Ever since the days of my early childhood, my life has been dominated by a religious outlook. This does not exclude my adolescence and early youth when, dues to my disillusionment with the established Jewish synagogues and Christian churches, I professed atheism; for even then, my life was religious in the sense that I was always in search of the absolute truth, which alone gives human life its meaning, direction and purpose. I was not, however, raised in a religious atmosphere. My family and their friends, having been thoroughly integrated into American life, were Jews only nominally. They were completely decent, respectable, intelligent, broadminded, cultured people who firmly believed in and observed all the basic moral laws, yet they denied that ethical behavior was dependent upon theology' in fact, they could not even understand the relevance between the two. All of them regarded any conception of divine reward and punishment in the Hereafter as an outmoded superstitious belief of bygone ages. Any concept of personal deity who directly intervenes into human affairs and who listens to the supplications of His devotees was rejected. Divine revelation and prophethood were also scorned for the same reasons.
As soon as I was able to think and comprehend at all, I was repelled by the dominant values of my society, the purpose of which is happiness, pleasure and enjoyment, because I longed above all else to achieve something eternally worthwhile. Since, according to my parents; outlook, there are no answers to the "ultimates," one must avoid thinking about them and just enjoy, as best one can, the transitory pleasures life has to offer at the moment. - good health, tasty food, comfortable living, the love of family, the companionship of congenial friends, and the variety of entertainment and amusements which modern America makes available in such abundance. One was never to ask oneself why we were born, who created us, what is the purpose of our life, why we must die and what will happen to us after death or else one would be afflicted with depression, pessimism and despondency. Americans are often praised by outsiders because they are not static and because they love (nay, worship) change. According to these "progressives," America is synonymous with progress because it is supposedly the only country unimpeded by rigid, archaic, philosophies - social and religious - and which, therefore, is able to nourish creative change. In contrast to these people, I never shared this worship of change for its own sake. To me, the absence of permanence and stability in anything means the outright denial of its value and makes life frivolous and superficial. My quest was always for absolutes.
As a result of my outlook on life, neither Judaism or Christianity could satisfy me. I was repelled by the narrow parochial-mindedness of the synagogue and horrified by the atrocities of Zionism against the indigenous Arabs of Palestine. I could never reconcile myself with the complicated, incomprehensible theology of the Christians and the endless compromise of the Church with moral, social, political and economic evils. Both the synagogue and the Church, as I encountered them, were filled with corruption and hypocrisy. In the course of what Jewish training I received, it was but natural for me to be curious about the faith which was historically most closely akin to Judaism. I found that I could not learn about the Arabs and their civilization without also learning about Islam; and as soon as I discovered that it was not the Arabs who had made Islam great but the other way around, I wanted to know as much about this faith as I could. To me, the superiority of the Qur'an over the Bible lay in the Qur'an's all-embracing universality, which contrasted the narrow, rigid nationalism of the Jewish scriptures. As this universality makes for superior morality, it has exerted a drastic effect on the historical development of theses religions and the civilizations shaped by them.
My quest for absolute values was satisfied by Islam. In it I found all that was true, good and beautiful and that which gives meaning and direction to human life (and death). On the other hand, in other religions the truth is deformed, distorted, restricted and fragmentary. If anyone were to ask me how I came to know this, I could only reply that my personal life experiences were sufficient to convince me. My adherence to Islamic faith is thus a calm, cool but very intense conviction. Unlike some other converts, I never saw the Prophet (may Allah be pleased with him) in my dreams during sleep at night, I never experienced any mystical visions, and nothing dramatic at the time of my conversion ever happened. Since I have, I believe, always been a Muslim at heart and by temperament, even before I ever knew there was such a thing as Islam, my conversion was mainly a formality, involving no radical change in my heart at all. Rather, I only had to make official what I had been thinking and yearning for many years.
