a Celebration of the Prophet Muhammad's Life.

Milad un-Nabi, a Celebration of the Prophet’s Life. (SAW)

(a blog that leads into a poem)

Last month I was invited to a Milad celebration, and whilst they recited from first part of the Barzanjee I read it just a little.

Afterwards, I could not help but speak my mind. The wrong footedness of it all irked me, way more than some.

For, not only did I notice that the Barzanjee had got it wrong, but that even at one time dishonoured the one it sought to honour.

But that the celebration did no justice to the one it claimed to praise,

forgot his achievements and his faith.

That he was chosen,

and he did not shirk God's command.

That when warned of hardship's persistence,

kept faith with  a quiet insistence.

He, who was offered the sun and the moon,

knew not the greatness which lay in store.

Whom God chose for blessed Miraj,

And gifted with five daily Salat.

He who exemplified goodness in every respect,

Did not fail his trust, even when he wasn't there.

When they sought to kill him by a poisoned plot,

They unfurled the cloth and gaped in shock.

For they forced him by their inequity from the ancient City, he loved.

Refuge he found in a people of maternal patronage.

There forged a community from their splintered city.

That forged a Nation that would change the course of history.

Quraysh would not let up,

three battles they fought.

They wished to kill him outright,

so they gathered their hosts.

The whole of Arabia laid siege.

At that time of strife and hunger,

whilst some of the believers thought,

"What has God in store for us?"

In that time three promises were struck.

Three horizons were lit up.

A storm coursed through,

And the hosts were vanquished.

The Quraysh were subdued,

Medina was safe.

"How difficult could it be to kill just one man?"

And the Prophets heart ventured homeward.

Mecca, Mecca, Mecca.

The hallowed sanctuary.

That houses bayt ul atiq.

The place of Ibrahim and Ismail.

In a dream he saw the honour of shaven heads.

And resolved to make the lesser of twain,

that would in favour turn the eyes

 of Arabia,

to the honoured one.

Who honoured the sacred places and rites.

At Hudabiyyah his greatest triumph lay in store,

For in that contradictory moment his sincerity would shine through.

The unlettered Prophet would show himself to be true, forever true.

And because of that the doors of Arabia swung wide,

Persian and Rome noticed a turning of the tide.

A people unlooked for, stirred in their South.

Some trembled, some laughed before the emissaries of God.

All felt his presence far and wide,

But if they but ventured to Medina they would find,

A man who would not suffer any to stand for him,

A Messenger of God, who cared deeply for his people.

Quraysh betrayed their trust,

Broke armistice, and knew that their time had come.

He marched on Mecca and took it peacefully.

Riding on Qaswa, with bowed head did he enter.

The sacred city,

And demolished all three sixty.

There idolatry fled,

and taqwa was bred.

His generosity knew no bounds,

He restored and confirmed ancient privilege,

He forgave those who sought forgiveness,

No matter how many atrocities afore time they had purchased.

And he borrowed,

Where a king would have taken as his own.

Thence to the third of the three,

Thaqif of Taif.

At the battle of Hunayn,

Where arrows in droves did fly,

 None could scathe,

And he called all the hosts to bear witness.

Whilst his army fled,

He stood,

Brave.

And called them back one by one.

Whilst Thaqif looked on,

Unable to fathom,

That the Messenger of God had come.

That none could touch him until his time was done.

Even whilst they were but a stone’s throw away,

And he stood there on the dividing line.

They were struck dumb and could not divine,

That it was that their time had come.

At the farewell Pilgrimmage,

Did he teach us the rites.

And there it was that he espoused the rights,

That men hold over men.

That none, not even an Arab,

Could claim superiority,

That each should be governed by a universality,

Of spirit

That dictated,

An open society of a type, unprecedented.

Where all men are free by virtue of the true religion.

Peace reigned in Arabia.

But not for long.

For Rome feared the Arabian throng,

And their illustrious armies threatened from the North.

In that precarious moment,

The Lord of all extended an invitation,

And the one most beloved of Him,

chose to accept it.

