Category: Muhammad

Introduction

In this essay, I will be examining whether the Hadith can be trusted as a historical source. The Hadith contains traditions that Muslims consider to be the sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad, establishing it as a very important source within Islam. My aim is to show that the Hadith cannot be trusted as a historical source because of what I believe to be two convincing arguments of why it should not. I will do this by first explaining in more detail what the Hadith is. I will then provide two arguments for why the Hadith cannot be trusted as a historical source and why I think these are both plausible arguments. Finally, I will come to a conclusion based on the arguments and findings that I will have presented in this essay.

What is the Hadith?

In Islam, the Hadith is one of their deeply respected texts, second only to that of Islam’s holy book, the Quran (Warraq, 2013). Essentially, the Hadith is a record of what Muslims consider to be the Prophet Muhammad’s life, including his sayings and actions of approval, as well as those of his companions (Warraq, 2013). Additionally, in its typical form, the Hadith is divided into two main parts, known as “isnad” and “matn”. The term “isnad” refers to the selective authoritative chain of transmitters that have communicated and passed down the sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad over two centuries (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2014). While the “matn” refers to the actual content of a report in the Hadith (Warraq, 2013). Furthermore, there is considered to be six authoritative collections that are accepted by the vast majority of Sunni Muslims, such as the compilations of al-Bukhari and al-Nisai (Warraq, 2013). Ultimately, the Hadith is a major source of Islamic law and thus moral guidance, which therefore makes it an essential and respected text within Islam.

The Chain of Transmission

Ever since the Hadith first emerged, people have debated whether it can be trusted as a historical source due to the chain of transmission, known as “isnad”. According to Schacht, the chain of transmission starts with transmitters, where then the alleged sayings and doings of the Prophet Muhammad gets attributed back to the Prophet through his Successor and Companion (Schacht, 1967). The Prophet Muhammad died in 632 AD and a lot of the information regarding his life, thus traditions of the Hadith, did not come out until over one hundred years after his death by Ibn Ishaq in 750 AD (Warraq, 2013). Even then this cannot be entirely trusted because a lot of the work collected by Ishaq was lost and then later reconciled in parts by Ibn Hisham (Warraq, 2013). Therefore, one issue with trusting the Hadith as a historical source is whether we can trust traditions that did not come from first-hand witnesses, but rather by information passed down through generations, which would inevitably be subject to a few concerns.

One sceptic of the Hadith and its chain of transmission is Ignaz Goldziher. Goldziher’s main argument is that a vast number of Hadiths accepted by Muslims are in fact forgeries, which would lead to the conclusion that the isnads supporting them are just completely made up (Warraq, 2013). Simply, Goldziher argues that the Hadith does not contain the words of the Prophet but rather is a forgery as a result of political conflicts after his death (Warraq, 2013). In his book, ‘Why I not a Muslim’, Warraq gives a bit of historical background to try and make sense of Goldziher’s arguments. Essentially, after the death of the Prophet Muhammad was the Umayyad Dynasty who despised the pious and as a result of wanting to keep their religion alive, the pious would invent traditions to trace back to the Prophet that often praised him and his family. In simpler words, Goldziher argues that hadiths are just invented as a result of pious individuals trying to oppose the godless Umayyads (Warraq, 2013). These fabrications of the Hadith grew and became even more controversial under the next dynasty, known as the Abbasid Dynasty. For instance, the Abbasids claimed that the Prophet was made to say that his uncle, Abu Talib, would suffer in hell. However, naturally, this was countered by the pious who, according to Goldziher, fabricated numerous traditions to glorify Abu Talib, all in the name of the Prophet (Warraq, 2013, pp. 71). Therefore, Goldziher would argue that the Hadith cannot be trusted as a historical source because traditions of the Hadith are just lies as a result of political differences between dynasties, mainly the Umayyads and Abbasids, and the pious. I think that Goldziher does make a plausible argument because it is not completely absurd to believe that the Hadith could be the result of political indifference. Even today we see lies spread between political parties so I see no reason to think why false stories about the Prophet could not be completely invented from centuries ago.

One supporter of Goldziher’s view is Joseph Schacht. Schacht’s Common Link Theory shows that the Common Link between the transmitters is responsible for the circulation and thus the fabrication of the Hadith back to the isnads (Schacht, 1964). According to Schacht, the Common Link is the one who would have provided a tradition with an isnad reaching back to an authority, such as the Prophet or one of his companions. In other words, the Common Link distributes the hadith to the transmitters and then back to the Prophet, which Schacht believes results in a complete fabrication (Schacht, 1967) Essentially, he comes to the conclusion that everything before the Common Link, so the chain from the Successor back to the Prophet, is just completely made up which would lead to the conclusion that the Hadith cannot be trusted as a historical source because one cannot give credit to a planned forgery.

I think that we can see how Goldziher and Schacht both provide a fair argument of why we should not trust the Hadith as a historical source by comparing it to the game of Chinese Whispers. This is a game where one word is whispered from one person to another and typically the word slightly changes each time it reaches the next person (Merriam-Webster, 2020). The way that the chain of transmission works is essentially someone heard something from James, who heard it from Tom who heard it from the Prophet Muhammad. Therefore, if we compare the chain of transmission to the game of Chinese whispers, we can see how this might undermine the authenticity of the Hadith as a historical source because it is easy for information to be misremembered and misinterpreted as it is passed down through numerous people. However, unlike Goldziher and Schacht, I do not think that it is necessarily the case that the stories of Muhammad’s life could be completely made up but instead just be slightly mistold. Nevertheless, we can still question the Hadith as a historical source if the traditions are not completely true as it is difficult to know what we should and should not believe.

