What did Prophet Muhammed call others to?
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said,
«I was sent to perfect morals and good manners»
[related by Al-Bukhari].
A normal question that comes to mind…if we talk about Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and his noble qualities and deeds…is to ask, ‘What did Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) call others to? And what is his Message?’
To answer this question properly, we have to present some situations and discussions that have been authentically reported in the main sources of the religion (the Quran and Sunnah of the Prophet). This will enable us to answer this question.
When Heraclius sent for Sufyan ibn Harb (commonly known as Abu Sufyan), who was among the Quraishi caravan that had travelled to Sham to do trade, and asked him about the callof Allah’s Messenger(peace be upon him), saying,
«What does he order you to do?’ Sufyan said, ‘He told us to worship only one god, Allah, to not take any partners with Him, and to leave what our fathers used to say (about Allah). He also ordered us to pray, give zakat and charity, be chaste and keep the ties of kinship.»
[related by Al-Bukhari].
We can learn from this discussion what Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) called others to: the belief in one god, Allah, and to worship only Him. Moreover, Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) called others to have good and noble manners, for example to give charity, be chaste and to keep ties of kinship. Abu Sufyan could not avoid stating these truths, although he was not a Muslim at the time. Heraclius was so impressed that it seemed that he would have entered Islam by the end of the discussion if he had been able to overcome his wordly desires and personal wants. However, his worry that he would loose his kingdom made him prefer his wordly kingdom to the Hereafter.
This was clear when An-Najashi sent for the Muslims who had immigrated to Abyssinia. Najashi asked them, ‘What is this religion that has separated you from your people, and you did not enter my religion or any other religion which the different nations profess?’
Jafir ibn Abu Talib (may Allah be pleased with him) said,
«Oh king, we were an ignorant folk; we worshipped idols, ate any dead meat [we found], did evil deeds, severed relations with our relatives, were bad to our neighbours and the strong used to abuse the weak. This was our way of life until Allah sent us a Messenger from among us whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and chaste character we were aware of. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) called us to Allah, to admit He was the only god and to worship Him alone, and to leave what we and our forefathers used to worship besides Allah of stones and idols. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered us to be truthful when we spoke, to fulfill the trusts we were given, to keep ties with our relatives, and be good to our neighbours. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) told us to stop committing prohibited deeds and killing others, and prohibited evil deeds (illegal sex), giving false witness, consuming the orphans money and slandering virtuous women. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered us to worship only Allah and to not take any partners with Him. He also ordered us to pray, pay zakat (obligatory charity) and fast» [related by Ahmed].
In this important meeting, Jafir (may Allah be pleased with him) proved that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was a Prophet, that Allah had chosen him because of his noble lineage, and that he had righteous qualities and characteristics. Then Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) called others to believe in only one god, Allah (Glorified is He), and to have noble qualities.
Notice how different the response of Nijashi was, preferring the next life to this wordly life and so quickly believing in Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) and his call, to the reponse of Heraclius!
Prophet Muhammed’s call and the effect of his Message has remained throughout the different ages
[Edward Gibbon].
English historian
This is clear in the discussion between the simple Bedouin Rib’a ibn Amr and Rustum, the Persian leader in the battle of Al-Qadisiyyah, before the battle began.
Rustum wanted to know what the Muslims called others to and what they actually wanted. Therefore, one of those with him asked, ‘What have you come with?’
Rib’a ibn Amr answered, "Allah. Allah has sent us to take the creation away from worshipping other creations and to bring them to the worship of Allah (Glorified is He), the creator of all creation; to save the people from the tight confinements of this world and to deliver them into the vastness of this world and the Hereafter; and to rescue the people from the oppression of all other systems, and to take them to the justice of Islam. For this reason, He (Glorified is He) sent us with His religion to His creation. Whoever accepts this from us, we will accept it from him and we will retreat from him, leaving him and his land, but whoever refuses what we ask, we will keep fighting him until we attain what Allah has promised.’ The questioner asked, ‘What has Allah promised?’ Rib’a answered, ‘Paradise for those who die fighting those who refused, and victory for those who do not die’[The history of Tabari].
The call of Allah’s Messenger(peace be upon him), in general, was a call towards Allah (Glorified is He), a call to obey and worship Him alone, and to have noble manners, do good to others, and to tell the people what is good and beneficial for them with regards their life here and their life after they die.
To summarize: This is Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him), the seal of the Prophets. Allah sent him to all the people. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) ordered the people to do good and prohibited them from doing evil deeds. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) stated that good things were lawful for them and that bad things were unlawful. Allah (Glorified is He) describes him, saying,
{Now there has come to you a Messenger from among yourselves. Your suffering [in this life or the next] distresses him: he is deeply concerned over you, to the believers he is most kind and merciful}[Surah At-Tawba: 128].
Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) was gentle when he guided the people, taking them by their hands to what was good for them. This is why his call was successful. Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) gave us ideals which time bows and bends to in admiration and respect. Allah’s words are enough to indicate the noble character of Allah’s Messenger(peace be upon him),
{And surely, you [Oh Prophet Muhammed] have sublime morals}[Surah Al-Qalam: 4],
and His (Glorified is He) saying,
{We have not sent you [Oh Prophet Muhammed] but as a mercy for all creatures} [Surah Al-Anbiya: 107].
I read about Islam and the Prophet of Islam and found that it was a religion that was sent to become the religion of all the world and all humanity. We have only studied and commented on a small fraction the teachings that Muhammed came with and which his book is replete with and which result in great benefits[Bertrand Russell].
A high-ranking British philosopher
1. Beware of extremism; it causes difficulties for the person and takes him far from the middle course of Islam.
2. Rely on only rational and logical discussions when calling Non-Muslims to Allah (Glorified is He) and remember how Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) obeyed Allah’s order,
{And reason with them in ways that are best and most gracious}[Surah An-Nahl: 125].
The methods of Proph...
