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Belief in the Heavenly Books - II

Thursday, 25 September 2014

Distortion of the Injeel (Gospel)
The Injeel was also distorted and altered and is not in its original state in which Allaah The Almighty revealed it. Christians contintued altering and changing its facts so as to attain their desired worldly gains.
The distortion of the current versions of the Injeel can simply be proved if we know that they are four versions of the Injeel selected from many more versions. Such versions reported the words of Prophet ‘Eesa  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention. Their writers are known and their names are written on them. In the library of one of the princes in Paris, a version of the Injeel – Injeel (Gospel) of Barnabas - was found. It differed greatly from the other four selected versions of the Injeel and agreed with the Noble Quran in many beliefs and principles.
After we have known for certain that those books have been distorted, then what is the meaning that the Noble Quran came to confirm in the divine books that preceded it? This simply means that the Noble Quran came to enhance and support the truth which was mentioned in the books that came before it, mainly worshiping Allaah The Almighty Alone, believing in His Messengers, believing in the reward, observing rights and justice, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and adhering to noble moral standards. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Say, "O People of the Scripture, you are [standing] on nothing until you uphold [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord."}[Quran 5: 68]
Consequently, the Quran is the only way with which we can know the sound divine teachings. It is the book whose fundamental principles are preserved, its teachings are not distorted, and the Ummah received it from the angel who brings down the Revelation to the Messengers - Jibreel  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention - who came down to the Messenger  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). This preservation was not granted to any book other than the Noble Quran. In fact, the Quran comprises the most sublime principles, methods and systems. It has all that humans need of beliefs, acts of worship, morals, and transactions. It befits all times and places. It is sufficient to create a Muslim individual, a virtuous family and a righteous society. Truthful is the one who speaks with it. Just is the one who passes judgment according to it. Guided to the right path is the one who adheres to its teachings. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {There has come to you from Allaah a light and a clear Book. By which Allaah guides those who pursue His pleasure to the ways of peace and brings them out from darknesses into the light, by His permission, and guides them to a straight path.} [Quran 5: 15-16]
The Previous Divinely Revealed Books Were not Universal
The books that Allaah The Almighty revealed, other than the Quran, addressed certain people in certain times and they agreed with the Noble Quran in some rulings and laws. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And We ordained for them therein a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a nose for a nose, an ear for an ear, a tooth for a tooth, and for wounds is legal retribution.} [Quran 5: 45]
Muslims believe in what is mentioned in these books as long as it does not contradict with the Quran. They also believe that the Noble Quran is the main constitution for all people.
Characteristics of the Noble Quran
The Noble Quran has many characteristics that distinguish it from the books that came before it. Amongst such characteristics are:
• It has all the divine instructions that Allaah The Almighty revealed in the Tawraah, the Injeel, and all the teachings that Allaah The Almighty revealed.
• It supports the truth which was mentioned in these books regarding worshiping Allaah The Almighty Alone, believing in His Messengers, believing in reward, observing and establishing rights, enjoining good and forbidding evil, and adhering to noble moral standards. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth, confirming that which preceded it of the Scripture and as a criterion over it. So judge between them by what Allaah has revealed and do not follow their inclinations away from what has come to you of the truth. To each of you We prescribed a law and a method.} [Quran 5: 48]

