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Deborah Samuel has unfortunately been in the news since last week for a bad reason. She denigrated the personality of one whose greatness is universally acknowledged. She, despite being a student of a higher institution, didn’t know who the Prophets are. These prophets (AS): Muhammad, Jesus, Moses, and many others, are not ordinary beings. They are rare gems, light of guidance, epitomes of virtue, unparalleled in history (of jinn and of mankind), models to be proudly emulated, and best representatives of God on earth. Speaking ill of them invites the Lord’s wrath. Respecting them brings His blessings.
The last of these Prophets is Muhammad whose name inspires awe. His name is the most often mentioned in the world. His name is one of the most given names to the newborn. Just yesterday, a friend asked me if he could name his son ‘Muhammad Nasiruddeen’ as a single name—to prefix the latter with the former. I said he should rather name him Muhammad. The name is too great to be paired with, or prefixed to, other names.
I think the proliferation of clerics who call themselves ‘prophets’ got people like Deborah confused about the reality of the Prophets. It is common nowadays to see a half-naked female preacher calling herself ‘prophetess.’ We have also seen, and always see, clerics in the houses of the Lord touching sensitive parts of female worshippers and romancing them all in the name of healing and casting out devils. These lascivious and morally bankrupt clerics also call themselves ‘prophets.’
It is high time religious teachers educated themselves and their followers on the concept of prophethood. Prophets are unique individuals who command respect even more than angels and ranked above the angels in the sight of the Creator. They are quintessential beings whose quintessentiality is only denied by the utterly deprived people whose level of thinking is below that of a rat. If this is understood, we should know that Prophets do not exist anymore; though their teachings exist.
The penultimate, in the chronological order according to the Qur’an and history, was Isa (Jesus [AS]) and the ultimate was Muhammad (SAW). This Muhammad, according to Thomas Carlyle, in his ‘On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History’ 1841 is: “The hero of all great Prophets.” Or according to Encyclopedia Britannica, “Muhammad is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.” But Debora dismissed him in the viral audio as… I can’t just say it.
Is Deborah not aware that great world leaders, scientists, philosophers who are of Christian and Jewish origins lend their voices to the greatness of Muhammad (SAW)? This escaped Deborah and escapes those who see nothing wrong in what she did because of their sheer ignorance which is rather pathological.
Rev. Bosworth Smith, an American Protestant Episcopal bishop, in his book ‘Mohammed and Mohammedanism’ 1874 said this about Muhammad: “He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope’s pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammed, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports.” Did Deborah know this?
Annie Besant wrote in her book ‘The Life and Teachings of Muhammad’ 1932: “It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme.” Similarly, it is impossible for Deborah to say what she said if she had studied the life and teachings of Muhammad (SAW).
Perhaps she is a product of those schools in which teachers play infantile tricks on pupils. These are schools where pupils would be told to have been given gifts by Jesus (AS) and then asked to close their eyes for prayer in the name of the Lord. These teachers would stealthily take away those gifts when eyes were closed for prayers only to tell these impressionable pupils that Muhammad has stolen the gifts given to them by Jesus. These schools, implant, by trick, the hatred of Prophet Muhammad in the minds of these pupils at that tender age. Behaving like Deborah will be fair seeming to these pupils when they grow up. Religious leaders should help preach against this disingenuousness.
Thomas Carlyle continues: “…The lies which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only.” Just like Deborah’s utterance is disgraceful to the responsible Christians worldwide.
It is funny to note that Deborah, who ordinarily should be a villainess, suddenly became a heroine. Some even call her martyress. I think this is because of the manner she was brutally killed. This killing is condemnable and strongly prohibited in Islam. Those who brutally killed Deborah should be educated. They seem to be ignorant of Islam just like Deborah who was ignorant of the station of the Prophet (SAW). If someone commits an offence that warrants capital punishment, is it to be carried out by the mob or by the constituted authority?
Many argued that Nigerian Government has anathematized justice. I agree. They argued that nothing will be done if Deborah was handed over to the security agents. But yet jungle justice is prohibited. Shocking again is the behavior of some ulama who, in reaction to calls to bring the killers of Deborah to book, urged the common people on the street to violence. I heard some of them say “If anyone blasphemes the Prophet again, kill them.”
They failed to realize that there are criminal elements among these youths who may want to settle scores with some Christians and take advantage of the situation.
Criminals may seize such opportunity to steal and loot, to maim and rape. What kind of ‘mallamic’ shortsightedness is this? We should learn how to react to issues within limit. The gate to chaos has been irresponsibly unlocked by Deborah. We should not, by our reactions, help open it completely. This will lead to a free for all. It will be catastrophic.
This said, the real culprit was Deborah. She was ill-mannered, uncouth, and ill taught (if she was taught at all). Responsible Christians should not behave like her so that we can all live in peace. Would anyone who go the way of Deborah rest in peace? I am just musing on the disorder she left behind consequent upon her stupidity. May peace be upon Muhammad and all the Prophets.
Abdulkadir Salaudeen
salahuddeenabdulkadir@gmail.com
@salahuddeenAbd
Reading this I feel how islamophobia grows strong within me
Reading this I feel how islamophobia grows strong around the world