The Prophet Muhammad

[Karen]

Popcornbird has volunteered to post about Muhammad for all of us in light of the recent controversy playing across the world stage. As a member of the Muslim faith, she has often explained Islam's traditions for those who are not familiar with them. She is a trusted, well-loved member of our community here on Pet Talk, and I hope this thread can remain polite and respectful.

Paul and I will be monitoring this thread closely in case it needs to be moved to the Dog House, but we hope everyone treats the thread in the manner it is intended - education - and to be able to keep it in General.

Thank you, in advance.

She will place her post in this thread.

[popcornbird]

First of all, thank you so much Karen for allowing me to post on this topic. My intention of posting about Prophet Muhammad is only to educate those of you who may not know of him, and to do my part in helping those of you interested to have a deeper understanding of Prophet Muhammad, and why Muslims are so deeply passionate about him. In the wake of current events and the controversy in the Dog House, I felt it my duty as a Muslim to tell you all about Prophet Muhammad, and what a great man he was. I hope we will be able to keep this civil, with no controversy, and that it will remain a peaceful thread. Remember, my intention in doing this is only to educate, so let's keep it civil, and learn together. ;)

Let's start with some questions. What do you all know about Prophet Muhammad? Do you know what message he brought to humanity? Do you know the main beliefs of Muslims? Do you know how greatly he influenced and changed the society where he was sent? Do you know that he brought the same message brought by Prophet Abraham, and all previous prophets? If the answer to these questions is no, read on.

Briefly, Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him, was born 570 AD, in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. He was an orphaned child. His father died weeks before his birth, and his mother when he was 6 years old. He was raised by his grandfather, and later, by his paternal uncle, after his grandfather passed away. He was illiterate, and couldn't even write his own name. Despite his being an orphan, and illiterate, he became the most influential man ever known to mankind.

Prophet Muhammad was a trustworthy, honest young man. He was so trustworthy, his people gave him the 'title' of 'The Trustworthy'. He was generous, sincere, and merciful, to both human beings and animals. He never made himself appear to be superior to those around him. He was humble, just, and kind. He dressed in simple clothing, and led a very simple life.

At the age of 40, Prophet Muhammad began to receive revelation from God, through Angel Gabriel. I believe those of you who are Christian must know about Angel Gabriel. Angel Gabriel continued to bring revelations from God to Prophet Muhammad for a period of 23 years. These scriptures were compiled during the life of Prophet Muhammad, and have remained in their original Arabic text ever since. The scriptures, or the Holy Book known as the Quran, is what Muslims believe to be the Word of God. In it, God told us the purpose of life, how He created us, how we should live, warned us about Satan, told us what will happen after we die, the consequences of bad deeds and the reward for good deeds, afterlife, Heaven and Hell, the stories of the Prophets (Adam, Noah, David, Solomon, Jacob, Joseph, Lot, Abraham, Moses, Aaron, Jesus, etc.), the key to success in life, and so much more.

The message Prophet Muhammad brought called for the worship of God Almighty alone. He taught his people to believe in the One God, the Angels, the Prophets, the Books sent by God to other Prophets before him (in their original form), the Afterlife (Day of Judgement, Heaven and Hell), and to accept and submit to their fate and Will of God in all matters in life. As soon as he began to recite the Quran and to preach the message which God had revealed to him, he and his small group of followers suffered severe persecution from unbelievers. The persecution grew so fierce that in the year 622 God gave them the command to emigrate. This emigration from Mecca to the city of Madina, some 260 miles to the north, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar.

After several years, Prophet Muhammad and his much larger number of followers were able to return to Mecca, where they forgave their enemies and established Islam in the city. Before Muhammad died, at the age of 63, the greater part of the Arabian Peninsula had become Muslim, and within a century of his death, Islam had spread to Spain in the West and as far East as China. Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam was the truth and clarity of its doctrine. Islam calls for faith in only One God, Who is the only One worthy of worship.

Prophet Muhammad brought justice to a society of injustice. He changed the Arabian peninsula from a nation that worshipped idols made of wood and stone, to a nation that worshipped God Almighty alone. He commanded his people to be good to their women and children, to the elderly, and to all of mankind. Prophet Muhammad said, "The best amongst you are those who are the best to their wives." He commanded people to be good to their parents, especially their mothers, and to treat them with love and respect. Before Islam, the Arabs used to consider the birth of a baby girl a disgrace, and would bury their baby girls alive for no reason other than their child being a female. Islam abolished that cruel tradition. The message Prophet Muhammad brought taught that all men and women are equal before God. No race is superior to any other race. He commanded us to give charity to the poor, care for orphans, be good to people, be kind to animals, free slaves, and have strong moral values in our lives. In the 23 years of his prophethood, he changed the world forever. He was a great Prophet, the kindest and most merciful of men. If only people today would live by his example in every aspect of their daily lives, the world would be a better place.

