Seerah- taught by sister Yumna (13th September,2013)

In The Name Of Allah

Dated: September 13, 2013

Sirrat of Prophet Muhammed (PBUH)

The lesson's main points:

                                                                 1- The Author of the book.

2-chapter one: a-A message and a leader    Page 23

                         b- Paganism ruled the ancient civilizations and the nature of the message               Page 27

                         c-The Arabs at the advent of Islam   Page 31

d-The Prophet (PBUH) and his miracles   Page 57

1-Muhammed El Ghazaly(1917-1996) the author of Fiqh El Sirrat       

He was an Islamic scholar whose writings have influenced generations of Egyptians. He attracted a broad following with works that sought to interpret Islam and its holy book, the Quran, in a modern light. He is widely credited with contributing to a revival of Islamic faith in Egypt over the last decade. He graduated fro Al Azhar University in 1941. He taught at the University of Umm Al Qura in Makkah, the University of Qatar and at Al Amir Abdul Gadir University for Islamic sciences in Algeria.

Al-Ghazali held the post of Chairman of the Academic Council of the International Institute of Islamic Thought in Cairo.Sheikh al-Ghazali authored more than sixty books,many of which have been translated into various languages, and was also the recipient of many awards, including the First Order of the Republic (Egypt)(1988), the King Faisal Award (1989) and the Excellence Award from Pakistan.

Sheikh Al-Ghazali was married and had seven children, two boys and five girls and was buried in Medina, Saudi Arabia. He was a very popular Sheikh in Egypt and remained so even after his death.

His Famous works are:

1-Islam and the Modern Economy.

2-Islam and Political Despotism.

3-Fanaticism and Tolerance Between Christianity and Islam.

4-Fiqh Al Seerah.

5-Exgesis of Quran.

6-Not From Islam.

Sheikh Ghazali divided his research around the history of Islam not only the prophet as he started with what happened before the prophet received his message of prophecy from Allah. Doing so, the reader can see the environment before the light of prophecy spread in people's spirits. Moving from the era before Islam to the prophet's bringing up and to the way Allah prepared his soul to be able to guide the humanity.

The book is divided into: nine chapters.

The first chapter is an introduction of the Prophet's Sirrat (PBUH) entitled in "A Message and a leader" from page 23—57

The second chapter includes the life of the prophet (PBUH) from birth to prophethood from page 69—104

In chapter three the author dealt with the struggles the prophet (PBUH) and Muslims faced in the beginning of Islam from 107—160

While in the fourth chapter there is a survey to Muslims immigration and what started to happen after that from 163—194

In chapter five there is a display of the new society built by Muslims from 199—225

Then chapter six will go with the battles Muslims had with their enemy from 233—340

Chapter seven explains a new phase in Muslims lives from 353—456

Both chapter eight and nine talk about the last days in prophet's life.

Chapter one

2- How the author dealt with the prophet's history and why he preferred showing the events in such arrangement.

Including Sheikh El Ghazali, a lot of author start the history of the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) before his birth and make it open. That's because before the prophet's birth is a pavement of the true faith's path, while the end is open as this is a message to the whole world from the prophet's era up till the Day of Judgment.

Moreover, using such way in dealing with Seerah is to highlight the purposes of Seerah studying and that's very clear in the first part of the book entitled in "A Message and Imam (leader)"

In this part the author makes a relation between various civilizations and paganism saying that after many centuries of science, experience, developed arts and philosophy, idolatry dominated these features of progress and forced their falling down. What else could there be after cows, wood and stones are worshipped? Entire nations became polluted with such perversions. Thus man who is normally Allah's successor on the Earth became a slave manipulated by these idols.

Paganism is coming from human inside not from the outer atmosphere. So as miserable man controls every feature of his life using his desperate behaviors, and frightened people imagine objects to be ghosts, also the absent-minded men and deformed personalities control the environment around him with their stupidity and sterility making from animals and things whatever he likes.

Consequently, religions address inner souls, so if man crashes idols and sacrifices animals without lightening his inner soul, nothing will happen in his fight against paganism. Only when small heart widens, thought awakens and people return to their lofty ideals, these pagan impressions will disappear automatically.    

By this explanation, he shows the relation between paganism and ancient civilizations, not only that, he shows how a man after Jewish and Christianity even inset paganism inside these religions and changes a lot their pillars till Muhammad's (PBUH) message. Superstition borrows the accepted wear of truth and attacks the true religion, not as the bee attacks the flowers of spring, but as the worms waste the fertile soil. This is the secret why paganism, which does not know Allah, claims comes closer to Him and seeks His pleasure through its idols: a portion of truth in portion of falsehood.

So in the beginning of the sixth century of Jesus' birth (PBUH), Christianity borrowed all its pagan features from Indians and Ancient Egyptians' myths. But it's more dangerous than pure paganism as it is a kind of paganism mixed with the idea of God oneness. They turned day into darkness, peace into distress, and unity into idolatry and paganism. But what are the values of these flaws that Christianity complied?

In the name of Allah, the most Merciful, and the most Gracious:

"They (Jews, Christians and Pagans) say:" Allah has begotten a son (children)"glory be to Him! He is Rich (Free of all wants). His is all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth. No warrant you have for this. Do you say against Allah what you know not. Say "Verily, those who invent lie against Allah will never be successful."(Quran 10: 68-70)

After showing this relation, the author talked about the nature of the last message from Allah.

One of the Characteristics of Muhammad's (PBUH) prophecy is that it is a general, global and eternal message.

Allah could send a guide in each age, but why he sent only one man for the whole world and ages?

