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In [[Islam]], the Prophet Muhammad is known as '''al-Insān al-Kāmil''' (the perfect human) and '''uswa hasana''' (an excellent model of conduct). | {{QualityScore|Lead=2|Structure=2|Content=2|Language=2|References=2}} | ||
In the mainstream theology of Sunni [[Islam]], the Prophet Muhammad is known as '''al-Insān al-Kāmil''' (the perfect human) and '''uswa hasana''' (an excellent model of conduct). This is taken to mean that his conduct in all things, from how he prayed, how he conducted himself in business and in war, his sexual relations with his wives, slaves and concubines, and even how he cleaned himself after defecation and urination is an exemplar and model for all humans to follow at all times, regardless of historical circumstance and independent of culture. Salafis tend to apply the concept in the most literal way, though are often criticised by other Muslims, while Islamic Modernists and Quranists tend to take the most adaptable approach. While stories in which Muhammad shows qualities such as piety, patience and kindness to children may be emphasised, other aspects of his conduct reported in the tradition can be controversial. | |||
==Relevant Quotations== | |||
===Quran=== | |||
{{quote|{{qtt|33|21}}| | {{quote|{{qtt|33|21}}| | ||
''' | '''Original:''' لَّقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرً | ||
''' | '''Translation:''' (It) had been for you in God's messenger a good example/model to who was hoping/expecting God, and the Day the Last/Resurrection Day, and remembered/mentioned God much. }} | ||
{{quote|{{qtt|60|4}}| | {{quote|{{qtt|60|4}}| | ||
''' | '''Original:''' | ||
قَدْ كَانَتْ لَكُمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ فِي إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَالَّذِينَ مَعَهُ إِذْ قَالُوا لِقَوْمِهِمْ إِنَّا بُرَآءُ مِنكُمْ وَمِمَّا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن دُونِ اللَّهِ كَفَرْنَا بِكُمْ وَبَدَا بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمُ الْعَدَاوَةُ وَالْبَغْضَاءُ أَبَدًا حَتَّىٰ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَحْدَهُ إِلَّا قَوْلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ لَأَسْتَغْفِرَنَّ لَكَ وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ رَّبَّنَا لَكَ وَمَا أَمْلِكُ لَكَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِن شَيْءٍ رَّبَّنَا | |||
'''Translation:''' A good example/model (to follow) had been for you in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their nation: "We are innocent/separating from you, and from what you worship from other than God, we disbelieved with you, and the animosity and the intense hatred appeared between us and between you (for) ever (E), until you believe with (in) God alone." Except Abraham's word/statement to his father: "I will ask for forgiveness for you, and I do not own/possess for you from God from a thing, our Lord, on You we relied depended (on) , and to You we returned/repented , and to You (is) the end/destination." }} | |||
{{quote|{{qtt|60|6}}| | {{quote|{{qtt|60|6}}| | ||
''' | '''Original:''' لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِيهِمْ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَمَن يَتَوَلَّ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْغَنِيُّ الْحَمِيد | ||
'''Translation:''' A good example/model (to follow) had been for you in them, to who was hoping/expecting God, and the Day the Last/Resurrection Day; and who turns away, so then God, He is the rich, the praiseworthy/commendable.}} | |||
See related: [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#Hadith_and_Sunnah|Islamic Theology/Hadith and Sunnah]] | See related: [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#Hadith_and_Sunnah|Islamic Theology/Hadith and Sunnah]] | ||
=== Lane's Lexicon === | ===Lane's Lexicon=== | ||
{{quote|[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/1_ALIF.htm Lane's Lexicon - Alif Siin Waw]| | {{quote|[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/1_ALIF.htm Lane's Lexicon - Alif Siin Waw]| | ||
'''Alif-Siin-Waw''': to imitate any one. uswah - model, imitation, relief, consolation, pattern, example worthy of imitation. | '''Alif-Siin-Waw''': to imitate any one. uswah - model, imitation, relief, consolation, pattern, example worthy of imitation. | ||
| Line 30: | Line 28: | ||
uswah n.f. {{Quran|33|21}}, {{Quran|60|4}}, {{Quran|60|6}}}} | uswah n.f. {{Quran|33|21}}, {{Quran|60|4}}, {{Quran|60|6}}}} | ||
== | ==Historical Moral Relativism vs Uswa Hasana== | ||