Hope this briefly gives you all a summary of who Prophet Muhammad was. There are so many details about his life, but I hope I've covered at least some of the basics. Its very late here now...I'm off to bed, but if anyone has any questions or wants to know more, feel free to ask. I don't have much time these days due to my wedding, but I will try my best to keep up with any questions. Just remember to keep the thread civil, and refrain from arguing or debating, as my purpose of posting this was only to educate people at a time of such controversy, uncertainty, and doubt. If any of you wish to know more, check out this website. http://www.islam-guide.com/

[chocolatepuppy]

popcornbird,
Thank you for the information on your Muslim faith, it is interesting. Being Catholic, I have heard enough slamming of my religion to float a battleship. I however, respect whatever religion someone is or even not having a religion. People being different is truly what makes the world go around. :)

[JenBKR]

Thank you so much for posting this. I found it very informative. I took a class in high school that was about several different religions and compared them, and Islam was one of them. Being a strong Christian, I was surprised at the similiarities between Islam and Christianity. I do have one question - I remember learning that Islam is a very peaceful religion, and in your post it sounds the same way. Do you know where some Muslims get the ideas of violence? Or does that have more to do with where they live and their society? I have often wondered where some Christians get their ideas (e.g., bombing an abortion clinic in the name of God). Maybe some things can't always be explained. I don't mean for this question to be negative against Muslims at all, but I think some people get the wrong idea about Islam because of the few extremists who make the news. Thanks!

[poofy]

I understand about Yourprophet and respect it..would he approve of the violence we are seeing evey where in his name???

[poofy]

thank you for any answers you can give :)

[Karen]

You explained this some to me in a PM, but could you explain to everyone why the Prophet Muhammad is not allowed to be depicted? This is very different from Christian faith which has a long tradition of artwork of Jesus.

[K9soul]

I appreciate your eloquent and educational post dear Pops. You know my respect for you and your faith is boundless.

Love, Jess

[Addie]

i have no religion, and i have no idea what this is all about...can someone get me up to date??

[Lady's Human]

The prophet is not allowed to be depicted to avoid idolatry.

[Vela]

i have no religion, and i have no idea what this is all about...can someone get me up to date??

I you don't have a religion you beleive in and don't know much about religion this isn't the best place to find out a lot. Things can really only be touched on here as religions are full of lots of information and much too much to really cover here as to the beleifs, etc. You would do better to use Google to look up different religions if you truly want to learn about them in depth.

Popcorn Bird, thank you for explaining part of your beleifs in such a forthright easy to understand manner. It's always interesting for me to hear about and learn about other religions.

[Logan]

(((((Popcornbird))))) Thank you for sharing your thoughts on this topic. :)

[Van10]

Thank you PCB for the insight you have given us on Islam.
I had no idea that it was so close to Christianism!

[K9karen]

Thanks Pops for the informative and beautiful explanation. How sad there are fanatics in every religion that give it a bad connotation. Having been to the Middle East, I learned the beauty of many religions. I am Jewish and have many Muslim friends, which surprises many people. I also had a bi-religious upbringing which was one of the best things I could have learned. I'm one of these people who prays for unity and peace and RESPECT for humanity.

[moosmom]

PCB,

Thank you for taking the time to explain the Muslim faith to us. Personally, I believe the cartoons should stop, in an effort to keep peace. Yes, I do believe in the right to freedom of speech, but to cause such an uproar is taking it to the extreme.

Why can't just get along????

[Lady's Human]

MM, all was quiet after the cartoons were published..........For almost 6 months no one said a thing, and then some extremist imans started the fury.

[popcornbird]

It has been a busy week for me, and I'm so sorry I was unable to respond earlier.

