For muslim readers.....
Praise be to Allah, Lord of All the Worlds. And may peace and
blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon his family and Companions.
The first pillar of Islam is our testimony that there is no God
but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. The first half of this
testimony is our declaration of monotheism. The second half is our declaration
that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him). We
can only fully realize the meaning of the second half of the testimony in our
hearts by cultivating the following:
- Belief in everything the Prophet (peace be
upon him) has told us. We must believe, first and foremost, that Muhammad
(peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah sent to all humanity to
convey to them what Allah revealed to him of the Qur’ân and Sunnah. This
is the religion of Islam, and Allah will accept from his servants no other
religion.
- Obedience to his commands with full
acceptance and submission. We must adhere to his Sunnah and emulate his
most excellent example and eschew everything to the contrary.
- Love for the Prophet (peace be upon him). We
must love our Prophet (peace be upon him) more than we love anyone else,
even our own parents and children. In this way, we will show him the
respect and deference that he deserves and we will be inspired to do what
we must to support and defend him.
It is incumbent upon every one of us as Muslims to fully realize
in our lives the meaning of our testimony “Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah”.
We must truly inculcate this faith in our hearts. The hypocrites had said to
the Prophet (peace be upon him): “We bear witness that indeed you are
the Messenger of Allah.” In turn, Allah said: “Allah knows that you are indeed His Messenger, and Allah bears
witness that the hypocrites are liars.” (Surah, 63: 1)
There are a number of things that we can do to put our love for
the Prophet (peace be upon him) into action and carry out our duty to him. We
must confront the vicious attacks being waged against him and ransom him with
our lives, our loved ones, and our wealth to the extent of our varying
abilities. We must all carry out our responsibilities on whatever level we are
able.
THINGS WE CAN DO AS INDIVIDUALS
1. We can contemplate the evidence which decisively demonstrates
that Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah. The first source
for this evidence is none other than the Qur’ân.
2. We can learn the evidence from the Qur’ân, the Sunnah, and the
consensus of the Muslims that it is obligatory to obey the Prophet (peace be
upon him) and emulate his most excellent example.
3. We can acquaint ourselves with how Allah has protected the
Prophet’s Sunnah. We should learn about the considerable efforts that were made
by the scholars throughout the centuries to separate the genuine Sunnah from
what was false and how they compiled the authentic Sunnah according to the most
stringent conditions. No other civilization of the past had ever developed a
more arduous and learned set of principles for authenticating historical
evidence.
4. We can cultivate in our hearts our love for the Prophet (peace
be upon him) by recalling his noble attributes. We can read about his good
character and his noble deeds. We can learn how he embodied all the good
qualities that can possibly be attained by a single human being.
5. We can bring to mind the great favor that he bestowed on all of
us and how indebted we are to him. He is the one who conveyed to us the true
religion. He carried out this duty in a most excellent manner. He fulfilled his
trust to Allah perfectly and delivered to us his Lord’s Message.
6. We can give him due credit for all the good that we attain by
Allah’s grace in this world and the Hereafter, since he is the one who showed
us towards how to attain it and who brought us guidance. Allah has blessed him
on our account with the greatest blessings ever bestowed upon a Prophet.
7. We can bring to mind how compassionate and merciful the Prophet
(peace be upon him) was to his followers and how concerned he was for our
guidance and welfare. Allah says: “The Prophet is closer to the
believers than they are to their own selves.” (Sûrah,
33: 6)
8. We can become acquainted with the verses of the Qur’ân and with
the Hadîth that discuss his lofty status with his Lord and the love that Allah
has for him and the esteem in which Allah holds him.
9. We can carry out Allah’s command to love the Prophet (peace be
upon him). We should love him more than we love ourselves. The Prophet (peace
be upon him) said: “None of you truly believes until I
become dearer to him than his own self, his children, his parents, and all of
mankind.”
10. We can carry out Allah’s command to show respect for the
Prophet (peace be upon him) and for his Sunnah. Allah says: “O you who believe, do not raise your voices above the Prophet’s
voice and do not speak to him loudly as you might speak to one another, lest
your deeds become vain while you perceive it not.” (Sûrah, 49: 2)
11. We can fulfill Allah’s command to come to the defense of our
Prophet (peace be upon him) and protect him from those who wish to harm or
defame him. Allah says: “To believe in Allah and His Messenger
that you may assist and honor him.” (Sûrah, 48: 9)
12. We can cultivate in our hearts a sincere and constant resolve
to defend the Prophet and promote his good name.
13. We can bear in mind the great blessings and rewards that in
the Hereafter await those who genuinely put into practice their love for the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). They will be his close companions in
Paradise, for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has promised: “You will
be with whom you love.”
14. We can make it a habit to offer salutations of peace upon our
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) whenever we remember to do so, especially
after the call to prayer and on Fridays. This will increase our blessings from
Allah.
15. We can read the biography of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) from authentic sources and benefit from the many lessons that it
contains. We can then try to apply those lessons to our lives today.
16. We can learn the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) by studying its authentic sources. We must study the Hadîth and strive to
understand them correctly. We need to derive from these Ahadîth the rulings and
the lessons that they contain.