That is to say, Allaah The Almighty revealed the Noble Quran which is truthful in all that is mentioned in it and it confirms the preceding Scriptures that were revealed by Allaah The Almighty. It is a witness over them. It explains the distortion and alteration that inflicted them. Then Allaah The Almighty ordered His Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) to judge between all people, Muslims and non-Muslims, by what Allaah The Almighty has revealed in the Noble Quran and not to follow them in disobeying Allaah The Almighty.
• Allaah The Almighty prescribed a law for every nation with its rulings and different interactions that befit its nature and inclinations in the best way. The main pillars of creeds are the same in all messages. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {He has ordained for you of religion what He enjoined upon Noah and that which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what We enjoined upon Abraham and Moses and Jesus - to establish the religion and not be divided therein.} [Quran 42: 13]
Then when Islam came, it abrogated all other laws and methods. It established only one creed and method for all people.
• The original versions of the books that were revealed before the Quran were lost. Nothing remained of them except their translations, unlike the Noble Quran which was preserved as a whole with its Soorahs, verses, words, and letters exactly as Jibreel  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention recited it to the Messenger of Allaah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). In the previous books, the words of humans were mixed with the Words of Allaah The Almighty. No one can recognize the words of Allaah The Almighty from those of humans. As for the Noble Quran, all of its words are from Allaah The Almighty and they were never mixed with the Hadeeths of the Messenger or the speeches of the companions or any other person.
• None of those books can in any way be attributed to the Messenger to whom it was revealed. The Tawraah (Torah) was not written by Moosa (Moses). In fact, it was written many centuries after Moosa. The Noble Quran is the only book that was proved to be decisively attributed to the Messenger  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) (even if he did not write it down himself, for he ordered the writers of the revelation to record every verse immediately after it was revealed to him).
• The teachings of the Noble Quran are the Words of Allaah The Almighty that can achieve happiness to all humanity. So Allaah The Almighty Willed for it to last forever. He preserved and protected it from distortion. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {And indeed, it is a mighty Book Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.} [Quran 41: 41-42]
• {Indeed, it is We who sent down the Quran and indeed, We will be its guardian} [Quran 15: 9]
The wisdom behind that is to make the Quran the argument of Allaah The Almighty over people. The Quran is for all worlds and all people. It is not for a specific people unlike the previous heavenly books. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner.} [Quran 34: 28]
• The Quran is the guidance that leads to all that is good. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Alif, Lam, Meem. This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allaah} [Quran 2: 1-2] Allaah The Almighty wants His word to spread and reach minds and ears everywhere. This will not be attained except if the Quran is easy to memorize and understand. Nothing in the Quran is difficult for people to understand or fulfill. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And We have certainly made the Quran easy for remembrance, so is there any who will remember?} [Quran 54: 17]
• The Quran is also the miracle of the Messenger  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). In fact, if the whole world gathered in order to produce something like what is mentioned in the Quran, they could not produce the like of it for it is as Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And indeed, it is a mighty Book. Falsehood cannot approach it from before it or from behind it; [it is] a revelation from a [Lord who is] Wise and Praiseworthy.} [Quran 41: 41-42]
• The Quran is an invitation to every good matter and forbids every vice. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {O mankind, there has come to you instruction from your Lord and healing for what is in the breasts.} [Quran 10: 57]
• The Quran is a cure for souls. It purifies them from their diseases. It is a remedy from disbelief, misguidance, hatred and envy. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And We send down of the Quran that which is healing and mercy for the believers, but it does not increase the wrongdoers except in loss.} [Quran 17: 82]

