I Wish I Were Living with Prophet Muhammad during his Lifetime!
Published in May 21, 2017
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
He said to us: I love Prophet Muhammad so much that I wish I were living in his era, with him in Arabia, to defend and support him myself!
We said to him: May be if you were alive at the time, you would have been one of his arch-enemies!
He said: Oh, please do not say so! You cannot imagine how I love Prophet Muhammad; in fact, I envy his contemporaries who lived during his era and saw him and talked to him.
We said: There are those among them who were his nearest kinsmen and friends who knew his honesty, mercy, and truthfulness as a trustworthy respectable man who deserved their love, and yet, once he began his ministry as a prophet calling them to (There is no God but Allah), they became his arch-enemies and forgot his qualities as a person.
He said: I can hardly believe it!
We said: This is what we infer from the Quran itself.
He said: How?!
We said: God in the Quran describes Muhammad as the companion/friend of the disbelievers; this means he was their contemporary and they were his contemporaries. Such company led them to know his high moralistic level as one who never told lies and falsehoods; hence, they should have believed him when he told them he was sent by God as a messenger/prophet of God. In fact, most of them never believed him, and they accused him of being a misguided mad man. God refutes their views in these verses, within direct address: "By the star as it goes down. Your friend has not gone astray, nor has he erred. Nor does he speak out of desire. It is but a revelation revealed.Taught to him by the Extremely Powerful." (53:1-5). Thus, God swears by one of His creations (i.e., the falling star) that Muhammad is not a misguided person as he recited the Quran not out of his own mind, but he was taught the Quran by arch-angel Gabriel, within God's revelation. God in the verses 53:1-5 addresses the disbelievers directly; the expression (your friend...) indicates that Muhammad and his contemporaries knew one another very well for a long time, and it is strange that they accused him of being misguided when he uttered the Quran to them. God has commanded Muhammad to warn them using the same meaning: "Say, "I offer you a single advice: devote yourselves to God, in pairs, or individually; and reflect. There is no madness in your friend. He is just a warner to you, before the advent of a severe punishment."" (34:46). Muhammad wanted them to think clearly and devotedly bearing God in their minds, and how come they doubted their friend Muhammad whose wisdom was known to all of them, but they accused him of being possessed or mad; all this because he called them to (There is no God but Allah), and he warned them against eternal torment in the Hereafter.
He said: What do you mean exactly?!
We said: Those addressed by God in these verses were the Meccan people of Qorayish who lived as contemporaries of the Prophet Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Mutalib; they saw him as a child, then a young man and a man in his forties. They used to love and respect him; yet, once he declared his being a prophet sent by God, they changed their stance regarding him and hated him so much.
He said: What has this to do with me and my wish?!
We said: You are wishing that you were alive during Muhammad's era and lifetime within the Meccan tribe of Qorayish who were relatives if Muhammad; you might have been one of his arch-enemies who hated the monotheism of (There is no God but Allah).
He said: How would you guess such a thing?! I might have been one of the most sincere and honest follower of Prophet Muhammad; you cannot deny that some Meccans and Qorayish tribesmen were his nearest supporters among the early believers who converted to Islam. I wish I were one of those; why are you so bent on protesting against that wish of mine?!
We said: We are not protesting against anything; we are giving you both possibilities: you might have been among the believers or the disbelievers.
He said: No; I would have been among those who believe in the Prophet Muhammad, of course.
We said: This very statement shows that you are one of his arch-enemies!
He said: You are insulting me! How come that I'm one of his arch-enemies while I believe in him?!
We said: Because belief in Islam is NOT in the person of Muhammad; this belief in him is the deification of his person; this contradicts the basic fact of Islam (There is no God but Allah). Thus, the real belief is not in Muhammad but in what is revealed to him: the Quran which was descended from God.
He said: How is that?!
