Understanding the Prophet’s Life and Deeds - Lesson 09

Tidings of the Prophet’s coming in the Torah and the Bible,

His Nature and his Friends before the Revelation

By his Eminence Doctor Mohammad Rateb Al Nabulsi

Translated by: Hajj Mohammad

Tripoli, Lebanon

In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful.

All praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Prophet Mohammad the truthful in promise and the worthy of all trust.

O Allah, we have no knowledge but that which You have taught us, in truth it is You Who are perfect in knowledge and wisdom.

O Allah, teach us that which is good for us and make us find good in it, and increase us in knowledge. Let us see the truth as indeed the truth and help us follow its path, and let us see falsehood as indeed falsehood and help us to avoid it. Let us be of those who listen to advice and then observe the best of it, and admit us by your mercy in the ranks of your righteous servants; deliver us from the darkness of ignorance into the light of knowledge and science, and from the mire of lust into the Eden of good deeds.

Dear brothers, here we are with a new lesson in the series ‘Understanding the Prophet’s Life and Deeds’.

Dear brothers, the Prophet, peace be upon him, dealt very wisely with the the Black Stone placement issue. After that he was recognized among his people as the truthful and the trustworthy. What is notable is that when the Negus asked master Jaafar about Islam, the latter answered: ‘O king, we were people living in ignorance, we worshipped idols, we ate carrions, indulged in fornication, ignored the ties of kin, and were bad neighbors (here’s now the point) until Allah sent among us a man whom we knew to be trustworthy, truthful, virtuous, and of good lineage’.

 (Ahmad from Oum Salama)

This is as though truthfulness, trustworthiness and virtuousness were the pillars of moral values. When such a man tells you, he tells the truth, when he deals with you he is worthy of trust, and he is chaste when his desires are aroused, ‘a man whom we knew to be trustworthy, truthful, virtuous’. As for lineage, it is a crown for believers, but without faith it is worthless, and the proof is:

﴾ Perdition overtake both hands of Abu Lahab, and he will perish. His wealth and what he earns will not avail him ﴿

(Al Masad 1-2)

Dear brothers, one may ask why we surround the Prophet’s biography with so much care. The truth is, this concern is not for the Prophet’s person per se, although he is the best of creation, the Lord’s beloved, and the master of all of Adam’s children, but rather for his way of life. For his words alone are law, his deeds alone are law, and his assents alone are law, because Allah Almighty perfected him and preserved him from erring in all three. He is an ideal for mankind, and I say more, people were created to conform to Mohammad, peace be upon him. So studying the Prophet’s life is a study of the straight path that should be followed by all rational human beings. In these lessons we look for the perfect path to follow, where the Prophet, peace be upon him, is our model.

Honorable brothers, the Prophet’s biographers say that Allah Almighty watched over the Prophet, peace be upon him, and preserved him from the ignorance of the pre-Islamic era. I wonder, was this specific to the Prophet, peace be upon him? Listen carefully to what the Prophet, peace be upon him, says:

‘For each is eased towards the purpose of his creation’

(Muslim and Bukhari)

This means that everyone without exception is so created as to accomplish the purpose of his creation. And why was man created, or for what purpose? He was created to dwell in a paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, the proof:

﴾ Except those on whom thy Lord hath bestowed His Mercy: and for this did He create them﴿

(Surat Hud, 119)

So it is that every single one of us, man or woman, was created for paradise, to find happiness in this life and the next. And Allah Almighty, knowing best the true nature of men and their peculiarities, paves the way ahead of every individual in order to lead him to the aim of his creation: paradise. This may require that you be born to a specific father, a specific mother, in a specific era, in a specific place. It could require that you be a male, a female, that you have a specific countenance. Every single detail, starting with your gender, your parents, the time and place of your birth, your special name, your capacities, your inclinations, all this is of Allah’s design, to help you accomplish your life purpose. Allah Almighty surrounds us with divine providence, and draws to each one of us the way that suits him best and which will eventually lead him to paradise.

This is common truth:

‘For each is eased towards the purpose of his creation’

You are created for paradise, and what best gets you there, is what you are, there is no better way: so-and-so, of so-and-so father, of so-and-so mother, of specific traits, handsome or homely, smart or not so bright…all this serves the purpose you were created for: to enter paradise. The deeper your faith, the more you are satisfied with Allah Almighty.

﴾ Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him﴿

 (Surat Al Bayyinah,8)

A man circumambulating Allah’s Sacred House was saying: ‘O Allah, are You satisfied with me?’ Behind him, Imam Shafi’i said: ‘O you saying that, are you satisfied with Allah so He be satisfied with you?’  The man said: ‘Allah be glorified, who might you be?’ He said: ‘I am Mohammad Ibn Idriss’. The man said: ‘How am I to be satisfied with Allah when it is His satisfaction I seek?’ Imam Shafi’i said: ‘When you are content in afflictions as you would be in blessings, then you will be satisfied with Allah’.

