Category: Femi Abbas

In their deep-rooted research, scientists decided to coin a formula (H2O) and use it to analyze the natural contents of water. From such analysis, they identified the various types of water and their uses in an environment. They then concluded that water is actually the source of life for all living organisms. That is a way of agreeing with Qur’anic revelation about creation. Water is ubiquitous in the environment. It comes from both the sky and the earth.

According to Encyclopedia Encarta (1993-2008 edition), water is the major constituent of any living matter as it constitutes about 50 to 90 percent of the weight of living organisms. The basic material of living cells called protoplasm consists of a solution in water of fats, carbohydrates, proteins, salts, and similar chemicals.

Water acts as a solvent transporting, combining, and chemically breaking down those substances. Blood in animals and sap in plants consist largely of water as it aids transportation of food and removal of waste materials. It also plays a key role in the metabolic breakdown of such essential molecules as proteins and carbohydrates.

This process called hydrolysis goes on continually in living cells.

Composition

Because of its capacity to dissolve numerous substances in large amounts, pure water rarely occurs in nature. During condensation and precipitation, rain or snow absorbs from the atmosphere varying amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases as well as traces of organic and inorganic materials. In addition, precipitation carries radioactive fallout to the earth’s surface.

In its movement on and through the earth’s crust, water reacts with minerals in the soil and rocks. The principally dissolved constituents of surface and groundwater are sulfates, chlorides, and bicarbonates of sodium as well as potassium and the oxides of calcium and magnesium.

Surface waters may also contain domestic sewage and industrial wastes while ground waters from shallow wells may contain large quantities of nitrogen compounds and chlorides derived from human and animal wastes.

Waters from deep wells generally contain only minerals in solution.

Almost all supplies of natural drinking water contain fluorides in varying amounts. The proper proportion of fluorides in drinking water has been found to be a reducer of tooth decay and similar ailments.

Apart from concentrated amounts of sodium chloride, or salt, seawater contains many other soluble compounds, as the impure waters of rivers and streams are constantly feeding the oceans. At the same time, pure water is continually lost by the process of evaporation, and as a result the proportion of the impurities that give the oceans their saline character is increased.

Rainy season

Now, in Nigeria, like in many other non- Sahel Ian African countries, we are in another season of rains when, as usual, water is found everywhere but mostly unavailable for drinking. This is the season in which the sky opens up its generous bowl to pour down water in abundance. But the earth has only a small room to accommodate the gesture hence there is deluge everywhere.

This is a period when plants and animals feel that their needs for survival have been grossly exceeded. In this season, most countries are flooded with water and humanity becomes restive. Thus, this stands out as the season in which the bounties of Allah seem to be too much for the water need of man. In Europe, Asia, Africa, America and Australia, the story is one and the same. The world is grappling with a deluge.

Blaming nature

When this happens the tendency is for the scientists to lay blame at the door-step of what they call global warming. They thus give many reasons including the depletion of the Ozone Layer as the causes. But many centuries before those scientists began their research the unlettered Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had taught Muslims how to handle environmental dryness as well as deluge. One of the solutions he recommended is to thank Allah and request from Him a moderation of His divine largess. This is the time to realize that moderation rather than excess of anything is the best in man’s life. In Islam, there is no cause or effect of a matter that is not known or cannot be controlled by Allah. Whatever happens in the life of man is by Allah’s permission.

The world is like a queue. You enter it at a point and come out of it at another point. This is one major lesson which every Muslim has come to learn through the observance of daily prayers (Salat). In Salat alone where forming queues is essential, a lot of lessons are learnt by Muslims.

Ritual baths

One basic lesson to learn in Salat is hygiene. As a new convert to Islam, you have to undergo a ritual bath called Ghuslu-s-Shahadah or Ghuslu-d-dukhul fil Islam otherwise known as convert’s ritual bath which is performed with water. When you want to observe any Salat, be it obligatory or supererogatory, you must perform ablution with water.

This is called Wudu’. If there is no water, you resort to dry ablution called Tayammam. As a Muslim, after an intercourse with your spouse, you must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslul Janabah before you can observe any Salat.