A Bad Image of Prophet Muhammad

Another reason to question the trustworthiness of the Hadith as a historical source is the fact that it does display the Prophet Muhammad in the most glorious of ways. Surely, if Muhammad is meant to be this perfect exemplar of Islam, then we should not believe what the Hadith says because it contradicts this. Ultimately, we should either reject the Hadith to save a morally good Muhammad or we are to accept the Hadith and just admit that Muhammad was not this great moral exemplar. However, I believe the latter would be harder to accept.

In the article, ‘Historical Muhammad: The Good, Bad, Downright Ugly’, David Wood makes an analogy between the western film and that of the Historical Muhammad (Wood, 2016). He argues that we uncover a very different Muhammad when we conduct a historical investigation. He claims that since the Quran does not really tell us anything about the life of Muhammad, we must turn to the Hadith to do so. Nevertheless, he does recognise that since information about the life of Muhammad was not uncovered until two hundred years after his death, this does call much of his life into question, however, Wood does not want to be as sceptical as this (Wood, 2016). His main argument is that there is in fact a lot of evidence within the Hadith that highlights a number of questionable qualities about the Prophet Muhammad that would show him to not be morally perfect. For instance, in regards to some examples that I have found, in Sahih al-Bukhari 6982, we are told of a story where Muhammad had attempted to commit suicide, stating “the Prophet (ﷺ) became so sad as we have heard that he intended

several times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains” (Sunnah, n.d). Surely, this contradicts Islamic teachings as Islam feels very strongly against suicide as all life is sacred and belongs to Allah (BBC, 2012). Other unadmirable qualities include him allowing his followers to rape widows, having nine wives and him marrying and having sex with an underage girl named Aisha (Boucher, 2014)

I think Wood makes a plausible point because, for myself, it does not make sense how we can trust the Hadith if the history of Muhammad’s life shows him to contradict key Islamic teachings and beliefs that followers of the religion should obey. Ultimately, Wood argues that, unlike other religions, history is a huge problem for Islam because it exposes things about Muhammad that Muslims just do not want to accept. Therefore, I agree with Wood that we can question the Hadith as a historical source because the Muhammad of history is shown to contradict the Muhammad of faith throughout numerous parts of the Hadith (Wood, 2016). If Muhammad is meant to be this perfect moral exemplar of Islam, yet the history of Hadith shows different, then we should not trust the Hadith as a historical source because we should want to keep this perfect image of the Prophet Muhammad.

Conclusion

In this essay, I have explained what the Hadith is, provided two arguments for why we should not trust the Hadith as a historical source and whether I think these are plausible arguments. The Hadith is of great importance within Islam and it is therefore easy to see why its authenticity as a historical source is of great debate. From examining its chain of transmission I can understand how a story narrated through generations can impose great difficulties in trusting the hadith as a historical source. Just like words can get misinterpreted in a game of Chinese Whispers, the same could have also happened with stories of the Prophet Muhammad being passed on from one person to another. Ultimately, the stories of Prophet Muhammad, including his sayings and doings, are the main essence of the Hadith and if we can question if these are true then we should undoubtedly question whether the Hadith can be trusted as a historical source. Furthermore, as Wood argues, the Hadith cannot be trusted if one wants to still accept Muhammad as a moral exemplar because the Muhammad of history uncovered is very different from this Muhammad of faith. Essentially, we cannot have both a true acceptance of the Hadith and a morally perfect Muhammad, so the simple solution would be to reject the Hadith as a historical source because we cannot trust whether this would allow for the true Muhammad that Muslims want to be portrayed.

Introduction

Cassius Marcellus, Mohammad Ali Kelly was an American heavyweight boxer who is recognized as one of the greatest boxers in boxing history and one of the most important sports figures of the twentieth century.

Muhammad Ali was born on January 17, 1942, in Louisville, the largest city in the USA state of Kentucky.

His father’s job was writing and her mother sometimes worked as a cleaner to support the family. Cassius Marcellus informed the police officer when he was 12 years old that his bike had been stolen and said that if he found the thief, he would be entitled to it. the officer, Joe Martin. trained boxing children in a small local club. That’s why he told her that if he wanted to fight the thief, you must learn boxing first

That’s how he got into the boxing ring very soon. the 12 years old made remarkable progress in boxing with the speed of his mentor Martin. By the time he entered high school, he had won 6 titles in Kentucky. Because of these honors, school officials ignored his grades and poor teaching and issued a graduation certificate.

At the Summer Olympics in Rome. he won an amateur gold medal in the heavyweight category and then continued his professional boxing training under Angelo Dundee.

It was at the same time that he expressed his religious beliefs. His surprising results in the tournament and his tireless spirit earned him the nickname of Louis Weil. On 29 October 1960 in Louisville, Muhammad Ali defeated Tony Hunsaker, chief of east Fayetteville police, in his first professional round of 6 rounds.

From the year 1960 to 1963 the young fighter knocked out his other opponents in 15 breathtaking matches. People like Tony Sport, Jim Robinson, Danny Fleeman, and Duck are the same dong. Alonzo Johnson, Gorge Logan, Willi Besmanoff, and Lamar Clark had more than 40 decisive victories in their heyday.

