MUHAMMAD RAHMAT-UL LIL-ALAMEEN

"And we have sent you as a Mercy to the universe." (21:107)

Rahmatul-lil-Aalameen (Mercy) is used in this verse only in relation to Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam), the last of the Prophets. It is Allah who has given him this title and it is inscribed in a book, Al-Qur'an, the veracity of which is attested by the One who revealed it Himself.

"Without doubt only We have revealed the Reminder (Al-Qur'an) and we shall certainly be its protectors." (15:9)

Allah has willed that this proclamation be spread to the four corners of the world and that it is known to all ages.

The word 'Rahmat' (Mercy) is a commonly used word and is on the lips of almost all Muslims. The pronunciation of this word makes the soul peaceful and gives a certain comfort to our being.

The degree and quality of Rahmat (Mercy) is variable or even unlimited. A person who quenches the thirst of a traveller in the grip of burning heat, a mother who manifests her affection for her children according to necessity, a father who raises and educates his children, a person who feeds a poor person, etc. are manifestations of Rahmat. The degree of Rahmat is graded in accordance to the greatness and quality of the work accomplished. To better understand this difference, let's analyse these two examples. Imagine a child is suffering excruciating pains due to a very serious illness and is turning and tossing in bed in the throes of death. Imagine the mother at her bedside crying hot tears and the father who is showing a painful expression on his face and suddenly in the midst of this terror, a voice is heard.

"I'm going to save your child."

He makes the child swallow a few drops of a potion and then, as a miracle, the child recovers from his strength. The family, amazed, express their joy by exclaiming: "This doctor is a Farishta of Rahmat whom Allah sent to save our son". The second example is that of a handsome young man who is the hope and the joy of his family. He is the only one responsible for providing for his parents. One day he was in their company at the beach. While taking a bath, he suddenly lost his balance and struggled in vain to escape an inescapable drowning. He was saved by a miracle by a swimmer. Imagine the gratitude of this family to this saviour whom they will certainly describe as a Farishta swimmer whom Allah has sent. The degree of Rahmat of the two cases is different because the first is a small child on whom no one depends while the second is a man on whom his parents depend fully.

Compared to the works of all men, those of Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) are the greatest and the degree of his mercy (Rahmat) is unequalled and priceless, his Rahmat (blessing) is not limited to a family, to a community but extends to the whole of humanity. He surpasses all men as an individual.

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) saved, not temporarily but eternally, by his Rahmat, this world which was on the brink of a fetid abyss and which was in the grip of destruction.

"And you were on the edge of an abyss of fire and He rescued you from it. In this way, does Allah Ta'ala explain His Aayaat to you so that you may be guided.." (3:103)

To better understand the degree of the Blessing (Rahmat) of Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam), one must first know the danger that laid in wait for Arabia before his arrival.

In pre-Islamic Arabia, long before his birth, the pagan Arabs lived in discord and ignorance. They were torn apart by tribal wars and lived under the rule of the powerful. Immorality reigned everywhere, alcoholic beverages, gambling, the practice of burying young girls alive were dominant among them. In addition, they worshipped idols of strange shapes and other images engraved in the form of man or other creatures. They implored statues called Al Lat, Al-Ouzza, Hubal; believing that they have the capacity to give everything; child, cure, wealth, etc.

However, the Prophet Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) broke the chains of this absurd ignorance (Jaahiliyyah), and he endowed the whole world with a beneficial message.

"We have sent you to the whole of mankind only as a carrier of good news and a warner. However, most people do not know." (34:28)

UNITY ACCORDING TO HADHRAT MUHAMMAD (SALLALLAAHU A'LAIHI WASALLAM)

He considered men as one body, one family, without distinction or discrimination on the basis of skin colour, race and nationality. For him, the supremacy of man is found only in Taqwa (Fear of Allah).

"Arabs are not superior to non-Arabs and non-Arabs are not superior to Arabs. There is no superiority of the white over the black or of the black over the White. Superiority is found in piety."

Thus, he broke, all man-made artificial barriers.

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) also considered all the stages of man's life. He governed human life from cradle to death.

MUHAMMAD (SALLALLAAHU A'LAIHI WASALLAM) AND THE RIGHTS OF CHILDREN

With loving nature, Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) was constantly concerned with the relationship between children and their parents. He insisted that parents educate, nurture, and instil respect and good manners in their children.

"The father's greatest duty towards his children is to teach them respect above all else." (Tirmizi)

To show the degree of this great responsibility, he said on this subject:

"Every man is a shepherd for his family and he will be questioned about every member of his family." (Bukhari)

The Messenger of Allah, Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) had such a great love for children that during Namaz, if he heard a child crying, he would speed up the prayer to allow the mother to go and console him, because he knew how much a mother suffers when she hears her child crying.

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) pampered his daughters and those of his companions. Hadhrat Abu Qatada (Radiyallahu anhu) said: "We saw the Prophet go out with 'Umaamah, the daughter of Al-As' father, on his shoulder and during the prayer, he placed her down in Ruku and took her back on his shoulders, when he got up."

MUHAMMAD (SALLALLAAHU A'LAIHI WASALLAM) AND THE YOUTH

Hadhrat Muhammad, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) paid attention to the youth. He exhorts them to live a pious life and to stay away from evil forces that can deviate them from the right path at any time.

Hadhrat Abu Hurairah (Radiyallahu anhu) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) said: "On the Day of Judgment, Allah will grant shadow to seven of you who were in the following paths. And one of its seven is:

'The youth who have been brought up in the worship of Allah.'" (Bukhari)

To protect these young people against the forces of evil that lie in wait for them, he urges them to have recourse to marriage, which remains the most powerful shield against satanic temptations.

