Part 4

I spent a number of years of my life studying the Noble Qur’an and the Prophet's biography. Those years consisted of some of the best days of my life; deeply immersed in study, I forgot about the pains associated with being away from home. Pearls of wisdom I came across, lessons I learned, and valuable insights I was blessed to perceive - these enjoyments sustained me. It was during that period of my life that I gathered, organized, and composed the contents of this book.

Throughout my research, I noticed how each author of a Seerah book mentioned lessons and benefits that other authors did not mention. It sometimes occurred that Ibn Hishaam mentioned a relevant point that Adh-Dhahabee did not mention, or that Ibn Katheer, a more recent scholar, mentioned what the compilers of the “Six Books” did not mention. As for present day authors, AsSibaa’ee might have appreciated a point that Al-Ghazaalee was not aware of - or at least did not write about; the examples of this phenomenon are endless. The point is that Allah 3 honoured me with the opportunity to gather and combine the findings of past and present authors; the result of that effort is this book.

In bringing this work to fruition, many people from various

countries - Libya, Yemen, Iraq, Egypt, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Syria - have made valuable contributions, through discussions, correspondences, and meetings at seminars. Some provided me with rare manuscripts; others provided valuable advice on what themes I should stress; and yet others made various contributions, each in his unique way.

To be sure, I do not claim to have surpassed my predecessors. The stature of the Prophet #% is great indeed; to comprehensively discuss just some aspects of his wonderful character and life requires a researcher with more time, stronger faith, a deeper understanding, and a greater intelligence than I possess. Nor do I claim infallibility, for Allah’s protection from error is specific to the Messengers #@ and Prophets 2%. Whoever thinks that he has all knowledge, even of a particular subject of study, is ignorant of his own self. Allah 3€ said:

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“And they ask you (O Muhammad 2) concerning the Rooh (the spirit) ; Say: ‘The Rooh (the spirit) : it is one of the things, the knowledge of which is only with my Lord. And of knowledge, you (mankind) have been given only a little.”” (Qur’an 17: 85)

Knowledge is an ocean that has no shore. Ath-Tha’aalabee said, “Whenever anyone writes a book, he wishes on every day other than the day on which he completed it, to add to it, or to delete from it. That is the effect that one night has; then how about a number of years!” Conveying a similar sentiment, Al-‘Imaad AlAsbahaanee said, “I noticed that whenever someone finishes writing a book, he says on the day after he completed it, ‘Had this been changed, it (the book) would have been better. Had this been added, that would have been a welcome (change). Had this been brought forward, it (the book) would have been better. Had this been left off, it would have been more beautiful.’ This

(phenomenon) is one of the greatest of lessons (for mankind), for it proves that imperfection has a strong hold over human beings.” I hope from Allah 3 that I have done this work sincerely for His Countenance. I ask Him 4 to make this book beneficial to His slaves, to reward me for every letter that I wrote, to place this effort in my scale of good deeds, and to reward my brothers who untiringly helped me to finish this book.

“How perfect You are O Allah, and I praise You. I bear witness

that none has the right to be worshipped except you. I seek Your

forgiveness and turn to You in repentance.”

One who is in dire need of his Lord’s forgiveness and Good Pleasure.

From, Some Important Historical Events Before The Advent Of Islam, Until, The Beginning Of Revelation

The Dominant Empires Of The World Prior To The Advent Of Islam

The eastern part of the Roman Empire was known as the Byzantine Empire, which ruled over, among other lands: Asia, Syria, Palestine, Egypt, and Northern Africa; and its capital was Constantinople. It was a wicked Empire that subjected its citizens to oppression and wrongdoing. As is almost always the case when an occupying foreign force rules over the native inhabitants of a land, violent tactics were employed to bring the population under control. The empire showed no mercy to the populations they ruled. So desperate did the economic situation become for Syria’s inhabitants that people would sell their children and use the proceeds of the sale to pay off their debts.

The Byzantines lived lives that were replete with contradictions. On the one hand, religion was deeply ingrained in people’s minds and monasticism was widespread. In fact, it was not uncommon for a common man to enter into deeply arcane religious research. But on the other hand, the population had become engrossed in frivolous, and often outright evil, forms of entertainment. Stadiums that could accommodate 80,000 spectators were built. The main sporting events that took place in them consisted of gladiators fighting one another to the death, and at times gladiators were even pitted against predatory animals. While

such sport was the entertainment of the common man, and while unspeakably cruel punishment was his lot if he committed an offence, the rulers and higher classes lived lives of opulence and decadence.

