Al-'Aarif Billah Ad-Daa'ii Ilallaah Al-Habib Umar bin Hafidz bin Syaikh Abu Bakar bin Salim

Beliau dilahirkan sebelum fajar hari senin, 4 Muharram 1383 H / 27 Mei 1963M di Kota Tarim. Di kota yang penuh berkah inilah beliau tumbuh dan menerima didikan agama serta menghafal kitab suci al-Quran dalam keluarga yang terkenal iman, ilmu dan akhlak yang luhur. Guru pertamanya sudah tentu ayah beliau yaitu Habib Muhammad bin Salim yang juga merupakan Mufti Kota Tarim al-Ghanna itu

Nasab

Beliau adalah al-Habib ‘Umar putera dari Muhammad putera dari Salim putera dari Hafiz putera dari Abd-Allah putera dari Abi Bakr putera dari‘Aidarous putera dari al-Hussain putera dari al-Shaikh Abi Bakr putera dari Salim putera dari ‘Abd-Allah putera dari ‘Abd-al-Rahman putera dari ‘Abd-Allah putera dari al-Shaikh ‘Abd-al-Rahman al-Saqqaf putera dari Muhammad Maula al-Daweela putera dari ‘Ali putera dari ‘Alawi putera dari al-Faqih al-Muqaddam Muhammad putera dari ‘Ali putera dari Muhammad Sahib al-Mirbat putera dari ‘Ali Khali‘ Qasam putera dari ‘Alawi putera dari Muhammad putera dari ‘Alawi putera dari ‘Ubaidallah putera dari al-Imam al-Muhajir to Allah Ahmad putera dari ‘Isa putera dari Muhammad putera dari ‘Ali al-‘Uraidi putera dari Ja'far al-Sadiq putera dari Muhammad al-Baqir putera dari ‘Ali Zain al-‘Abidin putera dari Hussain sang cucu laki-laki, putera dari pasangan ‘Ali putera dari Abu Talib dan Fatimah al-Zahra puteri dari Rasul Muhammad s.a.w

