When the Danish Jyllands-Posten newspaper published cartoons denigrating the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in 2005, many Muslims reacted by holding violent protests all over the Islamic world. Around 100 people died in riots as protests spread after the publication of the cartoons — one of which depicted the Prophet with a bomb in his turban — in numerous Western newspapers in 2006.
Ibrahim Hussain Malabari, a Canadian Islamic scholar of Indian origin and director of the Islamic Center in Toronto, reacted to such Prophet bashing in a different but proactive manner, capturing the opportunity to highlight the real qualities of the Prophet and his mercifulness.
Malabari, published a book entitled “Mercy: Prophet Muhammad’s Legacy to All Creation.” The book comes at a time when the enemies of Islam have launched a strident campaign against the Prophet, unfairly accusing him of promoting terrorism and violence.
“This book is unique in kind, novel in presentation, and simple in style,” says Yousuf Al-Qaradawi, a globally renowned Islamic scholar and president of the International Federation for Muslim Scholars.
“The Prophet’s mercy is demonstrated in his life and teachings. He exemplifies mercy in all situations. He hates harshness, denounces roughness and violence, and prescribes softness in everything,” Al-Qaradawi wrote in his foreward to the book which was published by Compass Books in Toronto.
The life and example of Prophet Muhammad and the Holy Qur’an are, and have remained throughout history, the two sources or foundations of Islamic faith, belief, and spirituality. The story of his life and the emergence of the Muslim community have provided a paradigm to be remembered and emulated down through the ages.
“Muhammad’s words and deeds represent the model or ideal for all believers, what some have called the living Qur’an,” says John L. Esposito, director, Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C.
“In Muslim tradition, Muhammad can best be characterized as a remarkable personality who inspired confidence and commitment despite persecution and oppression, a shrewd military strategist, and a righteous, pious, trustworthy, compassionate, and honest man,” he wrote in his foreward to the book.
“Muslims look to Muhammad’s example for guidance in all aspects of life, including how we treat friends and enemies, marital and family relations, eating and drinking, personal hygiene, dress, diplomacy, warfare, and carrying out religious duties,” Esposito explained.
He described Malabari’s book as a welcome addition to the literature on the Prophet. “Post-9/11 Western audiences have been exposed to a never-ending stream of publications and statements that vilify Muhammad and portray him principally as a ruthless warrior, intent upon the spread of Islam primarily through conquest,” he said emphasizing the book’s relevance.
As a result of these smear campaigns, he said, the multifaceted human dimension of Prophet Muhammad and his role as a spiritual paradigm or model are obscured or buried. “Malabari offers us a volume that, drawing on the Islamic tradition and Muslim literature, reveals a profound dimension of Muslim spirituality that focuses on Muhammad as a Prophet of Mercy.”
Esposito believes that Muslims and non-Muslims alike will benefit from this richly textured account of Prophet Muhammad’s compassion and mercy for all creation: Men, women, children, and animals; the environment; the sick and disabled; the poor, orphans and the elderly.
“In a world in which Islam is too often simply identified with politics, religious extremism and terrorism, “Mercy: Prophet Muhammad’s Legacy to All Creation” is a compelling reminder of the richness of Islamic spirituality and why the Prophet has been, and continues to be, so admired and loved universally by Muslims,” said Esposito, an expert on comparative religion.
“Can anyone who loves the Prophet stand idle while watching the enormous Prophet-phobia spreading all over the world?” Malabari asks. “How should we defend him? By murdering those who slander him, destroying property, or issuing death-threats? No, for such activities were not part of his noble character,” he said. “Rather, one must defend him by demonstrating his mercy toward humanity as a whole, including enemies,” he points out.
In the first chapter of the book, Malabari discusses in detail the concept of the Prophet’s mercy and its wider implications. By analyzing various events in his life and the related Qur’anic verses, along with the commentaries and positions of pious Muslim scholars, one can find that the Prophet’s mercy was not restricted to humanity or even to living beings. “This is because the world, being God’s creation and endowment, was seen as an organic whole that demanded just and merciful treatment according to the dictates of God’s directives,” Malabari said. The book tries to show that the various attempts to depict the Prophet as a prophet of war and hatred are unfounded and based upon biased scholarship that cannot withstand the close scrutiny of historical facts and sources.
The study examines the larger consequences of the Prophet’s unique position by seeking to enumerate his important and substantial contributions to humanity and civilization.
The final section explains how the Prophet’s enemies have defamed, degraded, and slandered him throughout history. “My analysis shows that this negative campaign has always been rooted in a deep-seated fear and hatred of Islam,” Malabari said.
“Although modern Europe proclaims the virtues of rationality and objectivity, I point out that the West’s vilification of the Prophet of Mercy never went beyond the crude and simple-minded polemics and slander of the pagan Quraish,” the author argues.
In the context of the present encounter between Islam and the West, the best place to begin the dialogue is to study the Prophet of Mercy’s personality. Once he has been properly and objectively understood, a bridge can be built and more positive approaches can be developed to bring the two great civilizations of Islam and the West closer together.
The book has received appraisals from prominent international figures. Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia states: “The incessant drumbeat of civilizational conflict has made it incumbent upon Muslims living in the West to rearticulate a vision of the religion in light of the timeless challenges humanity faces today. By expounding on the role of compassion in Islam and as embodied in the life of its Prophet, the author has rescued a discourse now threatened by misconception, innuendo and Islamophobia and refocused attention where it rightly belongs — on the universal pursuit of peace. This is the strength of Malabari’s contribution: A book that should be read by anyone who believes in justice, loves mercy and seeks to tread the path of mutual understanding.”
Professor Khurshid Ahmed, a senator in Pakistan, states: “Prophet Muhammad was a mercy, not only to mankind but to all of creation. This is a dimension that needed articulation based on objective research. Malabari’s book is a piece of original research and innovative interpretation. It is a unique contribution to the study of the life and impact of the Prophet of Islam. To the best of my knowledge, this is the first study of the seerah from this perspective and its relevance increases manifold because of the ecological crisis presently faced by the developed and under-developed world, primarily because of the one-dimensional approach to economic development and the misguided view of “conquest of nature” as against nature and the humans being partners in a common effort to fulfill the Divine Will on the earth. This book, on the life of the Prophet, offers light which may enable humankind to overcome the crisis that is threatening the future of civilization.”
Rashid Al-Ghannoushi, a Tunisian philosopher states: “This distinguished author fills gaps and presents answers for many bewildering questions concerning the life of the Prophet...traversing through Prophetic history, and vast spiritual horizons...”
Malabari concludes his book by stating:
“Millions and millions of volumes have been written about Prophet Muhammad, in all languages, from east to west, and from north to south. Such volumes continue to be written today and will continue to be written until the last day, and will never be exhausted. No scholar, however learned and brilliant he or she may be, can exhaust the deep expanse that is the story of the Prophet of Mercy.”
