Biography of Allah’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ in 29 Nights with Podcasts (1-10)

Herewith my notes for the Sīrah discussion I intend giving this year after Tarāwīḥ, Allāh willing. If we had all the time in the world we could not do justice to the greatest personality that ever walked the face of the earth. Yet in view of the lack of knowledge on the basics of his life by the general public I am using this platform for this purpose, on the premise that one can only truly love someone if one knows that person. As long as we are ignorant about the life and character of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ    our love for him cannot be as complete as it could be.

سليمان الكندي
Twitter: @sulayman_Kindi

Contents

1. The World Before Islam.. 3


2. Lineage. 3


3. Birth of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ 3


4. Childhood. 4


5. Youth. 4


6. Marriage. 4


7. Revelation. 5


8. Preaching. 5


9. Opposition & Migration (year 6). 6


10. The Boycott years (7-9). 7

 

1.     The World Before Islam

• “A bounty is appreciated when its lost.” To appreciate the light of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ understand the darkness before and what we would be in today without him.


• State of the Arabs.


• Byzantium and Persia, the superpowers of the day.


• Yemen, under Persia, land of maternal ancestry of Quraysh.


• Kaʿbah, its origins and origins of idolatry. Do Muslims worship the Kaʿbah?


• ʾIbrāhīm and ʾIsmāʿīl ʿalayhimas salām.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-001-the-world-before-islam

2.     Lineage

• ʾIbrāhīm and ʾIsmāʿīl ʿalayhimas salām.


• Jurhum of Yemen.


• Banū Khuzāʿah. Migrated to Makkah 5 centuries before Islā Quṣṣāy married woman of Khuzāʿah, hence generations later allied with Muslims, ultimately conquest of Makkah. Tafsīr of Sūrah Sajdah – destined matters are set in a thread of motion a thousand years before.


• Hāshim married woman of Yathrib, where his son, Shaybah = ʿAbdul Muṭṭalib grew up.


• Zamzam lost and found.


• Year of the Elephant. Delicacy of Arabic - ʿĀmul Fīl, NOT Sannatul Fīl.


• Abraha and the Elephants.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-002-lineage-of-rasulullah-sallallahu-alayhi-wa-sallam

3.     Birth of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ

• Makkah, 570, Exact date not absolutely known.


• Most narrations of miracles at birth are not authentically proven, except for the light which Aminah saw that extended all the way to Syria.


• The four “mothers” of Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ  . Abū Lahab frees Thuwaybiyah, as a result his punishment is alleviated in Hell. One moment of love is eternally rewarded, how then if a Muslim is steadfast in Sunnah?


• Name – almost unique amongst the Arabs.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-003-birth

4.     Childhood

• Never saw his father, ʿAbdullāh died during the pregnancy period.


• Quraysh sent their children to be raised in the desert – for health reasons and to learn pure Arabic.


• Banū Saʿd bin Bakr – a tribe which specialised in this kind of child rearing. Spoke the purest of Arabic and Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ later attributed his amazing eloquence to them. Experiencing drought.


• Ḥalīmah as-Saʿdīyah i.e. of Banū Sʿad, accompanied wet-nurses of her tribe to Makkah. All rejected Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ due to his perceived poverty. Ḥalīmah turned back and accepted custody as a last resort and immediately perceived blessings. Her old goat started producing milk again. Her riding animal became fast.


• Asked Āminah for an extension at age 2.


• At age 4 Jibrīl opened his chest and removed black spot from heart. Returned to Āminah.


• Age 6, Āminah dies at ʾAbwā. Umm ʾAyman takes him back to ʾAbdul Muṭṭalib.


• Age 8, ʿAbdul Muṭṭalib dies. Entrusted to Abū Ṭālib, the poorest of all the uncles.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-004-childhood

5.     Youth

• Teenage years spent as a shepherd.


• Allāh created circumstances e.g. fainting/ barriers against the customs of the time e.g. parties, working naked.


• Ḥilful Fuḍūl – oath to protect the oppressed. Al-Āṣ bin Wāʾil refused to pay the Zubaydī merchant from Yemen. Decent men gathered around ʾAbdullāh bin Jadʿān to halt such practice, including Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ . He was happy about this oath even after Islām, i.e. good can be done with non-Muslim cooperation.