The Persian Empire was greater and stronger than the Byzantine Empire. False religions, such as Zoroastrianism and Mithraism, dominated the lands of Persia. The kings of Persia - the crown would pass from father to son - were extremely corrupt; they acted with impunity because they believed themselves to have been descended from their gods. Anything that was produced in Persia became the property of the kings, who would spend what came to them with almost unimaginable extravagance.

Many farmers left their lands and sought refuge in places of worship, fleeing either from exorbitant taxes or forced entry into the army. For the people of Persia were used as mere pawns in the wars that would intermittently be waged between the Persian Empire and the Byzantine Empire; and of course, the citizens had nothing to benefit from such wars; it was only the kings who stood to gain profit.

India Before the advent of Islam, at around the beginning of the sixth century of the Christian calendar, India was immersed in ignorance. Obscene acts, which were considered holy by India’s inhabitants, were perpetrated in houses of worship. Women were considered to be of no value. That many women would burn themselves to death upon the death of their husbands clearly indicated their standing in society. And if a woman did live on after her husband's death, it was forbidden for her to remarry. India was isolated from the world, which of course led to widespread ignorance. Its inhabitants forced upon themselves absurdly strict

dietary rules. And those who were considered outcasts in society were forced to live outside the boundaries of the city.

Supported by political and religious law, the caste system made a clear distinction between the various classes of society. At the top of the hierarchy were the Brahmans - priests and scholars; then the Kshatriyas - warriors and rulers; the Vaisyas - merchants, traders, and farmers; and lastly the Sudras - artisans, laborers, servants, and slaves. The law gave the Brahmans the right to act with impunity; as for the Sudras, they didn’t have the right to own property, to sit alongside Brahmans, or to read religious books. There was another caste whose members were ranked beneath the Sudras; they were called the ‘untouchables,’ and they were forced to do hard, menial, and highly unpleasant labor.

A Synopsis Of The Dominant Religions Of The World Prior To The Advent Of Islam

Before the advent of Islam, human beings were living through one of the worst periods of human history. The line of Prophets from the descendants of Ishaaq ¥#% had come to an end with the ascension of Jesus %% to the heavens. In the centuries that followed, belief in the trinity gained more and more acceptance among Christians, until, around the beginning of the sixth century, only a handful of people still believed in the Islamically Monotheistic teachings of Jesus 32.

The entire world was engulfed in darkness. Describing the period prior to his Prophethood, the Messenger of Allah # said, “Verily, Allah looked at the inhabitants of the world and despised them, both the Arabs and foreigners among them, except for some remnants from the People of the Book (i.e., those among them who still believed in pure Islamic Monotheism).”” Polytheism and idol worship had become widespread. Some people apostatized from their religion; others didn’t follow any religion at all, other than ritualistic acts of worship they performed to idols; and others believed in a distorted form of a divinely revealed religion. In short, almost all of the inhabitants of earth were living in a state of darkness and ignorance.

As for the Jews, their religion had become a soulless set of rituals; and they had become greatly influenced by neighbouring nations or by nations that had subjugated them. And so the Jews took from them many of their polytheistic beliefs and practices. As one Jewish scholar put it, “That the Prophets were constantly furious about idol worship proves that the concepts of idol worship and polytheism had crept their way into the souls of the Children of Israel. They were a people who entertained superstitious and polytheistic beliefs. And the Talmud attests to the fact that the Jews were strongly attracted to the idea of idol worship.” Judaism had reached its nadir just prior to the Prophethood of Muhammad #8. The revealed scriptures that Jews had with them had become greatly distorted and, as a result, contained many false notions about Allah %.

As for Christianity, distortions and false interpretations corrupted its pristine teachings, so that it no longer remained a religion of pure Monotheism. Many polytheistic practices, with the concept of trinity of course at the forefront, became established Christian doctrine. Jesus #8 came to invite people to the worship of Allah 3 alone, but polytheism was deeply ingrained in the souls of the people to whom he % was sent, so that soon after his time various polytheistic beliefs were being disseminated, all in the name of Christianity. If a Christian man was martyred, others attributed divine qualities to him and built little statue of him. People began to worship saints and martyrs. Holding a status not very different from the idols of the Quraish, saints were considered to be intermediaries between Christians and God. It was in the fourth century that the trinity became the official doctrine of the church; but it is only recently - in the latter half of the nineteenth century - that the process through which trinity became doctrine was made public.