Biografi

Beliau terlahir di Tarim, Hadramaut, salah satu kota tertua di Yaman yang menjadi sangat terkenal di seluruh dunia dengan berlimpahnya para ilmuwan dan para alim ulama yang dihasilkan kota ini selama berabad-abad. Beliau dibesarkan di dalam keluarga yang memiliki tradisi keilmuan Islam dan kejujuran moral dengan ayahnya yang adalah seorang pejuang martir yang terkenal, Sang Intelektual, Sang Da’i Besar, Muhammad bin Salim bin Hafiz bin Shaikh Abu Bakr bin Salim. Ayahnya adalah salah seorang ulama intelektual Islam yang mengabdikan hidup mereka demi penyebaran agama Islam dan pengajaran Hukum Suci serta aturan-aturan mulia dalam Islam. Beliau secara tragis diculik oleh kelompok komunis dan diperkirakan telah meninggal, semoga Allah mengampuni dosa-dosanya. Demikian pula kedua kakek beliau, al-Habib Salim bin Hafiz dan al-Habib Hafiz bin Abd-Allah yang merupakan para intelektual Islam yang sangat dihormati kaum ulama dan intelektual Muslim pada masanya. Allah seakan menyiapkan kondisi-kondisi yang sesuai bagi al-Habib ‘Umar dalam hal hubungannya dengan para intelektual muslim disekitarnya serta kemuliaan yang muncul dari keluarganya sendiri dan dari lingkungan serta masyarakat dimana ia dibesarkan.
Beliau telah mampu menghafal Al Qur’an pada usia yang sangat muda dan ia juga menghafal berbagai teks inti dalam fiqh, hadith, Bahasa Arab dan berbagai ilmu-ilmu keagamaan yang membuatnya termasuk dalam lingkaran keilmuan yang dipegang teguh oleh begitu banyaknya ulama-ulama tradisional seperti Muhammad bin ‘Alawi bin Shihab dan al-Shaikh Fadl Baa Fadl serta para ulama lain yang mengajar di Ribat, Tarim yang terkenal itu. Maka beliau pun mempelajari berbagai ilmu termasuk ilmu-ilmu spiritual keagamaan dari ayahnya yang meninggal syahid, al-Habib Muhammad bin Salim, yang darinya didapatkan cinta dan perhatiannya yang mendalam pada da'wah dan bimbingan atau tuntunan keagamaan dengan cara Allah s.w.t. Ayahnya begitu memperhatikan sang ‘Umar kecil yang selalu berada di sisi ayahnya di dalam lingkaran ilmu dan dhikr.
Namun secara tragis, ketika al-Habib ‘Umar sedang menemani ayahnya untuk salat Jum‘ah, ayahnya diculik oleh golongan komunis, dan sang ‘Umar kecil sendirian pulang ke rumahnya dengan masih membawa syal milik ayahnya, dan sejak saat itu ayahnya tidak pernah terlihat lagi. Ini menyebabkan ‘Umar muda menganggap bahwa tanggung jawab untuk meneruskan pekerjaan yang dilakukan ayahnya dalam bidang Da‘wah sama seperti seakan-akan syal sang ayah menjadi bendera yang diberikan padanya pada masa kecil sebelum beliau mati syahid. Sejak itu, dengan sang bendera dikibarkannya tinggi-tinggi, ia memulai, secara bersemangat, perjalanan penuh perjuangan, mengumpulkan orang-orang, membentuk Majelis-majelis dan da’wah. Perjuangan dan usahanya yang keras demi melanjutkan pekerjaan ayahnya mulai membuahkan hasil. Kelas-kelas mulai dibuka bagi anak muda maupun orang tua di mesjid-mesjid setempat dimana ditawarkan berbagai kesempatan untuk menghafal Al Qur’an dan untuk belajar ilmu-ilmu tradisional.
Ia sesungguhnya telah benar-benar memahami Kitab Suci sehingga ia telah diberikan sesuatu yang khusus dari Allah meskipun usianya masih muda. Namun hal ini mulai mengakibatkan kekhawatiran akan keselamatannya dan akhirnya diputuskan beliau dikirim ke kota al-Bayda’ yang terletak di tempat yang disebut Yaman Utara yang menjadikannya jauh dari jangkauan mereka yang ingin mencelakai sang sayyid muda.
Disana dimulai babak penting baru dalam perkembangan beliau. Masuk sekolah Ribat di al-Bayda’ ia mulai belajar ilmu-ilmu tradisional dibawah bimbingan ahli dari yang Mulia al-Habib Muhammad bin ‘Abd-Allah al-Haddar, semoga Allah mengampuninya, dan juga dibawah bimbingan ulama mazhab Shafi‘i al-Habib Zain bin Sumait, semoga Allah melindunginya. Janji beliau terpenuhi ketika akhirnya ia ditunjuk sebagai seorang guru tak lama sesudahnya. Ia juga terus melanjutkan perjuangannya yang melelahkan dalam bidang Da‘wah.
Kali ini tempatnya adalah al-Bayda’ dan kota-kota serta desa-desa disekitarnya. Tiada satu pun yang terlewat dalam usahanya untuk mengenalkan kembali cinta kasih Allah dan Rasul-Nya s.a.w pada hati mereka seluruhnya. Kelas-kelas dan majelis didirikan, pengajaran dimulai dan orang-orang dibimbing. Usaha beliau yang demikian gigih menyebabkannya kekurangan tidur dan istirahat mulai menunjukkan hasil yang besar bagi mereka tersentuh dengan ajarannya, terutama para pemuda yang sebelumnya telah terjerumus dalam kehidupan yang kosong dan dangkal, namun kini telah mengalami perubahan mendalam hingga mereka sadar bahwa hidup memiliki tujuan, mereka bangga dengan indentitas baru mereka sebagai orang Islam, mengenakan sorban/selendang Islam dan mulai memusatkan perhatian mereka untuk meraih sifat-sifat luhur dan mulia dari Sang Rasul Pesuruh Allah s.a.w.
Sejak saat itu, sekelompok besar orang-orang yang telah dipengaruhi beliau mulai berkumpul mengelilingi beliau dan membantunya dalam perjuangan da‘wah maupun keteguhan beliau dalam mengajar di berbagai kota besar maupun kecil di Yaman Utara. Pada masa ini, beliau mulai mengunjungi banyak kota-kota maupun masyarakat diseluruh Yaman, mulai dari kota Ta'iz di utara, untuk belajar ilmu dari mufti Ta‘iz al-Habib Ibrahim bin Aqil bin Yahya yang mulai menunjukkan pada beliau perhatian dan cinta yang besar sebagaimana ia mendapatkan perlakuan yang sama dari Shaikh al-Habib Muhammad al-Haddar sehingga ia memberikan puterinya untuk dinikahi setelah menyaksikan bahwa dalam diri beliau terdapat sifat-sifat kejujuran dan kepintaran yang agung.
Tak lama setelah itu, beliau melakukan perjalanan melelahkan demi melakukan ibadah Haji di Mekkah dan untuk mengunjungi makam Rasul s.a.w di Madinah. Dalam perjalanannya ke Hijaz, beliau diberkahi kesempatan untuk mempelajari beberapa kitab dari para ulama terkenal disana, terutama dari al-Habib 'Abdul Qadir bin Ahmad al-Saqqaf yang menyaksikan bahwa di dalam diri ‘Umar muda, terdapat semangat pemuda yang penuh cinta kepada Allah dan Rasul-Nya s.a.w dan sungguh-sungguh tenggelam dalam penyebaran ilmu dan keadilan terhadap sesama umat manusia sehingga beliau dicintai al-Habib Abdul Qadir salah seorang guru besarnya. Begitu pula beliau diberkahi untuk menerima ilmu dan bimbingan dari kedua pilar keadilan di Hijaz, yakni al-Habib Ahmed Mashur al-Haddad dan al-Habib 'Attas al-Habashi.
Sejak itulah nama al-Habib Umar bin Hafiz mulai tersebar luas terutama dikarenakan kegigihan usaha beliau dalam menyerukan agama Islam dan memperbaharui ajaran-ajaran awal yang tradisional. Namun kepopuleran dan ketenaran yang besar ini tidak sedikitpun mengurangi usaha pengajaran beliau, bahkan sebaliknya, ini menjadikannya mendapatkan sumber tambahan dimana tujuan-tujuan mulia lainnya dapat dipertahankan. Tiada waktu yang terbuang sia-sia, setiap saat dipenuhi dengan mengingat Allah dalam berbagai manifestasinya, dan dalam berbagai situasi dan lokasi yang berbeda. Perhatiannya yang mendalam terhadap membangun keimanan terutama pada mereka yang berada didekatnya, telah menjadi salah satu dari perilaku beliau yang paling terlihat jelas sehingga membuat nama beliau tersebar luas bahkan hingga sampai ke Dunia Baru.
Negara Oman akan menjadi fase berikutnya dalam pergerakan menuju pembaharuan abad ke-15. Setelah menyambut baik undangan dari sekelompok Muslim yang memiliki hasrat dan keinginan menggebu untuk menerima manfaat dari ajarannya, beliau meninggalkan tanah kelahirannya dan tidak kembali hingga beberapa tahun kemudian. Bibit-bibit pengajaran dan kemuliaan juga ditanamkan di kota Shihr di Yaman timur, kota pertama yang disinggahinya ketika kembali ke Hadramaut, Yaman. Disana ajaran-ajaran beliau mulai tertanam dan diabadikan dengan pembangunan Ribat al-Mustafa. Ini merupakan titik balik utama dan dapat memberi tanda lebih dari satu jalan, dalam hal melengkapi aspek teoritis dari usaha ini dan menciptakan bukti-bukti kongkrit yang dapat mewakili pengajaran-pengajaran pada masa depan.
Kepulangannya ke Tarim menjadi tanda sebuah perubahan mendasar dari tahun-tahun yang ia habiskan untuk belajar, mengajar, membangun mental agamis orang-orang disekelilingnya, menyebarkan seruan dan menyerukan yang benar serta melarang yang salah. Dar-al-Mustafa menjadi hadiah beliau bagi dunia, dan di pesantren itu pulalah dunia diserukan. Dalam waktu yang dapat dikatakan demikian singkat, penduduk Tarim akan menyaksikan berkumpulnya pada murid dari berbagai daerah yang jauh bersatu di satu kota yang hampir terlupakan ketika masih dikuasai para pembangkang komunis. Murid-murid dari Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapura, Kepulauan Comoro, Tanzania, Kenya, Mesir, Inggris, Pakistan, Amerika Serikat dan Kanada, juga negara-negara Arab lain dan negara bagian di Arab akan diawasi secara langsung oleh Habib Umar. Mereka ini akan menjadi perwakilan dan penerus dari apa yang kini telah menjadi perjuangan asli demi memperbaharui ajaran Islam tradisional di abad ke-15 setelah hari kebangkitan. Berdirinya berbagai institusi Islami serupa di Yaman dan di negara-negara lain dibawah manajemen al-Habib Umar akan menjadi sebuah tonggak utama dalam penyebaran Ilmu dan perilaku mulia serta menyediakan kesempatan bagi orang-orang awam yang kesempatan tersebut dahulunya telah dirampas dari mereka.
Habib ‘Umar kini tinggal di Tarim, Yaman dimana beliau mengawasi perkembangan di Dar al-Mustafa dan berbagai sekolah lain yang telah dibangun dibawah manajemen beliau. Beliau masih memegang peran aktif dalam penyebaran agama Islam, sedemikian aktifnya sehingga beliau meluangkan hampir sepanjang tahunnya mengunjungi berbagai negara di seluruh dunia demi melakukan kegiatan-kegiatan mulianya.