• Learnt trade from Abū Ṭālib in Syria, but the incident of meeting the monk is denied by several scholars.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-005-youth

6.     Marriage

• Khadījah bint Khuwaylid, may Allāh be pleased with her, twice-widowed and had considerable wealth. Had children from her first husband. She is called aṭ-Ṭāhirah, the Pure Woman and her descendants are Banū Ṭāhirah


• Hired Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   to sell her merchandise in Syria.


• She was so impressed with his ability, honesty and character that she proposed to him, a poor man, having rejected the proposals of the elite of Makkah.


• Muḥammad صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   was 25 and she was 40. He was not worried about her age, he loved her character.


• She bore all his children except for ʾIbrāhīm son of Māriyah


• At age 35 Kaʿbah was destroyed by flood. The various clans argued who would replace the Black Stone. Agreed that whoever entered Masjid first could decide.


• Honour of even pagans. No Ḥarām funds allowed at the insistence of the worst pagan, Abū Jahl. So Kaʾbah was shortened to its present dimensions when Ḥalāl funds were depleted.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-006-marriage

7.     Revelation

• When Muḥammad صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   approached his 40^th year he began to feel an intense spiritual agitation and desire to worship in seclusion.


• Rocks greeted him and years later he remembered a particular rock. How then if we greet him with love?


• For 6 months before Ramaḍān he experienced true dreams.


• Monday during that Ramaḍān, first revelation, Cave of Ḥirāʾ in Mount Nūr.


• Darkness, Jibrīl’s form was not seen. Squeezed Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ  thrice so hard he thought he was going to die.


• Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   was anxious and it was our Mother, Khadījah raḍiyallāhu ʿanhā who comforted him at this critical juncture. She mentions his good character, not his ritual worship, e.g. assist the less fortunate, hospitable to guests, etc


• No further revelation for a while, people mocked, that his “demon” had abandoned him. In other words ,he was the first person to be tested.


• Khadījah raḍiyallāhu ʿanhā, took him to her cousin, the Christian monk, Waraqah bin Nawfal, who testified to his truth and that he would be persecuted. He died shortly thereafter and is known to enter Paradise.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-007-revelation

8.     Preaching

• Quiet preaching at the outset for three years. Most early coverts were poor, e.g. Bilāl, but also rich, e.g. ʿUthmān, may Allah be pleased with him.


• Invited his close relations to meals and preached to them, only ʾAlī, who was a child, accepted.


• First public preaching at Abū Qubays. Abū Lahab threw sand and cursed, “May you be destroyed for the rest of your day.” Sūrah Lahab revealed in response.


• Continuous preaching at all public venues - Kaʿbah, markets etc.


• Quraysh attempt to stop Muḥammad صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   through Abū Ṭālib, offering him wealth, kingship and women. Rasūlullāh صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ     responds, “O my uncle, were they to place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, and ask me to abandon this course, I would not turn from it until Allāh makes it victorious or I perish therein.”

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/voice-002-sd1

9.     Opposition & Migration (year 6)

• Quraysh attempted various means to stop Islām. Shouting so that the Qurʾān could not be heard. Propaganda, telling people that Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ    was insane and should not be heard. Seeking advice from the Jews on how to combat him academically, (Sūrah Yūsuf and Sūrah Kahf).


• Al-Bazzār narrates: ʾAlī رضي الله عنه continued, “Indeed I saw the Quraysh grabbing Rasūlullāh صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   . One held him while another violently shook him. They were saying, ‘You are the one who made the gods one!’ By Allāh! None of us dared go near except Abū Bakr. He struck at one of them, pulled back another and shook another, whilst saying, ‘Woe unto you! Do you kill a man for saying my Lord is Allāh?’”


• Torture – Bilāl رضي الله عنه dragged through the streets. Beaten.


• Khabbāb رضي الله عنه branded with heated iron.


• Ṭalḥah رضي الله عنه seen dragged through the streets of Makkah as a young man. A woman was the most severe in abusing him. A foreigner asked who she was, it was his own mother.