And that above all shows the truth of his faith.

Because he loved his people dearly,

And did not wish that what he brought,

To be but a flutter on the echoes of time.

And his faith proved true, won through.

For, the greatest proof of God is Muhammad,

And the greatest proof of Muhammad is his life.

To celebrate it is to celebrate him, and to celebrate him is to do justice to God's ultimate goodness.

the END

Indeed ALL Glory and Praise belongs to ALLAH alone, and I bear witness that Muhammad (saw) has indeed fulfilled his trust and delivered the message in truth.

O ALLAH, the most gracious, the abundant giver, reward Muhammad (saw) with the most excellent of rewards for never would we have believed but that You sent him to teach us the way. Ameen.

As I explained in the last stanza, the best way to celebrate Muhammad (saw) is to recall his achievement and his wonderful life. For never was there such a life that changed the whole course of history other than his.

I have taken artistic licence in the poem, and many of the verses will only resonate with the people who have read the biography of Muhammad (saw). I have not touched on the many proofs of his prophethood, which are proofs from an historico-analytic formulae and not with reference to that which he brought (the holy Qur’an).

Probably the greatest of this is his success in transforming a tribal- warrior nation.

And this a people who at several points in his life tried unsuccessfully to kill him, mock him, insult him, deride and even ignore him. Anyone who has any intelligence would realise that with him being off them, then they would have been the best to deal with him. But they could not.

For thirteen years of his mission he was persecuted in Mecca and his followers were killed, and for 10 years he fought to keep his political community safe first from Quraysh and the Arabs and then Rome. And yet he passed from us being blessed with happiness, and this is but a single of his many great achievements.

As the greek sage Solon said once, fortunate is he who dies happy.

I sincerely hope that whoever reads this taking instruction from it will eventually read the biography of an outstanding life.

PEACE,

The Coming Comforter. (A physical proof of a messenger to come)

The Coming Comforter.

Jesus once advised his disciples to be patient and constant "for unless I go, the comforter shall not come".  With these words he implied that someone greater than himself (the comforter) would come only once Jesus had departed.

[Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. http://bible.cc/john/16-7.htm]

That he said this cannot be doubted because it contradicts the very canon of the Church. For here he does not say "I must be sacrificed or die that you may be saved", but "I must go that he may come".

Whilst Christians may scramble to accommodate those words, by interpreting them as referring to either the Holy Ghost or to the Church, as is their want. But even they cannot deny the emphasis that these words place on departure as opposed to blood sacrifice, and upon somebody greater than himself as opposed to the culmination of all belief in one final moment of "passion".

Contradiction as a gateway to Truth.

Indeed to find the truth of any matter, and to scratch beneath the surface of all that seems true, the starting point in every discipline is supposed "contradiction".

For the greatest truths will always be found at the most contradictory of events.

Sometimes these are within the events themselves, at others with what is considered true (as in this case), and lastly when the event contradicts with human nature as we know it.

But it is not the contradiction that lays bare the truth, for of themselves many can and do ignore such things. Rather it is the contemplation of possible explanations that sheds bare falsehoods and un-shades hidden light.

And when several contradictions taken together verify a sole potential explanation, then the result is incontestable.

It is understandable that the Christian explanation for the above words rests upon a supernatural Spirit, or a humanistic psychological agency (conscience), or a millennia-old institution (the Church), or a community of believers.

The Greatest Contradiction.

But that is not the greatest contradiction in the life of Jesus, nor is it the sole contradiction in his life. For words can and always will be explained away, or more often than not just plainly ignored.

But not so, for acts and events.

Acts which are contradictory cannot be so easily explained away, and cannot be hidden. And these are of the first order of contradiction.

The act and event that I speak off started at the beginning of the dramatic three days of Jesus's life.

3 DAYS

After preaching in Galilee, and by general consensus being forced from there, instead of going further into the dessert, Jesus (as) makes his way to Jerusalem. This was a very bold act considering that he knew that his opposition would only grow at the centre of the Jewish faith. For, he preached a message that the Jewish people needed to hear, but that their priests were averse to. A universal message of hope for all.

