The Mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw)

Written by:  Deeba Chaudhry

Source:  Calgary Ahmadiyya Muslim Examiner

 Have you any notion what was that strange event that occurred in the wasteland of Arabia when hundreds of thousands of the dead were revived within a few days, and those who had been misguided through generations exhibited a Divine complexion, and those who were blind began to see, and those who had been dumb began to utter words of Divine wisdom, and the world underwent a revolution which no eye had seen before and no ear had heard. Do you know how all this came about? It was the supplications during dark nights of one who had lost himself in God, which caused a revolution in the world and showed such wonders as could never have been expected from that unlettered and helpless one [the Holy Prophet^(saw)]. Invoke Thy blessings and peace O Allah on him and his people, according to the amount of pain and anguish he felt for his ummah, and pour down upon him the light of Thy mercy forever.” (Blessings of Prayer, pp.10-11) 

The Near East has been home to the richest religious traditions of humankind. The greatest number of known prophets appeared in this region who, over a period of two thousand years, were central figures for four of the world’s major religions. Following Zoroastrianism were Judaism and Christianity, all finally completed and perfected by the religion of Islam. Throughout humanity’s long and laborious history, in practically every community in the world, prophets continuously were raised for humankind’s guidance, reformation and spiritual development. These men appeared during some of the darkest moments in history and made significant contributions towards achieving the civilized and enlightened societies in which we find ourselves today. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) was one such prophet, but his advent was a culmination of the long line of illustrious prophets before him. All earlier prophets were sent exclusively to and for small communities or nations that were isolated on the basis of language, ethnicity or geography. For example, Krishna, Ram Chandar and Buddha appeared in the Subcontinent of India, Confucius and Lao Tze appeared in China, Zoroaster appeared in what was then northern Iran, Abraham appeared in Babylon, Moses appeared in Egypt, and Jesus appeared in Israel. According to each of these prophets, the purpose of their advent was for the spiritual development and reformation of the particular populations to which they were sent. By their own admission, none of them were sent to humankind as a whole and their messages were not comprehensive and for all times.

By contrast, while the Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw) came in the footsteps of all earlier prophets, his mission was larger in scope and his message was more focused and defined. The Holy Prophet Muhammad (saw)’s mission and the essence of his message that, for the first time in history, was universal in scope as it addressed the entire world and for all times. The Holy Prophet’s (saw) mission began some six centuries after the advent of the Prophet Jesus (as). Inclined towards, solitude, contemplation and mediation from an early age, in 610 AD, the Holy Prophet (saw) received his first revelation from Allah. One night, the Angel Gabriel appeared to him in a vision and he spoke these words: “Read, in the name of thy Lord Who created. Created man from a clot of blood. Read, for they Lord is Most Beneficent. Who taught man by the pen, taught man what he knew not.” (Holy Qur’an 96:2-6) With these verses began the process of prophetic revelation which had remained silent for the past six hundred years. Although this first revelation marked the beginning of the Holy Prophet (saw)’s mission, it did not completely articulate all of his specific duties or directions. These instructions were to come in subsequent revelations. The second revelation received by the Holy Prophet (saw) further clarified his mission as: “O thou wrapped in a mantel, arise and deliver thy warning. And thy Lord do thou magnify, and thy garments do thou purify, and all unseemliness do thou shun, and give not to gain more, and for thy Lord’s cause, be patient.” (Holy Qur’an 74:2-8)

While the impact to the person of the Holy Prophet (saw) of receiving revelation was enormous, even more unsettling and disconcerting was it to the people around him. At the time of the Holy Prophet (saw), the Arabs possessed no civilization and adhered to primitive pagan beliefs and practices. As they were largely nomadic in culture, the Arabs possessed poor social institutions and systems of government, and very few moral values. Much of their leisure time was devoted to the pursuit of wine, promiscuity and gambling with little or no morality and restraint. The status of the poor was akin to that of the animals, and the status of salves was even worse. Women were held in low esteem and justice was the exclusive domain of the ruling elite. It was within such a society that the Holy Prophet (saw) began to preach his message. While all prophets faced severe opposition to their message and missions, the Holy Prophet (saw) was certainly no exception. Daily he and his followers endured persecution, ill-treated and humiliation, and they lived under the constant threat of assassination. Despite this, he displayed remarkable perseverance and patience, as well as an unshakeable faith in the success of his mission and the eventual winning of the hearts of his countrymen. No other prophet or reformer found his people to be in such a state of degradation, disorder and immorality as the Holy Prophet (saw) found the Arabs. Likewise, no other prophet had ever succeeded in raising his people to such heights or moral and spiritual enlightenment as the Holy Prophet (saw) did, let along within such a short time span of twenty-two years. At the root of this incredible success was the message of the Holy Prophet (saw), a message that was so simple that it was understood by the unlettered Bedouins, and comprehensive thus requiring no change or addition to it during later periods. The summary of the entirety of the message and mission of the Holy Prophet (saw) is: “The belief in the absolute Oneness and Unity of Allah the Almighty; and the promotion of acts of goodness and righteousness for the sake of service to humanity.

A theistic belief and a belief and a moral codes of the conduct are fundamental to all religions. These two principles are not only the foundation of the religion of Islam but also of the teachings of all earlier prophets and sages. Indeed, the Holy Qura’an states: “Surely, the Believers and the Jews and the Christians and the Sabians - whichever party from among these truly who believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good deeds - shall have their reward with their Lord, and no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve.” (Holy Qur’an 2:63) Similarly, the Holy Qur’an also states: “And who is better in faith than he who submits himself to Allah, and he is a doer of good, and follows the religion of Abraham, the upright?” (Holy Qur’an 4:126) The Holy Qur’an set forth the philosophy of Islam and the essence of the prophet’s (saw) mission. These verses refer not only the great simplicity and universality of the Holy Prophet’s (saw) message, but they also display the sublime power that transformed an unlettered and brutal people into saints, scholars and scientists.

The Holy Prophet (saw) taught the Unity and Oneness of Allah. Allah is One with no associates or intercessors. He is the sole Creator of the universe. He existed prior tot the existence of the universe, and shall exist long after it goes into oblivion. The second principal of the religion of Islam that was the Holy Prophet’s (saw) mission to establish was the committing of acts of righteousness. According to the Holy Qur’an and the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet (saw), committing acts of goodness are necessary and crucial to the Islamic faith. Even in the Holy Prophet’s (saw) earliest pronouncements, equal emphasis was laid on service to humanity as on the worship of Allah. All acts of righteousness are essentially inspired by one human emotion, namely, compassion for fellow human beings. This kindness and mercy towards fellow beings is based on a sense of justice and equality - an attitude that all human beings are like brothers. Also, the Holy Prophet (saw) enjoined upon his followers kindness to parents, mindfulness of the needs of the wayfarers, widows and slaves, the protection of the rights of women and orphans, and respecting the property, honour and lives of all the people.

In the early years of the Holy Prophet’s (saw) mission, he and his followers were the victims of the sufferings, torture, humiliation, taunt and injury. They demonstrated superhuman patience, perseverance and steadfastness, and they remained ever-devoted to their cause. Eventually, this patience and persistence caused a stir in more and more people’s hearts as a peaceful revolution overtook the Arab world. Hadhrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, the founder of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at writes about this peaceful revolution in his own words: “