Canada: Missionary zeal brings story of Prophet Muhammad to life in Perth

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"The prophet would never abuse those who abused him. He desperately hated war." As such, he signed a rather lopsided peace treaty with the Meccans - lopsided in their favour.

Perth Mayor John Fenik meets with Ahmadiyya Muslim members.
Photo: Desmond Devoy

Ahmadiyya Times | News Watch | US Desk
Source/Credit: Perth Courier | Inside Ottawa Valley
By Desmond Devoy | Jun 12, 2014

Instead of preaching to the converted, Ata-ul-Wahid LaHaye preached as the converted.

LaHaye, who sits on the national executive of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at community in Canada, has the rather unique title of being in charge of looking after new converts to Islam.

And though last week's presentation of "Muhammad: The Astonishing Story of the Prophet" was intended to inform the Perth community about the life of their prophet Muhammad, rather then evangelize for the faith, the zeal of the convert still shone through.

"Tonight, it is my job... to take all of us on a journey," said LaHaye, standing on the stage of the Perth Studio Theatre on Wednesday, June 4. "Our final destination won't be any place you have been before. If I do my job right, if just for a fleeting moment, (I will) bring us into the presence of God Himself."

The land of Arabia back in the sixth century was, by LaHaye's own admission, "an age of ignorance and darkness."

For a man born in humble beginnings in the town of Mecca in modern-day Saudi Arabia, Muhammad's arrival was foretold in a rather grand fashion.

The presentation put forward the belief that Muhammad was descended from a strong, biblical lineage. The Prophet Abraham appears in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament of the bible. Through his son Isaac, prophets and leaders such as Moses, Jesus, Jacob and Joseph are able to trace their lineage. The line of Abraham's other son, Ishmael, is a little bit more obscure by comparison,

but Muslims believe that he settled in or around Mecca, and that Muhammad is descended from him.

Just as the infant Jesus did not cry, so too did those around the infant Muhammad notice that this was no ordinary child.

"His mother knew he was no ordinary child," he said.

Any great person has to contend with hardship, and Muhammad was no exception. His father died before he was born, and his mother died when he was six years old. He was taken in by a beloved grandfather, but he too died about two years afterwards. He was then raised by his uncle. This made the young Muhammad all too aware of suffering, and he began to move away from the prevalent superstition of the day, as well as common vices like gambling, drinking, and illicit relations.

When he was 25 years old he took a wife. Not surprising for a

man of that era, but more surprising was that it was his wife-to-be - 15 years his senior, no less - who proposed marriage. She was a well-to-do woman herself, but, upon their marriage, he freed all of her slaves.

Muhammad became weary of the idol-worshiping, corruption and vendettas he saw being carried out around him.

"His anguish drove him to shun social contact," he said, so, like Jesus walking in the desert for 40 days, or Moses standing atop Mount Sinai, in 610 AD, he made off for a cave for a time of praying and meditating.

"It was a human soul seeking divine light and understanding," he said. It was here that he received his first divine revelation. "Put yourself in that cave at that time. It is dark, it is quiet." Suddenly, you are aware of another presence.

"You have gone, in an instant, from absolute peace to absolute

terror," said LaHaye. "You do not know what is happening." In the cave, he heard the audible voice of God.

"That experience has left you trembling and terrified. (Afterwards) it is peaceful, (but) it is not quiet."

After this, he ran home to his wife, who became his first convert. They sought out one of her cousins, who had converted from paganism to Christianity and knew scripture. He spoke to Muhammad and then prophesized that an angel had indeed descended on Muhammad - and that he would, in time, be driven out of Mecca by his own people.

At the time, there were 360 idols in Mecca, nearly one for every day of the year.

"To reject them over Muhammad and his followers and their one God? Inconceivable," said LaHaye. And yet, he went about proclaiming his belief in one God, stating publicly that angels were sending him messages from God. One of his converts was an African slave named Bilal, who was tortured for his beliefs - but never gave up his belief in only one God, even as his torment continued.

"When was a prophet's message ever been met with anything other than disdain, abuse and mocking?" asked LaHaye.

Here, Muhammad and his followers entered a time of great suffering. And yet, he continued to preach the word. He was rejected at a village in the desert, and as he left, empty-handed, the children of the village ran after him, taunting him as he walked.

"You would think that, at this point in his life, he would have given up," said LaHaye. "But remember, this is a story of perseverance."

Following more than a decade of persecution, Muslims migrated to the city of Medina. On the night he was to leave Mecca, a group of Meccans lay in wait, hoping to kill Muhammad. But he and an aide, Abu Bakr, slipped by, undetected, in disguise.

Practice in peace In Medina, they found a place where they could "practice their religion in peace." In that town, Muhammad helped craft the Charter of Medina, which promised equal rights for all of the city's citizens, be they Jew, Christian, Pagan or Muslim, and attempted to end inter-tribal fighting.

"Here we discover that Muhammad never enforced his sharia law on anyone," said LaHaye. However, "by no means were things rosy and easy for Muhammad and his followers." In fact, the Meccans were still causing him grief, making preparations "for all-out war. They brought war to the prophet's door."

The Meccans called Muslims "a disease." The war ensued and, making things all the more fraught, "bear in mind that they were all very close relatives," although fighting on opposite sides.

In time, Muhammad's forces won the war, taking over Mecca, but his victory was not to be a vengeful one, according to La-Haye.

"The prophet would never abuse those who abused him," insisted LaHaye. "He desperately hated war." As such, he signed a rather lopsided peace treaty with the Meccans - lopsided in their favour.

"It is one of the few times that his followers openly disagreed

with him," said LaHaye.

After 13 years of persecution, and eight years of war, "what would you do?" LaHaye asked. Some would be forgiven for wanting to settle scores and seek revenge and retribution. But Muhammad told his former Meccan enemies, "I will treat you like the prophet Joseph did with his brothers," referring to the Old Testament story of Joseph and his coat of many colours. Muhammad declared a general amnesty, absolving people of their crimes. But LaHaye noted that this part of the story is often missed in modern tellings of Muhammad's life.

"That is what is observed, when the world only sees the battle and not the victory," he said. Muhammad did allow his followers their moment of glory though - letting Bilal climb to the top of a tower and call out the Muslim call to prayer, in the city where he had once been tortured for his beliefs.

"This is the victory of Islam," said LaHaye. The presentation closed with the words of Muhammad himself: "Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave."

Imtiaz Ahmed, a missionary for the Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama'at community, explained during a pre-presentation interview, that some perceptions of Islam are not understood by those outside of the faith. Even within the faith, there are divisions.

"I do not believe... in your definition of jihad," said Ahmed, of how his community views other definitions of jihad. "It is not what they believe, to go out and kill innocent people." Rather, for him and his community, "it is a struggle within yourself, to make yourself better."

With files from Sarah Wahidi


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