Part 3
The Family Bond When <strong>Muhammad</strong> (saaw) was given <strong>the</strong> Prophethood by Allah (swt), <strong>the</strong> Meccan society, and Arabs in general, lived under a social system that failed to preserve <strong>the</strong> dignity <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> human being. They would bury <strong>the</strong>ir young daughters, deny inheritance to women, and institutionalize adultery. In addition, some men would send <strong>the</strong>ir wives to <strong>the</strong> noble men <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> tribe, so that she would give birth to a son <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> blood <strong>of</strong> that noble man. Even beyond this, sons would inherit <strong>the</strong> wives <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir fa<strong>the</strong>r as <strong>the</strong>ir own wives, and <strong>the</strong> lineage <strong>of</strong> adopted children was mutilated, severing <strong>the</strong> ties <strong>of</strong> kinship. Looking to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Seerah</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong> (saaw), we see that he (saaw) struggled not simply to reform this degenerate type <strong>of</strong> behavior, but to uproot <strong>the</strong> entire basis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> society, replacing it with <strong>the</strong> Islamic ideology at every level. Once <strong>the</strong> Prophet (saaw) had implanted <strong>the</strong> Islamic ideology in <strong>the</strong> minds <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> people and established its political authority, he (saaw) began to, through Allah’s revelations, build a new social system. If one looks to <strong>the</strong> <strong>Seerah</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Muhammad</strong> (saaw) with this frame <strong>of</strong> reference, he would come to understand <strong>the</strong> dynamics <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> struggle to change society. This chapter will focus, however, on <strong>the</strong> efforts <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Prophet (saaw) to rebuild <strong>the</strong> social system only. When <strong>Muhammad</strong> (saaw) was in Mecca, he (saaw) struggled with <strong>the</strong> Mushrikeen (idolators) <strong>of</strong> Quraysh when attempting to make <strong>the</strong>m realize that <strong>the</strong>ir way <strong>of</strong> life was incorrect and that <strong>the</strong> Message which he (saaw) had been sent with could liberate <strong>the</strong>m <strong>from</strong> <strong>the</strong> oppressive nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>ir system. One aspect <strong>of</strong> this struggle was that <strong>the</strong> Prophet (saaw) challenged <strong>the</strong> well established social customs in <strong>the</strong> society. As an example, Allah (swt) says, “And when <strong>the</strong> female (infant) buried alive shall be questioned for what sin she was killed?”(At- Takwir 81:8-9). This Ayah clashed directly with <strong>the</strong> Arab custom <strong>of</strong> burying <strong>the</strong>ir first born daughters alive (due to <strong>the</strong> “shame” it brought to <strong>the</strong>m) Family loyalty, whe<strong>the</strong>r for good or bad, was valued highly among <strong>the</strong> Arabs, and Islam directly clashed with this because <strong>of</strong> some family members who accepted Islam, while <strong>the</strong> rest within would not. Thus, <strong>the</strong> pagan Arabs used to accuse <strong>the</strong> Prophet (saaw) <strong>of</strong> having undermined <strong>the</strong>ir goals and rupturing <strong>the</strong> relations within families. Before Islam, <strong>the</strong> inhabitants <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> known world grouped <strong>the</strong>m selves along many superficial lines. This grouping intensified and fueled <strong>the</strong> futile rivalries existing among nations as well as within nations and did nothing to melt <strong>the</strong>se differences toge<strong>the</strong>r. In <strong>the</strong> Arabian Peninsula, <strong>the</strong> Arabs were aligned along tribal affiliations and family ancestry. To <strong>the</strong> East and West, nationalism and religious commonalities formed <strong>the</strong> basis <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> Persian and Byzantine empires. Islam abolished all <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se bonds, replacing <strong>the</strong>m with a strong ideological bond that was not confined to a specific group <strong>of</strong> people or a geographic origin, but had <strong>the</strong> potential for including all <strong>of</strong> humanity regardless <strong>of</strong> race, color, or creed. 43
- Page 1 and 2: Selections !"#$%&'(%)(("*'%#!%% % +
- Page 3 and 4: Muhammad (saaw) Became Prophet (610
- Page 5 and 6: Spanish Inquisition; Muslims rule I
- Page 7 and 8: INTRODUCTION Allah (SWT) said: “Y
- Page 9 and 10: Sadly, we fail to realize that the
- Page 11 and 12: The Mission of Muhammad (saaw) The
- Page 13 and 14: This address is for the Muslims to
- Page 15 and 16: “But it is nothing less than a me
- Page 17 and 18: The second Bayah of Aqabah involved
- Page 19 and 20: Today, the Ummah’s scattered reso
- Page 21 and 22: exponentially increased through usu
- Page 23 and 24: If the call of Islam had not starte
- Page 25 and 26: The Authority of Sunnah As the Umma
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- Page 29 and 30: Many Muslims believe this point and
- Page 31 and 32: follow him (saaw) in performing tha
- Page 33 and 34: In this Ayah, Hikmah means the Sunn
- Page 35 and 36: 1. Memorization The Sahabah (raa) o
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- Page 41: from the Prophet (saaw) as well as
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- Page 47 and 48: “Say: If it be that your fathers,
- Page 49 and 50: The manner in which the Prophet (sa
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- Page 57 and 58: “Therefore proclaim openly (Allah
- Page 59 and 60: “Have you seen his who denies the
- Page 61 and 62: “Sa’ad, By the Qur’an full of
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- Page 65 and 66: The Method of Changing the Society
- Page 67 and 68: harshness and the slavery that domi
- Page 69 and 70: The Help of Allah (swt) It is the l
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- Page 73 and 74: Mus’ab Ibn Umayr (ra) kept spread
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- Page 81 and 82: The purpose of this article is to d
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As time passed, the sahabas capture
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The army of Believers, after spendi
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Treaty of Hudaybiyah Contrary to th
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een to Chosroes in his kingdom, and
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4. The Muslims and Muhammad’s (sa
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The Foreign Policy The Prophet (saa
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“Verily, We have given you a mani
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Part 6
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Arqam. There, he (saaw) would mold
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It was through the help of a politi
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an effective manner and even in cru
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The Stand of the Sahabah (raa) Musl
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The Muslims felt that Muhammad’s
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neglecting the financial sacrifices
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Some of the Sahabah (raa) and their