Modern historians tend to approach the study of particular historical periods, governments and personages from a perspective of historical and cultural relativism. So when in the course of study it comes to light that for instance Julius Caesar sold the women and children of the Gauls he defeated into slavery and paraded his enemy, the Gaulish king/warlord Vercingetorix, like an animal through Rome before executing him (likely by strangulation), although not necessarily endorsing these actions historians will tend to offer context such as explaining that such actions were not at all unusual for other people at the time. On the other hand, when a leader such as Adolf Hitler ordered his soldiers and security forces entering the Soviet Union to specifically ignore international treaties on the treatment of prisoners of war in order to brutalize and murder as many "sub-humans" as possible or to set up industrial killing camps with the objective of physically annihilating entire ethnic groups, an idea new to the entire history of mankind, historians tend to pass judgement on these actions as being worse for breaking the contemporary norms of the times these leaders lived in, exceeding even their contemporaries' expectations of human cruelty and viciousness. | |||
When historians turn to the historical narratives of Muhammad offered in the sira, tafsir and hadith traditions, many actions such as Muhammad massacring and enslaving the [[Banu Qurayza]], taking [[Safiyah]] as a slave-wife after executing her husband, or ordering the execution of Meccan poets who had written verses against him once he conquered Mecca are contextualized by noting that these actions were in keeping with the mores and expectations of warfare and statecraft in the Late Antique/early medieval Middle East. This is more often than not perfectly true--contemporary Arabs potentates, the Romans in Byzantium and the Sassanid Persians had no concept of "human rights", "freedom of speech", or "freedom of religion" inter alia and routinely committed what would today be called crimes against humanity against minority religious groups such as the Manicheans, flaying the flesh from their bones and crucifying them, killing prisoners of war when ransom was not received, and both empires were heavily dependent on slave labor, including the practice of creating eunuchs through forced castration. | |||
It must, however, be noted that the Islamic concept of "Uswa Hasana" stands in direct contradiction to this modern historical methodology. When Muhammad married Aisha at 6 and consummated the marriage when she was 9, this was not simply the action of a man living in a pre-modern culture where women married and bore children very young to assist in their survival; As the perfect man and excellent model of conduct, the story of his marriage has hampered efforts to eradicate child marriage in some countries around the world in the modern age. When Muhammad reportedly ordered the ancient pagan statues of Mecca smashed and all pagans across the Arabian peninsula given the choice of Islam or the sword, this inspired centuries of iconoclasm and oppression as well as more recent extremism including [[Islamic Law#Music and Art|the ancient Buddha statues of Afghanistan which were dynamited]] by the Taliban, though Clerics from Egypt, whose own ancient religious heritage has only suffered minimal Christian and Muslim iconoclasm over the centuries, denounced the Taliban's actions. | |||
Muhammad repeatedly told his followers to follow his [[Sunnah]] (example) and in the [[Qur'an]] we see that [[Allah]] even asserts his morality as being “sublime” ({{Quran|68|4}}), therefore according to the doctrine of Uswa Hasana Muhammad cannot be seen as simply a product of his time. To orthodox Muslim eyes, admitting to a cultural relativism vis-a-vis the prophet appears as blasphemy. Amongst other effects it would essentially invalidate the majority of Islamic [[fiqh]] which very often takes as its starting point the actions and attitudes of the prophet regarding a given question. From an orthodox Islamic perspective, this is simply unthinkable. The Qur'an itself though delivered by the prophet was created by god and is beyond the constraints of time, just as likewise the actions of the prophet were in every way divinely ordained and sanctioned. It is not simply 'inspired' but the very words of Allah, uttered through the lips of his final messenger who pleased his lord in every way. Hence, Muhammad's actions are (and always will be) morally acceptable to orthodox Muslims who hold this doctrine. | |||
==The Implications of Uswa Hasana for Muslims in the Modern World== | |||
Orthodox Muslims today are encouraged by the ulema to emulate Muhammad and his 7<Sup>th</Sup> century actions (as remembered by scholars writing in the 8<Sup>th</Sup>, 9<Sup>th</Sup>, 10<Sup>th</Sup>, 11<Sup>th</Sup>, 12<Sup>th</Sup> and 13<Sup>th</Sup> centuries, when Islamic doctrine and supremacy was unquestioned and unchallenged in its own lands) as closely as they can, as a form of devotion to Allah. Due to this, the actions and ideas endorsed by orthodox Islamic scholars often stand in stark contrast to modern ideas of human rights, women's rights, minority rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion inter alia. Some examples include: | |||