• Sumayyah رضي الله عنها  the first martyr. Abū Jahl speared her through her private part.


• Allāh’s Messenger صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   gave permission to the persecuted Muslims to migrate to Abysinnia, Ḥabshah, Ethiopia. 15 Muslims migrated the first time,e.g. ʿUthmān.


• Negus, an-Najāshī, title of the Emperor, not name.


• Christian ruler known for his justice.


• They returned after 3 months, heard false rumour that the Quraysh accepted Islā


• Some accepted protection of Quraysh leaders.


• 2^nd migration was more than 70. This time the Quraysh sent a delegation under Amr bin al-ʿĀṣ to retrieve the “rebels and trouble makers”


• Jaʿfar bin Abī Ṭālib defended the Muslim position. He had refused the Quraysh example of bowing before the Emperor.


• His speech is lauded by scholars as the one of the best concise and comprehensive invitations to Islām


• فقال له جعفر: أيها الملك كنا قوما على الشرك نعبد الاوثان ونأكل الميتة ونسئ الجوار، يستحل المحارم بعضنا من بعض في سفك الدماء وغيرها، لا نحل شيئا ولا نحرمه.
  فبعث الله إلينا نبيا من أنفسنا نعرف وفاءه وصدقه وأمانته فدعانا إلى أن نعبد الله وحده لا شريك له ونصل الارحام ونحمي الجوار ونصلي لله عزوجل، ونصوم له، ولا نعبد غيره.،


• “O King! We were a people upon polytheism. We worshipped idols and ate carrion. We forgot our neighbours and regarded the unlawful as lawful, in that we shed each other’s blood amongst other things. We had no real concept of the permitted and the prohibited. Allāh then sent a Prophet unto us. We knew his loyalty, honesty and trustworthiness. He called us to worship God alone, without any partners; to maintain relations; to protect neighbours; that we pray unto God, fast for His sake, worshipping none but Him.” [Ibn Hishām]


• The Emperor granted the Muslims protection and evicted the Quraysh delegation with their gifts. It is probable that he died upon Islā Rasūlullāh صَلَّى الله عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ   performed the funeral of a Negus although the body was in another continent. It is probable that this was a second Negus and both were Muslims.

https://soundcloud.com/sulayman-kindi/seerah-009-opposition

10.                        The Boycott years (7-9)

• ʿUmar bin ʾal-Khaṭṭāb, arch-enemy of Islām becomes great defender of Islām, Dārul ʾArqam. First public cry of Takbīr which is how Muslims express joy. Not hand-clapping and other pagan customs.


• Abū Jahl led the Quraysh to impose a boycott on Banū Hāshim which would last three years.


• They were not allowed food, drink, trade, marriage with other clans, and went into exile in the Glen of Abū Ṭālib.


• Non-Muslim Hāshimīs maintained solidarity and accepted exile as well, excluding Abū Lahab.


• Banū Muṭṭalib voluntarily joined Banū Hāshim. Some laws of Sharīʿah remain specific to Banū Hāshim and Banū Muṭṭalib.


• Extreme hunger, eating leaves.


• Muṭʿim bin ʿAdī and others used to smuggle in some food.


• Eventually Zuhayr, son of Ātikah bint ʿAbdil Muṭṭalib led some Quraysh to tear up the boycott decree. Allāh had already sent termites to eat the document, excluding, “Bismikallāhumma”

https://youtu.be/HqPsp5GeO64

و صلى الله على راكب البراق كامل الأخلاق

The Craving to “Spice-Up” Our Religion

عن أبي ذر رضي الله عنه قال : « قال لي رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قل الحق ولو كان مرا

ʾAbū Ẓarr, may Allāh be pleased with him narrated, “Allāh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم said to me, ‘Speak the truth, even if it be bitter.’” [Ibn Ḥibbān]

I have noticed a disturbing tendency of some Muslims in displaying dissatisfaction with the truth which Allāh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم had preached. They instead disseminate falsehoods and “glamorous” distortions which they find more appealing to their agendas, even if such agendas are supposedly for the greater glory of Allāh and His Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم . These statements range from emails that Pope Benedict resigned due to him embracing Islām, to world famous orators tweaking facts to suit a given situation. I even had my ears polluted by a “Muftī”, who twice declared that on the Day of Resurrection, some people will be entering Paradise, when the angels will accost them for entering without having first rendered their accounting. Allāh will then say to leave them that it is He who should give them a reckoning for having sacrificed a certain amount of time for His religion every day!