Karya

Disamping sebagai Da’i, Habib Umar juga penulis yang produktif. Karya-karyanya tidak sebatas ilmu Fiqih, beliau juga mengarang beberapa kitab tasawuf dan maulid. Kitab yang ditulis antara lain :
• Diyaul Lami ( Maulid Nabi Muhammad SAW )
• Dhakhira Musyarofah ( Fiqih )
• Muhtar Ahadits ( Hadits )
• Nurul Iman ( akidah )
• Durul Asas ( Nahwu )
• Khulasah Madani an-Nabawi ( zikir )
• Tsaghafatul Khatib ( pedoman Khutbah )

Wasiat dan Nasihat

· Penuhilah hatimu dengan kecintaan terhadap saudaramu niscaya akan menyempurnakan kekuranganmu dan mengangkat derajatmu di sisi Allah
· Barang siapa Semakin mengenal kepada Allah niscaya akan semakin takut.
· Barang siapa yang tidak mau duduk dengan orang beruntung, bagaimana mungkin ia akan beruntung dan barang siapa yang duduk dengan orang beruntung bagaimana mungkin ia tidak akan beruntung.
· Barang siapa menjadikan kematiaannya sebagai pertemuan dengan sang kekasih (Allah), maka kematian adalah hari raya baginya.
· Barang siapa percaya pada Risalah (terutusnya Rasulullah), maka ia akan mengabdi padanya. Dan barang siapa percaya pada risalah, maka ia akan menanggung (sabar) karenanya. Dan barang siapa yang membenarkan risalah, maka ia akan mengorbankan jiwa dan hartanya untuknya.
· Kedekatan seseorang dengan para nabi di hari kiamat menurut kadar perhatiannya terhadap dakwah ini.
· Betapa anehnya bumi, semuanya adalah pelajaran. Kukira tidak ada sejengkal tanah di muka bumi kecuali di situ ada ibrah (pelajaran) bagi orang yang berakal apabila mau mempelajarinya.
· Sebaik-baik nafsu adalah yang dilawan dan seburuk-buruk nafsu adalah yang diikuti.
· Tanpa menahan hawa nafsu maka manusia tidak akan sampai pada Tuhannya sama sekali dan kedekatan manusia terhadap Allah menurut kadar pembersihan jiwanya.
· Jikalau sebuah hati telah terbuka, maka akan mendapatkan apa yang diinginkan.
· Barang siapa yang mempunyai samudra ilmu kemudian kejatuhan setetes hawa nafsu, maka hawa nafsu itu akan merusak samudra tersebut.
· Sesaat dari saat-saat khidmat (pengabdian), lebih baik daripada melihat arsy dan seisinya seribu kali.
· Menyatunya seorang murid dengan gurunya merupakan permulaan di dalam menyatunya dengan Rasulullah SAW. Sedangkan menyatunya dengan Rasulullah SAW merupakan permulaan untuk fana pada Allah (lupa selain Allah)
· Manusia di setiap waktu senantiasa terdiri dari dua golongan, golongan yang diwajahnya terdapat tanda-tanda dari bekas sujud dan golongan yang di wajahnya terdapat tanda-tanda dari bekas keingkaran.
· Barang siapa yang menuntut keluhuran, maka tidak akan peduli terhadap pengorbanan.
· Sesungguhnya di dalam sujud terdapat hakikat yang apabila cahanya turun pada hati seorang hamba, maka hati tersebut akan sujud selama-lamanya dan tidak akan mengangkat dari sujudnya.
· Beliau RA berkata tentang dakwah, Yang wajib bagi kita yaitu harus menjadi da’i dan tidak harus menjadi qodli atau mufti (katakanlah wahai Muhammad SAW inilah jalanku, aku mengajak kepada Allah dengan hujjah yang jelas aku dan pengikutku) apakah kita ikut padanya (Rasulullah) atau tidak ikut padanya? Arti dakwah adalah memindahkan manusia dari kejelekan menuju kebaikan, dari kelalaian menuju ingat kepada Allah, dan dari keberpalingan kembali menuju kepada Allah, dan dari sifat yang buruk menuju sifat yang baik.
· Syetan itu mencari sahabat-sahabatnya dan Allah menjaga kekasih-kekasih-Nya.
· Apabila ibadah agung bagi seseorang maka ringanlah adat (kebiasaan) baginya dan apabila semakin agung nilai ibadah dalam hati seseorang maka akan keluarlah keagungan adat darinya.
· Bila benar keluarnya seseorang (di dalam berdakwah), maka ia akan naik ke derajat yang tinggi.
· Keluarkanlah rasa takut pada makhluk dari hatimu maka engkau akan tenang dengan rasa takut pada kholiq (pencipta) dan keluarkanlah berharap pada makhluk dari hatimu maka engkau akan merasakan kenikmatan dengan berharap pada Sang Kholiq.
· Banyak bergurau dan bercanda merupakan pertanda sepinya hati dari mengagungkan Allah dan tanda dari lemahnya iman.
· Hakikat tauhid adalah membaca Al Qur’an dengan merenungi artinya dan bangun malam.
· Tidak akan naik pada derajat yang tinggi kecuali dengan himmah (cita-cita yang kuat).
· Barang siapa memperhatikan waktu, maka ia akan selamat dari murka Allah.
· Salah satu dari penyebab turunnya bencana dan musibah adalah sedikitnya orang yang menangis di tengah malam.
· Orang yang selalu mempunyai hubungan dengan Allah, Allah akan memenuhi hatinya dengan rahmat di setiap waktu.

