Ramadan in UAE: Prophet’s teachings work as a candle for humanity

Dubai - Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) preached and practised nothing but Islam, a simple, natural, perfect and practical religion, all his life.

It is the duty of every Muslim to read the life and work of the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) with all seriousness for understanding the message of God — the Holy Quran — in practical terms. What the Prophet preached, he practised. A proper understanding of his life and work will provide the Ummah with all the strength needed to meet the challenges it faces today.

The birth of Allah’s last Apostle, a blessing for all mankind, the harbinger of hope for humanity and the heralder of revolutionary reform, was an occasion for thanksgiving for every human being. Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) preached and practised nothing but Islam, a simple, natural, perfect and practical religion, all his life.

His tradition, as well as the Holy Quran, should be an object of careful study and a source of inspiration for all Muslims. The most befitting homage to his memory is therefore to follow his example. As followers of the Mercy Unto the World, we have it as one of our first obligations to present an example of civilised humanity in every aspect of our life. The irony is that other nations have profited by the values underlying the Prophet’s percepts and attained a higher stage of individual and collective living, while we pay only lip-service to his teachings.

Worst still, even though we go on repeating that Islam is not merely a religion in the sense in which it is understood by most other people, but a complete code of life, we have virtually negated the concept by confining Islam to the pulpit of the mosque. The result is the imposition of an un-Islamic social superstructure on a people whose concepts of individual right and wrong are based on Islamic notions of ethics and morality.

It is time we bridged the distance between profession and practice.

The last sermon (khutba) of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) at the farewell Haj which gave the first clearly formulated charter of human rights, laid emphasis on the sanctity of life and property, on the sanctity of the pledged word, on abolition of usury, on renunciation of revenge and above all on the concept of equality. He thus knocked down the deeply-entrenched notions of tribal, racial and parochial prejudice.

His accent on moderation and the middle path is specially worth recalling as many of us are apt to be assailed by partisan or extremist sentiments. He cautioned the Muslims against exaggerated interpretation of religion so that no tyranny could be instituted by invoking religion. Those Muslims who fight among themselves in the name of religion and think they are serving the cause of Islam must pause and ponder today if they are not misled by momentary passion.

The life of the Prophet has been minutely recorded by his attentive Companions, so that the full significance of his example is there for all to know.

Remembrance of Muhammad’s (PBUH) character has a life-giving value to those who remember and those who listen; and the setting down of Muhammad’s (PBUH) qualities in books of biography and history, in speeches and sermons, has enabled countless people in countless generations to lead better lives.

Small wonder then, that the Word of God urges believers to follow the example of the Prophet. If the Muslims want to recapture their past glory and want to make their due contribution to the peace and happiness of mankind, the schism in Muslim social life must go. The Prophet demonstrated how a man can live a fuller life without becoming a recluse. If each and every action in one’s life is performed with a sense of accountability to the Lord on the Day of Judgment, the difference between the religious and the secular disappears and life becomes one harmonious whole.

For leading such a life, the holy Prophet’s teachings can serve as the candle that illumines humanity’s path till the last Day.

• Dubai