Attuning To The Masters, Saints, & Prophets: A Series Of Sufi Meditations (Part 7 of 8)
Muhammad: The Prophet Muhammad laid no claim to be of Divine origin. He was born to parents who were merchant-class Meccans. Muhammad's father died before he was born, while his mother died when he was six – leaving him orphaned at a very young age. Despite these difficult beginnings, Muhammad grew up to become a mighty, kingly figure, a great political reformer, a lawgiver, and a prophet. Indeed, his most significant contribution to humanity was the Holy Qur'an: a Divine revelation he began to receive while on retreat in a cave on the mountain of Hira. This revelation was received by Muhammad in a series of messages he identified as the voice of the Archangel Gabriel. Even despite this miraculous event, Muhammad did not wish to be deified – as Krishna, for example, had been deified by the Hindus as an avatar – but said simply that he had been delegated as a messenger of God. Although Muhammad performed no physical miracles – such as curing illness or making food appear – he performed the incredible feat of uniting the warring tribes of the Hijaz in the seventh century. Overcoming the legacy of bitter vendettas, vandalism, blood orgies, and the worship of pagan gods that characterized these fractious tribes, Muhammad helped to create one of the greatest civilizations of history. Indeed, over time, Islamic scholars became renowned for their contributions to the fields of art, mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy. In addition, Muhammad's sense of mission to restore and protect the religion of Abraham led him to safeguard several sacred places of pilgrimage from profiteering and idolatry:the Ka'bah, a cubicle shrine inset in it's eastern corner with a Black Stone (probably a meteorite); the Maqam Abraham, the place from which the Prophet Abraham was believed to have prayed toward the Ka'bah; and the Zamzam well, where pilgrims came to drink water that is said to have sacred properties. As Hazrat Inayat Kahn said of Muhammad, “When asked, 'Where is He? Is He in our temples? Is He in the Ka'bah?' he said, 'No, His temple is in man's heart.'” Muhammad was among the earliest pioneers of the era of religious democracy. He eschewed any intercession between man and God, advocating no priesthood and affirming the possibility of direct dialog between man and God in prayer. Speaking of the different prophets and masters of the past, Hazrat Inayat Khan had this to say in regard to the Prophet Muhammad: “This work was thus continued by all the prophets until Muhammad, the Khatim al Mursalin, the last messenger of Divine wisdom and the seal of the prophets, came on his mission, and in his turn gave the final statements of Divine wisdom: 'None exists but Allah.' This message fulfilled the aim of his prophetic mission. The prophecy of Muhammad was: 'Now that all the world has received the message through a man who is subject to all limitations and conditions of human life, the message will in the future be given without claim.'” Those who would like to use one of the names of God to attune to the Prophet Muhammad can recite the phrase “Dhul Jelal wal Ikram”, the Lord of Splendor and Sovereignty. - Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan (Tomorrow's topic - Bahá'u'lláh)
Keywords
Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, Sufism, Buddhism, Christianity, Catholic, Catholicism, Christ, Islam, Muhammad, Hinduism, Shiva, Buddha, Zoroaster, Abraham, Melchizedek, Meditation, Illumination
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"The Prophet Muhammad laid no claim to be of Divine origin." Just like Prince Siddartha Guatama the Buddha and Jesus the Nazarite, Muhammad the son of Abdullah insisted he was only a human being with some special information to share.
Later followers insisted on elevating them to near god-like status. Why can't we appreciate the sublime transcendent beauty of the forest without imagining it also contains elves?
Mohamed saw the success in organization that the Jews had achieved by using their religious faith as a glue that bound them, and provided strength against their enemies. He merely made up a new religion with the goal of organizing a group of people to oppose the Jews.
Jesus, did not intend to "organize people" around Christianity. He was a Jew fulfilling prophesy. He was doing what the Bible said He would do.
O_P: I don't know where you got that little tidbit of information but it certainly is not true. In most cases the Umma (early Muslim community) got along great with the Qurayish (tribe of Jews in Mecca). Here's a letter from the Prophet Muhammad to the Christians to give you an idea of how he felt about other religions in the seventh century (it was quite progressive):
“God has told me in a vision what to do, and I confirm His command by giving my solemn promise to keep this agreement.
To the followers of the Islam I say: Carry out my command, protect and help the Nazarene nation in this country of ours in their own land. Leave their places of worship in peace; help and assist their chief and their priests when in need of help, be it in the mountains, in the desert, on the sea, or at home. Leave all their possessions alone, be it houses or other property, do not destroy anything of their belongings, the followers of Islam shall not harm or molest any of this nation, because the Nazarenes are my subjects, pay tribute to me and will help the Muslims. No tribute, but what is agreed upon, shall be collected from them, their church buildings shall be left as they are, they shall not be altered, their priests shall be permitted to teach and worship in their own way-the Nazarenes have full liberty of worship in their churches and homes. None of their churches shall be torn down, or altered into a mosque, except by the consent and free will of the Nazarenes. If any one disobeys this command, the anger of God and His Prophet shall be upon him.
