MUHAMMAD
The Hard Truth about Muhammad
It is now an acceptable norm to attack Muhammad but the inerasable fact of history is of a miraculous transformation that Muhammad brought that including racial equality, welfare for the poor and protection of women from trafficking & sexual exploitation. Muhammad also stopped female infanticide, FGM and also accorded the right of a slave to be paid. He legislated that women will inherit from their fathers, husbands cannot impulsively beat their wives and no woman will marry her rapist. But it did not stop there because as recent as the 1960s the Western world shuddered when Malcom X made the Hajj to Mecca and came back carrying the universal message of Islam; and thereby put Western society on a backfoot to quickly reverse centuries of racism. "If America did not make the reforms" - pleaded Martin Luther King to President Lyndon Johnson - "then most Blacks, Hispanics and American Indians will become Muslims." Within 24 hours the Senate rushed to approve the Civil Rights demands. Soon after that Malcom X was assassinated followed by Dr King. Though both men had been silenced the changes brought to America legislation was the first ever in Western history where a Black person was finally legally equal to a White person.
Until today the so-called 'free'media that will waste no time to abuse Muhammad will not report on how it was Muhammad's message of equality that ultimately forced the decadent American Senate to acquiesce to change and thereafter started a ripple effect on the rest of the Western society. The shock waves ultimately dismantled Apartide in South Africa and Rhodesia and today even racist religious based ideologies hiding behind democracy are on backfoot. Today Israel itself which is heavily funded by Western goverments is itself on a backfoot to justify it's racism and Superior ideology. The message of Muhammad is therefore still making it's impact in the modern world regardless of whether it is being acknowledged or not.
These facts are withheld in the media - partly due to the political need to character assassinate the greatest of all personalities of history. The untold story is of how Muhamad created the first society where Black & White stood together, disabled people were not outcastes, women not traffics for sex and where the poor had a right to welfare. These facts about Muhammad are deliberately withheld for political reasons, much of it is to do with domination of Muslim lands & resources and a deliberate ploy to engage Muslims in wars between themselves.
The odds for him to transform his society in that era was zero as he came at a time books were a non-entity, where knowledge was a monopoly and where religious leaders led pogroms. At that time ordeals by fire were common and witch & widows burnings was common. People across the world lived ignorantly and this suited the patriarchal leaders who controlled society behind fortified forts and castles. This was the 7th Century when there were no modern amenities and people ranked themselves by owning slaves and having sons.
Historical records tell us Muhammad was supported by at least one Christian king called Negus and all the Jewish tribes in Arabia signed peace with him. He was visited by the Roman ambassador and Emperor Heraclius said that he would anoint Muhammad by washing his feet. Muhammad’s letters of peace to monasteries are believed to be intact in ancient churches in Ethiopia and it is believed that his seal of peace is secured in a vault in Turkey’s national museum.
Muhammad’s transformation of the 6th century ushered a new era for humanity. His words still reverberate in history and have changed societies. “All human beings are equal like the teeth of a comb," were his first words that still are a guiding light for nations. He created the first constitution that allowed a poor peasant to even sue a rich lord.
He reduced the punishment for a slave to half that of his master. His government fed the poor and he made it illegal to disown women and children from their inheritance. His constitution forbad the unnecessary chopping of trees or to overladen animals. He removed stoning and burning of living beings. Muhammad based his teaching on the belief that everything in creation has rights and human beings are protectors of these rights. Such were his reforms that modern historians like Martin Lings see Muhammad as a man who turned the course of human existence.
THE BEST REFORMS
Muhammad’s best example of empowering the downtrodden was that he converted his mosque into a school for slaves to learn to read & write.
This act alone freed education from the echelon of superior classes who had made literacy their monopoly. Muhammad said: “One hour of education is better than a thousand hours of ritual prayer. The ink of a scholar is greater than the blood of the martyr. Real slavery is to be and remain ignorant.”
In one battle against the Meccan establishment he ordered his prisoners to be freed if they could teach some of his people to read. This act is unprecedented in world history.
The first word of the book he gave to his followers was ‘Read’ and this was symbolic of his emphasis on literacy. And the fact that he produced a book in that era for ordinary people to read and follow is itself remarkable. Muhammad made it incumbent to all his followers to read the book and thereby changed the expectations of people in that era. This book, produced in the 6th Century, is called the Quran and is intact in it’s original form.
