Why Muhammadr?

It must be a heart superior to all
others. A heart brought up under the Eye of Allah U,
a worshipper of Him Alone. Inside him must be Purity, Piety, Love, Sincerity,
Charity, Wisdom, Bravery, Justice, Generosity, Honesty, Modesty, Kindness,
Mercifulness, Forgiveness, Patience, Perseverance, and every other quality of
moral excellence and righteousness in their most exalted human forms.

‘Abdullah bin Mas‘ud t,
a Companion of the Prophet r,
said: “Verily, Allah has looked into the servants’ hearts and found
Muhammad’s heart the best heart among the servants, so He chose him for Himself
and sent him with His Message.”1

The heart of As-Sayyid2 among the offspring of Prophet Adam r,
whom Allah U
chose above all others to send, not to a certain race or people at a certain
time – as was ‘Isa (Jesus r):
“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the House of Israel”3 – but to all existence until the Last
Hour. It shall continue inspiring faith and goodness, pulsating throughout the
living being of earth: “Truly, in the body is a little lump of flesh, which
when it is right, the whole body is right, and when it is corrupt, the whole
body is corrupt; it is the heart.”4

Muhammad r, who never bowed to an
idol, spent the days of his youth in silent worship, contemplating and
thinking. This endless blue sky, like silk spread out with no rifts in it,
glittering at night with countless silvery stars, raised without any pillars
one can see; these firmly set mountains adorned in majesty; this glorious sun
spreading warmth and light, rising and setting at a precise time, so that the
night never outstrips the day; this barren earth that when rain is sent down on
it, is stirred to life and puts forth every lovely kind of growth; these fruits
of different colors, tastes, and shapes all watered with the same water; this
pure milk in the bellies of cattle given from between excretions and blood;
these birds above, spreading out their wings and folding them in… who holds
them aloft? Who taught all these creatures? Who taught man? These signs must
have a Creator, All-Wise, Almighty.

During his long retreats in Hira’ Cave – the sanctum of
his devotions and meditations on Jabal An-Nur (the Mountain of Light) –
Muhammad r
was far away from the impurities of life, and in close communion with the
Unseen Power that lies behind all aspects of existence in this infinite
universe.

In the solitude of Hira’ Cave,
where silence prevailed, spiritual serenity surrounded the Coming Prophet r,
giving him the power needed for what was yet to come… meeting the Divine
Revelation that descended upon him with the first command, “Read”
[Al-‘Alaq 96: 1]; then proceeding to the prophetic charge, “Warn”
[Al-Muddaththir 74: 2]; then the request for him to call his near kindred,
[Ash-Shu‘ara’ 26: 214]; then the Call being extended to the whole town of
Makkah and all those around it, [Al-An‘am 6:92]; and finally to all of mankind,
[Al-Anbiya’ 21: 107].5

Power
of Caring, Loving, and Reaching All

It is not only his kindred, or the
Arabs, but all humanity: (And We have not sent you except as a giver of glad
tidings and a warner to all mankind, but most of the people know not.)6

Such capacity for preaching the Message to all emanates from
the Prophet’s special capacity for loving and caring for all, “I am sent to
every red and black person.”7 By
the red the Prophet r
meant the non-Arabs, and by the black he r meant the Arabs.

This is the essence of the universality of his Message. It is
not an expression of dominion or a desire for supremacy, but an innate love of
goodness for all beings. Nothing is more indicative of this than his sincere
words: “I am sent to all people; and if they do not respond to me, then to
the Arabs; and if they do not respond to me, then to the Quraish; and if they
do not respond to me, then to Banu Hashim; and if they do not respond to me,
then to myself alone.”8

The Prophet r is simply calling those
whom he loves to goodness. If they respond to him, his happiness and theirs is
great; and if they do not, he r has honored his duty
and conveyed the Message,9
leaving people no excuse before their Lord. (Lest you say: “There
came unto us no bringer of glad tidings and no warner.”)10

Dissolving
All Differences in His Message to All

Without specifying a certain class,
race, or origin, or making a special mention of Muslim followers, the Prophet
of Mercy r
teaches, saying: “Show mercy to those on the earth, and He Who is in the
heaven will show mercy to you.”11 “Show mercy,
and mercy will be shown to you; forgive, and Allah will forgive you.”12

This is the Prophet’s Message to all.

Universal in its scope: (O mankind, indeed I
am the Messenger of Allah for you all.)13

In its purpose: (O mankind, worship
your Lord, Who created you and those before you, that you may become pious.)14

In its guidance: (O mankind, eat of
that which is lawful and good on the earth, and follow not the footsteps of
Satan. Verily, he is to you an open enemy.)15

In its admonition: (O mankind, remember
the Grace of Allah upon you. Is there any creator other than Allah who provides
for you from the heaven and earth?)16

In its goodness: (O mankind, there has
come to you good advice from your Lord (i.e. the Qur’an, ordering all that is
good and forbidding all that is evil), and a healing for that in your breasts –
a guidance and a mercy for the believers.)17

Unprejudiced in its Laws: (Whoever kills a soul not in retaliation for
(having killed) a soul or for corruption (done) in the land, it is as if he has
killed all humanity. And, whoever saves a life, it is as if he has saved the
lives of all humanity.)18

Uncompromising in its justice: (O you who believe, stand up firmly for
justice, as witnesses to Allah, even though
it be against yourselves, your parents, or your kin.)19

It embodies the equality of all, for the unity of origin: “You
all are the children of Adam, and Adam was created from dust.”20

It encircles the whole earth with the Prophet’s teachings of
universal peace and brotherhood: “None of you truly believes until he loves
for people what he loves for himself.”21

It tears down any walls of discrimination: “Not of us
(not one of the Muslims) is anyone who advocates Asabiyah22. Not of us is anyone who fights for
Asabiyah. And not of us is anyone who dies persisting in Asabiyah.”23

After years of teaching and preaching the values of Islam, and
after students tasted and practiced the equality of Islam at the hands of the
merciful Prophet r,
the first Muslim generation from different classes and colors willingly stood
side by side, the rich and the poor, in the graduation year of Farewell Hajj,
with a seamless piece of white cloth on their bodies, like the shroud we shall
be wrapped in when we exit this world, praying to their Lord, Who neither looks
at shapes nor wealth, “Verily, Allah does not look at your shapes or wealth,
but He looks at your hearts and deeds.”24 As equal before Him as He created us and
as we shall all stand before Him on the Day of Judgment.

