The chaotic situation of the world prior to Islam is clearly reflected in the accurate mirror of history. The outline of decline, oppression, bloodshed, idol-worship is evident in this mirror.

Before Islam, it was as if mankind were leaning over the edge of the precipice of ruin and destruction, and there was the fear that at any moment it could roll down and be annihilated in it.

The Arabs prior to Islam were committed in their hearts to idols, and what they saw around themselves with their own eyes they made into idols. Not only did they lower their heads and prostrate before them, but also they donated everything they had, even gifts of agricultural produce, to their idols (see VI: 137).

They believed that apart from the life of this world there was no other life (see XLV: 24). Obviously those who did not see the wretchedness of their idols whom they had chosen as their gods could not grasp the idea and truth of the resurrection.

So it was no wonder that they turned the House, which Hazrat Ibrahim (A.S.) had built at the command of and in the name of Allah into quarters for their idols.

As for the origins of idol-worship in the Hejaz, some believe that the first person to introduce it was 'Amr ibn Luhayy.

Al-Ya'qubi writes in his history: "He (ibn Luhayy) journeyed to Syria and saw all of the inhabitants worshipping idols. When he asked about the virtues of the idols, they told him, 'They have befriended us, and they bring down rain for us.' He took a liking to them and asked them to give him an idol. They gave him Hubal and he took him to Mecca." Ibu Hisham writes that 'Amr ibn Luhayy brought this idol from Mu'ab. In any case,Hubal was the most famous of the gods in the Ka'bah; he was built in the form of man, and holy arrows, which the diviners used for casting auguries, were set in front of him.

The influence of idol-worship grew to the point where idols were built in the form of animals, plants, men, jinn, angels and stars; even stones were the objects of worship.

'Al-Lat' was in Ta'if in the form of a cubic stone, and had a special field and meadow near Ta'if which was a holy place, and cutting trees, hunting and the spilling of blood were not lawful in its vicinity; the people of Mecca and other places made pilgrimage to it.

'Al-uzza' was a very powerful god equivalent to the planet Venus, and was situated in Nakhlah east much more honour than the other idols. The sanctuary of al-'Uzza took the form of three trees and human sacrifices were offered to it.

Manat was the god of predestination, and its original place of worship was a black stone at Qudayd (on the road between Mecca and Medina).

It belonged specially to the tribes of Aws and Khazraj (see lesson 20).

Ba'1 was the embodiment of the spirit of wells and underground waters.

Sometimes a well with clean, invigorating water became worshipped in the dry desert a cave, when it had connections with the gods and the underground powers, was also sanctified. The temple of Ghabghab in Nakhlah (see above) was in such a place.

In Nakhlah, and in some years the Meccans made pilgrimage there.

Dhu 'sh-shara was respected in the form of a heap of black shining cubic stones.

The spirit of arable lands was the god of good works and sacrifices had to be made to it. The spirit of barren land was a wicked devil that had to be avoided.

They had idols made of wood or metal or stones with no definite form round which they made several turns whenever they went into their houses, and from which they took permission when they went out on a journey, and then took with themselves.

The town of Harran, where Ibrahim had started his campaign against star-worship, was the center of the Sabians. In this town, stars were the objects connection between the movements of the stars and earthly destiny was very strong. Each star was the god of one event. Images of Mars, Jupiter, Venus, etc. were erected in the temples, and they asked for help from them, and sometimes sacrificed to them.

The thoughts of the Sabians sometimes turned to angels and jinn. The angels were the daughters of god, and were thought to influence events. They imagined that god had a wife who was one of the jinn.

In Iran also many religions were being practiced, but the one which most people followed was Zoroastrianism, the official religion.

If we accept that Zoroaster was a true prophet acknowledge that his true teachings had been changed by the passage of time. Gradually, they changed their direction and even their form and identity to the benefit of the ruling classes.

Its very general and pleasant maxims were covered by a veil behind which the foundations and principles were transformed by the Magi and the priests to the advantage of themselves and the ruling classes. Thus it was that tawhid became polytheism, and the pure sweet and excellent teachings did not stay: the shell remained, but the nut was thrown out, and the empty shells were filled with the ancient gods of the first times of the Aryan tribes,

The religious situation in Europe was like it was in Iran. Christianity had given up its original form, and had become stuck in polytheism and the dogma of the Trinity.

In France, Britain and Spain, people did not believe in a Unique God.

In Iran people were divided into classes, and each class had special restrictions and privileges. The class connected with the ruling council had the most privileges. Similarly in Europe and India, society was divided into classes and the right to possess land, to trade, and the exemption from taxes was the prerogative of the nobility.

At that time also, everyone of the people of the over everyone else.

It was a disgrace to have a daughter, and in some tribes the family buried this shameful thing with their own hands (see XVI: 59). In Iran, also, the form of class society did not bring anything better for women.

In Greece, woman was a creature of perpetual filthiness, a child of Satan, similar to an animal. In India, throughout her life, she was under the control of her father, husband or son, and had to address her husband as god, master and lord, and the death of her husband she had no right to take another husband. The revolting custom of Sati, the burning of the widow alive with the funeral pyre of her husband, was also practiced at that time.

In Japan, as well, woman was under the control of her father, husband or son for the whole of her life, and the daughter had no share in inheritance.

In China the father was master of the house and had so much power that he could sell his wife and children into bondage and slavery, and sometimes he even had the right to kill them. On top of this, daughters had no esteem and sometimes they were left in the desert to be the prey of the wild pigs.

