The Reality of the Looking Glass: Seeing Muhammad

Re: # 9
Was Muhammad an examplar for all human being or just Muslims?
Could you find few others whose lives were as good?
Any comments?

Shahriar,

Jazak Allah and Bravo!

My father was not a very religious person. Until a few years ago he would only go to mosque for Friday prayers or on Eid days. He did not learn how to read Qura`n or Arabic and still can`t. It takes him an hour to read a couple of pages.

I was probably six or seven years old when the Eid came-it is probaly the first eid of my life that I can consciously remeber to the minutest detail. We dressed up in new clothes and shoes and set out for prayers. There was happiness all around, mostly because of the anticipation that I would get Eidee after the prayers. On my way I was eyeing the balloon and candies that I would purchase and I was constantly asking questions from my father as all little kids do. On our way my father was giving alms to the poor and beggers who were sitting along the street. I asked my father why he was giving alms to those people. He said ``Son, it is Sunnat``; what is sunnat ``I asked``. ``Son, this is what our Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) used to do``. I thought this man, Prophet Mohammad (pbuh), must be a very impostant man, more important than my gradfather.

As we entered the Eidgah grounds my father again paid ``Fitrana (alms)`` to a charity personnel who was sitting at a table at the door. I asked my dad, why did he pay money. He said ``It is Sunnat baytay- our eid prayer is not accepted unless we pay for the poors first``. Then the eid prayer started and like any other kid I was looking around during the prayers. After the prayer was finished my dad said ``You shouldn`t look around during khutba because Prophet has not allowed it``. Then we hugged our friends and family and then my father asked me why did we hugg each other. I said ``because we are happy``. He said ``Yes, baytay it is this sunnat that makes us happy``. On our way back we took a different and longer route to get home. The kid in me was so curious, I asked my father why? He said ``because that is what Holy Prophet used to do, so that we can meet more people on our way``.

This line of questioning and answering kept on happening the whole day, while receiving eidee, while eating sweet in the morning; while greeting visitors and so on and so forth.

The next day I almost forgot who Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) was and the things we do to follow his way. That day day I asked my mother to read me a story from chaildren`s page in the newspaper. I couldn`t read myself yet. The story was about eid. It was a about a little kid who was crying on the road side on the eid day. People with their children were passing by happily to eidgah to say their prayers but no one was paying any attention to him. Childrens were happy because they were thinking about balloons, candies, eidee, and their toys they were about to receive. The story felt so real that I felt that I was one of the characters in the story, who was holding his dads hand and headed towards the eidgah. But I was curious why one kid was crying on the roadside on such a happy day. I was so absorbed in the story that curiousity was killing me. The story progressed. A man stopped by that little kid and asked him why he was crying on such a happy day. The kid replied that he was an orphan, and his mother had no money to buy nice clothes and toys for him-and he had no father who could take him to eidgah. That man pat on that kids head and told him not to cry, he said ``those who have no one on their side, have Allah with them``. Then that man bought lots of candies (or sweets) and toys for the kid; bought him new clothes and told him that from now on he was his son. The kid was so happy, and thanked Allah that he looked after him when no one else did. The story ended with the sentence ``...and that man was our Holy Prophet (pbuh)``. As the story ended I almost cried with awe. In the little confines of my kid heart I could not capture the expanse of the kindness and the greatness of that man, whom I had never seen but I could imagine only someone more respectable and commanding than my grandfather. I gave my toys and my eidee to the kids of our servants. On that day, I set the goal of my life to be as kind a person as he (pbuh) was - the man in the story. I saw tears in my parent`s eyes when they saw me giving my toys to those poor children. Unconsciously, I knew that they were crying not because of my kindenss but because they saw me follow the path of that great man.

As the time went by I forgot about my goal. I had been cruel and mean to the people but there was a compass inside me that always kept pointing me to the right direction. Now when decades have gone by I think, that man has impacted my life in so many subtle as well as profound ways that I think that, today, everything that is good in me is because of him. They way I eat, they way I drink, they way I sleep, they way I talk, they way I respect elders, they way I try to earn my living through honest ways, they way I behave with my relatives, friends, and acquaintances, they way I walk on street removing stones and twigs to convenience others, ....and the list just goes on and on for ever. And everything that is bad in me is because I go astray from his path. Yes I stray all too often but that compass keeps dragging me to the path, which that man had paved hundereds of years ago for us.

Mustafa Jan-e-Rehmat pay laakhoN Salam
Shamma-e-Bazme Hidayat pay lakhon Salam

(May there be millions of blessings on Mustafa (pbuh), the embodiment of kindness;
May there be millions of blessings on the Candle (pbuh) that lights the righteous path for us)

#17 by kamath on April 11, 2006 1:10pm PT
{Re: # 9
Was Muhammad an examplar for all human being or just Muslims?
Could you find few others whose lives were as good?
}

he was surely for his followers, so they are obliged follow his example. for others its optional..they can follow any good man (real or fictional) example. e.g. you can follow example of urstruly and give candy during halloween.

The usual bizarre stuff here. I am not a fan of this kind of servile ranting, independent of whether the object of the worship is this mohammed fellow, the buddha, moses, rama, krishna, jesus whatever.

Let me ask a question to see how ``peaceful`` and ``loving`` these mo-bhakts are: did mohammed have a single fault? Is there one thing about him that you find wanting or would wish were dfferent?

Lets see if anyone here has actually put into thought into this or whether this is some gibberish memorized at the local mosque.

