[IslamCity] The Prophet in the Face of Adversity

Sun, 19 Feb 2006 17:01:38 -0800

The Prophet in the Face of Adversity
Adil Salahi, Arab News
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=5&section=0&article=77558&d=10&m=2&y=2006&pix=islam.jpg&category=Islam
 
Question
During the time I have been working in Taif, I heard people saying to someone who had a complaint, “Here in Taif, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was ill-treated. Why should you expect any better?” This sounds strange coming from Muslim people who seem to be proud of their ancestors’ attitude to the Prophet. Please comment.
 
Answer
No Muslim could be proud that an ancestor of his, distant as he may be, had dealt badly with the Prophet. A Muslim is proud of his ancestors who showed commitment to Islam and the Prophet, whether in his lifetime or in later generations.
 
At the time of the Prophet, Taif was the town where the tribe of Thaqeef lived. The Thaqeef people were known as very proud and would not easily yield to any one else’s authority. When they realized that Islam was the true faith and they should follow it, they tried to negotiate a deal with the Prophet to give them a special status, allowing them certain practices that Islam prohibits. But he refused and they eventually yielded.
 
Some people living in Taif today are the descendents of Thaqeef and they may have some of the traits of their ancestors. But their pride does not mean that they would endorse what those people of Taif did to the Prophet when he sought their help. There have been many great personalities from Thaqeef who served Islam in a variety of ways, showing total commitment to it.
 
Having said that, I am afraid you may be interpreting the remark in the wrong way. Could it be offered as a soothing word, reminding someone who has just received some harsh treatment that even the Prophet had to bear with something of the sort during his lifetime? If you find someone passionately complaining of ill treatment, you may say to him: “Why do you take it too much to heart? Even the Prophet was at the receiving end of bad treatment and he bore that without harboring any grudges against the perpetrators.”
 
When he was offered the choice of having divine punishment inflicted on them, he refused and expressed the hope that they would have God-fearing progeny. I assure you that his wishes came true, because God always granted him what he wished for.
 
So, to brand the people of Taif as hard or disrespectful of the Prophet because of what some of their ancestors did is certainly wrong, because the Islamic rule mentioned several times in the Qur’an is that: “No soul shall bear responsibility for another person’s sins.” Children do not bear responsibility for their parents’ mistakes.
 
In conclusion, I should perhaps remind you that most of those who ill-treated the Prophet at the time of his visit to their city became Muslims a few years later, and they served Islam well.
 
Question
Some people suggest that the Prophet was not a brave man. They cite certain examples, such as the Battle of Uhud, when he gave his sword to Abu Dujanah, rather than fighting himself. He also had many people rushing to his defense. They also cite the fact that he migrated to Madinah secretly, rather than in the open. Please comment.
 
Answer
The Prophet was renowned for his bravery. Ali ibn Abi Talib, who was one of the bravest soldiers of Islam, said: “When the going was really hard, we sought shelter with the Prophet, and he would be the closest of us to the enemy.”
 
When he gave his sword to Abu Dujanah, he did not mean to evade fighting the enemy. He simply wanted to make it a gesture of encouragement. He offered the sword “for the right price,” which was “to fight the enemy with it and never to turn away.” This was a way to seek a commitment from the one who took it to fight hard. The Prophet was not left without a sword. To do so would not be wise, as the battle was imminent.
 
Nor was it a negative point that others rushed to his defense. What happened was that during the battle chaos overwhelmed the Muslim ranks and they began to flee. This is clearly mentioned in the Qur’an: “Remember when you ran away, up into the mountain, paying no heed to anyone, while the Messenger was at your rear calling out to you. Therefore, He rewarded you with sorrow after sorrow so that you may not grieve over what has escaped you, nor over what had befallen you. God is aware of all that you do.” (3: 153)
 
This left a chance for the unbelievers to try to kill the Prophet and a determined force of them concentrated their attack on him. This is when a few of his followers tried to shield him. Several of them were killed, and Talhah received numerous injuries. The Prophet himself was injured, but he was never shaken and remained steadfast. In the Battle of Hunayn, something similar happened, and the believers were running away. It was the Prophet who drew very close to the enemy shouting loud that he was the Prophet and challenging his enemies. No one could be braver than him.
 
As for his immigration, he moved according to God’s orders. The Quraysh were determined to kill him. He wanted to travel more than 500 kilometers across the desert. What person would announce to his enemies that he was traveling at a particular time, when they agreed on a plot to kill him? He did not have anyone with him apart from Abu Bakr and their guide. Should he have made a public announcement of his travel? It was in fact the basic requirement of bravery and wisdom to travel in secret.
 
Remember that God could have sent him an angel to carry him to his destination without exposing him to any danger. But this was not the proper way. He was a human being subject to all the risks people take in life. Therefore, God instructed him to migrate and he carried out the order, taking all the precautions an ordinary person should take, and trusted that God would help him, as he surely did.
 
AB
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"For to us will be their return; then it will be for us to call them to account." (Holy Quran 88:25-26)

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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.}
(Holy Quran-16:125)

{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]

The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)  also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all."
[Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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