As Muslims celebrate the birth of prophet Muhammad around the globe it is a time, due to prevailing misconceptions, to understand and analyze his life according to the teachings of the Holy Quran.
Once a companion of the prophet Muhammad asked his wife, Ayesha, how did the prophet Muhammad conduct his family life? Ayesha replied, haven’t you read the Holy Quran? His life is all that is written in the Holy Quran. In other words, he exemplified the basic Islamic teachings of oneness of God, duty to fellow human beings, caring for others, absolute justice, kindness to women, children, and people subject to oppression and tolerance towards others.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad not only emphasized the desirability of tolerance in religious matters but set a very high standard in this regards. The 17th century Muslim Scholar Imam Zurqani, narrates, once a group of Christian scholars from Najran visited Medina to exchange views on religious matters. The conversation was held in the mosque which extended to several hours. The Christian dignitaries asked permission to depart from the mosque to hold their religious service at a convenient location. The Holy Prophet Muhammad said that there were no need to go out of the mosque and they can perform their religious services in the mosque.This was the character and practice of the founder of Islam, Muhammad (peace be upon him). This is in fact a practical summary of the teachings of the Holy Quran, which was given to us through Prophet Muhammad. Unfortunately many Muslims have failed to understand his teachings or do not practice it due to being enslaved by their mundane, worldly wishes and desires.
