Quranic Foundations And Structure Of Muslim Society
Chapter 2
THE HOLY PROPHET’S DIVINE MISSION
The Holy Prophet was born and brought up among the pagan Arabs whose spiritual, moral and social outlooks we have discussed in the previous chapter. But, how different, radically different, from their philosophy of life is the revolutionary Message of the Qur’an?
There was a sprinkling of Jewish and Christian groups also present in that country since some centuries, who were as backward in terms of culture as the pagan Arabs. Even so, however, they possessed better religious philosophy and ethical teachings. But, how different, radically different, from their philosophies of life is the Qur’anic philosophy?
Indeed, the Qur’an emerged in history with a philosophy which in its structure, dimensions and outlook differed vitally from all the existing religions and philosophies, adding new dimensions even where it agreed and correcting the wrongs wherever they existed in any religion—not only in respect of Arab paganism but also with reference to other religions of the world. And, no wonder, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be on him!) claimed the Qur’an as the greatest of the miracles bestowed on him by Allah Almighty.
And, then, another important fact, to which we have made a passing reference in the foregoing, deserves full notice—the fact, namely, that the departure of the Qur’an from the prevalent thought in religion or ethics or social structure is not of a re-actionary character but positive in its nature. In other words, the Qur’anic Message emerges in a positive, original, constructive, and comprehensive principle which contains within it potentially the entire system of its philosophy,[1] like the seed of a tree which is said to contain the tree within it potentially,—even as the holy book says: “Seest you not how Allaah sets forth a parable ?—A Goodly Word (i.e., the Divine Message) (is) like a goodly tree, whose root (is) firmly fixed and its branches (reach) to the heavens, (and) it brings forth its fruit at all times, by the leave of its Lord …” (14:24). Thus, it did not grow out of something pre-existing through re-adjustments and pruning but emerged as an exclusive and self-subsisting reality, which supplied the sound model of thought and action in every sphere of life, so that any belief or any principle of action which had affinity with it to any extent—even if only in name—became transformed by coming into contact with it, casting off its wrong dimensions and the wrong approach to reality contained in it.
It is this we find in the case of the pre-Qur’anic Arab virtues of generosity, courage, loyalty, veracity, patience, etc. In that connection, it may be observed, beyond what we have already noticed, that certain noble moral concepts—noble in terms of their nomenclature—have been possessed by all human communities, including the most primitive. It is, however, not the names of those concepts but their contents that are important. Otherwise, to possess the basic notion of generosity, or courage, or loyalty, etc., is the very demand of human nature. Indeed, it is the very condition of human existence.
In the final analysis, the fact cannot be denied that what could not be achieved upto this day in terms of comprehensive and balanced Wisdom by the greatest thinkers of the world—Aristotle, Plato, Kant, Hegel, Marx, etc.,—and by the greatest religions, was achieved through the Qur’an by an unlettered person who had no access to any wisdom of the world and who was born & brought up in a community whose highest intellectual achievement was nihilistic and hedonistic poetry. Yes, he was unlettered and enjoyed not the slightest advantage of any Wisdom in his environment,—unlike Jesus Christ, who was born and brought up in the prophetic lore of the Israelites, unlike Gautama Buddha, who received the highest education as a prince and whose environment was saturated with the accumulated learning of the Hindu sages, and unlike Aristotle, Plato, Hegel, Karl Marx, and others, who had drunk deep at the fountains of knowledge that existed through the labours of previous thinkers. And, then, he gave that Wisdom not through any academic process of research and creation & polishing up of thought from inside academies and libraries, but in an extempore manner—orally and in bits, whose collection under his guidance assumed the form of a Book that contains a thoroughly consistent and comprehensive philosophy and code of life. If, therefore, the Qur’an is not the greatest existing miracle of history—what else it is? And how could such a superhuman achievement take place without a superhuman basis of achievement? Indeed, there is no way but to accept the Qur’an as the Word of God. And that it claims to be from the beginning to the end.
