, administrator and head of state by replacing it with a meek, solitude-seeking, non-violent, introvert, and saintly person continued in subsequent biographies. Consequently readers of biographies of the Messenger of the last a few centuries are introduced to a person absolutely different from the real one. Those who out of love and sense of duty want to follow the Sunnah of the Messenger in their lives, brush their teeth regularly instead of having their teeth broken in the field of battle like the Messenger himself and Abu Obaydah (Ra); sleep on the right side on their beds with Tasbih (rosary) near their heads instead of sleeping in the war-fields with sword near their heads; they wear caps or turbans instead of helmets; they wear long robes instead of wearing armors and mails; they eat sweets after their meal instead of fighting battles with empty stomach etc. The present day followers of the Messenger understand very well when told about the kind-heartedness, compassion, modesty, humbleness, meekness, humility, mercy, forgiveness, pity, love of learning education etc. but they are horrified and almost faint when they are told that the person they are trying to follow besides being all those mentioned before, ordered six assassinations, permitted one, rewarded and prayed for the persons who brought and presented the enemy’s heads before him, ordered torture of prisoner at least in one occasion, permitted lying to the enemies at least in two occasions and their desire to follow his Sunnah vanishes into thin air. To know about the real Messenger of Allah, one must read the earliest biographies like Serat-e-Rasul Allah by ibn Eshaq, ibn Hesham etc.
The enemies of Islam who attacked and militarily defeated the populace called Muslim and conquered their lands knew that they could not keep this huge population under their boots unless this populace were kept away from two things. One is the real meaning of Kalema (Tawheed i.e. the sovereignty of Allah which means to belief that there is none to obeyed other than Allah); and the other thing is the all out struggle (Jehad) which includes arms struggle (Qetal) to establish the Kalema based Deen (way of life) in mankind. They also knew that they could not do it, as these two are the very life of the religion of the conquered people. So they decided to substitute the meaning of the Kalema by changing the meaning of the world ‘Elah’ from ‘He, who is to be obeyed’ to ‘He, who is to be worshipped’. If this huge population believes that Elah means ‘He, who is to be obeyed’, then they wouldn’t obey the conquerors. So the true meaning of this word was changed from ‘He, who is to be obeyed’ to ‘He, who is to be worshipped’. So that believing in this new meaning this populace called Muslim obey the conquerors and keep themselves busy with worshipping Allah and other pious deeds.150
Secondly, they found it extremely difficult to substitute the meaning of the word Jehad with something else because its meaning is so clear throughout the Qur’an and the Hadis. The armed fight specifically made obligatory[151] by Allah. So to give greater importance to something else they substituted the meaning of the Jehad to fight against one’s Nafs. In support of their contention they placed a supposed Hadis in which the Messenger of Allah has said that Jehad against one’s Nafs is great Jehad.
Now let us try to gauge the foundation for the discovering of this ‘hadis’. Those who discovered this have only been able to provide three instances where the Messenger of Allah has named the internal struggle with one’s self to be the Jehad-e-Akbar. They are narrated from Ibn Najjar, Dailami and Khatib respectively. What is noteworthy is all Mohaddes are unanimous in their opinion that this Hadis is at best a very weak or ‘daief’ one. The famous Mohaddes Hafez ibn Hajjar is adversed to even calling this a Hadis. His opinion is that the likening of fighting against one’s own self as a Hadis is absolutely wrong, it is and ancient Arabic proverb only.152 This is an aspect of determining the truth behind any so-called Hadis. The major factor of discrimination between truth and falsehood among Hadis is the comparison of it vis-à-vis the Qur’an. If the message of any Hadis is found to be contradictory to the teachings of the Qur’an, it is broadly taken as a falsehood. The Messenger of Allah himself has set this standard saying, “My message will be made null and void by the Message of the Almighty, but the Message of the Almighty will not be cancelled by my message.”153 Also we can search the Qur’an what inferences have been made there about this issue.
