16 # The religion he conveyed is one of the evidences of his prophethood

Belief in the Messenger of Allah

THAT HE OBEYED ALL OF THE ORDERS AND PROHIBITIONS OF THE RELIGION HE CONVEYED IS ONE OF THE EVIDENCES OF HIS PROPHETHOOD 

In this evidence, we will mention this person’s obedience to all of the orders and prohibitions of the religion he conveyed. Many leaders came in history, and they imposed many rules and laws. However, the majority of these leaders did not obey the laws they themselves imposed; thus, they displayed a complete contrast between their deeds and words.

What matters is not imposing rules and laws. What matters is to act in accordance with each rule and law. Many leaders in history set bad examples in this regard and they virtually denied their words with their deeds. However, Hz. Muhammad (pbuh) obeyed all of the decrees of the religion he brought more than anybody else did. He obeyed each order of his religion and avoided all of the prohibitions more than anybody else did. Now we will give you some examples of it:

Hz. Aisha narrates: The Prophet (pbuh) worshipped until his blessed feet were swollen at night. I said to him, “O Messenger of Allah! Why do you tire yourself so much since Allah forgave your sins that you may have committed in the past and you may commit in the future?” Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) said, “O Aisha! Shall I not be a servant who thanks Allah?”

Abdullah Ibn Masud narrates: “One day I decided to perform tahajjud prayer with the Messenger of Allah. I was going to spend the night with him and worship in the same way as he did. He started to perform the prayer; so did I. He did not bow down (go to ruku’) for a long time. When he finished the chapter of al-Baqara, I thought, “Now he will bow down.” However, he continued. He read the chapter of Aal-i Imran and an-Nisa. Then, he bowed down. I became so tired during the prayer that bad thoughts came to my mind. One of his listeners asked, “What did you think?” Ibn Masud said, “I thought of abandoning the prayer and leaving him alone in prayer.”

Hz. Muhammad always fasted a day or two every week; he sometimes fasted so long that people thought he would never break his fast. Sometimes he performed fasting for two days on end without eating. The Companions wanted to perform fasting like him and imitate him but this was very difficult.

Hz. Muhammad acted very meticulously in fulfilling all of the orders given to him in the Quran and avoiding all of the prohibitions. Once, Hz. Abu Bakr asked the Messenger of Allah, “O Messenger of Allah! I see grey hair on your head. You got old suddenly. Do you have a problem?” The Prophet (pbuh) answered, “The chapters of Hud, al-Waqia and al-Mursalat made me old.”

A noble woman belonging to the tribe of Sons of Mahzum stole something and it was decreed that her hand would be cut off. Some people from the woman’s tribe decided to apply to the Prophet so that her hand would not be cut off. However, they did not dare to say anything to him directly; therefore, they used Usama, the son of Zayd b. Thabit, as an intermediary. Usama, who was called the beloved of the beloved, told the Prophet about it. The answer of the Prophet about this request was very sharp and clear: “Are you talking to me about the forgiveness of a penalty that Allah imposed in order to prevent evil? What destroyed the people who were before you was forgiving when an honorable and noble man among them stole but applying the penalty when a poor and weak person stole. By Allah, not Fatima of Mahzum tribe but if my daughter Fatima had stolen, I would not have discriminated and punished her.”

No matter how much we narrate the commitment of Muhammad (pbuh) to religious decrees it will not be enough. A special book can be written regarding the issue. We refer the details of it to siyar books and ask this question: How can it be explained that this person was subject to all of the orders and prohibitions of the religion he brought in a very meticulous manner other than his prophethood? The polytheists offered him all sorts of things to make him give up. They said, “Come and be our leader. You can take any women you want. We will give as much wealth as you want if you give up your religion.” However, he opposed these proposals by saying, “I would not give up this case even if you put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left hand.”

Now think of this: If he had not been the Prophet of Allah, and if his aim had been to capture world, would he not have accepted it? However, he did not accept it and spent all his life by practicing the decrees of the religion he brought; and he led a troublesome life. Even his enemies accepted his perfection and confirmed his honesty. All historical sources report us that this person obeyed all of the orders of the religion he brought more than anybody else did.

All right. You accept that this person obeyed all of the orders of the religion. You can ask a question if it is not possible for him to make up these orders and then to become subject to them? No, it is not possible. For, there are many decrees that are hard for the soul in the orders of this religion. You have to perform prayers five times every day. You have to fast for one month a year. You have to give zakah (alms) from your wealth. In addition to these orders, it is forbidden to drink alcohol, to commit fornication, to gamble, etc.

If a person does things for the sake of his own soul, why should he forbid everything that his soul desires and consider everything that his soul does not like fard? Why should he spend his life in a constant struggle? If he had emerged for the sake of his own soul, his religion would be full of things that his soul wanted. However, the fact is just the opposite. This proves that this person did not emerge for himself and for his own sake. He is the Messenger of Allah and is subject to His commands and prohibitions.

In addition, we would like to mention a great determination that the agnostic Jewish researcher Lesley Hazleton did about the first revelation that came to the Prophet (pbuh): Mrs. Lesley Hazleton states the following:

“What grabbed my interest that night in Hira was not what happened but what did not happen. The essence of the matter lies in what did not happen. For example, what did not happen? Muhammad (pbuh) did not come from the mountain happily and joyfully. When he reached the city, he did not say, ‘Hooray! I have become a prophet.’ Rays of light did not accompany him to the city when he entered the city. That evening, he reacted in a way that every normal person would. He was very scared and confused. He remained at home. He did not talk to anyone. He even hoped that he would not experience the same things again.” The point Hazleton attracts attention to is as follows:

Muhammad (pbuh) experienced the “first revelation” in the cave that night. That is, if you look at the first reactions of Muhammad (pbuh), the first revelation is definitely not fake.

These are the determinations of an agnostic Jew who examines the issue objectively.

Think about it! Would someone who had a fake cause have tried to hide himself with the fear of the first revelation? Or, would he have said, “O people! Obey me! I am a prophet?” A person who had had a fake cause would definitely have not hid himself; he would have cried out of joy while coming down from Mount Hira and said, “I am the prophet. Obey me!” However, he did not do so because he did not want to meet anyone due to this incident, which he had experienced for the first time and the weight of the revelation. When he came to his house, he was unable to speak due to the magnitude and fear of the incident he had experienced. He was able to say to his loyal wife Khadijah only, “Cover me! Cover me!” That is, as Mrs. Hazleton puts it, he reacted in a way that every normal person would. Even those who looked at his reaction in the face of the first revelation only had to say that the revelation that was sent to him was true and that it could not have been fake.