Perhaps the most exciting and proud of the overall success at that time was the victory against Sunny Banks, Alejandro Lavorante, and Archie Moore, who had a dramatic record of victory. However, both Banks and Lavrenti were killed in the ring after another, and Muhammad Kelly only claimed the title against Sonny Liston. The confrontation with Sonny Liston was a rivalry that all boxers talked about, and the young boxer had not been able to defeat him so far and win the title.

Muhammad Ali was separated by race and he experienced some discrimination in his childhood. His father supported a wife and two by painting billboards and signs. His mother was a household domestic. Muhammad Ali had 9 children because he married more times but his final wife (Lonnie) remained with him until his death and they had one son together. He changed his religion to Islam in the 1970s and changed his name from Cassius X to Muhammad Ali. Muhammad Ali had Parkinson’s disease because of head trauma of boxing which gave Muhammad Ali it. Parkinson’s kills the neurons in the brain to produce dopamine, which leads to issues with movement. Muhammad Ali was diagnosed with it in 1984 and he had also Septic shock those diseases lead to his death.

Mohamed Ali was a former heavyweight champion known for being one of the best sporting figures in the 20th century and the first fighter to capture three heavyweight champion titles. Mohamed Ali won about 56 fights, after winning his first 19 fights which had 15 knockouts inside Mohamed Ali received his first title shot on Feb 25. Mohamed Ali dominated the match and so he screamed: “ I am the greatest “. he won an amateur gold medal in the heavyweight category and then continued his professional boxing training under Angelo Dundee.

It was at the same time that he expressed his religious beliefs. His surprising results in the tournament and his tireless spirit earned him the nickname of Louis Weil. On 29 October 1960 in Louisville, Muhammad Ali defeated Tony Hunsaker, chief of east Fayetteville police, in his first professional round of 6 rounds. From the year 1960 to 1963 the young fighter knocked out his other opponents in 15 breathtaking matches.

People like Tony Sport, Jim Robinson, Danny Fleeman, and Duck are the same dong. Alonzo Johnson, Gorge Logan, Willi Besmanoff, and Lamar Clark had more than 40 decisive victories in their heyday. Perhaps the most exciting and proud of the overall success at that time was the victory against Sunny Banks, Alejandro Lavorante, and Archie Moore, who had a dramatic record of victory.

Why is he inspiring ??

In our group, we all had a unanimous desire to choose Muhammad Ali because we all remember his legacy in boxing.

I´m going to talk about Mohammed Ali because he inspires me a lot. Once he was asked, ‘How many sit-ups do you do?’ He said, ‘I don’t count my sit-ups. I only start counting when it starts hurting. When I feel pain, that’s when I start counting, because that’s when it counts.

To be really popular, one needs to have both talent and the right attractive personality. Ali happened to be the finest example of a combination of these two qualities. He was not only one of the most talented boxers, but so much more than that. Just the fact that he is a big talented boxer made him popular.

Before the fights, he used to attack by his words and his extreme self-confidence. Even if no one believed in him, he used to believe in himself! His supreme confidence, the mockery of his opponents, and his ability to stand up for his beliefs are what made him highly revered, especially among youngsters, who saw him as an idol.

Apart from the boxing world, he was such a wise man. He understood the meaning of life, the philosophy of life, and the reason for the existence of humanity on earth at a young age. Having watched his numerous interviews, I was stunned and surprised by how deep this man is. He could talk on any given topic, unlike normal boxers who used to avoid the camera. His knowledge was very vast in various subjects. All these characteristics in one man were unparalleled which was a contributing factor to his fame.

He rose to prominence at a time when the civil liberties of African Americans were curtailed and his glory and fame made him even more popular with African Americans, who took pride in his success and saw him as a symbol of ‘Black power’ outside of the political arena. (Of course, this does not, in any way, mean that his fan following was limited to the African American community).

The end:

This concludes our presentation about Mohamed Ali. Muhammad Ali will forever be known as a famous boxer and an activist who changed the world.

INTRODUCTION

IN the Name of Allah, the most gracious the most merciful. Muhammad (S.A.W) was a very noble prophet whose outstanding character is beyond questionable. He possesses distinguishing characters in all areas of life. This writing will mostly be focused on the attributes the prophet had as a teacher or his life in general hence all prophets were teachers, irrespective of their professions because they were tasked to disseminate the message of God and in doing so they are educating people. But before writing about his attributes as A teacher, I will briefly write his biography for a better understanding.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY OF THE PROPHET

The prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) was born in the year of elephant, on the 9 of Rabi al Awal, in Makkah. After being suckled by his mother; Aminata, the prophet was later suckled by Thuyebah. His father; Abdullah died either two months before or after the birth of the prophet.

Aminata; the prophets mother died in Abwa when he was six years old. At his age of forty (40), Muhammad (S.A.W) became a prophet. He died at the age of 63. (Al-Mubarakpuri, 2002).

Some of the attributes possess by the prophet Muhammad (S.A.W) As teacher includes the following:

GOOD COMMUNICATION ABILITY: The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) had a very distinctive and exemplary character. Muhammad’s communication ability was outstanding, whenever he speaks the audience will attentively listen because it was pleasure and his words always had great impact to the listeners. Muhammad (pbuh) was determinant in his teachings, his messages are always clearly understood by his students or listeners. His words can be easily remembered because they always come one after the other like treasures and his speech contains no defect instead, they were always concise. He was a precise, unpretending and unambiguous speaker. He was a very truthful speaker as well; even his enemies acknowledge his truthfulness. It is narrated that there was a day Abu Jahl told the prophet: “I don’t think you are a liar, but I am not interested in religion”. This is a clear testimony that, untruthfulness was not part of prophet’s attributes (Siddiqui, 2015).

