In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful
HUMANITY NEEDS: TRUSWORTHY CHARACTER
ON THE PATTERN RASULULLAH (S) MADE
[Shamim A Siddiqi,
Human society has reached to the state of complete moral bankruptcy,
especially after great global economic disaster of 2008-09. It needs men of
character in every field of life to set its house in order and deliver goodness
in each and every sector to make its abode worth living with dignity and honor.
We see today that morally world stands in a collapsing situation. Trust
in its leadership is touching the zero point. Corruption in all its shape has
defaced it face. Greed and fraudulent practices are rampant everywhere and in
each sector of our social, economic and political life. Exploitation in its
wake has emerged as the fashion of the day. Maximization of personal profit,
gains and fame has empowered individuals in every field of trade, commerce,
business enterprises and entrepreneurship to run their affairs with total greed
and temptation. In consequence, poor is getting poorer and rich richer day by
day. It is producing only Zulm (oppression) and denying even two square meals
to millions and millions inhabitants of poor, underdeveloped countries and vast
regions of Asia, Africa, Latin America and many parts of Europe and America
too. There are 36 Million people who are
leading a life of below poverty level alone in the
To correct this disastrous situation, it needs dependable trustworthy character
and honest leadership in power in each and every country of the world and in
every sector of world economy – in trade, in commerce
and in industry both at individual and collective levels. The question is:
*who can do this job? *Where is its blue print? *Where is its inspiring
model for all times to come? This agenda is also missing from the
development plan of each and every country and nation around the world. Different
faiths and religious practices too lack in this respect except Islam and the
life pattern of Prophet Muhammad (S) where it is present in a predominant form
but, unfortunately, the Muslims too stand nowhere for doing good to others.
Prophet Muhammad (S) carried out his plan of character building as the
basic need of the Islamic System that he (S) introduced and established in the
human society for delivering justice and fair play to human species. Let us see
how he (S) did it and he (S) did it, of course, as the paramount need of the System
that he (S) was assigned to profess, practice and deliver to mankind for
attaining eternal bliss in both the worlds.
When the Second Wahi [revelation] came to him (S) after the gap of a
few months [called “Fitrah”], he (S) was assigned the
Rasulullah (S) now needed three things
to accomplish the mission of his (S) life:
1. The Guidance – the Blue Print of the System that he (S) was
to establish on earth for the deliverance of mankind;
2. A Team of dependable and Trustworthy character to work as the
founder workers of the System and the builders of the edifice of the Islamic
society and state and to serve as models
for mankind till eternity;
3. The land where to establish the System in the form of a
society and state to serve as its model.
Now let us see how it worked out:
1. The Creator and Sustainer Himself managed to send the details of the
Guidance – the System, the Blue Print as What to do and how to do and completed
it in gradual process in 23 years and perfected it with His last words during
the first and the last Hajj of Rasulullah (S): “This day I perfected your Deen
for you and completed My favor unto you and have chosen for you Al-Islam as
your Deen” [Ref: Al-Qur’an. Surah Al-Maidah 5: 3]
2. Rasulullah (S) himself started building the requisite Team of
Trustworthy men of character in ones and twos through his “person to person”
contact – inviting each to the fold of Allah, trimming and molding their
life to be obedient to their Sustainer, feeling always accountability to Him in
the life after death for all their actions and deeds and following his (S) own
life pattern as its model. He (S) was remarkably assisted in his (S) efforts by
his beloved companions, especially Abu Bakr Siddiq (RA), Musab bin Umair (RA)
and others like them. Through this process he (S) built his team of trusted
workers [we call them Sahabah [May Allah be pleased with them] out of
reverence] who were always ready to sacrifice their time, talents, energies and
resources (wealth) for the mission of Rasulullah (S). Thus, he (S) built his
(S) team of dependable and trustworthy characters to accomplish his (S) mission
of the Iqamah of Allah’s Deen on earth. They were the luminaries of the time
and for all times to come. They carried away the mission of Rasulullah (S)
within the next hundred years to the vast tract of Asia, Europe and North
Africa and delivered justice and equity to every corner of lands that came
under the sovereignty of the Islamic State.
Human rights were well protected and taken care of in every field of
life. All citizens were equals before law. No discrimination and no
exploitation in any from with basic needs of each citizen were guaranteed
through Islam’s own self-sustained welfare system. Corruption was rooted out
altogether. Service to humanity was the fashion of the day. It was all a boon
for the human society.
Through these efforts, Rasulullah (S) got 124 team mates in
Makkah, and through the magnificent Dawah efforts of Musab bin Umair (RA) in
Madinah, he (S) got 63 from the tribe of Aus and 176 from the tribe of Khazraj.
He arranged this team in the battle of BADR and prayed to Allah on the eve of
the battle day: O Allah! Your promised help must come, otherwise, You will not
be worshipped [“La Tabud”]. His promised help came and the idolaters of Makkah
who attacked Madinah arrogantly were routed out. Seventy of their stalwart were killed and 70
became POW in the hands of Rasulullah (S). They were all set free after paying
some nominal ransom either in cash or in kind.
