REFLECTIONS ON THE PROPHETs LIFE (4). * To Be Adaptive The Prophet’s first words on arriving at Quba informed the Muslims of their basic responsibilities: “Spread peace [salam], feed the hungry, honor kinship ties, pray while people sleep, you shall enter paradise in peace [bisalam].” The two references to peace, at the beginning and at the end of his address, point to how the Prophet wished his Companions to understand their settlement in their new city. Caring for the poor and honoring kinship ties appear as reminders of the ethical basis of the Muslim presence, which each believer must pledge to permanently respect. (pgs. 87-88). * To Be Progressive Absolutely everything in his life was an instrument of renewal and transformation, from the slightest detail to the greatest events. (pg 214). Throughout his mission the Prophet sought his Companions’ advice, encouraging them to express their opinions and paying them careful attention. He would often ask questions on various subjects and give the answers only after his Companions had thought by themselves and expressed different conjectures. For example, he once said: “A strong man is not a man who overcomes his enemy!” The Companions mulled this over among themselves, then asked him: “Then who is a strong man?” The Prophet surprised his audience and led them to a deeper understanding of the question with his answer: “A strong man is a man who controls himself when he is angry!” (pg 102). Both by asking questions and by formulating paradoxical or seemingly contradictory statements, the Prophet stimulated his Companions’ critical sense and their ability to go beyond mere blind obedience or mechanical, mind-destroying imitation. This method developed the intellectual capacities necessary for consultations to be effective. (pg 103). He had listened to women in is society, who often experienced denial of their rights, exclusion, and ill-treatment. Revelation recalls this listening and this accessibility: “God has indeed heard the statement of the woman who pleads with you concerning her husband and carries her complaint to God. And God hears the argument between both of you. For God hears and sees [all things].” Similarly, he listened to a woman who wanted to divorce her husband because she did not like him anymore; he heard her, looked into the matter, and separated them. He also received another woman who complained that her father had married her off without asking for her opinion; he was ready to separate her and husband, but she informed him that she was actually satisfied with her father’s choice but wanted to make it known “to fathers” that “this was not their decision” and that they could not act in such a way without seeking their daughter’s consent. (pg 213). Alhamdulillah.
Posted on: Thu, 30 Oct 2014 10:29:07 +0000
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