25 April, 2024

16 Shawwal, 1445 H

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"Silence saves you from regret"

- Imam Ali (as) -

Learning
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Core Curriculum
Section 1 - God, Religion and Islam: An Introduction

  • Topic 1.1 - God, Allah and Religion

  • Topic 1.2 - What is “Religion” and What’s the Point of it Anyways?

  • Topic 1.3 - Introduction to Islam

  • Topic 1.4 - A Brief Introduction to the Prophet Muhammad (s), the Prophet of Islam

Section 2 - Foundations of Islam - Theology

  • Topic 2.1 - Satan, Jinns and Angels: Their Influence in the World

  • Topic 2.2 - The Islamic Concept of the Nafs: Battling the Human Ego

  • Topic 2.3 - The Sharīʿa: Purpose and Practice

  • Topic 2.4 - Nubuwwa: The Purpose of Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 2.5 - Tawhīd: The Unity and Oneness of God in Islam

  • Topic 2.6 - The Usūl al-Dīn: The Fundamental Beliefs of Islam

  • Topic 2.7 - Adala: Divine Justice in Islam

  • Topic 2.8 - Entering Islam: The Shahada

  • Topic 2.9 - Maʿād: The Day of Judgment in Islam

  • Topic 2.10 - Imāmah or divinely guided leadership in Islam after the Prophet Muhammad.

Section 3 - Foundations of Islam - Obligatory Acts

  • Topic 3.1 - Accepting Islam: Putting Faith into Action

  • Topic 3.2 - The Furūʿ al-Dīn: The Fundamental Practices of Islam

  • Topic 3.3 - Salāt: Obligatory Ritual Prayers in Islam

  • Topic 3.4 - Fasting in Islam, its Purpose, Dos and Don’ts

  • Topic 3.5 - The Hajj Pilgrimage

  • Topic 3.6 - The Purpose of Zakat and Khums in Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.7 - Jihād in Islamic Law and Spirituality

  • Topic 3.8 - Commanding the Good and Forbidding Evil in Islam

  • Topic 3.9 - Tawalla and Tabarra, its Basics and Purpose

  • Topic 3.10 - The Five Categories of Islamic Law

  • Topic 3.11 - Niyya: Religious Intention as the Foundation of Islamic Practice

  • Topic 3.12 - Ritual Purity in Islamic Law: Understanding Tahāra and Najāsa

  • Topic 3.13 - Other Obligatory and Forbidden Acts in Islam

Section 4 - Prophethood in Islam

  • Topic 4.1 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Childhood (PART I of III)

  • Topic 4.2 - Bio: The Prophet Muhammad as a Prophet of God (PART II of III)

  • Topic 4.3 - A Brief Biography of the Prophet Muhammad (s): The Prophet’s Character (PART III of III)

  • Topic 4.4 - The Prophet Muhammad (s) as Messenger and Teacher

  • Topic 4.5 - The Prophet and his Relationships

  • Topic 4.6 - The Prophet’s Sunnah and Hadith

  • Topic 4.7 - Ghadīr and Arafah: The Two Last Sermons of the Prophet

  • Topic 4.8 - Jesus and Mary in Islam

Section 5 - The Qur'an and Hadith

  • Topic 5.1 - Islam and Other Religions

  • Topic 5.2 - What is the Qur’an? A Short Introduction to Islam’s Holy Book

  • Topic 5.3 - The Structure of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.4 - The Quran and Islamic law

  • Topic 5.5 - The Qur’an, Allah and Humankind

  • Topic 5.6 - Hadith and Sunnah, difference and variations

  • Topic 5.7 - The Reliability of Hadiths

  • Topic 5.8 - A Reflection on Verses of the Holy Qur’an

  • Topic 5.9 - Hadith al-Thaqalayn

  • Topic 5.10 - Imam Ali (as) and Nahj al-Balagha.