3. Land: While at Makkah, Rasulullah (S) tried his best to find
out a place to make the HQ of the Islamic Movement. First he tried for
The Trustworthy Character that Rasulullah (S) built in his beloved companions
delivered justice, peace and equity to human society, the suffering humanity of
his time and for many centuries together its blessings continued. However this
job was subsequently neglected, rather given up, causing decay and decadence to
Muslim societies. It paved the way towards the emergence of kingdoms, empires,
tyrants and many corrupt oppressive regimes within the body politics of Muslim
Era, surrendering ultimately to the secular West that excelled in science and
technology only over the Muslim world and not in character and moral standards
that were set by Rasulullah (S). As such, in spite of the fact, that west is
dominating the world’s socio-economic-political scene for the last two hundred
years it could not deliver justice to mankind in any form. Its civilization
stands on some secular “values”, the shifting sands if time. I have drawn its
fathomless condition in the beginning to depict that it could not and cannot
deliver good to mankind as it has nothing to offer to man except lust, greed
and false sense of arrogance with military and economic superiority to
subjugate the weak and the poor.
Hence man needs the character that Rasulullah (S) built at the
outset of seventh century AD, if humanity today wants justice, peace and
fair play in every field of life at individual and collective levels. This is
the job of Muslim Ummah to fulfill this paramount human need as Allah has
commissioned it to do so. Now let us see what Ummah possesses today out of the
three requisites that were the prime need of Rasulullah (S) to accomplish his
mission. Let us examine what we have to do towards meeting our obligation in
the midst of conflicting rival ideologies and dogmas and the extraordinary
selfish behavior of man that is full of all kinds of greed and caprices.
What Muslim Ummah possesses today out of the three requisites that
Rasulullah (S) needed to fulfill his (S) mission towards establishing the
authority of our Lord can be traced out as follows:
1. The Guidance – the Blue Print [the Qur’an]is available,
Alhamdulillah, with us intact in its original form, language and shape and the life
pattern of Prophet Muhammad (S) in its minutest detail to follow as the most
perfect model till eternity;
2. The Land: There are currently 57 countries where Muslims are
in majority and have their own governments but has nothing to do with the
Islamic System of life though they all claim that they are Muslims and their
state “religion” is Islam.
3. The trustworthy leadership that Rasulullah (S) built for the
attainment of his (S) mission: That is missing altogether at each level in
the context of modern world whereas it is the most urgent need of Muslim
Ummah and that of the human society at large. World cannot solve any of its
ever surmounting problems in absence of that honest, God-conscious and
trustworthy leadership.
The Islamic Movements around the world
have been conscious of this fact from their very outset and were and are trying
their best to build the requisite team of trustworthy Da’ees but not in the
same proportion as the time needs and the Ummah requires. All the movements are
bogged down practically in the day to day problems of their respective
countries, the legacies of colonial rules, and, as such, could give little
concentration to this basic requirement of the Movements. This is one of the
basic reasons that why so for they could not succeed in their genuine efforts
to get the Deen of Allah established anywhere in the Muslim world and its
possibility in near future too looks like a distant dream as the West is constantly
and consciously putting stumbling blocks in their way everywhere and creating
problems after problems every now and then,
The above discussion confirms, beyond any shadow of doubt, the need and
urgency of dependable and trustworthy characters for human society in every
walk of life and in every country to deliver justice and equity to entire
humanity, both to the affluent and the have-nots. It equally shows that meeting
this requirement is the ultimate responsibility of the Muslim Ummah to get
themselves first out of the mess that is infested in every segment of Muslim
societies. The Ummah, especially the Islamic Movements and the Muslim
leadership have to fulfill this obligation without making any delay to get
their own house in order and set the model before the suffering humanity to
follow. If Muslims can devote their time and energy solidly in building the
requisite Team with the ennobling character on the pattern Rasulullah (S)
inculcated in his beloved companions and set models for others to follow, human
societies will rush to them for guidance and the Muslim leadership will then be
able to lead the destiny of mankind afresh in the way the Muslim of the
first Century Hijrah did. The life pattern of Rasulullah (S) was the model for
his (S) time as well he (S) is the most perfect model for our time and for all
times to come till eternity. Muslims of today have to undertake it as the
universal challenge of the time. Allah (SWT) will then shower His blessings
all around us as per His “commitment” through the Verse # 69 of Surah
Al-Ankabut: “As for those who strive in Us [struggle for His Deen] We surely
guide them to Our path, and Lo! Allah is with the Mohsineen.”
This path to struggle in the way of Allah is wide open and the passage
to the goal is equally surmountable if we could muster equivalent will, courage
and stamina to accomplish it within the next decade or so at the most. Muslims in the West, especially their
leadership, have greater responsibility to prove themselves as trustworthy
models to their fellow citizens. Only then they will be able to wash
away the hate campaign against Islam and the Muslims when they prove that their
character is of 24 caret gold and they are extremely sincere and honest in doing
well to the people of the land. Muslim’s
survival in all the pluralistic societies in the East like India and in the
West like the USA rotates on how fast they follow the foot prints of Rasulullah
(S) and transform themselves into trustworthy characters in the midst of other
Abrahamic faiths at one hand and the pagan world on the other. Only then
the human race will open its heart and mind to accept the leadership of Rasulullah
(S) as the most perfect model and the Muslims as the saviors of mankind.
Shamim Siddiqi
January 15, 2010