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All Prophets come with signs and evidences furnished by God that they truly are
what they claim to be. Among these signs are miracles witnessed by the
people that defy the laws of nature.
Generally, miracles are experienced only by the people who were there when the
miracle actually occurred. God, however, furnished the Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) with a miracle that would endure for all time. That miracle is
the Qur’ân. It is appropriate that the final Messenger should have an
enduring miracle, since his Message is binding on Creation until the Last Day.
The Qur’ân is the revealed word of God that God has preserved from corruption.
The Qur’ân reads: “Surely We have revealed the Reminder and We will most surely
be its guardian.” “No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it. It is
sent down by One Full of Wisdom, Worthy of Praise.”
In the Qur’ân, God challenges the Arabs to produce something like it. “Say: ‘If
the whole of humanity and the Jinn were to gather together to produce the like
of this Qur’ân, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they backed up
each other with help and support.”
This challenge was reduced even further to the point where only one chapter of
the Qur’ân was needed: “And if you are in doubt as to that which We have
revealed to Our servant, then produce a chapter like it and call on your
witnesses besides God if you are truthful. But if you do not do it, and never
shall you do it, then fear the fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for
the unbelievers.”
This is Islam’s eternal miracle. The challenge remains open and unmet to this
very day. There are many aspects of the Qur’ân’s miraculous inimitability. Among
these are its eloquence and its style.
The Arabs were given this challenge and they were the masters of their language
and were well known for their eloquence. Not one of them, however, could produce
a single chapter comparable to the Qur’ân.
Today, we are conveying this challenge once again to all humanity. This
challenge has stood for over 1400 years and continues to be a testimony to the
truth of the Qur’ân and the Messenger who brought it. The enemies of Islam have
always had in this challenge a perfect opportunity to prove Islam false. They
definitely had enough reason to try. It would have surely been much less
strenuous for them to pick up the pen and write then to pick up the sword and
die trying to suppress Islam. It would have been far less costly than the time
and money they spent on fighting against Islam.
We feel that by conveying this challenge we have done our duty. It becomes the
duty of the one who hears it to hear the Qur’ân in its entirety and not to rely
on unbelievers for their information but go directly to the source.
Another proof that Muhammad (peace be upon his) is God’s Messenger is the
strength of the religion that he was sent with and the fact that it has been
preserved from corruption. We can see all the scholarly disciplines that
developed around it over the ages and how Islam was able to respond to all the
changes that took place throughout history. Islam has retained its strength
while the Muslim world has passed through periods of strength and weakness and
of freedom and occupation.
Among the evidence that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is a Prophet of God is the
fact that his coming was foretold by the Prophets who came before. In
their books and their statements they described him and his followers. They even
mentioned him by name. The Qur’ân states this fact in the following verses:
“And when Jesus the son of Mary said: ‘O Children of Israel! Lo! I am the
Messenger of God unto you, confirming that which was revealed before me in the
Torah and bringing glad tidings of a Messenger who cometh after me, whose name
shall be the Praised One.’ Yet when he hath come unto them with clear proofs,
they say: This is mere magic.”
“Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write,
whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel which are with them.
He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong.
He will make lawful for them all good things and prohibit for them only the
foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to
wear. Then those who believe in him, and honor him, and help him, and follow the
light which is sent down with him: they will be the ones to prosper.”
In spite of the distortions and deletions made by some Jewish rabbis and
Christian priests to their sacred texts, and in spite of the incorrect
interpretations they imposed on them, there still remains within those texts
enough to establish the proof of Muhammad (peace be upon him) being a prophet of
God. To highlight a few of the places in their texts wherein his coming is
foretold, we request from you to look at the following: Deuteronomy [33:1] and
[18:15-19], Isaiah [42:1-5], Habakkuk [3:3], Song of Solomon [72:1-19], John
[14:16] and [14:26], and 1John [2:1].
Another proof that Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a prophet of God is the
history of his mission, the events of his life, the success of his
followers, and how swiftly Islam spread throughout the nations of the
world.
The attributes of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his mode of
conduct show us that he was truly a prophet of God. He was, in every aspect
of his character, an exemplary human being and history has never witnessed
anyone else like him.
He was of good appearance and was always neatly dressed, preferring to wear
white. He was clean and commanded others to observe cleanliness. When a person
approached him and told him that he liked to wear nice clothes and nice shoes,
the prophet (peace be upon him) replied by saying: “God is beautiful and He
loves beauty.” He was of impeccable taste and had a discriminating palate, but
was never ostentatious or frivolous. He said: “A son of Adam can fill no vessel
worse than his stomach It is enough for him to eat enough to keep him standing
straight. If he must consume more, then he may fill a third of his stomach with
food, a third with drink, and a third should be left for air.” His manners were
refined and he was well spoken. He was cheerful and would greet people with a
smile. Those who met him liked him instantly and would never tire of his company
or conversation. In fact, those who sat in his company would often forget
everything else in the world while they were with him. They felt in awe of his
presence, not because he was powerful like a king or despot, but because of the
strength of his character and his devotion to God.
