جمعه: 1403/01/10
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Bi’that, the greatest historical event – An article written by Grand Ayatollah Saafi Golpaygani on the Occasion of the great Eid of Mab’ath.

In the name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِینَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِیهِمْ رَسُولاً مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ یتْلُوا عَلَیهِمْ آیاتِهِ وَ یزَکِّیهِمْ وَ یعَلِّمُهُمُ الْکِتَابَ وَ الْحِکْمَهَ وَ إِنْ کَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِی ضَلاَلٍ مُبِینٍ

Allah certainly favored the faithful when He raised up among them an apostle from among themselves to recite to them His signs and to purify them and teach them the Book and wisdom, and earlier they had indeed been in manifest error.

One of the greatest, most blessed and bountiful divine actions, which is equal to the blessing of existence and parallel to the bounty of life, greater than which there is no other blessing, is the apostleship of the seal of the Prophets, Prophet Mohammad Al-Mustafa (peace be upon him and his progeny). Just like the act of creation, the manifestation of divine power and its miraculous impacts can be witnessed in this act also, like a sun shining with all its brightness and light. Just the way the creation of the skies and the Earth and all the creatures within them, and the systems that run among them, can be produced as evidence for proving the existence of God, similarly, the noble existence of the Messenger of Islam and his great character, and endless knowledge, and other attributes of His Holiness, which are the great signs among the divine signs, are also strong pieces of evidence which prove the existence of God, His knowledge, His wisdom, and other great proofs for the knower of the unseen.  

 

The Apostleship of the seal of Prophets is the greatest historical event and it is an incident that has overshadowed all the significant historical incidents, and it has guided humanity towards all the valuable and lofty human teachings and concepts:

روز بزرگ گر چه جهان كم ندیده است
روزى چو روز حضرت خاتم ندیده است 
بسیار اتّفاق عظیم اوفتاده است
كامثالِ آن گذشتِ زمان كم ندیده است
لیكن جهانِ حادثه امرى عظیم تر
از بعثت رسول معظّم ندیده است

(Though the world has witnessed many great days

But it has not witnessed anything like the day of His Holiness, the Seal (of Prophets)

Numerous great incidents have occurred

Whose likes have been seen several times with time

However, this world has not witnessed any greater incident

Than the Apostleship of the honourable Prophet.)

 

The points which can be derived from this apostleship, which is a movement and reform in itself, and has left an impact on the soul and thought of human beings, cannot be derived from any other incident. This apostleship has made apparent the divine power and the impact of the revitalizing word of Tauheed (monotheism).

 

Indeed, if Mohammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) would not be chosen as a Prophet and if the apostleship of Islam would not help the deprived, innocent, sick, oppressed, shelter-less, weak, exploited, silent and voiceless people, and if the world would be moving back to the age of ignorance, then what would be left of humanity today?

 

The world would be left with deprivations, oppressions, ailments, weaknesses, exploitations, transgression, luxurious lifestyles, excessive eating by the powerful and merciless beasts. The world would be left with the tyrants and Caesars and Cyrus and transgressors.

 

The world would be left with insecurities, chaos, bloodshed, loots, burying alive of daughters, inhuman transactions with women, slaves, servants, farmers, and at last, polytheism, idol-worship, human-worship and thousands of other corruptions.

 

There would be no shining light of freedom, no rising voice of freedom, no sun of knowledge and wisdom glowing in the world and enlightening it, no human values would be known, no constitution or declaration of human rights would be written, humans would not become equal and at par in terms of their rights, women would not be rescued from various types of misfortunes and would never attain the value of a real human, people would not realize the burden of the governments of the tyrants, transgressors and their chains of enslavement, these many schools, knowledge centres, clinics, hospitals, orphanages, shelters for the poor and caravans for the travellers would not be established, these many mosques, minarets and places from where the revitalizing call of monotheism would reach the ears of the creatures would not be built and founded, these many books in the fields of science, philosophy, moral values and social issues would not be penned, nor would these many great libraries with all their glory and grandeur come into existence.

 

Can anyone having the smallest of information regarding the world history deny all these blessings that are a result of the liberating voice of Islamic monotheism and the announcements of the Holy Qur’an, as well as the painstaking efforts of the Messenger of Islam for twenty-three years, day in and day out?

 

Indeed, twenty-three years, but those twenty-three years, in their extensiveness and quality, were much more than twenty-three million years of services by the reformers and servants of the society, from the aspects of the good and the blessings which it left in the hands of humanity.

 

To talk about such a great and sublime personality regarding whom both Muslims and non-Muslims have penned thousands of books, speeches, articles, eulogies, and thesis, and one who has gifted the humans the most elevated teachings and culture, and the most humanly social, political, moral and economic teachings, is unethical. What can we say and write that could explain even a single virtue among the great virtues of that man of God? So we are left with no option but to bow our heads and apologize for whatever we have said and we say about him, and resort to the words of the great Martyr:

صلاة و تسلیم على أشرف الورى * و من فضله ینبو عن الحدّ و الحصر
و من قدر فی السّبع الطّباق بنعله * و عوّضه الله البراق عن المهر
عدولی عن تعداد فضلك لائق * یكلّ لسانی عنه فی النّظم و النّثر
و ماذا یقول النّاس فی مدح من أتت * مدائحه الغرّاء فی محكم الذّكر

(Mercy and Peace be upon the most dignified of all beings; one whose virtues exceed all limits and boundaries.

