Page 12 - MFP 2017

LEGACY OF THE PROPHET MUHAMMAD
AS A REFORMER OF HUMAN SOCIETY
By Mohammad Ali Chaudry, Ph.D.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) carried out his mission over a period of a tumultuous 23 years that established Islam
on a rm foundation. According to Karen Armstrong, he achieved a remarkable feat of bringing peace among the erstwhile feuding tribes of Arabia. The fact that he was able to convince the pagan Arabs to trade with each other rather than raid each others’ caravans for a living, did more to cre- ate peace in the region and to attract most Arabian tribes to Islam than any other factors.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also had a profound impact on human history unmatched by any other leader since then as documented in The 100 by Michael Hart.1
The Prophet is “the very embodiment of the divine mes- sage” and as the perfect human being whose example we
must follow. An objective and open minded look at his life and the essence of his message reveals the “in nite range of the Prophet’s concerns, his deep commit- ment to the destiny of man, his faith, his love, his compassion, the moral excellence of his precepts, and the relevance of his sunnah to the life of our times.” 2
(Endnotes)
1 Michael H. Hart, The 100, A Ranking of the Most In uential Persons in History, Citadel Press, Secaucus, NJ, 1987, pages 33-40.
2 Foreword by Dr. Abdullah O. Naseef to Muhammad, Encyclopedia of Seerah by Afzalu Rahman, 8 volumes, Seerah Foundation, London,
1981.
Agreat majority of the writings about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) -- both by Muslims and non- Muslims -- tend to focus on the few battles in which the edgling community of Muslims in Madinah
had to defend themselves against the existential threats from the pagan Makkans. His in uence, however, went far beyond these episodes in the early history of Islam. In a period of a mere 23 years, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) managed to end the tribal vendettas and was able to bring peace to the Arabian peninsula.
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) revived taqwa, loving awareness of God, and ‘adl, social, political and economic justice. He is the embodiment of the spiritual guidelines revealed in the Qur’an for the ful llment of one’s personal purpose in life and for the resulting development of strong moral character and good man-
ners.
He created the rst ever written constitution in the seventh century CE, known as the that considered all inhabitants
of Madinah to be part of the ‘umma” regardless of their faith. Thus Jews and Pagans were entitled to the same pro- tections as the Muslims.
He pioneered the socio-polit-
ical and economic guidelines
for a peaceful and prosperous community life based on justice. Classical Islamic scholars relied on his example in developing Islamic normative law, the maqasid al shari’ah, as a system of human responsibilities and rights encapsulated in the following eight principles:
1. Respect for Divine Revelation and Freedom of Religion
2. Respect for the Human Person and Life the Allah has
made sacred.
3. Respect for Family as a foundation on which to build
strong community and nation
4. Respect for the Environment as vicegerents of Allah on
the earth.
5. Respect for Economic Justice with Broadened Capital
Ownership
6. Respect for Political Justice with Self-Determination
through Shura (consultation)
7. Respect for Human Dignity with Gender Equity and
equality of men and women
8. Respect for Knowledge and Dissemination of Thought
“how one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades?”
“...The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammed) are disgraceful to ourselves only...How one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades....A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world; the world’s Maker had ordered so.”
Thomas Caryle – Heros and Heros Worship
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