Commemoration of the Prophet’s Birthday: A Return of the Ummah to the Messenger, the Qur’an, and Great Islam
The Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him) reformist movement is a model to be emulated in our own reform movement today. There are fixed, incontrovertible matters that must be followed because his actions and sayings are the exemplar and the role model; and there are relative matters that vary according to circumstances — for example, leniency in his private affairs versus strict commitment in public matters affecting Muslims. These latter differences still offer important avenues for emulation.
Our Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) stands apart from earlier prophets and messengers in that the events of his mission were documented with a precision not afforded to them. For earlier prophets we mostly rely on what the Qur’an conveys; by contrast, the Prophet’s biography — his sunnah, methodology, sayings, actions and approvals — was recorded with exceptional care. Although many fabrications entered the record over time for political, civilizational, cultural, and sectarian reasons, the bulk of what survives remains sound and authentic provided it is subjected to rigorous criticism, examination, and verification.
In this article we point to a common but distorted model of presenting Islam — a deviant model — and then expand on how to present the Beloved Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) correctly.
“Islam of the Islamizers”: a new jahiliyyah
Takfiris, the “Islamizing” systems and regimes that serve the great powers (Americans and Zionists), have presented Islam in a way that needs little explanation: the tragic reality lived by Muslims is encapsulated in the phrase uttered by the leader last year on the occasion of the Mawlid: “This is the Islam of Saudi Arabia, and the democracy of America.” That concise formulation profoundly and accurately encapsulates the deplorable state we live in today — a new jahiliyyah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) warned when he said: “I was sent among two jahiliyyahs; the latter of them is worse than the former.”
The horror of this new jahiliyyah is that the Al Saud regime and its clerical outputs claim exclusive representation of the Prophet, asserting they alone are the best and rightful custodians of this religion — while undermining nearly every aspect of Islam and disfiguring its many just causes.
How the takfiris present Islam
The takfiris present Islam in a material, anthropomorphic way — they ascribe human attributes to God and liken the Divine to His creation — and they package religion as raw emotion and savage behavior, devoid of conscience, ethics, or values: cruel, contradictory, double-faced conduct that falsifies Islam in many respects.
If mercy to all creation is the primary purpose of the Prophet’s mission — indeed the Prophet himself is mercy — where is that mercy in the takfiri movements and their makers, and in the regimes that target the Yemen of faith and wisdom as we are witnessing? Mercy appears absent even among them: they fight and slaughter each other despite belonging to the same school of thought and having graduated from the same doctrine — some takfir others, killing, bombing mosques, mining schools, murdering women and children. When danger threatens, even animals show unity and mercy toward each other; but these groups, besieged in Aleppo and elsewhere, persist in takfir and bloodshed — a sign that they lack mercy and are far removed from the Prophet and the message of Islam.
Their grotesque presentation of Islam has contributed to religious apostasy among many young people, turning them away from the faith. They are, in effect, cheap products cultivated by global arrogance to tarnish Islam, planting them among Muslim lands and peoples to serve as pretexts for its delegitimization.
When such Islamizing groups enter a country, global arrogance effectively follows them. They have presented Islam as a comfort and peace for the real enemies — if not outright agents — while presenting it to Muslims as violence (killing, beheading, burning, dragging), harshness (extremism and bigotry), and betrayal (collusion with Jews and Christians of the powerful). They portray Islam as brutality toward peoples, a religion of murder, darkness, harshness, hatred, alignment with oppressors, incitement against the weak, and issuing false fatwas that make blood, property and honor permissible to violate.
One of the worst of their crimes, which no Yemeni should ever forget, are the fatwas spat out by the senior clerics of their courts — preachers of their rulers — that permit the shedding of Yemenis’ blood and the seizure of their property and honor in an unprecedented manner.
The Prophet’s reformist movement as the model
The Prophet’s life offers a generous practical example of governance, leadership, calling, and guidance. He conveyed the clear message from God, and through that practical experiment the nation rose to a high degree of moral and civilizational development. We would be well served, especially now when old forms of jahiliyyah return to their ancient practices, to turn toward this prophetic movement on this blessed occasion so we may profit from it in confronting today’s challenges.
The Prophet’s movement elevated humanity — heart and mind — to lofty heights. We are commanded to emulate it. If we desire to raise our reality and connect to God as fully as possible, this prophetic example serves as a model against which other experiences must be measured — positively or negatively — and as an inspiring standard for those who seek authentic emulation and assessment.
He also passed through circumstances similar, in many respects, to those we face today. How he managed and overcame them — his beliefs, principles, and conduct — is what matters now: to know and internalize these and thereby guide us along the Muhammadan path and toward its beneficial outcomes.
A comprehensive intellectual, emotional, and behavioral presentation
The Prophet presented Islam as an intellectual framework that satisfies the needs of reason and aligns with its questions and logic. He also presented just principles and values that must be adhered to. He fulfilled the heart’s need by presenting Islam in an emotionally charged yet disciplined atmosphere — emotion tempered by reason and evidence — so hearts swiftly accepted and resonated with it. He also presented Islam as practice, shaping behavior through words and deeds that were consistent across all circumstances.
