True Stories From The Islamic History

[Bint e Attar]

[glow=green,2,300] Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
ASALATU WASALAMU ALAYKA YA RASULLALLAH Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu[/glow]

HOW THEY REFORMED

Religion, and most especially the religion of Islam, is a way of life based upon belief and understanding which seeks to reform the characters of its adherents and the ethos of their societies and communities. To grasp how profound a reform Islam achieved, it is worthwhile to reflect on the norms prevailing in pre-Islamic Arabia. Here is one particularly chilling account by a Makkan polytheist:

One day I took up my arms—my arrows and sword—to participate in a raid. However, the owners of the flocks we attacked overwhelmed us and set out to chase us in the desert. Five of us were shot in the back with arrows and killed. On returning to Makka, we discussed why our arrows had failed to hit their target. We were angry with the gods whose idols we carried with us because they had not given us any help.

One of my nieces whose father had been killed in an earlier raid was growing up in my care. I took her to the desert and bound her to a date-palm and used her for target practice. It was normal for orphan girls to be used in this way. I did not hit the target as I wished and so became convinced that the gods were determined not to give us good fortune on that day. However, I made another attempt the following day and hit the target at the first attempt. Concluding that the gods were now in favor of it, we set off on a raid to the lands where flocks pastured.

That sort of barbarity characterized not only the Arab polytheists but much of humankind lived before the advent of Islam. A Turkish poet describes it vividly:

The civilized part of the world suffered corruptions
worse than those prevailing nowadays.
Mankind excelled in rapaciousness,
If there was one 'devoid of teeth', his brothers tore him up to eat.
Anarchy prevailed in all corners of the world.

Islam radically transformed those who accepted it and once-rapacious people who killed one another for racial motives became as brothers.


[glow=green,2,300] Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu[/glow]

[Bint e Attar]

[glow=green,2,300] Bismillahir Rahmanir Raheem
ASALATU WASALAMU ALAYKA YA RASULLALLAH Salla Allahu ta'ala 'alayhi wa Sallam
Assalamu 'Alaykum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu[/glow]

THE RULE OF LAW

During the caliphate of 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu, some matter was disputed between the Caliph and Ubayy ibn K'ab, a Companion famous for his knowledge of law and recitation of the Qur'an. UbayyRadi Allahu anhu as plaintiff brought his case before Zayd ibn ThabitRadi Allahu anhu, the judge of Madina.

ZaydRadi Allahu anhu called 'Umar Radi Allahu anhu to him, saying: 'O Commander of the Believers! Come to my side!'

'UmarRadi Allahu anhu was angry with that request and remarked:

'It is a sign of partiality that you call to me to your side. A judge who judges according to the Qur'an is supposed to follow the Qur'an's injunctions, not to show respect to the Caliph in the court. According to the Qur'an, there cannot be any difference between a Caliph and an ordinary man in the court.'

The judge explained:

'I called you to my side, not because I respect you and take your side, but to be able to hear you better. You are the accused and I must listen to you without missing any of your words or gestures.'

'UmarRadi Allahu anhu then thanked Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala that he had a just judge.

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A comparable incident took place during the Caliphate of 'AliRadi Allahu anhu. There was a case between him and a Jewish subject of the state. The presiding judge in Kufa was Qadi Shurayh. The Qadi called the Jew and the Caliph to stand side by side before him. However, he addressed the Jew by his proper name, whereas he addressed 'Ali Radi Allahu anhu, the Caliph, by his kunya, Abu l-Hasan (father of Hasan). This was a tradition in Arabia and was understood as an expression of esteem and affection. 'Ali Radi Allahu anhu expressed displeasure. The judge asked him:

— Were you angry because I told you to stand beside the Jew?'
'Ali replied:
— No! Because you called the Jew by his name, while calling me by my kunya.'

This inspired the Jew to become a Muslim.

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A similar incident took place during the reign of Mehmed II, the Conqueror, was the seventh sultan of the Ottoman State, who at the age of 21 when he captured Constantinople in 1453. After the conquest, he ordered a castle to be built. After completion of the castle, he saw that it was not as he wished because a Greek architect had deliberately cut the marbles used in the building shorter than they were supposed to be. The Sultan became furious and ordered the architect's hand to be cut off.

The architect referred the case to the court. The judge in Istanbul at that time was Qadi Khidr Celebi, who had been a school-friend of the Sultan.

When the Sultan entered the court, he sat on a bench but the judge warned him to stand up and stand beside the Greek architect. After hearing the case, the judge declared his verdict:

Since the Sultan had had the architect's hand wrongly cut off without the permission of law, his hand too would be cut off.

The Sultan consented to the verdict, saying: 'Whatever the law decrees, it must be obeyed.' However, he added that, if the architect agreed, he would pay blood-money for his hand according to the law. The architect agreed and the Sultan paid him the double of what the law ordered together with a house where he could live until death.


[glow=green,2,300] Wa'alaykum 'Assalam wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuhu[/glow]