JEDDAH, 28 May — A series of lectures on different aspects of Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) life was organized by Majlise Ilmo Adab in Jeddah recently.
Khaled Al-Maeena, editor-in-chief of Arab News, opened the seminar. In his speech Al-Maeena said, “It is sad to see how many of us treat those underprivileged among us, how we treat our servants, our employees, and how our hearts have dried of compassion! It is painful to see that nothing is done for the hungry and the orphaned who place their hope and faith in us. Society has reached a stage of madness where even mothers are not spared.”
He observed that as we take pride in the fact that we are the followers of a Prophet whose kindness to women was renowned, it is important that we take care of them and see that society protects them. Instead of harassment, he said, there should be care, empathy and love.
A number of journalists, academics and others attended the meeting which was chaired by Muhammad Zia Uddin Naiyyar. Muhammad Mujahid Syed recited from the Holy Qur’an. Athar Nafis Abbasi, an Urdu poet, recited a poem about the Prophet. Maulana Afzal and Maulana Ziaur Rahman read papers about the Prophet’s manners and his handling of crises. Maulana Alimuddin pointed out that challenges should be faced in the light of the Prophet’s teachings. A noted poet, Ahmad Saud Qasmi, shed light on different aspects of the Prophet’s life.
The host of the seminar, Mujahid Syed, highlighted common errors among Western historians concerning the Prophet and Islam. He said that even Arnold Toynbee and J.M. Roberts depicted the Prophet as a national leader and Islam as a religion for the Arabs. Mujahid stressed that the Prophet was not a national leader but the Prophet for all humanity. His mission was not only for the Arab nation, but also for all of humanity, and his followers were standard bearers of justice and freedom.
Tariq Ghazi, a noted writer and critic, said in his paper, “It is not enough for us to say that we love the Prophet. If we are real believers, we should emulate his character and follow his guidelines.”
Dr. Ausaf Ahmad, a well-known economist, pointed out that the Prophet was a very good economist. As an example, he mentioned the way the Prophet arranged the settlement of the people who migrated with him from Makkah to Madinah.