We said: God says in the Quranic Chapter 47, titled (Muhammad): "Those who disbelieve and repel from the path of God - He nullifies their works." (47:1). The very first verse describes the disbelievers, whereas the second verse talks about believers: "While those who believe, and work good deeds, and believe in what was sent down to Muhammad - and it is the Truth from their Lord - He remits their sins, and relieves their concerns." (47:2). You notice here that the verb (believe) is mentioned twice in 47:2, combined at one time with performing good deeds and at another time with the meaning of belief: to believe in what is revealed to Muhammad: the Quran itself, described as the Truth from our Lord God, and these believers will be pardoned for their sins and rewarded by God in the Afterlife, in contrast to the Afterlife of disbelievers. This comparison makes a difference between Hell dwellers and Paradise dwellers, as each are described in 47:1 and 47:2 respectively. The reason for this contrast comes in the very next verse: "That is because those who disbelieve follow falsehoods, while those who believe follow the truth from their Lord. God thus cites for the people their examples." (47:3). The difference here is in the belief in the Quranic Truth, regardless of the mortal who conveyed the Quran. the misguided ones follow the falsehoods that lead them to deify and sanctify mortals and things.
He said: I do not have the pleasure of understanding you!
We said: We assert to you here that belief is NOT in the person of Muhammad, but in the Quran revealed to him; you have said you believe in Muhammad; this utterance of yours is a declaration of your disbelief in the Quran: the only discourse of God that must be followed alone and in which real pious ones must believe.
He said: But I do means that I believe in the Quran sent down to Muhammad, and I also love Muhammad very much; does this make me a polytheist?!
We said: We, too, love Muhammad, but we do NOT deify or sanctify him; sanctification and deification are confined to God, our Creator. We love Muhammad who suffered in his endeavors to strive for the sake of the Quranic Truth. This is why we refuse and reject the distorted image of him in the so-called biographies and hadiths/narratives that tarnish his reputation and contradicts his real and only story found exclusively in the Quran
He said: Back to my wish; when I wish that I were one of Prophet Muhammad's contemporaries, I mean the early believers, not the Meccan disbelievers of Qorayish; what is the difference in here?
We said: We have said that it is the belief in the Quran alone as God's Word.
He said: Could please explain this further to me?
We said: Many of Muhammad's contemporaries who used to love and respect him for his excellent qualities rejected and hated him when he declared his prophethood and recited the Quran to them, calling them to (There is no God but Allah). Thus, those who hated him did not adopt such a stance for personal reasons pertaining to Muhammad himself, but they hated the Quranic message he conveyed in the name of God. They used to love to gather around him for his generosity and truthfulness, but once he began his ministry as he preached the Quran, their love toward him turned into deep-seated hatred and animosity.
He said: I can hardly believe this!
We said: This is understood from these verses: "And when Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not hope to meet Us say, "Bring a Quran other than this, or change it." Say, "It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I disobeyed my Lord, the torment of a terrible Day." Say, "Had God willed, I would not have recited it to you, and He would not have made it known to you. I have lived among you for a lifetime before it. Do you not understand?"" (10:15-16). Thus, Muhammad recited the Quran to them, but their earlier love to him as a person led many of the haters of the Quran to tell him to change or replace this Quran so as to accommodate their traditional, ancestral notions. God has told him in 10:15-16 how to respond to them; Muhammad was the first one to believe in the Quran and he did not dare to disobey the Lord God. The Qorayish disbelieving people wished for a divine message that match their whims and desires as they idolized their forefathers and revered the ancestral practices.
He said: So, you mean to tell me that they loved the person of Muhammad but hated very much the Quranic message and the monotheism of (There is no God but Allah), right?
We said: Exactly; they used to direct their hateful looks at him as he recited the Quran to them: "Those who disbelieve almost stab you with their glances when they hear the message, and say, "He is crazy!" But it is no less than a reminder to all the Worlds." (68:51-52).
He said: So, this animosity was toward the Quran itself, whether recited by the Prophet Muhammad or anyone else among the believers, right?
We said: Exactly; the early Meccan believers were not hated by disbelievers in Mecca as persons, but because of the Quran in which they believed and which was recited by them in public: "And when Our Clear Verses are recited to them, you will recognize disgust on the faces of those who disbelieve. They nearly assault those who recite to them Our Verses..." (22:72).
He said: But Arabs in Arabia at the time believed in God, the Creator; why did they hate the Quran to that extent?!
