Opening

"God is the Light of the Heavens and the Earth, The parable of His light is , as it were , that of a niche containing a Lamp ; The Lamp is enclosed in a Glass , the Glass like a radiant star ; lit from a blessed tree -an Olive tree That is neither of the east nor of the west- The oil of which would almost give light even though fire had not touched it ; light upon light! God Guide to his Light the one who wills to be guided; and God offers parables to human beings, since God has full knowledge of all things."
-Surah An-Nur 24:35

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Policies of the Prophet at Times of Conflict (PUH)


The Prophet Muhammed (PUH) was born on Monday Morning in Bani Hashim lane in Makkah, 12th Rabi Al Awwal, April 22nd, 571 AC.
"Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam gained the love of the world and the love of his enemies in particular. This when he set an example in the finest of morals by freeing ten thousand prisoners who had previously been working to kill and destroy him and his companions . . ."
                                                                                                               Lord Hadleigh

The Apostle of God was able, in a very short span of time, to unite antagonistic, opposing and warring factions who were taken by their own egotism, nationalism, factionalism or tribalism. This was because these people recognized that the governance of the Apostle of God was consultative, compassionate, clement and merciful, and that even the most avowed of his enemies could live under its banner in complete peace and well being, provided they would lay down their arms. Indeed, they could live as leaders and chieftains since the Apostle had said to them: ‘Testify that there is no deity but God and that I am the Apostle of God and you will be kings.’ It was in this way that the Apostle was able to unite those warring tribes of Arabia as well as the various peoples of diverse nations. The issue was not one of colour, race, nationalism, or artificial geographical boundaries and the like, but rather the issue was one of a general Islamic fraternity.
Furthermore, even if a person was not a Muslim the Apostle of God would take him under his wing. For example, when the Apostle liberated the city of Mecca the majority of the people did not enter Islam but the Apostle did not coerce a single one of them to accept Islam and he granted amnesty to the wrongdoers amongst the unbelievers. What he did was to let the people sense that Islam was a better option for them than the pre-Islamic customs; better for their honour, for their property, for their persons and for their authority.
Chroniclers have mentioned that when the Apostle of God liberated Mecca he put a young man named !Itab in place to govern the city and provided for him a modest stipend of four dirhams (approximately two measures of silver) daily. The Apostle of God said to him: ‘Act well towards those who act well and overlook those who act wrongly.’ This was one of the reasons for the transformation of this city, at the hands of !Itab, from being a city of tyrants, rebels, infidels, murderers and criminals, one which had made war on the Apostle of God for twenty years, into an extremely civil city. This was because they knew that if they acted wrongly he would overlook it and if they acted well he would act well towards them. By virtue of this constitution the city of Mecca did not rebel against the Apostle of God afterwards despite the fact that he had placed no army or security force there. Rather he had captured people’s hearts with his compassion, his grace, his love and his beneficence.
When the Apostle of God came to power he said: ‘Islam waives whatever came before it’, meaning that whoever has previously done something wrong such as spilling blood or plundering or making war or joining with the Polytheists [against the Apostle] will be forgiven when they enter Islam. When the Apostle of God liberated the city of Mecca he was asked: ‘O Apostle of God, will you not stay in your own house?’, for the Apostle used to have a house in Mecca. He said: ‘Do I have a house?’ This means that the Apostle gave up [his rights] even to the house that the Infidels had confiscated before his arrival in Mecca. He realised that the
unbeliever who had taken his house was sure to have let other people stay in that house; tenants or family or the like, and that if he were to take back his house it would mean that he would have to evict those people. The Apostle did not seek to exercise even this much of his rights in case some said: ‘When the Apostle of God took control of Mecca we were living in this house and he evicted us from our dwelling and abode.’

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