In this part of the article titled “Life and Teachings of The Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)”, we shall continue on the life and the teachings of the Holy Prophet of Allah (s.a.w.a).
A woman has been invested in the right of ownership of property by virtue of her own initiative,(1) thus, she can conduct any business for her welfare. A very beautiful aspect of a Muslim woman is that she, in spite of the wealth that she may acquire, is not expected to spend for the welfare and well-being of her family. This responsibility is vested in her husband,(2) although she may condescend to help in sharing the responsibility.(3) Lastly in this brief exposition we will say that according to Islam, the relationship between a husband and wife is a bounty from Allah, through love, tenderness and comfort.(4)
We will end this discussion with one last aspect of the teachings of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace. This aspect is the unique tolerance which is embedded in his message. We read in the Holy Quran: “There should be no compulsion in religion. Surely. right has become distinct from wrong”.(5) Ironically enough, the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, the Muslims and the teachings of Islam have been systematically accused, that the spread of the faith has been achieved through force with the sword. This accusation is totally false and without any foundation. The history of Islam belies such a charge. The verse quoted before from the Holy Quran does not give any right to anyone to force any belief on any other individual or group which may be resentful or distasteful to the other party. This law is of general application and concerns all religions. Every Muslim reveres every word of the Holy Quran and it is highly impossible that they would use force to promulgate their religion. However, I will not take up the gauntlet to argue the issue any further, since whatever I may say, could be deemed to be partial.
I will assign this duty to a very well-respected author who is not a Muslim but who is renowned as a most penetrating historian. This author has written two historical books about the Jewish people and he himself is a Jew. The books he has written are The indestructible Jews and Jews, God and History. His name is Max Dimont. In opening the fifth chapter and entitling it Muhammad, Allah, and Jehovah of his epoch-making book Jews, God and History, he states as an introduction the following: The improbable but true tale of a camel driver’s establishment of a world empire in the name of Allah, wherein the Jews rose to their golden age of creativity, only to be plunged into a dark age with the eclipse of the crescent and the ascent of the cross.
He went on to assert in the same chapter: “The Span of the Jewish golden age in the Muhammadian civilization corresponded to the life span of the Islamic Empire. When the latter broke up, the Jewish golden age broke up. We can only note in passing with a brevity that does great injustice to its quixotic complexity. He ended that section with the following statement: By 1500 the world’s most incredible empire – tolerant and enlightened, luxuriant and sybaritic, full of mathematicians and poets, warriors and sycophants – had come to an end.
Before ending the chapter, he observed:
Thus, the Jewish saga in the Islamic Empire ends. It was conceived by fate, supported in splendour, nourished by intellect, and buried by fate. By the fifteenth century, Jewish life in the East emptied into Western Europe at a juncture of Jewish history when the roads for the Jews led to the ghetto. But before we leave the Muhammadian stage of Jewish history. It is only fitting that tribute be paid to the magnificent Arabic people who wrought a dazzling and enlightened civilization out of the desert.
Though the Muhammadian Empire is dead, the human element which shaped its grandeur is still living. The Arabic culture was not built on the plunder of other countries and the brains of other men. It sprang from deep wells of creativity within the people themselves. For seven hundred years Arab and Jews lived side by side in peace and with mutual respect.
He ended the chapter by rightly summarizing the cause of strife and tension. He writes: “ Astute statesmanship can relax the present Israeli-Arab tensions because they are not caused by deep-rooted racial and religious antagonisms but by temporary political expediencies. History has shown that Jews and Arabs can live together without strife and with mutual profit”.
This is the tolerance that Islam expounds and which was practised in the expansion of the faith. No force was used and every citizen of the Islamic State enjoyed the same freedom of religion, irrespective of their religious attachment. This, therefore, in brief, is the answer to all the false accusations which were and are still being levelled by those whose sole intentions are to create mischief and willful distortion of the truth. Much more could have been said about the unique tolerance of Islam. but consideration of time stands in the way.
I will now end this discussion with this last note about the life of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace. Of all religious teachers and personalities, the life of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, is strikingly different, in that it is on record of every minute detail from before his birth right up to his death about his life. His life furnishes historians with an open book to delve into and there are no gaps or room for speculation and mysterious evaluations.
Whatever has been said in no way constitutes a complete and full appreciation of the very many-sided life and teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. One can go on and on citing many beautiful episodes in the life of the Holy Prophet, on whom be peace, and so could it be done with respect to his teachings, but again, time is a determining factor. Suffice it, therefore for this presentation. I wish to thank you all for giving me this opportunity to be of service and pray that may Allah guide us all to His truth. Ameen.
Our last prayer is ALL PRAISE BELONGS TO ALLAH, LORD OF ALL THE WORLDS.
By: Kenneth Moakan
NOTES:
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1. Qur’an 4: 33.
2. Qur’an 4: 35.
3. Qur’an 4:5 & 25.
4. Qur’an 7:190; 16:73; 30:32.
5. Qur’an 2:25.
