The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was Allah’s last Prophet and messenger. The divine message was sent down to him through revelation, and then he conveyed it to people with his blessed tongue. For this purpose, he was fully aware of God on the one hand and human beings on the other. His relationship with the Creator and creation was not merely formal, but his life study shows that no one knew God the way he knew, and no one could understand God’s creation the way he understood. He was undoubtedly the most knowledgeable person regarding the Creator and his creation in this world. Two incidents of the life of prophet can justify this claim. One is an event from life in Makkah, and the other is from life in Madina. Since all my articles in this month’s magazine are about the life of prophet, I will discuss the same in this column today.
An Event of Makkah’s life
After the announcement of prophethood in Makkah, he faced immense resistance from the Quraysh of Makkah. Although the ordinary people started accepting Islam, none of the chiefs believed in it. In the beginning, they made some mild opposition. But then, to stop the flood of Islam, they broke all the limits of oppression on the believers. Therefore, Muslims had to migrate to Abyssinia. The Muslims who remained in Makkah had to face the boycott of the Quraysh. They started suffering from severe starvation. Many years elapsed, and he continued preaching in the worst surroundings enduring the same oppression. On the 10th year of prophethood, Abu Talib (his uncle), who always protected him, and his beloved companion, Hazrat Khadija (may Allah be pleased with her), passed away. After Abu Talib, Abu Lahab became the head of the tribe and deprived him of tribal support, because of which, the disbelievers of Makkah had not yet directly harmed him. After that, different incidents occurred in which the disbelievers poured mud or tripe on your head and began inflicting other sufferings that had not yet been given (Ibn Hisham).
Traveling to Taif
In these circumstances, he decided to go to Taif as a last resort. It was a high hill station (6165 feet) 100 kilometers away from Makkah, where the chiefs of Makkah used to spend summers. He trekked that long distance and reached Taif, hoping that if one of the chiefs here believed, the Quraysh may also believe under the influence, or at least Muslims would get protection from their evil. Hazrat Zaid bin Haritha was also with him on that journey. He met the three chiefs of the Banu Thaqif tribe and invited them to Islam. But they rejected his invitation with a scathing reply.
He stayed there for ten days and invited almost every dominant chief, but they were too stubborn to listen. They went ahead of the people of Makkah in their callousness. They gave charge to goons of the city to torture him. They (goons) clapped, whistled, jeered, and ridiculed. A crowd also gathered to watch the whole scenario. Seeing that, those ill-mannered people pelted stones on Rehmat-ul-Alamin (Mercy for all the worlds – a title for holy prophet). Hazrat Zaid tried to shield Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), but how many pebbles would he stop with his body? The prophet got severely hurt. His feet were covered in blood flowing from his body. Finally, he got rid of goons after taking refuge in a garden three miles away from Taif.
Extraordinary unique supplication
That was the time when the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) prayed his famous supplication to Allah that turned history around. The translation of the supplication is as follows:
“O, Allah! I complain to You alone of my helplessness, the lack of my resources, and my worthlessness before mankind. O, the most Merciful of the merciful, You are the Lord of the helpless and my Lord. O, my Lord! Into whose hands You are abandoning me; into the hands of an unsympathetic distant person, or the enemy who has been given control over my affairs? But if Your rage does not fall on me, there is nothing for me to worry about. But your security is enough for me. I seek refuge in the light of Your Countenance that illuminated the heavens, turned darkness into light, and controls all affairs in this world and the Hereafter, that May it never be that I should suffer Your wrath or that You should be wrathful to me. I only seek your willingness. And there is no power nor resource but Yours alone.” (Al-Jamay-us-Sagheer 1483)
The words of the above supplication express such agony that is indescribable in any translation or interpretation. This supplication covers all the aspects through which Allah pays attention to His servant. There is a complaint in it, but it is not a complaint about oneself but an outcry about the work that belonged to Allah, which Allah promised to help those who fulfill it. There is an expression of humbleness and anxiety in it. Allah has taken it upon Himself to answer the cries of the people. There is hope in it. There is hope from the being with whom despair leads to disbelief. There’s an appeal in it. A request to whom a seeker never gets disappointed. It invokes the honor of the Giver. In this, there is a request for relief and refuge from the Sovereign’s wrath alone. There is the oneness of God in it. There is praise, empowerment, faith, and gratification in it.
