AT the end of the sixth century AD humanity was facing a very depressed and deprived condition. There was no Guidance from its Creator and Sustainer to guide its destiny as all were “lost” or mutilated due to human interpolation. There was no Kingdom of God on earth to deliver justice and equity to human abode. There was no concept of human rights and no court of justice to take care of their violations every now and then. It was the age of tribalism and that of monarchy. Tribal rules and words of monarchs were the law of the day. Worst was the condition of womenfolk. In Christianity they were like the untouchables and in the pagan world of Hinduism they had no life of their own. They were forced to die alive with the departing husband and were totally deprived to inherit either from father or husband. Human rights were just for the ruling coterie and the rest of the people were treated like serfdoms. Two super powers, the Roman and the Persian Empires were dominant and fighting against each other for their respective supremacy at frequent intervals.

 Simultaneously, there was no peace and security in the Arabian Peninsula except in and around the Haram. No trade route was safe either on land or on sea. Quraish of Makkah has the monopoly over the trade from Yemen deep in South to Syria in North and beyond as they were the custodian of Haram and thus Makkah became the Clearing House of trade. This was the situation when Muhammad Ibne Abdullah was born in Banu Hashim of Quraish in Makkah in 572 AD. The geopolitical and economic situation in and around the Arab lands was very precarious. There was no justice, no peace and no security. He was extremely worried to get the situation corrected. In this pursuit, he expended all his personal possessions and that of his beloved wife Khadija but to no respite till he was appointed as the Messenger of God in 610 AD after the departure of Prophet Jesus [pbuh], leaving a long gap of about 550 years when there was no Prophet of God and no Guidance for man as how to act, live and behave on this earth for living in peace and harmony with others.

 HOW PROPHET MUHAMMAD (PBUH) CORRECTED THE SITUATION

The mission entrusted to him (S) by our Lord was to deliver the Guidance to humans in the form of the Qur’an as how to live, act and behave, establish His authority on earth and administer justice to mankind. To fulfill his (S) mission:

 * He (S.A.W.) called the humanity to the fold of its Creator and Sustainer who created this universe and what it contains and harnessed it for man and his species as His vicegerent on earth and be always obedient to Him;

 * As His vicegerent, the humans are not the “masters of all that they survey” but its trustee and hence, to use them as He commands through the last and the final Book of Guidance that he (S) delivered to mankind in the form of the Qur’an;

* Man must always feel accountable to Him for the manner he uses His countless bounties of this cosmos - expecting either reward of His eternal pleasure in Jannah for his good deeds or constant punishment in Hellfire for misdeeds. Man will get this ultimate verdict of his Creator and Sustainer after death. This ever-consciousness was to keep his worldly life in moderation and fill his life with justice, peace and harmony for all.

 * Presented his life, as the Messenger of God, to serve as model and to show how to live act and behave on this earth and live in harmony with self and others.

 * Those who accepted his call/invitation, he (S) organized them into a Jamaah, trim and polish their character and prepared them to be the benevolent citizens of their society as father, as husband, as neighbor, as trader, as brother and sister and the hope of mankind, doing good to everyone honestly and sincerely to the extent that all the minorities, the deprived, the depressed and the have-nots feel contented. All were getting justice at par and living in peace and harmony with others.

 * He (S) established a self-sustained welfare society for the poor, the needy, the orphans, the unemployed, the underemployed, the incapacitated – for the have-nots which the most developed nations of today couldn't establish so for anywhere in this world in spite of their best efforts and tall talks of establishing a modern welfare state. .

 *Prophet Mohammad (pbuh] thus, established an Islamic society and a state where justice was prevailing everywhere free of cost; where minorities, both religious and ethnic, were enjoying their human rights at par with Muslims; where the womenfolk were meeting their “socio-economic-political” rights at par with men with no distinction at all; where peace was rampant everywhere so much so that an old lady could travel alone playing with gold in her hands from Sana’ to Hazermaut ( a distance of 1,000 miles) with no fear except that of God; where he (S) and his (S) Caliph had no body-guards and everyone even the aggrieved animals could meet him (S) with their “complaints”, if any, and get redress forthwith.

 *Such was the benevolent society that Prophet Mohammad (pbuh) established in the Arabian Peninsula within 23 years of his (S) appointment as the Messenger of God, in between 610 and the year 632 AD, with the help of the Guidance that came to him (S) from God in the shape of the Qur’an and the Team of the Trustworthy Da’ees that he (S) built painstakingly in that tribal society of old Jahiliyah. Humanity got its zenith in all respects within that brief period of 23 years. Since then it stands as a challenge to human endeavors to attain its equilibrium.

THE QUESTION:

Can any modern egalitarian societies of Europe, America or Asia show even a replica of that model established and demonstrated by Muhammad Ibne Abdullah (pbuh) 1400 years ago? Those who pronounced Islam as backward, and conservative can they produce a model like that in the context of modern world any where in this world? Communism died in pursuing that effort in Moscow and China has resorted to Socialistic Capitalism and, in consequence, is now reaping all the inherent evils of the materialistic system whereas Capitalism itself is counting its days sitting in the lapse of the Whit House, 10 Downing Street , the Ely se Palace , the Red Squire, and the Red Fort. When all the materialistic systems couldn't reach that zenith of mankind in their prime time what can be expected from them while they all are facing their lean period and all the secular systems are in the process of withering away.

In fact, humanity has lost its hold on the march of time as it has no sense of accountability in any of its affairs which was the corner stone of the society that Muhammad (S) built and the character that he (S) promoted and demonstrated to the world 1400 years ago. The modern man feels free to live as per his wild wishes desires and caprices with greed and lust and fill the earth with all kinds of injustices in every walk of human life. Hence it couldn't and cannot even produce a replica of that pattern of life. Materialism has lost the “battleground” to the Islamic System that was brought and established by Mohammad Ibne Abdullah (pbuh) through the Qur’an and accountability in the Akhirah. It has no choice but to recall the life pattern of Mohammad Ibne Abdullah (pbuh) and live the life that Qur’an recommends to live as obedient to the Creator and Sustainer and feeling always accountable to Him after death for all that man does on earth.

 Human societies, both Muslims and non-Muslims, have NOW no choice but to surrender to the Sustainer of this cosmos, behave like the trustees of what they possess not masters and feel accountable to their Supreme Lord and live as per the pattern of life demonstrated by Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). This is now the only way left for mankind to survive with justice, peace, honor and dignity for some time more. It is an open challenge both for the Muslim and the secular world to survive with respect in the community of nations. Hope the saner elements of both will think over this challenge and behave as God commands through the Qur’an, the last and the final Book of Guidance for mankind till eternity.

 This is the last hope of mankind to survive. Muhammad (S) is now the only leader for mankind to follow till eternity. Will the arrogant leadership of materialistic world see it through? The fate of humanity hinges on this fatal question. Will the good sense prevail over their obstinacy and the urgency of time over their hate against Islam and the benevolent life pattern of Muhammad Ibne Abdullah (pbuh)?

 Br. Shamim Siddiqi can be reached at TSidd96472@aol.com

His web is  WWW.dawahinamericas.com