In this great scene of equality, where all privileges melt into
thin air, the Teacher of Humanity r uttered the law of
unity and the one criterion of honor and superiority as declared by Allah U:
“O people, verily your Lord is One and your father is one (i.e. Adam).
Behold, there is no superiority of the Arab over the non-Arab, or of the
non-Arab over the Arab, or of the red over the black, or of the black over the
red – except by piety. Have I informed you?”25

On the Day of the Victory of Makkah, he r
sermonized: “O people, verily Allah has rid you of the vainglory of
Jahiliyyah (Pre-Islamic
Days of Ignorance) and its pride in ancestors. People are two kinds of men: a
righteous pious man who is honorable to Allah, and an impious wicked man who is
worthless to Allah. All mankind are Children of Adam, and Allah has created
Adam from dust.”26

The Prophet’s Call continues to all humanity (O
mankind, indeed I am the Messenger of Allah for you all),27 with its different races and colors,
guiding it back to its One Maker (Your god is one God.
There is no god except Him, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful)28 Who created the human family from one soul
(O
mankind, fear your Lord, Who created you from one soul (Adam) and created from
it its mate (Eve) and dispersed from both of them many men and women)29 and
shaped it into nations and tribes, for the purpose of knowledge, not fighting. (O
mankind, We have created you from a male (Adam) and a female (Eve), and made
you into nations and tribes, that you may know one another. Verily, the most
honorable of you in the Sight of Allah is the most pious of you.)30

To this one humanity, the one God sent one religion: (He
(Allah) has ordained for you the same religion (Islam) that He ordained for
Nuh (Noah), and that which We have revealed to you (O Muhammad),
and that which We ordained for Ibrahim (Abraham), Musa (Moses), and ‘Isa
(Jesus), saying you should establish
the religion, and make no division in it (religion) (i.e. various sects in religion).)31

One Maker, one religion, one origin; this is the intrinsic
element bringing peace, mercy, and happiness to humanity through the sublime
Message of Prophet Muhammad r: Come back! Do
not differ, divide, or fight. Do not waste yourselves and stray from the
purpose for which you were created, which is that you worship your Maker,
Alone; and the purpose for which you were made into nations and tribes, which
is that you know, complement, and cooperate with one another.

Excellence of wealth, birth, color, race, or country is of no
value in the Sight of Your Lord. Superiority of one over another is only
attained by piety32: (Verily, the most
honorable of you in the Sight of Allah is the most pious of you.)33

Every human is personally responsible for their own self.

Only the good they do places them ahead, and only the bad they
do puts them behind.

There is no place in this Just Balance for the intervention of
one human for another, no matter what their status.

No consideration is given to country, birth, or prestige in the
weighing of a person.

Criteria of superiority or inferiority established by people
are worthless.

The son of a prophet and the son of a prostitute are equal! If
the first lags behind in the race of righteous deeds, his parentage will give
him no support; and if the latter outruns in the race of righteous deeds, his
parentage will do him no harm. 34

This is the dictate of the Law of Justice preached in all
Divine Messages: (Or has he not been informed of what is in the
scriptures of Moses, and (of) Abraham, who fulfilled (his obligations) – that
no bearer of burden (sins) shall bear the burden of another. And that man will
have nothing but what he does (good or bad). And that his deeds will be seen.
Then he will be recompensed for them with the fullest recompense.)35

The Divine Law shows no favoritism: (Say (O
Muhammad), “None can protect me from Allah’s Punishment (if I were to disobey
Him), nor should I find refuge except in Him.”)36 The scales will
only balance a person’s deeds: “Anyone whose deeds slow them down, their
lineage will not help them speed up,”37 Prophet Muhammad r
warns.

“O Banu Hisham! Let not
people come to me with their deeds and you come to me with your lineage.”38

“O mother of Az-Zubair bin Al-Awam, aunt of the Messenger of
Allah! O Fatimah, daughter of Muhammad! Buy yourselves from Allah. Truly, I can
avail you nothing against Allah.”39

“Truly, Allah shall not ask you about your noble descent or
lineage on the Day of Judgment. The most honorable of you in the Sight of Allah
is the most pious of you.”40

This is the Way of the Prophet r by which all causes of
conflict or enmity on earth dwindle, and all values over which people fight
become worthless. All differences fall away. All criteria collapse. One Balance
weighing one value (piety) will rise, by which all humanity will be
judged, and its scales will decide the high and the low among them.41

In the end: (There is none in the
heavens and the earth but comes unto the Most Beneficent (Allah) as a slave.)42

“I made a lineage and you made a lineage,”
Allah the Most Exalted shall say on the Day of Judgment, “I made the
most honorable among you the one who is most pious, but you insisted on saying:
the son of so-and-so is better than the son of so-and-so. Today I shall raise
My lineage and put down your lineage: Where are the pious?”43