الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينة ونستغفره، ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسنا، ومن سيئات أعمالنا ، وأشهد أن لا إله إلا الله وحده لا شريك له ، وأشهد أن سيدنا محمداً عبده ورسوله ، اللهم صلِّ وسلم وبارك على سيدنا محمد وعلى آله وأصحابه  ومن تبعه إلى يوم الدين

As you know, after the weekend Fajr prayer and the lecture, we go to the Masjid’s club and have breakfast and engage in general discussions. Yesterday, the question was raised on how did the poor tribes of Arabia, who were backward in culture and morality relative to the Roman and Persian empires, in less than 30 years be transformed by nothing other than the teaching of Islam to become the world leaders in knowledge, morality, spirituality, human brotherhood, freedom and equality that helped them establish a new civilization.  While the Muslim world today has the same Islam and have access to wealth, knowledge and natural resources but they are the most backward and corrupt among the civilized world.   

I thought that a good subject for today is to try to uncover the key to the treasure of Islam that was responsible for helping early Muslims to establish this great civilization in a very short time.  Hopefully, if we can find the key, we can transform at least ourselves to contribute to enhancing and purifying the civilization that we live under here.

I gave two talks previously in which I discussed why the Quran is the most valuable blessing that Allah granted to mankind and why we need to set a strategy to share this blessing with our fellow citizens otherwise we will be responsible in front of Allah for concealing this great blessing from all those who haven’t heard of it other than the distorted image.  Some suggestions on how to share the Quran with others included:  distributing copies of the Quran, sponsoring a radio program to present recitation of the Quran, holding lectures and inviting non-Muslims to them, taking advantage of social media, and expanding our interfaith program.

These are all good ideas, but do we have any experience that these approaches were successful in broader scale.  The answer is no; yes, we may identify individual cases, but these are all unique.   However, there is a clue given in the Quran that help us understand why the Prophet (PBUH) was successful and why the early Muslims were successful after him in spreading the message of Islam.   Allah says in the beginning of Surat Al-Bayyina (Surah 98):

لَمۡ يَكُنِ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنۡ أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ مُنفَكِّينَ حَتَّىٰ تَأۡتِيَہُمُ ٱلۡبَيِّنَةُ (١)

“Those who disbelieve from among the people of the Book and the polytheists were not to be untied (from their wrong belief) until there comes to them clear evidence.” (Al-Bayyina 98:1)

This verse clearly states that the disbelievers will not leave and untie themselves from their disbelief and shirk unless clear evidence comes to them.  The question is what is this clear evidence that they need to abandon their disbelief and associating other entities with Allah.  Allah answers this question by saying:

رَسُولٌ۬ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ يَتۡلُواْ صُحُفً۬ا مُّطَهَّرَةً۬ (٢) فِيہَا كُتُبٌ۬ قَيِّمَةٌ۬ (٣)

“A Messenger from Allah, reciting (the Qur’an) purified scrolls (2) Containing valuable books.” (Al-Bayyina 98:2-3)

Allah identified the clear evidence as involving two things: 1) a messenger from Allah and 2) a revelation from Allah in the form of pure and valuable scripture.  So, scripture alone is not sufficient to change people’s disbelief, they also need a messenger who is qualified to deliver the message. Only then, people will be held accountable for rejecting the revelation.

Allah reinforces this point by emphasizing that people will only be punished for their disbelief if Allah sends them a messenger and they reject the message that was delivered to them by the chosen messenger, Allah says Surat Al-Isra:

مَّنِ ٱهۡتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَہۡتَدِى لِنَفۡسِهِۦ‌ۖ وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيۡہَا‌ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌ۬ وِزۡرَ أُخۡرَىٰ‌ۗ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبۡعَثَ رَسُولاً۬ (١٥)

“Whoever accepts guidance, he is guided for his own benefit. And whoever goes astray, he goes astray to his own loss. No bearer of burden shall bear the burden of another. And it is befitting for Us to punish until We send a Messenger.” (Al-Isra 17:15)

