Author: Khalid Yaghi Zahi
The Greatest Among Men in the Annal of History (Part Three)
2. The Day of Migration (Hijrah):
Today passes, just as yesterday did, and tomorrow will come and go. No child asks their father what migration means or what this day refers to. No father speaks of migration with his wife and children; because most fathers know very little about the life of the Prophet and their guide, except for a vague and minimal understanding that offers no scientific benefit, does not eliminate ignorance, and yields nothing of value. Despite this, it is essential for the head of every family to have a comprehensive book on the life of the Prophet at home, to study it regularly, and to dedicate an hour each day to it, reading it to his wife and children so that they may be educated with an understanding of the life of the Greatest Prophet; for his life is a clear spring for the student, a guiding light for the reformer, an ideal for eloquent expression, and a universal law for all branches of goodness and virtue.
What is well-known and evident is that familiarity with something diminishes its wonder. We are no longer amazed by a heavy iron and steel room flying through the air or by a small box made of wires and metal that speaks because we are accustomed to them, even though they are astonishing and beyond our imagination! Similarly, when we read the Prophet’s biography and encounter astonishing events, we do not reflect on them deeply or feel awe because of our familiarity and their repetition. However, if we were to hear today that an illiterate man—who had never attended school, joined any scholarly circle, or learned to read and write—rose in a remote village in the middle of a barren desert to single-handedly reform the world, eliminate war and bloodshed, disarm powerful and rebellious nations, and compel them to abandon arrogance and follow him, we would be utterly astounded!
And how much more astonished would we be if we then learned that a small group of poor and oppressed individuals followed this man, enduring the harshest physical and psychological tortures, displaying a level of endurance unparalleled in human history? This same unlettered man, who had never received formal education, brought forth a book that served as a constitution encompassing civil, personal, criminal, and state laws—a book that refined morals, narrated history, contained astonishing scientific references, elevated the human soul to the highest realms of purity, genius, and greatness; and was written in such an eloquent style that no human could match it or produce anything like it, as it surpassed even the highest levels of human rhetoric.
The success of this message was neither immediate nor like a fire that flares up instantly only to die out moments later. Rather, it was more eternal than eternity itself, more enduring than time. After fourteen centuries, having spread across forty thousand kilometers of land and reached the horizons of the world, it still resides in the hearts of its followers with the same initial strength, clarity, and freshness. Whenever the dust of time settles upon it, a group rises to restore it to its original state. Would you be surprised if another like him were to appear?
My noble listeners! This is exactly what Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) did. Jibreel (peace be upon him) descended upon him while he stood alone on a distant mountain in a small village hidden behind burning sands and a deadly desert—an unknown village whose name had not reached Rome, Constantinople, Ctesiphon, or Persia.
Jibreel said to him: “Rise! O noble one! Stand-alone against Quraysh, break their idols, overturn their gods, unite their divisions, replace their ignorance with knowledge, and make them the teachers of the world and the bearers of civilization’s banner. Call Khosrow, Caesar, and the entire world to truth, goodness, and justice. If they refuse to listen to you and persist in wickedness and rebellion, then fight them—not to colonize their lands or enslave them, for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was never a caller to oppression, nor is Islam a religion of colonialism, nor is jihad an act of aggression. Jihad is the defense of the message of truth against those who seek to block its reach, preventing the messengers from delivering knowledge, civilization, and goodness to humanity.”
“If the people of the earth wage war against you, fight them and strive against them, even if you stand alone: وَلَا تُكَلِّفُ إِلَّا نَفْسَكَ Translation: “You are responsible only for yourself.” [Quran 4:84] On this path lay immense trials and overwhelming fears, but Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) bore what even mountains could not withstand. Many of us hesitate to speak the truth or call to goodness out of fear that a governor might take offense, people might say something unpleasant, rights might be taken from us, our clothes might be torn, or we might be beaten. But the people of his own tribe cursed the Master of Humanity, mocked him, insulted him, and called him mad, a sorcerer, and a liar.