MBAH KH ARWANI AMIN (KUDUS) Mursyid Thoriqoh Naqsyahbandi Kholidiah Dan Guru Besar Para Huffadz di Kudus

Selain sebagai figur sentral, keberadaan ulama bagi kita juga dijadikan sebagai rujukan dan panutan. Sebagai Warasatul Ambiaya’, maka kita tidak hanya perlu mengikuti fatwa dan uswatun hasanahnya, tetapi juga perlu kita ketahui kepribadiannya. Untuk dapat kita jadikan landasan dan pijakan untuk kita ikuti ahlaqul karimahnya. Selain dikenal dengan sebutan Kota Kretek, Kudus juga dikenal sebagai Kota Religius atau lebih medasar lagi dikenal dengan sebutan Kota Santri. Pasalnya, banyak di antara santri yang menuntut ilmu di kota yang kharismatik yang menjadi panutan masyarakat sekitar Kudus. Di antara sekian banyak ulama di kota Kudus banyak ulama di kota Kudus yang menjadi tauladan bagi masyarakat adalah beliau Almarhum wal Maghfurlah KH. Arwani Amin.

Keluarga Pencinta Al-Qur’an

Sekitar lebih 100 meter di sebelah selatan Masjid Menara Kudus, tepatnya di Desa Madureksan, Kerjasan, dulu tersebutlah pasangan keluarga shaleh yang sangat mencintai al-Qur’an. Pasangan keluarga ini adalah KH. Amin Sa’id dan Hj. Wanifah. KH. Amin Sa’id ini sangat dikenal di Kudus kulon terutama di kalangan santri, karena beliau memiliki sebuah toko kitab yang cukup dikenal, yaitu toko kitab Al-Amin. Dari hasil berdagang inilah, kehidupan keluarga mereka tercukupi.

Yang menarik adalah, meski keduanya (H. Amin Sa’id dan istrinya) tidak hafal al-Qur’an, namun mereka sangat gemar membaca al-Qur’an. Kegemarannya membaca al-Qur’an ini, hingga dalam seminggu mereka bisa khatam satu kali. Hal yang sangat jarang dilakukan oleh orang kebanyakan, bahkan oleh orang yang hafal al-Qur’an sekalipun.

Kelahiran KH. Arwani Amin

KH. Arwani Amin adalah salah satu ulama yang sangat masyhur dan dihormati di kota Kudus karena kedalaman ilmunya serta sifatnya yang santun dan lemah lembut. Beliau dilahirkan pada Selasa Kliwon, 5 Rajab 1323 H, yang bertepatan dengan tanggal 5 September 1905 M di Desa MAdureksan, Kerjasan, Kudus.

Beliau dikenal karena Pondok Huffadh Yanbu’ul Qur’an yang didirikannya, menjadi tujuan para santri yang ingin belajar menghafal al-Qur’an dan belajar Qira’at Sab’ah. Selain itu, beliau juga seorang mursyid (pimpinan) Thoriqah yang mempunyai ribuan jama’ah.

Arwan adalah anak kedua dari 12 bersaudara. Kakaknya yang pertama seorang perempuan bernama Muzainah. Sementara adik-adiknya secara berurutan adalah Farkhan, Sholikhah, H. Abdul Muqsith, Khafidz, Ahmad Da’in, Ahmad Malikh, I’anah, Ni’mah, Muflikhak dan Ulya. Dari kedua belas ini, ada tiga yang paling menonjol, yaitu Arwan, Farkhan dan Ahmad Da’in. ketiga-tiganya hafal al-Qur’an. Arwan kecil hidup di lingkungan yang sangat taat beragama (religius). Kakek dari ayahnya adalah salah satu ulama besar di Kudus, yaitu KH. Imam Kharamain. Sementara garis nasabnya dari ibu, sampai pada pahlawan nasional yang juga ulama besar Pangeran Dipenegoro yang bernama kecil Raden Mas Ontowiryo.

Masa Menuntut Ilmu

KH. Arwani Amin dan adik-adiknya sejak kecil hanya mengenyam pendidikan di madrasah dan pondok pesantren. Arwani kecil memulai pendidikannya di Madrasah Mu’awanatul Muslimin, Kenepan, sebelah utara Menara Kudus. Beliau masuk di madrasah ini sewaktu berumur 7 tahun. Madrasah ini merupakan madrasah tertua yang ada di Kudus yang didirikan oleh Syarikat Islam (SI) pada tahun 1912. Salah satu pimpinan madrasah ini di awal-awal didirikannya adalah KH. Abdullah Sajad.