The Romans also considered women to be the incarnation of evil and as harmful spirits, and kept them like children under their control.

It was, was sunk in darkness, decline and oppression. Throughout the whole of the world, no glow or gleam of light met the eye, and although the desire for goodness and virtue still flickered in the depths of the heart of human nature covered by a dark opaqueness, it had been almost extinguished on the one hand in the blackness and gloom of humiliations, passions and oppression, and on the other hand in the prominent features of poverty and wretchedness. It could not illuminate the path for the seekers after light, purity and felicity. A darkness like a thick heavy cloud in the sky had submerged the daily life of all societies of the time in a deep sleep; and a horrible, powerful obscurity reigned which only the rising of a radiant sun could disperse.

This darkness was more overpowering in Arabia invaded to the depths of degradation and debasement.

Hear what Imam 'Ali (A.S.) says about those days: ". .You people of Arabia followed the worst religion; you dwelt amongst rough stones and poisonous serpents. You drank putrid water and ate filthy food. You shed the blood of one another and played no heed to relationships. Idols were established among you, and sins clung to you." (Noah aI-Balaghah, Sermon 26).

Muhammad (S.A.) opened his eyes to the world on the 17th of Rabi' al-awwal of the 53rd year before the Hijrah (A.D. 570).

His father, 'Abdullah, was from the family of Hazrat Isma'il, and had died before he could see his son. His mother was one of the most pious women of that time.

Muhammad (S.A.) was entrusted to a virtuous woman called Halimah, who suckled him and nursed him.

One day, Muhammad (S.A.), who had not yet reached the age of four years, asked Halimah if he could go into the desert with the other boys... Halimah said: "I bathed Muhammad and anointed his hair with oil. I put collyrium on his eyes and hung a Yemenite stone on a string and put it round his neck so that no harm could come to him from the spirits of the desert. But Muhammad tore the stone from his neck and said, 'don't worry about me. My God is taking care of me!"

So we see that from childhood he was the object of God's favour and grace, and was always guided by Divine power and help in works that were in their right time and place.

Muhammad's behavior and speech in childhood were such that everyone's attention was attracted. In his youth, also, he was far from that which tainted those people in his environment. He took no part in their riotous poetry gatherings. He drank no wine, was an enemy of the idols; he was perfect in speech and act. Years before he became a prophet, the people called him 'al-Amin' (the trustworthy one). He had a pure mind and radiant intellect, and a godly and heavenly character. Every year for one month he went to the cave of Hira and was with God in His mysteries and in prayer. At the end of the month, before returning to his home, he went to the Ka'bah and made seven or more circumambulations.

At the age of forty, while busy in worship in the cave of Hira elevated to the station of messenger ship.

For three years the Prophet of Islam (S.A.) received no command to call people openly to Islam, and during that time only a few people had faith in Muhammad (S.A.). Among men, the first person who loved and followed him was Hazrat 'Au (A.S.), and among women, Khadijah. Then after three years he received the command to invite people openly to Islam, and he called his close family to be his guests; about forty of these people assembled together. The food, which the Prophet (S.A.) had prepared, was no more than enough to satisfy the appetite of one man, but by the power of God that little food filled everyone, and this was the cause of much amazement. Abu Lahab, without thinking what he was saying, cried out: "Muhammad is a magician!" That day the relatives dispersed before the Prophet could speak, so he called them again the next day. After they had partaken of the food and hospitality, he spoke:

"0 Sons of Abdul-Muttalib! No youth has brought to his people better than what I bring to you. I have brought you the best of this world and of the world of the resurrection. I have been cannonaded by Allah to call you to Him. Which of you will extend his help to me and become my brother, executor and successor?" Apart from 'Au (AS.), no one answered. The Prophet placed his hand on 'Ali's shoulder and said: "This is my brother, executor and successor among you. Listen what he says and obey him!"

One day the Prophet (S.A.) went up on Mount Safa and called the people around him. He said: "If I told you that an enemy, was going to fall on you this morning or this evening, would you trust me?" All together they replied: "Yes!" He said: "I warn you of a severe torment that is soon to fall on you." Out of fear that the speech of Muhammad (S.A.) would take effect in the hearts of those present, Abu Lahab broke the silence and said to him: "Did we assemble here just to listen to this nonsense?"

The Prophet of Islam (S.A.) started his call with the slogan of tawhid and the worship of one God, and established tawhid as the basis of all other beliefs. He made known to men Allah, who is nearer to man than man himself; he abolished religion. Meanwhile, the Quraysh (the most powerful tribe in Mecca, to which Muhammad (S.A.) belonged were becoming ill at ease with the progress he was making and tried hard to stop his preaching, even once trying to kill him; but with the help and protection of Allah and with His care and intercession all their tortures, persecutions and schemes were without effect and came to nothing. Day by day the call to Islam, and also the acceptance by people, spread, even to those who came from outside Mecca. People rose up with their souls in answer to this Divine invitation.

In the eleventh year of the prophet hood, some people from Medina belonging to the Khazraj tribe accepted, with this promise that when they went back to Medina they would call the people to Muhammad's religion. They went to Medina and spread around the invitation of the Prophet (S.A.). The next year twelve Medinese accepted the faith of the Prophet of Islam (S.A.) at 'Aqaba and resolved: not to associate any with Allah, not to steal, not to fornicate, not to indulge in infanticide, not to bring malicious accusations against anyone, not to disobey the Prophet in any thing which he indicated. Then the Prophet sent a man by the name of Mus'ab along with them to teach the Qur'an, and thus a large group in Medina pledged their faith in the Prophet

Till the thirteenth year of his mission, the islam, and stood firm when faced with the persecutions of the Quraysh. Eventually he got to know that the Quraysh had hatched an incredible plot to kill him, so he put Hazrat 'Au (A.S.) to sleep in his bed in his place and left Mecca at night; he hid in a cave, and then migrated from there to Medina.