A PRACTICAL LIFESTYLE
Muhammad’s message was that faith is for the advancement and betterment of human life such that the human being gains both physically & spiritually by leading a life based on balance & justice. These two are the pillars of a truly Islamic life.
Based on these pillars Muhammad created a transformation in living such that people regulated their day around the five prayers. This happened when there were no clocks and no accounting of time. This created the balance in a day that is essential for success.
Muhammad also taught fasting in the month of Ramadan so as to bring out the inner demons of doubt, fear of poverty and lack of stamina which are all demons that hold individuals from striding forward in life. Those who fasted developed an inner strength to face the many challenge of life. It has the potential of transforming the inner core of a human being.
Then he taught how to do the Hajj which became the greatest human travel venture in history. It brought people out of their villages at a time when travel was fraught with danger & superstitions. Bringing people from across the world at that time to Mecca for the pilgrimage created a new network to connect humanity on a global level - a feat that led to connectivity in trade, culture and social lives.
As part of the balance and social justice principles of Islam Muhammad created the first welfare society in the world. He even reserved a place in his mosque as refuge for the destitute. One person who lived in the mosque was a disabled African maid who had been discarded by her tribe. When Muhammad gave her a place in the mosque she constructed a hut in the courtyard and served the mosque by sweeping it with her bare hands. She would say: “How fortunate I am to be chosen to live in a piece of heaven on earth near to Muhammad.”
LIFE PHYLOSOPHY
Muhammad is described as a strong and resilient man with glistening teeth, sharp facial features, clear skin and long locks of hair. The whiteness of his epiglottis moved when he sipped water. Even on his journey he trimmed his beard and did not allow it to grow more than the width of 4 fingers or his palm. He would tell his followers that God does not like his worshippers to look shabby. ‘Grooming was half of faith,’ he said.
He also told his followers not to grow hair under the arms or in pubic areas as ‘devils reside in dirty places.” He told them to trim the moustache as it gathers dirt and food debris. He told his followers that God has made human beings as the most beautiful of all creation and so it is a service to God to beautiful themselves. He told them to look young by grooming, brushing and keeping a smile. He told them to learn to swim and have a full body wash after sexual relations. He refused people to come to his mosque if they were unclean, smelly or unkempt. 'The Devil likes Dirt & Drudgery," he said.
Muhammad’s philosophy was that everything in life is a blessing and we must do strive to achieve the best. If we did this then God will increase his blessings for us in this life and reward us in the hereafter. Hence, to live like Muhammad means to do the best in everything we do. To live like Muhammad is called the Sunnah.
Sadly, Muslims have forgotten what is true sunnah. For most it is about wearing drab lengthy desert clothes and growing untidy beards. This version of Islam is deliberately publicised by those who have taken over the mosques and madressahs. The aim is to keep the Muslims tied up in pointless practices which are called sunnah when the real sunnah is based on a balance & on social justice.
Muhammad always led his followers by example based on principles. He ate moderately and rarely ate meat. He liked dates, grapes, yogurt and vegetables. He always rinsed his mount after eating and he tasted salt before and after food. He spent his days fasting and he ate only one full meal in the day.
He never hit his camel and he told a man that a person who gives water to even a stray dog will find God to be gracious to him.
Muhammad taught people to value time and to keep segments of the day for learning, washing and being with the family. He did this at the time when there were no clocks. He said that a person who does not plan out his day will end up regretful as he will miss out on the blessings God has spread out for him.
Muhammad was to say: “Do not oppress and do not be oppressed!”
Oppression takes many forms and self -oppression comes when one does not have self-worth. Every human being is created pure, free of blame or sin. He or she is unique with a unique purpose. A person is to look at life as a series of opportunities and challenges to learn & develop oneself without losing its pure form. The second purpose is to know God personally by developing an inner vision or an inner eye.
Muhammad said: “A man does not value himself if he does not work hard; begs; loses his opportunities to better himself; his behaviour make him lose his family & friends; takes others for granted, breaks his promises; lies; misleads others; does not show patience or forbearance; abuses others; is quarrelsome; takes toxicants; is sexually immoral; insults others especially children & elders; insults the disabled; boasts; lowers the dignity of others; walks with pride; is cruel to those under him; thinks his good days will last forever; is rude & dismissive; does not forgive; does not consult; is ruthless when in power; forces others to agree with him; stays dirty; backbites; is a procrastinator; makes false accusations; addicted to look for fault in others; is spendthrift; is hasty in making judgements; has no regards for animals; does not strive to beautify his environment; misleads or harms others; is not helpful; disregards others; is not self-critical; spies; does not value the time he has got left in life; joins an oppressive cult; does wrong in God’s name; does not value the skills he has; causes hatred; lives in superstitions and suspicions; accepts to be bullied; obeys bad leaders; does not educate himself; is lazy and has no faith in the hereafter..”
