Blasphemy of the Prophet (saws) and Islam

وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ
&
The Reality of Insults at the Beloved of Allah Ta’ala (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him)

By: Mufti Muhammad Noman Daji, Batley, UK - course.correspondence@gmail.com

Thursday 29th October 2020 – 12th Rabi-ul-Awwal 1442 A.H

Context & Motivation
The context of this piece is the recent heinous acts of blasphemy and insults executed, directed and openly hurled by Emmanuel Macron -  the current French President -towards the Prophet of Islam, our most beloved Prophet, the Best of all Creation and the Most Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

The motivation and hope is to make a humble attempt to describe and depict the extremely high and lofty status of the Best of all Creation and the Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

And at the same time to contrast and depict the level of the insulter and also to depict and bring to the forefront the reality and nature of insults (توہینِ رسالت) that gets hurled towards the Prophet of Islam, our most beloved Prophet, the Best of all Creation and the Most Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

I would like to discuss my humble thoughts around the context and motivation (mentioned above) under these five headings.

1) Lofty Status & Reverence of the Prophet of Islam (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him)

2) Reality of Insults (توہینِ رسالت)

3) The Role of Love in every Believer for the Prophet of Islam (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him)

4) Protecting and Defending the Honour of the Prophet of Islam (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him)

5) Countering Insults & Way Forward


The details for each of the headings are presented.

1) Lofty Status & Reverence of the Prophet of Islam (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him)

I have quoted a beautiful Verse of the Holy Quran (in the title) that is in praise of the lofty status of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

It is the 4th Verse of Surat Ash-Sharh (#94 - الشرح) in the 30th Para (or known as الم نشرح too).

وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ

“and We raised high your name.”

I would like you to imagine and visualise the extremely lofty status of the Best of all Creation and the Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) I am attempting to describe and depict here.

I am doing this by describing the scale (in terms of the height and vastness) that exists from planet earth to space and beyond. By understanding and appreciating this vast scale of the universe you can gain an appreciation and a visual to the extremely lofty status of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). The heights and the vastness of the greatness of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is incredible and awe stricken at the same time.

The individual human being (regardless of how big he/she think they might be based on their inflated ego) is insignificant and a speck on the face of the planet Earth in the grand scheme of things. The human being is not viewable. This is how insignificant the human being is from the vast skies the further you go up. A truly humbling thought.

The same state is about planet Earth in comparison to the other planets and the sun from our solar system. The Earth is a speck (insignificant) in comparison to the others the higher you go up due to their large sizes. The solar system is also a speck when compared to the other stars that are part of the Milky Way galaxy. One star from our Milky Way galaxy is so big that millions of planet earth can fit into that one star. And there are billions of stars in the galaxy.

And if you go further there are billions of other galaxies besides our Milky Way galaxy in the universe that form part of the universe. Our Milky Way galaxy is like a speck compared to the rest of the universe. There is still talk about being multi-universe. The point is whatever human beings know about the universe the scale of the universe is mind boggling and huge.

You are looking at millions of light years between these celestial objects. The huge scale is mind boggling and difficult to imagine.

The level and lofty status of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is far far beyond this too. This is just to give the readers an appreciation and an image of the lofty status.

As you can see from this depiction the level and the status of the Best of all Creation and the Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is not something the human mind can even comprehend. It is way beyond and very high above. Another human being cannot even reach it never mind try to harm or bring this level down.

In contrast the status of the person who attempts and engages in insults towards the Best of all Creation and the Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) was already a speck on the planet earth and insignificant but the moment they engage in insults they immediately fall to the depths of the seven earths and much below on the outset of the abhorrent and heinous act they are engaging in. This is where the level and status of the insulter is (أسفل سافلين).

From this deep hole how can he/she insult or try to reduce the extremely lofty status of someone they cannot even reach or get anywhere close. The difference and the space between this insulter and the scum of the seven earths and the greatest human being whose status and rank is residing far far beyond in space is not measurable. They are at either extremes.