When a Muslim woman completes her monthly menstrual period she must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslul Haydah before she can resume observance of Salat. A Muslim woman who has just completed her blood-dripping period following child delivery must perform a ritual bath called Ghuslu-n-Nifas before she can resume observance of Salat.

A newly born baby in Islam must be taken through a mandatory bath called Ghuslul Wiladah which is also done with water.

Muslim pilgrims must commence their Hajj or Umrah activities with a ritual bath called Ghuslul Hajj or Umrah at their respective Miqat before they enter the condition of Ihram. When a Muslim, male or female is dead, a ritual bath is performed on his or her body. This bath is called Ghuslul Janazah. Anybody who carries out a bath on a dead body must also undergo a ritual bath of purification called Ghuslu-t-Taharah mina-n-Najasah (bath for purifying self from filth).

This is because a dead body in Islam is like a filth which must be disposed of as quickly as possible before it starts to decompose and thereby constitute health hazard for the living. Whoever touches such filth has had a share of it and must therefore cleanse up before observing any Salat. Such a person cannot participate even in Salatul-Janazah on the body of the deceased person which he has just cleaned up until he, himself, has taken the purification bath.

Unique hygiene

Muslims are expected to clean up with water through ablution at least five times a day. And, as a prophetic tradition prescribes, they are also expected to perform ritual bath on Fridays in preparation for Salatul Jum’ah though such bath is Sunnah (optional) rather than Fard (obligation). Naturally, women, especially Muslim women, utilize water much more than men. They are the ones who take care of the children and, in the process, they clean up for those children many times a day. Besides, women are the ones who must clean up for menses every month. They are the ones who must clean up ritually after 40 days, following child delivery. They are the ones in charge of matrimonial kitchens where they use water days and nights. Thus, when the demography of women in any society is compared to that of men one can imagine the quantity of water consumed daily or weekly by women.

Given the fact that water plays a central role in the life of a Muslim therefore, two important conclusions can be reached. The first is the fact that Islam is absolutely a religion of purity. And that is why Prophet Muhammad was reported to have said that “Allah is pure and He will not accept anything impure.” The second is that Muslims are the greatest consumers of domestic water in the world. This is because, besides using water socially, commercially or domestically like other human beings, an average Muslim uses additional one third of total water used by non-Muslims on a daily basis.

Muslims’ attitude to dryness

It thus becomes understandable why Muslims feel more worried when there is dryness and water cannot be easily accessed. This is what led to the idea of a special prayer called ‘Salatul Istisqai (rain-seeking prayer). This prayer randomly observed by Muslims when shortage of water becomes acute cannot be observed without water ablution. It is a way of reconfirming to Allah that the main purpose of our existence on earth is to worship Him just as the purpose of keeping domestic animals is to serve man. Salatul Istisqai which is usually followed by heavy rainfalls is a major evidence of an existing covenant between Allah and His faithful servants. The wonderful effect of that Salat contradicts any scientific theory. Non-Muslim meteorologists have always wondered how possible it is for rain to fall at an impossible time, following a congregational prayer by some Muslim faithful in a dry locality or region. But to their amazement, they have regularly seen the potency of such prayer in bringing rain not only for Muslims but for all and sundry. The question is: ‘can any other religious group do same to the advantage of mankind? This one trillion Naira question is still begging for answer even almost one and a half millennia after the introduction of Salatul Istisqai as a bringer of rain.

Seeking rain water

That Salatul Istisqai (special prayer for rain) actually brings rain even in a severely dry season. It however remains a puzzle to unbelievers, especially in the West, who see everything, including God, as a product of science. Yours sincerely first took part in the observance of Salatul Istisqai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), as a student in that country, in 1976. The two rakat prayer had hardly been concluded when the sky opened its door and rain started falling in torrents. It rained for nine hours continuously in that desert country and flooded the entire Emirates like the historic deluge in Prophet Nuh’s (Noah’s) time.

It took more than a week before normal social and commercial activities could fully resume. I have also participated in the same exercise twice thereafter, once in Nigeria and once in Saudi Arabia.

Most of the time, the effect of Salatul Istisqai is immediate. But there are occasions when it may take as long as one week or more before the rain starts pouring. However, if, after some time, following the observance of Salatul Istisqai, rain does not come, Salatul Istisqai can be repeated. Allah has a design for everything.

