What Would Mohamed Do?

[King Tech Quadafi]

Muslim Response to Cartoon Controversy

"You do not do evil to those who do evil to you, but you deal with them with forgiveness and kindness." (Sahih Al-Bukhari)
That description of Islam's Prophet Muhammad is a summary of how he reacted to personal attacks and abuse.

Islamic traditions include a number of instances of the prophet having the opportunity to strike back at those who attacked him, but refraining from doing so.

These traditions are particularly important as we witness outrage in the Islamic world over cartoons, initially published in a Danish newspaper, that were viewed as intentional attacks on the prophet.

Peaceful and not-so-peaceful protests have occurred from Gaza to Indonesia. Boycotts have targeted companies based in Denmark and in other nations that reprinted the offensive caricatures.

We all, Muslims and people of other faiths, seem to be locked into a downward spiral of mutual mistrust and hostility based on self-perpetuating stereotypes.

As Muslims, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves, "What would the Prophet Muhammad do?"

Muslims are taught the tradition of the woman who would regularly throw trash on the prophet as he walked down a particular path.

The prophet never responded in kind to the woman's abuse. Instead, when she one day failed to attack him, he went to her home to inquire about her condition.
In another tradition, the prophet was offered the opportunity to have God punish the people of a town near Mecca who refused the message of Islam and attacked him with stones. Again, the prophet did not choose to respond in kind to the abuse.

A companion of the prophet noted his forgiving disposition. He said: "I served the prophet for ten years, and he never said 'uf' (a word indicating impatience) to me and never blamed me by saying, 'Why did you do so or why didn't you do so?'" (Sahih Al-Bukhari)

Even when the prophet was in a position of power, he chose the path of kindness and reconciliation.

When he returned to Mecca after years of exile and personal attacks, he did not take revenge on the people of the city, but instead offered a general amnesty.

In the Quran, Islam's revealed text, God states: "When (the righteous) hear vain talk, they withdraw from it saying: 'Our deeds are for us and yours for you; peace be on to you. We do not desire the way of the ignorant'. . .O Prophet (Muhammad), you cannot give guidance to whom you wish, it is God Who gives guidance to whom He pleases, and He is quite aware of those who are guided." (28:55-56)

The Quran also says: "Invite (all) to the way of thy Lord with wisdom and beautiful preaching, and argue with them in ways that are best and most gracious: for thy Lord knows best who have strayed from His Path and who receive guidance." (16:125)

Another verse tells the prophet to "show forgiveness, speak for justice and avoid the ignorant." (7:199)

These are the examples that Muslims should follow as they express justifiable concern at the publication of the cartoons.

This unfortunate episode can be used as a learning opportunity for people of all faiths who sincerely wish to know more about Islam and Muslims. It can also be viewed as a "teaching moment" for Muslims who want to exemplify the prophet's teachings through the example of their good character and dignified behavior in the face of provocation and abuse.

As the Quran states: "It may well be that God will bring about love (and friendship) between you and those with whom you are now at odds." (60:7)

http://islam.about.com/od/currentissues/a/cartoon.htm#

[h cottie is bac-tive?]

Great read Tech, it realls puts things in perspective for both muslims and non-muslims

if any1 would like to learn more about Islam i recommend this website, it's really a great way to learn about the religion even if you aren't muslim

www.religioustolerance.org/islam.htm

[h cottie is bac-tive?]

Topic/# of Different Posters   
Europe's Defamation of the Prophet: 15             
Muslims Vs. Denmark: 18
why can't we all just get along?: 25
Uh oh, Iranian newspaper to publish Holocaust cartoons............: 11
the Danish Ambassade burned down in Syria: 13
Photos of Muslims protesting the Mohhamed cartoons...: 23
and the ultimate  ......Why are Muslims such clowns?: 15

What Would Mohamed Do?: 2

[Woodrow]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_%27Afak

[J @ M @ L]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_%27Afak

Check when Ibn Ishaq lived.. then check the Isnad (chain of sources)... I'll help you out on this one... the story appeared over 100 years after the Prophet passed away... and there is no chain of sources.

[Woodrow]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Ishaq
Ibn Ishaq's work is of great historical interest as the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satanic_Verses
A number of Muslim scholars, notably Fazlur Rahman, have argued that if we are to trust Ibn Ishaq on other matters, we must trust him on this one.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fazlur_Rahman
Fazlur Rahman Malik (September 21, 1919 - July 26, 1988) was a well-known scholar of Islam; M. Yahya Birt of the Association of Islam Researchers described him as "probably the most learned of the major Muslim thinkers in the second-half of the twentieth century, in terms of both classical Islam and Western philosophical and theological discourse."

[J @ M @ L]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Ishaq
Ibn Ishaq's work is of great historical interest as the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad

LMAO.... "great historical interest"... here are the couple sentences that appear right before the one you chose to quote...

Ibn Ishaq himself would have been the first to insist that he was collecting oral traditions, not necessarily vouching for their truth. In some instances he gives two versions of an event, then concludes that only Allah knows which is true.

Ibn Ishaq's work is of great historical interest as the earliest surviving biography of Muhammad.

----

He collected stories... not verified "hadith".

Bernard Lewis:

From an early date Muslim scholars recognized the danger of false testimony and hence false doctrine, and developed an elaborate science for criticizing tradition. "Traditional science", as it was called, differed in many respects from modern historical source criticism, and modern scholarship has always disagreed with evaluations of traditional scientists about the authenticity and accuracy of ancient narratives. But their careful scrutiny of the chains of transmission and their meticulous collection and preservation of variants in the transmitted narratives give to medieval Arabic historiography a professionalism and sophistication without precedent in antiquity and without parallel in the contemporary medieval West. By comparison, the historiography of Latin Christendom seems poor and meagre, and even the more advanced and complex historiography of Greek Christendom still falls short of the historical literature of Islam in volume, variety and analytical depth.

[sharjiel]

on the real...

Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) prolly bless them (the cartoon artists) saying that they dunt know wat they are doing and ask for forgiveness on there behalf as he did when PPL of TAIF threw stones at him causing him to flee TAIF!

[coola]

same teachings as the bible pretty much..

[King Tech Quadafi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_%27Afak

Ey Long Time No Clown

where u been bert? u missed a whole lot of fun over the last week. ur friends c walker and co couldve used ur articles