A person who wants to develop the ‘inner eye’ needs to contemplate on who God is by looking at the creation and how God intervenes in one’s life. The first stage to develop the inner eye is to learn the 99 attributes of God and inculcate them in to your life.
WOMANHOOD
Before Muhammad the society blamed Eve to have enticed Adam to eat the forbidden fruit. This justified the attitude that women were aligned to evil with stereotypes of how women turned in to old hag and witches. In some societies women were burnt alive on accusation of sorcery. Muhammad freed women from this historical & religious blame. He also removed the ‘trial by fire’ (AGNI PARIKSHA) prevalent at the time against women.
He said men and women are part of the same soul and are comfort for each other. He defined womanhood as a ‘partnership in faith, partnership in life and partners in paradise.” His revelation, the Quran, describes women as ‘spiritual guides’ of men.
The Quran is the first book in history to accord women payment for being a house wife. This is called AJAR in the Quran in verse 4:24 where a husband and wife are meant to make mutual agreement of paying the wife for her housework and tending to his needs. She is given the rights to inherit, to be educated and to refuse an arranged marriage. For the 6th Century all these are major strides forwards for women.
Muhammad said that a woman’s sexual beauty is not a curse but a blessing and a chaste woman will be more endowed in heaven with such beauty. On earth she should not be overwhelmed with it and so needs to keep it only for her husband. In-turn her husband should focus on her, value her love and commitment and not betray her by going after other women.
Muhammad married a widow of 40 when he was 25 and stayed with her for 26 years. By marrying an older widow he removed the stigmas of marring older women and marrying widows. Muhammad said: “He who shows no love to his womanhood is not of me!”
Those who are ever-ready to criticise Muhammad for allowing things like a limited type of polygamy often ignore how Muhammad operated under a different set of parameters. They try to transpose the 6th century strides made by Muhammad on to modern day movement to attempt a comparison. They forget that it took centuries of struggle with global changes in politics, economic and advancement in science to create a modern status for womanhood. What Muhammad achieved in 10 years of his mission in the 6th century is therefore a miracle in its own right and criticism of him is unfair and often based on hypocrisy from those who need to look at their own history of how women are described & treated in their own religions and cultures.
HIS ENEMIES
The beautiful stories of Muhammad are often not told in the 21st Century media due to political reasons. In the 6th Century too the patriarchal leaders held a mental grip on society by controlling how people thought. They used poets, preachers and story tellers to misrepresent, lie and flavour the truth. To create a mental block they vilified Muhammad and made up slanders against him. Some of these slanders were believed in even after he passed away. One example of a slander story against Muhammad is that he was visited by the devil who gave him versus of the Quran or that Christian monks were his mentors who created Islam as an Arabic version of the Christian and Jewish religions.
One of the words the patriarchal leaders used for him was Mahond to mean the Devil. In the modern era writers like Salman Rushdie used the same words and abused Muhammad by staging the same level of derision; painting him as a sexual pervert, a sadist and a paedophile. One writer also tried to prove that Muhammad suffered epileptic fits and that he misread his epileptic traumas as religious experiences.
These writers have largely gone unchallenged even though the obvious question is that how can epileptic fits make a man produce reforms in his era, defeats great empires and produce the first constitution on earth? How can a man who was the ‘devil’ produce the Quran? And how can you compare a modern state with a desert state in the 6th Century that Muhammad reformed as both are incongruous to comparison?
However, what helps accusations against Muhammad is a cult version of Islam enforced in places which are tied to their anti-Muslim paymasters.
Hence feudal countries like Saudi Arabia are proxy to a perverted version of his teachings as state-paid preachers, supported by the CIA, refuse women to drive cars and thereby create the impression that it is Islam that is oppressive to women. Their version of Islam has a direct link to how Lawrence of Arabia and Napoleon wanted Islam to become. These orientalists saw the world from their prism of colonial supremacy. They wanted Islam to serve them and their empire building. This required a portrayal of Islam as a ‘spent’ force and nothing more than a cultural museum of outdated ideas and dogmas that needed ‘Westerners’ to reform it as they were of a superior civilisation. Hence, they murdered Muslim scholars in the bid to stagnant Islam while the Western nations marched in the 20th Century to reform themselves regarding women’s rights and racial discrimination by borrowing Muhammad’s 6th century ideas like Education for All and Equality for All.
