Exploring the Enlightening Dialogue: Insights and Guidance from the Hadith of Gabriel in Islamic Tradition” Umar ibn al-Khattab wrote, “One day, when we were in the presence of the messenger of God, a person dressed in white and black hair came right up to us.
The marks of travel were not visible on him, and none of us recognized the man. In front of the Prophet Lea, on his knees and putting his hands on his legs, He declared, “Tell me, Muhammad, about the importance of submission.”
He explained, “Submission is that you must prove to the fact that God is not other than God as well as that Muhammad is the messenger of God. You must perform the ritual prayer, pay the tax on alms and fast during Ramadan, and then go to the House if you can travel there.”
The man replied, “You have spoken the truth.” We were amazed at his questioning and later declaring he’d spoken the truth. He replied, “Now explain to me what faith is.”
He said, “Faith means that you believe in God, His angels, His creation, His writings, his messengers, and also the Last Day and that you trust in the measurement of your faith, the good and its bad.”
Commenting on the fact that he’d spoken his truthful words, he stated, “Now tell me about doing what you love to do.”
He responded, “Doing what is beautiful is to worship God like you can see Him. Even if you cannot see Him, He can see you.”
The man replied, “Tell me about the hour.”
The Prophet responded, “About that, he who is being questioned does not know more than the person asking.”
The man replied, “Then tell me about its markings.”
He stated, “The slave girl will have a mistress born to her, and you’ll be able to witness the barefoot naked, the poor, and shepherds fighting against each other for the building.”
The man left. After I waited for some time, the Prophet asked me, “Do you recognize who the person asking you questions was? Was it ‘Umar?” I responded, “God and His messenger are the best. “He told me, “He was Gabriel. He was here to teach you about your faith. “
To explain the meaning of this hadith, we can expand it with the background details that will be evident to the original listeners but not to a person who is hundreds of miles and centuries away.
Think about the situation. It is the Messenger of God, who was at the time the most powerful human being on the planet of planet (as his fellow travelers were concerned, and the record of his time confirms this), is sitting on the edge of a desert within Medina with a few of his friends who are people who believe that God is the representative of God. Then, suddenly, a man appears who is not recognized by anyone.
Medina is, at present, a tiny town in the middle of the desert (with the population being a couple of hundred or maybe just a few thousand). Everyone knows each other. No incident is minor if someone travels at a point, given the difficulties of traveling and the tiny population. Everybody is informed about new arrivals within hours.
The personal connections that are forged by tribal, familial, or other bonds guarantee that news gets out faster than could be achieved by the current six o’clock news.
There is a man no one has ever heard of, yet nobody has made it to town for a few days except the uncle of that and so, whom a number of them have seen.
Not only do the people around him not identify the individual, but he also needs to display evidence of travel, which is quite odd. He might be a new traveler if they need to recognize him.
One wouldn’t be able to re-energize that fast after several days through the desert, even if they were traveling only at night, riding the back of a camel.
(You might think you are feeling bad after spending six hours in a vehicle- think of six weeks in the dustiest and hottest possible environment without air-conditioned places to stop for soda or coffee.)
When the person arrives, everyone is on at the ready. Who could this man be, or how could he come there without us knowing about it? Another interesting fact:
The man is clearly on to the prophet of God. He walks right up to the Prophet and sits before him, with his knees pressed against those of the Prophet’s knees. The Prophet kneels, not in a prayer, as contemporary Westerners would kneel. It is because kneeling was, for the majority of Orientals, the most simple and, at the same time, the most respectful method of sitting.
Keep in mind that even in the houses, chairs were not commonplace. People would sit on the ground as they still do in many parts of the world, including some of the world’s wealthiest and most sophisticated regions, including Japan. For the majority of the time, chairs were the privilege of the kings.
It is not advisable to walk into a person’s face and kneel to his back unless he was like, say, you were your brother or a close acquaintance. The usual method, even if the person in question is a regular person, is to greet him at an appropriate distance and maintain the distance.
However, the person who is a stranger in the desert knows Muhammad quite well. He even puts his hands on Muhammad’s thighs. That is a rare gesture when the man is not a stranger. The man calls Muhammad by his first name, while Muslims typically address him by his name, the Prophet of God. The man starts talking without introductions, as it were if he’d been present throughout the entire time.
After Muhammad responds to the man’s initial question, he says, “You have spoken the truth.” “‘Umar says, “We were surprised at the man’s questioning and declaring that he’d told in truth.” This is a huge understatement. Most likely, the other guests were shocked.
What kind of disrespect do you think this was? To stand up to God’s messenger, start to question him, and then smack him on the forehead like a schoolboy! It’s unimaginable.
However, it is also true that the group of companions got their information from Muhammad. He acted like everything was completely normal and natural. What can they do other than be able to emulate his behavior?
After the man departs, Muhammad waits for his fellow passengers to contemplate the bizarre incident. Then, he explained to the group what had transpired. They will never forget, and you can be sure that by evening, all the people in Medina were aware of Gabriel’s appearance.
There was no way to forget this event, as the Prophet had provided the Muslims with their religion in an easy-to-understand way. If anyone ever were interested in knowing the most important aspects of Islam, they only needed to recall the events that took place on this day.
Categories: PRAYER (Salat), ALMS (Zakat), SAWN (Fasting) HAJJ (Pilgrimage) & DUA (Supplications), Hadith and Tafseer, The Holy Quran, Quran Jaz 1- 114
Topics: Ushr and Zakat, Hijab, Arabic Corner, Faith, Islamic History, Biography, Sirat ul Nabi PBUH, Islamic Studies, Halal & Haram