The Hijrah of the Prophet opened an entirely new chapter in the history of Islam from which a stimulating and surprising leap forward was made. For this very reason, the Hijrah of Muhammad (S.A.) became the beginning of the dating system of the Muslims.

With the presence of the Prophet of Islam (S.A.) in Medina, the tribes of Aws and Khazraj became bothers for life in the shadow of the teachings of Islam, and a blessed sincerity and the example of Muhammad's behavior, his spiritual and moral superiority, and the naturalness of his pure religion, caused the people to come to Islam by the score, and in the end to accept it.

The Prophet of Islam (S.A.) was from the people and with the people, and did not maintain a distance from them. He shared with them in their gains and losses. He firmly criticized oppression and aggression, and refrained from and prevented them. He set forth all the principles which were, in the light of Islam, effective for the development of the position of women, and put an end to the tyranny they had been subjected to previous to Islam, but he also vehemently fought against their unchastely and licentiousness, for he wanted them to attain their real development on the basis of the true principles of Islam.

He defended the rights of slaves, and had broad comprehensive programmers for their freedom. The Prophet of Islam created a society where black and white, rich and poor, great and small, were all-equal and could enjoy the benefits of being human beings. In such an atmosphere, there could be no question of 'racial discrimination', for there was a much higher basis in virtue, knowledge, piety, human values and ethical greatness.

Let us look at a clear example of the great teaching of the Prophet (S.A.):

Juwayber was a young man, poor and rather ugly. He came to Medina with a great enthusiasm for Islam, and accepted it. The Prophet (AS) gave him a place in the mosque, and later in a place by the mosque (named al-Suffa). One day the prophet told him: It is good for a man to take to himself a woman, and to choose a wife, so that he may keep his chastity and have a home-life."

"May God bless you, but I am poor and ugly; in what woman could there be such a desire that she would take me as her husband, especially as I am not from a noble family?"

"Juwayber, with the coming of Islam all the nobility of the age of ignorance (before Islam) has been broken down together with all the standards of greatness and have been melted together. Black and white, Arab and non-Arab have all come from Adam, and God made Adam from the earth.

"For this reason today there is no black and white, nor even any results from imperfection "The dearest person to God is the most virtuous person.

"Now go to the house of Ziyad and ask for his daughter, Dhalfa' on my behalf."

Juwayber did what the Prophet had told him, but Ziyad, who was one of the nobles of the Ansar group, did not accept, and said, "We only give our daughters to people like ourselves and the Prophet himself knows that very well; so go back till I have consulted with him and give my apologies myself."

He turned to go back, but because of his anger he cried out, "I swear by God, neither the Qur'an nor the Prophet have said that one must give one's daughter to someone who is of equal status in family and in wealth!"

Dhulfa' heard the voice of Juwayber, and sent someone to her father. He came to her and she asked him, "What have you said to that young man that has made him angry?

"The Prophet sent him to me to take you, my daughter, with my agreement.

"Juwayber would not tell a lie; send him back and go yourself to the Prophet so that he may clarify the matter for you.'

Ziyad did what his daughter had said. He sent Juwayber back, and himself hurried to the Prophet and said, 'Juwayber brought a message from you. I want to remind you that I am an Ansari, and that we do not give our daughters in marriage except to men of equal status from the same tribe.'

'Juwaybar is a believer and a man of faith, and a man with faith is the equal of a woman with faith. Give him your daughter as a wife."Ziyad then returned home and told his daughter what the Prophet had commanded.

The daughter said, 'Father! To disobey the prophet's command is against the religion. And I am ready of my own accord, so accept juwayber as your son-in-law"Ziyad brought Juwayber in front of the people of his tribe and gave him in marriage to his daughter on the basis of the command of Islam. He even gave the dowry to his daughter from his own pocket, and gave them a house with all necessities so that they would live happily.

Truly, this light was dazzling; this source or warmth-giving radiance lit up a flame in every heart that was a guide to all pure hearts on the path. And thus it was that the muddled souls of the people were led forth from the harassment of the gloom and darkness of that time, like moths who wing their way towards the brilliant flame, and turned in their hundreds towards Islam, seeking the protection of the illustrious, illuminating system of the Qur'an.

The prophets of ancient times, especially Hazrat Musa and Hazrat 'Isa (A.S.), had given their followers news of the advent of Islam, even to the extent that indications of the special attributes of the Prophet of Islam appeared in their revealed books. For this reason, the Jews and the Christians and the followers of other religions were watching out for the advent of Islam, like people who see their ship with torn sails and broken anchor in danger of sinking in the sea and therefore direct their gaze at the shore of future safety's some of the Jews had even found, through much searching, a place between the hills 'Ayr and Uhud which were named in their own books as the 'center of Islamic rule', and migrated there, waiting for the advent of Islam.

