A Beginning Worth Remembering
| Khatib : | Sadullah Khan |
| Khutbah No: | 268 |
| Khutbah Date: | 03/21/08 |
قُلْ بِفَضْلِ اللّهِ وَبِرَحْمَتِهِ فَبِذَلِكَ فَلْيَفْرَحُواْ هُوَ خَيْرٌ مِّمَّا يَجْمَعُونَ
Say: "Regarding the bounty of Allah and His Mercy let people rejoice":
That is surely better than anything they could ever amass. [Q 10:58]
In this week different things are remembered by so many; according to Christian belief - the Resurrection of Christ (peace be upon him), international Water Day (appreciating our most valuable life-giving resource) and the 5th Anniversary of the Iraq War (one that has caused so much economic, environmental, social, international problems as well as the loss of so many innocent lives).
Could we perhaps remember that this week too a prophet was born (1482 years ago) and passed on (1429 years ago); one who descended from the dynasty of Abraham the idol-breaker, Moses the pharaoh-fighter, and Jesus the benevolent. “Four years after the death of (Roman emperor) Justinian, in 569 A.D., was born at Makkah in Arabia, the man who of all men, who exercised the greatest influence upon the human race, Muhammad” - [Anglo-American historian and philosopher, Dr John William Draper, A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe]
Birth of the Ultimate Revolutionary
If any occasion that is significant is worth remembering; it would be more so on the occasion of the commemoration of the arrival of the best of creation, the ideal exemplar, the noblest of character … the Final Messenger (peace be upon him). Allah commands us in the Qur’an [10:58] to rejoice in the favor and mercy of Allah and He re-affirms that Prophet Muhammad [Q 21:107] was sent as a manifestation of that mercy unto all the worlds. We rejoice in the acknowledgement of the selflessness, piety, wisdom and compassion of this Last Prophet; whose mission to humanity was the teaching of submission to the Supreme, of globally applicable values, of adherence to the Straight Path; the combating of immorality, impropriety, injustice, ignorance and oppression; and who conveyed the divinely revealed Final Testament as a universally relevant text, a testimony to his abiding mission.
A Model of Excellence
A study of the Prophet’s illustrious life reveals immense suffering, principled dedication, unwavering faith and exemplary character. From the early Makkan period he championed the cause of the oppressed and the needy. A humble shepherd in his youth who gained fame as as-saadiq (truthful) and al-amin (trustworthy) eventually had to discharge duties in Madinah as supreme-court judge, commander of the armed forces and head of state of a volatile heterogeneous society; and he executed all this with exemplary style and prophetic excellence. “Head of the State as well as of the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legion of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a body-guard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammad.” [Reverend Bosworth Smith -Mohammad and Mohammadanism -]
The revolutionary scholar and interpreter of Egypt, Sheikh ‘Abdul Hameed Kishk reminds us of the station of the Prophet …
ما ذا أقول لك يا سيدي يا رسول الله ...
أ أقول لك رفعك الله لقد رفعك ، لأن الله يقول و رفعنا لكذكرك
أ أقول لك نوّرك الله لقد نوّرك ، لأن الله يقول قد جاءكم من الله نور و كتاب مبين
أ أقول لك حسّنك الله لقد حسّنك ، لأن الله يقول لقد كان لكم في رسول الله أسوة حسنة
أ أقول لك عظَّمك الله لقد عظَّمك ، لأن الله يقول و انك لعلى خلق عظيم
What shall I say of you, O my Leader, O Prophet of Allah?
If I were to say “O Allah! Elevate you”:
Allah Says, “We have elevated the very memory of thee (O Muhammad)”;
If I were to say “O Allah! Enlighten you”:
Allah says, “We have sent from God ‘the light’ and the Book”;
If I were to say “O Allah! Excel you”: Allah Says,
“Surely in the Prophet of Allah you have the model of excellence.
If I were to say “O Allah! Exalt you”: Allah Says,
“Surely you are at an exalted standard of character.
Imam Sharafuddin al-Busayri wrote in his Burdah …
فمبلغ العلم فيه أنه بشر و أنه خير خلق الله كلهم
لما دعى الله داعينا لطاعته بأكرم الرسل كنا أكرم الأمم ...
The depth of our understanding acknowledges him as the best human;
In reality, he is the best of all creation,
When the Prophet invites, he calls us to obedience of the Creator;
By the honorability of the Prophet, have we become the honorable Ummah
That is why Maulana Jalaluddin Rumi wrote ..
در دل مسلم مقام مصطفٰىاست آبروى مازنام مصطفٰى است
طور موجى ازغبارخانه اش كعبة را بيت الحرم كاشانه اش
The heart of the Muslim is the abode of Mustafa
The greatness we had gained is due to his name;
Mount Sinai is but dust that arose from his home
His station is more sacred then the Ka’bah
Living the Example
"Those who follow the
Prophet, the unlettered Prophet who is mentioned in previous scripture; that
Prophet who commands what is right, forbids what is wrong; declares permissible
the good and the beneficial, prohibiting whatever is evil and the detrimental;
who thus frees you from the shackles of bondage ... successful indeed are those
who believe in him, who honor him and who assist his cause."
(Qur'an 7:157)
Approximately 1477 years ago, was born in Makkah that superbly dynamic personality whose life example serves as the exemplary epitome of the ideal human being. We have inherited his glorious mission and it is our duty to manifest his noble tradition. We should truly be of ...
- Those who follow the Prophet = those who not only proclaim to believe in his abiding mission, but also use his life example as a guide in their lives.
- the unlettered Prophet who is mentioned in previous scripture = who was not schooled in the traditional schools of learning but Divinely Guided
- that Prophet who commands what is right, forbid what is wrong = manifesting the universal principles of goodness and justice.
- declares permissible the good and the beneficial = nothing bad is declared halaal
- prohibiting whatever is evil and the detrimental = nothing good is considered haraam
- who thus frees you from the shackles of bondage = of backwardness, retrogression, superstition, falsehood and enslavement
- successful indeed are those who believe in him, who honor him and who assist his cause = those who model their lives according to that example, who genuinely identify with that way of life.
" Surely, in the Prophet of Allah, you have the ideal example."[Q 33:21]