He knows when rainfall will best serve the need of man. And in seeking such a favour, Muslims must not try to jump the queue.

Manner of observance

Any participant in Salatul Istisqai’ is expected to be in a sober mood and be absolutely confident that the prayer would be accepted by Allah. The essence of raising one’s hands to Allah in prayer is to further confirm that there is no intermediary between man and Allah in worship and in prayer. Allah Himself emphasizes this in the Qur’an by saying to Prophet Muhammad thus: “When my servants ask you about Me, tell them that I am very close to them. I accept the prayers of those who seek from Me but let such seekers expect the giving from Me alone; let them be confident in My ability to accept prayer so that they may be guided aright”. However, there is need to correct the wrong notion being spread around that dresses must be worn inside out by those who will partake in Salatul Istisqai. There is no such rule in Islamic jurisprudence.

The effect of Salatul Istisqai in bringing rains is just symbolic of all other prayers by Muslims. No genuine Muslim prayer is ever turned down by Allah. Acceptance of prayer may not be exactly in accordance with human expectation, it may not be as promptly as man wants it but eventually, a Muslim will realize that his/her prayer has been accepted by Allah without an intermediary.

The role of water in Hajj

Unknown to the non-Islamic world, performance of Hajj every year is a great blessing to humanity rather than just a mere act of worship by Muslims. Hajj is the biggest congregation of human beings on earth.

Allah loves and respects congregations of pious people who praise Him and pray to Him for the needs of the world. That congregation is essential for the continuity of human existence. There is no country in the world today without Muslim pilgrims joining their brethren from other parts of the world in requesting Allah to save the world from perishing. And each year, as such prayers are accepted, the world is confirmed saved despite the evil moves of Yajuj and Ma’juj (Gog and Magog) as well as their agents who are ignorantly pursuing their own destruction every minute. Thus, like Salatul Istisqai which brings water to everybody and not Muslims alone, Hajj is to the benefit of mankind and not Muslims alone. Thus, its preservation must be ensured by everybody in the interest of continued human existence.

Conclusion

Without water, it will be difficult to observe Salat or to fast in Ramadan or to give Zakah or to perform Hajj. Without water, it will be impossible to bear children and bring them up, or to keep farms and sustain them. Water is life. But this is not for Muslims alone. The difference is that Muslims use part of the water to show gratitude to Allah by worshipping Him. Others use it for mundane life alone which is sheer vanity.

Knowledge is like water which softens the earth for seeds to germinate and for plants to be nourished to fruition. Knowledge in Islam is much more important than worship. No one can validly worship Allah without knowledge. And if for this reason alone, it should behoove the entire Muslim Ummah of the world to join and cooperate in using water to worship Allah. That is the essence of knowledge. It cannot be trivialized.

Writing an article with a title like ‘Happy New Year’ every year, in a month other than January, may look strange and sound odd to most non-Muslim Nigerian readers.  In Nigeria, like in most other African countries, south of the Sahara, the idea of ‘New Year’ is ignorantly believed to be peculiar to ‘January’ which is the first month of Gregorian calendar. That is the effect of colonial scar on the supposedly smooth body of our continent.

From whichever angle it is viewed, European colonialism has a thick Christian coloration that still portrays African culture in a rainbow of colonial Christian religion and tradition. For instance, it is a well known fact that out of the 104 days of official religious holidays in Nigeria today, Islamic religion enjoys only five  days (two days for Eidul Fitr, two days for Eidul Adha and one day for Mawlidun-Nabiyy). Yet, the Nigerian Christians continue to incessantly allege islamization of the country especially whenever a Muslim becomes the President.

Even at the state level, the sour, monotonous song of ‘islamization’ gets loudest whenever a Muslim is elected as Governor. And the hatchet job is passionately but fanatically done by the Christian dominated media. Incidentally, this irredentism occurs mostly in the Southwest (the main hub of the Christian media), despite the large population of Muslims that put them in obvious majority in the country.

