e_Paper, Tuesday, December 13, 2016

22
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 13, 2016
DT
Opinion
The unlettered Prophet (pbuh)
Let the Almighty’s mercy and blessings be bestowed on Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
Perfect purity, free from word and script
• Syed Rezaul Karim
The Prophet of Islam,
Hazrat Muhammad
(pbuh) was endearingly
called by Allah as
Rahmatan lil-Alameen or “mercy
for the worlds” (21:107) in the Holy
Qur’an, but he was also addressed
as “Abduhu” (His servant) in the
Qur’anic Surah of Bani Israel:
“Glory to (Allah) who did take his
servant for a journey by night from
the sacred mosque to the farthest
mosque.”
The night mentioned is the
night of Ascension (or Miraj).
Abduhu must indeed be the
highest possible and most
honorific attribute given to a
human being. The Qur’an also
praises the personality of the
Prophet in the following words:
“And surely thou hast sublime
morals” (68:4).
What is the significance of
servanthood of the Prophet?
One of the earliest
interpretations comes from 11th
century Sufi scholar, Hazrat Abul
Qasim al-Qushayri. In his book
Al-Risala, he says: “Servanthood
means to fulfill the duties of
obedience unstintingly, to look at
what proceeds from as insufficient
and to view what is produced by
your virtues as ordained by God.
And it is said that servanthood
means to give up your own will for
the sake of the manifest order of
God.”
The emphasis on Abduhu
served to remind Muslims always
Rumi explains that Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was called ‘unlettered’
not because he was unable to read or write, he was called that because
his ‘letters’ -- his knowledge and wisdom -- were innate, not acquired
to remember Muhammad (pbuh)
as a created being even during the
height of his mystical experience,
and however much God had
glorified him and exalted him
among all creatures.
We know that Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) was an
orphan; his father Abdullah, son
of Abdul Muttalib died before
his birth; his mother Aminah
died when he was six years old.
His guardian grandfather Abdul
Muttalib died when he was eight
years old.
He was born in the Hisham
branch of the clan Quraish. When
the Prophet was born, Aminah was
in her uncle’s house and she sent
a word to Abdul Muttalib, asking
him to see his grandson. He took
the boy in his arms and carried
him to the sanctuary and into
Kabaa, the Holy House where he
prayed a prayer, thanking God for
this gift.
It was customary for all great
families of Arab towns and
certainly of Bani Hashim to send
their sons to be weaned by a foster
mother chosen from the Bedouin
tribes living on the fringe of the
desert, near Makkah.
Normally, foster parents were
on the lookout for a baby from
well-to-do or influential families,
not so much for monetary
considerations, but for social
relationships at a later period
when the child grew up.
In the case of Muhammad
(pbuh), his father was dead,
his mother was poor, and his
grandfather, though famous, was
old and distant.
Halima, the foster mother of
the Prophet, was initially reluctant
to accept Aminah’s son when
she came to the town to look
for a foster child. Having failed
to manage a suitable ward, she
accepted him just to avoid going
home empty-handed.
While staying at a foster
parent’s house, an unearthly
incident happened to young
Muhammad (pbuh).
One day, Halima’s son reported
to his parents that two men
clothed in white had taken young
Muhammad (pbuh) and had laid
him down and opened his chest
and stirred it with their hand.
They asked Muhammad (pbuh)
what exactly had happened -- he
confirmed Halima’s son’s claims,
and said: “They searched for it for
I know not what.”
Yet, there was not even a scar
on the foster child’s body. Out of
apprehension and fear, Halima
returned the child to Aminah, who
was surprised at the undue return.
The Holy Qur’an, in a different
context, alludes to the above
incident in an allegorical tone:
“Have we not expanded thee
thy breast? And removed thee
thy burden which did gall thy
back?” (94:1) The Holy Prophet’s
human nature had been purified,
expanded, and elevated.
Addressing the Prophet as
“Ummi”
The Prophet of Islam was
addressed as “Ummi” by Allah
in the Holy Qur’an (Surah Al-
Araf/7:157-188), a word generally
interpreted in Islamic tradition as
unlettered/illiterate.
The Qur’anic verse: “Say, O
man I am sent unto you all as
the Messenger of Allah to whom
belongeth the dominions of
heavens and Earth: There is no
God but He that giveth life and
death. So believe in Allah and His
Messenger the unlettered Prophet
who believeth in Allah and His
BIGSTOCK
words -- follow him that (so) you
may be guided.”
Rumi, the great Sufi sage
and poet explains that Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh) was called
“unlettered” not because he was
unable to read or write, he was
called that because his “letters” --
his knowledge and wisdom -- were
innate, not acquired.
Prophets come out of nonphonic
world into the world of
words. Once Rumi commented:
“Those who have united worldly
intellect, which is partial in nature
with the universal intellect, which
is preserved within the tablet of
heart, are prophets and saints.”
Another poignant and
perceptive point in calling the
Prophet (pbuh) “Ummi” was
observed by the late professor of
Indo-Muslim culture, Anne Marie
Schimmel of Harvard University:
“Just as in Christianity, where God
reveals Himself through Christ,
the virginity of Mary is required in
order to produce an immaculate
vessel for the divine word, so in
Islam where God reveals Himself
through the word of the Qur’an,
the Prophet had to be a vessel that
was unpolluted by ‘intellectual’
knowledge of word and script so
that he could carry the trust in
perfect purity.”
Let the Almighty Allah’s mercy
and blessings be bestowed on
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). •
Syed Rezaul Karim is the Ex-Managing
Director of Hoechst Bangladesh Ltd and
Advisor to Allama Rumi Society, Dhaka.