Setelah sudah semakin beranjak dewasa, akhirnya memutuskan untuk meneruskan ilmu agama Islam ke berbagai pesantren di tanah Jawa, seperti Solo, Jombang, Jogjakarta dan sebagainya. Dari perjalanannya berkelana dari satu pesantren ke pesantren itu, talah mempertemukannya dengan banyak kiai yang akhirnya menjadi gurunya (masyayikh). Adapun sebagian guru yang mendidik KH. Arwani Amin di antaranya adalah KH. Abdullah Sajad (Kudus), KH. Imam Kharamain (Kudus), KH. Ridwan Asnawi (Kudus), KH. Hasyim Asy’ari (Jombang), KH. Muhammad Manshur (Solo), Kiai Munawir (Yogyakarta) dan lain-lain.

Khusnul Khuluq dalam Perilaku

Selama berkelana mencari ilmu baik di Kudus maupun di berbagai pondok pesantren yang disinggahinya, KH. Arwani Amin dikenal sebagai pribadi yang santun dan cerdas karena kecerdasannya dan sopan santunnya yang halus itulah, maka banyak kiainya yang terpikat. Karena itulah pada saat mondok KH. Arwani Amin sering dimintai oleh kiainya membantu mengajar santri-santri lain. Lalu memunculkan rasa sayang di hati para kiainya.

Sekitar tahun 1935, KH. Arwani Amin pun melaksanakan pernikahan dengan salah satu seorang putri Kudus, yang kebetulan cucu dari guru atau kiainya sendiri yaitu KH. Abdullah Sajad. Perempuan sholehah yang disunting oleh beliu adalah ibu Naqiyul Khud. Dari pernikahannya dengan ibu Naqiyul Khud ini, KH. Arwani Amin diberi dua putrid dan dua putra. Putri pertama dan kedua beliau adalah Ummi dan Zukhali (Ulya), namun kedua putri beliau ini menginggal dunia sewaktu masih bayi.

Yang tinggal sampai kini adalah kedua putra beliau yang kelak meneruskan perjuangan KH. Arwani Amin dalam mengelola pondok pesantren yang didirikannya. Kedua putra beliau adalah KH. Ulin Nuha (Gus Ulin) dan KH. Ulil Albab Arwani (Gus Bab). Kelak, dalam menahkodai pesantren itu, mereka dibantu oleh KH. Muhammad Manshur. Salah satu khadam KH. Arwani Amin yang kemudian dijadikan sebagai anak angkatnya.

KH. Arwani Amin meninggalkan sebuah kitab yang diberi nama Faidl al-Barakat fi al-Sabi’a Qira’at. Kitab ini adalah panduan belajar Qira’at Sab’ah. Setelah sekian lama berjuang untuk agama, masyarakat, dan negaranya, akhirnya beliau pun harus kembali menghadap ke haribaan-Nya. Beliau wafat pada 1 Oktober 1994 M. yang bertepatan dengan 25 Rabi’ul Akhir 1415 H. dalam usia 92 tahun. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un. Beliau dimakamkan di kompleks Pondok Pesantren Yanbu’ul Qur’an.

Berbicara mengenai sosok besar termasuk ulama (kiai), tentu saja kita tidak bisa melihat secara sepintas kesuksesan mereka. Keteladanan justru akan bisa diperoleh dengan mengetahui (lewat membaca) bagaimana perjalanan mereka, hingga bisa menjadi tokoh yang sangat dihormati dan dikagumi. Jika si tokoh itu masih hidup, kita bisa dengan gampang bersilaturrahim dan belajar secara langsung. Persoalannya, bagaimana jika tokoh yang bersangkutan sudah tiada (wafat) ?  tentu saja kita akan cuma mendapatkan informasi mengenai tokoh tersebut dari cerita-cerita para orang tua. Lalu, bagaimana jika para orang yang mengetahui cerita-cerita tentang sosok teladan itu habis atau sudah meninggal ?

Maka dari itu, dibutuhkan data tertulis seperti buku (biografi) yang praktis dan sangat mudah dipahami. Mengingat pentingnya sebuah (buku) biografi seorang tokoh besar dalam kaitannya sebagai teladan bagi generasi mendatang. Buku yang diberi judul “Penjaga Wahyu dari Kudus” ini meski secara singkat atau mungkin kurang lengkap menceritakan bagaimana perjalanan KH. Arwani Amin dalam mengarungi hidup hingga akhirnya menjadi sosok ulama besar. Untuk itu harapan penulis, semoga buku kecil yang jauh darii sempurna ini, bisa menjadi bacaan untuk meneladani perjuangan dan sikap hidup (Mbah) KH. Arwani Amin bagi masyarakat secara umum.

The Greatest Prophet Muhammad saw

"Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah." [ Qur'an 48:29]

IN the annals of men, individuals have not been lacking who conspicuously devoted their lives to the socio-religious reform of their connected peoples. We find them in every epoch and in all lands. In India, there lived those who transmitted to the world the Vedas, and there was also the great Gautama Buddha; China had its Confucius; the Avesta was produced in Iran. Babylonia gave to the world one of the greatest reformers, the Prophet Abraham (not to speak of such of his ancestors as Enoch and Noah about whom we have very scanty information). The Jewish people may rightly be proud of a long series of reformers: Moses, Samuel, David, Solomon, and Jesus among others.

2. Two points are to note: Firstly these reformers claimed in general to be the bearers each of a Divine mission, and they left behind them sacred books incorporating codes of life for the guidance of their peoples. Secondly there followed fratricidal wars, and massacres and genocides became the order of the day, causing more or less a complete loss of these Divine messages. As to the books of Abraham, we know them only by the name; and as for the books of Moses, records tell us how they were repeatedly destroyed and only partly restored.