In answer to your questions, I know that Prophet Muhammad would be very angry with the behavior of some of the Muslims these days if he was present in society. I don't know where they get the justification for acting so violently, and destroying property. What some people do (burning buildings/acting insane like that) has absolutely no justification in Islam. It is their individual deeds and actions. No one has any control over the actions of any other human being, and no one is accountable for the deeds of anyone else, and certainly, no religion should be held accountable for the wrong actions of a few followers. I can't understand why some people react in this way, but from my understanding...when people or nations suffer at the hands of others, lose family members, children, women during war, suffer from poverty, etc. some people just lose their minds and don't realize what they're doing...or if they do, think they can justify it because of the harsh lives they live. Of course it is wrong and completely unjustifiable, but there are people in this world that sadly, just don't think straight.

That being said, for countries like Denmark and France to justify their actions with 'freedom of speech' doesn't make any sense to me. I find it very hypocratical of nations that bar the freedom of religion by banning Muslim women from wearing a head scarf, to even think they have the right to mention freedom of speech when it comes to 'their side'. It should go both ways. There is a sense of responsibility that comes with freedom of speech, and it should not be used to hurt or insult any major group of people. When insulting 1/5th of the entire world population to that extent, there are going to be problems. Crazy people exist in every society, and sadly, crazy people react in crazy ways. Of course such people are in the minority, but sadly, it is them who go on TV. The actions of Denmark/other European nations can be compared to taking a match, lighting it, and tossing it in an area full of trees...then adding more oil to the flames (other nations republishing it to show solidarity KNOWING it offended so many)...and then, blaming the trees for catching on fire, and blaming them some more as the fire spreads. No, the Muslims that are behaving in a violent manner are not justifiable in any way at all, but nothing justifies the actions of the newspapers either. Still, Prophet Muhammad would never approve of burning and destroying property like that. He was a man of compassion and mercy, and his behavior and conduct was one that caused even some of his enemies to turn around and love him.

As to why depicting the Prophet is considered 'wrong', I don't believe the uproar was caused because of Prophet Muhammad being depicted, but more because he was depicted in a very insulting and disgusting way. Prophet Muhammad is not the only one who shouldn't be depicted, but Muslims consider it wrong to depict any Prophet, God, angel, etc. The reason for that is because belief in the One God alone is so important in Islam, and associating anyone with God is considered wrong. When someone so holy is depicted as a statue or image (even in a respectful manner), there are people out there who may possibly turn their love for the Prophet into worshipping him, and worshipping a statue would take people away from the worship of one God, and turn them to idolatry. That is one reason. Another reason is because it is considered disrespectful to make an image of one sent by God. I believe the 'Passion of Christ' wasn't shown in some Muslim countries for this reason. Because an actor played the role of Jesus, and well, in our beliefs, Jesus was a Prophet of God, and no 'actor' should play his role because Jesus was far above any average human being could ever be. From my knowledge, these two reasons are the main reasons most Muslims are against the depiction of any Prophet. Because of idolatry, and disrespect.

K9Karen, when I was growing up, we had a Jewish neighbor with an adorable little boy. They were such a wonderful family, and trusted us so much they'd always leave their child with us. When they had their daughter, they left the little boy with us for three days while his mommy was at the hospital. We were still friends for years after they moved away. People also often told them, "WHAT? You have a Muslim FRIEND?" It was kind of funny. People are used to Muslim and Christians being friends, but somehow when its a Muslim and Jew, they tend to think they're not supposed to get along no matter what. So...I can totally understand what you're saying about peoples' comments. :p The main problem, I think, is because of misunderstandings about other religions. If people understood each other more, many problems would probably be eliminated.

[smokey the elder]

Thank you, Popcornbird, for sharing your faith with us. It is very refreshing to see such things. Technically, according to The Ten Commandments, Jews and Christians aren't supposed to have images of God. I think images of Jesus Christ are inconsistent with the Ten Commandments. I find myself comparing faiths to find their similarities and shake my head at people picking on the (often insignificant) differences. I guess this is why, as humans, we have a lot to learn yet.

[Catty1]

One can, I think, go through the history of any religion or belief and find hurt and angry people who will cause destruction and harm, thinking they are 'fighting for their faith'.

It seems to me that there are certain Christian religions that do not have pictures of Jesus or any holy figure, because of creating an idol that way.

There is a book I have which has this line: "Be quick to see where religious people are right. Make use of what they offer."

Let's look at the good, too - the peace that all these leaders of different faiths wanted - and the 'free will' of the humans that decided otherwise.

As I heard once, 'some people make God in their own image.' ;)

Thanks popcornbird, for sharing!

Catty1