The truth is we cannot describe the lofty status of the Best of all Creation and the Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) through any form of praises. Hence, we have to suffice and show our humility by saying as Hafiz Shirazi (RA) concluded after the initial attempts at the praises by saying:

لا يمكن الثناء كما كان حقّه
La Yumkin Ath-Thana’u Kama Kana Haqquhu

It is not possible to praise you in the manner you truly deserve. (For that reason the only thing I can say to you in a nutshell is)

بعد از خدا بزرگ توئ قصہ مختصر
Ba’d Az Khuda Buzurg Tu’ee Qissah Mukhtasar

After Allah Ta’ala you most certainly are the greatest. That is the short of it.

I have not mentioned the countless praises and reverence that happens day and night and in every corner of the world of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) alongside the name of Allah Ta’ala through the calling of Azan, Iqamat and the countless millions of Salawat that descend and gets presented to the sacred and blessed Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). And besides this how he (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) resided and lives in the heart of every believer and how his teachings influence their every aspect and facet of their lives from birth till death. Anyone else revered  like this?

2) Reality of Insults (توہینِ رسالت)

I want to give two examples of what happens when anyone engages in insults at the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

The first example is it is like someone has buckets full of their own manure and they are trying to throw it but due to the lofty status and the force of the spiritual wind that protects the greatest mans is such is that the manure comes back at the insulter  and they themselves get drowned in this manure and faeces.

I am not making this up. The single word of backbiting is enough to poison the ocean as we learn from the prophetic sayings. Insults and slander at the most pure and blessed human being (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is crossing several red lines. Only a person who had this filth in the heart will go at length to do this.

For the second example I would like to quote the popular Arabic saying. It is aptly befitting and relevant here.

ما ضَرّ الشّمسَ نُباحُ الكِلابِ

“The barking and howling of the dogs at the rising sun does not diminish in any form or take away from the beauty of the sun”.

The sun in this case is the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) whose beauty, reverence, respect, honour and lofty status will continue to rise forever and the dog is Macron. The dog can bark at its peril.

I want to conclude this heading by stating the reality of all actions any human being carries out. The truth is that any good or bad deeds we enact ultimately is for our own good or harmful to us. The good we do perform does not benefit Allah Ta’ala or His Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) and the bad deeds and sins we carry out does not harm Allah Ta’ala or His Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). One of the worst sins and bad deeds anyone can do is to hurl insults and try to dishonour the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). In this situation too the spiritual filth it generates is only harmful and detrimental to the insulter. This particular spiritual filth is so abhorrent that it is much worse than the smell of manure or human or animal faeces. In this case the insulter is drowning in this filth but they don’t even realise it.

I am referring to the poignant verse below in the Holy Quran.

إِنْ أَحْسَنتُمْ أَحْسَنتُمْ لِأَنفُسِكُمْ وَإِنْ أَسَأْتُمْ فَلَهَا

“If you do good, you do good for yourselves; and if you do evil, [you do it] to them [i.e. yourselves].” (Verse 7, Al-Isra (17), Part 15)

The Verse is clear on who the beneficiary and who the victim is of the actions each human being carries out.

This Verse is one that is very close to my heart and has benefitted me greatly since the time I started to understand the Qur’anic Arabic. I found the message in this Verse extremely powerful and have kept it close to my heart since then (some decades) to utilise as a reminder for my actions and also actions of others. I would like to discuss the practical application of this Verse at some point separately. Allah Ta’ala make it easy. Aameen!

I would like to conclude this heading by supporting and echoing the statement by President Erdogan (حفظه الله ورعاه) in regards to Macron. President Erdogan (حفظه الله ورعاه) rightly said and was spot on in his assessment of Macron when the Turkish President said Macron needed a mental checkup. What else can be said of the actions of someone - a head of a state - who does not think through on their actions that will offend and hurt deeply approximately a fifth of the residents of this planet; scores of Muslims countries he has to interact with and have business deals worth billions of Euros and will potentially harm and damage the economy of his country with the consequences of boycott due to his foolish and arrogant act; etc.

And I would like to add that Macron is insignificant on the world stage and so is France. And also France has no significance in Europe as Germany run the show. Hence, trying these cheap stunts is not going to get you any glory. It is only going to lead you to total destruction.

