Prophet Muhammad’s One and Only Concern
By Bilgin Erdogan
Surat Al-Furqān (The Criterian); 25:30
And the Messenger has said, "O my Lord, indeed my people has taken this Qur'an as [a thing] abandoned."
The above verse really shakes a believer’s heart in that the topic concerned signifies the importance of the verse’s revelation. It was revealed in Mecca at a time that the people there did not care at all about the believers.
The verse contains the word “Mahjur” which is translated as ‘not to leave physically but rather to disconnect from it although it is available’ or simply ‘to ignore it’. In literal comparison, “Matruk” means to physically leave, and “Mahjur” means to ignore or abandon.
This verse describes the only time where the Messenger of Allah [Rasulullah (s.a.w)] showed his concern or complaint over his ummah. We have to remember that Rasulullah (s.a.w) is the mercy of the universe. He never criticized or damned anything or anyone. He is ever forgiving and merciful, never judging or condemning anyone in his life.
He is the Messenger and beloved by Allah the Al-Mighty. Thus, should he ever confide in Him and pray to Him, Allah may definitely destroy a community that offend or humiliate him. But Rasulullah (s.a.w) never did such a thing because he has a beautiful and merciful soul.
When he was stoned by children in Taif and got his tooth broken, he did not lament to God. Instead he asked Allah to forgive them and give them guidance. He did the same thing when the ‘Leader of Kufr’ Amar Ibn Hisham Al Mahzumi (Abu Jahal) treated him unjustly. He prayed, “O Lord, give guidance to one of them (referring to Amar and Umar Al-Khattab).
Rasulullah (s.a.w) extended his mercy to even the cruelest persons, Abu Lahap and his wife Ummu Jamil, who were torturing him and giving him tremendous difficulty. Until this verse was revealed, he never uttered any complaint against them instead he continued to invite them to the righteous path of Islam.
Walid Ibn Mughira Al Mahzumi was one of the big names of Rasulullah’s (s.a.w) enemies who showed great hostility against Rasulullah (s.a.w). He passed away as a pagan. His son however, Khalid Ibn Al-Walid, embraced Islam and Rasulullah (s.a.w) never once mentioned to him about his father’s hostility or ever showed any animosity toward Khalid.
Ubay Ibn Khalaf Al Jumahi was well-known by his continuous cursing at Rasulullah (s.a.w). One day he declared, “I’m going to kill Muhammad!” Rasulullah (s.a.w) heard about this but he was not concerned or stirred. After the battle of Badr, when Ubay was captured he was nonetheless released. Rather than retaliation he was shown only mercy.
Rasulullah (s.a.w) also did not care about Abu Zam’a Ibn Aswad Ibn Muttalib’s mocking; arrogantly humiliating Rasulullah (s.a.w). He instead prayed that Abu Zam’a be given forgiveness and guidance by Allah.
Nubayah Ibn Hajjaj and his brother demeaned Rasulullah’s (s.a.w) honor and slandered him. Nevertheless again, Rasulullah (s.a.w) had no reproach for them.
With all these events and incidents, one might grieve or bemoan about them but Rasulullah (s.a.w) never uttered a single complaint against any of them. True to his merciful being, he continued his invocations to Allah to give all those people who had mistreated him His forgiveness and guidance to the righteous path.
Thus, we can understand how critical this verse is when Rasulullah (s.a.w) mentioned his concern for his ummah that has deserted Al-Quran, treating the ‘Word of Allah’ as a forsaken thing. That these people did not regard the Quran as worthy of their consideration: they neither accepted it nor followed it. Or they considered it to be nonsense or the delirium of insanity. Or they made it the target of their ridicule and mockery.
May Allah help and guide us and protect us from this condemned path. Let us come back to putting Al Quran at the center of our lives as the source of enlightenment and guidance the way it was intended to be. The following verse explains exactly our point:
Surat Al-Ĥashr (The Exile) 59:21
If We had sent down this Qur'an upon a mountain, you would have seen it humbled and coming apart from fear of Allah. And these examples We present to the people that perhaps they will give thought.
Are our hearts like a lifeless and senseless stone for the Word of Allah?
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