Imposing authority to harm his oppressors, the prophet (pbuh) was always willing to forgive. The more he was assaulted, offended or irritated by the ignorant, the gentler, patience and willing to forgive he became. No what amount of indiscipline, impoliteness and obliviousness exercised against him (the prophet) he always bears it and forgive. He was easily satisfied and the last to get angry, short temperedness was not his character. He was eager to forgive and does not display erratic behaviors. (Al-Mubarakpuri, 2002). He is continuously being patient as a teacher of Islam.

Being Humble: Showing humbleness to students is a matter of must for the teacher. The prophet (pbuh) was always being humble towards his audience. He was mindful of people’s weaknesses and therefore he gives them sufficient time to solve their problems. As narrated by Abu Rifa’ah: came to the Prophet (PBUH) while he was delivering a sermon and I said: ‘O Messenger of Allah, here is a stranger who has come to ask you about his religion, for he does not know what his religion is.’ The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) turned to me and left his sermon. He came to me, and a chair was brought, I thought its legs were made of iron. The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) sat on it and started telling me of what Allah had told him, then he went back and completed his sermon.” (Muslim 876). The prophet was a humble teacher and avoids the characters that opposes humility such as Riya (showing off) and arrogance; which describe as basically rejecting the truth and being prideful. He listens to other people’s opinions with humility. He was always humble as a teacher of Islam. (Al-Mubarakpuri, 2002).

Generous and Kind: The prophet Muhammad (pbuh); was very kind in terms of dealing with his students (listeners). He showed kindness to everyone he had ever met including even the non-believers, as he used to say that certainly his friends are the believers but nonetheless all men deserve his grace of attention. Considering the fact that is very important to be gentle and kind towards his students; the prophet adopted kind and gentle methods when teaching or spreading the message of Allah. In that regard he used to say; “Allah is Gentle and loves gentleness, and He rewards for gentleness what He does not reward for harshness or for anything else.” (Muslim 2593). Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a very generous teacher towards his students or any other person. He was constantly being ready to help his students (listeners). He had never rejected the demands of his students or others. If had nothing to offer to his students or other people who demands help; he apologizes to them. He was a very kind and generous person. (Mansurpuri, 2000).

Wisdom: Muhammad (pbuh) was a person of wisdom; which refers to the application of right knowledge to a specific issue at the right time. He applied right knowledge at the right time for needed purpose. He uses wisdom when dealing with his students (listeners). As it was narrated by Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) that: “A Bedouin stood up and started urinating in the mosque. The people caught him but the Prophet (PBUH) ordered them to leave him and to pour a bucket or a tumbler of water over the place where he had passed the urine.” (Al-Bukhari 220). The above hadith clearly shows that Muhammad (pbuh) was a person of wisdom and he tolerates big mistakes committed by ignorant student (people). If he had stopped the Bedouin in the middle of his urination, it could have cause panic hence that is the reason why he allowed him complete his urine and the he (Muhammad) advised him respectfully; this is wisdom. He rectifies his students with politeness and wisdom. He does not harass his students who made mistakes out of ignorance. The prophet was as well very patient when it comes to answering questions posed to him by his students because he had wisdom. (Al-Mubarakpuri, 2002).

CONCLUSION

The prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was a person of good moral character. His attributes as a teacher were of excellence character. He was very decent, humble, truthful, very generous and many other excellence attributes. He was indeed a great person who once lived on earth.

Bibliography

1. Al-mubarakpuri, s.-R. (2002). The Sealed Nectar. Riyadh: Darussalam.
2. Mansurpuri, Q. M. (2000). The Last Of The Prophets. Riyadh: Darussalam.
3. Siddiqui, A. (2015). worlds best Teacher. Sada e Jauhar .

Introduction

Praise to Allah, the Lord of the worlds and may peace be upon his Prophet Muhammad. One of the great attributes of giving Dawah is to be able to teach with proper etiquettes and no better model than the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Below are five among the countless noble characters which made him the greatest teacher till the end of times.

1. Manners

His manners was the example of the whole of Arabia even in the testimony of his sworn enemies. The story of when Abu Sufyan was summoned by the Roman Emperor Heraclius and the latter enquired about the character of the Prophet. Even him had no choice but to speak well of the good characters of the Prophet of Allah. (Shah, 2015, p. 46).

He would remain calm in the face of people’s mistakes and would always have a calm and gentle way of correcting people ignorance. Perfect example is the story of the Bedouin who urinated in the mosque which stir the anger of all the companions, but the Prophet Muhammad kept his calm and with the utmost manner educated the man of his wrong doings. (Al-Munajjid, 2008, pp. 68-69).

In other situations, he would rather not confront directly someone’s mistake but rather take the approach of making a general statement (Al-Munajjid, 2008, pp. 83-86). This manner not only hides the mistakes of the people concerned but at the same time globally educate everyone concerned by this. It’s also more easily accepted and avoids a negative reaction from the person who made that mistake. (Al-Munajjid, 2008, p. 83) gives the example of the hadith narrated by Anas Ibn Malik where the prophet (peace be upon him) spoke harshly over those who raise their gaze to the heavens while praying. He didn’t pinpoint anyone but spoke generally about it.