Soon after I began the study of the Qur'an, I discovered that a proper understanding of it is impossible without some knowledge of the relevant ahadeeth, for who is better qualified to interpret the Qur'an than the man to whom it was revealed? The Qur'an provides us with the general outline of the life ordained by Islam, but only ahadeeth provide all of the necessary details. To those who deny the validity of this only authoritative interpretation of the Qur'an, I present the following:“ When the Prophet's wife, 'A'ishah, was asked to describe the mode of the Prophet's life and conduct, she replied: His morals are the Qur'an. In other words, his daily life was a true picture of the Qur'anic teachings. He was an embodiment of all of the virtues which have been enunciated by the Qur'an. The record of his life, which sheds light on his conduct as a father, as a neighbor, as a merchant, as a preacher, as a persecuted fugitive, as a friend, as a warrior, as an army commander, as a conqueror, as a judge, as a law-giver, as a ruler, and above all, as a devotee of Allah, was all an exemplification of the Book of Allah”[2].
The sincerity and purity of his pious life was evident in his daily routine:“ The daily routine of his life was extremely rigorous. After the fajr prayer, he would receive people so as to educate them - he would even settle disputes and administer justice, receive envoys and dictate dispatches. Then the assembly would be adjourned. When the public function was over, he would go to one of his wives and do any work that she had for him He would even go to the market for shopping. Then another short prayer would be performed, after which he would visit the sick and the poor, and call at the houses of his friends. Then he would go to the mosques for the dhuhr prayer. After returning from the mosque, he would take his meal, if it was available, and then return to his private room for some rest. Then he would go again to the mosques for the 'asr prayer. Afterwards, the Holy Prophet would go to his wives and sit with them until children claimed his time. Then he would lead the maghrib prayer and take his evening meal, returning home for prayers in solitude and rest. After this, he would sleep for a few hours only. Then he would pray and meditate and again retire to bed only for a brief time, rising again for the fajr prayer when the day's work began once more. His energy was extraordinary. He seldom complained fatigue”[3].
The following illustrates how this pious life affected the activities of the women:“ Ali once asked one of his pupils: Should I tell you the story of Fatimah, the dearest and most-loved daughter of the Prophet? When the pupil replied in the affirmative, 'Ali said: Fatimah used to grind the grain herself, which caused calluses on her hands. She carried water for the house in a leather bag, which caused calluses on her hands. She carried water for the house in a leather bag, which caused scars on her breasts. She cleaned the house herself, which made her clothes dirty. Once when some captives were brought to Madeenah, I said to her: Go to the prophet and request from him a servant to help you in your housework. She went to him but found many people around him. As she was very modest, she could not be bold enough to request the Prophet in the presence of other people. The next day the Prophet came to our house and said: O Fatimah, what made you come to me yesterday? She felt shy, and so she kept quiet. I said, : O Messenger of Allah, Fatimah has developed calluses on her hands and breasts as a result of grinding grain and carrying water. She is constantly busy cleaning the house and performing other domestic chores which cause her clothes to remain dirty. I informed her about the captive and advised her to go to you and request a servant! The Prophet replied: O Fatimah, fear Allah! Acquire taqwa (piety), and when you got to bed, recite, "Subhanallah" 33 times, "Alhamdulillah" 33 times and "Allahu akbar" 34 times. You will find this more helpful than a servant. At that, Fatimah said: I am content with Allah and His messenger”[4].
And the following statement by 'A'isha is an example of how the Prophet's wives spent their time.
'A'ishah said:“ Maymunah was the most pious and most faithful of her kin among all of the Prophet's wives. She was almost always seen either engaged in prayer or in domestic duties. And when she was doing neither, she was busy cleaning her teeth with miswak”[5].
