Part 3

the example of the Prophet #% and patiently await for his reward from Allah 3g. In short, there are valuable lessons to be found in the Seerah for every single Muslim.

Not just the Muslim individual, but also the Muslim nation as a whole needs to benefit from the lessons that are available in the Prophet's Seerah. Nations rise and fall not through coincidence or through a set of arbitrary occurrences, but through universal laws that have been set in place by Allah 3g. At least once in our history, Muslims have succeeded in building a wonderful and stable civilization, and that was during the lifetime of the Prophet #¢ and his rightly guided Caliphs; and even if Muslims prospered in later centuries, they never prospered as much as they did in the early golden years of Islam. Now we come back to the universal laws I mentioned above: The Prophet #g and his Companions *& established a stable and prosperous nation not by chance, but by living in harmony with the said universal laws. What this means is that there is a pattern: If we want to now repeat the success that was achieved by the Muslims during the lifetime of the Prophet #%, we need to be in harmony with the same set of laws, and in doing so, we have an ideal blueprint to follow - the lives of the Prophet #% and his noble Companions 4.

Ge eenlls Set ake G5 5 ih fas (Zt iS ALT > 4@ 25 TY wi Ges Bu ob BE

“Say: ‘Obey Allah and obey the Messenger, but if you turn away, he (the Messenger Muhammad 2) is only responsible for the duty placed on him (i.e., to convey Allah’s Message) and you for that placed on you. If you obey him, you shall be on the right guidance. The Messenger’s duty is only to convey (the message) in a clear way, (i.e., to preach in a plain way).””’ (Qur'an 24: 54)

This Verse clearly indicates that success lies in following the way of the Prophet 2; the following two Verses discuss some of the conditions that Muslims must fulfill if they hope to achieve

prosperity and stability as a nation:

We do not have the right to say that it was due to the fact that they were supported by miracles that the Prophet #¥ and his Companions # were successful in establishing a Muslim country. We do not have that right for the very fact that the first generation of Muslims struggled and suffered and strove and sacrificed - and thus earned their success. They fulfilled the conditions that are discussed in the above-mentioned Verses; or in other words, they lived in harmony with those universal laws that apply to the rise and fall of nations. Consider the Prophet's migration to Al-Madeenah. Allah 3 could have made the journey a miraculous one-night journey, as He 3 had previously done regarding the Prophet's night journey to Jerusalem and then to the heavens. But He 8 didn’t, and the Prophet #% subsequently faced all of the hardships that came with his remarkable

migration to Al-Madeenah, thus showing us that victory comes with sacrifice and struggle.

The Prophet #% and his Companions # realized Eemaan (faith) both in terms of belief and action. They strove day and night to perform good deeds; they made each and every part of their lives an act of worship; they fought against all forms of polytheism. At an individual and societal level, they took all of the material steps that are needed to form a country. Then, they actually did form their own country in Al-Madeenah, and from there, they spread Allah’s religion to the farthest corners of the earth.

That we as a nation are behind today is a logical consequence of our not doing what the first generation of Muslims did to achieve success. Unwilling to change, to struggle, to reform, and to sacrifice, we think that we can achieve success and prosperity as a nation; but since that is contrary to the universal laws outlined above, we shouldn't hold our breaths, expecting some sudden change from the outside. The change must begin from within.

Weakness of faith, lack of spirituality, incorrect thinking, inner confusion and anxiety - these are the results of the great gap that exists between us as a nation and between the Noble Qur’an, the guidance of the Prophet #%, and the piety of Muslims during the era of the rightly guided Caliphs.

That gap is nowhere as palpable as it is in regards to those who, though they are as far away as possible from the teachings of the Qur'an, the guidance of the Prophet #z, and the way of the rightly guided Caliphs, claim that they are the representatives of Islam. They speak for hours on end, but show no understanding of Allah’s universal laws that apply to the rise and fall of nations. They will speak interminably about the sayings of philosophers, politicians and others of their ilk, but they hardly bother to refer to revealed sources - the Qur’an and Sunnah. I do not say that one should not benefit from the experiences and knowledge of others, for wisdom is the goal of the believer: wherever he finds it, he is most worthy of it. But I do most vehemently oppose those who are enamored by the words of intellectuals, but do not heed the

words of Allah 3% and His Messenger #; do not contemplate the history of our own nation, especially the part of it when its civilization reached its zenith during the first generation of Islam; and then aspire for positions of leadership among the Muslim nation, so that when they do become leaders, they lead according to their whims and desires, and not according to the teachings of the Qur’an and Sunnah.

