Prophet Muhammad — 23: Different Levels Of Aspiration
Islamic Perspectives - Muslim JournalsArab News
& Information - By Adil Salahi
The Muslim society the Prophet (peace be upon him)
established was a model society to the standards of
which all subsequent Muslim generations aspired.
The Prophet’s companions were keenly aware of the
change that occurred in their lives as a result of
their adoption of Islam and implementing it. The gulf
that separated their lives before and after Islam was
great indeed. Hence they appreciated the meaning of a
quality the Prophet indicated of true believers: that
they should hate to relapse into disbelief as much as
they would hate to be thrown into fire.
However, the community that lived in that society was
a community of ordinary human beings, with diverse
characters and divergent interests. They experienced
all the feelings and desires that motivate ordinary
people. If they were prepared to work hard and go to
war in support of their faith, they would certainly
have preferred a comfortable and easy life. They
withstood much hardship, leading a life of poverty for
many years. This, however, did not change the fact
that, like everyone of us, they would have preferred a
better standard of living. When the Battle of Hunayn
was over, the Muslims gained great wealth. According
to the rules God states in the Qur’an, one-fifth of
all spoils of war go to the state. The others are
equally divided among the soldiers, according to
well-defined criteria. The Prophet gave a number of
notables from Makkah very large gifts that made them
truly rich. Until very recently, these were fighting
hard to suppress Islam. Now, they were new Muslims,
and indeed one or two of them were still unbelievers.
Since these commanded positions of authority among
their people, the Prophet wanted to purge their old
hatred of Islam and to ensure that they were now
committed to it.
The Prophet did not give any such gifts to anyone of
the Ansar, the people who never faltered in their
commitment to Islam, enduring much hardship in the
process. It was natural that they should feel that
with such prizes available to the Prophet, they would
receive their fair share. Therefore, when they
realized that there was nothing coming their way,
apart from their rightful shares, they complained.
Their spokesman made their feelings clear to the
Prophet, showing all due respect.
The Prophet spoke to the Ansar and reminded them of
the great change Islam brought into their lives. They
acknowledged this and expressed their gratitude to God
and to the Prophet. He then stated his own
indebtedness to them, acknowledging that they gave him
shelter when his own people were plotting to kill him,
and they supported him against all enemies.
The Prophet then stated the situation that gave rise
to their complaint, and he made the issues underlining
it very clear. Those gifts went to people who knew
very little about Islam so that they would feel that
they would lose nothing of their material world when
they accepted Islam. On the other hand, the Ansar were
keenly aware of what Islam meant to them. He said:
“People of the Ansar, are you aggrieved over a trifle
of this world which I have given out to certain people
in order to win their hearts over to Islam and left
you to rely on your faith? Are you not satisfied,
people of the Ansar, that other people should go to
their quarters with sheep and camels while you go back
to your own quarters with God’s Messenger? By Him who
holds Muhammad’s soul in His hand, had it not been for
my emigration I would have been one of the Ansar. If
all people went one way and the Ansar went another
way, I would take the way of the Ansar. My Lord,
shower your mercy on the Ansar, and the Ansar’s
children and the children of their children.”
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