3) The Role of Love in every Believer for the Prophet of Islam (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him)

For any believer it is an integral and key part of their belief and creed that the Holy Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is more beloved and dear to them than any other human being regardless of their blood relation or closeness and to go further even more beloved and dearer than their own life. This is an absolute. There is no compromise in this. Hence, the insults are deep hurting to every believer.

I have also mentioned the reality of insults hurled at the our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) and also the reality of the insulter above.

However, despite knowing the reality of insults (that they cannot deface the greatest human being) the immense and deep love that is raging in the hearts of the believers cannot accept a tiny bit of insult directed and hurled at their most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). Hence, the believers will react and defend the honour and reverence of their most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) will full force and vigour.

*4) Protecting and Defending the Honour of the Prophet of Islam
(peace, blessings and salutations be upon him)*

It is natural that every believer (male and female, young and old, white and black, layman and scholar) will feel immense pain in their hearts and their blood will boil of anger when they hear about any insults hurled towards their most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). The pain is compounded many fold (a non-believer cannot fathom the gravity and intensity) when the insult is carried out by a head of state and is done very publicly using the machinery of the government  without any regard of any decency and courtesy to the greatest human being and his followers and lovers in their billions.

Hence, every believer needs to and will want to protect and defend their most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

The question is not about if they should or should not defend the honour of their most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). The question is to ascertain and determine the best and most effective course of action. This will be determined by the nature of the insults and more-so about who is the one insulting and how public that is being done. One insult is too many and is not acceptable.
 
There are two main strategies that can be utilised in my view. This is when the insult is not based on ignorance but it is based on clear enmity and hatred towards our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

When the insult is borne out of ignorance and is not at a government level then should be an attempt to educate these ignorant people about  the truth and the reality of the lofty status and noble characters of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

The two main strategies are:

1) Full Blown Attack
2) Ignore

I will briefly discuss them.

1) Full Blown Attack
When the insult comes from a head of state (like the case of Macron) using the machinery of government  then that insult cannot be tolerated and should not be tolerated. It has to be given a meaningful response where it hurts and also in the language they understand.

The insulter and the country should be punished so it serves as a lesson for other countries not to cross this red line.

Our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) had also cursed the Persian king (Kisra / كسرىٰ) when he had insulted the letter of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) by tearing it up and saying derogatory things.

2) Ignore
When the insult comes from an individual or a non-government agency then the situation needs to be assessed before taking action publicly and making the insult public. Usually in these cases ignorance and to avoid giving them further fuel to erupt the fire they want to stoke seems a better course of action.

Imam Muslim (RA) in his Muqaddimah Muslim (مقدّمة مسلم) discusses similar scenarios and suggests sometimes it is better to ignore and let it die and wither away than giving any attention. By ignoring these scums they will die out. This is my application of it to this type of insults.

It is the duty of every believer to protect and defend the honour of their most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) in some form.

Any insults targeted at our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is a test (Al-Bala / البلاء) for each and every Muslim. As I have mentioned in my article on the COVID-19 pandemic that the pandemic is a double edge sword. It can be a test and draw a believer closer to Allah Ta’ala and become a silver lining or it can become a source of punishment if the believer does nit draw close to Allah Ta’ala. Similar is the case of insults as to how the believers react. Does it draw the believer closer to our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) in terms of increase in the love and also the practice of the Sunnah or not.

Allah Ta’ala is Al-Haleem so does not react instantly at these abhorrent and heinous acts directed towards His beloved Prophet but He is totally aware (Al-Khabeer) and sooner or later will punish the insulters based on His infinite wisdom.

5) Countering Insults & Way Forward

I have suggested some ways to counter the insults. Some are immediate and urgent steps related to the one insulting and some steps are internal and related to the believers.

Immediate and Urgent Steps

Some of these immediate and urgent steps are directed at Muslims living and residing in Europe and some are general for Muslims living and residing in Muslim or non-Muslim countries. As the Muslim Ummah we are connected and joined through our Iman and belief in Allah Ta’ala and His greatest Messenger and beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). Hence, collectively - Muslim rulers, scholars and lay people - we all have a responsibility to speak out and take appropriate action (to the best of our abilities) whenever any of our sacred personalities are insulted or any red lines are crossed.

1) Every Muslim country at the minimum should summon the French ambassador residing in their country and let them know in no uncertain terms the hurt of Macrons (their presidents) actions. Even better is to send their French ambassador back and recall their own ambassadors.