Belief in the Heavenly Books - I

In the cave of Hiraa’ and away from people, Jibreel (Gabriel) came down to our Prophet Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention )while he was worshiping Allaah The Almighty The One Who Has no partner and said to him: "Recite." Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said, "I cannot recite,". Jibreel pressed him hard and repeated the order ‘Recite.’ ‘I cannot recite’ said he trembling and terrified, and once again he pressed him hard and said: ‘Recite.’ Again he answered while shaking and trembling ‘I cannot recite.’ Jibreel held him for the third time then released him and said: {Recite in the name of your Lord who created.} [Quran 96: 1]
Then this situation comes to an end and Jibreel disappears. Muhammad hurries back home, trembling and sweating profusely. He enters upon his wife Khadeejah and says to her: Cover me, cover me. [Al-Bukhari] She covers him with wool covers, and wipes the sweat from his forehead.
The Will of Allaah The Almighty has been fulfilled and the seal prophet on earth was chosen to convey the call of Allaah The Almighty to His slaves. The verse mentioned above was the first verse that Allaah The Almighty revealed to His Messenger from the Noble Quran which is the book that Allaah The Almighty chose to be the ever-lasting miracle and clear argument with the seal of the Prophets. This book is not the only book that Allaah The Almighty has sent down; rather, there are other books such as Tawraah (Torah) Injeel (Gospel), Zaboor (Psalms), and Suhuf (Scriptures).
The Muslim individual believes in all books that Allaah The Almighty revealed to His Prophets and Messengers in much the same way as he believes in the Noble Quran which Allaah The Almighty revealed to Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). Allaah The Almighty mentioned some of these books in the Noble Quran and did not mention some others. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Mankind was [of] one religion [before their deviation]; then Allaah sent the prophets as bringers of good tidings and warners and sent down with them the Scripture in truth to judge between the people concerning that in which they differed. And none differed over the Scripture except those who were given it - after the clear proofs came to them - out of jealous animosity among themselves. And Allaah guided those who believed to the truth concerning that over which they had differed.} [Quran 2: 213]
Amongst the books that Allaah The Almighty mentioned in the Noble Quran are:
1. The Scriptures of Ibraaheem (Abraham) and Moosa (Moses), may Allaah exalt their mention:
They are the Scriptures that Allaah The Almighty sent down to Ibraaheem and Musa, may Allaah exalt their mention. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {Or has he not been informed of what was in the scriptures of Moses. And [of] Abraham, who fulfilled [his obligations]} [Quran 53: 36-37]
• {Indeed, this is in the former scriptures, The scriptures of Abraham and Moses} [Quran 87: 18-19]
Abu Tharr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him said: I said: O Messenger of Allaah! How were the Scriptures of Ibraaheem  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention? He said: They were full of examples; O Arrogant tested domineering king! I have not sent you to collect the vain gains of this world, but rather I sent you to respond to the supplication of the wronged person on my behalf for I never reject it even if it is from a disbeliever. Every sane person must – as long as his mind is not absent - take time to invoke his lord, time to bring himself to account, time to contemplate the creation of Allaah The Almighty, and time to seek his needs from food and drinking.
Every sane person must not move except for three things: preparing the provision for the appointed time, improving his life and enjoying a lawful pleasure. Also, every sane person must be mindful of his time, must look after his affairs and protect his tongue (from obscene speech). Whoever thinks of his speech as part of his deeds, he will not speak except in what is beneficial for him.
Then I said: O Messenger of Allaah! How were the Scriptures of Moosa (Moses)  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention? He said: “They were full of wisdoms: I am amazed at the one who is certain of death and then he feels happy. I am amazed at the one who is certain of Hell and then he laughs. I am amazed at the one who is certain of preordainance and then he exhausts himself. I am amazed at the one who has seen the world and how the fortunes of its people change and then he feels reassured. I am amazed at the one who is certain of Reckoning tomorrow and then he does not work.”
2. Tawraah (Torah)
It is the book that Allaah The Almighty revealed to Moosa (Moses)  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention and ordered the prophets who came after him to establish and fulfill its rulings, for Allaah The Almighty sent them and did not send any books with them; rather, He made Tawraah their book and religion. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allaah ] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allaah , and they were witnesses thereto.} [Quran 5: 44] Allaah The Almighty called he Tawraah “Al-Furqaan” in the Noble Quran.

3. Az-Zaboor (Psalms)
It is one of the heavenly books. Allaah The Almighty revealed it to Daawood (David)  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):{And to David We gave the book [of Psalms].} [Quran 17: 55] Daawood  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention used to read a great deal in Az-Zaboor which the Messenger of Allaah  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) named Quran because of its similarity to the Noble Quran in their miraculousness. He  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) said: “The reciting of the Zaboor (i.e. Psalms) was made easy for Daawood. He used to order that his riding animals be saddled, and would finish reciting the Zaboor before they were saddled. And he would never eat except from the earnings of his manual work.” [Al-Bukhaari]
Allaah The Almighty sent down in Az-Zaboor precious wisdoms and praises of Him. Allaah The Almighty did not reveal in it any rulings of the permissible and prohibited actions for they were enjoined to take their rulings from the Tawraah.