The colonial masters wrote up a draconian version of Islam that was extremist, anti-science and anti-modern force, bigoted by male egos who replied on beard growing as a mark of their faith even though bread growing is not in the Quran. This cult took over the Wahabi ideology and is now even ready to dig out the graves of Muhammad and his Companions with the view that it is against Islam to visit graves and talk to the dead (even though Muhammad did it!).
The perverted version of Islam is the twisted epitome of Wahhabism turning it in to a ruthless dark force resembling witch-burners of medieval Europe. This new Wahhabism is taught to orphan children in Afghanistan, Somalia, Yemen and other poverty places where Saudi money works to cause chaos and division. Even the UK is not spared due to it’s close connection to the Saudis. And this cult was the pre-runner to Al Qaeda and ISIS who are guilty of even gunning down over 200 Muslim children in a school in Pakistan.
8. TERRORISM
One thing that has worked in favour of alienating the Muslims is terrorist attacks by those who have hijacked the Wahabi ideology. Their mindless attacks and their fake Islam helps the enemies of Islam to create suspicions and hate against Muslims who have nothing to do with the attacks.
Secondly, historical facts and forensics do not interest the hard-line media that generates more hate against Muslims by using a stereotype of Muslim history that Muslims spread their religion by the sword. This works for extremist in India, Myanmar, CAR and even Bosnia. In India a term ‘Love Jihad’ was used if any Hindu girl fell in love with a Muslim and converted. This type of propaganda is today used politically across the world to justify discrimination and oppression of Muslims in many nations of the world.
Some Buddhist in Myanmar actually believe that Muslims don’t have a soul and so it is okay to burn them in open fires as they don’t feel pain. This is one reason why ordinary Buddhist in the UK have not made any comments against the plight of the Rohinga.
The third excuse to subjugate the Muslims is to depict them are culturally ‘backward, anti-woman and uncivilised.’ This third excuse is used in order to interfere in Muslims nations. (Just as African Nations were seen as uncivilised in order to interfere and rob it’s resources).
An example is the installation of the Shah in Iran who was depicted as ‘dragging’ the Muslims in to the ‘modern world’ even though, for 25 years, he robbed Iran on behalf of Western nations and denied Iran democracy.
Today the Western interferences including bombing independent nations like Libya, Syria and Yemen are increasingly seen by Muslims as ‘Western State Terrorism” and is a key reason why Muslim youth in Western countries have become alienated from the integration processes. The prime example of State Terrorism today is unquestioning bigoted support of Israel where a religious Crusading racist state is incarcerating the indigenous people just because they are Muslims.
9. THE OPPORTUNITY
Today, despite all the negativity against Muhammad the facts are slowly being realised. Even the accusation that he married a child is now challenged due to a little known fact of how his so called ‘child bride’ is quoted to have said: ‘I was in my teens when my father joined Muhammad and it was ten years after that when I married him.’
And the fake story that he killed 800 Jews POWs is based on the story that those Jews who committed treason were given a choice to be judged by the law of the Bible against treason or by the Quranic law. The Jews preferred their own law. But when the Bible was opened it came to The Book of Joshua where God commanded the Jews to kill every person; man, woman or child, of the Philistines. So the story actually turns around the highlight violence in the Bible rather then have anything to do with the laws of Muhammad that did not allow any prisoners of war to be killed.
In the modern era the availability of a wide array of resources on the internet means that lies can no longer divert people from Muhammad. The days when men like Salman Rushdie become rich and famous for abusing and lying about Muhammad and for Hindu extremists like RSS to deceive people about history are over. The only factor now to divert people is the perversion of Wahhabism and terrorism it brings. This is a challenge for Muslims who need to identity and discard the rotten ideology from within. This ideology is planted over decades through two centuries by Western colonials and their Saudi agents.
Given that the facts are becoming clear the Muslims in the West have no excuse to sit back and allow their religion to continue to be vilified. The golden opportunity to reveal the true Muhammad to ordinary people in the West is finally here.
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