It should be noted that President Erdogan (حفظه الله ورعاه) had played a leading role as a head of a state to denounce Macron. It galvanised other heads of Muslim states too. Allah Ta’ala protect President Erdogan. Aameen!

2) Muslim countries should voice their concerns at the UN and seek action.

3) The international Muslim bodies like OIC (Organisation of Islamic Ccopetation) and other new block that are emerging, etc should jointly release a strong statement and threaten with severe repercussions if there is no apology by Macron and if insults at our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) is not outlawed. Freedom of speech should cannot be used to insult sacred personalities and hurt billions of people.

4) Every Muslim living in Europe should write to their MP and their respective government officials to register their hurt at the actions of the French President so they can voice their concerns to the French embassy too also mention in parliament.

5) Boycott of French goods in any form

6) Muslim bodies in each of the European counties should liaise with each other to file a lawsuit against this insult by Macron. It is illegal based on recent European law to use freedom of speech to insult our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). Hence, this needs to be pursued vigorously collectively by the European Muslim bodies and organisations. And this can extend and include the freedom to wear whatever Islamic garb anyone chooses anywhere they like.

7) Those working in interfaith should ask their Christian and Jewish etc colleagues to issue their disapproval of this heinous act by Macron.

8) Every believer needs to increase in their Salawaat and building connection to our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

9) Every believer needs to engage in conveying  and describing the characters of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) to the world in whatever capacity available to you,

10) In Pakistan and other Muslim countries the effort needs to continue with vigour to criminalise insults and disrespect of the blessed and sacred Companions of our Holy Prophet (رضوان الله عليهم اجمعين).

Long Term Steps

1) At individual and collective level the Muslim Ummah needs to introspect and soul search as to how the enemies of Islam have the strength to openly insult 1.5 billion Muslims. What are we missing and what do we need to address to fill this gap. So such incidents never materialise.

2) Every believer needs to introspect and soul search on the strength of their connection with our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him). This includes the level of obedience we display in practice to the commands of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him); assessing the practice and following of the Sunnah; level of knowledge of the life and mission of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him); etc.

3) Educating the general non-Muslims and parliamentarians systematically (all year round) the life of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) and the hurt that is caused by the insults to each and every Muslim in the world.

4) Getting a law passed in each country (Europe and beyond) that makes it illegal to insult our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) and making it out of the bounds of freedom of speech.

5) During selection of MPs and also at the time of election to only vote for those who are Islam and Muslim friendly.  

کی محمداﷺ سے وفا تو نے تو ہم تیرے ہیں
 یہ جہاں چیز ہے کیا لوح و قلم تیرے ہیں
This systematic approach also needs to be taken with any of the other sacred symbols (Sha’air / شعائر) of Islam like the Holy Quran, the Masajid (مساجد), Companions (رضوان الله عليهم اجمعين), Islamic Identity items like Islamic clothing (Hijab, Topi, etc), beard, etc when they are insulted and disrespected anywhere in the world.

O Allah Ta’ala! Grant us all the taufeeq, strength, ability and capacity to appreciate the lofty rank and status of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

O Allah Ta’ala! Grant us all the taufeeq, strength, ability and capacity to protect and defend the honour and respect of our most beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him).

O Allah Ta’ala! Grant us all the true love of the Best of all creation and the Beloved and Final Prophet of Allah Ta’ala, Prophet Muhammad (peace, blessings and salutations be upon him) that manifests through actions and observing of the Prophetic teachings and practices.

آمین یارب العلمین بجاہ سیدالمرسلین علیہ الصلوۃ والتسلیم
و صلى الله على النبى الحبيب الشفيع الرؤوف الرحيم

Muhammad Noman Daji
course.correspondence@gmail.com
(After Fajar, Monday 2nd November 2020 – 16th Rabi-ul-Awwal 1442 A.H)

P:S: I am a graduate of Darul Uloom Deoband. I certified as an Aalim and a Mufti at this prestigious seat of advanced Islamic learning. I thought it should be mentioned (and has been suggested) so it provides some credibility and comfort for those reading (and who don’t know me).