I wonder at the motivations and mentality of such people. Whether they are sincere or not, there are some points I would like to draw our attention to:

·         When the Qurʾān does not permit narrating of tales without verification, how much more severe is the situation of those who concoct these tales?

·         Is it not that truth is such an ideal, that a Name of Allāh is ʾal-Ḥaqq (the Truth)? Is your intellect not enough to understand that falsehood pushes you away from Allāh, not nearer? Do we really have to reproduce the injunctions against lying mentioned in the Qurʾān and Ḥadīth?

·         If the facts of Islām, as it is, does not please you, and you have to innovate additions, you imply that you are more capable than Allāh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم in conveying the message.

·         When the idiocy of your claims are revealed, e.g. Benedict is still very much a Catholic, it makes Islām and the Muslims seem foolish in the eyes of the world. I sometimes wonder if these lies are perhaps hoaxes from non-Muslims to deliberately embarrass Islām. Sadly, interaction with Muslims reveal otherwise. Muslims are well capable of embarrassing their religion without outside assistance.

·         Even if your ultimate point is correct, the way of the early scholars was to present a cogent valid argument, they never tweaked the facts to reach that conclusion. They examined the facts and reached a conclusion. Conversely, there are those today who first decide on the conclusion, which might in fact be correct, but only then do they seek the facts to back up the already decided upon conclusion. 

The Pope-becoming-Muslim kind of emails are way too numerous and downright ridiculous to spend further energy on. I shall instead mention two examples of the orators. The examples are not of major import in and by themselves, I merely mention and discuss them as instances where Muslims can take better care of what they say, hear and narrate.

Example 1 – the Spiced-Up Ḥudaybiyah

The orator stated that the Quraysh sent ambassador after ambassador to Allāh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم at Ḥudaybiyah. They were at a loss at what to do, because each time they sent an ambassador, the sacred personality of Allāh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم and the conduct of the Muslims drove the ambassador to embrace Islām, i.e. on the spot. The point of the orator cannot be argued against – remove obstacles of hostility, create an atmosphere of peace and show good conduct in order to win the hearts of the non-Muslims amongst whom we live. In fact, ʾal-ʾImām ʾaz-Zuhrī mentioned that more people embraced Islām during the two-odd years of the peace of Ḥudaybiyah, than during the previous 18-odd years of hostility. Although the end argument is correct and attested to by the likes of ʾaz-Zuhrī, the tweaking of the facts and having the ambassadors embrace Islām is not correct.

The Quraysh sent four ambassadors:

1.       Budayl bin Warqāʾ, may Allāh be pleased with him, who embraced Islām at the Conquest of Makkah, i.e. two years after his supposed instant Islām.

2.       Al-Ḥulays bin ʿAlqamah about whom there is no substantiation that he ever embraced Islām, let alone at glancing upon Allāh’s Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم.

3.       ʿUrwah bin Masʿūd, may Allāh be pleased with him, who still resisted Islām after the Conquest of Makkah and fought against Allāh’s Messenger at the Battle of ʾaṭ-Ṭāʿif. Thereafter he embraced Islām and his people martyred him.

4.       Suhayl bin ʿAmr, may Allāh be pleased with him, who embraced Islām at the Conquest of Makkah, i.e. two years after his supposed instant Islām.

So of the four, two embraced Islām after two years, one even longer than that, and one probably never embraced Islām. Not one of them embraced Islām at the time, as claimed for the purpose of better oratory. 

The issue is not of me being technical and lambasting a servant of the religion. The issue is that of verifying our facts before moving our tongues and pens in regards the religion of Allāh. Is our religion so weak that it cannot stand up to facts and needs these tweaks and fictions?