"When a man marries, half of his religion is safeguarded. To preserve the other half, you just have to ask for piety from Allah." (Baihaqi)

He said again: "O young men! Whoever among you can afford it, let him marry without delay, for it will help him to safeguard his chastity; those who do not have the means to do, let them fast, for fasting is a shield against evil and it diminishes the sexual impulse." (Bukhari and Muslim)

THE RIGHTS OF PARENTS 

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) has especially recommended treating one's parents with love and tenderness, especially when they are old.

"And Your Rabb has commanded that you worship only Him and that you treat your parents kindly. If any one of the two or both of them reaches old age with you, then do not even tell them "Oof" and do not rebuke them. Speak gently to them." (17:23)

He also showed that 'Allah's pleasure is in the father's pleasure and Allah's displeasure is in the father's displeasure, and paradise is at the mother's feet.'

MUHAMMAD (SALLALLAAHU A'LAIHI WASALLAM) AND THE RIGHTS OF THE ELDERLY

Hadhrat Muhammad, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) treated the elderly with great respect and tenderness. The elderly, according to him, must be respected, cared for and pampered by their families. They must not be rejected or sent to the old people's asylums for the rest of their lives.

"Whoever does not respect the elderly and has no pity for the young is not part of me." (Mishkaat)

RIGTHS OF WOMEN

In a country where women had no human value, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) gave her a high status and gave her important rights in society. He instituted laws to protect the wife from the violence of her husband and the tyranny of her step-parents and her family in order to preserve her dignity and her place in the family.

"The most perfect of Muslims is the one who behaves best towards his wife."

He granted women a right to inheritance and considered them equal before the law. Before Islam, women had no right to inherit from men.

"For men is a share of what (their) parents and relatives leave behind, and for women is a share of what (their) parents and relatives leave behind; whether it is a little or a lot. This share is fixed." (4:7)

The pagan Arabs buried their daughters alive when they were born. The Qur'an denounces this bad practice and puts a stop to this cruel and barbaric act. 

"And when any of them is given the good news of a daughter, his face darkens and he suppresses his fury. He hides from the people because of the terrible news that he received. Must he keep her with disgrace or bury her in the sand? Evil indeed is the decision that they make!" (16:58-59)

And the Prophet of Allah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) does not fail to highlight the value of the female. He said about them:

"If a person has only daughters, and he has taken care of them with joy and great gratitude, these (daughters) will be a defence for him against hell." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Or again: "A person has two daughters whom he has taken upon himself to raise until they are teenagers", the Prophet (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) said: "I will be with this person on the Day of Judgment just as the index and middle fingers are together." (Muslim)

MUHAMMAD (SALLALLAAHU A'LAIHI WASALLAM) AND THE ORPHANS

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) has given orphans, widows and the poor a privileged position in society and demands special attention for them because they are deprived of that inestimable support which is the affection of their parents.

"Whoever cares for orphans will be with me in heaven like the index finger next to the middle finger." (Bukhari)

He said:

"When a person passes his hand on the head of an orphan, Allah grants him Thawaab for every strand of the orphan's hair." (Musnad Ahmad)

He also said that the person who works for the widow is like one who prays all night and fasts during the day.

MUHAMMAD (SALLALLAAHU A'LAIHI WASALLAM) AND THE RIGHTS OF NEIGHBOURS

Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) advised good relations with others and the neighbours to such an extent that they have nothing to reproach. 

Hadhrat Anas (Radiyallahu anhu) reports that the Prophet (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) said: "He will not enter Paradise who by his evil deeds does not inspire security to his neighbours." (Muslim)

"He is not of me who eats to his fill while his neighbour is hungry." (Baihaqi)

MUHAMMAD (SALLALLAAHU A'LAIHI WASALLAM) AND THE ANIMALS

His concern for justice, charity and benevolence is not limited to humans but extends to animals also. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) cursed those who target a living animal and according to Hadhrat Abu Hurayrah (Radiyallahu anhu) Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) said: "A man who was walking was overcome by thirst. He went down into a well and drank. As he came out, he saw a dog panting sucking the soil - so thirsty was it, the man said to himself, 'Here is one who is tried as I have been myself.' So he filled his boot, seized it (between his teeth) in his mouth, went up (and came out of the well), and gave water to the dog. Allah praised him for his deed and forgave him his sins."

Then it was said [to the Most Holy Messenger (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam)]: O Messenger of Allah, will we get a heavenly reward for the animals? For (the good done to) any "moist heart" (living being), there will be a reward. (Bukhari) In another narration, the Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) said:

"A woman had tortured a cat: she had locked it up, so that it died of hunger. For this, she went to Hell unless I am mistaken. (Allah Ta'ala, or: The Guardian of Hell) said to her: 'You did not let it go free so that it could feed on small insects.'" (Bukhari)

The sanctions taken on various occasions against rebels, criminals, etc. by the Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) always remained a blessing for all mankind.

Just like a surgeon who removes the diseased part of the body to prevent certain gangrene, Rasulullah (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) considered society as a body and to prevent this society from degrading and disintegrating, he has ordered that severe but necessary sanctions to be taken for the good of this society.

Hadhrat Muhammad (Sallallaahu A'laihi Wasallam) remains the greatest man the earth has ever known.

[English version of "Mouhammad Rahmatul-lil-Aalameen" – Al Haadi – Vol. 1 No. 2]