This supplication contains every characteristic because of which Allah pays attention to the condition of His servants. But surprisingly, there is no request in this supplication. That is, it does not ask for anything directly from Allah. By reciting this prayer repeatedly, it is clear that the supplicant has already sacrificed all his resources (body, soul, and wealth) in the way of God. One last capital had remained in the form of self-respect. He also laid it down for God in the markets of Taif today. But then, instead of expressing sorrow, he was only concerned that God would not get angry. His body was full of blood. His heart was shattered. But when there was a supplication on his lips, there was no curse for the enemy, nor he asked anything for himself.
A historical prayer
But that prayer turns the course of history. The study of hadiths, life of prophet, and history clearly shows that after that prayer, everything changed. Angel Gabriel was sent immediately. An angel of the mountains was sent with him to crush these blasphemers in the middle of the mountains. To reconcile the heart of his beloved Prophet (the privilege not given to any other messenger), Allah offered him to decide to punish the whole nation. But Rehmat-ul-Alamin forgave them. Then, on return, a group of Jinns was sent to him. Allah told him that if these people do not listen to you, the Jinns accept it. As opposed to Abu Lahab, Mat’am bin Adi took Prophet Muhammad into his shelter in Makkah and declared that no one should try to harm him. Allah arranged the above three favors for him on return from the same journey.
Then the future decision was clearly announced in the same year, in the events of Meraj and Isra. That from the Children of Ishmael and from the Israelites, Makkah and Jerusalem respectively will be taken away and Allah will bestow the spiritual leadership of the whole world to Prophet Muhammad and his followers till the Day of Judgment. That was not just a promise; in the same year, the people of Yathrib (Madina) converted to Islam. After that, he migrated to Madina and entered there as a king. Within a few years after the conquest of Makkah, he became the lone ruler of the whole of Arabia. Then within one-fourth of a century, those who believed in the Prophet (PBUH) became the rulers of the all-civilized world. And now, billions of people are born until the Day of Judgment, who bow down with devotion when they hear the name of the Prophet (PBUH).
If a person wants to set that moment when all that success began to appear, then that moment was undoubtedly when Prophet Muhammad prayed that supplication. That prayer can only be uttered by the blessed tongue of a person of extraordinary knowledge, characteristics, and personality. It contained every attribute of supplication but, surprisingly, no request. If someone else was in God’s place, he would be surprised to hear such a prayer. But the Lord of the unseen never gets astonished at anything. Every door opened when that prayer knocked on the door of the Owner of the Throne. That outcome confirms that the caller was aware of Allah in the last degree.
An event from Madina’s life
The second incident is related to human beings and happened after the Makkah conquest concerning Ansar of Madina. The situation had changed a lot at that time. Makkah had been conquered. The definite defeat in the Valley of Hunayn turned into a victory with the exceptional support of Allah Almighty. The Muslims got many booties at that incident. On that occasion, many of the new Muslims of Makkah participated in the war. The visionary Prophet had seen that if he treated them with benevolence on this occasion, it would be of double benefit. One is that even though they believed in Islam after the conquest of Makkah, they were still people of a defeated nation with severely damaged egos. In such a situation, if they get treated with benevolence, they would become sincere servants of Islam in every aspect.