Muhammad and child marriage: | |||
{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3310}}|A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's Apostle (Mohammad) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.}} | {{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3310}}|A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's Apostle (Mohammad) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.}} | ||
Many Muslim clerics in modern times for this reason have opposed (though some have supported) the raising of the age of marriage in most Muslim countries to 16 or 18 for girls.<ref>Büchler, A. and Schlatter, C. (2013) [https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/78204/ Marriage age in islamic and contemporary muslim family laws. A comparative survey] Journal of Islamic and Middle Eastern Law (EJIMEL), 1(2):37-74.</ref> | |||
Muhammad and the murder of hundreds of prisoners of war: | |||
{{Quote|{{citation|title=The Life of Muhammad|trans_title=Sirat Rasul Allah|ISBN=0-19-636033-1|year=1955|publisher=Oxford UP|author1=Ibn Ishaq (d. 768)|author2=Ibn Hisham (d. 833)|editor=A. Guillaume|url=https://archive.org/details/GuillaumeATheLifeOfMuhammad/page/n1/mode/2up|page=464}}<BR>{{citation|title=سيرة ابن هشام ت السقا|author1=ابن إسحاق|author2=ابن هشام|url=https://app.turath.io/book/23833|publisher=al-Maktabah al-Shamilah|volume=vol. 2|page=240-241}} | |||
{{ | |ثُمَّ بَعَثَ إلَيْهِمْ، فَضَرَبَ أَعْنَاقَهُمْ فِي تِلْكَ الْخَنَادِقِ، يُخْرَجُ بِهِمْ إلَيْهِ أَرْسَالًا، وَفِيهِمْ عَدُوُّ اللَّهِ حُيَيُّ بْنُ أَخْطَبَ، وَكَعْبُ بْنُ أَسَدٍ، رَأْسُ الْقَوْمِ، وهم ستّ مائَة أَو سبع مائَة، وَالْمُكْثِرُ لَهُمْ يَقُولُ: كَانُوا بَين الثمان مائَة وَالتسع مائَة. | ||
Then he (Muhammad) sent for them and struck off their heads in trenches as they were brought to him in batches. Among them was the enemy of Allah Huyyay bin Akhtab and Ka'b bin Asad their chief. There were 600 or 700 in all, though some put the figure as high as 800 or 900.}} | |||
All countries of the world have signed the 1949 Geneva convention, which limits mistreatment of prisoners. Nevertheless, Islamic extremist groups have used such actions of the prophet as a pretext for murdering captured enemy soldiers, civilians, and minorities, even creating a genre of prisoner execution videos. | |||
[ | Muhammad and slavery: | ||
{{Quote|Zad al Ma'ad by Ibn Qayyim pp. 114-16, [https://archive.org/details/ProvisionsOfTheAfterlife/page/30/mode/1 Translation Ismail Abdus Salaam pp. 30-31]|Aboo 'Ubayda has said: his female slaves were four: Maariya who conceived Ibraaheem, Rayhaana, Jameela, and a slave whome he received from Zaynab Bint Jahsh. | |||
Salma, Umm Raafi', Mayboona, Khadira, Radwa, Razeena, Umm Dameera, and Maymoona Bint Abee 'Usayyib were also his slaves.}} | |||
{{Quote|Zad al Ma'ad by Ibn Qayyim pp. 114-16, [https://archive.org/details/ProvisionsOfTheAfterlife/page/30/mode/1 Translation Ismail Abdus Salaam pp. 30-31]|Zayd Bin Haaritha was his male slave whom he emancipated and married to Umm Ayman who gave birth to Usaama. Aslam, Aboo Raafi', Thawbaan, Saleem, Saalih, Rabaah, Yasaar, Mud'im, and Karkara were his slaves, and Mud'im and Karkara were slain at Khaybar, and Allaah knows best. | |||
{{ | Anjasha and Mihraan whom the messenger of Allaah (may Allaah send salutations upon him) named Safeena were his slaves, and the messenger of Allaah (may Allaah send salutations upon him) emancipated him according to Aboo Haatim. | ||
Aboo Mashrah, Aflah, 'Ubayd, Keesaan, Dhakwaan, Mihraan, Mirwaan, Hunayn, Sandar, Fudaala, Maaboor, Waaqid, Aboo Waaqid, Qassaam, Aboo 'Usayyib and Muwayhiba were also his slaves.}} | |||
There is a general Islamic consensus that slavery is no longer permitted in the modern context (though some disagree), only starting when Western powers, especially the British, forced its widespread abolition in the 19th and 20th century. However, when ISIS captured the "pagan" Yazidis of Sinjar, this conduct was used as a pretext for taking young male Yazidis and females Yazidis as slaves, including sex slaves. | |||
Muhammad and homosexuality: | |||
{{quote | {{Al Tirmidhi|2|3|15|1457}}|It was narrated by Jaabir (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: There is nothing I fear for my ummah more than the deed of the people of Loot."}} | |||
To this day, homosexuality remains illegal in most Muslim countries; homosexual marriage equality is not even a discussed issue in the popular discourse of most Muslim countries, and some Muslim governments and extremist groups make a point of executing people (mostly men) who engage in homosexual relationships. | |||
Muhammad and domestic violence against women: | |||
