What Did Muhammad Say?


Muhammad
(peace be upon him) taught many important principles and morals, and
even set forth rules for combat setting the precedent and still
exceeding the rules of war set forth by the Geneva Convention.

Consider the following:

All innocent life was sacred and as such none could be harmed, except
those who were engaged against them in active combat. Saving one life
was as if one had saved the entire world, while taking an innocent life
was as if one had taken the lives of the entire world.

There
was to be no genocide of any tribes even up until some had committed
genocide against some Muslims. He offered mutual protection and
forgiveness to the all even after certain ones broke their covenants
with him many times. He did not allow them to be attacked until it was
clearly proven they were traitors during time of war and tried to bring
down the prophet (peace be upon him) and the Muslims at any cost.
Retaliation was only to those Jews who had turned traitor and not
others.

Slaves were common in those days for all nations and
tribes. It was Islam that encouraged freeing of the slaves and the
great reward from Allah for those who did so. Prophet (peace be upon
him) gave the example of this by freeing slaves and encouraging all of
his followers to do the same. Examples include his own servant (who was
actually considered like a son to him) Zaid ibn Al Haritha and Bilal
the slave who was bought by Abu Bakr only for the purpose of freeing
him.

While there were many attempts of assassination made on
Muhammad (peace be upon him) (most famous was the night that Ali took
his place in bed while he and Abu Bakr escaped to Madinah), he did not
allow his companions to slaughter any of those who had been involved in
these attempts. Proof for this is when they entered Makkah triumphantly
and his first words were to command his followers not to harm such and
such tribes and so and so families. This was one of the most famous of
his acts of forgiveness and humbleness.

Military combat was
forbidden for the first thirteen years of prophet hood. The desert
Arabs did not need anyone to tell them how to fight or do combat. They
were experts in this area and held feuds amongst tribes that lasted for
decades. It was not until the proper method of warfare was instituted
by Allah in the Quran, with proper rights and limitations according His
Commandments, that any retaliation or combat was sanctioned. Orders
from Allah made it clear who was to be attacked, how and when and to
what extent fighting could take place.

Destruction of
infrastructures is absolutely forbidden except when it is ordained by
Allah in certain instances and then only according to His Commands.

Cursing and invoking evil actually came to the prophet (peace be upon
him) from his enemies, while he would be praying for their guidance.
Classic example is that of his journey to At-Taif where the leaders
would not even hear him out nor offer so much as the normal courtesy
called for and instead they set the children of the street against him,
throwing rocks and stones at him until his body was bleeding so much,
blood filled his sandals. He was offered revenge by the angel Gabriel,
if he would give the command, Allah would cause the surrounding
mountains to fall down upon them destroying them all. Instead of
cursing them or asking for their destruction, he prayed for them to be
guided to worship their Lord alone, without any partners.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) claimed every person who is born
is born in a state of ISLAM (submission to God on His Terms in Peace),
as a Muslim (MU-Islam means; "one who does ISLAM" i.e.; submits to
God's Will and obeys His Commandments). He further stated, God has
created each person in the image that is His according to His plan, and
their spirit is His. Then as they grow older they begin to distort
their faith according to the influence of the prevailing society and
their own prejudices.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) taught his
followers to believe in the God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses,
David, Solomon and Jesus, peace be upon them all, and to believe in
them as true prophets, messengers and servants of Almighty Allah. He
insisted on ranking all the prophets up at the highest level without
any distinction between them, and ordered his followers to say the
words, "Peace be upon him" after mentioning their names.

He
also taught the Torah (Old Testament), Zabur (Psalms) and Enjil (Gospel
or New Testament) were originally from the very same source as the
Quran, from Allah to the angel Gabriel. He asked the Jews to judge
according to their own Book, and they tried to cover up some of it to
hide the correct judgment, knowing he (peace be upon him) could not
read.

He prophesied, predicted and foretold of events to come
and they happened just as he had said they would. He mentioned so many
things that people of his time could not have known, yet we have seen
the evidences manifest over and over throughout the centuries in
science, medicine, biology, embryology, psychology, metrology, geology
and many other disciplines and even space travel and wireless
communications, all of which we take for granted today. He even
predicted something from the past that would come true in the future,
and it has..

The Quran states pharaoh was drowned in the Red
Sea while chasing after Moses and Allah said He would preserve Pharaoh
as a sign for the future. Dr. Maurice Bucaille in his book, "Bible,
Quran and Science" makes it clear this has happened and the very person
of Pharaoh has been discovered in Egypt and is now on display for all
to see.
This event took place thousands of years before Muhammad
(peace be upon him) and it came true in the last few decades, many
centuries after his death.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) or his
followers never at any time claimed that he was a son of God or the
God-incarnate or a man with divinity – but he always was and is even
today considered as only a Messenger chosen by God. He insisted people
praise Almighty God, alone and not to celebrate him or his companions
in any way. While most people do not hesitate to raise to divinity and
even make 'gods' out of other individuals whose lives and missions have
been lost in legend. Historically speaking, none of these legends
achieved even a fraction of what Muhammad (peace be upon him)
accomplished.

Uniting mankind together for the purpose of
worshipping the One God of Adam and all the other prophets, peace be
upon them all, was his main motivating cause and his striving was for
the sole purpose having everyone to understand and follow the codes of
moral excellence set forth by Allah in His Revelations.

Today
after a lapse of fourteen centuries, the life and teachings of Muhammad
(peace be upon him) have survived without the slightest loss,
alteration or interpolation. They offer the same undying hope for
treating mankind's many ills, which they did when he was alive. This is
not a claim of Muhammad’s (peace be upon him) followers, but the
inescapable conclusion forced upon by a critical and unbiased history.

Muhammad (peace be upon him) claimed to be a servant, messenger and
prophet of the Almighty God; the same God of Adam, Abraham, Moses,
David and Solomon and of Jesus, the Christ, son of Mary (peace be upon
them all). He claimed he was receiving revelation from Almighty God
(Allah) through the Arch Angel Gabriel, calling it the Recitation
(Quran).

He ordered people to believe in God as One, without
partners, and to follow the Commandments of Almighty God to the best of
their abilities.

He forbade himself and his followers from
evil practices and filthy habits, showing them the proper ways to eat,
drink, use the toilet and proper behavior in all relationships. This he
claimed was all from Allah.

What Did Muhammad Say?