“The tribute paid the Nazarenes shall be used to promote the teachings of Islam and shall be deposited at the treasury of Beth
Almal. A common man shall pay one denar (piece of money), but the merchants and people who own mines of gold and silver and are rich shall pay twelve denars. Strangers and people who have no houses or other settled property shall not have taxes levied upon them. If a man inherits property he shall pay a settled sum to the Baitulmal treasury. The Christians are not obliged to make war on the enemies of Islam, but if an enemy attacks the Christians, the Muslims shall not deny their help, but give them horses and weapons, if they need them, and protect them from evils from outside and keep the peace with them. The Christians are not obliged to turn Muslims, until God’s will makes them believers.
“The Muslims shall not force Christian women to accept Islam, but if they themselves wish to embrace it, the Muslims shall be kind to them.
“If a Christian woman is married to a Muslim and does not want to embrace Islam, she has liberty to worship at her own church according to her own religious belief, and her husband must not treat her unkindly on account of her religion. If any one disobeys this command, he disobeys God and his prophet and will be guilty of a great offense.
“If the Nazarenes wish to build a church, their Muslim neighbors shall help them. This shall be done, because the Christians have obeyed us and have come to us and pleaded for peace and mercy.
“If there be among the Christians a great and learned man the Muslims shall honor him and not be envious of his greatness.
“If any one is unjust and unkind to the Christians he will be guilty of disobeying the Prophet of God.
“The Christians should not shelter an enemy of Islam or give him horse, weapon or any other help. If a Muslim is in need the Christian shall for three days and nights be his host and shelter him from his enemies. The Christians shall, furthermore, protect the Mohammedan women and children and not deliver them up to the enemy or expose them to view. If the Nazarenes fail to fulfil these conditions, they have forfeited their right to protection, and the agreement is null and void.
“This document shall be entrusted to the Christian chief and head of their church for safe keeping.”
- Muhammad
Birch - How wonderful would it be if people everywhere would follow this teaching...
Quote.... "Some religions believe their prophets to be manifestations of God, "God Incarnate" or the "Son of God". All of these false ideas lead to the creature being worshipped instead of the Creator, which contributed to the idolatrous practice of believing that Almighty God can be approached through intermediaries. In order to guard against these falsehoods, the Prophet Muhammad always emphasised that he was only a human-being tasked with the preaching of God's message. He taught Muslims to refer to him as "the Messenger of God and His Slave". "
Prepared by: Abu 'Iyaad
OP_
The subject is Muhammad, not Jesus. And it isn't a competition between Semitic prophets.
Do you have anything constructive to add?
Birch, isn't Islam a fundamentally violent religion? Wasn't Muhammad a warlord?
Skeptic;
Are you saying Jesus didn't come right out and say He was God in the flesh? "I and the Father are one" and other recorded statements didn't mean Jesus claimed to BE God? You're saying Jesus LIED to the disciples and everyone else?
lonewolf: Great quote. Also... Muhammad made sure he was buried somewhere secretly so that no one would come back to his grave and make a shrine out of it.
I wanted to know the best of the life of one (Muhammad) who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind. I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle.
- Gandhi
Birdstrike - I believe that if we, as Christians, do not look for the "Jesus" in everyone of God's creation, we run the risk of becoming their judges and executioners, rather than their brothers. With an open heart for truth, I respectfully ask that you read the Qur'an and perhaps visit this website islamicity.com
Under the tab "Understanding Islam", it states: What is Islam ?
"Islam is not a new religion, but the same truth that God revealed through all His prophets to every people. For a fifth of the world's population, Islam is both a religion and a complete way of life. Muslims follow a religion of peace, mercy, and forgiveness, and the majority have nothing to do with the extremely grave events which have come to be associated with their faith."
Deja_View: Yes. And no. Jesus cliamed no such thing, but Jesus didn't lie (at least in this instance). The Gospel of John was not written to be a history or biography.
Historically speaking, John is the least reliable of the four synoptics. It was written to impress and evangelize pagan audiences. Consequently, it is filled with fantastic supernatural feats (raising the decomposing corpse of Lazarus, etc. ) that were intended to impress the credulous with the transcendent power of Jesus' magic. It is the only gospel in which the author hints that Jesus is himself a god.
The awkward composition of John, including breaks,inconsistencies, contradictions with the other synoptics and passages that clearly do not belong to their context, strongly suggest John has been redacted by several later editors.
The John gospel is uniquely Hellenistic and pro-Roman. That's why it is provocatively antisemitic. It blames "the Jews" rather than the Romans for Jesus' death, probably to convince pagan audiences that Jesus and they were on the same side.
The vast majority of biblical scholars confirm that the anonymous creator of John (who clearly was not an eyewitness to the events described) most likely authored it circa 90–100 C.E., probably in Ephesus, Turkey.
My impression, although, maybe not Catholic (?), is that Jesus is the most perfect image, among us mortal human beings, of who God is, a mirror reflection, if you will. I do believe Jesus came from Heaven, in the sense that He came into the world to show us "God" and to teach us and lead us home. I have always believed that He is not God the Father, but God the Son. I know Him as High Priest, Prophet and King of ALL of God's people.
Now, if this brings me before the Inquisition, then I would humbly ask that only the most Holy and reverant of priests approach me for correction.