The aforementioned examples of the lives of the women during the time of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) would not appeal to the advocates of the so-called Women's Liberation. The immediate reaction of the modern-minded woman to this would be dismay. She would certainly ask my how I, a twentieth-century woman born and reared in modern America, could possibly endorse such an apparently poor and limited life. The answer is that, to the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), depth of experience was more important than breadth. In the fast pace of modern, mechanized living - where being active and always "on the run" are, in themselves, regarded as supreme virtues - the experiences of modern men and women may be broad and varied, but their minds remain superficial, fickle and shallow. I would point out to a "women's libber" the fact that many modern American women are unhappy even though they can do virtually anything they please. They enjoy the highest standard of living in history; they are the best-dressed, best-groomed, best-fed, best housed women anywhere in the world and endure the least drudgery; they have the most freedom and the greatest variety of interesting social contacts; they are unexcelled in the extent of their secular education and have the widest possible opportunity to enrich their self-indulgence. Basically, they can do whatever they want. Yet, despite all of these material advantages, too many American women are restless, dissatisfied and even neurotic.
For the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the purpose of life was achievement, not enjoyment. In Islam pleasure and happiness are but the natural byproducts of one's emotional satisfaction in conscientiously performing one's duties for the pleasure of Allah in order to gain salvation in the life to come. In a materialistic world, achievement is equated with the capture of political or economic power, fulfillment in the arts and sciences, and the acquisition of fame, if one is exceptionally gifted. If not, achievement is measured by income from business and commerce. However, in Islam, achievement is base on accomplishing what is enduring and worthwhile through useful, benevolent and productive work and on refraining from wasting one's time on empty self-gratification disgraced by sinful deeds. The supreme achievement is the attainment of eternal salvation in the world to come through implicit obedience to the Quran and the sunnah.
In Tabuk in 9 A.H. the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) proclaimed:“ Verily, the most veracious discourse is the Book of Allah: the most trustworthy handhold is a word of piety; the best of religions is the faith of Ibrahim; the best of precedents is the precedent of Muhammad; the noblest speech is the invocation to Allah; the finest narrative is this Qur'an; the best affairs is that which has already been firmly resolved upon, and the worst things in religion are innovations. The best of the ways is the path of the prophets; the noblest death is the death of martyrdom; the greatest blindness is going astray after guidance; the best of actions is that which benefits; the best guidance is that which is followed in practice; the worst blindness is the blindness of the heart the little but sufficient is better that the abundant but alluring; the worst apology is that which is made a the point of death; and the worst regret is that which will be felt on the Day of Resurrection”[6].
Thus the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) has revealed to me personally as well as to all mankind for all times in all places the purpose of human life as it pertains to that which is important and that which is not. Unlike Hinduism, Buddhism and classical Christianity, Islam repudiates monasticism and self-mortification as the path to spiritual life. With his perfect emotional balance, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) did not shun the legitimate pleasures of this life. As a matter of fact, he was endowed with a fine sense of humor and occasionally even joined children in their games. Nevertheless, he never ceased to emphasize that the interests of this world must always be subordinated by the believer to those of the next world. He often told his companions:“ If you knew that which I know, you would laugh a little and weep much”[7].
And as a final point, the prayers and supplications of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) are sufficient to prove his unmatched devotion to Allah as the supreme end of life above all worldly considerations. Before going to sleep each night, he never failed to plea:“ O Allah, save me from the pangs of the Day of Resurrection! O Allah, in Your name do I die and live”[8].
[2] The Life of Muhammad, Abdul Hamid Siddiqui, Islamic Publications, Lahore, 1969, p.384. Slight changes have been made to the quoted material for the purpose of improving the English.
[3] Ibid., p.389. Slight cahnges have been made to the quoted material for the purpose of improving the English.
[4] The Stories of Sahabah, Maulana Muhammad Xakaria, Malik Brothers, Lyaalour, no date, pp. 157-158. slight changes have been made to the quoted material for the purpose of improving the English.
[5] Ibid., p.197. Slight changes have been made to the quoted material for the pupose of improving the English.
[6] Ibid., pp.552-553. Slight changes have been made to the quoted material for the purpose of improving the English.
[7] Related in Saheeh al-Bukhari.
[8] Prayers of the Prophet, translated by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui, shaikh Muhammad Ashraf, Lahore, 1968, p.13.
