Seerah

He was foretold by Abraham. He was prophesied by Moses. He was promised by Jesus. He was predicted by all divine messengers that had appeared in different eras and in different parts of the earth to keep humanity on the right track.

And when Muhammad al-Mustafa (the Chosen of God), was finally ordained on Rajab 27, exactly 1433 lunar years ago, as the Last Divine Messenger to mankind, he found the human race in total darkness.

There was ignorance all around. Mankind had forgotten divine favors. They had forsaken the laws of God and entangled themselves in the mesh of man-made systems.

There was a mood of depression everywhere.

The Jews with their depressant attitude to divine revelation had long deviated from the Word of God. In Christendom, the Church was an instrument of oppression. In the Persian Empire, the Sassanid mode of monarchy and the Zoroastrian priesthood were oppressive. In India, the weird system of caste division of the Hindus was repressive. In China, the Sui dynasty was suppressing all and everyone in the name of Buddhism.

And in Arabia, where Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) heralded his advent with the liberating message of Islam, the uninhibited democratic way of life of the idolatrous Arabs had driven humanity to despair and doom.

He thus had a gargantuan task to perform. The shackles of despotism, dictatorship and democracy that had fettered human minds, had to be broken. The law of God had to be established. It was not only a matter of concern for the prosperity of mankind in the life of the mortal world but for the eventual journey of the soul in the Hereafter.

Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) set about his enlightening task in a cool and calm manner. His mission was divine. He was the emissary of God, sent to mankind with the most complete code of life that would cater to human needs till the end of time.

Space does not permit me to go into details. The fact that the testimony to the monotheistic mission of the Seal of Prophets (SAWA) continues to be proclaimed five times a day all over the globe, is a firm proof of the significance of the Day of Mab'ath (resurgence) as the auspicious 27th of Rajab is known.

The sceptics are advised to glean through the Holy Qur'an, whose first few verses were revealed this day over 14 centuries ago and which continues to serve as the living miracle of the universal mission of the unschooled Prophet.

True, Prophet Muhammad (SAWA) transformed humanity with his clear testimony "Ash-hadu an-la ilaha ill-Allah (There is no god but Allah)", but was there anyone to bear witness to his own mission?
The prominent Sunni scholar Ahmad ibn Hanbal says that when the Arabs gave a dumb look to the Prophet's first and foremost call to reform, his ten-year old cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib (AS) stood up with the words: "Ash-hadu anna Muhammad-ar-Rasoul-Allah (I bear witness Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah)".