The Colonial Era

Throughout the 99 years of the British colonial era in Nigeria, the Southern Muslims were never granted any public holiday to celebrate their festivals. It took Nigeria’s first and only Prime Minister, Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa to address that malicious injustice by granting religious holidays officially to Islamic festivals nationally after independence in 1960. Hitherto, the only recognized festivals and granted public holidays by the British colonialists and their successors in the South were the Christian Easter and Christmas. Prior to 1992, Nigeria’s official working days from Monday to Saturday. It was General Yakubu Gowon, a Christian military Head of State who granted Saturday, with fiat, to the Seventh Day Adventists denomination of Christianity as a weekly public holiday at a time when the total population of that denomination in Nigeria was less than 700,000 in the then Nigerian population of 56 million people.

Following that unilateral action, Nigerian Muslims could have kicked against the dictatorial declaration or made a demand for same. But since public holiday did not necessarily constitute peace, the Muslims decided not to contest it just to give peace a chance. Yet, the Nigerian Christians of today still believe that changing that a declaration of one day public holiday in a year for Hijrah celebration is a religious aberration amounting to islamization of Nigeria. Isn’t that ridiculously laughable?

Islamic Calendar

Islam has its own calendar. And, like in other calendars of the world, there is a beginning and an end for every Islamic year. However, unlike those other calendars, the Islamic calendar, otherwise known as Hijrah calendar, is divinely ordained. This is confirmed in chapter 9, verse 36 of the Qur’an as follows: “Surely, the number of months ordained by Allah when He created the heavens and the earth is twelve. Therefore, do not wrong yourselves in them….”

The Months of Islamic Calendar

The months of Islamic calendar are 12 in number. They are as follows:

Muharram; Safar; Rabiul Awwal; Rabiu-th-Thani; Jumadal Ula; Jumada-th-Thaniyah; Rajab; Shaban; Ramadan; Shawwal; Dhul Qadah; and Dhul Hijjah.

Out of these 12 months, four are specifically designated as sacred. They are the last four months of the Islamic year: Ramadan, Shawwal, Dhul Qa’dah and Dhul Hijjah. Some of these months have 30 days. Others have 29 days. No more, no less.

The first day of this new Hijrah year of 1441 will be the coming Sunday, September 1, 2019. That day follows the last day of Dhul Hijjah which will end tomorrow, Saturday, August 31, 2019.  Dhul Hijjah is the last month of Hijrah calendar. It takes a well educated person to understand this fact and relate it to his/her life. It is such education that prompted the former Governor of the State of Osun, Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola to be the first Nigerian Governor to declare a public holiday for   new Islamic year in Osun State in 2013.

That historic declaration by Ogbeni Aregbesola was not only an exhibition of sound education and civility it was also a clear evidence of justice which had hitherto been denied to Nigerian Muslims despite their demographic majority in the country.

However, to demonstrate similar justice, either out of conviction or for political reason, some other Governors, including the former Governor of Oyo State, Alhaji Ishaq Abiola Ajimobi later joined the train of sanity along that line. And that has become an irreversible aspect of Nigerian history.

Genesis of Hijrah Calendar

Hijrah calendar took its name from Prophet Muhammad’s migration, otherwise known as Hijrah, from Makkah to Madinah in 622 CE.

The use of Hijrah calendar began when Umar Bn Khattab who was to become the second Caliph in Islam suggested the idea a distinctive calendar for Islam which should be named after the Prophet’s migration from Makkah to Madinah which was a watershed for the success and survival of Islam. Without that landmark event in Islam it would have been difficult for the sacred religion to survive in Makkah. As a matter of fact, Hijrah is one of the three main factors responsible for the survival of the religion of Islam. The second was the victory of the Muslims in the battle of Badr which was waged against them in Madinah, (about 500 kilometrs away from Makkah), by the pagans of Makah shortly after the Prophet’s migration to Madinah. And the third is Allah’s great promise that became an everlasting fulfilment. That promise is contained in Chapter 15 verse 9 of the Qur’an thus:

“It was ‘We’ (Allah) who revealed the Qur’an and it is ‘We’ who will ensure its preservation…”.

Comment

Now, after about 1500 years of  revelation of that divine religion that was ushered into the world by the sacred Book called the Qur’an, who can doubt the ability of the Almighty Allah to promise and fulfill?. But for these three fundamental factors, perhaps Islam or the Qur’an would have joined the legion of defunct religions in human history. It is only with Allah that all things are possible.