17. We can follow the Sunnah in its entirety, giving priority to
what we are obligated to do.
18. We can strive to emulate the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) even in matters where we are under no obligation to do so. It is better
even if we do something the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did only once
in our lives just so we can follow his example to the last detail.
19. We can be vigilant to avoid ever belittling any aspect of his
Sunnah.
20. We can make sure that we feel joy every time we see people
putting some aspect of his Sunnah into practice.
21. We can feel sorrow whenever we find that some aspect of his
Sunnah is being neglected.
22. We can feel enmity towards anyone who defames the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) or disapproves of his Sunnah.
23. We can show love for the members of our Prophet’s family and
for his wives and descendants. We can seek nearness to Allah by loving them for
the sake of their nearness to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and for
the sake of their commitment to Islam. If we find any of his descendants
disobedient to Allah, we should be eager to guide them, since their guidance is
something most dear to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). `Umar the son
of al-Khattâb said to the Prophet’s uncle: “O
`Abbâs! The day that you accepted Islam was more beloved to me than the day
when al-Khattâb accepted Islam. This is only because I know that your
acceptance of Islam was dearer to Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) than
that of al-Khattâb.”
24. We can act upon the direction of the Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him) with respect to his family when he thrice said: “I remind you of the rights of Allah with respect to my family.”
25. We can show love and respect for the Companions of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) and recognize their honor and distinction with
Allah and their superiority in knowledge and good works to those who come after
them.
26. We can show love and respect for the scholars on account of
their status and their knowledge of the Prophet’s legacy. The scholars are the
inheritors of the Prophets. They deserve to be loved and honored. This is a
right that our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) has over us.
THINGS WE CAN DO AS FAMILIES AND AS A SOCIETY
27. We can raise our children to love the Prophet Muhammad (peace
be upon him).
28. We can raise our children to emulate his excellent example.
29. We can make available in our homes books about the Prophet’s
life.
30. We can make available in our homes recorded lectures about his
life for our families to listen to.
31. We can show our children cartoons that have a clear and
wholesome Islamic content.
32. We can set aside some family time every week for an Islamic
study circle.
33. As husbands and wives, we can follow the example of the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in how we deal with our families.
34. We can encourage our children to memorize and put into
practice the words that the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) used to remember
Allah on all occasions.
35. We can encourage our children to spend a portion of their
daily allowances on charitable deeds that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) used to encourage, like providing for an orphan, feeding a poor person, or
helping the needy. This is an excellent practical application of the Sunnah.
36. We can make our children accustomed to using some of the
Prophet’s good sayings in their everyday speech like: “A believer is clever and sage”; “A believer does not get stung from the same hole twice” and “Make things easy, not difficult”.
37. We can hold competitions at home where the children can be
tested on their knowledge of the Prophet’s life.
38. We can teach our children about the life of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) by holding little programs at home like: “A day at the Prophet’s house”.
THINGS WE CAN DO IN THE FIELD OF EDUCATION
39. We can cultivate love for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) in the hearts of our students by teaching them about the rights he has
over us as his followers.
40. We can increase the amount of lectures given covering
different aspects of his life and personality.
41. We can encourage educational authorities to add to the Islamic
Studies syllabus a subject entitled The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him).
42. We can make efforts to finance the appointment of professors
of the Prophet’s biography in prominent Western universities.
43. We can encourage serious research into the life of the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) and encourage scholars to publish works about different
aspects of the Sunnah.
44. We can hold exhibitions at schools and universities to inform
people about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) while focusing on the
geographical spread of Islam.
45. We can devote prominent sections of our libraries to books
about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
46. We can develop valuable encyclopedic reference works about the
Prophet’s life.
47. We can host annual competitions where students can receive
scholarships and prizes for writing the best original research papers about the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his life.
48. We can hold youth camps that cultivate love for the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) and teach the practical application of the Sunnah.
49. We can host training seminars for our future leaders that
focus on how to emulate the example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him).
THINGS WE CAN DO IN THE FIELD OF ISLAMIC WORK
50. We can explain the hallmarks of the message that the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) called towards, emphasizing that he came with the
original, pure religion and that his concern was to guide all humanity to the
sincere, monotheistic worship of their Lord.
51. We can step up our efforts in calling people of all nations
and all walks of life to the guidance of Islam.
52. We can convey to the people the illustrious and noble
character that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had even before he
began to receive the revelation from Allah.
53. We can explain to the people the good qualities of our Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the unique features of Islam in a manner that
will hold their attention and capture their interests.
54. We can explain how the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
behaved toward his family, his neighbors, and his followers.
55. We can focus on how admirably and magnanimously he conducted
himself with the Jews, Christians, pagans, and hypocrites who showed him enmity
and hostility.
56. We can explain how nobly he carried out his most mundane,
daily affairs.
57. We can set aside part of the Friday sermon for discussing
certain aspects of the Prophet’s life and occasionally devote an entire sermon
to this topic.
58. After the daily prayers, we can offer a few comments on how
the verses we recited in our prayers relate to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) and his life.
59. We can hold study sessions for the memorization of the Sunnah
just like we do for the memorization of the Qur’ân.