Something expected happened , a bomb blast in the middle of Eid-Milad-ul-Nabi Jalsa inside Nishtar Park in which lot of my fellow brothers & sisters died including one of my good friends Hafiz Taqi not to mention people like Hafiz Biluu .
Its a terrible terrorist attack , people says it is a `suicide bombing` which is something hard to grasp - according to my knowledge & thinking it was a remote controlled device which was placed to target top lott of leaders present on stage .
I was suppose to recite Quranic Verses all night today prorobly because I am alone here without anyone , cut off because I criticized my officers but thats another story - so somewhere in rural Pakistan I will be praying for the souls of those who died today .
Mohammad (s.a.w ) was not just a prophet , he was a reformer of the system - & - what we learn from His ( S.a.w ) life is that whatever the odds against you - you can change the system .
At a same time the so-called `moderates` , `liberals` & wannabes of Pakistan should realize that they are part of Pakistan & not United States of America - this is a Islamic State in which you are given rights but rights not to hurt the feelings of others around yourself who still believes that this is a Islamic State & we should be proud of that .

Eid-ul-Mawlood-i-Nabi (saw) Mubarak to all.

Always babarkat & inspirational to sing his ( pbuh) praises.
Bhar doa jholi

Re: # 20

Prophet Mohammed (pbuh) is also called RAHMATH-UL-LIL-AALAMEEN, which means roughly
BLESSING FOR THE WORLDS. He did not come just for the muslims, but for all humanity.

Re: # 21
>>>>Let me ask a question to see how ``peaceful`` and ``loving`` these mo-bhakts are: did mohammed have a single fault? Is there one thing about him that you find wanting or would wish were dfferent? <<<<

Your frustration is understandable since you are not a Bhakthi Margi. Such (seemingly )
blind devotion is Bhakthi Yoga. You don`t even contemplate the possibility that your object
of worship could have any faults. There is extensive Hindu traditions along these lines, except we don`t go around and blow ourselves to kill those who don`t share our beliefs.

Again this explanation could be frustrating if u giv a damn to all these. That`s why Hinduism offers alternative paths Karma Yoga, Gnana Yoga, etc. I bet you wouldn`t mind being or calling yourself a Karma Yogi. Being so dedicted and devoted your work that you attain .......self-realization...

You could reject all these terminologies and giv a damn to Karma yoga too, and still u r a good Hindu!

#25 bharath

That is a good critique of my position from a hindu perspective. I think Mohammed seems an interesting person but it is hard to appreciate someone who is so-so-so wonderful. I agree that bhakti marg has this same aspect and for this same reason I cannot accept it.

bharath and mishraji, you hindus have taken this to the extreme..you worship animals, stones, nothing, nature, water, the sun, fire, money, books, bharatmata.....whats so confusing about finding solace in mohammed..faults have little to do with faith.

#24 by number

he may be for all of humanity, but all of humanity may not necessarily accept this. so that is why its incumbent upon the followers to heed the message (of gentleness).

Re: # 26
#26 by pmishra2 on April 11, 2006 3:54pm PT

Mishra,
Just in case (for a second) if u had forgotten for a moment how fanatic
pedophiles could be post#27 calrifies that.

#21

There is no personality in the history of mankind who has been so closely scrutinized by friends and foes alike. But still extremes exist on both sides. Among his friends and followers there are extremes, so that they think of him as nothing but an angel and on the other hand among his foes there are extremes who see him as nothing but an embodiment of pure evil. We see these two attitudes everyday here at this website.

THe correct Isalmic position is as always the middle of the raod since Islam is a religion of middle path. He was a man but exalted of all men because he was chosen to make a connection between this world and the hereonafter or the dimension that is outside our realm. He was chosen to deliver a message and show us with his efforts that the message was practical in this world. He had as much divine help as any man who is on righteous path would have. According to Islamic belief Prophets do commit mistakes; the purpose of those mistakes is to show the followers the difference between right and wrong. Those mistakes are not their choice. Their mistakes are innocent because divinity plays a role in it to demonstrate the difference between right and wrong.

Re: # 27
> you hindus have taken this to the extreme..you worship animals, stones, nothing, nature, water, the sun, fire, money, books, bharatmata...

Sir ji kya karen - our lord appears in so many forms - even coming out of a pillar !
na jaane kis roop mey narayan mil jaye

Re: # 29

> According to Islamic belief Prophets do commit mistakes; the purpose of those mistakes
> is to show the followers the difference between right and wrong. Those mistakes are
> not their choice. Their mistakes are innocent because divinity plays a role in it to
> demonstrate the difference between right and wrong.

wait a sec ... so it goes something like this ...
prophet f*ks a child ... comes out of the room and tells to his followers - ``There, guys THAT
was a mistake. You don`t do that !``

the purpose of those mistakes is to show the followers the difference between right and wrong

ROTFL .... Dude, going by this definiton, your prophet seems to have taught the followers
too much i guess.

#28 bharath

Well, I was aware that any attempt to ask questions would probably be met with threats and contempt. This is an unfortunate aspect of islam that we must live with and sometimes confront forcefully.

But I enjoyed your answer. Many aspects of hindu (and indic) traditions also involve this type of unconditional love for ram or krishna. So in this way, a hindu can come to understand the feeling expressed in the essay above.

#21 Urstruly

I have never suggested that mohammed is pure evil or any such nonsense. I have just asked for ONE example of something that an individual might find less than perfect about his behavior. No one seems to be able to answer, so I will move on. I think the bharath has actually given the right answer: this is bhakti-marg type of thinking which does not allow for imperfection in the divine form.