The Quran is the last message that Allah sent to mankind and Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) is the last messenger.  Allah informed us that He will preserve the Quran as He said:

إِنَّا نَحۡنُ نَزَّلۡنَا ٱلذِّكۡرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ ۥ لَحَـٰفِظُونَ (٩)

“Verily We: Ourselves, have sent down the Dhikr (the Quran) and surely, We will guard it.” (Al-Hijr 15:9)

So, the final divine book that Allah sent to mankind is guaranteed to be guarded by Allah from any alteration and thus it is available to everyone.   But will its availability make the disbelievers responsible for their disbelief by rejecting it.  Not likely, because Allah says that they need two things a divine book and a messenger assigned by Allah who is qualified to deliver the divine book.  

Now, we are facing a challenge because Prophet Mohmmad (PBUH) is the last messenger and he has already passed away, does this mean that all the disbelievers now have a pass since they will not have a messenger from Allah. Not quite, because Allah has already assigned so many people to serve as Messengers from Him to deliver the Quran as Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) did. Who are those messengers?  Did Allah specify them in the Quran, the answer is yes:  Allah says:

قُلۡ هَـٰذِهِۦ سَبِيلِىٓ أَدۡعُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا۟ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِى‌ۖ وَسُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أَنَا۟ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ (١٠٨)

“Say: “This is my way; I invite unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me. And Glorified and Exalted is Allah and I am not of the idolaters.” (Yusuf 12:108)

 So, after the death of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), the messengers become all those who claim to be his followers.  Since Allah guaranteed to guard the Quran, does Allah guard those followers who are committed to deliver His book to the disbelievers? The answer is there in the Quran too.  Allah makes a declaration and promise to all those followers of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) who will continue his legacy by delivering the Quran to all those whom Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) did not meet; Allah says to everyone of them:   

يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلرَّسُولُ بَلِّغۡ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ‌ۖ وَإِن لَّمۡ تَفۡعَلۡ فَمَا بَلَّغۡتَ رِسَالَتَهُ ۥ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعۡصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ‌ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَہۡدِى ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (٦٧)

“O Messenger, convey what has been sent down to you from your Lord. And if you do not, then you have not conveyed His Message. And Allah will protect you from mankind. Verily, Allah does not guide the people who disbelieve.” (Al-Maeda 5:67)

So, now we know that Allah guaranteed to protect the Quran and protect the followers of Prophet Mahammad who take the responsibility to deliver the Quran to others.

The question, now, is whether anyone who claims to be a follower of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) should serve as a messenger to deliver the final message of Allah to all those who haven’t received it. It seems that the verse in Surat Yusuf does not give any exceptions.

قُلۡ هَـٰذِهِۦ سَبِيلِىٓ أَدۡعُوٓاْ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ عَلَىٰ بَصِيرَةٍ أَنَا۟ وَمَنِ ٱتَّبَعَنِى‌ۖ وَسُبۡحَـٰنَ ٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أَنَا۟ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ (١٠٨)

“Say: “This is my way; I (Mohammad) invite unto Allah with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me.  And Glorified and Exalted is Allah and I am not of the idolaters.” (Yusuf 12:108)

Since we claim to be followers of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), we have been designated as messengers by Allah to deliver the Quran which is Allah’s final message to mankind.   If anyone of us feels that this is not his obligation, he may need to question whether he is really a true follower of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH).  This may a harsh reality for almost all of us but unless someone finds out that there are exceptions that make us not responsible, this reality remains.

