The Inner
Beauty of Muhammad (pbuh) The Holy Prophet of Islam
In one of his sayings, the Holy Prophet – peace be upon him – is narrated to have said: “Allah (God Almighty) is beauty and He loves beauty.” (Muslim)
Verily, the beauty which God Almighty truly seeks in a person is
his inner beauty. The way the person conducts himself, the way he talks, the
way he behaves with others, the way he accomplishes all his spiritual and
worldly duties with integrity, honesty, trust in Him [God Almighty] and the joy
of humility is what truly counts.
Indeed, humility is a light which drives someone to plunge into the Ocean of the Knowledge of God to perfect himself in it, and the perfect man who received this boon from the Almighty is the Holy Prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him. For all Muslims and for the entire world he is to this day the only leader who though poor and humble, had conquered the world to the unity of God through connecting his own heart to the people. He had in him the courage and inspiration from God Almighty to encourage all those who chose to follow him to the heights of success. In just twenty-three years, he was able to reform a barbarous and ignorant people and shown to them the basics of true life and connect them to the Creator Who has them and the whole world within the grip of His Power.
Kindness flowed from him as a Sign of God. A poignant example of
that kindness and perfection was reflected when during the conquest of Mecca,
at the height of the victory of Islam in the land of Arabia, after years of
suffering, he encountered the murderer of his daughter Zainab who was pregnant
at the time of her death. On that day, he forgave all of them, even the
murderer, and he hoped and prayed that humankind would understand that forgiveness
is a plant which should be watered with the water of mercy. That was a great
display of the beauty of his character. He lived only to spread the Divine
Message and to encourage the people towards the practice of good and to shun
all evils.
God Almighty is beautiful. Though we never saw God, but we feel
and even see the marvel of His beauty through the mastery with which He created
mankind and the whole universe. And in that universe, He placed us to worship
Him, Him the Creator, the Master of all mankind and all that exist, whether
known and unknown to us in our limited knowledge.
And one of the beauties He sent to mankind is His prophets who
are the guiding lights to lead all souls to the Source of Light. And from among
all the prophets, the last law-bearing one He sent to mankind is none but His
beloved prophet Muhammad – peace be upon him.
If God is beauty and loves beauty, then we should bear in mind
all the commandments He has laid down in His Sacred Scriptures and which direct
mankind on how to acquire that beauty without falling prey to the darkness of
evil. If God is beauty, then Satan or the Spirit of Evil is Ugliness incarnate.
We should all bear this in mind, and mould our lives in the model of the
prophets, whether we are Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus or from any other
religion; just bear in mind that all religions are primarily dogmas of
monotheism, preaching the Unity of God Almighty, and all religions have
received their prophets who had come as a mercy for their peoples, and shown such
beauty which could shake the world and bring it to its knees in appreciation of
the marvels of God Almighty, as a sign of His All Power and Kindness unto
mankind.
In reminiscence of the Holy Prophet of Islam’s lifetime, and his
life mission as well as all the rest of the blessed prophets of God Almighty,
let us all mould our lives as per their lives and characters and allow the
divine light within us – with the permission of the Lord – which shall enhance
both our inner and outer beauty.
----Written by Imam-Jamaat Ul Sahih Al Islam Hazrat Muhyiuddin Al Khalifatullah Munir Ahmad Azim (aba) of Mauritius; first published in Le Mauricien, 07 October 2023.