How was the prophet muhammads submission?
“The custom of the knowledgeable and the wise is to be in complete submission to Allah’s Will and His orders. Intelligent ones never feel the pain of greed and degradation.” (Namık Kemal)
Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) was in complete submission to Allah the Almighty as a manifestation of reverence to Him. Submission is an act of an obedient heart and it means to be free from doubts about the matters revealed by Allah, to be free from selfish desires against Allah’s commands, and to be free from the objection to Divine Will and Commands.
The state of submission can only be achieved through the feeling of trust, which reaches the level of confidence. This requires that the trusted carries all the characteristics to be trusted. Therefore, in order to reserve trust only to Allah the Almighty, a person needs to believe that Allah is All-Powerful and that no one can harm or do good to another without Divine Will. He/she also has to believe that everything is in need of Him but He needs nothing; and there is none comparable to Him. After believing in all these, he/she has to take his/her faith to the level of confidence. This is why a servant’s submission to Allah is in the extent of the strength of his/her faith. Since submission constitutes the essence of servitude, it is the most important way of turning towards Allah the Almighty. This inclination begins with faith and increases in the extent of knowledge of Allah.
Submission of the Messenger of Allah was always full and at its peak. There are many remarkable examples of this in his life.
His submission to Allah’s will in the cave of Sawr during his migration to Medina, and then later when Suraqa b. Nawfal had chased them, were legendary. During the migration from Mecca to Medina, polytheists were coming after them, and they reached them at the cave of Sawr. Polytheists were checking around the cave and saying:
“If they entered in the cave, then these dove-eggs and spider web would have been broken. Abu Bakr (r.a.) spoke anxiously to the Messenger of Allah,:
“If I get killed, I am only one person; but if you get killed, then your ummah will be devastated. When the Prophet (pbuh) was praying, Abu Bakr waited as a guard. Again he told the Messenger of Allah:
“Your tribe is looking for you. By Allah, I am not worried about myself, but I am worried about you.” Allah’s Apostle (pbuh) calmed him down saying:
“O Abu Bakr! Don’t grieve for Allah is with us.” (Bukhari, Fadail al-Aṣhab, 2; Muslim, Faḍail al-Sahabah, 1)
When the miserable Meccans came in front of the cave, they saw nothing but a spider web. This is nicely expressed by the Turkish poet, Ârif Nihat Asya, as follows:
Spider was neither in the air
Not in water, nor on earth
It was in the eyes
which cannot see the Truth
Abu Bakr’s and Prophet’s state of mind is expressed in the following verse:
“…Grieve not, surely Allah is with us…” (Tawba 9; 40) This Divine statement also points out the secret of togetherness with Allah the Almighty (ma’iyyah), which is the essence of submission.
The Quraish announced a reward of 100 red camels for anyone who tracked Muhammad and Abu Bakr. Suraqa was enticed. Abu Bakr (r.a.) narrates the rest of the story as follows:
“Suraqa b. Malik pursued us and we were walking on soft, level ground. I said:
“Allah’s Messenger, we are about to be overtaken by them. Thereupon he said:
“Be not grieved. Verily, Allah is with us.”
Then Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said to him and his horse sank into the earth. I think he also said: I know you have hurled curse upon me. So supplicate Allah for me and I take an oath that I shall turn everyone away who would come in search of you. So he (Allah’s Messenger) supplicated Allah and he was rescued and he came back and he said to everyone he met: I have combed all this side. In short, he diverted everyone whom he met and he in fact fulfilled his promise. (Bukhari, Manaqib, 45; Muslim, Zuhd, 75)
Submission is based upon the understanding that the lover can sacrifice everything he/she has, even his/her life, for the sake of his/her beloved. This is why Allah’s Messenger did not complain about his afflictions because of his submission to Allah. He would remember his submission to his Lord when he faced the difficulties of the daily life. In fact when his finger was injured by a stone, he uttered the following words:
“You are just a little finger which has bled, and what you have experienced is in the cause of Allah.” (Bukhari, Adab, 90; Muslim, Jihad, 112)
Companions’ of the Prophet (pbuh) also manifested exemplary behaviors of submission. According to a narration, some hypocrites tried to dissuade Muslims from going to the Battle of Badr saying that Meccans had been gathering a strong army; however, this news strengthened the believer’s submission and trust to Allah the Almighty and they said without showing weakness: “Allah is sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!” This wonderful behavior is stated in the following verses:
“Men said to them: a great army is gathering against you: and frightened them: but it (only) increased their Faith: they said: for us Allah suffices, and he is the best Disposer of affairs. And they returned with Grace and Bounty from Allah: no harm ever touched them: for they followed the good pleasure of Allah: and Allah is the Lord of bounties unbounded.” (Al-i Imran 3; 173-74) (Wahidi, p. 135)
Submission of the believers – saying that “Allah is sufficient for us, the enemy’s number is not important” – and holding the contentment of Allah before anything else made them successful without falling into any difficulty; because Allah does not let down the trust of those who have confidence in Him. Therefore, what is required for believers is to not have any doubts in faith and to have an unshakable confidence and submission to Allah the Most High. This is their greatest strength and the secret behind their success.