4. Injeel (Gospel)
Allaah The Almighty revealed it to ‘Eesa (Jesus)  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):
• {And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.} [Quran 5: 46]
• {Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel} [Quran 57: 27]
Wisdom behind revealing Books

The Muslim individual believes that these books were revealed by Allaah The Almighty. They called to At-Tawheed (monotheism) and to associating nothing with Him. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And We certainly sent into every nation a messenger, [saying], "Worship Allaah and avoid Taghut.} [Quran 16: 36]
The Muslim believes that the wisdom behind revealing books is to guide human beings to the straight path of Allaah The Almighty, eliminate disagreement and discord from among them, bear for them the glad tidings of the pleasure of Allaah The Almighty if they obeyed Him and warn them against His punishment if the disobeyed Him; and that the heavenly books – other than the Noble Quran – have not remained in their original state in which Allaah The Almighty sent them down; rather, they were exposed to alteration and distortion and the words of humans have mingled with the Words of Allaah The Almighty in them.
Forms of the distortion of the Divinly Revealed Books 
Distortion of the divinely revealed books took different forms. The Noble Quran mentioned some of them such as:
1- Hiding some verses, Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {O People of the Scripture, there has come to you Our Messenger making clear to you much of what you used to conceal of the Scripture and overlooking much.} [Quran 5: 15]
2- Misinterpretation of the intended meanings of the verses, Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And indeed, there is among them a party who alter the Scripture with their tongues so you may think it is from the Scripture, but it is not from the Scripture. And they say, "This is from Allaah," but it is not from Allaah. And they speak untruth about Allaah while they know.} [Quran 3: 78]
3- Displacing verses from their original places. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages and say, "We hear and disobey.} [Quran 4: 46]
4- Adding what is not from the Book to it; Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {And among them are unlettered ones who do not know the Scripture except in wishful thinking, but they are only assuming. So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allaah ," in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.} [Quran 2: 78-79]

Distortion of the Tawraah (Torah)
Belief in the Tawraah that Allaah The Almighty revealed to Moosa  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention is one of the main pillars of the religion of Islam. Muslims believe that it included all goodness, called for the worship of Allaah Alone and it was a light and guidance. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light.} [Quran 5: 44]
However, the Tawraah that was revealed to Moosa  may  Allaah  exalt  his  mention does not exist anymore in its original state. The claimed Tawraah of nowadays was written by many writers and in different times. It was distorted and altered.
Amongst the material proofs of its distortion is that the Tawraah that is in the hands of Christians is different from the one that is in the hands of Jews. The Noble Quran recorded that distortion and rebuked the Jews for their distortion and alteration of the Tawraah. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Do you covet [the hope, O believers], that they would believe for you while a party of them used to hear the words of Allaah and then distort the Torah after they had understood it while they were knowing?} [Quran 2: 75]
They had the nerve to distort and alter the Book of Allaah The Almighty to hide the truth that it contained and all that can prove the prophethood of Muhammad  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) although they knew him well. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means): {Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him as they know their own sons. But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know [it].} [Quran 2: 146] Though they knew him well, they did not believe in him and were too arrogant to do so. Allaah The Almighty Says (what means):{Among the Jews are those who distort words from their [proper] usages.} [Quran 4: 46]
Amongst the evidences that prove the distortion of the current Tawraah are the descriptions mentioned in it which do not befit the Majesty and Perfection of Allaah The Almighty such as: And the LORD God said, Behold, the man has become as one of us, to know good and evil.” [Genesis 3: 22] and “And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. [Genesis 6: 6].”
Can these be the Words of Allaah The Almighty? Can grief and regret be attributed to Allaah The Almighty? In fact, such malicious claims entail that Allaah The Almighty did not have knowledge of the results of His actions. No, Allaah The Almighty is high above any defect and shortcoming. Allaah The Almighty has comprehensive knowledge that encompasses everything. Exalted is He and high above what they say by great sublimity.
Another proof of the distortion of the current Tawraah is what is mentioned in it of describing prophets in a way that negates the infallibility that Allaah The Almighty granted them. They mentioned that Ibraaheem (Abraham) is a liar, that Haroon (Aaron) called Banu Israa’eel (Children of Israel) to worship the Calf, and that Sulaymaan (Solomon) worshiped idols to please his wife. Can any human being who has a sound mind say such words; let alone being revealed by Allaah The Almighty to guide humans with it?