The sign of faith is to be satisfied with Allah in hardships, in adversity and misfortune, in poverty, in illness… This is why we said that Allah in His Glory guards the Prophet, peace be upon him, protects him, and preserves him from the ignorance of pre-Islam. And every one of us is the subject of this Divine Providence; I can even say that man is the object of the intensive care of the bountiful Lord who looks after him in His perfect way. The tough part is that you be satisfied with Him in misfortune as you are when fortune smiles.

The true nature of a man shows thru his doings, when he studies, when he works, when he trades, travels, when he marries. He studies for exams or he cheats, he is an honest merchant or a dishonest liar…It is reported in a number of traditions that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

‘The most honest earning is that of the merchants who speak the truth when they say, who do not betray when they are entrusted, who keep the promises they make, who do not vilify when they buy, or laud when they sell, who when they owe do not stall, and when one owes them do not oppress’.

 (Narrated by Al Hakim from Muaz)

A man is tried in everything he does.

﴾ We are ever putting (mankind) to the test﴿

( Surat Al Mou’menoun, 30)

The Prophet, peace be upon him, was once a trader, and it is told that his partner before the advent of Islam was Al Saib Ibn Abi Al Saib, and that on the Day of Victory, when Mecca was captured, Al Saib came to him and said: ‘Welcome my brother and partner who never privileged or wrangled’

(Reported by Ahmad and Tabarani from Abi Saib)

Meaning that he never argued or took positions, describing his partner the Prophet, peace be upon him. This is what I mean when I tell you that the Prophet, peace be upon him, is an ideal to us. He had a trade and a partner, he was a managing partner in Khadijah’s investments, he herded sheep, he tasted the sweetness and the bitterness of life, victory and defeat, wealth and poverty, health and sickness, the loss of a son, the divorce of his daughters, all that befalls man in life; in all those situations he set the perfect example.

Dear brothers, listen carefully to this rule: Bravery is not overcoming a problem, a misfortune, an affliction or trial, it is to have a perfect stance in all these situations. A man may be tried with a bad wife. Bravery is not to have a good wife, but to have the perfect attitude towards a bad wife, to bear and endure, and Allah Almighty will elevate him. It is told that a man had a very bad wife, and people urged him to repudiate her. He said: ‘By Allah I will not, it would be cheating other Moslems’.

A man may be tried with a difficult son, a neighbor, a friend, he may be tried with poverty, illness … The bravery is to face all with the perfect attitude. 

 The Prophets disposition, peace be upon him, was agreeable, and his traits noble, he had flawless reasoning and a sound judgment, he was truthful and trustworthy, his perfections reached the utmost, and Allah praised him saying:

﴾ And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature.﴿

(Surat Al Qalam, 4)

You can find men of a good nature; but to be anchored in this nature is rare. A man is provoked and a conflict ensues. The man may avenge himself or not. If at the end he musters enough self control, we say he is good natured. But if he is anchored in goodness, he does not have conflicts, his attitude is naturally perfect, he is at the peak of perfection. Allah Almighty says:

 ﴾ And lo! thou art of a tremendous nature.﴿

Dear brothers, we said that the Prophet, peace be upon him, was once a trader and that he had a partner, Al Saib Ibn Al Saib and that he never priviledged anyone or had a dispute with anyone in his trade. It is important here to explainb the difference between these two words: privileging and compromising.

What is compromising? Compromising is to forfeit the Hereafter for this here world.

﴾ Who would have had thee compromise, that they may compromise.﴿

(Surat Al Qalam, 9)

It is to sacrifice you duties, your pious deeds, the truth in a critical situation … When you forfeit your religion for this worldly existence, it is compromising. The opposite is privileging. In this sense, the believer privileges but does not compromise, and the hypocrite compromises and does not privilege. The believer may forgo some of his rights to humor his opponent, to pacify his neighbor; he gives up worldly matters for the sake of appeasement, conciliation and unity. As for the hypocrite, he sacrifices his religion for this world.

What is notable, is that Allah Almighty preserved the Prophet, peace be upon him, from disbelief before the Revelation, and protected him from his people’s pagan idolatry. He never worshipped idols, nor did he make them offerings. He never ate from what was immolated on altars, and he held fast to Abraham’s tradition.

In the previous lesson I explained that the tradition of Abraham existed before our Prophet’s Mission. The law of Abraham was still present based on Abraham’s traditions in pilgrimage, marriage, dealings … and our Prophet held on to that in his worship, his food, the pilgrimage rituals, his marriage and his trading.   