Of course, that thinking came true with the pace of time. Because after the death of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), when the apostates, false plaintiffs of prophethood, and disbelievers had rebelled everywhere, the people of Makkah stood with the Caliphate of Madina with full force. If the people of Makkah had rebelled, then it would have been practically impossible to handle the situation because they had been the leaders of Arabia for centuries. If the rebellion got leadership, the caliphate would end. But the Prophet’s forgiveness (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and that favor won their hearts, so they remained steadfast in that difficult time.
However, the special treatment towards them in the Battle of Hunayn raised concerns in the Ansar (who had accepted Islam long before), specially, their youths had the idea that now the Quraish (the countrymen and lineage of the Prophet) have accepted Islam, so being generous with them on this occasion and not so open-handed to the Ansar was a sign that their status had ended. Then, from another outlook, they realized that it is like ignoring their services. There is no doubt that the services Ansar performed selflessly toward Islam, no one in Arabia had done so far. From taking the enmity of the whole of Arabia to believing and handing over the power of Madina to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with pleasure, enduring most martyrdom in every war, from distributing their wealth equally among the refugees in The Muakhat, answering the call of the Messenger of Allah when others are fleeing in the Battle of Hunayn, are great sacrifices.
In such a situation, it was natural to expect a large share of the booty and to be heartbroken when they did not get it. So these talks spread and reached the ears of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him). He gathered all the Ansar in one place. The conversation he had with Ansar on that occasion was undoubtedly very unusual.
Prophet’s Sermon
After praising Allah, he said: “O, people of the Ansar! What is this of your speech that has come to my knowledge, and what is the displeasure that you have felt with me? Is it not that I came to you in such a state that you were astray? Allah blessed you with guidance. You were deprived, and Allah made you rich. And you were enemies to each other; Allah united your hearts. People said, why not! Allah and His Messenger blessed us with great favors.
Then the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “The people of the Ansar, why don’t you answer me? “The Ansar replied, O Messenger of Allah, what answer should we give you? Allah and His Messenger blessed us with great grace. He said, Look! By God, you can say it if you want to. And you will tell the truth, and it will be true that if you say that you came to us in such a situation that you were denied, we validated you. You were left helpless; we helped you. You were bullied; we gave you shelter. You were in need; we consoled and comforted you.
O, people of Ansar! Did you become angry in your hearts for the temporary wealth of the world through which I connected the people’s hearts so they could become Muslims and handed you over to your Islam? O Ansar! Are you not pleased that people should take camels and goats and that you should return to your tents with the Messenger of Allah? By God in whose hand is the life of Muhammad! If emigration was not there, I would also have been a member of the Ansar. If all the people follow one path and the Ansar follows the other path, Then I will also follow the course of the Ansar. O Allah, have mercy on the Ansar and their sons and the sons of their sons.” (Al-Raheeq al-Maktoum, 571)”
On hearing this speech of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the people wept so much that their beards also became wet and said: We are pleased that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) is with us and in our destiny. After this, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) returned, and the people got scattered.
Mindful of humans nature
This sermon is the best example of how the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) understood the personality of human beings and how beautifully he controlled the situation. First, addressing them at the level of law and facts, he made it clear to them that they are enjoying the state of abundance, power, and dominance through the blessing of faith and favor of the Prophet (PBUH) in this world. They accepted it without any hesitation. Even if he had finished here, the problem would have ended immediately. But after that, what he said, was not even in anyone’s imagination. He described and acknowledged the virtues and services of the Ansar in such a way that even a stone-hearted would get melted and get free from anger and displeasure. Then at the end, saying that, O Ansar! Are you not pleased that people take camels and goats, and you take the Messenger of Allah, is that conversation which shocked the hearts and minds of the people. After that, it was impossible for Satan to seduce someone’s mind. Consequently, after the death of the Prophet, when some people of the Ansar wanted to prove the privilege of Capliphate for the Ansar, Hazrat Abu Bakr saved the unity of the Muslims from being shattered by reminding some other sayings delivered on the same occasion.
That was the unique personality of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) in front of whom every stone melted. Today, introducing such a personality is the most significant thing for humanity.