Concept of God:

3. If one should judge from the relics of the past already brought to light of the homo sapiens , one finds that man has always been conscious of the existence of a Supreme Being, the Master and Creator of all. Methods and approaches may have differed, but the people of every epoch have left proofs of their attempts to obey God. Communication with the Omnipresent yet invisible God has also been recognised as possible in connection with a small fraction of men with noble and exalted spirits. Whether this communication assumed the nature of an incarnation of the Divinity or simply resolved itself into a medium of reception of Divine messages (through inspiration or revelation), the purpose in each case was the guidance of the people. It was but natural that the interpretations and explanations of certain systems should have proved more vital and convincing than others.

3/a. Every system of metaphysical thought develops its own terminology. In the course of time terms acquire a significance hardly contained in the word and translations fall short of their purpose. Yet there is no other method to make people of one group understand the thoughts of another. Non-Muslim readers in particular are requested to bear in mind this aspect which is a real yet unavoidable handicap.

4. By the end of the 6th century, after the birth of Jesus Christ, men had already made great progress in diverse walks of life. At that time there were some religions which openly proclaimed that they were reserved for definite races and groups of men only, of course they bore no remedy for the ills of humanity at large. There were also a few which claimed universality, but declared that the salvation of man lay in the renunciation of the world. These were the religions for the elite, and catered for an extremely limited number of men. We need not speak of regions where there existed no religion at all, where atheism and materialism reigned supreme, where the thought was solely of occupying one self with one's own pleasures, without any regard or consideration for the rights of others.

Arabia:

5. A perusal of the map of the major hemisphere (from the point of view of the proportion of land to sea), shows the Arabian Peninsula lying at the confluence of the three great continents of Asia, Africa and Europe. At the time in question. this extensive Arabian subcontinent composed mostly of desert areas was inhabited by people of settled habitations as well as nomads. Often it was found that members of the same tribe were divided into these two groups, and that they preserved a relationship although following different modes of life. The means of subsistence in Arabia were meagre. The desert had its handicaps, and trade caravans were features of greater importance than either agriculture or industry. This entailed much travel, and men had to proceed beyond the peninsula to Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, Iraq, Sind, India and other lands.

6. We do not know much about the Libyanites of Central Arabia, but Yemen was rightly called Arabia Felix . Having once been the seat of the flourishing civilizations of Sheba and Ma'in even before the foundation of the city of Rome had been laid, and having later snatched from the Byzantians and Persians several provinces, greater Yemen which had passed through the hey-day of its existence, was however at this time broken up into innumerable principalities, and even occupied in part by foreign invaders. The Sassanians of Iran, who had penetrated into Yemen had already obtained possession of Eastern Arabia. There was politico-social chaos at the capital (Mada'in = Ctesiphon), and this found reflection in all her territories. Northern Arabia had succumbed to Byzantine influences, and was faced with its own particular problems. Only Central Arabia remained immune from the demoralising effects of foreign occupation.

7. In this limited area of Central Arabia, the existence of the triangle of Mecca-Ta'if-Madinah seemed something providential. Mecca, desertic, deprived of water and the amenities of agriculture in physical features represented Africa and the burning Sahara. Scarcely fifty miles from there, Ta'if presented a picture of Europe and its frost. Madinah in the North was not less fertile than even the most temperate of Asiatic countries like Syria. If climate has any influence on human character, this triangle standing in the middle of the major hemisphere was, more than any other region of the earth, a miniature reproduction of the entire world. And here was born a descendant of the Babylonian Abraham, and the Egyptian Hagar, Muhammad the Prophet of Islam, a Meccan by origin and yet with stock related, both to Madinah and Ta'if.

Religion:

8. From the point of view of religion, Arabia was idolatrous; only a few individuals had embraced religions like Christianity, Mazdaism, etc. The Meccans did possess the notion of the One God, but they believed also that idols had the power to intercede with Him. Curiously enough, they did not believe in the Resurrection and Afterlife. They had preserved the rite of the pilgrimage to the House of the One God, the Ka'bah, an institution set up under divine inspiration by their ancestor Abraham, yet the two thousand years that separated them from Abraham had caused to degenerate this pilgrimage into the spectacle of a commercial fair and an occasion of senseless idolatry which far from producing any good, only served to ruin their individual behaviour, both social and spiritual.

Society:

9. In spite of the comparative poverty in natural resources, Mecca was the most developed of the three points of the triangle. Of the three, Mecca alone had a city-state, governed by a council of ten hereditary chiefs who enjoyed a clear division of power. (There was a minister of foreign relations, a minister guardian of the temple, a minister of oracles, a minister guardian of offerings to the temple, one to determine the torts and the damages payable, another in charge of the municipal council or parliament to enforce the decisions of the ministries. There were also ministers in charge of military affairs like custodianship of the flag, leadership of the cavalry etc.). As well reputed caravan-leaders, the Meccans were able to obtain permission from neighbouring empires like Iran, Byzantium and Abyssinia - and to enter into agreements with the tribes that lined the routes traversed by the caravans - to visit their countries and transact import and export business. They also provided escorts to foreigners when they passed through their country as well as the territory of allied tribes, in Arabia (cf. Ibn Habib, Muhabbar ). Although not interested much in the preservation of ideas and records in writing, they passionately cultivated arts and letters like poetry, oratory discourses and folk tales. Women were generally well treated, they enjoyed the privilege of possessing property in their own right, they gave their consent to marriage contracts, in which they could even add the condition of reserving their right to divorce their husbands. They could remarry when widowed or divorced. Burying girls alive did exist in certain classes, but that was rare.

Birth of the Prophet:

10. It was in the midst of such conditions and environments that Muhammad was born in 569 after Christ. His father, 'Abdullah had died some weeks earlier, and it was his grandfather who took him in charge. According to the prevailing custom, the child was entrusted to a Bedouin foster-mother, with whom he passed several years in the desert. All biographers state that the infant prophet sucked only one breast of his foster-mother, leaving the other for the sustenance of his foster-brother. When the child was brought back home, his mother, Aminah, took him to his maternal uncles at Madinah to visit the tomb of 'Abdullah. During the return journey, he lost his mother who died a sudden death. At Mecca, another bereavement awaited him, in the death of his affectionate grandfather. Subjected to such privations, he was at the age of eight, consigned at last to the care of his uncle, Abu-Talib, a man who was generous of nature but always short of resources and hardly able to provide for his family.