Example 2 – The Hollywood Version of Muslim Spain

A lifetime can be spent in addressing issues arising from the topic of the Muslim rule, decline and disappearance in Iberia. However, for the purpose of this article, attention is drawn to a claim originating from one habitually liberal with facts. The orator makes three claims:

1.       The Spanish welcomed the Muslim invaders.

2.       The welcome was due to Muslims combatting oppression, which he then defined as the rape of a Christian princess.

3.       Once the Muslims no longer showed concern for the oppressed, the Christians evicted the Muslims whom they had previously welcomed. 

Before commenting on the three claims, I would have to state that the ultimate argument of the orator, that the welfare of Muslim minorities is intertwined with the concern that they show to their non-Muslim hosts and neighbours, is not in dispute. What should be disputed is the tendency to first decide on a cause of action and then concoct “proofs”. If we rather cling to the Sunnah and draw our inspiration and proofs from it, there would be no need to tweak “facts” to suit our agenda. Again, let me emphasise, the agenda is not in question, rather my target is the attitude of a need to spice up our religion, instead of finding guidance where it rightfully is. Ultimately we should question ourselves when we perpetrate falsehoods in the name of religion – are we serving religion or massaging our own ego? 

Knowledge of some background facts is needed. The Muslims invasion was facilitated by Count Julian of Ceuta, in Africa. The Spanish King, Roderick, had either raped Julian’s daughter according to some narrations, or had been seduced by her according to others. The King was facing dissent from the family of the previous King, Wittiza. They saw the Muslims as mere raiders and deserted Roderick, thinking that the Muslim raiders would depart after the major battle.

1.    The Spanish welcomed the Muslims

In the context of the era, the relatively small resources allocated to the Muslim forces and the infrastructure of the time, the conquest of Spain was indeed a rapid and magnificent feat. However, to morph those 5 years of war, battles, and sieges into 5 years of welcome festivities really baffles the mind. Bear in mind that “the walkover” was of a similar duration as the Second World War. Where is the evidence of the Spanish welcoming the Muslims to take what they would perceive to be their sovereign lands? At best, three parties could be identified. 

·         Jews assisting any outsider against their overlords do not constitute the Spanish population welcoming the Muslims.

·         The family of Wittiza thinking they could use what they saw as Muslim “raiders” to overthrow King Roderick, makes even less of an argument for the case of a Spain which with open arms welcomed the Muslims as the new rulers.

·         If we concede for the sake of argument, that Count Julian of Ceuta foresaw that his support for the Muslims would result in permanent Muslim rule, rather than merely an attack against his enemy, the King, and that he actually welcomed this, how does the welcome of one man, who was not Spanish, did not reside in Spain and did not rule anywhere in Spain, translate into the Spanish, as a people, welcoming the Muslims? 

Is five years of war a welcome? Is the historical record of the Spanish fleeing to the hills a welcome? Is Pelagius setting up a separate kingdom right from the beginning and fighting the Muslims a welcome?

If your religion is true and pure, what need is there to adulterate it with romance and Hollywood style fictions?

2.    The Welcome was due to Muslims Combatting Oppression

This depends on accepting that there was a welcome in the first place, which there was not. That many Spanish fled to the hills, is understandable from their point of view. In those days a captured city would face looting, rape and massacre. The Spanish did not know of the true nobility of the new conquerors, so they took precautions. Where is there legitimate scope to paint the Spanish as seeing the Muslims as liberators from oppression, when they in fact clearly displayed understandable ignorance about Islām and Muslims? 

Then clutching at straws, and claiming that the possible rape of a Byzantine woman from Africa, equates to the national oppression of Spain, which the Muslims came to avenge, is really the product of a fantastic imagination.

Why is there this need to concoct a justification for the invasion of Spain in a manner appealing to a western audience? Is it an inferiority complex? Are we not convinced of the truth of Islām? Are we now going to rewrite our histories and pretend that the early Muslims did never aimed to establish the law of Allāh over every inch of the earth? Of course, such ideals and theology is not understandable to most Muslims today, let alone when discussing with non-Muslims, but there is still no need to lie. A simple depiction of the state of the world at that time, would suffice, without having to resort to lies. The simple truth is that every country at that time conquered whichever country it could. At the very moment of the Muslim invasion of Spain, Spain itself was occupying the south of France. Less than a century later, France invaded Germany and forcibly converted the Germans to Catholicism. The Germans in turn would later wipe out their pagan neighbours, the Prussians and resettle Prussia. So why do we have to be the only people to apologise for what was the norm then? And why do the weak-hearted amongst us have to lie about it?

