Reviving The Teaching of Muhammad SAW

This month in Islamic calendar is the month in which the great prophet Muhammad SAW* was born and died. Here nearby my place every evening after adzan maghrib (evening praying call) I heard people reciting maulid dibaa', a salutation recital in respecting the birth of the great prophet Muhammad SAW. In respecting and greeting his birthday, I'd like to write something about the best man ever, the great and beloved prophet Muhammad SAW.


Indescribable Figure

Again you read me enough about vision. This time is a vision I had many-many years ago when I was in high school. In my vision dream, I met a man wearing a pilgrimage (Hajj) costume we called ihram, a white piece of clothes. He had a well-built figure with a handsome face. He had some people standing behind him. As he was about to leave, I begged him to let me follow him and I cried in my begging to be his follower. And as I awoke I remembered I had tears in my eyes and the name of the great prophet Muhammad SAW was written in my tongue, my mind and my heart. That day I knew I had met him in my dream.

According to his saying called hadist, he SAW said that if anyone ever saw him in their dream, it would be a true vision because the devil can not assume his image. It is why unlike any other religion, who made the images of their avatars or messengers, in Islam we can't draw the image of prophet Muhammad SAW even though some have the vision of meeting him. We may only write his name in arabic or alphabetical or any other letters to represent him SAW.

His greatness is undescribable 

How or why so? Well, I can give you both logical and illogical answers to that question.

For logical answer, I will give you a parable to the existing avatars that we have their drawing made by their followers. We have several choices from Jesus, Budha to Khrisna whose followers are scattered around the world from different human race. If we take their images that were made by their followers from different places and races, we will see how slightly different their look would be. If we take the pictures of Jesus that is made by the white men compared to the Indian or African we will notice their different. This is also happened to the images of Budha. You can compare the pictures of Budha made by Indian to Chinese or Japanese. They're different. So now if you ask yourself a question, which one is the correct one? No one can really answer for sure. The best they can say is 'basically they're the same'.

The illogical answer will be based on my other experience in trying to understand why the look of my first teacher is often assumed to come from one of the human races nowadays. In my interaction with his other students from different races, I heard the students from chinese background said that he looked like chinese, while the students from indian said he looked like indian, the students from african said he looked like african, the students from europe said he looked like european, the students from philipines said he looked like philipines. Even those who aren't his students said that he looked like local people.

I guess it is because the greatness of prophet Muhammad SAW is beyond imagination of the mind. His greatness isn't limited to the physical appearance. It is much more than that. It is in his best virtues and characters, his best knowledge and wisdom, his magical and living experience, and his very existence.


Living Knowledge from Living Experience

As my life story unfolded, the vision become reality. And reflecting on that vision gave me so much gratitude. My begging had been granted through the work of my two inner teachers. How Most Generous Allah is in fulfilling my wish. From them I get living knowledge taught by living teachers and having living experience to understand why the companions (sahabat) of the great prophet Muhammad SAW loved him so much and would do anything to please him without reserve.

From my first teacher I learned the nature of my true self that I used to dislike when compared to other docile girls. It was when I could accept me as I was, am and will be, I feel so much gratitude for this life that has been given without I ever asked for it. From understanding my true nature as human being, I learn to understand the attributes of Allah as the Most Compassionate and Most Merciful of All. And from my relationship with my teacher I learned the importance of Prophet Muhammad SAW (as well as other prophets) as His messengers to mankind.

Al Qur'anul Kariim - The Exalted Readings
and Prophet Muhammad SAW is the walking Qur'an 

In the process of learning my true self, Allah showed His greater blessings by directing the course of my life to be the student of thariqah. From my thariqah teacher I learned the essence of the teaching taught by Prophet Muhammad SAW through regulation we called religion practice or shari'ah. I learned to guard my heart and mind in directing my inner and outer motion. Furthermore I learned some of the hidden meaning within the Qur'anic verses and how to employ them to help people heal themselves for it has been stated in the verse Surah Al Isra' (17): 82 "We send down (stage by stage) in the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe: to the unjust it causes nothing but loss after loss."

These kind of experiences certainly are very different from common educational institution. In common educational institution students don't always have a very special relationship with their teachers due to several reason. Either they dislike the subjects or the teacher was mean or they have their own agenda and they don't feel the need to learn it or the teachers don't set good example to them. But as I learned Self Knowledge and Thariqah, something is made alive. My heart is made aware to things that I used to think as meaningless, my consciousness is awakened, misconception is clarified and my mind is pacified and made surrender to the heart. From the two teachings, they made what used to be difficult to understand become easy to undesrtand.


The Way

One of the holy scriptures that I think is very difficult to grasp and dizzying to be taken by the mind is the verses in Tao Te Ching. In studying Tao which to some people including some Muslims considered to be different, I refered to the saying of Prophet Muhammad SAW (hadist) that we should pursue knowledge as far as to China. As I understood the word Tao in chinese means The Way which in arabic is ath thariq, I welcome its content to enrich my heart in understanding divine wisdom

There is a beautiful verse in Tao Te Ching to describe the Way.

1. The Way

A route, way, path, doctrine or principle 

The Way that can be experienced is not true.
The world that can be constructed is not real.
The Way manifests all that happens and may happen;
The world represents all that exists and may exist.


To experience without abstraction is to sense the world;
To experience with abstraction is to know the world.
Those two experiences are indistinguishable;
Their construction differs but their effect is the same.


Beyond the gate of experience flows the Way,
Which is ever greater and more subtle than the world.

