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raushan
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
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 Topic initiated on Thursday, August 10, 2006 - 2:56 PM 
Muslims can only earn God’s protection on earth if
The Holy Prophet commenced his mission in Mecca with the determination to convey the word of God to mankind at all costs. But there were many in Mecca who became antagonistic to him and his cause, and in the first twelve years of his Prophethood there, it appeared that the history of Islam would end at its starting-point in Mecca. Then, quite unlocked for opportunities were created for the Prophet and his followers to emigrate to Medina and to carry on their mission there.
This new direction which his missionary activities took was the direct result of the efforts made by the Muslims to preach the word of God in Medina. In this, the Prophet, aided by his companions, was zealous in following the injunction: "Apostle, proclaim what is revealed to you from your Lord" and in heeding the admonition: "...if you do not, you will surely fail to convey his message." It was their earnest belief in the last part of this injunction: "God will protect you from all men," which gave them the courage to carry on (5:67). This message to the Prophet, recorded in the Qur’an, was spread to the whole Muslim community, that is, that Muslims can only earn God’s protection on earth if they communicate the word of God.
It is related in biographies of the Prophet, that the Muslims who went from Mecca to Medina were so unflagging in their efforts to propagate Islam, that "there was not a house belonging to the Ansar (the inhabitants of Medina) in which there were no Muslim men and women.
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YUSUFALI: O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject Faith.
PICKTHAL: O Messenger! Make known that which hath been revealed unto thee from thy Lord, for if thou do it not, thou wilt not have conveyed His message. Allah will protect thee from mankind. Lo! Allah guideth not the disbelieving folk.
SHAKIR: O Messenger! deliver what bas been revealed to you from your Lord; and if you do it not, then you have not delivered His message, and Allah will protect you from the people; surely Allah will not guide the unbelieving people
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Edited by: raushan on Thursday, August 10, 2006 2:59 PM |
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raushan
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
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Posted - Saturday, August 12, 2006 - 9:49 AM 
Ambassadors of Islam
Umm Haram bint Milhan, a Sahabiya, (a companion of the Prophet) was married to Ubadah ibn as-Samit Ansari. Along with her husband she undertook several trips to foreign countries. Now her grave is in Cyprus, and is called the grave of the pious woman (Hayat As-Sahaba 1/592). The grave of Khalid ibn al-Walid, who was born in Mecca, is in Hims (Syria).
The same is the case with the majority of the Companions of the Prophet. At the time of the Prophet’s demise, his companions numbered more than one hundred thousand. However it is worth noting that if you go to Mecca and Medina you will find only a small number of graves there. The reason for this is that these companions left Arabia and spread to various countries far and beyond its borders. The majority of them breathed their last in various Asian and African countries, where their graves still exist.
Why did this happen? It was because during his last days the Prophet gathered his companions together in the mosque in Medina and addressed them in these words: God has sent me as his messenger for the entire world. So you do not differ with one another. And spread in the land and communicate my message to people inhabiting other places besides Arabia. (Seerat Ibn Hisham 4/279).
It was this injunction of the Prophet that led to the Sahaba (companions of the Prophet) settling in foreign lands. In those countries either did business or earned their living by hard work, all the while communicating to their non-Muslim compatriots the message of monotheism which they had received from the Prophet. Every one of them thus became a virtual ambassador of Islam. This resulted in Islam spreading across the globe. Its evidence can still be seen in the inhabited world of that time.
I feel history is repeating itself in modern times. New circumstances, produced in the wake of industrial revolution, have resulted in Muslims leaving their homelands to spread all over the world. Today, whichever part of the globe you visit, you will find Muslims there. Mosques and Islamic institutions have come up everywhere. Muslims have settled in these countries either for work or for business. However, in respect of their religion, their actual position is that of Islam’s representatives. It is as if each one of them is an ambassador of God. Now the need of the hour is to awaken the missionary spirit in these Muslims settled in foreign lands, so that they may effectively communicate the message of Islam—a task of universal magnitude made incumbent upon them by their new sets of circumstances. |
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