3.    The Christians only Evicted the Muslims when the Muslims showed no Concern for the Oppressed.

Spain dates the beginning of the Reconquest to 718 when Pelagius defeated a Muslim detachment. The battle against the Muslims was from the very beginning. It was continuous. It never ceased. To claim it to have materialised seven centuries later due to a change in Muslim attitude is simply not true.

Spanish propaganda against the Muslims focuses on three complaints, all of which existed from day one, not seven centuries later:

1.       That the Muslims invaded them in the first place.

2.       That the Muslims insisted on Jizyah.

3.       That the Muslims were of darker races in origin. The Spanish reacted by instituting Apartheid policies called Limpieza de sangre, or Purity of Blood.

Conclusion

I may have digressed into details more than what I had intended, but these details should show how some people adjust facts to suit their agendas. 

It is important that we realise the importance of speaking the truth, however bitter it may be. Our point of reference is the guidance of Allāh and His Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم. Once we cast them aside and spew western thoughts as substitutes, we slide down a slippery slope, down which some have been already sliding for 200 years and have not reached an end.

Let us recommit ourselves to Allāh and His Messenger صلى الله عليه و سلم as our primary focus, and emphasise their teachings of honesty and verification.  

سليمان الكندي

 Twitter: @sulayman_Kindi

Innocence of Muslims - how would Rasūlullāh react?

That any true Muslim feels hurt at this latest assault on the honour of the Beloved Nabī صلى الله عليه و سلم needs no elucidation. The same would hold true for any honest person that the West has double standards when it comes to freedom of speech. Attack Islām, that’s fine, but question “the holocaust,” Darwinism or the claim that human civilisation is only 6000 years old, you could face a range of punishments from imprisonment, academic character assassination or loss of a job.

Now let us stop imitating the Jews as we do with so many other things. Stop moaning, “Oh! The world is against us and we are so helpless and innocent!” Let us ask what does the faith we profess to follow ask us to do in these trying situations.

1       Respond to slander with facts, not emotion

When we are attacked, we always respond emotionally and forget the actual argument. This is contrary to the principles of the Qurān. For example, when the Quraysh accused Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم of acquiring the Qurān from a monk, not Allāh, the response was not, “How dare you accuse me, when you know I am truthful!” Instead, the reply was a clear logical statement that the monk was a foreigner who could not possibly compose the fluent Arabic of the Qurān.

Indeed We know that they say, “A man teaches it to him!” The tongue of him to whom they wickedly refer is foreign, whilst this is a clear Arabic tongue. [an-Naḥl: 103]

2.       Adversity is an opportunity to increase  good deeds

Indeed We know that your chest is constricted because of what they say. But you should instead recite the purity and praise of your Lord and be amongst those who prostrate. [al-Ḥijr: 97-98]

Thus if adversity and grief led Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم to increase in good deeds, how are we exempt? Let us do some soul searching and ask if running around screaming, “Death to America,” benefits the image of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم in any way. Is it not embarrassing that the West can smugly say, “See! We accuse their Prophet of violence and they respond with violence!”


If I truly love Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم should I not act in the light of the above verse and increase my recitation of salutations [Arabic: Ṣalawāt; Persian: Darūd] upon Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم ? The Hadith teaches us that angels convey our greetings to him. Would that prove more profitable to our relationship to him when we meet on the Day of Qiyāmah or would “Death to America"?

Practically, how does my life and appearance conform to the man I claim to be honouring with my protests? Does my lifestyle resemble his, or that of the filmmakers? Condemning others is always easier than trying to reform oneself.

3.       No soul bears the burden of another [az-Zumar: 7]

Did the US ambassador make the film, or even know about its production? Please pray tell how we justify such killings in the name of the religion of peace. Perpetuating disbelief is worse than the shedding of blood. May Allāh save us from such acts which serve no purpose other than to tarnish the image of Islām and repulse people who might otherwise have been inclined to it. 