One who surpassed the seven skies with his shoes and Allah gifted him the Buraq in exchange

My abstention from the calculation of your merits is appropriate because my tongue is incapable of it both in poetry and prose

And what can the people say in the praise of someone, for whom great praises and compliments have arrived in the firmest of Reminders (the Qur’an).

 

Even if we say something, it is not like how a particle praises the ever-glowing sun, or how a drop describes the greatness of the oceans, because we are much smaller than a particle or a drop against his sun-like existence and the ocean of virtues and merits. Instead, it is done to gain some reward and also because we enjoy the remembrance of His Holiness, and it helps in brightening our conscience and reviving our hearts. Therefore, for our success, we do not refrain from taking the name of His Holiness, and reciting Salawaat on him, and praising and honouring him at every occasion and with every opportunity.

 

The understanding of the lifestyle of Allah’s Messenger Prophet Mohammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) and his school of thought is very important for the great Islamic society and it is the most constructive and educational lesson for all the human societies and humanity, which must be introduced not just as a science and universal knowledge but greater than that, because the astonished and bewildered human society is in need of further understanding this lifestyle that consists of all the comprehensive dimensions and has deep meanings, and it requires excessive discussions and effort.

 

The sacred and holy existence of His Holiness, the seal of Prophets, Mohammad Al-Mustafa (peace be upon him and his progeny), comprehensively possesses all the human virtues and excellences of a great and unparalleled human being. These virtues are such that the explanation of even a single one of them is not possible in any speech or writing.

 

Even the foreigners and orientalists had no choice but to confess to the virtues of the Holy Prophet. Thomas Carlyle, in his book Al-Abtal, whose Persian translation has been published by the name “Qahrmanan”, names the champions and victors of every field. These are those people who have achieved success in that field. For example, the champion in the form of a leader, the champion in the form of a poet.

 

When he talks about the champion in the form of an Apostle, there he does not mention the names of Prophet Moses (PBUH) or Prophet Jesus (PBUH), nor does he take the name of Prophet Abraham (PBUH), instead, he says that the champion and victor in apostleship and Prophet-hood is Mohammad.

 

In this brief article, we intend to briefly explain some of the important virtues of this unique personality of the world: One of the most important virtues of the existence of the Messenger of Islam (may Allah send mercy upon him and his progeny), is his greatness in the constitution of laws, for which no one can find a better example. Among the great lawmakers and legislators of laws, the opportunity that was bestowed upon the Messenger of Islam, could not be achieved by anyone else.

 

The importance of this topic will become more apparent when we carefully study the legislation and cooperation and mutual thinking, and the extensive studies and discussions regarding every single clause of the law, and at last, it is sent to the legislative assembly and analysed by the councils.

 

Is it not a sign of greatness that a person, without any advisors and counsellors, without having any experience in legal studies, without visiting the law colleges, and without any prior analysis from the aspects of health and society, having no judicial and financial experience regarding the various aspects and rights of the people, presents such laws which are, even after fourteen centuries, very much alive and are the most human laws of the society? Its principles and clauses have been approved and supported by the legal experts of the world. And as per the belief of the researchers and just people, these laws are the only way of solving the present problems of humanity.

 

Among the other virtues of the Prophet, of which he is the unparalleled champion, is the greatness shown by him in the fundamental reformation of the society.

 

In the history of the great revolutionary leaders, there is no one like the noble Prophet of Islam, who could bring in a very short duration, an unmatchable intellectual and practical revolution.

 

Tolstoy said: “Undoubtedly, Mohammad (peace be upon him and his progeny) is one of the greatest men and among those men who have done great service to the society. This itself is enough for his glory that he guided a nation towards the light of truth, and stopped them from bloodshed, burying their daughters alive, and slaughtering humans in the name of sacrifice. A man like him deserves respect and honour.

 

The details of the honourable Prophet of Islam’s greatness in the fundamental reformations of the society and the unstoppable revolutions of Islam which are for every time and place is extremely lengthy and the fact is that among the reformers and revolutionary men, history cannot show anyone who was, in a very short duration of time - as successful and victorious as His Holiness was in all the various fields related to the material and non-material world, the spiritual and physical worlds, both for the individual and the society.

 

Among other virtues of this unique universal champion is his greatness in heedlessness towards the world. In his unattraction towards the apparent luxuries of the world, the honourable Prophet of Islam was a role model and exemplar for all the ascetics.

 

One of the signs of His Holiness’ asceticism was that at a time when he was at the peak of worldly greatness and material power, he used to stitch his shoes with his own hands and put patches in his clothes, and stayed away from the luxuries of this world. If he witnessed an ornament among the worldly ornaments in his house, he used to say: Hide it from my sight, lest I engage myself in viewing it and begin to think of this world.

 

Indeed! He was the unique champion of all the virtues and greatness; the greatness of steadfastness and bravery, God-wariness and servitude, truthfulness and trustworthiness, pardon and forgiveness, his great character and the miracles of His Holiness, and the excellences of the Holy Qur’an, regarding each one of them, if several books and articles are also written, it won’t be sufficient. We must confess the honor and glory of these virtues. How well has that Christian scholar said, ‘I am a Christian and I honor Mohammad, and I consider him the preamble of the book of eminence and lofty position.

 

We must propagate the ideology and message of such an exemplar champion because there is no greater service and source of reformation for mankind than introducing his lifestyle to them.  

Friday / 29 March / 2024