And if you are still in doubt that this is your responsibility, justify then how are you going to be a witness over other people as Allah expects from you as He said:

وَكَذَٲلِكَ جَعَلۡنَـٰكُمۡ أُمَّةً۬ وَسَطً۬ا لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدً۬ا‌ۗ

Thus, have We made of you a justly balanced nation, so that you be witnesses over the people and the Messenger be a witness against you.” (Al-Baqara 2:143)

Someone may ask whether this responsibly is obligatory on everyone (فرض عين) who claims to be a follower of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) or the obligation is removed if a group of Muslims in the community perform this obligation (فرض كفاية).  This question may not be relevant for a Muslim who lives in the west, because who will be able to reach your own non-Muslim friends, colleagues, neighbors, service providers, etc., other than you. If you are convinced that others will reach them, then your responsibility will be at least to support those who are fulfilling this task on your behalf.

This responsibility of delivering the Quran is not simple, and thus it must have qualification requirements because if we don’t have the proper qualifications, we may be misleading the disbelievers instead of guiding them.   Therefore, Allah teaches us a Dua to say to ensure that we are not a cause for misleading others, the Dua is:

رَبَّنَا لَا تَجۡعَلۡنَا فِتۡنَةً۬ لِّلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا رَبَّنَآ‌ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (٥)

“Our Lord! Do not make us a trial for those who disbelieve, and forgive us, our Lord! Lo! You and only You, are the All-Mighty, the All-Wise” (Al-Mumtahina 60:5)

Now, what are the Qualifications that Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) was emphasizing and training His companions to make them qualified to deliver Allah’s final message to others.

If we examine the nature of the message of Islam, we note that it is defined by two key axes. One axis is Monotheism (التوحيد) and the second axis is values (القيم) and Morals (الاخلاق).  This second axis of moral and values is the one on which the Prophet (PBUH) spent his major efforts to develop in the companions because without achieving the most exalted character they will not be qualified to deliver the message.

The level of transformation that the Prophet (PBUH) was able to achieve in the character of his companions is quite amazing.  This transformation was the key for the success of the companions in spreading the message of Islam all over the world in a very short time and in achieving all the miraculous success that we know of.  

So, if we claim to be followers of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), we need to start by looking at our character.   If we assess that our character is the most honorable, then we are qualified to deliver the Quran to others, otherwise, we need to work on purifying our character. 

Where is the justification that the 2nd axis of defining a Muslim is his character and not the extent of his prayers and fasting?  We note that when Allah praised the Prophet (PBUH) in the Quran, He selected the most important attribute, and this attribute was not his devotion in prayer or his continuous fast or even his courage.  No, it was his character, Allah said:

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ۬ (٤)

“And you are surely on an exalted character.” (Al-Qalam 68:4)

And the Prophet (PBUH) emphasized the primary purpose of his mission by saying:

إنّما بُعثت لأُتمم مكارم الأخلاق”.

“I have not been sent except to perfect the good manners.”

Allah also emphasized that the role of the Prophet (PBUH) is not only to recite the Quran but to purify the heart of the companions before even teaching them the Quran, Allah says:

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمْ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلالٍ مُبِينٍ [الجمعة:2].

“It is He Who has sent amongst the Unlettered a Messenger from among themselves, to rehearse to them His Signs, sanctify them, and teach them the book (Quran) and wisdom, – while before, that they were in manifest error.”  (Al-Juma’a 62:2)

لَقَدْ مَنَّ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ إِذْ بَعَثَ فِيهِمْ رَسُولًا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِمْ يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمْ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَإِنْ كَانُوا مِنْ قَبْلُ لَفِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ(164).آل عمران.

Allah did confer a great favor on the believers when He sent them a Messenger from among themselves, rehearse to them His Signs, sanctify them, and teach them the book (Quran) and wisdom, while before that, they were in manifest error. (Al-Imran 3:164) 

How did the Prophet (PBUH) develop the upstanding moral character in the companions within a very short time to make them qualified to serve as Messengers of Allah to deliver Allah’s final message to mankind? We note that the Prophet (PBUH) dedicated most of his time for this task, and he used multiple approaches.  In this talk, I plan to identify 6 approaches but hope that you can identify others as you study the subject.