The Qur'an is a testimony to the truth of these facts, that the Torah and the Evangel (see lessons 17 & 18) had given news of the advent of the prophet of Islam:

الذين يتبعون الرسول النبي الامي الذي يجدونه مكتوبآ عندهم في التوراة و الانجيل يأمرهم بالمعروف و ينهاهم عن المنكر و يحل لهم الطيبات و يحرم عليهم الخبائث و يضع عنهم اصرهم و الاغلال التي كانت عليهم فالذين آمنوا به و عزروه و نصروه واتبعوا النور الذي انزل معه اولئك هم المفلحون
(سوره اعراف آيه 157)

Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet, whom they find written down with them in the Torah and the Evangel, bidding them to good and forbidding them evil, making lawful for them the good things and making unlawful for them the corrupt things, and relieving them of their loads and the fetters that were on them, those who believe in him and succour him and follow the light that has been sent down with him - they are the prosperers.(VII 157)

محمد رسول الله و الذين معه اشداء علي الكفار رحماء بينهم ترايهم ركعآ سجدآ يبتغون فضلآ من الله و رضوانآ سيماهم في وجوههم من اثر السجود ذلك مثلهم في التوراة و مثلهم في الانجيل كزرع اخرج شطأه فازره فاستغلظ فاستوي علي سوقه الزراع ليغيظ بهم الكفار و عدالله الذين آمنوا و عملوا الصالحات منهم مغفرة و اجرآ عظيمآ
(سوره فتح آيه 29)

Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are hard against the unbelievers, merciful to one another. Thou sent them bowing and prostrating, seeking bounty from Allah and good pleasure. Their mark is on their faces, the trace of prostration. That is their likeness in the Torah and their likeness in the Evangel: as a seed that puts forth its shoot, and strengthens ii~, and it grows stout and rises straight, upon its stem, pleasing the sewers, that through them He may enrage the unbelievers. Allah has promised those of them who believe and do deeds of righteousness forgiveness and a mighty wage. (XLVITh29)

This example indicates that the prophet and his devoted companions started from nothing, and reached to the summit by self-sacrifice, dedication and faith, so that they surprised the world.

و اذ قال عيسي بن مريم يا بني اسرائيل اني رسول الله اليكم مصدقآ لما بين يدي من التوراة و مبشرآ برسول يأتي من بعدي اسمه احمد فلما جائهم بالبينات قالوا هذا سحر مبين
(سوره صف آيه 6)

And when 'Isa, son of Maryam said: "Children of Isra'il, 1 am indeed the Messenger of Allah to you, confirming the Torah that is before me, and giving good tidings of a Messenger who shall come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad. "And when he brought them clear signs, they said: ''this is a manifest sorcery." (LXI,O)

الذين اتيناهم الكتاب يعرفونه الكتاب يعرفون ابنائهم و ان فريقآ منهم ليكتمون الحق و هم يعلمون
(سوره بقره آيه 146)

Those unto whom we have given the Book recognize ham as they recognize their sons, even though there is a party of them who conceal the truth and that wittingly. (11; 146)

الذين اتيناهم الكتاب يعرفونه كما يعرفون ابنائهم الذين خسروا انفسهم فهم لايؤمنون
(سوره انعام آيه 20)

Those to whom we have given the Book recognize him as they recognize their own sons. Those who have lost their own souls, they do not Believe. (V120)

It comes out clearly from these ayahs that the previous prophets informed the people of the coming of Muhammad (S.A.) and of his appeared together with Islam, no room remained for any kind of doubt.

Because, if there had been no such news in the Christian and Jewish scriptures at the time of Muhammad (S.A.), it would not have been expected from the radiant thought of someone like Muhammad (S.A.) that be would stand up and say, so as to prove his messenger ship before all the people of the Book: "My name and my characteristics have appeared in the Torah and the Evangel which are in your possession it at this very moment." Because in that case the enemies of Muhammad (S.A.) would not give up, and, in order to annihilate his message, they would collect together the copies of the Torah and Evangel so that they could prove that such characteristics were not in these books.

That there was in their opposition to Muhammad (S.A.), and even rose up to fight him, but they never managed with this facile and simple ruse to prove that these characteristics did not exist. So it is clear that abundant information concerning the Prophet of Islam existed in their sacred books.

Before the rise of Islam, two circles or groups of people had grown up in Medina. The first were Jews who had left their original lands desiring to witness the advent of the Prophet of Islam (S.A.).

The second were the tribes of Aws and Khazraj, who were the disconcerts of Tubba', the king of Yemen. When Tubba' came to Medina and learnt that that place would be the place of migration of the Prophet and the place where Islamic govern to remain in that place until such time as the Prophet of Islam appeared and then to support him.

So they stayed there and gradually increased in numbers and became powerful to the point that they seized the houses and property of the unconcerned Jews, and committed aggression; and gradually they forgot the cause of their ancestors' staying in that town and became ignorant of why their ancestors had come there and made their settlement there.

However, the Jews, who were unequal with them in power, continued to tell each other of the advent of the Prophet of Islam (S.A.) and of safety from the aggression. The Qur'an says about the jews:

... و كانوا من قبل يستفتحون علي الذين كفروا فلما جائهم ما عرفوا كفروا به ...
(سوره بقره آيه 89)

And from before they had been praying for victory over the unbelievers, (but) when there came to them that they recogise4 they disbelieved in it... (Th89)

Ibn Hawash (or Ibn'l-Hayyaban), a Jewish scholar, left Syria seeking to meet the Prophet of Islam (S.A.) and came to Medina, but while he was alive, Muhammad (S.A.) was not yet called to his prophet hood. For this reason, when he was dying, Ibn Hawash said to the Jews: "I left my extensive, comfortable life in Syria out of love to see the Prophet Muhammad (S.A.), came here, and bread and date were enough for me. Alas! I did not achieve my wish. But know that he will rise up in Mecca and will migrate here. In eating he will be content with morsels of bread and dates; he will be so humble that he will ride on unsaddled mount. His rule will spread to an amazing extent, he will be afraid of none, and those who are an obstacle to the straight path and truth will be cast aside.