And then he does something quite extraordinary and if you think about it a bit, completely contradictory.

On the outskirts of Jerusalem, at the start of the Passover feast, he asks his disciples to bring to him a colt, the son of a colt. He enters Jerusalem riding on it, whilst a multitude of Jewish people come to homage him. Three days later that very same crowd becomes a mob and bays for his death and choose a thief and robbers life over his. And that too on the most religious day of their calendar and in their holiest of cities.

Therein lie all of the greatest of contradictions of Jesus's (as) life.

And I for one do not presume to know all of their answers.

But that they happened cannot be doubted.

Listed they are:-

1- That he choose to Jerusalem.

2- That he choose to enter Jerusalem, at the start of the passover, in a manner as part fulfilment of the Prophesy of Zechariah that signalled the coming of the King of the Jews. And thence their undoubted return to power, authority and victory over the Romans.

3- That the Jewish multitude that welcomed him into Jerusalem and, then subdued (recognising one who had the right, a Prophet from God), allowed him to cleanse the temple, on the third day morphed into the mob that bayed for his death.

And then on that, their holiest of days in their holiest of cities, when Pontius Pilot allowed for them to choose to free any one prisoner as a show of his clemency. The Jews choose a thief over a Messenger of God.

THE CONTRADICTION.

Put simply the contradiction is "why did Jesus (as) start to enact a prophesy that he knew would excite both the fervent nationalistic and religious tendencies of his people, knowing full well that he did not intend to bring those aspirations to fruition?"

For the Prophesy of Zechariah, with absolutely no ambiguity, suggests the coming of a Prophet-King-Conqueror who would vanquish the Jewish enemies and bring about lasting Peace. The clarity of that Prophesy is so evident even to this day, so much so that the Jews still await it's fulfilment.

[[http://bible.cc/zechariah/9-9.htm, http://bible.cc/zechariah/9-10.htm] see also for my interpretation http://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2011_08_01_archive.html]

A possible explanation?

Given the Christian mantra we might explain the anomaly by supposing that that was God's plan.

But then the reality of such an argument would lead us to believe that Jesus (as) was sent to bait his own people. For whilst some of them may have become Christian and hence earned forgiveness from his supposed crucifixion, the majority bayed for his death and remained Jewish ever afterwards. Condemned by he who was of them.

Jesus (as) was after all from the Jewish Nation and loved his people, and that is why he sought to preach to them foremost, to bring them out of the depths of their hypocrisy. It was a hypocrisy that saw them label their God as being a God for them alone, to the exclusion of the rest of humanity. At each point of his message you can still feel his sincerity, in trying to stir them to remember that God's mercy and care is universal. From "Anyone who makes himself somebody, will become  nobody", to his denial in such a cryptic manner of his Lordship over David. So much so that he excluded all other Jews from that honour. 

[for an explanation of this see http://shafeesthoughts.blogspot.com/2011/12/yahwah-said-to-my-adon-king-of-jews.html]  

The examples are numerous and even include the parable of the good Samaritan, a people with whom he was not really concerned about.

Another explanation.

And then if we discount the baiting of a whole people, what have we other than that he did so to remind the people of "he who would come".

But Jesus (as) was not the one they eagerly waited for, for he said "Give to Caesar what is his, and give to God what is His". And with those words demolished all of their hopes and expectations. And they being a volatile and proud people could not wait, and their humility in real terms only increased them in arrogance and pride. So they bayed for the life of one who sought only to open their eyes to God's universal mercy.

His was an act that could not be washed from the annals of history, nor be explained away. But that would stand as a testament to all those who believed in him, that he might instruct them in a "Messenger from God who would be greater than he", and who would fulfil that age old prophesy.

And he backed up this act with words that can be overlooked. But when you look at them in the light of that act, then that is convincing proof.

That another Messenger from God would come out of the wilderness, and that he would be no Jew but from another line descended from Abraham of old.