Indeed, sending of one prophet is like the shortening we can make to facilitate understanding the meaning of sentences we read.

This is one of the important questions. How can this be?

For example, if you're walking in a dangerous and uneasy road and meet a man who says: follow me. Thus you will follow him till you reach your destination as you believe that safety is in obeying him. In this case he is your helper but if he loses his way, so do you.

But if you meet someone who only tells you about the right path and draw you a map and even walk with you at first to train you, and tells you about the dangerous places and what are stages of difficulties you have to pass through, thus you'll be your own guide and you can use your mentality, reasoning and your eyes whenever you need.                                                      

The first case is not more than guiding children, but when Allah sent his messenger and prophet(PBUH), He guranteed away for our mind and soul to recognize well every and each piece of knowledge and safety.

When Allah sent Muhammad (PBUH) to guide the world, He ensured that the message contained the principles which would open doors for intelligence people to understand what was and what would be.

*The prophet's relation with the message and the people whom he should deliver this message.

By the relation between the prophet (PBUH) and the message, the author means the prophet's role. Is he like a leader of a country or a tribe? Did he control it only according to his orders? Was his relation with the people who believed in the oneness of Allah and believed in him as the last prophet separated or it continued on the right path? Can he like any Pope give or grant forgiveness and mercy?

                                                                                          

The answer of all these questions is: No, of course not. That's because when Allah sent the prophet (PBUH) He only sent him to open the doors for the open-minded and intelligent people to understand what was and what would be. And that's why He sent the Quran to help him to guide people to goodness and inspire them with uprightness. The prophet (PBUH) is not a leader of a country or a tribe to connect people around him they go away and give up going on his message. He (PBUH) represented a stage in the evolution of mankind. Thus whether Muhammad (PBUH) remained or went away. This will not affect the real message. His prophecy's end is not to collect people around him and then they will either lose their conscious after his death, or lose their faith. So people who recognize the true faith in their lives, have definitely acknowledged Muhammad (PBUH), have taken shelter under his banner, even if they have never seen nor lived with their guide.

In the Name of Allah, The Most Merciful, The Most Gracious:

(O Mankind! Verily there has come to you a convincing proof [Prophet Muhammad] from your Rabb, we sent down to you a manifest light [This Quran]. So as for those who believed in Allah and held fast to Him, He will admit them to His Mercy and Grace [i.e. Paradise], and guide them to Himself by the Straight Path) (Quran 4:174-175)

(يا أيها الناس قد جاءكم برهان من ربكم و أنزلنا إليكم نورا مبينا. فأما الذين أمنوا بالله و اعتصموا به فسيدخلهم فى رحمة منه و فضل و يهديهم إليه صراطا مستقيما.)(النساء )

       

The author then gives a good example about the people who seek the proximity to the prophet's grave and want to spend their lives beside it. They make their relation with the prophet of Islam (PBUH) weaker than the web of a spider. What do they gain from being beside his grave? And also the meaning of the Quran verse:

(Say [o Muhammad to mankind]: If you really love Allah, then follow me; Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. Allah often is oft-Forgiving, All-Merciful) (Quran 3:31)

"قل إن كنتم تحبون الله فاتبعونى يحببكم الله و يغفر لكم ذنوبكم و الله غفور رحيم"(أل عمران)

Thus and from that we can conclude that the prophet's role is not a gateway to mercy and not to drag you to paradise with a rope, his task is only to implant insight into your heart and open your eyes on the right path and his means to do this is the book which is easy to remember and safe from deviation, Quran, that falsehood can never approach either from in front or behind.

So if the message of prophet Muhammad (PBUH) is an eternal, general and global message, the people who follow this message should know quite well the difference between someone who guides you and give you a chance to think end take decision and the one who force you or convince you that mercy in only in is hand and you cannot reach to your Rabb gate without his help. And there is also a great difference between the one who loves Allah and the Prophet by applying this love practically and tried to be like the prophet in our life and the one who only say the word of love without changing his love to a practical one.

*Arabs at the advent of Islam: They were weak in thought strong in desire.The news that spread among the followers of some previous religions that the time for the appearance of a prophet (PBUH). People were accustomed to receiving one prophet after another without too much time between each of them. After Jesus, however, the situation had changed. People were awaited for the coming prophet and many people prepared themselves to be in such great position, but they didn't recognize that this role isn't desired it is a task that prophets were chosen by Allah to carry this mission.

The author sticks in this part to the nation who deserves such a great honor, it is the nation that struggles for truth and doesn't allow it to be wronged. One of the characteristics is that, it is a nation with an ideology and methodology: its moral and material existence depends on the energy it expends for this purpose and the fruits it produces.

The author then tackles a very important point which is the prophet's natural body and materialistic needs as a human being, but Allah chose him without any disease or default. We all know that there are a lot of geniuses who suffer blindness or being deaf, but genius is not prophethood.Allah 's favour to anybody is that He should grant him freedom from all diseases so that all elements may be complete in order to fulfill their roles in life. Thus, Muhammed(PBUH) was a perfect human being and his life was in total accordance with Allah 's universal laws concerning outstanding heroes. Of course all prophets were given some miracles to help in people's believing, in Muhammed (PBUH) case may be we will notice some miracles but his major one is Quran. Muhammed and his companions learnt and taught fought and made peace, defeated and were defeated. No earthly laws was broken for their sake, they bore heavy losses in the path of their Lord and thus in the struggle for survival they had the priority of steadfastness and victory. This may be because Islam is the last message from Allah to believe in and He doesn't want people to depend on anything except their labor, mind, heart and faith.