Zayd ibn 'Amr of the Hijaz came in search of the true religion of Ibrahim. On his way he had crossed from Mecca to Syria and to Mosul, but the more he searched, the less he found. In the end a Christian scholar said to him that there remained no trace of the original religion of Ibrahim, but that in those very days a prophet was to blossom forth in his own homeland from whose message and sayings he could obtain that original religion.

Zayd returned towards Mecca, but on the way he was killed. The Prophet instructed to goodness through his example, saying: "Zayd was someone who left this world in seeking the way to Allah.

Bahira, a Christian scholar, saw Muhammad (S.A.) in the latter's childhood. He recognized him from the signs he had read in the revealed Book. He said to Abu Talib who was accompanying Muhammad (S.A.): "He will be a prophet. Look alter him, and take him to his country quickly."

Another Christian scholar, Nistur, also when he saw Muhammad (S.A.) in the latter's youth, gave the news that he would become a prophet in a clear way: "He is the prophet of the last days.

On the basis of these predictions of the holy books, a number of people became Muslims at the very beginning of the rise and appearance of Islam without any coercion.

When the Prophet received the order from God to invite people to ( which existed in a form before Islam) he addressed the people and presented Islam to them. During this time he held a meeting with some of the tribe of Khazraj.

"What tribe are you from?" he asked.

"From Khazraj."

"Are you ready to sit together for a few moment and talk? "Yes, we are."

"I am calling you to the Unique God."

Then the Prophet read for them some verses from the sweet words of God, and they were so enraptured by the Qur'an, that they said to each other: "We swear that this is what the Jews were telling us of. Let not the Jews reach it before us." Then they all became Muslims, and when they returned to Medina they commenced the propagation of Islam. The Prophet also sent Mus'ab ibn 'Umayr after them to teach them the Qur'an and also to call others to Islam.

Mus'ab brought many people in Medina to Islam; among them the Usayd, one of the heads of the Aws tribe, became Muslim and said to his tribe, "Muhammad (S.A.) is the very one whose coming the Jews were always announcing." And his tribe became Muslims, and in this way Islam end, the Prophet himself went to Medina and there he set up the Islamic government.

Salman was an Iranian from a peasant family; his mother and father were Zoroastrians, fire-worshippers. Salman, whose name was then Ruzbeh, they loved very much. They taught him the beliefs of their religion, and entirely prevented him from mixing with others.

One day, Salman went on his father's orders to inspect their fields. On his way he fell upon a church in which a group of God's servants were engaged in prayer. Ruzbeh started to think deeply, and he stayed with them till dusk approached, meditating. At last he understood that their way"en Syria," they answered.

His father became anxious because of his late return and sent someone to look for him. When he returned home, his father asked him where he had been. He described what had happened, but his father said, "The religion of your ancestors is much better."

"With my own thinking," he replied, "I have seen that their way is purer."

His father became even more disturbed and rebuked him. He then locked him up in the house.

Ruzbah secretly sent someone to the Christians and informed them that when merchants came from Syria and had done their work, and when the time came for their return, they should tell him and he would secretly leave his house and accompany them to Syria.

And thus it was that he went to Syria, and into the presence of one of the great Christian scholars, and begged him to take him as his servant and to instruct him on the acquisition of knowledge and servitude to God. The scholar accepted him.

When the scholar died, Ruzbeh went to some of the other great Christians of the day, in accordance with his master's instructions. From the last of these scholars, who lived in the 'Ammuriyah district of Damascus, he asked guidance to another, but he replied:

"I have no idea of anyone else, but in the very near future, a prophet will arise in the lands of the Arabs who will migrate from his birthplace to a place covered in date-palms. This land is situated between two lava belts. Some of the signs of his magnanimity and special habits are these: He will accept what is given to him out of respect, hut he will not take food and alms given out of compassion and aid. Among the signs is the mark and seal of prophet hood on his skin. If you can go there, then you should go!"

After the death of that scholar, Ruzbeh asked the caravan leaders who were setting out for business in Arabia to take him with them to that place. They accepted, but on their way they betrayed him and sold him in slavery to a Jew from the Bani Qurayzah, who put him to labor in the vicinity of Medina. It happened that Ruzbeh recognized the very place he had reached as one of the signs told him by the old scholar. So he was happy to start work in the date-groves of his master, but he was always looking out for the advent of Muhammad (S.A.), and searched for him, but, because he was in difficult circumstances, he could not make many enquiries.

Had gone, together with some of his companions, to a place near Medina and Ruzbeh got to hear of this.

He said to himself that this was the best time to look for the signs from this person himself, and to compare them with what he had heard from the Christian scholar. So he took some morsels of food which he bad with him and gave them to that honoured person and said: "This food is for the special benefit of the needy, and since your companions are needy, please accept it from me."

The Prophet gave it to his companions. Ruzbeh looked carefully, but Lie saw that the Prophet did not touch the food, and he could not contain himself with joy, for one of the signs had been found true in him.

With excitement he brought another morsel of food, which he had with him to the prophet,Presented it to him and said: "This is my present to you, please accept it from me." The Prophet (A.S) gladly accepted it and ate from it.

Ruzbeh was looking at him and was enthralled. He then walked around the Prophet of Islam (A.S) to see the mark on the Prophet's shoulder. The Prophet understood what he wanted and took off the clothes that were on his back so that he sees the mark Ruzbeh saw it and accepted Islam.