As my mind and my heart opened to the greatness and the subtlety of the Way, that was the time when I truly understood why Quran was revealed stage by stage to the prophet Muhammad SAW as mentioned in the QS Al Isra (17): 106 that "It is (a Qur'an) which We have divided (into parts from time to time), in order that thou mightest recite it to men at intervals: We have revealed it by stages."



Amazing Imaan

How lucky are those who lived in the era of Prophet Muhammad SAW. Are they? Well, not really. In another hadist during his conversation with his companions, Prophet Muhammad SAW mentioned something very uplifting and here is the story:


One day the Messenger of Allah SAW asked his companions: “ Which of God’s creatures possess the most `mazing iman (faith)?” 

“The Angels,” answered his companions.

“How would the Angels not have faith in Allah when they are always close to Him,” replied the Messenger in disagreement.

“The prophets,” answered the other companions.

“How would the prophets not have faith when words of God are revealed unto them?” the Messenger disagreed.

“We – your companions?” the companions suggested.

“How would you not have faith when I am always amidst you?” retorted the Messenger.

Finally the Messenger decreed:

They read the Quran and are faithful to all its contents

“The creatures with the most amazing iman are those who live after me. They have never met me but they declare faith in me. They love me more than they love their children and elders. They are my Ikhwan (Brothers). They read the Quran and are faithful to all its contents.” (Related by Abu Ya’la)

“O Abu Bakr,” the Messenger of Allah SAW asked, “Do you not long for my Ikhwan since they also love you because you are my companion?” (Related by Ibnu Hajar Asqalani)

“Good tidings for those who meet and declare faith in me. And sevenfold good tidings for those who declare faith in me but have never met me.” (Related by Ahmad)

Conferring the blessings

Of all the practices in thariqah, the most common one is the remembrance (arabic: dzikr). It is in following the command of Allah within the Qur'an Surah Al Ahzab " O you who have believed, remember Allah with much remembrance " [33: 41] and Surah Ar Ra'd (13): 28 "Those who have believed and whose hearts are assured by the remembrance of Allah . Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts are assured" [13: 28]. So they have many kind of remembrance taken from the qur'anic verses, such as Bismillah (In the name of Allah), Alhamdulillah (All Praises belong to Allah), Astaghfirullah (I ask forgiveness to Allah), Subhanallah (Glory be to Allah), Allahuakbar (Great is Allah) and so on. 

Shalawat Tunjina

Of all the remembrance, there is one remembrance that is very unique. This one remembrance is in following the command of Allah within the Qur'an surah Al Ahzab " Indeed, Allah confers blessing upon the Prophet, and His angels [ask Him to do so]. O you who have believed, ask [ Allah to confer] blessing upon him and ask [ Allah to grant him] peace. " [33:56]. With that command we have Muslim confer the blessings to Prophet Muhammad SAW called shalawat by saying "Allohumma sholli alaa Muhammadin wa sallim." means O Allah grant him peace. They have many ways in conferring the blessing from short one to long one. They are essentially the same but have different names such as Shalawat Ibrahimiyah, Shalawat Tunjina, Shalawat Nur Dzat, Shalawat Fatih, Shalawat Nariyah, Shalawat Kamilah, Shalawat Thibbil Quluub, Shalawat Tafrijiyah, Shalawat Badr and so on.

Sibghatullah

To common people, they may do shalawat because they are following what is commanded to them without trying to understand further the meaning or the purpose why they do such things. For me, I personally prefer to do something based on knowledge and wisdom, so I tried to seek that understanding. As I learned thariqah I found my understanding through the practices. And the verse from Tao Te Ching explained it very well. 

11. Tools

Dzikr - dyeing the fabric of life with the Attributes of Allah

Thirty spokes meet at a nave; 

Because of the hole we may use the wheel. 

Clay is moulded into a vessel; 

Because of the hollow we may use the cup. 

Walls are built around a hearth; 

Because of the doors we may use the house. 

Thus tools come from what exists, 

But use from what does not. 

In the other verse within the Qur'an we are commanded to do good as Allah has done good to us " But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters. " [28: 77] 


The question is "How can we ever do good as Allah has done good without having His Attributes which is summarized as al-Asmaul Husna, The Best Names?" 


Here is where this shalawat is important for us. It is to help us in taking Allah's attributes into our being, for in another verse surah al Ahzab (33) Allah has clearly stated " There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often. " [33: 21]. It is NOT that the great prophet Muhammad SAW ever needed the blessings from us, his followers as assumed and claimed by Christian orientalists who dislike the teaching of Islam. It is because we are the ones who need that blessings to be able to take the best names of Allah to be ours.  

Al Asmaul Husna

All these remembrance is to prepare our being both physically and spiritually. And the conferring of blessings to Prophet Muhammad SAW is like projecting the pattern into this being before dyeing them with the divine attributes after cleansing it with repentance. As mentioned in the Qur'an surah Al Baqarah "[And say, "Ours is] the religion of Allah . And who is better than Allah in [ordaining] religion? And we are worshippers of Him." [2:138]. The use of the religion in the translation given (including indonesian interpretation) isn't quite right, because the original arabic word is sibghah which means dyeing or coloring. It is when our life has been colored with remembrance of Allah that our heart is assured. Only then we can do our best, following the example given by the great prophet Muhammad SAW in taking the best attributes of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.  

Allohumma sholli 'alaa Muhammad wa alaa alii Muhammad
O Allah, Let Your mercy come upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad

Wa baarik 'alaa Muhammad wa alaa alii Muhammad
And (O Allah) bless be upon Muhammad and the family of Muhammad

Fil 'aalamiina innaka hamiidum majiid.

In the whole worlds, Truly You are Praiseworthy and Glorious 



* SAW : Shollallaahu Alaihi Wasallam / Peace and salutation be upon him