Muhammad- A Mercy to Humanity
On Sunday, December 5, the Maryland chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association held a seminar on the life of the Prophet Muhammad. The event was held in a hybrid format with about 150 women attending in person at the Baitur Rahman mosque, the community’s headquarters in Silver Spring, while another 100 joined virtually via Zoom. This was the first of such events since the restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic were put into place for the safety of the members.
In August, 2021 the world watched with horrified disbelief scenes of utter chaos in the streets of Afghanistan when the Taliban charged forward to retake the country. Who can forget the viral video clip showing the desperation of the people climbing on to a US military aircraft to flee from what was doomed to be the end of freedom? Suddenly, the world stopped to be consumed by the news of COVID-19 and instead turned to witness the fate of the people of Afghanistan. What will the Talibans do? Will they go back to oppress the women? Will they be the new/old face of terrorists who would be bent on waging jihad against the non-Muslims? It was to ease the minds of the non-Muslim and Muslim Americans that the seminar was held to talk about the life and true teachings of Prophet Muhammad.
The speakers chose topics which would clear certain misconceptions about Muslims, such as, women’s rights and whether Islam advocates terrorism or offensive wars.
Monsura Sirajee, the first speaker, gave a brief background about the general condition of women in pre-Islamic Arabia. “In pre-Islamic Arabia, and in the rest of the world, women were afforded very little to no rights. Women could neither own nor inherit property. In domestic affairs, they had no rights over their children or themselves; in fact, they could be sold or abandoned by their husbands at will. If they were abused by their husbands, they had no recourse to divorce. Daughters were considered worthless and were often killed at birth. Women were given little or no education, and had no say in religious matters, being regarded as limited in spirituality and intellect.”
Sirajee clarified the misconceptions regarding the status of women in Islam by quoting the verse from the Holy Qur’an that says, “He has created you from a single being; then of the same kind made its mate” (39:7). Sirajee explained that “This single verse removes any taint of inferiority leveled at women by men.”
In 2012 when a fifteen year-old Malala Yousafzai was shot by a gunman belonging to the group Tehrik-i-Taliban, Pakistan, the world watched the news unfold on the TV screen with disbelief. Then the question arose, “Does Islam prohibit the education of women?” Presenter Munazza Alam quoted sayings of the Prophet Muhammad which clearly indicate that acquisition of education is imperative on all Muslims, men and women. The Prophet Muhammad said, “It is the duty of every Muslim man and every Muslim woman to acquire knowledge.” He further stated, ‘Seek knowledge even if you have to go to China.’ “These sayings of the Holy Prophet highlight that gaining knowledge is incumbent on both men and women, and demonstrate that intelligence is not just for men-that women are not only capable of learning and acquiring wisdom, but also are required to do so,” Alam explained. The Quran also teaches Muslims the value of knowledge and encourages the recitation of the short prayer which is, “O my Lord, increase me in knowledge” (20:115).
After the tragic incidence of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, Islam became synonymous with the word “terrorism”. Muslims were seen as an intolerant group and that Islam was surely a violent religion, a cult no less. However, this belief is far from the truth. “The teachings of Islam as related by the Holy Prophet are that we should be mindful of others’ differences and always show love and acceptance no matter anyone’s racial, ethnic, and religious background,” remarked Nyla Choudhry who spoke about how the Prophet Muhammad taught respect of others and accept the differences in the human race. Choudhry quoted from Prophet Muhammad’s Farewell Sermon in which he said, ‘There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, and no superiority of a white person over a black person or of a black person over a white person, except on the basis of personal piety and righteousness.’ This statement removes any misconception that Islam promotes intolerance.
The last speaker of the event, Ruqaiya Asad, spoke about Prophet Muhammad’s conduct during times of war. The critics of Islam and Prophet Muhammad have painted the religion and its founder as advocates of violence and offensive wars. Yes, it is a fact that Islamic history includes the details of several battles that were fought during the time of Prophet Muhammad but as Asad explained, “This is an important topic in our time, especially because of the portrayal of acts of terror in the name of Islam as so called Islamic war. When we review the true teachings of the Holy Quran and the practice of the Prophet regarding conduct of war, we find justice and humanity nothing like the images of ISIS or the Taliban. In fact terrorism as defined here is categorically denounced in Islam.” Asad went on to explain the difference between “terrorism” and “just war”. She said, “Terrorism in the name of any religion which instills fear, causes destruction, senselessly takes human life and violates human rights is against the practice of the Prophet Muhammad and forbidden in the teachings of the Holy Quran. It does not fall under the permissible boundaries of war.” She went on to give examples of the Prophet’s conduct during war and the treatment of prisoners of war.
Sarah Malik, president of the Maryland chapter of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Women’s Association felt blessed that after restrictions on large gatherings were placed due to the COVID-19 pandemic the women were able to come to the mosque to attend the event in person though a good number of attendees participated virtually. “Sunday evening was a wonderful