Significance of Hijrah Calendar

The first day of the Hijrah month (1st of Muharram) is one of the most significant days in Islam. Without ‘the great Message of Islam’ Prophet Muhammad (SAW) would have had no cause to migrate from Makkah to Madinah.

It was that Great Message which compelled him to migrate, an event which eventually made him the greatest man that ever lived.

Benefits of Hijrah Calendar

Basically Hijrah institutionalized three important aspects of Muslim lives. These are social, economic and political. When the first revelation was made to the Prophet (SAW), a period of twelve (12) years was devoted by him towards incubating the religion in the minds of individuals at a time when no pattern of  collective life based on true religious concepts could be presented to the world. As a result, the status of the Muslim individuals in Makkah at that time gave rise to the misconception that Islam, or rather, believing in the mission of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was one’s personal affair. This was believed to concern only to the hereafter which had nothing to do with people’s collective life.

Social Effect

It was only after the Prophet’s migration (Hijrah) that people began to see Islam clearly as a total way of life which paid attention to and reformed every facet of human existence. It then became evident that Islam was the religion that gave mankind directions regarding almost every moment of a believer’s conscious life. Hijrah also enabled the Arabs in particular to see what a Muslim’s matrimonial home should be in a Muslim society. Hence, it was only after the Prophet’s migration that the world could see the aspect of human social decency and decorum prescribed by Islam.

Economic Impact

The second reason for the importance of Hijrah is its economic significance which manifested in the lifestyle of the pioneer Muslims’ who were led by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) himself in migrating to Madinah. The unsurpassable hospitality of the people of Madinah towards the Muslim emigrants at that time did not only provide a new peaceful home for the immigrants, it also showed the hosts’ passionate self-sacrifice in philanthropic gesture. And with Hijrah, those immigrants vividly came in contact with advanced agricultural acumen and ingenuous artisanship which they never experienced in Makkah.

These resulted in an unprecedented economic revolution for the city of Madinah. Since the hosts shared virtually everything they had with the immigrants when the latter first arrived, a lesson was learnt by those immigrants not to continue to be a burden on their brotherly hosts.

Thus, every one of them adopted legitimate ways of earning righteous income as the city’s economy attained an unprecedented boom.

Moral Effect of Hijrah

Initially, the Muslim Immigrants in Madinah worked as labourers in the agricultural fields, and construction sites. But later, they, being traditional traders, started small trading activities which brought them into an economic competition with the Jews of Madinah. One aspect of the Islamic economic revolution was that the Muslim immigrants paid the right price for every product they consumed since the Prophet had forbidden the practice of acquiring products on reduced prices in return for loans given to the artisans or to the land cultivators as was the practice in Madinah before Hijrah. That practice was prohibited because it was considered to be a form of usury.

Thus, it was only after Hijrah that agriculture, industry and trade freely helped the Muslims to bring about an integrated, balanced but unfettered economy to the Ummah.

Judicial Effect

The third reason which made Hijrah a very important event is the enjoyment of political freedom by the Muslims. Before Hijrah, the Muslims in Makkah had no say in any matter, internal or external. They were a minority against whom the hearts of the majority were full of poisonous enmity simply because they were considered to constitute an insignificant fraction in a society overwhelmingly dominated by unbelievers.

It was Hijrah, therefore, that made the Muslims masters of their own internal affairs, external relations as well as other matters relating to war and peace. If there was any disagreement between the Muslims and the non-Muslims in Madinah at that time, the final decision was to be made by the Prophet who was an unbiased mediator. This indicated a kind of autonomy enjoyed by the Muslims for the first time in their Islamic religious lives. And thus, Madinah became the nucleus of a city-state which, within a period of ten years 622-632 CE, in the life time of the Prophet, expanded to the entire Arabian Peninsula. It is therefore evident that the event of Hijrah turned a few hundred Muslims resident in Madinah into a highly successful society in commerce and agriculture.