He was renamed 'Salman' and the means to free him were collected. He became close to the group of the companions around the Prophet, and with his insight and deep faith he became, in the shortest space of time, one of the greatest of the Prophet's disciples.'

All seekers after truth, who were suffering from the dryness and burning heat of that time like an unquenchable thirst, were looking for the source of being and the water of life. Since the signs, which they had read or heard of in the holy books, were present in the Prophet, they gave their hearts to the ocean and washed their souls in that spring of the water of life and wisdom. Group after group gave their hearts to the pure religion of Islam and became followers of Muhammad (S.A.).

People, group after group, turned to Islam. But together with these seekers after truth, there were groups of Jews and Christians and other enemies who did not embrace Islam, through bigotry or because their businesses or positions were endangered, although they were aware of the truth of that great, divine person.

But through obstinacy they clung to their illusions and did not desist from their stubbornness, but became caught in everlasting perdition and failed to reach contentment

Safiyyah, the daughter of Huyayy ibn Akhtab said: "When the Prophet (S.A.) migrated to Medina and alighted at Quha, my father and my uncle, Abu Yasir, went to call on him in the half-light of dawn. The sunset came and they returned, and I went to them with childish joy. But they were very tired, and, contrary to their custom, they paid no attention to me. My uncle said to my father:

"Is he the one?"
"By God, I swear he is!"
'Did you recognize him?"
"Yes."
"Now what do you think of him?"
'By God, I swear that as long as I live I will be his enemy!"'

We will finish this lesson with another example of this black- beardedness.

One day the Prophet said (A.S) to Ka'b ibn asad:

"Do you not remember the example of Ibn Hawash (the Jewish scholar who went from Syria to Medina - see above)? Has it had not effect on your "Yes I do," replied Ka'b, "and if the censure of the Jews did not torment me when they say 'Ka'b is frightened to be killed,' I would believe in you. But now I am in the faith of the Jews and I ant sale from their censure, and I shall stay in that religion till I die!

The Qur'an tells of the injury caused by this black-hearted ness, which is the origin of the destruction of life and contentment, and speaks of these people thus:

بئسما اشتروا به انفسهم ان يكفروا بما انزل الله بغيآ ان ينزل الله من فضله علي من يشاء من عباده فباءوا بفضب علي غضب و للكافرين عذاب مهين
(سوره بقره آيه 90)

Vile is the thing they have sold themselves for, disbelieving in that which Allah sent down, grudging that Allah should send down of His bounty on whomsoever He will of His servants, and they were laden with anger upon anger; and for unbelievers awaits. A humbling chastisement (11:90)

Divine Prophets have always been sent with clear signs, so that men might be convinced that they had come from God.

For this reason those who have souls like polished mirrors and like clear transparent springs, glistening and pure so that they can recognize these signs commit themselves and have faith; like staff became a terrible serpent, and understood that this was beyond the power of a human being, believed in him and ignored Pharaoh's intimidation.

The disciples of 'Isa (AS.) also saw with their own eyes the effects of his breath when he breathed into the bodies of the dead, and, by the will of God, raised the dead and gave them life. They were attracted to him, and the souls and spirits of the dead were given everlasting life through faith in 'Isa (AS.).

The Prophet of Islam (A.S), who was the last prophet and the best and greatest of them, and who brought an everlasting religion, the perfection of all Divine religions, which will last till the Resurrection, came at the time of his mission with clear sings from God, so that he could be clearly a proof of the legitimacy of his true and perfect religion.

Thus it was that the Qur'an, the everlasting document of Islam, appeared on the horizon of human thoughts and ideas. The torch, which will always shine at the apex of the great religion of Muhammad (S.A.) at the highest peak of human intellects, as long as the sun rises in the East. It is a brilliant divine sign whose lights, like the rays of the sun, are essential in every era and century and for always, for the continuance of life and the safeguarding of the happiness of all races of humanity.

Within this framework and on this foundation, all that is necessary for man's guidance has come.

It elucidates the foundation of belief and also the relation of man and God and the ways of strengthening that relation in words with the softness of the clear waters of murmuring brooks, and the firmness of the standing mountains, attractive, eloquent and strong. It describes the social responsibilities of man; it teaches the ways and the rules of social behavior.

It puts an end to class differences and unequal divisions.

It wishes the highest in man and his brotherhood and equality and his elevation.

Being conversant with vocabulary and having a good knowledge of words at one's fingertips is not such a great difficulty, but their combination and arrangement and harmonization in a style, which has regard for eloquence and fluency, and the construction of phrases with a variety of expression yet in the same way, in which they arise in the mind, is the most important skill, and it is something, which is not practicable without observing the narrow rules of literary exactness, and using craftsmanship and eloquence.

In the art of eloquence, it is said that for eloquence in any speaking or writing it is necessary to observe three principles:

1) Proficiency in words and their meanings.
2) Power of thought and subtlety of eloquence.
3) Power of expression, or skill with the pen.

But it must always be kept in mind that although all the rules and requirements of eloquence may be heeded, no one can claim that his speech or writing is always the best, and that no one can parallel him.

However, Allah the exalted, whose range of power and knowledge is without limit, has so variously decorated His words in the Qur'an with arrangements and harmonization's of words that no one, be he the most eloquent man on earth, can bring its like. And this is the secret of the eternity of the Qur'an, the everlasting prophetic document of Hazrat Muhammad (S.A.).