Examples of equality in Islam

First Example

Abu Tharr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him somehow got angry with the freed slave of Abu Bakr, Bilaal of Abyssinia  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them both. Both of them were Companions of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). The altercation became prolonged and Abu Tharr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him in his fury called Bilaal  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him a "son of a black skinned mother". Bilaal complained to the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention )who addressed Abu Tharr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him saying: "Did you call him a name reviling his mother? It appears that you still retain vestiges of Jaahiliyyah (the period of ignorance before Islam.)" 
Abu Tharr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him failed to understand the word Jaahiliyyah and took it to signify some sort of sexual immorality, and meekly questioned in surprise, "At this ripe age, O Prophet of Allaah?" The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention )said in reply: "Yes, you are his brother." Abu Tharr  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him became ashamed and repentant, and - out of extreme repentance and humility - requested Bilaal  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him to tread on his face with his feet.

Second Example

When a woman of the Bani Makhzoom tribe called Faatimah was found guilty of theft, she was brought to the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) to be judged according to Sharee'ah Law. The Quraysh tribe tried to intercede not to punish the woman and after deliberation, sent Usaamah bin Zayd  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him for intercession since he was very much a favourite of the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). When he talked to the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) became very angry and said to Usaamah  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him"Do you (attempt to) intercede in the matters of the limits prescribed by God?" Then he gathered the people and said to them: "The people before you who met their doom, discriminated between the elite and the common-folk in the dispensation of justice for crimes like theft. The high-placed were spared while the weaker elements of society were readily punished. By Allaah! Had Faatimah the daughter of Muhammad committed this theft, then I would have amputated her hand for it also!"
Third Example

Qays bin Mutatiyah, a hypocrite, came to a gathering where Salmaan al-Faarisi (the Persian), Suhayb Ar-Roomi (the Roman), and Bilaal Al-Habashi (the Abyssinian) were present. He remarked tauntingly: "'Aws and Khazraj have rendered some service to this person (the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention )) but I fail to understand what these people (Bilaal, Suhayb and Salmaan) have done (to deserve this honour)." Mu'aath bin Jabal was in that gathering, and he caught hold of him by his neck, dragged him to the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) and told him what the hypocrite had uttered. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) became angry and went to the mosque and gave a sermon, stating in it: "O people! Always remember that your Lord and Cherisher is one and your supreme ancestor is one, and your faith is also one and the same."
Fourth Example
'Adiyy bin Haatim  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him went to Madeenah before embracing Islam and found the Companions sitting around the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ). 'Adiyy was inspired with awe when he witnessed their reverence for him. Meanwhile, a humble woman came to the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) and asked to see him in private. The Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) got up and at some distance from the gathering talked to her, and returned when he finished. 'Adiyy was very much touched by this inconceivable concept of philanthropy and, eventually, embraced Islam.

Fifth Example
When the Prophet  sallallaahu  `alayhi  wa  sallam ( may  Allaah exalt his mention ) conquered Makkah, those who had driven him out and fought with him were brought before him vanquished. Even then, he called them to the same thing, to Islam. Standing at the gate of the Ka'bah he said: "O people of Quraysh! Allaah has, this day, put an end to your pride of the Jaahiliyyah (ignorance) and also the pride of your ancestry. Keep in mind! All men are from Aadam, and Aadam was fashioned out of clay." On this occasion he recited the verse which means: "O Mankind! Indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allaah is the most righteous of you..." [Quran: 49:13]

Sixth Example'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him was a glorious caliph. He was sympathetic to the weak, firm in his stand by the truth. He used to go without food to feed others, and kept himself deprived to give to others. He used to go from door to door asking people about their conditions of living, etc.

