“Islam” which literary means peace in the Arabic language, is the cardinal foundation on which the Islamic Religion is laid upon and a virtue which every Muslim must endeavour to emulate as being practiced and advocated by the prophet Mohammed, who was an epitome of peace and celebrated persona to date. This core attributes is fast fizzling out from the followers of the religion who supposed to have been propagating it to the letter, but just because Muslims worldwide have not been able to come to terms with how they should resolved their differences, it has given an impetus to the enemy of the religion, particularly, the western powers to fuelled the shortcomings of it, in order to course a total disaffection or bad blood for the followers of the religion in the world. The writer of this peace is a staunched Muslim in Ghana and wishes that once aggressive tendencies do not help us in our course to addressed issues that tend to go against us or within ourselves then we must find a reconciliatory way of attending to our misgivings such that we can carve a new niche for the religion across the world. Below are some virtues of the Prophet Mohammed, which would help us to reflect deeply over them to enable us rebrand the religion further, and these are outlined as follows: Mohammed is the peak of love, courage, patience, perseverance, generosity, humility, Sincerity, and above all putting others first.
In sincerity do we as Muslims worldwide practice any of these sterling attributes and virtues of our noble prophet Mohammed, given the current happenings on earth? my humble opinion is that we Muslims must re-assessed our actions and in actions to each other before looking at how we can build relationships with other religious faith, to ensure peaceful co- existence among all faith in the world.
Almighty Allah displayed the model of the ‘perfect human’ in the person of the Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him). This was what He intended with the Islamic religion and so He made him a model person for mankind. My problem is that as Muslims, are we championing these exemplarities of him? Below are some unfortunate chronicle events around the world particularly in the Muslims dominated countries that should not be pleasing to any Muslim peace advocate. For instance, the armed Islamic Fundamentalist group “Boko Haram” in Nigeria, has brought to the fore, one of the biggest security nightmare that has confronted Nigeria, their qualms is that they want to establish Sharia Law in Northern Nigeria. The crisis according to some analysts has some undertones beyond Sharia Law which has claimed over 1,500 lives since the inception of the insurgency and is still counting. The lingering issue is that must we as Muslims result to that far if we really have genuine problems to resolve by slaughtering innocent lives? Pakistani teenager by name Malala Yousafzai, was also shot on her forehead Taleban’s, some time ago and fortunately for her she survived after she undergone an operation in UK, her crime was that she is attending to school to learn western education. In her address recently, at the UN general Assembly, her touching statements was that her attempted assassins did that ignorantly because they are not enlighten about the significance of education, and what even gave her a standing ovation was that even if she is been given a deadly weapon to revenge, she would not do so, but would only advocate for their children to get education to fill the power of pen.
This outstanding patience and forgiveness obviously was one of the greatest attributes of the Prophet Mohammed ( may peace be upon him), which is apparently missing in the Muslim communities and humankind, and if Muslims all over the world could take a cue from this young girl, the world could have been a peace haven to live.
Last year immediately Muslims ended their Ramadan fast and just on the eve of Edul Fitir celebration in Tamale, there was a serious confrontation between the Sunni groups and the Tijania, followers who are all Muslims, of which properties were vandalised, the stalemate is said to be on which side of the groupings is the true Islamic religion, which I thought that once they are all Muslims, there should have rather direct their energies in wooing more people into the religion rather than engaging in that needless encounter. In an interviewed to the Director for Society for Education and Development ( SED), an Islamic Non -governmental organization based in Accra, Shiek Aminu Osman, on his informed opinion on some of the feuding crisis among the Muslims in the world. His take was that most of the issues has to do with parochial vested interest and the clamour of recognition by the leading factions in the Muslim sects, particularly in African and Ghana, and do not have any root in the Islamic Religion it selves. The sectarian conflicts according to him are largely on recognition from the government circles between the Sunni and the Tijania adherents.
Shirk Aminu Osman, added that Islam has clearly defined ways of solving their problems and even if a dictator is ruling Muslims, they are only obliged to follow him but not to resist in whatever ways which would eventually leads to lost of lives, like in the case of Syrian president issue. The man might not be a good leader but the Islamic Religion is totally forbids up in arms against each other, quizzing that how can you then associate it as a violence religion?
I would like to conclude by making this suggestion to the Muslim world, that inasmuch as. We cannot totally inculcate in us, on the moral appetitude and virtues our noble Prophet Mohammed, we have a duty bound to strive to be worthy of emulation to his exemplarities as Muslims.
By Alhassan Abubakar Sadik, ISD Reporter from Tamale, Email-sadika64@yahoo.com.