The Prophet, peace be upon him, used to circumambulate the Holy Kaabah. One time he was accompanied by Zaid Ibn Haritha his servant (mawla) who touched one of the idols, the Prophet, peace be upon him, forbade it. Zaid, may Allah be pleased with him, swears that the Prophet, peace be upon him, never touched an idol till Allah Almighty honored him with the Revelation.

Circumambulating nude was common practice before the Revelation, and the Prophet, peace be upon him, was protected from that, clinging to the traditions of Abraham, father of the prophets.

Once he hired a worker. One day this worker took his clothes off to bathe in front of everyone, so the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:

 ‘I see that you are not embarrassed with your Lord, take your pay, we have no need for you’.

(Narrated by Abd Al Razzak from Ibn Juraij)

 So before the Mission, and before the Revelation the Prophet, peace be upon him, was the pinnacle of decency, bashfulness and piety.

He participated with his uncle Al Abbas in moving stones when the Kaaba was rebuilt, as we saw in the previous lesson. His uncle suggested he lift his loincloth and lay it on his neck to protect it from the friction of the stones, so long as he is out of people’s sight. When he did, he fell unconscious, and then when he came to, he asked that his loincloth be tightened. He was more bashful than a virgin in her private chamber.

One of Doomsday’s signs– listen carefully brothers and sisters – is when you see modesty removed from women’s looks, the sense of honor from men’s heads, when princes become cruel of heart.

And the Prophet, peace be upon him, says:

‘The cuckold will not enter Paradise’

Somebody asked: ‘Who is the cuckold?’ He said:

‘It is the one who shows no jealousy for his honor or who approves fornication in his household’.

The Prophet, peace be upon him, was known to be truthful, trustworthy, to maintain the relations of kin, to help the weak, to give freely, thus Quraish called him the Trustworthy.

Listen carefully how lady Khadija described him.

People, by the way, have three sides .The first is apparent to all: he is the son of so-and-so, he is tall, strong, educated, a doctor, an engineer, a merchant, a farmer ... The second is only known to his close relations and intimate companions, like his partner, his wife, those who accompany him day and night. The third side only Allah knows, and this is the problematic side; we judge by what is apparent and Allah will be the judge of the inner self. 

Lady Khadija was the Prophet’s wife and the closest person to him. When the revelations began, the Prophet, peace be upon him, confided his fears to her, she said: ‘By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you’.

Listen and rest assured that Allah will never disgrace any of us with these qualities. She said: ‘By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep your ties of kin, you speak in truth, you help the weary, provide for the destitute, you honor your guests, ,and you assist those afflicted by calamities’.

If you are righteous, fair, benevolent, generous, truthful … by Allah, Allah will never disgrace you.

Dear brothers, again, the importance of the Prophet’s biography is not in the events themselves, what occurred or what might never occur again, it is the principles, the rules, the connections, the laws therein.

Who were the friends of the Prophet, peace be upon him, before the Mission?

It is said that a man is known by the company he keeps. People always befriend similar people. The perfect is drawn to the perfect, the truthful is drawn to the truthful, the trustworthy is drawn to the trustworthy, and the chaste to the chaste.

If a person has a thousand trait and another person a thousand trait, the more traits they have in common, the greater the fondness and intimacy. You may spend hours with a fellow believer and not be weary, because you share many common qualities.

Dear brothers, some of the friends of the Prophet, peace be upon him, before the Revelation were Abu Bakr Al Siddiq, Othman Ibn Affan and Talhat Ibn Al Zubair.

I say, only take a believer for friend, share your food only with the pious, only befriend those whose conduct inspires you to seek Allah, and whose words guide you to Allah. Take great care choosing your friends for they affirm you on the path of faith. On Doomsday it is said:

﴾ Oh! would that I had taken a (straight) path with the Messenger!  Ah! woe is me! Would that I had never taken such a one for a friend!.﴿

(Surat Al Furqan, 27-28)

This is why it is most important to have a brother in Allah, for he counsels you and you counsel him, he guides you and you guide him, he assists you and you assist him.

So it is that those three men were noble of character, far from vice, sound of judgment, well versed in genealogy. They were also hospitable and generous. These qualities drew them closer to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and they became his friends before the Mission.

I tell you from the bottom of my heart: take care who you choose for a friend. Take a friend you can learn from, who brings you closer to Allah.   

To the fathers and mothers I say, keep an eye on your children’s friends. Psychological studies have shown that a child or young man is influenced by his teachers, mother, father, guide, etc. all together at the rate of 40 %, and 60 % by his friends. Good fathers and mothers will scrutinize their children’s friends, because on those friends depends the course of the children’s life: to perdition, or to success.