An Erroneous Act

If the Nigerian Muslim leaders of the colonial era were adequately informed at the time they were negotiating religious holidays for Nigerian Muslim Ummah they would have asked for Hijrah rather than Mawlidun-Nabiyyi holiday. After all, apart from coming into the world through birth like any other human being, the birth of Muhammad as an ordinary child did not add any value to his unprecedentedly divine mission called Islam. At least, it can still be remembered that he was not born a Muslim because there was no religion called Islam at his birth. And, the Prophet himself did not believe in the aristocracy of birth which celebration of birthday is all about. That was why he (the Prophet) never celebrated his own birthday as many Muslims do on his behalf today. What is more, the Prophet’s birthday is never celebrated in Saudi Arabia where he was born because he was not born as a Prophet. What is rather celebrated in Saudi Arabia is the first day of Hijrah calendar every year. Whereas Mawlidun-Nabiyyi is about the personal life of Prophet Muhammad alone, Hijrah is about Islam and the entire Muslim Ummah.

Observation

While celebrating Mawlidun-Nabiyyi, you can only praise the Prophet and nothing more. But when celebrating the Hijrah day, you are celebrating not only the Prophet’s migration but also the triumph of Islam as the everlasting password of the Universe. That is why we exchange pleasantries by congratulating one another and by chanting the slogan HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Who shares his life’s pure pleasure and works the honest road; who trades with heaping measure and lifts his brother’s load; who turns the wrong down bluntly and lends the right a hand; he dwells in God’s own country and tills the holy land.
— Louis F. Benson

No man in history has ever been as fitting to the above poetic description as Prophet Muhammad (SAW) the undisputable greatest man who ever lived. His legacy is the solid foundation upon which the contemporary civilisation is built. But despite the vivid visibility of that legacy it remains invisible to many eyes that are alien to Islam. Thus, the Prophet’s legacy is like the beaming sun which no blind can see and no seeing eyes can perceive in its natural nakedness. Yet, both the blind and the seeing feel the burning effect of the sun ‘Willy-nilly’ even as it photosynthesizes the plants around them.

Attention

This article is not meant to celebrate the birth of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) for which  a public holiday is annually declared in Nigeria.

As far as ‘The Message’ is concerned, what is to be celebrated about this great Prophet is by far beyond his birthday. His achievements clearly transcend his birth. Thus, there is no need wasting time on his birthday here.

From the creation of Adam, the first human being, till date, no man’s biography has been so much written and read as that of Muhammad (SAW) the son of Abdullah and Aminah. This man’s biography has been written from all perspectives, positive and negative, by various men and women of diverse races, tribes, ideologies and religions in the past 1444 years or there about. And the biography is still being written and re-written authoritatively and un-authoritatively, today, in uncountable languages.

Through the writings of the Prophet’s biography, some people have zoomed into un-dream-able fame. Others have sunk into the abyss of a permanent oblivion. But virtually all the writers have benefitted from their writings directly or indirectly in coins and in kind. No other Prophet’s biography has attracted as many writers from believers and non-believers, from friends and foes alike as that of Prophet Muhammad (SAW).

Every aspect of this Prophet’s life including the dresses he wore, the food he ate, the way he spoke, the wives he married, the children he bore, and the wars he fought, has formed the basis of his biography.

In short, next to the Qur’an, no book is as much read daily in the world today as the biography of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in one form or another. But there is a vital question: why is global focus so much on this unlettered Prophet from Arabia?

The answer to this question is not far-fetched. The world has not produced any other personality like him. And it will not. He is the seal of all Prophets and the epitome of human exemplariness. In him alone are found all the traits of what a perfect gentleman should be in all ramifications.

If Prophet Muhammad had not been an orphan, he would not have been able to guide humanity on how orphans should be treated especially with regards to inheritance. If he had not been a husband, his marital life would not have been an excellent example for others to emulate and women’s rights would have been permanently ignored. If he had not been a widower the world would not have realised the plight of widows and learnt how to provide for them. If he had not been a father, the proper care for children by parents would have been relegated to the background in Islamic doctrine. If he had not been trustworthy, the value of trust would have been totally lost on mankind.

His migration from Makkah to Madinah paved way for the culture of hospitality universally imbibed today and the wars he was forced to fight engendered the law of war, armistice and peace. Without the conquests he achieved, the word magnanimity would not have found a place in the dictionary of man and if he had not suffered defeat in war, the vanquished would not have learnt the act of gallantry. If the Prophet had not been a judge, the virtue of justice would have been globally thrown to the winds and survival in all societies would have been for the fittest.