1/ He used himself as example of morality and superior character by always demonstrating his humility, mercy, kindness, patience, generosity, etc.  The Prophet’s character is well recorded and available for us to study and imitate.

2/ The Prophet (PBUH) took advantage of the companions’ love of him to create a competition between them regarding who is more beloved to him. As example, He said to them:  

عن جابرٍ بن عبد الله رضي الله عنهما أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: «إن من أحبكم إلي وأقربكم مني مجلسا يوم القيامة أحاسنكم أخلاقا، وإن من أبغضكم إلي وأبعدكم مني يوم القيامة الثرثارون والمتشدقون والمتفيهقون». قالوا: يا رسول الله قد علمنا الثرثارين والمتشدقين فما المتفيهقون؟ قال: «المتكبرون» (رواه الترمذي(

“The most beloved to me and nearest to me on the Day of Judgment is the one who has the best manners and the most hated by me and the farthest away from me on the day of judgment are those who speak too much and those who are showing off and those who are arrogant”.   

At every opportunity, he would remind them about the importance of good character, as example, He (PBUH) said:

(إن الرجل ليُدرك بحسن خُلُقه درجات قائم الليل صائم النهار] أبو داود والحاكم عن عائشة [

A man reaches with his good character the degree of the one who stand in prayers all night and fasts all day”.

3/ The Prophet (PBUH) used the stories to engrain morality and good character in the companions.  There are many stories that most of you have heard before and therefore I am not going to give their details but only highlight the moral character in some of them. 

As example of the stories, he (PBUH) told the companions about the three men who were trapped in a cave by a big rock and how their good characters of kindness to the parents, avoiding shameful deeds and protecting people’s rights were the reason why Allah made the rock move to save them.  This emphasizes that only through good character Muslims will be saved in this life and in the Hereafter.

Another example is the story of the leper, the bald-man by skin disease, and the blind-man.  The story is intended to emphasize the moral character of gratitude

Another story is of the man who borrowed 1000 dinars that the Prophet (PBUH) told the companions to emphasize the moral character of honesty and fulfilling commitment.

There are other stories such as the Prostitute who was forgiven by Allah to emphasize the importance of mercy and kindness even towards animals.

4/ Another approach that the Prophet (PBUH) used to teach morality and honorable character is through dialogue.   An example is the account of the youth who came to the Prophet (PBUH) and asked to give him permission to commit fornication. Instead of the Prophet (PBUH) getting angry from him and warning him of the punishment that he will receive, he (PBUH) instead had a dialogue with the youth to convince him that this act is improper because a believer loves for others what he loves for himself.   In this account, the Prophet (PBUH) was also teaching the companions the wisdom in handling the youth. 

The lesson for the companions was to have them compare their reaction versus the prophet’s.  When the youth made to the request to the prophet (PBUH) the companions who were setting with the Prophet (PBUH) got very angry of the youth and started to reprimand him on how he dares to ask for something like this.  But the Prophet (PBUH) asked them to stop and asked the youth to come and sit close to him and thru dialogue, he taught the youth how to differentiate between good and evil on his own.

5/ The Prophet (PBUH) also used to emphasize honorable character by raising an issue as a question.  As an example, Abu Bakrah (أبي بَكْرة) reported that the Prophet (PBUH) was sitting with the companions, and he said three times:

عن أبي بَكْرة قال: كنا عند رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال: ((ألا أنبئكم بأكبرِ الكبائر؟ ثلاثًا: الإشراك بالله، وعقوق الوالدين، وشهادة الزور، أو قول الزور))، وكان رسول الله متكئًا فجلس، فما زال يكررها حتى قلنا: ليته سكت!