According to the narration of Abdullah b. Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them), Abraham (pbuh), too, said, “Allah is sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!” when he was thrown into fire. In fact Allah the Almighty presents him as the symbol of submission in the following verse:
“When his Lord said unto him: Surrender! He said: I have surrendered to the Lord of the Worlds.” (al-Baqarah 2; 131)
The Prophet (pbuh) said that when hypocrites said, “A great army is gathering against you, therefore, fear them,” but it only increased their faith and they said: “Allah is sufficient for us! Most Excellent is He in Whom we trust!” and they presented a matchless example of submission to Allah the Almighty. (Bukhari, Tafser, 3/13)
Jalal al-Din Rumi (q.s.) depicts the Prophet’s (pbuh) state of submission through the following wonderful metaphors:
“I am not a straw, I am a mountain of forbearance and patience and justice: how should the fierce wind carry off the mountain? That which is removed from its place by a wind is rubbish, for indeed the contrary winds are many. The wind of anger and the wind of lust and the wind of greed swept away him that performed not the (ritual) prayers. “I am a mountain, and my being is His building; and if I become like a straw, my wind (the wind that moves me) is His wind. My longing is not stirred save by His wind; my captain is naught but love of the One.” (Mathnawi, I, verses: 3794-3798)
The life of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) is teemed with perfect examples of his confidence and trust in Allah under the most difficult circumstances. He stood firm even when the strongest willpower dissolved. His submission can be observed in every moment of his blessed life.
As it is narrated by Abu Said Al-Khudri, a man came to the Prophet and said,
“My brother has some abdominal trouble.”
The Prophet said to him, “Let him drink honey sherbet.”
The man came for the second time and the Prophet said to him, “Let him drink honey.” He came for the third time and the Prophet said, “Let him drink honey.” He returned again and said, “I have done that” the Prophet then said, “Allah has said the truth, but your brother’s abdomen has told a lie. Let him drink honey.” So he made him drink honey and he was cured.” (Bukhari, Ṭib, 4; Muslim, Salam, 91)
The Prophet (pbuh) was referring to the fact mentioned in the verse: “Then eat of all fruits, and follow the ways of your Lord, made smooth (for thee). There comes forth from their bellies a drink diverse of colors, wherein is healing for mankind. Lo! Herein is indeed a portent for people who reflect.” (al-Nahl 16; 69). Thus, he showed his trust and submission to Allah the Almighty.
We can observe manifestation of submission in the lives of other prophets and righteous believers similar to the state of the Messenger of Allah (pbuh). One of them is our mother Hagar. Our Prophet (pbuh) narrates her submission as follows:
“Abraham brought Hagar and her son Ishmael while she was suckling him to Mecca… Abraham placed near them a leather bag containing some dates, and a small water-skin containing some water, and set out homeward. Hagar followed him and asked:
“O Abraham! Where are you going, leaving us in this valley where there is no person whose company we may enjoy, nor is there anything (to enjoy)?” She repeated that to him many times, but he did not look back at her. Then she asked him, “Has Allah ordered you to do so?” He said, “Yes.”Then she (feeling relaxed) said, “Then Allah will protect us,” and returned while Abraham proceeded onwards, and on reaching the Thaniyya where they could not see him, he faced the Ka’ba, and raising both hands, invoked Allah saying the following prayers:
“O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring dwell in a valley without cultivation, by Your Sacred House (Ka’bah at Mecca) in order, O our Lord, that they may offer prayer perfectly. So fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits, so that they may give thanks.” (Ibrahim 14; 37) (Bukhari, Anbiya, 9)
As much as the submission of our mother Hagar, Abraham’s submission to Allah’s command to leave his wife and little child alone in a deserted valley is very exemplary for us. As a result of his submission, Allah the Almighty has made Mecca a blessed place on earth and proclaimed whatever they had done in this blessed place as the required parts of the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) until the end of days. Allah has made their names remembered with gratitude because of their submission and consent.
Source: An Excellent Exemplar, Osman Nuri Topbaş, Erkam Publications
