Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) gave a summary of his
teachings in his Khutbat Al-Wadaa` (Arabic for: Farewell Sermon),
which can be categorized under three main headings:
1.
Belief in the One God
2. Rule of law and morality
3. Rule of justice
Belief
in the One God
Monotheism
— pure, simple, uncomplicated, and unmixed — is the foundation
on which the Islamic system of belief is based.
Only
Almighty Allah, whom we cannot see, yet He sees us, is worthy of
worship and is worshiped without any icons or other material
representation.
He
is capable of doing all things, though He is One. He is not only
the Creator but also the Master of all, hence the multiplicity of
His Attributes expressed by His 99 beautiful names.
The
divine attributes or any of them does not stand by itself. As
such, no divine attribute is worshiped as an independent entity
the way pagans worship multiple gods and meanings.
Rule
of Law and Morality
The
Qur'an and the traditions of the Prophet (the Sunnah) are to serve
as the basis of law and a healthy criterion in every aspect of
human life. The Prophet said,
I
leave behind me two things; if you follow them, you will never
go astray; these are Allah's Book and the Sunnah of His
Prophet. (Authenticated by
Al-Albani)
Vendetta
and private justice were abolished:
Every
right arising out of homicide in pre-Islamic days is
henceforth waived, and the first such right I waive is that
arising from the murder of Rabi`ah ibn Al-Harith [a relative
of the Prophet who was killed by the tribe Hudhail].
(Abu Dawud)
All
believers are equal without distinction of race:
Learn
that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim.
(At-Tirmidhi)
No
one is superior to any other, except by individual excellence in
piety and fear of Allah. Excellence of moral character is the only
criterion of individual superiority in the eyes of Allah. Also,
every person enjoys equality in the eyes of the law by reason of
being a member of the human race.
O
people, [mind that] your Lord is One and your father (i.e.
Adam) is one. Except by piety and good deeds, an Arab has no
superiority over a non-Arab, a non-Arab have no superiority
over an Arab, a white has no superiority over a black, and a
black has no superiority over a white. (Ahmad)
Rule
of Justice
Each
and every human being has three fundamental and inviolable rights
concerning selfhood, property, and honor. The Prophet declared,
O
people, your blood, your property, and your honor are sacred
to you like the sacredness of this day of yours, in this city
of yours, and in this month of yours until the Day when you
meet your Lord. (Al-Bukhari)
You
will indeed meet your Lord and He will ask you about your
deeds. (Muslim)
It
was declared as a rule that constant accumulation of private
wealth of the nation (Ummah) is to be avoided by means of (1)
prohibition of interest, (2) obligatory inheritance and
distribution of deceased persons' property among near relatives of
both sexes, and (3) restrictions on wills (no more than one third
of property or estate can be disposed of by means of one's will).
The
rights of women were also recognized and emphasized. The Farewell
Sermon puts it this way:
Fear
Allah concerning women.
Verily you have taken them on the covenant of Allah, and intercourse
with them has been made lawful unto you by words of Allah. You too
have right over them that they should not allow anyone whom you do
not like to sit on your bed. But if they do that, you can chastise
them but not severely. Their rights upon you are that you should
provide them with food and clothing in a fitting manner. (Abu
Dawud)