Those who believe in the existence of God and in the genuineness of the phenomenon of Divine Revelation, and yet refuse to accept the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be on him!) as the Messenger of God and the Holy Qur’an as a divinely-revealed Book, land themselves in the quagmire of absolute irrationality. And the same can be said about the other categories of the Unbelievers also.
This irrationality becomes evident when we examine the attitudes adopted in respect of his claim by his opponents, their judgments emerging in the following terms: (1) it was an act on his part of downright lying, forgery and imposture; (2) it was a case of self deception under the influence of some serious and peculiar form of madness.
As to the first: Human nature being what it is: He who never spoke a lie in his dealings with human beings,—nay, he who conspicuously shone out as the very personification of Truth and Integrity (al-Sadiq and al-Amin) from the very beginning of his life, how could he indulge day in and day out, for twenty-three years, in forging lies in the name of God? Then, who can possibly forge lies deliberately and consciously in the name of God? Only a diehard atheist with a firm devilish mind; because a simple philosophical atheist with any degree of human character would regard any such thing as obnoxious. But, what do we find in his case? Practice of the highest human virtues of truth, justice, mercy, forgiveness, sweetness, sympathy, generosity, selfless service to and suffering for the cause of humanity, etc.,[2] on the one hand, and the total submergence of his personality in a living and positive devotion to God and the utmost sacrifice in His Way, on the other.[3] Then, had he been an adventurer, employing the name of God as a subterfuge, why should he have insisted on belittling himself by attributing all his merits not to himself but to God, and by confining his status to that of a human being and a Servant of God?—while it was easy for him, with all his dynamic personality and with all the primitive and vulgar superstitiousness of his countrymen, to claim some form of divinity for himself. All of us know that a human being like Jesus has been elevated to the status of the Son of God and has been accepted as such by a large section of mankind inspite of the monotheism projected by the Bible, and Gautama Buddha has been worshipped by his followers very much as a god inspite of the atheistic foundations of Buddhism. Moreover, if his mission would have been based merely on political adventurism, what need was there for him to antagonise his countrymen by confronting them with the challenge of a radically-different religion and undertaking, as a consequence, the most poignant sufferings and the greatest risks? Therefore, only a person who has been totally blinded by prejudice can even think of bringing forward the allegation of imposture.
As to the second: The foundations of human behaviour being what they are: What do we really find? The records of his life are in existence. And what do they reveal? Only one thing: that he possessed a most sound physical health and a most sound mind that any human being ever possessed. And the fact that, even under the stress and strain of the greatest adversity, he never lost his equanimity of mind but greeted the worst crisis always with super-human fortitude and forbearance and an unfailing smile, as also the fact that he combined in his personality utmost mercy with the utmost bravery, speak volumes not only of his spiritual, moral and mental grace and greatness but also of the extraordinary soundness of his nerves. Indeed, only a mentally-diseased person can think about him that he could ever be mentally diseased.
In the final analysis: If Truth has any reality and Reason any value, and both of them any meaning: The Holy Prophet Muhammad (in whom God’s greatest Blessings abide!) is, by all canons of Truth and Reason, the Messenger of God to humanity.
[1] Ref : “The Philosophy of Unit”, pp. 157-172 (vol. 1).
[2] Even the tributes paid by the non-Muslim scholars, which we have quoted elsewhere, are enough to give some idea as to what type of character and personality he possessed.
[3] Both the Qur’an and the Sunnah bear irrefutable evidence to the fact that, with all the super-human labour that he had to undertake for building up the multi-dimensional spiritual, moral, social, economic and political Revolution that he accomplished in history and with all his self-imposed rigours and sufferings of poverty, he would regularly pass a large part of the night, when others would sleep, in standing in prayer before God, until sometimes the skin of his feet would crack and bleed.
to be continued . . . . .
Quranic Foundation & Structure Of Muslim Society In The End Times
