Middle East Burning

If you watch what is going around the world you will think all Muslim are psychotic hate filled individuals just looking for any reason to kill another human being or destroy properties. If you are watching the news I must say I do not blame you for thinking that way.

We can all agree that the follower of each and every religion have figured out a way to corrupt their own religion. Same is true for thousands out of more than a billion Muslim around the world. These men and women we see on TV are destroying their neighbor’s properties and killing innocent and unarmed people for no reason. Some believe it is due to a movie created by someone in the United States of America.

To me Islam is a religion of peace, what I’ve be taught throughout my life tells me the actions of few individuals who are acting like bunch of elementary school kids. Name calling and getting in school yard fight is what it all seems to me.

Growing up Muslim this is one of the stories that stayed with me about a women and Prophet Mohammed. “She thought till late at midnight and finally decided how to take revenge from him. She could not sleep all night, because she was too eager to take revenge for the idols she worshiped. Even before the first ray of sunlight had entered her window, she was busy sweeping her house. She saved all the garbage in a basket, placed it on the roof of her house and proudly looked at it for a while, then with an impatient look on her face, she looked at the street that she lived on, and thought, "No one has ever seen him angry. Everybody will praise me when they will see him shouting at me and getting mad. They will laugh at him and make fun of him." She looked at the basket again and grinned.

Meanwhile, she heard footsteps, announcing the approach of the end of her waiting. "Finally my prey has arrived," she thought, as she saw a man dressed in clean, white clothes coming that way. She picked up the basket in her hands and threw all the garbage on him when he passed by. Much to the woman's disappointment, he did not say anything and continued on his way. She did the same the following day thinking, "Maybe this time I will be able to annoy him." But he was too gentle to shout at a woman. She misinterpreted his attitude as fear and decided to repeat the same mischief every day in order to keep him frightened, so that he might stop preaching the Oneness of God. This gentleman whom the woman hated so much was Muhammad (pbuh), the last prophet of Allah Almighty. He did not want to disappoint the woman and so continued to walk down the street every day, instead of picking an alternate route, and prayed for the woman to recognize the Truth. One day, the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) did not find the woman to be on the roof of her house with the basket. This worried him, because he thought something must have happened to her for not being over there. So he knocked at the door. "Who is it?" asked a feeble voice. "Muhammad bin Abdullah," was the reply, "can I come in?" The woman feared, "I am sick, and too weak to fight or talk back, therefore Muhammad has come to take revenge for what I have been doing to him." But the permission to enter her house was in such a gentle voice that she allowed him in.

Muhammad (pbuh) entered the house and told the woman that not finding her on the roof had worried him and he thus wanted to inquire about her health. On finding out how ill she was, he gently asked if she needed any help. Hypnotised by the affectionate tone in the Holy Prophet's (pbuh) blessed voice, she forgot all fear and asked for some water. He kindly gave her some in a utensil and prayed for her health, while she quenched her thirst. This made her feel very guilty for being so cruel to him in the past and she apologised for her mean behaviour. He forgave her and came to her house every day to clean it, to feed her and to pray for her, till she was on her feet again. The kind attitude of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) inspired her into the recognition of the Truth, and his prayers were answered in the form of yet another addition into the growing number of Muslims.

Some may quote the Hadith, “None of you believes until I am dearer to him than his father, his child, and all of mankind” My interpretation of the Hadith is to love him and his actions and not just his name. Love him and his legacy not just his title. Love him and his message not what Sufis, Clerics, & Imams have told you. What better way to show our love and appreciation than to do exactly how he himself would have acted in the situation. We learn about his mercy from the story about conquest of Mecca. Did he Kill and destroy everyone and everythig? What about the people of Taif, did he destroy them. I love my prophet so I will follow him and his teaching.