And he would speak words in God's name, and he would be a comforter for any that believed in Jesus (as).

For with him would come the confirmation that is so often disputed to this day, of Jesus's miraculous birth and his mission. And with the revelation of the Qur’an came more than a mere reflection of what is known from the bible of Jesus’s (as) life. Indeed the Qur’an answers questions on his life that Christianity has never even asked before. 

But for those who awaited the comforter he did not come as they expected. 

For they expected him around the corner of time and not half a centuary later.

But for any that have listened to the words of a true Prophet of God, will know that for them the "day of reckoning" is upon us already. Even whilst we have tarried an age. For all things are small in God's eyes.

Ad-Duha, the Morning Light (a Comfort from the Darkness of no revelation).

And maybe their wait was summed up in one of the first Surah's (Chapters), of the revealed Qur'an, that Muhammad (saw) loved most:

"In the of God, most gracious, abundantly merciful.

I  call (God calls) to witness the breaking dawn, and the night when it is stillest.

Indeed your Lord has not forsaken you, nor is He displeased with you."

A message to Muhammad (saw) after a period of silence in the revelation.

Mirrored by the centuries of silence that the believers in Jesus had to endure before the comforter came.

And indeed the night is stillest when you have almost given up hope.

And then God brings a fresh day, and a light to show you the way.

The Chapter then consoles Muhammad (saw) with what he had to endure on his path to his destined station.

And then ends by confirming him in what he had already been doing, and that for him was the first command from God upon him,

"but as for him in need, repulse him not.

And instead tell him of God's mercies (upon himself, and comfort him through that)."

Surah Ad-Duha. (the Morning Light, Chapter:93 http://quran.com/93]

The first vested mission of Muhammad (saw) to provide comfort to those in need.

A mission that was fulfilled in every act that he did.

May GOD reward him who taught us true belief and enlightened our lives with knowledge, Ameen.

Mohamed Shafi Bachelani

PS There are other textual references to a Prophet that would come after, but the greatest of them all is the act on enactment of that Prophesy.

I 

"YaHWaH said to My ADON", the King of the Jews (Psalms) an analysis

Subject : The KING of the Jews

Posted Date: : 21 Aug 2007, 18:00 on MySpace

King David's WORDS from a Muslim Point of VIEW

Psalms cx: i

" YaHWaH said to My ADON,

   Sit at MY right until I place,

  Thine enemies a footstool under thy feet."

YaHWaH is the eternal, everliving God.

ADON is the Lord of David, the King of the Jews foretold.

Every prophet has foretold his coming.

And he is the ADON that every Jew ever looks for in his coming, in the belief that with him all of their enemies would be vanquished.

When Jesus (as= peace be upon him) came, the Jewish priests asked of him…. "Are you the Lord (Adon) of David?" And Jesus (as) …. (Mathew xxii) … repudiated the Jews by his asking them a question in response to their question… he said: "How could David call him 'My Lord' if he were his son?"

The Christian interpretation of this encounter is a wonder to behold… and we will return to it later. First it is interesting to note some things about our World… that we inhabit.

EINSTEIN's WORLD (not necessary to be read unless you are Christian)Einstein, isn't it funny how we forget his first given name, Albert? To everyone he is just Einstein, because of how he made science interesting. His theories were the birth of Sci-Fi, a whole genre of AV stimulation. And that's forgetting the very real impact he had on Science.

Anyway it was Einstein who said among other things: "Isn't it a wonder that the we are both able to comprehend the World about us, and that furthermore that the World is comprehensible!"

Of course, I paraphrase because my scholarship can only go so far.As Allah t'ala (the one God) in the Qur'an says…. "No change will you find in the Sunnat-Allah"… in the ways of God, in the laws of God. That the laws of creation that hold here in myspace, hold too in your living room from whence you might be reading this.