{{Quote|{{Muslim|4|2127}}| Aisha: I said, Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransom for you, and then I told him (the whole story). He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain.}} | {{Quote|{{Muslim|4|2127}}| Aisha: I said, Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransom for you, and then I told him (the whole story). He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain.}} | ||
To this day, Islamic religious scholars by and large continue to endorse the beating of disobedient wives by their husbands (with limitations, though likely ineffectual), and this is not seen as a crime in the laws of most Muslim countries. | |||
In contemporary discourse modern Muslims who wish to live and practice their faith in accordance with modern norms of behavior often condemn such actions as barbaric, and often seek to invoke Muhammad's cultural context to explain them. The doctrine of Uswa Hasana, however, makes this argument exceedingly difficult, especially when the argument is between Muslims who wish to follow modern mores and traditionalist Muslims who wish to hew to the classical understanding of the canonical Islamic sources. To take one example, Muhammad himself is claimed to have said: “A man should not be asked why he beats his wife.”<ref>{{Ibn Majah||3|9|1986}} (graded Hasan, "good", by Dar-us-Salam, though da'if "weak" by al-Albani). [https://web.archive.org/web/20250306231801/https://sunnah.com/ibnmajah:1986 Grading information on sunnah.com (archive)] before it was removed. Similarly, "A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife." {{Abu Dawud|11|2142}}, though this is graded da'if, "weak" authenticity by al-Albani.</ref> | |||
== | ==Challenges to Uswa Hasana from Within the Islamic Tradition== | ||
An often mentioned counterpoint to Uswa Hasana is that the prophet himself appears to be rebuked in surah 80 and told to repent, thus proving that Muhammad was not perfect. Muhammad is rebuked in the Qur'an for turning away from a blind man, but this has not traditionally been taken as proof against the doctrine of Uswa Hasana. In Islam, prophets are ''ma'asoom'' معصوم (infallible/sinless/innocent). They may err (''Zallat'' زلات "slips"), but this is not the same as committing a sin. Sin in Islam has traditionally been seen as doing something against Allah's prescribed teachings. Muhammad did not sin because the incident involving the blind man occurred prior to Allah admonishing him. An act thus only becomes a sin after Allah ordains it as such. For example, Muhammad and the early Muslims drank [[alcohol]], but this allowance was abrogated by a later Qur'anic revelation, and the scholars have not traditionally held that Muhammad committed a sin here. | |||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
* [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#Hadith_and_Sunnah|Islamic Theology/ Hadith and Sunnah]] | *[[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#Hadith_and_Sunnah|Islamic Theology/ Hadith and Sunnah]] | ||
* [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad|Muhammad's Sunnah]] | *[[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Muhammad|Muhammad's Sunnah]] | ||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
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'''Islamic sites''' | '''Islamic sites''' | ||
* [{{Reference archive|1=http://www.iqra.net/verses-muhammad/|2=2012-02-07}} Some Selected Verses From The Holy Qur'an On OUR BELOVED PROPHET MUHAMMAD] | *[{{Reference archive|1=http://www.iqra.net/verses-muhammad/|2=2012-02-07}} Some Selected Verses From The Holy Qur'an On OUR BELOVED PROPHET MUHAMMAD] | ||
*[{{Reference archive|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20090122054220/http://islamia.com/the_last_prophet.htm|2=2011-07-29}} The Last Prophet - Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets] | *[{{Reference archive|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20090122054220/http://islamia.com/the_last_prophet.htm|2=2011-07-29}} The Last Prophet - Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets] | ||
'''Videos''' | '''Videos''' | ||
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlcgbhvGRWE&feature=player_embedded Sami Zaatari vs. David Wood: Is Muhammad a Good Role Model for Society?] | *[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlcgbhvGRWE&feature=player_embedded Sami Zaatari vs. David Wood: Is Muhammad a Good Role Model for Society?] | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
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[[Category:Muhammad]] | [[Category:Muhammad]] | ||
[[Category:Islamic Law]] | [[Category:Shariah (Islamic Law)]] | ||
[[ | [[Category:Hadith]] | ||
[[Category:Sacred history]] | |||
[[Category:Society and human nature]] | |||
[[Category:Sirah]] | |||
[[Category:Fiqh (legal theory)]] | |||
[[ar:الأسوة_الحسنة]] | |||