60. We can correct the misconceptions that the general public has
about the Sunnah and emphasize the importance of following the Sunnah in our
lives.
61. We can call the people’s attention to the Islamic rulings
issued by scholars regarding those who defame the Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) and emphasize that we have to disassociate ourselves from such
people.
62. We can work to return the people to their religion by
presenting to them the message of the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in
the simplest terms.
63. We can use the media to warn people against going overboard in
their reverence for the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and explain to
them the verses of the Qur’ân that prohibit excess and extravagance. Allah
says: “Do not go to excesses in your religion.” We can also mention relevant Hadîth like: “Do not venerate me in the way that the Christians venerated the
son of Mary.” We must emphasize that true love for
the prophet (peace be upon him) is expressed by following him faithfully.
64. We can encourage the people to read about the life of the
Prophet (peace be upon him) from its authentic sources. We must clarify those sources
and make them available.
65. We can refute and dispel the misconceptions and false claims
that are circulating about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his
life.
THINGS WE CAN DO IN THE CULTURAL SPHERE AND IN THE MEDIA
66. We can use cultural and media events as opportunities to teach
people about the illustrious character of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him).
67. We can refrain from publishing or broadcasting anything that
is contrary to his Sunnah.
68. We can oppose the Western media and refute the misconceptions
and false claims that they are propagating about our Prophet and our religion.
69. We can host press conferences and cultural events with
moderate non-Muslim thinkers where we can openly discuss the Prophet Muhammad
(peace e upon him) and his message.
70. We can publish and disseminate what objective non-Muslim
thinkers have said about the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
71. We can hold conventions and conferences to discuss the life
and methodology of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and to demonstrate
how that methodology is suitable for all places and times.
72. We can air televised competitions where contestants can earn
prizes by demonstrating their knowledge of the Prophet’s life.
73. We can write and publish articles, stories, and pamphlets
about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
74. We can petition the editorial boards of newspapers and
magazines to provide a regular feature that highlights verses of the Qur’ân and
Hadîth of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and explains why Muslims love the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and emulate his example.
75. We can petition the executive bodies of television networks to
air programs about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his life,
highlighting his good qualities and the exemplary way that he conducted himself
with his wives, his children, his followers, and his enemies.
76. We can encourage production studios to prepare professional
quality video programs about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his
life.
77. We can encourage our local television stations and satellite
channels to produce and air cartoon programs for children highlighting the good
qualities of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and stories from his
life.
WHAT WE CAN DO THROUGH OUR ISLAMIC ORGANIZATIONS AND CHARITIES
78. We can establish committees and departments within our
organizations devoted to supporting our Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
79. We can reserve space for our organizations at local and
international expositions and conventions and distribute literature and other
media products about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his message.
80. We can establish permanent distribution centers for
distributing books, pamphlets, and audio recordings about the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him).
81. We can establish a special award with preset standards to be
presented to the person who best served the Sunnah of the Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) and his biography. The presentation of this award could be
accompanied by a major ceremony to which many renowned personages would be
invited.
82. We can print books about the Prophet’s life in various foreign
languages to be distributed to public libraries, universities, and centers for
Oriental studies around the globe.
83. We can publish a periodical journal that specializes in the
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his life, Islamic teachings, and the
Muslims, emphasizing the good qualities of the religion that Prophet Muhammad
(peace be upon him) came with.
84. We can establish charitable funds to finance our program of
supporting the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and to pay for the writing
and translation of books and articles.
WHAT WE CAN DO ON THE INTERNET
85. We can establish organizations devoted to propagating Islam
and showing, among other things, how Islam teaches love and reverence for all
of the Prophets (peace be upon them all).
86. We can establish websites and online newsgroups devoted to the
life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). On a smaller scale, we can
create dedicated web pages for existing websites that have a broader focus.
87. We can participate in live chats online with non-Muslims and
invite them to study the personality of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon
him) and the religion that he came with.
88. We can include at the bottom of our e-mails some appropriate Hadîth
and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
89. We can prepare an occasional online newsletter that discusses
the life of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his message to be sent
out on special occasions and whenever circumstances warrant it.
90. We can post on major search engines notices about relevant
books and lectures.
THINGS WE CAN DO WITH OUR WEALTH AND THROUGH OUR ISLAMIC
GOVERNMENTS
91. We can give financial support to Islamic activities that focus
on the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
92. We can print billboards and bumper stickers that quote the
words of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
93. We can help to establish Islamic television and radio
stations, as well as periodicals that are devoted to spreading the message of
Islam in many languages around the world and especially in English.
94. We can pay for airtime on television and radio stations in
various countries to get our message across.
95. We can establish centers devoted to research into the study of
the Prophet’s biography and the publication of that research in many languages.
96. We can establish museums and libraries devoted to the
Prophet’s life and his legacy.
97. We can fund the establishment of high quality professional
websites on the Internet devoted to the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him)
and his life.
98. We can pay for the production of high quality books, audio
recordings, and television programs in various major languages, especially
English.
99. We can help to finance Islamic competitions about the Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) and provide substantial prizes to encourage
participation.
By ICSFP