Seventh Example
When a caravan came to Madeenah, 'Umar and 'Abdur-Rahmaan bin 'Awf  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them stood guard for the caravan. During that night, 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  himheard a baby's cry. He approached the mother and said to her: "Fear Allaah and look after your child carefully."

Then he went back to his own position. Once again he heard the baby crying, and went over to the mother yet again and gave her the same advice. Later, during the last part of the night the child cried once more. 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him came to the mother and said: "Woe to you! You appear not to be a good mother. How is it that your child can not sleep peacefully during the night?"

The woman, little suspecting that she was speaking to the Ameer of the believers, said in reply: "May Allaah bless you, you have pestered me several times during the night. I want to wean it forcefully (before time,) but the child is intractable." 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  himasked her: "Why wean it forcefully?" She said in reply: "Because 'Umar grants allowance only for such children that have been weaned."

'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  her asked her: "How old is your child?" She told him it was only a few months old. 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him asked the woman not to be hasty in weaning her child. Then he led the dawn prayer in such a state that his weeping made his recital of the Quran inaudible and unintelligible. At the end of the prayer he said: "'Umar is ruined! He has killed the children of the believers!" Thereupon, he ordered the crier to proclaim in the town of Madeenah that the mothers should not wean their children only for the sake of the allowance for their children. From now on, every child, suckling or weaned, was to receive a stipend.

Eighth Example
One of the unique incidents relating to sympathy and equality in the history of mankind is that 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him came by one night. It was usual for him to go out during the nights to see with his own eyes the conditions under which the people were living. One night, he heard somebody crying in a nearby tent, at whose door was standing a man. 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him greeted him and asked him who he was.

He said in reply that he was a Bedouin who had come to Madeenah to ask the Ameer of the believers for help. Then 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him asked him about the crying and wailing inside the tent. The Bedouin tried to evade this question, saying that since it did not concern him he should not interest himself in it and go his way.

However, on the insistence of 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him he told him that his wife was in labour and had no one to help her with the delivery. 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him returned to his home and asked his wife, Umm-Kulthoom bint 'Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  her whether she was interested in the reward from Allaah which He might have brought her way. He asked her to take with her the requisites of a newborn and the delivered mother and also some provisions for food.

He took all those things from her and started, Umm-Kulthoom following him. When they came to the Bedouin's tent, 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  himsent his wife inside. He himself sat with the husband and, lighting a fire, started cooking food with the provisions he had brought with him. The Bedouin was still unaware that he was sitting beside a great man of the world.

Then the child was delivered and Umm-Kulthoom  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  her called him from inside the tent, addressing him as Ameer Al-Mu'mineen, and asked him to congratulate his friend on the birth of his child. The Bedouin on hearing her words became conscious of the fact that he had been with the head of the Islamic state all this time and had been rude to him, and was awe-struck and began receding from 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him.

But 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him reassured him and asked him to keep sitting where he was, unceremoniously. He asked Umm-Kulthoom to offer the mother the food that he had cooked while he offered some to her husband saying, "Partake of it, you have been kept up the whole night and have been inconvenienced."

Here we must also mention that 'Umar  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  him is not an isolated example presented as a perfect and affectionate person by the Islamic civilisation. The lives of Abu Bakr, 'Uthmaan and 'Ali  may  Allaah  be  pleased  with  them all, were also moulded in the mould of perfect humanity, brimming over with mercy and affection.

Similar were the lives of 'Umar bin 'Abdul Azeez, Salaahuddeen Ayyoobi, and many other big personages, legists and leaders who also present countless immortal examples. They are in themselves brilliant evidence in favour of this glorious civilisation from every aspect.