4.       There are etiquettes to dialogue

Uncouth behaviour from others does not excuse us from obeying the Qurān, especially when we are directing our response at parties innocent of the movie, “Do not debate the People of the Book except in a better way, except for those amongst them who do wrong.” [al-‘Ankabūt:46].


When the Jews, thinking themselves to be smart, greeted  Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم with a blurring between, "as-salaamu alaykum," (peace be upon you) and "as-saamu alaykum" (death unto you) our Mother, Aishah رضى الله عنها became furious. Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم however remained calm and replied, "And on you." Whatever they intended was replied to without resorting to their manners. 

Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم courteously addressed foreign dignitaries including the Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius Caesar, whom he addressed as, “Heraclius, great of Rome.” Make no mistake - Heraclius was a far greater enemy of Allāh than George Bush could ever dream of.  Rasūlullāh  صلى الله عليه و سلم clearly declared that by rejecting Islām, Heraclius was to condemn his Empire to disbelief. The burden of the rest of Europe, the Americas, Australia etc is the eventual result of him rejecting the truth despite knowing it. Yet he was not deprived of due courtesy.

Not only have we shamed Islām in the murder of a foreign dignitary, we have helped erase the accomplishments of our forefathers. There are academics in the West who are honest enough to admit that the entire concept of International Law and certain of its specifics were born from Islāmic jurisprudence. Would those jurists have justified the slaying of an innocent diplomat? The fruits of their labours have been erased.

5.       Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم was practical and looked at the bigger picture

When they were about to sign the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah, the Quraysh objected to the phrase, “Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allāh.” They would only consent to, “Muḥammad, son of ‘Abdullāh.” The Muslims were most upset, and refused. Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم  however personally erased the phrase. He knew that there were bigger issues at hand.

Muslim historians record that as a result of his foresight, obstacles to preaching Islām were removed and more people entered Islām in the following two years than in the previous 19 years of Islām. That would not have been achieved had Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم been stubborn over the wording of the Treaty. He had vision and looked at the bigger picture.

The bigger picture for us is that even this filth could have had one positive aspect of creating curiosity amongst disbelievers. We could have seized the opportunity to explain the beautiful character and teachings of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم to our friends, colleagues, neighbours and the media. Instead we reveal our ignorance about the greatest personality who has the most detailed biography ever in human history. How many Muslims can describe this personality to their neighbours for even 5 minutes?


The words,  “Muḥammad, Messenger of Allāh,” holds a special place in the heart of every Muslim, but let emotion not cloud our judgement and make us lose our opportunity of Ḥudaybiyah and the deeper message of Muḥammad صلى الله عليه و سلم

To negate Jihaad is disbelief, but remember that there are various forms of Jihaad. Feel hurt, but follow his example.

سليمان الكندي

Innocence of Muslims - how would Rasūlullāh react?

That any true Muslim feels hurt at this latest assault on the honour of the Beloved Nabī صلى الله عليه و سلم needs no elucidation. The same would hold true for any honest person that the West has double standards when it comes to freedom of speech. Attack Islām, that’s fine, but question “the holocaust,” Darwinism or the claim that human civilisation is only 6000 years old, you could face a range of punishments from imprisonment, academic character assassination or loss of a job.

Now let us stop imitating the Jews as we do with so many other things. Stop moaning, “Oh! The world is against us and we are so helpless and innocent!” Let us ask what does the faith we profess to follow ask us to do in these trying situations.

1       Respond to slander with facts, not emotion

When we are attacked, we always respond emotionally and forget the actual argument. This is contrary to the principles of the Qurān. For example, when the Quraysh accused Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم of acquiring the Qurān from a monk, not Allāh, the response was not, “How dare you accuse me, when you know I am truthful!” Instead, the reply was a clear logical statement that the monk was a foreigner who could not possibly compose the fluent Arabic of the Qurān.