If he had not being a democratic ruler, the relationship between the ruled and their rulers, all over the world, today, would not have been dissimilar from that of slaves and their masters and dictatorship in governance would have known no bounds. If Prophet had not been poor despite being a Head of State, the policy of social welfare adopted in civilised societies today in favour of the poor, would not have been possible. If he had not been an illiterate, the world would not have known the difference between literacy and education. And, if, despite all these qualities in him, he had not been humble and affable, arrogance would have been the main character of all privileged people in the world today.

Who else can be compared to this man in history? And, in which any other single person have all the aforementioned qualities ever been

found in history? There can be little wonder then why so much attention was and is still being focused on the personality of this extra-ordinary human being. That is Prophet Muhammad (SAW) for you, the like of whom the world has never seen and will never see again. If

this man is celebrated anywhere in the world, anytime, therefore, it is definitely not because he was born. His achievements transcend his birth.

But for him, the world would have remained in the dungeon of ignorance and primitivism and humanity would have remained at the level of crude beasts. It was he who brought back the manual of life to mankind after it had been lost in the search for sheer vanity. Manual of life is the divine instruction which came gradually from Allah to mankind according to the growth rate of human intellect. But such manual is not peculiar to man alone. All other organisms have their own instructions from Allah which in a way constitute their own manuals of life.

However, due to the intellectual superiority of man, the various divine instructions to other organisms were incorporated into man’s own manual of life. This is to enable man understand the complexity of his environment vis-a-vis the essence of his own existence and thereby act effectively as Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Although because of the differences in times and methods, Allah’s message is perceived differently, the fact remains that the message is only one coming from only one and same God. This message is the ‘RIGHT PATH’ to salvation which came to mankind after several millennia of wondering in the wilderness of ignorance and vainglory. And the man, Muhammad (SAW), through whom that message reached us is the ‘PATH FINDER’. There are many attestations to this. For instance, after many years of scientific experimentations, a German-born American physicist and Nobel Laureate, Albert Einstein, the inventor of atomic bomb who is generally known as the 20th century creator of special and general theory of relativity, compared his works with the contents of the Qur’an and concluded as follows: “Science without religion is lame and religion without science is blind”.

He then called on fellow scientists to endeavour to read the Qur’an without bias in order to know the true origin of science in human life.

And as if responding to Einstein’s call, Professor Tagatat Tajasen, Chairman of the Department of Anatomy at Chiang Mai University in Thailand accepted Islam on the strength of just one scientific sign accurately mentioned in the Qur’an. He had spent a great amount of his time, as a Professor, in search of pain receptor. When his attention was drawn to the Qur’an, he did not believe initially that such a highly sophisticated aspect of science could have been mentioned over 1,400 years ago. But when he confirmed it by himself in the translation of the Qur’an, he became so much impressed that he purposely attended the 8th Saudi Medical Conference held in Riyadh where he publicly embraced Islam.

Another leading scientist, Professor Marshall Johnson, the Head of the Department of Anatomy a Director of Daniel Institute at the Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, USA, was asked to comment on the verses of the Qur’an dealing with embryology. In response, he said it was probable that for Prophet Muhammad (SAW) to have given such vivid description of foetus, he must have had a powerful microscope. But when he was reminded that the Qur’an was revealed over 1400 years ago and that the invention of microscope took place only a couple of centuries ago Professor Johnson laughed and made the following remark: “I see nothing here in conflict with the concept that Divine intervention was involved when Muhammad recited the Qur’an….”.

Yet another Embryologist, Professor Keith Moore of the Department of Anatomy, University of Toronto, Canada, after carefully examining the translation of the Qur’anic verses presented to him admitted thus: “most of the information concerning embryology mentioned in the Qur’an is in perfect conformity with modern discoveries in the field of embryology and does not conflict with them in any way”.