So since this is evident to most of us that the World is comprehensible, even in spite of the incomprehensible acts of me, and it is so because God has ordained that it be so, then wouldn't you think that the same principles would apply to the One Who Created?If the Creator himself were incomprehensible. Wouldn't His creation be likewise a reflection of that: incomprehensible?

If the Creator were One, known to be One, then why would He endeavour to shroud his Unity in mystery… in incomprehensibility… and instead dain to apply the principles of comprehensibility to His Creation… the World?

The Qur'an also testifies that God is the ONE who sees all things and yet nothing can see HIM, and that HE is the ONE that comprehends everything and that nothing can truly comprehend HIM. And yet HE is the ONE Creator, like unto no other.

Ali Shariati and the Pillars of Unbelief…Belief and Unbelief have contradictory characteristics. Unbelief is typically used to keep people oppressed and ignorant. True Belief engenders a love of knowledge, of clarity in words and thought. Unbelief is characterized by complexity, vagaries of ideas that defy to be understood and a lack of clarity. And it is because of these ideas that fail in being understood… that ignorance is cherished, that acceptance of un-understanding flourishes.

God is ONE, the Creator and Originator of the Heavens and the Earth. And HE has begotten no Son!

What the Christians SAY…about the ADON of David
When Jesus (as) was asked …. "Are you the Lord of David?"He replied: "How could David call him 'My Lord' if he were his son?"…

"Jesus says if he is the son of David, how can he be his Lord at the same time? This is a perfect example of the Christian ideal of the human/divine nature of Jesus - 100% man and 100% God. This is the only way that he could be "the son of david, and the lord of david" at the same time."

So the Christians say that in answering the question of the Jews, Jesus (as) evades the question? Doesn't answer it? Or answers it without really answering it? Your guess of what they mean by this is probably better than mine.

What Jesus (as) Said and Did Not Say…Jesus did not say what the Christians assert as their belief.

He was approached by the Jews who were monotheistic, and he denied that he was the LORD of David. He did not espouse the Christian belief, even though he knew that his fellow Jews believed in One God, and if he (as) held a differing view them would he not have corrected them in that erroneous view?

 And even if we accept the Chrisitan interpretation we are still left with the dilemma of who is sitting on the right side of God?
Of course the Christians would purport that God is on the right side of God, in complete incomprehensibility.
Confusing isn't it?

BUT...

What cannot be disputed is the fact that Jesus (as) denied being the Adon (Lord) of David, by his not assenting to it in the direct manner afforded to him by such a direct question. Did he (as) fear the Jewish Priests, but if he were a god how can that be?

 And if we discount the Trinitarian concept then we are still left with the question of why he denied it in such a manner, why so cryptically?

Effectively, he denied both his Kingship and he denied the Kingship of any other Jew… of any other descendant of David.
No son of David could be the King of David!

Why answer a direct question with another more cryptical question?
The Christians might see evidence of a hidden agenda in such a reply, but the most obvious reason for doing so is that it is a rhetorical question.

Jesus (as) replies as such because he insinuates and repudiates the Jewish priests  for the question because they know the answer full well. They knew that no Jew could be the Lord of David. That no Jew could be the King of the Jews!

So Who is the King of the Jews?

Who is the last messenger sent by God to Mankind?

In the study of the life of our beloved Prophet, Muhammad (saw), we find the similar assertion that the Jews of Medina were in fact awaiting his imminent arrival and knew him better than their own sons. His characteristics were foretold in their books and yet they were bent on denying him.

And this is precisely why Jesus (as) rebukes the Jews with that conundrum, to frighten them into sense.

  

I believe that it is Muhammad (saw) the seal of the Prophets… who fulfilled the prophesy of Zachariah… and came with the true Kingdom of God on this Earth.

That the Jews denied and belied him… is no matter… they denied, belied and tried to kill Jesus (as) the son of Mary, but to no avail. If they study their books… then they should know the truth of Muhammad… and like so many other Jews will have to accept him as their King.

Shafees

I ask my Lord ..the ONE TRUE GOD to forgive me the utterances I have done here in the service of HIS truth.  Ameen.