2. Style

The way the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) conveyed his message was stylish in the sense that he maintained some traits and techniques that today are being taught in the Western civilization as proper teaching techniques.

First, as Dr Shah Dawood in his book “Prophet Muhammad as a Teacher” describes, the mastery of the language possessed by the Prophet of Allah was extraordinary despite that he was ummi (illiterate). This mastery is partly due to his upbringing in the tribe of Bani Sa’d bin Bakr who was known for their purity of their language. His speeches were neither too short nor too fast and was enough for the person listening to remember it. The author further mentions that he was systematic in the way he taught. Example given is the story of when he sent Muaadh to Yemen for dawah, he told him “Since you are going to preach to the People of the Book, please call them towards the basic tenet of Islam, namely ‘There is no god worthy of worship, but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet’. If they accept it, then tell them that God had made the five times prayer compulsory. If they accept it too, tell them that God had made obligatory on their part to pay the poor-due (Zakat) and that had to be collected from the rich and distributed to the poor.” (Shah, 2015, p. 108)

In some other instances, when the topic or message required emphasis, he used to either repeat himself three times or taking oaths in a way to highlight the importance of the message and as means to ascertain the understanding of it. Example (Shah, 2015, p. 49) is the hadith reported by Abu Shurayh that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “By Allah, he does not believe! By Allah he does not believe! By Allah, he does not believe!” The Companions asked him’ “Who is that person, O Allah’s Messenger?” He said, “That person is he whose neighbor is not safe from his evil.”

3. Trustworthy

Even before his prophethood, the prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was considered as the most trustworthy person in Mecca and people used to trust him with their goods and valuables. He was called by the title of “Al-Ameen”. On his first public call to Islam on Mount Safa to the people of Mecca, he asked them “Would you believe me if I say that there is an army waiting to attack you on the other side of the hillock?” The whole crowd answered, “Definitely, for we know you as the trustworthy and the truthful! We have never seen you telling lies”. (Shah, 2015, p. 99) . To be able to trust a teacher opens the heart and the mind to accept his teachings and this was one of the noble traits of the prophet (peace be upon him) that in turn caused his companions to give their life to the cause of Islam.

4. Use of Psychology

His creativeness and use of psychology was remarkable and can be seen in many aspects of his life. One of the great examples was after the Hijrah, he created the bond between the people of Mecca who emigrated to Medina by asking the former to adopt one emigrant as his brother and share all he was able to with him. This was an amazing step he took in bonding those two different groups of people.

He also understood the necessity of appreciating excellency and outstanding characters from his companions and he demonstrated that by providing titles to them who to this day are still known by these traits: “’Saifullah’ (the Sword of God) on Khalid bin Waleed, ‘Ameenul Ummah’ (the Trustworthy Man of the Community) on Abu Ubaidah” (Shah, 2015, p. 52).

5. Fairness based on effort

The prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) also had the talent to recognize effort and through this he kept both the poor and the rich on equal par and appreciated every little effort that everyone could make independent of whether it looked insignificant in the eyes of the normal people. Through this appreciation, he nurtured the willingness in the heart of everyone to keep sharing and contributing. This can be clearly illustrated in what happened in the Tabuk Expedition while the likes of Abu Bakr (ra) contributed all he had, Umar (ra) shared half of his entire belongings but on the other hand another companion brought only half a kilo of dates which he strived to earn through the nights of work. The latter’s contribution was highly honored by the prophet of Allah (peace be upon him) by placing those dates on the pile of all other donations that were made which in turn made that companion really happy. (Shah, 2015, p. 54)

Conclusion

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was divinely blessed with so many noble qualities and his teaching methods are the perfect model to follow. From the old to the young kids, educated to non-educated, man to woman and even to non-Muslims, he showed the perfect manners and teaching techniques which are no doubt a success for those who learn his sunnah and put it in practice.

References

1. Abdullah, A. R. (2009). Who is Allah And His Prophet (PBUH). Darussalam Publishers.
2. Al-Munajjid, M. S. (2008). The Prophet’s Methods of correcting People’s Mistakes. IIPH.
3. Shah, D. D. (2015). Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) as a Teacher. Darussalam Publishers.

Introduction

A teacher is someone who helps, his/her students gain knowledge. An impact of a good teacher will leave an everlasting impression on anybody’s life. Almost every student regards their teacher as a role model in some point of their life. A good teacher should possess a great amount of knowledge and qualities such as kindness, flexibility, leadership, personality, a calm demeanor, dedication, a good sense of humor etc. and most of all patience. And Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was someone who possessed all those qualities and much more. People approached him with ease. Every individual who lived in that period, regardless of their age or gender were able to gain knowledge and wisdom through the teachings of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ by approaching and clearing their doubts directly from him. We are blessed by Allah to have our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the world’s best teacher to follow throughout our life. Let us now focus on some of the attributes of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Kindness

Our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ was always kind to others even before he was made the last Prophet of the mankind by Allah Subhanahu wa ta’aala. Following are some proof for his gentleness towards his followers.