  • Topic 5.11 - Taqlid and Tawḍih Al Masail Genre of Literature

Section 6 - Measuring Good and Bad in Islam

  • Topic 6.1 - Guidance According to Islam

  • Topic 6.2 - Life and Death in Islam

  • Topic 6.3 - Heaven and Hell in Islam

  • Topic 6.4 - The Effects of Our Actions in this World

  • Topic 6.5 - The Gray Areas of Islamic Law and Morality

  • Topic 6.6 - Benefits of Islamic Law in this World

  • Topic 6.7 - Good and Bad Deeds: The Spiritual Consequences of our Choices

  • Topic 6.8 - The Effect of Culture and Environment in Shaping our Religious Choices

  • Topic 6.9 - Fate and the Consequences of our Choices in Islam

  • Topic 6.10 - Trivializing the Harām

  • Topic 6.11 - Sinning Against Others and their Delayed Punishment

  • Topic 6.12 - The Three Kinds of Rights in Islam

  • Topic 6.13 - Major Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.14 - Repentance and Forgiveness of Sins in Islam

  • Topic 6.15 - Kufr in Islam

  • Topic 6.16 - Why Allah Allows People to Sin

Section 7 - The Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 7.1 - Islam and Knowledge: the Importance of Islamic Education

  • Topic 7.2 - The Ahl al-Kisa

  • Topic 7.3 - Imamah in the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.4 - Fatima al-Zahrah (as)

  • Topic 7.5 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam al-Hasan until Imam Muhammad al-Baqir)

  • Topic 7.6 - A Brief Look at the Lives of the Imams (Imam Jafar al-Sadiq until Imam Hasan al-Askari)

  • Topic 7.7 - A Brief Look at the Life and Importance of Imam al-Mahdi (aj)

  • Topic 7.8 - Salawat and Atonement in Islam

  • Topic 7.9 - The Companions (Sahaba) of the Prophet According to the Qur’an

  • Topic 7.10 - Clerical Hierarchies in Muslim Communities

  • Topic 7.11 - Mosques in Islam

  • Topic 7.12 - The Philosophy of Karbala and Majalis

  • Topic 7.13 - A Brief Biography of Imam Ali ibn Abi Talib (as)

  • Topic 7.14 - The Battle of Karbala: A Brief History

Section 8 - Islamic Relationships, Sects and Conflicts

  • Topic 8.1 - Islam and Rights

  • Topic 8.2 - Islam and Religious Conflicts

  • Topic 8.3 - Major Sects of Islam

  • Topic 8.4 - Sunnism and Shi’ism, beginnings and historical developments.

  • Topic 8.5 - Misconceptions about Shi’ism

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Special Topics
Section 9 - Independent Topics

  • Topic 9.1 - Muslim Converts – Welcome to Islam!

  • Topic 9.2 - Basic Dos and Don’ts of Being a Muslim

  • Topic 9.3 - Halal Food and Zabiha

  • Topic 9.4 - Modesty in Islam

  • Topic 9.5 - Family, Parents and Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.6 - Marriage in Islam