Professor Moore had no prior knowledge of anything leechlike about embryo until he read chapter 96 of the Qur’an where Allah says “Read! In the name of your Lord Who created. He created man out of a leechlike clot…” He then went to verify this fact in an embryo under a powerful microscope and compared his observation with a diagram of a leech. He was astonished at the resemblance of the two. That prompted him to go fully into studying the Qur’an and Hadith to acquire more knowledge until he was able to answer about 80 hitherto unanswered questions in that field.

That prompted him to correct the contents of his book ‘The Developing Human’ which he published earlier and he re-published it in 1982. It was with that revised edition that he became the recipient of an award for the best medical book written by a single author in the 20th century. That book has been translated into many major languages of the world and is mostly used as textbook of embryology today in the first year of medical studies in various Universities in the world.

Yet, despite talking about all sciences, the Qur’an is not a book of Sciences but that of ‘Signs’. Those ‘Signs’ invite man to realise the purpose of his existence on earth and live in harmony with nature.

Judging the above verses of the Qur’an revealed over 1400 years ago with the wonderful reality of scientific civilisation of today what further proof does anybody need of the genuineness of the Qur’an? And who else can give better guidance than the Supreme Creator Himself? And who else can be better called the ‘PATH FINDER’ than Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who showed humanity the way to that all time guidance? Perhaps, this was why Michael Hart, a Jewish American Astrophysicist, named Prophet Muhammad the greatest man that ever lived in his famous book entitled ‘The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History’.

If all the descriptions given above about Prophet Muhammad (SAW) sound exaggerated because they are given by Femi Abbas, a Muslim and an ardent follower of that Prophet, and if Michael Hart is seen as crazy in his judgment let us read the views and impressions of some other non-Muslims about this great Prophet. One of them (Alphonse de Lamartine of France) had the following to say in his book ‘Histoire de la Torque’:

“Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been interposed between man and his Creator; to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing.

Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design no other instrument than himself, and no other, except a handful of men living in a corner of a desert….

If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled before their very eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls. On the basis of a book, every letter of which has become law, he created a spiritual nationality which blended together peoples of every tongue and of every race…..As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured we may well ask, is there any man in human history greater than Muhammad?”

On his own, Napoleon Bonaparte, the great 18th century French conqueror of Europe was so much amazed by the traits of Islam which he saw in Egypt during his military expeditions that he made the following historic statement about that divine religion and its great Prophet: “Muhammad, in reality, was a great leader of mankind. He preached UNITY among Arabs who were, till then, torn asunder due to internecine quarrels, sometimes resulting in bloody war fares. He brought them out of the obscure world in a short time and the discipline which they maintained under his leadership was simply marvellous, and so was their bravery, courage and devotion to the cause which they loved and cherished. This, coupled with the contempt for death, as taught by their leader, made them great soldiers and fighters like of whom history rarely produces. I simply marvel at the achievements of this great ‘Son of the Desert’ within a mere period of less than 15 years; a thing which Moses and Christ could not do in 15 centuries. I salute this great man; I salute his qualities of Head and Heart….”

And, in corroboration of the above statements, variously made by renowned men of letters and intellect, another foremost Orientalist, playwright and dramatist, George Bernard Shaw, had the following to say about Islam and Prophet Muhammad (SAW) in his book ‘The genuine Islam’ (vol. 1 No 8 of 1936):

“The Christians and their missionaries have presented a horrible picture of Islam. Not only that, they also carried out an organised and planned propaganda against the personality of Prophet Mohammad and the religion he preached. I have carefully studied Islam and the life of its Prophet. I have done so both as a student of history and as a critic. And I have come to the conclusion that Mohammad was indeed a great man and a deliverer and benefactor of mankind which was till then writhing under a most agonizing pain. I have always held Islam in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing face of existence which can make it appealing to every age. I have studied him-the wonderful man and in my opinion, far from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the saviour of humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.

I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today”.

For confirmation of Bernard Shaw’s remark quoted above, see ‘The Genuine Islam, vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.

These are just some of the facts that make an orphan and unlettered Prophet, Muhammad (SAW), the greatest human being that ever lived on earth. None of the attestations above made any reference to his birth or birthday because they knew that his birth had nothing to do with his achievements. If non-Muslims could go as far as shown above to benefit from the greatness of Prophet Muhammad’s mission on earth what is expected of Muslims for whom that mission is primarily meant?