We said: Because the essence of monotheism in Islam, as per the Quran, is not merely the belief in God; one must disbelieve in all other assumed gods/deities fashioned by people. This is why the testimony of Islam (There is no God but Allah) begins with the disbelief in all gods/deities invented by people (i.e., Taghut: falsehoods and tyranny); this is the first step so that the second one is to believe in the Only One True God: Allah. "There shall be no compulsion in religion; the right way has become distinct from the wrong way. Whoever renounces Taghut and believes in God has grasped the most trustworthy handle; which does not break. God is Hearing and Knowing." (2:256). Because of the fact that the Meccans of Qorayish adhered to the deification of mortals and items, they hated and ridiculed the Quranic message: "And when Our revelations are recited to them, they say, "We have heard. Had we wanted, we could have said the like of this; these are nothing but myths of the ancients." And they said, "Our God, if this is the truth from You, then rain down on us stones from the sky, or visit us with a painful affliction."" (8:31-32).
He said: So, they rejected the Clear Verses of the Quran as they were infuriated by their meanings, right?
We said: For sure; they understood the clear Quranic verses and their understanding led them to increase their hatred of the Quran and to vent their fury on Muhammad and the early believers and they mocked the Quran as well. "And when Our enlightening Verses are recited to them, they say, "This is nothing but a man who wants to divert you from what your ancestors used to worship." And they say, "This is nothing but a fabricated lie." And when the Truth comes to them, the disbelievers say of the Truth, "This is nothing but plain magic."" (34:43).
He said: I have comprehended what you say now; I confess that I do not know if I were living at the time, I would be among the believers or the deniers of the Quran: the Criterion of God. but what about our modern era, the 21st century A.D.? I love the person of Muhammad, but how I express this love without deification of him as a mortal who lived in the 7th century A.D.?
We said: To link oneself to him is NOT to utter phrases of praise addressed to him, as this practice deifies him as if he were an immortal deities. The only link between the pious ones and Muhammad is to read, ponder, apply, and adhere to the Quran, the book read and applied by Muhammad. All of us must follow the steps of Muhammad as he followed only the Quran. The Quran is the only source of the words uttered by Muhammad during his life time in the verses containing the words: (They ask you... Say: "...") or (Say: "..."). Thus, the Quran is the only source of the real history of Muhammad as a prophet, a messenger, a husband, a friend, and a leader. This is the link between us and him.
He said: You have forgotten something very important!
We said: What is it?
He said: Following the footsteps of Muhammad means also that I preach and proselytize the Quranic insights/verses like him: "Say, "This is my way; I invite to God, based on clear knowledge-I and whoever follows me. Glory be to God; and I am not of the polytheists."" (12:108); "Insights have come to you from your Lord. Whoever sees, it is to the benefit of his soul; and whoever remains blind, it is to its detriment..." (6:104); "...These are insights from your Lord, and guidance, and mercy, for a people who believe." (7:203).
We said: If you preach people using only the Quran to call them to stop deifying and sanctifying items and mortals, you will be persecuted and physically attacked; God says about Muhammad: "And when the servant of God got up calling on Him, they almost fell on him in a mass. Say, "I pray only to my Lord, and I never associate anyone with Him."" (72:19-20).
He said: There is a great risk here, then, right?!
We said: You must be prepared for hate letters and hate emails containing many insults, and for being chased, persecuted, and incarcerated so that you would stop your proselytizing the Quranic Truth. Your persecutors will not hate you but hate God's Quran: "They would like you to compromise, so they would compromise." (68:9).
He said: This is a greater risk!
We said: This is your mission and task to prove your love of Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, the seal of God's prophets. Love is not mere empty words: you must be outspoken and vociferous in refuting the falsehoods and lies (i.e., hadiths, narratives, and biographies) ascribed to him after his death that tarnish his image and reputation. He never uttered or did what are being narrated in such hadiths, narratives, and biographies written down 200 years after his death. His only history is found exclusively in the Quran. The hadiths, narratives, and biographies are the bases of the earthly, man-made religions of the Sufi, Shiite, and Sunnite Muhammadans, with their falsehoods and twisted notions inherited from one generation to another from their forefathers. It is a very difficult mission to face the Muhammadans with Quranic refutations that undermine their cherished earthly religions; but if you do so, you prove that you really love God, the Quran, and Muhammad.