  • Topic 9.7 - Islam and Sex

  • Topic 9.8 - Women’s Menstruation in Islam

  • Topic 9.9 - Music, Alcohol, Drugs and Pork in Islam

  • Topic 9.10 - Islam and Science

  • Topic 9.11 - A Reading List of Islamic Knowledge

  • Topic 9.12 - Islam and Sufism

  • Topic 9.13 - Ritual Prayers and Supplications in Islam

  • Topic 9.14 - Death & Burial Rituals in Islam

  • Topic 9.15 - The Battle of Armageddon: An Islamic View

  • Topic 9.16 - The Muslim Calendar

  • Topic 9.17 - Muslims and non-Muslims in the Shariah

  • Topic 9.18 - A Timeline of Major Events in Islamic History

  • Topic 9.19 - Introducing the Qur’an: Why it is the way it is

  • Topic 9.20 - The School of Imam Jafar al-Sadiq

  • Topic 9.21 - Major Fields in Islamic Studies

  • Topic 9.22 - The Caliphate in Sunni and Shia Islam

  • Topic 9.23 - The Spread of Islam: After the Prophet until the Ottoman Empire

  • Topic 9.24 - Islam, Racism and Anti-Semitism

Section 10 - Islam, Religion, and Modern Controversies

  • Topic 10.1 - Modern Fallacies about God: where Theists and Atheists Agree

  • Topic 10.2 - Tawhīd: The Muslim God according to the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt (as)

  • Topic 10.3 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Being (Wujūd)

  • Topic 10.4 - God’s Existence: The Kalam Cosmological Argument

  • Topic 10.5 - God’s Existence: The Argument From Design

  • Topic 10.6 - The Problem of Evil, Suffering and Pain

  • Topic 10.7 - Why did God Create Us? The Purpose of our Creation

  • Topic 10.8 - Why Humans Need Religion according to Islam

  • Topic 10.9 - Jahl and Spiritual Ignorance in Islam

  • Topic 10.10 - Faith in Islam: Belief without Evidence?

  • Topic 10.11 - Do Non-Muslims Go to Hell?

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The Prophet Muhammad (s) as Messenger and Teacher

Abstract

The role of the Prophet Muhammad (s) as a Messenger and Teacher. As a teacher, the Prophet Muhammad (s) guided people through compassion and teaching, not forcing them to believe. 

INTRODUCTION 

 

Bismillāhir Rahmānir Rahīm, As-salāmu ʿAlaykum wa rahmatullāhi wa barakātuh. Peace be upon you brothers and sisters. 

 

Welcome back to the Muslim Converts Channel! No discussion or book can ever possibly exhaust the greatness or the vastness of the Prophet Muhammad’s (s) virtues. Given the short nature of these lessons, we will obviously need to be selective in how we approach this great topic. Even in the virtues we select, we still have to be brief!  

 

So some of the major themes or virtues we want to cover regarding the Messenger of Allah (s) are the following: his status as a messenger, teacher, and what it means to be the “last of all prophets.” Now you may ask yourself, why these? Why not something else?  

 

We’ve chosen these themes given the time we are living in, that is, the modern 21st century. The Prophet Muhammad (s) was a Prophet for all times. By selecting these themes, we want to be able to demonstrate this statement and not abstract sloganeering!  So here we go! 

 

BODY OF TEXT 

 

There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent example for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often. (Chapter 33, verse 21 of the Holy Qur’an) 

 

The Prophet Muhammad (s) was called by many names. Let’s take a look at a few of these names and what these names mean:  

 

  1. The Prophet Muhammad (s) was a Messenger of Allah (s) which is the most popular of his titles. Being a messenger (rasūl) of God is the next level beyond being a prophet, for it means that the person in question is high enough to receive a new system of laws and even a divine scripture. A regular Prophet doesn’t get these, but a messenger does!   

 

But the Prophet Muhammad (s) was not just any messenger, he was a messenger of the highest degree. This is because his knowledge was perfect and he was at the highest level of infallibility.   

 

The Prophet was also known as the “Seal of all the Prophets.” This means that he was the last of all prophets. Since the message of Islam was perfect and was for all times, places and peoples, there was no longer a need for a new message from God. All that was needed were people to explain this message, which is the role that the Ahl al-Bayt (as) of the Prophet (s) took up. 

 

  1. Even before the Prophet revealed his prophethood to the public, he was given the epithet of al-Amīn, which means “the truthful.” Lying comes naturally for many people. It is either there to protect one’s interests, or protect a person from danger. Sometimes lying may be justified, at other times it may not. One thing that the Messenger of Allah (s) was known for was his truthfulness.  