Dear brothers, the tidings of the Prophet’s coming in the Bible, the Samaritan Bible and the Gospel of Barnabas, are clear. In these two sacred books, there are explicit texts announcing the coming of the Prophet Mohammad, peace be upon him. In the Gospel of Barnabas, there is clear mention of the Mission of Mohammad, peace be upon him. For example, in chapter 41, speaking of the fall of Adam and Eve from paradise, there’s the following text:

‘God hid Himself, and the angel Michael drove them forth from paradise. Then, Adam, turning around, saw written above the gate: There is only one God, and Muhammad is Messenger of God’.

This is in the Gospel of Barnabas. And the recently discovered Dead Sea scrolls confirm these texts.

When the Messiah, peace be upon him, spoke to his disciples of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and announced his coming to the world, they asked him: ‘O master who might this man be who will come to this world? He answered with joyful countenance: ‘It is Mohammad, the Prophet of Allah’.

The Gospel of Barnabas is full of tidings like these.

In the second chapter of the Gospel of Luke we find: ‘Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, and to men Ahmad (Translator’s note: from the root ‘Hamada’, to praise, root common to Semitic languages, which is also one of the Prophet’s names; here in Syriac, the language of the shepherds mentioned in the verse)’.

In the sixteenth chapter of the Gospel of Luke, the Messiah says: ‘…for if I do not go away, the Paraclete will not come to you’. Paraclete is a Syriac word derived from Paran, meaning Mecca, mount Paran being Mount Hira’, and clete means the devout, the adorer, and it can mean the praiser or the much praised (Ahmad).

As for the Holy Quran, the reference is clear:

﴾ And remember, Jesus, the son of Mary, said: “O Children of Israel! I am the messenger of Allah (sent) to you, confirming the Law (which came) before me, and giving Glad Tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad.” But when he came to them with Clear Signs, they said, “this is evident sorcery”﴿

(Al Saf, 6)

Before going on, I will stop at this Ayah:

﴾Those whom We have given the Book recognize him as they recognize their sons, and a party of them most surely conceal the truth while they know (it)﴿

(Surat Al Baqara, 146)

I ask you, is there knowledge deeper, stronger, more genuine and natural than a father’s knowledge of his son? Is there a father on the face of the earth who asks his son who he is?

 ﴾ … recognize him as they recognize their sons﴿

As for the distinctive qualities of the Prophet, peace be upon him, they are clearly mentioned in both the Bible and the Gospels, as Allah tells us in the Holy Quran:

﴾ Those who follow the messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they will find described in the Torah and the Gospel (which are) with them. He will enjoin on them that which is right and forbid them that which is wrong. He will make lawful for them all good things …﴿,

meaning the Prophet, peace be upon him,

﴾ … and prohibit for them only the foul; and he will relieve them of their burden and the fetters that they used to wear. Then those who believe in him, and honour him, and help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him: they are the successful ﴿

(Surat Al Aaraf, 157)

The texts in the Bible and the Gospels, and the two explicit Ayahs of the Holy Quran confirm the attributes of the Prophet, peace be upon him, and that this knowledge was available to the people of the scriptures, as Allah says:

﴾ And when there cometh unto them a scripture from Allah, confirming that in their possession - though before that they were asking for a signal triumph over those who disbelieved - and when there cometh unto them that which they know (to be the truth) they disbelieve therein. The curse of Allah is on disbelievers﴿

(Surat Al Baqara, 89)

Dear brothers, there is a subtle meaning in the words of this Ansari man, reported by Ibn Ishaq:

 “What drew us to Islam, after Allah’s mercy and guidance, is something we used to hear from the jews. We were pagans and they had the Scriptures, they had knowledge that we did not have, and there was animosity between us. When we would have the upper hand, they would say: ‘The time is near where a Prophet will be sent, and with him we shall slay you like A’ad and Iram were slain’ ”.

There is no doubt that the Jews of Medina knew that the appearance of the Prophet, peace be upon him, drew near, but they imagined that he would be one of their own people, and they so maintained, menacing the Arabs. Allah Exalted and Almighty has shown that they knew him by his attributes, only to deny his Prophethood and refuse it when it was clear that he was from the Arabs. Allah Almighty says:

﴾ And when there cometh unto them a scripture from Allah, confirming that in their possession - though before that they were asking for a signal triumph over those who disbelieved - and when there cometh unto them that which they know (to be the truth) they disbelieve therein. The curse of Allah is on disbelievers﴿

(Surat Al Baqara, 89)

When he received the message of the Prophet, peace be upon him, Heraclius the roman king said: ‘I knew he would appear, but I did not think he would be one of you’, meaning I knew of his coming but I did know he will be one of you Arabs.

Dear brothers, in this lesson we talked about the news of the Prophet’s coming in the Bible and  in the Gospels, and we mentioned some of his traits, and who his friends were before the Mission, until another lesson.

And all the praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.