Towards the end

Towards the end of his earthly sojourn, when he could look back to a hectic and dangerous past, now crowned with success; he now feels that he could sit back and enjoy the fruits of his toil; he dreams of a life free from turmoil and full of satisfaction and relaxation. Not for him! There is no time to rest or relax. There is work still to be done. God Almighty reminds him - - 

WE HAVE NOT SENT THEE (O MUHAMMAD) BUT TO THE WHOLE OF MANKIND.

AS A GIVER OF GLAD TIDINGS AND AS A WARNER, BUT MOST OF MANKIND STILL DO NOT KNOW. 

Holy Quran 34:28 

[This is your last chance to memorize the text and the translation of this verse. If you are lackadaisical, we can only mourn your loss.]

How was he to respond to this new challenge in his ripening old age? There were no electronic gadgets of modern communication methods at his disposal; there were no telex and fax machines which he could exploit. What could he do? Being an ummi (unlettered), he called the scribes and dictated five letters, one each to 

• the Emperor at Constantinople, 
• the King of Egypt, 
• the Negus of Abyssinia, 
• the King of Yemen and 
• to the Emperor in Persia. 

He called forth five Sahaaba (his holy companions) with five Arab steeds and set them out in five different directions inviting the nations of the world to the universal religion of God.

I had the good fortune of seeing one of those holy epistles in the Topkapi Museum in Istanbul (old Constantinople) Turkey. That letter is collecting dust! Materially the Turks have preserved the parchment. But the Message is collecting dust, as I have said.

The letter begins, "From Muhammad the Messenger of God, to Heraclius the Emperor at Constantinople: Accept Islam and be benefited." followed by this exhortation from the Book of God - - SAY: "O PEOPLE OF THE BOOK! ["People of the Book," stands for the Jews and the Christians. You will never have it so good for learning Allah's Kalaam. Don't ignore this opportunity. Memorize the verses as they occur.]

COME TO COMMON TERMS AS BETWEEN US AND YOU:

THAT WE WORSHIP NONE BUT GOD;

THAT WE ASSOCIATE NO PARTNERS WITH HIM;

THAT WE ERECT NOT, FROM AMONG OURSELVES, 
LORDS AND PATRONS OTHER THAN GOD."

IF THEN THEY TURN BACK, SAY YE: 
"BEAR WITNESS THAT WE (AT LEAST) ARE MUSLIMS" (BOWING TO GOD'S WILL) 

Holy Quran 3:64

After the above Quranic insertion in the letter, it is concluded with felicitation in the Prophet's own words, ending with a seal on which is inscribed - "There is no other object of worship but Allah, and Muhammad is His Messenger."

The letter in Turkey arouses our curiosity; and interest with regards to its preservation, but the preservation itself is lost upon the sightseer. The same Quranic Message is in almost every Muslim home; being read and re-read a thousand times over without the reader being moved to deliver its Message to the addressees!

Glance once more at the above verse. It is addressed to the "ahle-Kitaab," - the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians. But, for over a thousand years we have utterly ignored that great directive at our own peril. We are sitting on that Message like a cobra on a pile of wealth, keeping the rightful heirs at bay. This utter neglect will continue to inflict untold suffering to the Ummah for generations to come.

Source

To Be Continued....

Dreams in Christian Arabia - DREAMS IN ISLAM

Dreams in Christian Arabia

Even in the youth of the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam we are told about the Christian hermit, Baheera, who succeeded in meeting with the Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam after (perhaps) seeing in a dream that the future Prophet sallalahu ‘alaihi wa sallam, who was still a boy, would soon be passing by his cave in a caravan.¹⁰

Even more significant than Baheera’s dream was the dream of the Byzantine Christian ruler of Greater Egypt (which included Syria), Heraclius, in which he saw the emergence of the new conqueror of the world arising from amongst the circumcised:

“Ibn An-Natur was the Governor of Ilya’ (Jerusalem) and Heraclius was the head of the Christians of Sham. Ibn An-Natur narrates that once while Heraclius was visiting Ilya’ (Jerusalem), he got up in the morning in a sad mood. Some of his priests asked him why he was in that mood? Heraclius was an astrologer. He replied, ‘At night (i.e., during a dream) when I looked at the stars, I saw that the leader of those who practice circumcision had appeared (and would become the conqueror). Who are they who practice circumcision?’ The people replied, ‘Except the Jews nobody practices circumcision, so you should not be afraid of them (Jews).  Just issue orders to kill every Jew present in the country.’

While they were discussing it, a messenger, who had been sent by the king of Ghassan to convey the news of Allah’s Apostle to Heraclius, was brought in. Having heard the news he (Heraclius) ordered the people to go and see whether the messenger of Ghassan was circumcised. The people, after seeing him, told Heraclius that he was circumcised. Heraclius then asked him about  the Arabs. The messenger replied, Arabs also practice circumcision.’

 

(After hearing that) Heraclius remarked that sovereignty of the  Arabs had appeared. Heraclius then wrote a letter to his friend in Rome who was as good as Heraclius in knowledge. Heraclius then left for Homs (a town in Syria), and stayed there until he received the reply of his letter from his friend who agreed with him in his opinion about the emergence of the Prophet and the fact that he was a Prophet. On that Heraclius invited all the heads of the Byzantines to assemble in his palace at Homs. When they assembled, he ordered that all the doors of his palace be closed. Then he came out and said, ‘O Byzantines! If success is your desire and if you seek right guidance and want your empire to remain then give a pledge of allegiance to this Prophet (i.e. embrace Islam).’

(On hearing the views of Heraclius) the people ran towards the gates of the palace like onagers but found the doors closed. Heraclius realized their hatred towards Islam and when he lost hope of their embracing Islam, he ordered that they should be brought back in audience.

(When they returned) he said, ‘What was said was just to test the strength of your conviction and I have seen it.’ The people prostrated before him and became pleased with him, and this was the end of Heraclius’s story (in connection with his faith). 

(Bukhari)

We have recorded these dreams from pagan and Christian Arabia that they  might jolt the consciousness of today’s Muslims who possess the complete Truth  and yet pay less or no attention to dreams.

Let us now begin our subject proper by examining the dreams that were sent down by Allah Most High to certain of His servants and which were recorded in the Qur’an.  What were those dreams?  What epistemology do they establish?  And what are their importance?

Source: Dreams in Islam by Imran Hosein
To be continued ....