11. Young Muhammad had therefore to start immediately to earn his livelihood; he served as a shepherd boy to some neighbours. At the age of ten he accompanied his uncle to Syria when he was leading a caravan there. No other travels of Abu-Talib are mentioned, but there are references to his having set up a shop in Mecca. (Ibn Qutaibah, Ma'arif ). It is possible that Muhammad helped him in this enterprise also.

12. By the time he was twenty-five, Muhammad had become well known in the city for the integrity of his disposition and the honesty of his character. A rich widow, Khadijah, took him in her employ and consigned to him her goods to be taken for sale to Syria. Delighted with the unusual profits she obtained as also by the personal charms of her agent, she offered him her hand. According to divergent reports, she was either 28 or 40 years of age at that time, (medical reasons prefer the age of 28 since she gave birth to five more children). The union proved happy. Later, we see him sometimes in the fair of Hubashah (Yemen), and at least once in the country of the 'Abd al-Qais (Bahrain-Oman), as mentioned by Ibn Hanbal. There is every reason to believe that this refers to the great fair of Daba (Oman), where, according to Ibn al-Kalbi (cf. Ibn Habib, Muhabbar ), the traders of China, of Hind and Sind (India, Pakistan), of Persia, of the East and the West assembled every year, travelling both by land and sea. There is also mention of a commercial partner of Muhammad at Mecca. This person, Sa'ib by name reports: "We relayed each other; if Muhammad led the caravan, he did not enter his house on his return to Mecca without clearing accounts with me; and if I led the caravan, he would on my return enquire about my welfare and speak nothing about his own capital entrusted to me."

An Order of Chivalry:

13. Foreign traders often brought their goods to Mecca for sale. One day a certain Yemenite (of the tribe of Zubaid) improvised a satirical poem against some Meccans who had refused to pay him the price of what he had sold, and others who had not supported his claim or had failed to come to his help when he was victimised. Zuhair, uncle and chief of the tribe of the Prophet, felt great remorse on hearing this just satire. He called for a meeting of certain chieftains in the city, and organized an order of chivalry, called Hilf al-fudul , with the aim and object of aiding the oppressed in Mecca, irrespective of their being dwellers of the city or aliens. Young Muhammad became an enthusiastic member of the organisation. Later in life he used to say: "I have participated in it, and I am not prepared to give up that privilege even against a herd of camels; if somebody should appeal to me even today, by virtue of that pledge, I shall hurry to his help."

Beginning of Religious Consciousness:

14. Not much is known about the religious practices of Muhammad until he was thirty-five years old, except that he had never worshipped idols. This is substantiated by all his biographers. It may be stated that there were a few others in Mecca, who had likewise revolted against the senseless practice of paganism, although conserving their fidelity to the Ka'bah as the house dedicated to the One God by its builder Abraham.

15. About the year 605 of the Christian era, the draperies on the outer wall of the Ka'bah took fire. The building was affected and could not bear the brunt of the torrential rains that followed. The reconstruction of the Ka'bah was thereupon undertaken. Each citizen contributed according to his means; and only the gifts of honest gains were accepted. Everybody participated in the work of construction, and Muhammad's shoulders were injured in the course of transporting stones. To identify the place whence the ritual of circumambulation began, there had been set a black stone in the wall of the Ka'bah. dating probably from the time of Abraham himself. There was rivalry among the citizens for obtaining the honour of transposing this stone in its place. When there was danger of blood being shed, somebody suggested leaving the matter to Providence, and accepting the arbitration of him who should happen to arrive there first. It chanced that Muhammad just then turned up there for work as usual. He was popularly known by the appellation of al-Amin (the honest), and everyone accepted his arbitration without hesitation. Muhammad placed a sheet of cloth on the ground, put the stone on it and asked the chiefs of all the tribes in the city to lift together the cloth. Then he himself placed the stone in its proper place, in one of the angles of the building, and everybody was satisfied.

16. It is from this moment that we find Muhammad becoming more and more absorbed in spiritual meditations. Like his grandfather, he used to retire during the whole month of Ramadan to a cave in Jabal-an-Nur (mountain of light). The cave is called `Ghar-i-Hira' or the cave of research. There he prayed, meditated, and shared his meagre provisions with the travellers who happened to pass by.

Revelation:

17. He was forty years old, and it was the fifth consecutive year since his annual retreats, when one night towards the end of the month of Ramadan, an angel came to visit him, and announced that God had chosen him as His messenger to all mankind. The angel taught him the mode of ablutions, the way of worshipping God and the conduct of prayer. He communicated to him the following Divine message:

With the name of God, the Most Merciful, the All-Merciful. Read: with the name of thy Lord Who created, Created man from what clings, Read: and thy Lord is the Most Bounteous, Who taught by the pen, Taught man what he knew not. (Quran 96:1-5)

18. Deeply affected, he returned home and related to his wife what had happened, expressing his fears that it might have been something diabolic or the action of evil spirits. She consoled him, saying that he had always been a man of charity and generosity, helping the poor, the orphans, the widows and the needy, and assured him that God would protect him against all evil.

19. Then came a pause in revelation, extending over three years. The Prophet must have felt at first a shock, then a calm, an ardent desire, and after a period of waiting, a growing impatience or nostalgia. The news of the first vision had spread and at the pause the sceptics in the city had begun to mock at him and cut bitter jokes. They went so far as to say that God had forsaken him.

20. During the three years of waiting. the Prophet had given himself up more and more to prayers and to spiritual practices. The revelations were then resumed and God assured him that He had not at all forsaken him: on the contrary it was He Who had guided him to the right path: therefore he should take care of the orphans and the destitute, and proclaim the bounty of God on him (cf. Q. 93:3-11). This was in reality an order to preach. Another revelation directed him to warn people against evil practices, to exhort them to worship none but the One God, and to abandon everything that would displease God (Q. 74:2-7). Yet another revelation commanded him to warn his own near relatives (Q. 26:214); and: "Proclaim openly that which thou art commanded, and withdraw from the Associators (idolaters). Lo! we defend thee from the scoffers" (15:94-5). According to Ibn Ishaq, the first revelation (n. 17) had come to the Prophet during his sleep, evidently to reduce the shock. Later revelations came in full wakefulness.