 

Even when he was in danger, or things went against his interests, the Prophet Muhammad (s) always remained truthful. Perhaps a good example was his life as a merchant. The Prophet (s) never short changed anyone. There were times where he could reap great profits by selling goods at a greater price, but the Prophet (s) never sought to take advantage of anyone.  

 

In business, he was always honest. For this reason, people trusted him as a businessman which is why he ended up becoming so successful. This trait of his was so noticeable that it even got the attention of the rich and prominent lady Khadija. Lady Khadija had rejected every suitor that came to her up until she met the Prophet. The Prophet Muhammad’s character as a truthful and honest man compelled her to ask him for marriage instead of the other way around!  

 

  1. The Prophet (s) was also known as al-Muʿallim and al-Tabīb. They mean “the teacher” and “the doctor” respectively. The Qur’an says that there is no compulsion in religion. One of the main reasons why the Qur’an says this is because there is no way you can force people to believe in things. In fact, if you try to do it, more often than not, you’ll just alienate them.  

 

In order to guide people and save people from sin and spiritual heedlessness, one needs to be a teacher. A teacher is compassionate, a teacher shows a person the right way and explains the consequences of wrong decisions. The right and experienced teacher doesn’t force his or her way on a person but manages a way to change a person’s heart and mind. This is how you bring a person on the right track when it comes to his or her relationship with Allah. 

 

The Prophet (s) was also a “doctor” as in a doctor for people’s souls and hearts. The #1 reason why the Prophet (s) was sent to humankind was to transform them by healing them of their diseases. The disease here is separation from God, which causes many spiritual illnesses, such as heedlessness, greed, anger, egoism, and so on and so forth.  

 

The Messenger of Allah (s) was there to show people the way to God and thereby open the door to spiritual healing. Spiritual healing involved closeness to God as well as opening the heart to compassion and humility. The way to God involved teaching people that they were equal before God and not superior to anyone on earth except in piety.  

 

By studying the life and teachings of the Prophet (s), one begins the journey to inner healing. Please make sure to pick up copies of the Prophet Muhammad’s biography which are available on Islamiclibrary.com. Please see the further reading list of this lesson. 

Al-Amīn

the truthful 

Al-Muʿallim

the teacher 

Rasūl

messenger of Allah 

Seal of the Prophets

the last of the prophets 

Al-Tabīb

doctor for people’s souls and hearts 

Q1

What’s the difference between a prophet and messenger?

A messenger is a prophet who receives a new system of laws and (usually) a scripture. 

Q2

As a doctor, what does the Prophet Muhammad (s) heal?

He heals people’s hearts and souls. The disease he heals is separation from God. 

Q3

Did the Prophet Muhammad (s) force belief on people?

No, he was a teacher, not a dictator. He taught them good and bad, as well as their consequences. But he left the choice to people to accept his message of healing or reject it. 

Q4

What are some of the ways the Prophet (s) was truthful?

He never cheated or lied in business while he was a merchant. He also always remained truthful even if it went against himself.  

Q5

What does it mean to be the “Seal of Prophets”

It means that the person in question is the last of all prophets.  

Muslim
God
Allah
Hereafter
Prophet Muhammad
Messenger of Allah
Religion
Ahl al-Bayt
Sin
Sins
Salvation
Soul
Spirit
Islamic community
moral character
muslim ummah

A Glimpse of the Character Traits of the Prophet by Sayyid Mujtahid Zanjani  

Infallibility of the Prophet by Sayed Murtaza Askari  

Mission of the Prophet of Islam by Muhammad Raza Hakimi  

Prophethood and the Prophet of Islam by Ibrahim Amini  

Sayings of the Prophet by Anonymous   

Seal of the Prophet & His Message by Sayyid Mujtaba Musavi Lari  

The Life of Muhammad the Prophet by Saeed Akhtar Rizvi  

The Prophet and Messenger of Allah by Yasin Jibouri  

The Prophet Muhammad A Mercy to the World by Muhammad Shirazi