Mu’awiyah ibn Al-Hakam (May Allah be pleased with him) said: “By Allah I have never seen a better teacher or better teaching before or since; he (the Prophet ﷺ) did not rebuke me, hit me or revile me.” (Sahih Muslim : 537)

And in another narration he (May Allah Be Pleased with him) said: “And I have never seen any teacher gentler than the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.” (Abu Dawud : 931)

And from the following verse Allah himself mentions about the kindness of Prophet. “So by mercy from Allah, [O Muhammad], you were lenient with them. And if you had been rude [in speech] and harsh in heart, they would have disbanded from about you. So pardon them and ask forgiveness for them and consult them in the matter. And when you have decided, then rely upon Allah. Indeed, Allah loves those who rely [upon Him].” (Surah Al-Imran, 3:159)

Leadership

If you ask any human resources expert they will tell you that being able to lead even a small group of people is not an easy task. And if we were to study the life of Rasoolullah ﷺ from the moment he began the mission, the task that Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala sent him into this world with, he was faced by a very great challenge. Many people envy for leadership but most make bad leaders. They think that leadership means being bossy & demanding, but Prophet Muhammad’s ﷺ leadership was an exception. So what made him such a great Leader? The Prophet Muhammad ﷺ always remained a humble servant, he stood with people, not above them, teaching helping and guiding them. He also sought the counsel of his followers listening to their advice and applying it. He dedicated his life to his people and their holistic betterment and lead by example and you will be able to see this in the following hadith.

Abu Huraira Radhiallahu’ Anhu reported: The Prophet Muhammad said, “Verily, the leader is only a shield behind whom they fight and he protects them. If he commands the fear of Allah the Exalted and justice, then he will have a reward. If he commands something else, then it will be against him.” (Sahih Muslim :1841)

And from the following verse Allah himself mentions about the leadership of Prophet ‘The Prophet has more authority over the believers than that which they have over their selves’. (Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6)

Dedication

The messenger of Allah once said that ‘My ummah will never be struck with a greater calamity than me passing away from this world.” Our beloved messenger of Allah dedicated his whole life to the Muslim ummah.

Abu Huraira Radhiallahu’ Anhu reported: The Prophet said, “There is for every apostle a prayer which is granted, but every prophet showed haste in his prayer. I have, however, reserved my prayer for the intercession of my Ummah on the Day of Resurrection, and it would be granted, if Allah so willed, in case of everyone amongst my Ummah provided he dies without associating anything with Allah.” (Sahih Muslim : 1/389)

This Hadith clearly shows us the dedication of the Messenger of Allah. Even when he was in his deathbed he didn’t ask dua for himself but rather kept repeating ‘ya umatti ya ummati’ asking dua for his ummah.

Patience

When in the beginning when Prophet started to preach Islam, he faced many difficulties and continued to face them long after, but he remained patience with the help of Allah.

And from the following verse Allah mentions about the patience of Prophet. Allah said to Prophet “We know that your breast is constricted by what they say.” (Surah Al-Hij, 15:97) “So be patient in the face of what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the sun and before it sets.” (Surah Qaf, 50:39)

Despite of the oppression and maltreatment he was receiving, the Prophet always practiced patience.

Knowledge

Umar Rali-Allahu tha’ala Anhu narrates: Rasool talked about everything from the beginning of creation till the Day of Judgment and even after the Day of Judgment. He talked about everything. This is the knowledge of Rasool, this is the ‘Ilm’ of rasool.

Abu Huraira reported Allah’s Messenger as saying: (When) the time would draw close to the Last Hour, knowledge would be snatched away, turmoil would be rampant, miserliness would be put (in the hearts of the people) and there would be much bloodshed. They said: What is al-harj? There upon he said: It is bloodshed. (Sahih Muslim : 157d)

Conclusion

There are countless numbers of examples for the numerous attributes prophet Muhammad possessed as a teacher. His teaching was such that the whole Arab peninsula changed due to his teaching in just over the 23 years of his prophet hood.

Jabir Ibn Abdullah reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Verily, Allah did not send me to be harsh or obstinate, rather he sent me to teach and to put at ease.” (Sahih Muslim:1478)

No one can be a better teacher than Prophet Muhammad.

Bibliography

1. Daily Hadith Online. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/tag/leadership-imamah/
2. Daily Hadith Online. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://abuaminaelias.com/dailyhadithonline/2019/07/14/believers-if-patient-dua/
3. Hameed, H. (n.d.). Retrieved from 22 Hadith on the virtues of acquiring knowledge: https://medium.com/@hasan.hameed/virtues-of-acquiring-knowledge-in-the-light-of-hadeeth-f319b106f1e3
4. Musnad Aḥmad : 12596. (n.d.).
5. Sahih Muslim : 1/389. (n.d.).
6. Sahih Muslim : 537. (n.d.).
7. Sahih Muslim :1841. (n.d.).
8. Sahih Muslim:1478. (n.d.).
9. Surah Al-Ahzab, 33:6. (n.d.).
10. Surah Al-Hij, 15:97. (n.d.).
11. Surah Al-Imran, 3:159. (n.d.).
12. Surah Qaf, 50:39. (n.d.).

Abstract

All praise is due Allah, we praise him, ask refuge with him and his forgiveness. As we know the teaching is the one of the most honorable professions in the world. Teaching field has the different specialties compared to other fields. Especially in our society teacher has a big role of preparing thinking styles, behavior of the students who are our next generation. Our prophet had a more of the qualities that a educator should have. Our prophet Muhammad(peace be upon him) was the most effective orator of all the times.