وفي الصحيحين عن أنس بنحوه وزاد فيه: ((وقتل النفس)).وورد نحوه عند البخاري من حديث الشعبي عن عبدالله بن عمرو، وزاد فيه: ((اليمين الغَموس))،قلت: وما اليمين الغموس؟ قال: ((الذي يقتطع مال امرئٍ مسلم هو فيها كاذب))

“Shall I not tell you about the worst of major sins?”

They said, “Of course, O Messenger of Allah.” The Prophet said, “They are: 1) associating partners with Allah and 2) disrespecting one’s parents.”

Abu Bakrah (أبي بَكْرة) said, the Prophet (PBUH) was reclining, and he sat up and said:  3) “And false speech.”

Abu Bakrah (أبي بَكْرة) said that the Prophet (PBUH) continued to repeat “And false speech” so many times until we wished he would stop.  [Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī and Muslim]

Another example, Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH was sitting with his companions and said to them:   

جلس معهم ذات يوم فسألهم “كما روى مسلم في صحيحه عن أبي هريرة”: [أتدرون ما المفلِسُ؟ قالوا: المفلِسُ فينا من لا درهمَ له ولا متاعَ. فقال: إنَّ المفلسَ من أمَّتي، يأتي يومَ القيامةِ بصلاةٍ وصيامٍ وزكاةٍ، ويأتي قد شتم هذا، وقذف هذا، وأكل مالَ هذا، وسفك دمَ هذا، وضرب هذا. فيُعطَى هذا من حسناتِه وهذا من حسناتِه. فإن فَنِيَتْ حسناتُه قبل أن يقضيَ ما عليه، أخذ من خطاياهم فطُرِحت عليه ثمَّ طُرِح في النَّارِ] (رواه مسلم).

“Do you know who the bankrupt is?”

They said: The bankrupt among us is the one who has no Dirham nor property.”

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: “The bankrupt in my nation is the one who comes with prayers, fasting and Zakat on the Day of Judgement, but he comes having abused this one, falsely accusing that one, wrongfully consuming the wealth of this one, spilling the blood of that one, and beating this one. So, he is seated, and they will be requited from his rewards. If his rewards are exhausted before the sins that he committed are requited, then some of their sins will be taken and cast upon him, then he will be cast into the Fire.” [Muslim]

6/ Another approach that the Prophet (PBUH) used to teach honorable character is to take advantage of those who ask him for advice.   He used to give different advice depending on the person who is asking.  He would say to one, be patient and to another be kind to your parents and to a third be humble and to a fourth don’t get angry, and so on.

If you study the hadith of the Prophet (PBUH) you will note that he spent most of the time emphasizing morality and the noble characters far more than he spent teaching them the Quran.  The reason is obvious, without morality, the Quran has no influence on them and without morality, they will not be able to transmit it to others. But with morality, the Quran will be very simple for them to understand and easy for them to apply its commands.  When you examine the Quran, you will note that almost 2/3 of it teaches honorable characters and condemn immorality and evil characters.

The key to the treasure of Islam that the companions were able to own is morality and honorable charter.  Without them, the key is lost, and Muslims will gain absolutely nothing form spending all day and night reading the Quran, praying, and fasting.   These are not aims for themselves, but they are means to help Muslims to achieve the highest level of morality and honorable character to make them embody the final message of Allah to live according to it and transmit it to others.

Without Muslims achieving the highest level of morality and the most noble character, you cannot expect any change in their status and all the materialistic blessings that Allah is granting them are merely tests for them.

If there is one subject that Muslims need to focus on in all their talks is this subject of the prerequisite honorable characters that the Prophet (PBUH) was able to embed in the companions.   As an example, you can see the transformation of the character of a companion such as Omar ibn Al-Kataab by contrasting his character before Islam and his character after Islam to realize the dramatic change.  You will see how this man who was known for his arrogance and rudeness became the humblest and most kind person.  

We pray to Allah to give us the wisdom and the commitment to cleanse our heart and to purify our character to be worthy of being called followers of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) and messengers of Allah’s final message to all mankind.

DUA