The events that took place during the Prophet's lifetime did not occur in a vacuum; they occurred in the real world, which means that we need to study the methodology of the Prophet's Da’wah if we are to repeat, at least to some degree, the success achieved by the first generation of Islam. Allah 3% said: ai iRS 6 oS Kes OS Al 5 a Ki Ok sap 40 US BE 5K “Indeed in the Messenger of Allah (Muhammad #8) you have a good example to follow for him who hopes in (the Meeting with) Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” (Qur'an

What did the Prophet ## and his Companions 4 do that we need to repeat? The answer to this question would require a very long list of details, but let us at least consider a few examples. First, the Prophet #% followed an ideal methodology for educating his Companions 4 and for establishing the foundations of a stable country. He #% did not call for an instant revolution, but instead strove for gradual change. He #¢ began with what is most important: instilling correct beliefs into the hearts of his Companions #. That a movement, if it is to achieve success and stability, needs to advance forward with studied gradual steps; that, before achieving stability, the members of a given movement need to first patiently endure hardships; that, first and foremost, correct beliefs must be cemented into the hearts of Muslims: these are just a few examples of Allah’s universal laws that the Prophet # submitted to, was in harmony with, and applied. His

Companions # did their part as well, trying their utmost to learn from him #% and follow his instructions to the letter, so much so that if one of them was unable to spend a given day with the Messenger of Allah #, he would send someone in his stead, and then later ask him what he learned that day. And some people - such as is related about ‘Umar ibn Al-Khattaab # and his companion - would take turns going to the Prophet #; one would spend the day with the Prophet #, and the other would take care of both of their businesses. In every small and great matter, the Companions # followed the example of the Prophet we; it is no surprise, therefore, that they were able to spread the message of Islam to the far corners of the earth.

In this book, I discuss the events of the Prophet's life, from the day he #% was born - and even before that day for background information - until the day he # died. Beyond enumerating the events of the Prophet's life, | have endeavoured to draw lessons and morals from those events, by pointing out to the reader, among other things, the significance of an event, the wisdom behind one of the Prophet's actions or deeds, the Islamic ruling that is derived from a particular incident, and the impact that a given event should have on our character or choice of deeds.

Furthermore, I have attempted to remedy the problem of how the Seerah has been reduced to a limited subject of study in certain schools and among many students of knowledge. This problem resulted from a misuse and misunderstanding of valuable Seerah books, books that have been written in recent decades and that have gained widespread acceptance among the reading public - such as Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtoom, by Safee-ur-Rahmaan AlMubarakpooree; Figh-us-Seerah, by Al-Ghazaalee; Figh-us-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Al-Bootee; and As-Seerah An-Nabawiyyah by Abul-Hasan An-Nadwee. Some of these books summarize the events of the Prophet's life; others either deal with certain aspects of his life or with some of the lessons that can be derived from his life; the point is that none of the above-mentioned authors claims that he has written a comprehensive book on the Prophet's life.

Some universities use the above-mentioned books as textbooks, and many students have, as a result, come under the impression that those books are comprehensive works on the Prophet’ biography. This notion, which is of course dangerous and false, has even gained acceptance among some Imams and leaders of Islamic movements. As a result of this widespread misunderstanding, many people have a very limited and defective understanding of the Prophet’s biography. At the end of his book, Figh-us-Seerah, Shaikh Muhammad AI-Ghazaalee warned about this very notion, saying, “You might think that you have studied the life of Muhammad #¢ if you have followed the events of his life from his birth until his death. This is a grave mistake, for you will not gain a true understanding of the Seerah unless you have studied the Noble Qur’an and the pure Sunnah (of the Prophet 3%)”