When he presented a theory and system, it was never a flight of fantasy divorced from reality, because he conveyed God’s guidance, and God knows best what suits His servants. Thus his theoretical formulations laid the groundwork for the message’s overall framework. These conceptual foundations answered the intellectual and philosophical questions about the universe, its Creator and attributes, the relationships among creatures, and the ties among people. They offered precise concepts that prepared human beings to live coherently — with intellect, emotion and behavior in harmony — each dimension supporting the others. He called for tawhid (God’s oneness), affirmed God’s justice and wisdom, belief in angels and messengers, and the Hereafter — the cardinal, decisive headings that necessarily reshape sentiment and conduct.
By this intellectual approach the Prophet opened the way for emotional and heartfelt persuasion: he intended for feelings to move toward God in tandem with reason, resulting in wholesome behavior and noble instincts that culminate in God’s pleasure and a sincere bond between the servant and the Lord.
The prophets called humanity to God, reciting God’s signs so people may incline toward Him, be bound to Him, live in certainty of Him in every moment, and acquire the ethics of mercy — one of God’s attributes — so they may be strong through God, uphold truth and abolish falsehood, and pursue His pleasure in life and death, in ease and hardship, in joy and sorrow.
This lofty inner state grants immense strength to the otherwise weak human being. It explains the sublime steadfastness of our brothers on the frontlines — the epic steadfastness born of attachment to God, profound faith and longing for His presence.
Clear proclamation
The ordinary messenger conveys a sensory message that ends with its arrival, indifferent to outcomes. The philosopher aims at rational persuasion and collects proofs to reach the intellect, again indifferent to what follows in practice. But the prophets’ message is the clear proclamation the Qur’an describes: the messenger delivers God’s message, fills the intellectual gaps with compelling proofs, awakens the heart, and then translates that knowledge and emotion into concrete, purposeful behavior. The Prophet is the first to enact and implement those teachings.
The Prophet’s functions from his Qur’anic attributes
The Prophet is not only the conveyor of the message; before, during and after the message he is witness, herald and warner — observing who hastens to action and who lags behind — and he is at once encourager and leader for those who act with truth, virtue and goodness, and a warner to those who fall behind or abandon their duties. He continually reminds and calls people to God, seeking to bind them to the supreme purpose of attachment to God and yearning for His pleasure. Through his teachings and conduct he is a luminous light and clarion guide for those lost in darkness or bewildered by trials.
God says to His Prophet in Sūrat al-Aḥzāb: “O Prophet, We sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner, and as one who invites to God by His leave, and as a luminous lamp; and give good tidings to the believers of a great bounty from God; and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites; leave their harm and trust in God; and God is sufficient as a Disposer of affairs.” This passage enumerates the Prophet’s principal functions and then commands him to give glad tidings and to counsel trust in God while resisting the wicked.
Glad tidings come first
Numerous Qur’anic verses describe the Prophet as the bearer of glad tidings and warning. God presented the Prophet as one who gives glad tidings of Paradise and God’s favor before issuing warning of punishment — the message is one of mercy foremost. This orientation toward mercy defines the Prophet’s mission as a universal mercy for all the worlds.
Abraham’s supplication regarding the Prophet and the Ummah
Prophet Abraham (peace be upon him), concerned for humanity who might be led astray, prayed that a messenger be raised from his offspring “who recites to them Your verses, teaches them the Book and wisdom, and purifies them” — specifications later fulfilled in the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). God’s response, affirmed in many Qur’anic verses, establishes that the Messenger is from among the people so they will more readily accept him; that he recites the clear signs; that he teaches the Book and wisdom; and that he purifies — thereby guiding people from clear error to wisdom and elevation.
An integrated interactive system
From these verses it is clear the Prophet presented Islam in an integrated, interactive manner that targets intellect, feeling and behavior simultaneously. He recited the clear verses that intellect accepts; at that point souls are purified and hearts prepared to embrace the detailed teachings that organize relations among creatures. He also taught wisdom (practical judgments) so the community would adopt sound decisions and ascend.
Directed knowledge, abundant feeling, and conscious behavior
The Prophet planted in minds knowledge of God and an elevated Islamic vision of the universe and human relations. He fostered abundant compassion and a luminous, conscious practice that naturally expresses that knowledge and feeling.
He presented Islam as a path that connects the human being to God, harmonizing thought, emotion and behavior, elevating people intellectually, spiritually and morally, and addressing human problems while honoring human dignity. He presented a complete and complementary system: values, principles and a magnificent methodology in which everyone’s work matters and no one is marginalized, with equality, social justice and equal opportunity — a religion of security, peace, mercy and dignity.
The Prophet — mercy to the worlds
The Qur’an and authentic Sunnah abundantly describe the Prophet’s conduct. God’s words portray him as one “from yourselves” who grieves for the unbelief of his people, is compassionate and merciful, strong toward the disbelievers and tender among believers, urging humility toward the faithful. This portrait of a Prophet who almost destroys himself out of sorrow for those who do not accept the message demonstrates the depth of his mercy and concern.
Indeed, the Prophet’s mission is nothing but mercy for all worlds. Take from the phrase “mercy to the worlds” whatever loftiness, nobility, mercy, compassion, justice, care and benevolence you wish.
Presenting the Prophet and Islam in this intellectual, humane, emotional, behavioral and practical integrated way — as a complete package concerned with human dignity, aimed at uplifting people and drawing them toward God — was the primary reason for his rapid success, the swift spread of his message, and the profound, transformative impact it had.