The Qur'an, according to the testament of history, shone at that time when the Arabs were at the zenith of their literary development. The famous poets and great orators, Imra'ul-Qais, Labid, etc., who are still counted as outstanding geniuses in the field of literature, wrote poems and gave orations which sometimes reached the Limits of greatness and which were written on curtains and golden plaques and attached to the wall of the Ka'bah.

Qur'an, all of these lost their light and were eclipsed like the stars. The eloquent Arabs were left bewildered by the eloquence of the Qur'an, which was such that the enemies who were full of hate for Islam and Muhammad (S.A.), who even took to the sword to wipe him and his religion out, were unable, with all their efforts, to find even one short mistake in the language and expression of the Qur'an.

It was the time of Hajj. People were coming to Mecca from everywhere, and the Quraysh were uncomfortable from fear that the news of Muhammad's prophet hood might have an effect on the new arrivals. So a group of the Quraysh, with Walid at their head, gathered round them and meeting him. Then when they were gathered, one of them said, "Let us say this man is soothsayer.'

"They will not believe us," said Walid, "for his speech is not like the sayings of soothsayers.'

"Let us say he is mad," someone else volunteered.

"No one will accept that," Walid replied, "because his speech and behavior are not like a lunatic's.'

'We shall say he is a poet,' they said.

"This also will not work, because Arabs know all kinds of peotry, and his words are not like a poem.'

'We shall say he is a sorcerer."

'Sorcerers have special methods, like tying knots and blowing on them, and Muhammad does nothing like this.'

The speech of that man has a special sweetness and pleasantness. His speech is like a tree, luxuriant, with steady deep roots and branches, which bend down laden with fruit. Thus we can say to people that his speech is bewitched, because it causes separation between father and child, wife and husband, sister and brother.

To discover the Qur'an's eloquence, and also to find out that it is at the summit of eloquence, non-Arab speakers can turn back to the sayings of those Arabs who were experts in the language of those days and which are recorded in history, and also to present day authors who write on this subject, and to the acknowledgements of those 1. This saying of Walid refers to the tact every new Muslim, by his acceptance of Islam, engages in a new direction so that specialists in this branch.

Fortunately, from the time of the Prophet (S.A.) till now, all specialists in the art of Arabic eloquence have confessed to the unparalleled eloquence of the Qur'an, and have been overwhelmed in the face of it. For example, the famous contemporary Arab writer Abdulfatah Tabbarah writes: 'Arab history tells us of many famous men, knowledgeable in the best poetry and prose, like Ibn al-Muqaffa', Jahiz, ibn al-'Amid, Farazdaq, Bashshar, Abu Nuwas, Abu Tammam and so forth, but all of them have shown humility when faced with the Qur'an, and have of necessity confessed that the great Qur'an is not of the words of man, but a Divine revelation.

Dr. Taha Husayn, the powerful contemporary egyptian writer, said: The Qur'an transcends the limits of prose and poetry, because it has special qualities, which cannot be found in any poem or prose. So the Qur'an cannot be called poetry or prose, rather it should be said:" It is the Qur'an, that is all.

The speech or writing of a person, however skillful or eloquent he may be, will not be uniform in all conditions and circumstances. In particular, the works, which appear in the days of any author's first writings, are very different from the works, which come after many years and as the result of much experience and repeated practice; the later works are almost always better.

But the Qur'an, in that it was sent down in the course of 23 years, and in that it was revealed in various circumstances and like a long flowing river passed over various stony places, rapids, narrows, valleys and plains, and witnessed many amazing events, it remained forever, like a spring, clear and fresh. The unity and harmony of the themes and the style and expression of the Qur'an are a source for wonder. We see this wonder reach its apex, and notice in the contents of the Qur'an that many different subjects are dealt with, but the style and unity of expression remain constant.

It is clear that if someone, when he reached a stage of mastery over a special subject, shows what he can do, he may display brilliance, but if he undertakes something in another branch of which he is not a master, he will not produce any distinctive work.

Although the first and basic aim of the Qur'an, according to what it says itself, is only to guide man to the great road of contentment and prosperity in the life of this world, the world of man, but on the way, in pursuing this aim, it expresses many truths from human knowledge in the natural sciences, in physiology and astronomy. And this is itself another great sign of the wonder of the Qur'an. For the Prophet, according to the definite testimony of history, had never studied, grew up in an environment completely devoid of human knowledge and science (except literature), and was far from the centers of science of those days - Greece, Rome and Iran.

Knowledge of former people about the phenomena of clouds, wind, rain and snow did not go beyond conjecture and what they could see, and, generally speaking, it had an air of imaginativeness and chance and was never established on a scientific basis.

Captains and farmers both had their signs and indications for forecasting wind and rain, but they did not really understand these phenomena. Thus things went on for thousands of years, till, in the 17th century A.D., the thermometer, and in the 19th century the telegraph, and, gradually, other things necessary for meteorology were invented and discovered. In their turn, scientists settled down to research, till, in the first half of the 20th century, the Norwegian scientist, Byerkness, succeeded in discovering the general laws of the formation and movements of clouds and the occurrence of storms and rains in all places.

After him, the extent of discoveries in this science, as in other areas, progressed: the rain-bearing properties of clouds, how rain is released from them, the formation and occurrence of hail, matters relating to thunderbolts and thunder and lightening and storms in tropical areas, air currents near the surface of the earth, and other matters, till knowledge reached extensive limits.

But fifteen centuries ago, when the Qur'an told about the winds and the rain and other phenomena, it was right when it told us about the latest, newest discoveries of meteorology. For example, it has now been proved that it is possible for a cloud to reach saturation point but to yield no rain, and for it to be just microscopic particles to fall and cause rain; however, by means of invisible particles of salt which are blown by the wind from the surface of the sea it will rain.