“As model in human relationships, the methods that the prophet Muhammad (peace be up on him) used in spreading his cause and mission will prove to be effective if we can apply them successfully in our own educational activities”(Vahap Guiltekin,2015) . The Messenger of Allah was a person of exemplary character given by Allah to us as a guidance in each and every aspect of our life Allah says in Quran’There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern”(Quran 33:21. The popular that we often read says that

“Islam is a School

Deen is a class.

We are students

Quran is syllabus

Mohammedﷺis a teacher

Allah is examiner

Qiyama is day of result”

While saying about himself prophetﷺ said: ‘ I was sent to you as teacher”[footnoteRef:1] [1: Sahih Muslim 1478(authentic according to Muslim)] Likewise Allahﷻ thought to prophet ﷺ, he thought his knowledge to sahabah who were his students

Prophet s Love towards students

As we in every class their will has a students with different abilities. Some will be poor others will be rich, likewise some has beautiful personality others doesn’t. This determine the ability of teacher to maintain equality among students . If we look our prophet ﷺ in same perspective, even though there is different students in class each one thought that he was one was most loved by teacher. This is clearly noted when Amr ibn A’as relates that he asked Prophetﷺ Prophet “who do you love most Of Messenger of Allah” by thinking that he would say name of him due to behavior of prophet towards him[footnoteRef:2]. [2: Al Bukari,3885,vol1,book 46,]

Same love is shown by prophet to others one of those if Jahir(may Allah please with him) by hugging him from back he said “who would buy this slave of mine”. But sahabi said “who would by me what is the value that I have”. Till such time prophet made joke with him but now he became serious and said “In the sight

In one Hadith prophet ﷺ asked his companions “what would be the situation of who has a river at his door and everyday five times a day he comes out takes bath in that river?. At the end of the day will he have dirt on him”. They said no O Messenger of Allah. He said similarly there are the five obligatory prayer, cleansing the person in this way.

Prophet would occasionally raise something up that was haram an exhibit to emphasize Haram An example of this is the Hadith of gold and silk for men. He raised up actual pieces of gold and said “These are Haram for men of ummah and halal for the women of my ummah[footnoteRef:3]. [3: Abu Dawud ]

Any teacher knows that if you ever have chance to bring in a three -dimensional exhibit to the class,it will always have much more profound effect on the students than does just lecturing

He rewarded and appreciated the good attitude. To be loved and appreciated is what people crave. In the process of learning people conclude from the appreciation and approval of the educators, what they doing right and what they are doing wrong.

Example for this is :Ibn Abbas(may Allah pleased with him) tells “One day I prepared some water in a pot so that that Prophet could perform ablution. When prophet saw the pot he asked who had prepared it. When he learned that it was me who had prepared it he prayed for me “O Allah! Increase his understanding in religion”[footnoteRef:4] [4: Bukari ]

Turn Question into something that will be of more benefit. An example for this is the Hadith where person came to Prophetﷺ and asked “When is the hour?”. The prophet disliked this question because it was one of the techniques that mushrikeen used against him. Often times when he spoke about hereafter, Jannah and Nar , the repayment, the recompense, yawm-ad-deen they would say to prophet “When is the hour?”. They said this to make him look bad in front of the others and hurt him .But when a Bedouin asked the same question. Prophet said “What have prepared for that final hour?” Meaning it is surely going to come. The questioner said “I haven’t prepard a lot Salah or zakah ,but I am preparing for one thing-my love for Allah and His Messenger. The prophet said “You will be with who you love”

Anas and other companions (may Allah pleased with them all) said that there was no Hadith there was no Hadith more beloved to him than this. So it went from question that did not have any benefit to most beloved hadith of companions

He made learners write. Learning by writing is best way of education. By, writing we engrave the topic both on the paper and in our minds and hearts. The Prophet Muhammad said as follows regarding this issue “Blind knowledge by writing”. Furthermost, emancipation of the prisoners of the war in return for teaching literacy to people shows the significance that he attached to reading and writing[footnoteRef:5] [5: Abu Dawud,adab 6]

He used to explain by making drawings. Another way of providing information which will remain permanently in the mind of the learner is to make drawings and fThe Prophet Muhammad explained the features of the ways. Of Allah and Satan by drawing shaps on ground while sitting together with jabir( may Allah pleased with him) . He told the happening as follows: When I was sitting with prophet, he draw in front of him and said, “This is it,this is the path of Allah. Then he drew two lines to the right of this line and two lines to left of the same line and said, And these are paths of Satan”. Then he put his hand over the line in the middle and recited fallowing verse “This is my straight path, so follow it, and do not follow other paths ,last they scatter you from His path. This he has enjoined upon you, that you keep from disobedience of Him in reverence for him and piety to deserve His protection”[footnoteRef:6] [6: Quran 6:153 ]

References

1. Gultekin,(2015), The Educational Methods Of Our Prophet (PBUH), Australia, Australian Islamic library
2. Muhammad Khald,(2010),MEN AND WOMEN AROUND MESSENGER, Egypt,(1st Ed ),Dar-al-Manarah publishers
3. Muhammad,(2002),Bulugh Al-Maram,Riyadh,(2nd Ed), Darussalam publishers
4. Al-Shareef (2014),21 Teaching Methods of Prophet,(PowerPoint slides), http://www.slideshare.net/MuhammadNabeel4/21-teaching-methods-of-prophet?from_m_app=android

Introduction

All praise is for Allah, May the peace and blessings of Allah, be upon Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam, upon his family, upon his companions and upon on all those who follow his way until last day of Resurrection.

Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam was rightly guided by Allah Subhanahu Watala. He (Sallallahu alaihi wasallam) is a guide for whole mankind. Despite being illiterate, the Messenger of Allah subhanahu watala was sent to recite people Allah’s verses, to purify them, to teach them the Book because prior to him there was ignorance, transgressions falsehood.

A similar (favor you have already received) in that We have sent among you a Messenger of your own, rehearsing to you Our Signs, and purifying you, and instructing you in Scripture and Wisdom, and in new knowledge” (Surah Al-Baqrah 2: 151).

Adviser and educator of humanity

In this refrain, Allah Subhanahu Watala discloses us that Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam was sent to educate us, to show us the standards of religion with the goal that we may achieve intelligence. There is illustration of this in a hadith as well. According to Abu Musa, the Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam stated, ‘The case of direction and information with which Allah has sent me resembles plentiful downpour falling on the earth some of which was ripe soil that consumed downpour water and delivered vegetation and grass in bounty. Another part of it was hard and held the downpour water and Allah profited the individuals with it and they used it for drinking, making their creatures drink from it, and to flood the land for development. What’s more, a segment of it was desolate which could neither hold the water nor deliver vegetation. The first is the case of the individual who fathoms Allah’s religion and gets advantage from that which Allah has uncovered through me, and learns and afterward instructs it to other people. The last model is that of an individual who couldn’t care less about it and doesn’t take Allah’s direction uncovered through me’ (Bukhari). (Sharaaway, 2014)

Practical applications

The Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam use to give practical knowledge to teach his students about the five pillars of Islam. He gave the teaching with respect to worshipping Allah and he began by himself doing the compulsory rituals to encourage his companions. The rituals and five pillars of Islam are not the formality that need to be performed but they are the act through which one is raise high in the rank and get close to Allah. One of the examples of this is when a person joined Islam and asked Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam about the prayers and times, Prophet asked them to join the people in prayers for 2 days. The person used to watch the people praying for two days. As days passed away, Prophet asked the person about his learning, the man replied that he learned well and was now able to pray (Mehdi, 2013). (Alkhayat, 2014)

Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam recognized and acknowledges positive character

People usually crave to be loved and appreciated. While learning individuals concludes from the acknowledgment of the teacher whether they are going the right direction or they are falling wrong somewhere.

Ibn Abbas (ra) tells: “One day I prepared some water in a pot so that the Prophet could perform ablution. When the Prophet saw the pot, he asked who had prepared it. Once he learned that it was me who had prepared it, he prayed for me, “O Allah! Increase his understanding in religion”. (Bukhari, Invitation, 19) (Gultekin, 2012)

He used to give examples related to topic

Prophet SaallalahuAlayihi Wasalam emphasized on giving examples. He (Sallalahu Alayihi Wasalm) used to give examples from stories as story become more significant in mind ,and is remembered for much longer .Following is a example from a hadith,

“What would you say if there were a river in front of a man’s house and he bathed in it five times a day, would he remain dirty?” Those who were there replied, “No, no dirt would remain on that man”. Upon this the Prophet (PBUH) said, “This is how it is with the five daily prayers. Allah (SWT) cleans sins by means of them.” (Bukhari, Mawaqit, 6; Tirmidhi, Adab, 80) (Gultekin, 2012)

Spirit of competition

As in today’s world there is increased amount of competition, our Prophet (Sallalahu Alayhi Wasalm) has encouraged good competition 1400 years ago. Ample of Hadith are recorded like the reward for the steps that you take to the mosque, no matter how far away it is, is recorded for you with Allah, as the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “Every step that is taken towards prayer is a charity.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 2989; Muslim, 1009.

Narrated/Authority of Aisha ‘The Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘If the people knew what (reward) there is in the Isha prayer and Fajr prayer, they would come even if they had to crawl.” (Sahih) Hadith No: 796 Sunan Ibn Majah. Chapter 6, The Chapters on the Mosques and the Congregations

Competition spirit among learners raises best learning and practicing. (Alkhayat, 2014)

Criticisms

The Prophet Muhammad (PHUB) would always say good words and submit great deeds as his expressions were reflected from the Allah who is sympathetic and merciful. He was sent to encourage ethical behavior. Prophet knew that evil word spoils the heart and the soul gets affected by the evil heart. Hence, he never abused or said foul language to his friend or foe. The Prophet would not talk in a manner that would make’s anybody upset. Whenever he was treated falsely, he uses to act calmly by not taking it in person and later on rectifying it. Even when he saw imperfection in an individual or if someone complained about others, he did not throw the fault on the doer’s face. According to psychologist and educationalists, for maintaining long term education, a steady and uncritical relationship between student and teacher is must.

The Prophet said: “Insulting a Muslim is an evil action and fighting him is disbelief (kufr).” Narrated by al-Bukhaari (48) and Muslim (64). (Gultekin, 2012)

Conclusion

Small piece of paper cannot cover the qualities of our beloved Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam . Whether you see his life as a teacher, leader, husband, father his qualities are innumerable. He was a complete man in all aspects of life and devoted to worship of his Lord. He Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam came to reform lives of humans .He Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam never shouted on anyone nor criticized anybody. If we love and adhere to the path of Prophet Muhammad Sallallahu alaihi wasallam then in reward is Allah’s loves. I conclude my discussion with the following verse, which is also known as Aaytul Mahaba, The verse of love Say: If you should love Allah, then follow me. Allah will love you and forgive you your sins, for Allah is forgiving and merciful. Surah Ali Imran 3:31