Auron ka hai Payaam aur, mera Payaam aur hai, / Ishq key dardmand ka tarz-e-kalaam aur hai! (Iqbal)
Ask yourself this simple question: Who else in this world has a “religion” whose very name is rooted in peace and blessings? For, that is what that word “Islam” means: peace and blessings, no matter how you look at it.
I am not talking about all kinds of devotees and followers making all kinds of lofty claims about and on behalf of their respective religions. I am talking about the very name and title of the “religion” of Islam which means “Peace and Blessings.”
I know I firmly hold that it is a travesty to use the word “religion” to describe Islam, just at it is a travesty to refer to the glorious and miraculous Aayats of the Qur’an as “verses.” But still I am using it here purely to illustrate a point. I am invoking it here to ask a most direct and yet a most simple question: Which other religion do you know that is called “Peace and Blessings”? That carries that title?
And yet it is a question which, if you ask truly, sincerely and with the bottom of year heart, may totally and completely transform your life – and quite possibly the fate and future the world in which you live.
Let me repeat that question – one more time: Which other religion do you know that calls itself “Peace and Blessings”? That carries that name and title: Islam – “Peace and Blessings”?
Is Christianity called that? Is Judaism called that? Is Hinduism called that? Or is Buddhism, Jainism or Zoroastrianism called that? Or is Taoism called that?
Which other religion in the world refers to itself as Peace & Blessings, period?
Don’t you see that this is a clear sign from Allah? He promised you in the Qur’an that he will show you his signs till truth becomes manifest and self-evident to you. Here it is.
God promised you in the Qur’an:
Sa nureehim aayaatinaa fil aafaaqi wa fee anfusihim hattaa yatabayyana lahum annahul haqq.
Paraphrase: “We shall show them our signs and miracles in their own selves and lives, and all around them, till it becomes clear and manifest to them that it is indeed the truth.”
And here is the partial fulfillment of that promise that God made to you in this glorious Aayat of the Qur’an.
Here is God showing you as clear as daylight that the system of Islam is very different from everything else you know: that it is clearly and directly from God Almighty. And that it could not come from a human source.
You don’t need experts to tell you this. You need professors, philosophers, scientists, so-called religious leaders or anyone else of that kind to tell you this. All you need to do is to open your own eyes and see.
And also don’t forget to open your hearts and minds – and cleanse and purify them a bit. For, it is the hearts and minds that truly see. Not just eyes. And it is hearts and minds that go blind and not just human eyes.
Hear the Qur’an say it: Innahaa laa ta’amal absaar, wa laakin ta’amal quloobullatee fissudoor! Paraphrase: It is not eyes that go blind but rather it is the hearts in the human breast that go blind.
HATE-FILLED PROPAGANDA
Vicious and hate-filled propaganda against Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and his message of peace and blessing began soon after he started to invite humanity to the path of peace, love and mercy. And that hate and hostility continue to this day.
There are a number of reasons for the malicious lies and propaganda that have swept the world against Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and his message of peace and blessings. Here are some of them:
The rich and the powerful in the land feared that Islam’s system of equality and justice will wipe out their pretences to power and privileges.
Tyrants of all kind saw in Islam and its prophet a direct threat to their authority.
The rich feared for their ill-gotten wealth.
Religious leaders saw in Islam a direct threat to their leadership, for the so-called “religious” mumbo-jumbo they had concocted to fool people could not stand the bright and shining light that Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and his message shone upon it.
Landlords saw their hold on their lands slipping away.
Usurious moneylenders saw their chokehold on people’s economic arteries being pried lose by Islam’s uncompromising opposition to usury and interest in all forms and in all things.
Profiteering merchants saw their businesses under imminent threat because Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, forbade profiteering.
Many from other religions simply felt jealous of the popularity of Islam and its messenger Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
Many clearly saw and were convinced of the superiority of the teachings of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and hated him and his teachings for precisely that reason.
Political rivalries always played a role how many leaders saw Islam and its prophet, Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam.
A MOST RIDICULOUS LIE
One of the most blatant lies that were perpetuated in Europe against Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, started out sometime in the 16th Century or so. It says that if the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.
This most ridiculous and laughable falsehood is based on a totally fabricated tale that Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, once asked a mountain to come to him. When the mountain did not comply, Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, is then supposed to have remarked that if the mountain will not come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain.
It is through lies, fabrications and fraud like this – much of it still prevalent – that the enemies of Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, tried to stem the tide of Islam all through the ages. But Allah has his own ways of making truth prevail, even though poor Muslims are often no match for the powerful propaganda that is let loose against Prophet Muhammad, Sallallahu Alaihi wa Sallam, and the Deen that he brought from Allah.
[Write to the author at [email protected]. Also visit www.IslamicSolutions.Com and Listen to Pasha Hour International.]