Drive Away the Clouds of Misfortune

THE DREAM OF CREATION

 

      During the million of years of the Earth’s life the process of nature’s evolution continued as God willed; and then there  appeared on the scene the very cream of creation the most perfect; model of humanity in the person of the Holy Prophet (P.b.o.h.). It was a brief moment when compared with the life of this planet -  a period of mere sixty three years -  yet this brief  moment was to prove a permanent blessing for the earth and its inhabitants for all ages to come as the Holy Qur'aan proclaims:

“And We have not  sent you except as a blessing to entire creation.”

 

      Blessed be the sands of Arabia which gave birth to such a noble son!. Let the breezes blow, sweetly and gently from the sacred land to fill the modern strife-torn world with peace, prosperity and tranquillity.

 

      The atmosphere of the earth vibrates five times a  day with the proclamation of the holy name of “Muhammad” (P.b.u.h.) as the Messenger of Allaah when the Mu’ezzin calls the believer for prayers from the minaret. It is impossible for a Muslim not to remember the Holy Prophet (P.b.u.h), the holiest of the holy after God, with gratitude. But once in a year during the month of Rabi-ul-Awwal the Muslims celebrate the Holy Prophet’s Birthday with befitting pomp, dignity and solemnity. From Morocco to lndonesia the entire Muslim world turns during the nights into a bright firmament for observers from the height. The Mosques are lit with lamps and the minarets glare with brightness.  During these auspicious nights Muslims assemble in large numbers to learn the life and the mission of the Holy Prophet (P.b.u.h.).

 

      Times are going hard with the Muslim Ummah currently. The Muslim world is beset with ever-increasing problems. Our misfortune has been crowned by our loss of the Masjid-ul-Aqsa, the Holy Mosque of Jerusalem. Let us therefore try during this is a red month to derive inspiration from the life and mission of the Holy Prophet (P.b.u.h.) and find a way out of our misfortunes.

 

      Are we better placed in our modern world than the pre-Islamic Arabs were at their own time?  Certainly not, if not worse. The pre-Islamic Arabs had not the slightest ideas of being one people; they were divided into several tribes having diverse interests and were constantly at war with each other. So are we. The non-Muslim world, the Jewish and Christian powers could unite themselves against us but we could not unite our-selves even on the most vital issue of the defence of the Jerusalem Mosque until we have lost it. Our individual interests are still dearer to us than our collective interest.

 

      The pre-Islamic Arabs were ignorant, so are we.  No Muslim name tops the lists of scholars, scientists, technologists, etc. in our time. The ideas which dominate the present-day world are those enunciated by non-Muslim thinkers, hence the Islamic ideology has become a mere relic of the past even to most of those who claim themselves as Muslims. The Western Culture which is the product of the modern unbridled and materialistic ideologies sweeps the world despite its untold vices while the pure and healthy Islamic Civilization and culture is openly ridiculed by even  the so-called Muslims,

      In the field of politics we are a mere to in the hands of great world powers despite our staggering numerical strength. We number ten hundred million in the world land constitute over one fifth of the total world population. The pre-Islamic Arabs were also a tool in the hands of the world powers of their time – the Byzantenian and the Persian Empires.. But they had an excuse for their weakness – their meagre population – and we do not have even that excuse available to us.

 

      World history records a strange phenomenon in the first century of the Hijrah.  The weak and ignorant Arabs sweep over a vast portion of the then known world and build a mighty state stretching from China in the East to the  Atlantic Ocean n the West. The ignorant Bedouins became the leaders of the world in politics, economics, arts, sciences and culture. Who was the magician to bring about this miracle?

 

      It was other than the Holy Prophet (P.b.u.h.) to whom goes the credit of this glorious achievent. Maulana Hali eulogizes this achievement of the Holy Prophet (P.b.u.h.) in the following words:

 

“He descended from the cave of Hira and came to his people bringing with him a device of Alchemy – a device which turned the raw copper into pure gold and separated the impure from the pure. The land of Arabia which has been darkened by the shadows of ignorance was suddenly brightened. The fleet was no longer to be afraid of the beating waves and Lo! The direction of the winds was changed.

 

      Hazrat I’sa (Jesus Christ) (A.S.) is known to have brought the dead aback to life, but the Holy Prophet Muhammad (P.b.u.h.), the last and the greatest of the prophets, has shown a greater miracle, he brought back a dead nation to life. The leaders of a down-trodden and demoralized nation can realize the greatness of the achievement.  A Persian poet eulogizes  the character and achievement of l=the Holy Prophet (P.b.u.h.) as follows:

“You possess the beauty of Joseph, the luminous Palm of Moses and the breath of Jesus: what they possessed you possess alone.”

 

      The device of alchemy which brought about the wonderful change in the Arabs is still available to us – to every nation in the world -: it is, as the Holy Prophet  (P.b.u.h.) has said:

“ I have left with you two things which will not let you go astray as long as you cling to them: the Holy Qur'aan and my teachings.”

 

      People say that the times have changed and that what was possible fourteen centuries back is not possible now. But they are wrong. Time does not change: it is eternal. It is we who change. The laws of nature are unchangeable; the cause which produced a particular effect fourteen centuries ago will produce the same effect today. But we often make a mistake in understanding the cause and in its application we should penetrate deeper and be more realistic. Let us try to probe deeper into the teaching of Islam – the Book and the Sunnah – and to apply them in our practical life to drive away the clouds of misfortune which are currently darkening the horizon. The Holy Qur'aan says:

 

“God does not change the conditions of a people until they change their behaviour.”

 

      (Minaret December 1989)