I was thinking recently about some of the revolutionary things that happened a thousand plus years ago that are still not widely practiced now. These were some of the things that the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did during his time:
1. Never to burn or destroy a tree during war. This day, trees are still being slashed and burned in many places around the world even with no wars going on.
2. When he was 25 he married a woman in her 40s and they were really happy till the day she died.
The media today thinks young men marrying older women is a new ‘trend’, helped in part by advances in cosmetic surgery.
3. Everyone is equal. Everyone.
The Prophet pbuh once suggested a black man for an arab lady and her father protested the engagement, saying “but he’s black”. Upon hearing that the daughter thought, if the Prophet suggested this man for me then he must be a good man and told her father that she agreed to marry him. There are still many many communities now, even some muslim communities who are against marrying people of different backgrounds because of their race and skin color.
4. He banned alcohol.
Doctors will tell you alcohol is really BAD for you. Everyone knows that. Victims of drink driving and alcoholic abuse victims definitely know that. Who’s brave enough now to actually face the facts and ban it ?
5. Don’t take stones, idols, objects as your god.
This sounds very basic, right? Many people today still worship idols created out of their own hands, worship their forefathers and ancestors and other things that I don’t even want to know. I hear some people in India think Amitabh Bachan is god. Someone please tell me that’s not true.
I’m just thinking how very revolutionary he was and how we, collectively, as human beings are still not up to his high standards yet which he achieved for his community 1400 plus years ago. It was not just some teachings or some kind of philosophy that sound really nice on paper, but a real achievement of a morally advanced community.