One of his most pronounced character traits was his capacity for mercy. He
had great love and compassion for the poor and preferred to sit and partake of
meals in their company. He showed great empathy for the sick and would go out of
his way to help them. He would not leave a sick person or a child in need
without fulfilling that need. He showed mercy to the orphans and encouraged
people to care for them. He had great affection for children and would often
carry babies and make them laugh. He taught his followers that children had the
right to play and to be humored.
His mercy extended even to animals. He commanded his followers to be kind to
the animals in their care and prohibited abusing them He instructed that animals
used for food should be slaughtered carefully and with compassion. He
reprimanded a man for overburdening his camel and failing to give it sufficient
nourishment. He also informed us that a woman once was consigned to Hell for her
mistreatment of a cat. She had locked it up and denied it food until it starved
to death. Conversely, a prostitute received God’s forgiveness and entered heaven
because she showed pity on a thirsty dog and gave it water. Once he was asked if
people were rewarded for the good treatment they gave to animals. The Prophet
(peace be upon him) replied: “For every creature possessing a liver there is a
reward.”
Added to his mercy was his courage. Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was
among the most courageous of people. His was not the courage of tyrants but a
courage that stemmed from faith in the promise of God. It was the courage of
someone who lived according to the religion of God and considered the pleasure
of God more important than life itself. He was always present in the battlefield
during war, and when things became severe, he would be seen fighting in the
front lines. He would remain firm even when other brave men would turn to flee.
He never hesitated in the face of falsehood and never ceased to call to the
truth, even when most of the people of the Earth were opposed to him. He never
wavered on any of his principles but continued to enjoin what was right and
forbid what was wrong.
He was also very forgiving to those who wronged him. He never became angry or
hateful on a personal level. No matter how greatly someone wronged him when he
was weak, he would show that person clemency when he was in a position of power.
He would accept excuses even when he knew that the one making the excuse was
lying. He would even make excuses for those who wronged him and did not offer
excuses of their own.
He was the most generous of people. He gave in charity like a person who had no
fear of poverty. He never once refused to give to someone who asked. He gave
everything that came into his possession to the poor and the needy. He would
prefer his guests to himself and the members of his household. He usually
sufficed himself and his family with dates and water and months would sometimes
go by without a cooking fire being lit in his house.
He was at the same time a most exemplary husband. He was very affectionate and
caring. He was quick to overlooked mistakes. He never once hit one of his wives,
nor did he ever raise his voice to them or ridicule them. He always showed
kindness. He would indulge them in anything that was not sinful. He shared in
the housework and took care of himself. He mended his own clothes and shoes. He
always exhorted his male followers to be good to their wives and warned them
against mistreating them. He made sure to do so during his greatest sermon which
he gave during his farewell pilgrimage.
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was kind to his servants. He commanded his
followers not to overwork their servants and commanded that they must eat the
same food that the members of the household eat and wear clothing of the same
quality. Anas b. Mâlik said: “I worked as a servant for the Prophet (peace be
upon him) in his residence and on his journeys. No matter what I did, he never
once said to me: “Now why did you do that?” Likewise, no matter what I might
have failed to do, he never once said to me: “Now why didn’t you do that?”
Once the Prophet (peace be upon him) saw a man beating his slave. The Prophet
said to him: “God is more capable of punishing you than you are of punishing
him.”
Upon hearing this, the man stopped and said: “I set him free for the sake of
God.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) then said: “If you did not free him, you would
have been touched by the fire.”
The Prophet (peace be upon him) was extremely shy and modest. He hated foul
speech He never once uttered a foul word. He said: “A strong sense of shame is a
good quality in every way.” He also said: “Nothing but good comes from having a
strong sense of shame.”
He was also very humble. He taught his followers: “None will enter Paradise who
has within his heart an atom’s weight of pride.” He used to sit on the floor and
eat. He forbade his companions from standing in honor when he entered the room.
When he walked, he never expected anyone to move out of the way. He never
allowed himself to stand out in his dress or his steed. He never seated himself
in a place of honor when he was in the company of others.
Above all of these qualities was his devotion to God. He immersed himself
in worship and eschewed the pleasures of the world. The remembrance and praise
of God was always on his lips. He always sought the forgiveness of his Lord. His
reverence of God often brought him to tears. He fasted so much that it sometimes
seemed that he never went a day without fasting. He spent long stretches of the
night standing in prayer until his ankles would swell. When he was asked why he
worshipped so much when God had forgiven him all of his past and future sins, he
replied: “Should I not then be a grateful servant?”
These are just a few of his noble qualities. There is no way we can do justice
to him in such a short time. The combination of worldly and spiritual
perfection that he exhibited was a miracle in and of itself and a testimony
to his truly being a prophet of God.
Source: WhyMuhammad.Net