In Sura Forqan, verse 52, it is said, “So obey not the rejecters (Kafer), but strive against them with utmost striving.” Utmost striving has been described here as ‘Jehadan kabira’. Akbar and Kabir are of the same root word and convey the same meaning. Therefore whereas Allah Himself described the fight against rejecters as Jehad-e-Akbar, these people want to assert their own opinion of fighting against one’s own self as Jehad-e-Akbar; in short, they want to impress exactly the opposite of what the Almighty Himself has pronounced. Now let us find out what the Messenger of Allah has stated in this matter. When asked to name the highest, superior Jehad, he answered – To fight with life and wealth against rejecters.154 Here we see the resonance of the Qur’an and we find yet another instance of the Messenger's assertion of what the highest amal in Islam actually is.
So what possible reason can be to overturn the Message of the Qur’an and the Messenger of Allah, disregarding the thousand of Sahih Hadis regarding the armed fight, the verses of the Qur’an replete with glorifying the armed struggle and its reward and in their place trying to establish claiming the fight against one’s own self as the supreme Jehad?
These two changes and its substitutions have reversed the Aqidah of this conquered population from extrovert and explosive to introvert and implosive. The real meanings of the Kalema and Jehad are befitting and proper for a dynamic leading and ruling people and the substituted meanings of the Kalema and Jehad are befitting and proper for a conquered, vanquished, enslaved people. To engrain these substituted meanings of the Kalema and Jehad in the mind and soul of the conquered populace, the European Christian powers established Madrasahs in all the nation states of Muslims155 where they started teaching a dead Islam whose very soul the Tawheed (the sovereignty of Allah) and its activity, the Jehad was absent. As a result of being taught this dead Islam in Madrasahs for over two centuries, this populace called Muslim has become fully inert and introvert befitting an enslaved people with bottomless inferiority complex towards their conquerors and masters. The purpose of the conquering European Christians has been fulfilled and even after their departure freeing this populace called Muslim from their enslavement after the 2nd world war the state of this nation remains the same. This Muslim populace even today believes and practices the same Tawheed-less and Jehad-less dead Islam and is de-facto Kafer and Moshrek. As in its collective life it believes in other Elah than Allah and has no Jehad (utmost striving) for establishing the Deen. That is why this populace called Muslim becomes horrified when they are informed that the Messenger of Allah whose name they utter when reciting the Kalema has ruled over a powerful nation, Ummah has led armies in wars, fought battles, has ordered assassinations, permitted lying. An inert, introvert, coward, mentally enslaved people cannot understand the mind of a dynamic, extrovert, valiant, ruling nation, Ummah.
ENDNOTES
139 The true believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and never doubt; and fight for His cause with their wealth and lives. Sura Huzrat 15
140 Sura As-Saff-10-11
141 If you do not go forth to war, He will chastise you with grievous chastisement and place another people in your stead. You can in no way harm Him. Allah has power over all things. (Sura Taubah – 38-39).
142 The true believers are only those who believe in Allah and His Messenger and never doubt; and fight for His cause with their wealth and lives. Sura Hujrat 15
143 Qur’an, Surah Taubah-33, Saff-9, Fatah-28
144 Hadith – Abu Hurairah (Ra), Tirmizee, Ibn Majah
145 If you do not go forth to war, He will chastise you with grievous chastisement and place another people in your stead. You can in no way harm Him. Allah has power over all things. (Sura Taubah – 38-39).
146 Ibn Hazar
147 One of the most renowned Biographers of the Messenger Siratun Nabi- by Allama Shibli Nu’mani
148 Hadith from Bukhari, Keltabus seear, As Seasah ash Shariah of Emam ibn Taimiah, Page -8
149 Hedayah, Din-ul-Haq and struggle for establishment of these two.
150 about the true meaning of worshiping I have written elsewhere
151 Sura Baqara 216
152 Tashdeed-ul-Kaves- Hafez ibn Hajjar
153 The words of Allah will cancel my words but my words will not cancel the words of Allah. (Hadith)
154 Hadith – Abu Daud, Nesayi, Meshkat from Abdullah bin Habshi (RA)
155 There is no concept of nation state in real Islam.
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