Muhammad (pbuh) 570 CE—632CE, like his illustrious predecessors was focused all his life to expound the cause of monotheism, or the belief in One God. The unbelievers of Mecca were however disinclined to believe him, as was the case of the earlier Prophets of Arabia be it Abraham, Ishmael, Hud, Salih(peace be upon them all), who too advocated monotheism, and were rejected outright by the bulk of the populace constituting the infidels
The holy Prophet was not an unknown face to the residents of Mecca. He was known for his impeccable character, and was immaculate in dealing with others, so much so that the title of Al-Ameen, or one who is trustworthy was conferred upon him. There was no shred of evidence to suggest that he metamorphosed into a Prophet of God, gradually by adopting vile stratagem and chicanery, as witnessed in the modern era, where fake-god men can be bought by dime a dozen. Further his life also bore witness to the fact that he not only practiced all that he preached to others, but he rather practiced it before he preached it.
The Prophet was in fact reduced to a life of penury and privation after shouldering the responsibility of Prophet- hood, compelled to discard the life of ease and comfort which was a way of life for him before, as he was a prosperous trader before Prophet-hood, and was thus bountiful. Besides he bore the brunt of verbal taunts and even physical assault, which he did so with a great deal of patience and forbearance? Was Muhammad (pbuh) a self-seeker, one who had self-aggrandizement in his mind? This contention is again too hollow to be given due consideration, as the truth is that self-seekers are never advocates of popular causes; they are never the proponents of an idea that would frontally challenge the chauvinistic biases and prejudices of the people, let alone espouse an idea that negates the very foundation on which the tribal pre-eminence of the Meccan unbelievers rested.
Allah (swt)says in Surah Al-Mu’ Minun verse no 89—They will surely say(to Allah)’Whence are you then deluded?’
The essence of magic and sorcery is to show a thing to be different from what it really is. The magician, thus, creates a false impression in the minds of onlookers, making them believe things contrary to reason. The unbelieving Quraish were wont to accuse the Prophet (pbuh) of being a magician. The Qur’an turns the tables against the unbelievers for branding a person who guides them to the Truth to be a magician. Conversely, those who truly delude them into believing what is contrary to reason and logic, what is altogether opposed to their experience and observation, even opposed to their own statements concerning the truth, are accepted as guides without any qualms and hesitation. Such elements who are the devil personified are in fact the real magicians.
Allah the Most Exalted the Most High says in Surah A-Furqan chapter no 25 verse no1—‘Most blessed is He Who sent down this Criterion on His servant to be a warner to all mankind’. The words warner and the warning have a universal import. It is explicitly stated in clear terms that the Message of the Qur’an and the teachings of the Prophet are not meant for any particular country, or any specified period of time, the Message is for the whole of humanity and it transcends all time scale, it is meant for eternity. Allah (swt) says in Surah Saba 34;28—We have sent you forth as a mercy to all men in the world.Surah Al-anbiya 21;107 further substantiates—‘We have sent you forth as a mercy to all men in the world’
Some baseless allegations is levied against the holy Prophet by the contemporary orient lists that the core of his message is a derivative from Buhayra, the monk he interacted in his adolescent age. Some impute that the Prophet was influenced by Christian monks and Jewish Rabbis, during the trade journeys he undertook during his youth. But the Prophet was part of a caravan, and any surreptitious conversation with these breed, would not have remained a secret, and the cat would definitely have come out of the bag. This logic sustains also in the case of Buhayra, if it is erroneously believed that the monk was the source from which the Prophet acquired his knowledge.
The Makkan unbelievers were however fidgety, and lacked the moral strength to implicate the Prophet against such baseless allegations, rather such innuendos were imputed by the more daring and audacious people of a much later period. The orient lists were least concerned about the pre-Prophetic era, their ill-founded skepticism in fact blossomed after Muhammad (pbuh) attained Prophet-hood. They cooked up in their minds that as the Prophet (pbuh) were unlearned so he must have taken recourse to some old books, which had been translated and recited before him. They contended that it was the fragments of these texts which he had memorized at night and which he subsequently recited to the people during the day. It was in fact known from various traditions that certain individuals who were among the relatively more knowledgeable among the people of the book, and who were residents of Mecca was the epicenter from which the Prophet’s scriptural information were acquired. The notable among them were first Addas a freedman of Huwaytib ibn, second Abd al-Uzza Yassar a freedman of Ala-ibn al-Hadrami, and finally Jabr a freedman of Amir ibn Rabiah
The Prophet’s detractors had fabricated a yarn cooked up in their fantasies to accuse the Prophet of plagiarisation, which the Qur’an refutes as an impudent lie. The nobles of Mecca if they had smelt a rat, could have easily raided and literally ransacked the residences of the so-called translators/helpers of the Prophet and would have mercilessly exposed the holy Prophet’s deceit (God forbid) jeopardizing his mission once and for all. But they instead resorted to verbal jibes; because that was the best they could do under the prevailing circumstances.
Further the Qur’an is a masterpiece of literary eloquence of the highest order, unparalleled and inimitable, and the so-called helpers of the Prophet ought to be more inclined to take the credit of composition of such a master-piece themselves. Finally had these so-called helpers been hand in glove with passing information to the holy Prophet, than the steadfastness of such a shoddy relation would not have sustained till the end, and the beans would have been spilled , and the holy Prophet would have been exposed once again.
It must however be clearly borne in mind that Muhammad (pbuh) was raised as God’s Prophet for all mankind, and till the Day of Judgment
We have sent you forth as nothing but mercy to the people of the world (Al-Anbiya 21;107)
‘Most blessed is He Who sent down this criterion on His servant,to be a warner to all mankind(a-furqan 25;1)
Asif Ahmed ( Social Activist & authored the book Spiritual odyssey—recalcitrant Muslim)
Emil: ahmedashif8@rediffmail.com