Indeed We know that they say, “A man teaches it to him!” The tongue of him to whom they wickedly refer is foreign, whilst this is a clear Arabic tongue. [an-Naḥl: 103]

2.       Adversity is an opportunity to increase  good deeds

Indeed We know that your chest is constricted because of what they say. But you should instead recite the purity and praise of your Lord and be amongst those who prostrate. [al-Ḥijr: 97-98]

Thus if adversity and grief led Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم to increase in good deeds, how are we exempt? Let us do some soul searching and ask if running around screaming, “Death to America,” benefits the image of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم in any way. Is it not embarrassing that the West can smugly say, “See! We accuse their Prophet of violence and they respond with violence!”


If I truly love Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم should I not act in the light of the above verse and increase my recitation of salutations [Arabic: Ṣalawāt; Persian: Darūd] upon Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم ? The Hadith teaches us that angels convey our greetings to him. Would that prove more profitable to our relationship to him when we meet on the Day of Qiyāmah or would “Death to America"?

Practically, how does my life and appearance conform to the man I claim to be honouring with my protests? Does my lifestyle resemble his, or that of the filmmakers? Condemning others is always easier than trying to reform oneself.

3.       No soul bears the burden of another [az-Zumar: 7]

Did the US ambassador make the film, or even know about its production? Please pray tell how we justify such killings in the name of the religion of peace. Perpetuating disbelief is worse than the shedding of blood. May Allāh save us from such acts which serve no purpose other than to tarnish the image of Islām and repulse people who might otherwise have been inclined to it. 

4.       There are etiquettes to dialogue

Uncouth behaviour from others does not excuse us from obeying the Qurān, especially when we are directing our response at parties innocent of the movie, “Do not debate the People of the Book except in a better way, except for those amongst them who do wrong.” [al-‘Ankabūt:46].


When the Jews, thinking themselves to be smart, greeted  Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم with a blurring between, "as-salaamu alaykum," (peace be upon you) and "as-saamu alaykum" (death unto you) our Mother, Aishah رضى الله عنها became furious. Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم however remained calm and replied, "And on you." Whatever they intended was replied to without resorting to their manners. 

Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم courteously addressed foreign dignitaries including the Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius Caesar, whom he addressed as, “Heraclius, great of Rome.” Make no mistake - Heraclius was a far greater enemy of Allāh than George Bush could ever dream of.  Rasūlullāh  صلى الله عليه و سلم clearly declared that by rejecting Islām, Heraclius was to condemn his Empire to disbelief. The burden of the rest of Europe, the Americas, Australia etc is the eventual result of him rejecting the truth despite knowing it. Yet he was not deprived of due courtesy.

Not only have we shamed Islām in the murder of a foreign dignitary, we have helped erase the accomplishments of our forefathers. There are academics in the West who are honest enough to admit that the entire concept of International Law and certain of its specifics were born from Islāmic jurisprudence. Would those jurists have justified the slaying of an innocent diplomat? The fruits of their labours have been erased.

5.       Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم was practical and looked at the bigger picture

When they were about to sign the Treaty of Ḥudaybiyah, the Quraysh objected to the phrase, “Muḥammad, the Messenger of Allāh.” They would only consent to, “Muḥammad, son of ‘Abdullāh.” The Muslims were most upset, and refused. Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم   however personally erased the phrase. He knew that there were bigger issues at hand.

Muslim historians record that as a result of his foresight, obstacles to preaching Islām were removed and more people entered Islām in the following two years than in the previous 19 years of Islām. That would not have been achieved had Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم been stubborn over the wording of the Treaty. He had vision and looked at the bigger picture.

The bigger picture for us is that even this filth could have had one positive aspect of creating curiosity amongst disbelievers. We could have seized the opportunity to explain the beautiful character and teachings of Rasūlullāh صلى الله عليه و سلم to our friends, colleagues, neighbours and the media. Instead we reveal our ignorance about the greatest personality who has the most detailed biography ever in human history. How many Muslims can describe this personality to their neighbours for even 5 minutes?


The words,  “Muḥammad, Messenger of Allāh,” holds a special place in the heart of every Muslim, but let emotion not cloud our judgement and make us lose our opportunity of Ḥudaybiyah and the deeper message of Muḥammad صلى الله عليه و سلم

To negate Jihaad is disbelief, but remember that there are various forms of Jihaad. Feel hurt, but follow his example.

سليمان الكندي