Or, something more important; the humidity in the air gathers round the crystallized snow flakes which lie at high altitudes and which are scattered by the wind. Eventually small drops and the first rain unite together, and, as a result of mixing and colliding together in the wind, they gradually become bigger and bigger, and because of their own relatively heavy weight fall from the massed clouds.

This is what the Qur'an made clear 15 centuries ago:

و ارسلنا الرياح لواقح فانزلنا من السماء ماء فاسقينا كموه
(سوره حجر آيه 22)

And we send winds for making fruitful, and then we send down water from the sky, thus we give it unto you to drink of it. (XV~22)

2. Until the invention of the aircraft and the possibility of high-altitude flying, man's knowledge and experience did not encompass needles of ice beyond the clouds. Till then no one knew that mountains of ice needles existed in the sky above man's heads.

But the Qur'an is very clear when it says:

و ينزل من السماء من جبال فيها من برد ....
(سوره نور آيه 43)

He sendeth down from the sky, from mountains therein, hag.(XXW43)

3. Living things in other worlds.

Man, with the help of his knowledge of space, has set foot on the moon, but the matter of the existence of living things on other worlds has not proceeded beyond theory, and we can say that, from many signs, only it is possible that there are living things such as animals or man on some other planets and stars. But the Qur'an declares unambiguously:

و من آياته خلق السموات و الارض و ما بث فيهما من دابة و هو علي جمعهم اذا يشاء قدير
(سوره شوري آيه 29)

And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and of what He hath spread out in both of them of animate beings, and for their gathering together when He willeth, He is All-Powerful.(XLII29)

4. In Surah 36, verse 36, we have:

سبحان الذي خلق الازواج كلها مما تنبت الارض و من انفسهم و مما لايلمون
(سوره يس آيه 36)

Glory is to He Who created a/I the pairs of what the earth produces, and of them, and of what they know not and in Surah 20, verse 53, we read:

و انزل السماء ماء فاخرجنا به ازواجآ من نبات شتي
(سوره طه آيه 53)

Therewith we have brought forth various pairs of plants.

In times when man's knowledge did not permit the respected interpreters of the Qur'an to know that plants and growing things came in pairs and couples, they interpreted and observed pairing in classes, species or by form and matter or other philosophical terms which do not exist in the pages of the Qur'an. But today, on the basis of new research, it has been discovered that not only are men and animals created in pairs, but other living things also. One of the most amazing phenomena in the world is the pairing and fertilizations of plants, which is all explained in natural science books.

Not only from the point of view of eloquence, But also, as we have seen, in the fields of human ideas and society, and for all levels of understanding, the Qur'an is a miracle. For rhetoricians it has its eloquence, for philosophers its wisdom, and for scientists its different kinds of knowledge. For all these reasons the Qur'an addresses all people and says: "If you say this book is the word of man, bring its like and its equal."

قل لئن اجتمعت الانس و الجن علي ان يأتوا بمثل هذا القران لايأتون بمثله و لو كان بعضهم لبعض ظهيرا
(سوره اسراء آيه 88)

Say: 'If man and jinn banded together to produce the like of this Qur'an, they would never produce its like, not though they back one another,' (XVII; 88)

ام يقولون افتراه قل فأتوا بعشر سور مثله مفتريات و اعدوا من استطعتم من دون الله ان كنتم صادقين. فان لم يستجيبوا لكم فاعلموا انما انزل بعلم الله و ان لا اله الا هو فهل انتم مسلمون
(سوره هود آيه 13-14)

Or do they say: 'He has forged it.' Say: 'Then bring you ten surahs the like of it, forged; and call upon whom you are able, apart from Allah, if you speak truly. ' Then if they do not answer you, know that it has been sent down with Allah's knowledge, and that there is no god but He. (XI; 13-14)

و ان كنتم في ريب مما نزلنا علي عبدنا فأتوا بسورة من مثله
(سوره بقره آيه 23)

And if you are in doubt about what we have sent down on our servant, then bring a Surah like it. (II;23)

But we see from the testimony of history from then till now no one has had the courage to do this and produce its like. Of course, during the time of Muhammad (S.A.) and after his death, some Arabs, like Musailemah, Sajah and Ibn Abi'l-'Awja', planned to challenge it but they were not able, and eventually confessed to their incapacity.

In the time of the Prophet (S.A.), the enemies of Islam, who used the most awful means in their work, torturing the Muslims, laying economic boycotts on them, plotting to kill Muhammad (S.A.), and so forth, had no one who could do a simple thing like bringing one Surah like the Qur'an.

In the present day, too, those who spend millions of dollars trying to destroy Islam would certainly attack it in this inexpensive and easy way (Bringing a Surah like the Qur'an) if they could. If they had been able to do that up to now, it would have been a victory for them and the end of Islam and the news would have been blown on all the trumpets of the world's newsmen.

In the end it is necessary to remind ourselves that if we get to know the Qur'an, or get to know it better and put its great, magnificent and precise project into action, greatness will be ours, and more.

The huge edifice of our, the Muslims, greatness collapsed when we stopped putting the commands of this heavenly book into practice. So we fell down, we were satisfied only with the name of Islam.

Our departed greatness will return when we leave this crooked way and, starting again, become new Muslims and put the Qur'an at the sights of our hearts and our wisdom, and make it an example for life, as the Prophet said:

"When calamities encompass you like the darkness of the night, reach for the Qur'an.