Umm Jamil, the daughter of Harb ibn Umayyah, would collect thorns and scatter them in his path so that when he left his home, he would step on them and stumble—she is “the carrier of firewood.” Umayyah ibn Khalaf ridiculed and slandered him—he is “the backbiter, the slanderer.” Their hostility reached such an extent that ‘Uqbah ibn Abi Mu’it brought the intestines of a camel and, while the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was in prostration, threw them on his back. The polytheists laughed at him, saying: “Ask your Lord to send an angel to protect you, for you walk in the markets just like us, seeking livelihood.”
Another mocked him: “If what you say is true, then let a great piece of the sky fall upon us!” Another one said: “I know where you get this Quran from! A man in Yamama, named Rahman, teaches it to you.” And they burst into laughter.
Whenever he spoke, he was met with such ridicule. One would say: “O Muhammad! We will never believe in you until you climb a ladder to the heavens, bring down God and the angels, and have them support you.”
Allah, the Almighty, revealed their words in the Quran: «وَقَالُوا لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّى تَفْجُرَ لَنَا مِنَ الْأَرْضِ يَنبُوعًا ﴿۹۰﴾ أَوْ تَكُونَ لَكَ جَنَّةٌ مِن نخَيلِ وَعِنَبِ فَتُفَجِّرَ الأَنْهَرَ خِلَالَهَا تَفْجِيرًا ﴿۹۱﴾ أَوْ تُسْقِطَ السَّمَاءَ كَمَا زَعَمْتَ عَلَيْنَا كِسَفًا أَوْ تَأْتِي بِاللَّهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةِ قَبِيلًا ﴿۹۲﴾ أَوْ يَكُونَ لَكَ بَيْتٌ مِن زُخْرُفٍ أَوْ تَرْقَى فِي السَّمَاءِ وَلَن نُّؤْمِنَ لِرُقِيِّكَ حَتَّى تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْنَا كِتَابًا نَّقْرَؤُهُ، قُلْ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّي هَلْ كُنتُ إِلَّا بَشَرًا رَّسُولًا(۹۳)» Translation: “And they said: ‘We will never believe in you until you cause a spring to gush forth for us from the earth, or you have a garden of date palms and grapes and cause rivers to flow abundantly through it, or you cause the sky to fall upon us in pieces as you claim, or you bring Allah and the angels before us, or you have a house of gold, or you ascend into the sky. But we will not believe in your ascension until you bring down for us a book that we can read.’ Say: ‘Glory be to my Lord! Am I anything but a human messenger?’” [Quran 17:90-93]
And they said to him: “Why does an angel not descend upon us?” Allah answered them: “If the inhabitants of the earth were angels, I would have sent an angel as a messenger. But the inhabitants of the earth are humans, so their messenger must also be human.”
Whenever the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) stood up to speak, Nadr ibn Harith would take his place and speak of the kings of Persia, saying: “By Allah! My words are better than Muhammad’s words.”
And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) wanted to recite the verses of the Quran to them, they would cause an uproar and shout loudly: «لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَذَا الْقُرْءَانِ وَالْغَوْا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَغْلِبُونَ» Translation: “Do not listen to this Quran, and speak noisily when it is recited, so that you may prevail.” [Quran 41:26]
When the verse «عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ» Translation: “Over it is nineteen [keepers].” [Quran 74:30] was revealed, Abu Jahl, laughing mockingly, said: “O Quraysh! The angels of punishment that Muhammad warns you about, who will drag people into Hell, are only nineteen in number. Can’t every hundreds of you overpower one of them?”
Thus, the following verse was revealed: «وَمَا جَعَلْنَا أَصْعَبَ النَّارِ الَّا مَلَئكَةً وَمَا جَعَلْنَا عِدَّتَهُمْ إِلَّا فِتْنَةَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا» Translation: “And We have appointed only angels as wardens of the Fire, and We have made their number only as a trial for those who disbelieve.” [Quran 74:31]
Continues…
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