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Consider
the following :
All innocent life was sacred and as such none could be harmed, except those who
were engaged against them in active combat. Saving one life was as if one had
saved the entire world, while taking an innocent life was as if one had taken
the lives of the entire world.
There was to be no genocide of any tribes even up until some had committed
genocide against some Muslims. He offered mutual protection and forgiveness to
the all even after certain ones broke their covenants with him many times. He
did not allow them to be attacked until it was clearly proven they were
traitors during time of war and tried to bring down the prophet, peace be upon
him, and the Muslims at any cost. Retaliation was only to those Jews who had
turned traitor and not others.
Slaves were common in those days for all nations and tribes.
It was Islam that encouraged freeing of the slaves and the great reward from
Allah for those who did so. Prophet, peace be upon him, gave the example of
this by freeing slaves and encouraging all of his followers to do the same.
Examples include his own servant (who was actually considered like a son to
him) Zaid ibn Al Haritha and Bilal the slave who was bought by Abu Bakr only
for the purpose of freeing him.
While there were many attempts of assassination made on
Muhammad, peace be upon him, (most famous was the night that Ali took his place
in bed while he and Abu Bakr escaped to Madinah), he did not allow his
companions to slaughter any of those who had been involved in these attempts.
Proof for this is when they entered Makkah triumphantly and his first words
were to command his followers not to harm such and such tribes and so and so families.
This was one of the most famous of his acts of forgiveness and humbleness.
Military combat was forbidden for the first thirteen years
of prophet hood. The desert Arabs did not need anyone to tell them how to fight
or do combat. They were experts in this area and held feuds amongst tribes that
lasted for decades. It was not until the proper method of warfare was
instituted by Allah in the Quran, with proper rights and limitations according
His Commandments, that any retaliation or combat was sanctioned. Orders from
Allah made it clear who was to be attacked, how and when and to what extent
fighting could take place.
Destruction of infrastructures is absolutely forbidden
except when it is ordained by Allah in certain instances and then only
according to His Commands.
Cursing and invoking evil actually came to the prophet, peace be upon him, from
his enemies, while he would be praying for their guidance. Classic example is
that of his journey to At-Taif where the leaders would not even hear him out
nor offer so much as the normal courtesy called for and instead they set the
children of the street against him, throwing rocks and stones at him until his
body was bleeding so much, blood filled his sandals.
He was offered revenge by the angel Gabriel, if he would
give the command, Allah would cause the surrounding mountains to fall down upon
them destroying them all. Instead of cursing them or asking for their
destruction, he prayed for them to be guided to worship their Lord alone,
without any partners.
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, claimed every person who is born is born
in a state of ISLAM (submission to God on His Terms in Peace), as a Muslim
(MU-Islam means; "one who does ISLAM" i.e.; submits to God's Will and
obeys His Commandments). He further stated, God has created each person in the
image that is His according to His plan, and their spirit is His. Then as they
grow older they begin to distort their faith according to the influence of the
prevailing society and their own prejudices.
Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught his followers to believe in the God of
Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus, peace be upon them
all, and to believe in them as true prophets, messengers and servants of
Almighty Allah. He insisted on ranking all the prophets up at the highest level
without any distinction between them, and ordered his followers to say the
words, "Peace be upon him" after mentioning their names.
He also taught the Torah (Old Testament), Zabur (Psalms) and Enjil (Gospel or New
Testament) were originally from the very same source as the Quran, from Allah
to the angel Gabriel. He asked the Jews to judge according to their own Book,
and they tried to cover up some of it to hide the correct judgment, knowing he,
peace be upon him, could not read.
He prophesied, predicted and foretold of events to come and they happened just
as he had said they would. He mentioned so many things that people of his time
could not have known, yet we have seen the evidences manifest over and over throughout
the centuries in science, medicine, biology, embryology, psychology, metrology,
geology and many other disciplines and even space travel and wireless
communications, all of which we take for granted today. He even predicted
something from the past that would come true in the future, and it has..
The Quran states pharaoh was drowned in the Red Sea while chasing after Moses
and Allah said He would preserve Pharaoh as a sign for the future. Dr. Maurice
Bucaille in his book, "Bible, Quran and Science" makes it clear this
has happened and the very person of Pharaoh has been discovered in Egypt and is
now on display for all to see.
This event took place thousands of years before Muhammad,
peace be upon him, and it came true in the last few decades, many centuries
after his death.
Muhammad, peace be upon him, or his followers never at any time claimed that he
was a son of God or the God-incarnate or a man with divinity – but he always
was and is even today considered as only a Messenger chosen by God. He insisted
people praise Almighty God, alone and not to celebrate him or his companions in
any way. While most people do not hesitate to raise to divinity and even make
'gods' out of other individuals whose lives and missions have been lost in
legend. Historically speaking, none of these legends achieved even a fraction
of what Muhammad, peace be upon him, accomplished.
Uniting mankind together for the purpose of worshipping the One God of Adam and
all the other prophets, peace be upon them all, was his main motivating cause
and his striving was for the sole purpose having everyone to understand and
follow the codes of moral excellence set forth by Allah in His Revelations.
Today after a lapse of fourteen centuries, the life and teachings of Muhammad,
peace be upon him, have survived without the slightest loss, alteration or
interpolation. They offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's many
ills, which they did when he was alive. This is not a claim of Muhammad’s,
peace be upon him, followers, but the inescapable conclusion forced upon by a
critical and unbiased history.
Muhammad, peace be upon him, claimed to be a servant, messenger and prophet of
the Almighty God; the same God of Adam, Abraham, Moses, David and Solomon and
of Jesus, the Christ, son of Mary (peace be upon them all). He claimed he was
receiving revelation from Almighty God (Allah) through the Arch Angel Gabriel,
calling it the Recitation (Quran).
He ordered people to believe in God as One, without partners, and to follow the
Commandments of Almighty God to the best of their abilities.
He forbade himself and his followers from evil practices and filthy habits,
showing them the proper ways to eat, drink, use the toilet and proper behavior
in all relationships. This he claimed was all from Allah.
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