The Mission:

21. The Prophet began by preaching his mission secretly first among his intimate friends, then among the members of his own tribe and thereafter publicly in the city and suburbs. He insisted on the belief in One Transcendent God, in Resurrection and the Last Judgement. He invited men to charity and beneficence. He took necessary steps to preserve through writing the revelations he was receiving, and ordered his adherents also to learn them by heart. This continued all through his life, since the Quran was not revealed all at once, but in fragments as occasions arose.

22. The number of his adherents increased gradually, but with the denunciation of paganism, the opposition also grew intenser on the part of those who were firmly attached to their ancestral beliefs. This opposition degenerated in the course of time into physical torture of the Prophet and of those who had embraced his religion. These were stretched on burning sands, cauterized with red hot iron and imprisoned with chains on their feet. Some of them died of the effects of torture, but none would renounce his religion. In despair, the Prophet Muhammad advised his companions to quit their native town and take refuge abroad, in Abyssinia, "where governs a just ruler, in whose realm nobody is oppressed" (Ibn Hisham). Dozens of Muslims profited by his advice, though not all. These secret flights led to further persecution of those who remained behind.

23. The Prophet Muhammad [was instructed to call this] religion "Islam," i.e. submission to the will of God. Its distinctive features are two:

A harmonius equilibrium between the temporal and the spiritual (the body and the soul), permitting a full enjoyment of all the good that God has created, (Quran 7:32), enjoining at the same time on everybody duties towards God, such as worship, fasting, charity, etc. Islam was to be the religion of the masses and not merely of the elect. A universality of the call - all the believers becoming brothers and equals without any distinction of class or race or tongue. The only superiority which it recognizes is a personal one, based on the greater fear of God and greater piety (Quran 49:13).

Social Boycott:

24. When a large number of the Meccan Muslims migrated to Abyssinia, the leaders of paganism sent an ultimatum to the tribe of the Prophet, demanding that he should be excommunicated and outlawed and delivered to the pagans for being put to death. Every member of the tribe, Muslim and non-Muslim rejected the demand. (cf. Ibn Hisham). Thereupon the city decided on a complete boycott of the tribe: Nobody was to talk to them or have commercial or matrimonial relations with them. The group of Arab tribes called Ahabish, inhabiting the suburbs, who were allies of the Meccans, also joined in the boycott, causing stark misery among the innocent victims consisting of children, men and women, the old and the sick and the feeble. Some of them succumbed yet nobody would hand over the Prophet to his persecutors. An uncle of the Prophet, Abu Lahab, however left his tribesmen and participated in the boycott along with the pagans. After three dire years, during which the victims were obliged to devour even crushed hides, four or five non-Muslims, more humane than the rest and belonging to different clans proclaimed publicly their denunciation of the unjust boycott. At the same time, the document promulgating the pact of boycott which had been hung in the temple, was found, as Muhammad had predicted, eaten by white ants, that spared nothing but the words God and Muhammad. The boycott was lifted, yet owing to the privations that were undergone the wife and Abu Talib, the chief of the tribe and uncle of the Prophet died soon after. Another uncle of the Prophet, Abu-Lahab, who was an inveterate enemy of Islam, now succeeded to the headship of the tribe. (cf. lbn Hisham, Sirah ).

The Ascension:

25. It was at thIs time that the Prophet Muhammad was granted the mi'raj (ascension): He saw in a vision that he was received on heaven by God, and was witness of the marvels of the celestial regions. Returning, he brought for his community, as a Divine gift, the [ritual prayer of Islam, the salaat], which constitutes a sort of communion between man and God. It may be recalled that in the last part of Muslim service of worship, the faithful employ as a symbol of their being in the very presence of God, not concrete objects as others do at the time of communion, but the very words of greeting exchanged between the Prophet Muhammad and God on the occasion of the former's mi'raj : "The blessed and pure greetings for God! - Peace be with thee, O Prophet, as well as the mercy and blessing of God! - Peace be with us and with all the [righteous] servants of God!" The Christian term "communion" implies participation in the Divinity. Finding it pretentious, Muslims use the term "ascension" towards God and reception in His presence, God remaining God and man remaining man and no confusion between the twain.

26. The news of this celestial meeting led to an increase in the hostility of the pagans of Mecca; and the Prophet was obliged to quit his native town in search of an asylum elsewhere. He went to his maternal uncles in Ta'if, but returned immediately to Mecca, as the wicked people of that town chased the Prophet out of their city by pelting stones on him and wounding him.

Migration to Madinah:

27. The annual pilgrimage of the Ka'bah brought to Mecca people from all parts of Arabia. The Prophet Muhammad tried to persuade one tribe after another to afford him shelter and allow him to carry on his mission of reform. The contingents of fifteen tribes, whom he approached in succession, refused to do so more or less brutally, but he did not despair. Finally he met half a dozen inhabitants of Madinah who being neighbour of the Jews and the Christians, had some notion of prophets and Divine messages. They knew also that these "people of the Books" were awaiting the arrival of a prophet - a last comforter. So these Madinans decided not to lose the opportunity of obtaining an advance over others, and forthwith embraced Islam, promising further to provide additional adherents and necessary help from Madinah. The following year a dozen new Madinans took the oath of allegiance to him and requested him to provide with a missionary teacher. The work of the missionary, Mus'ab, proved very successful and he led a contingent of seventy-three new converts to Mecca, at the time of the pilgrimage. These invited the Prophet and his Meccan companions to migrate to their town, and promised to shelter the Prophet and to treat him and his companions as their own kith and kin. Secretly and in small groups, the greater part of the Muslims emigrated to Madinah. Upon this the pagans of Mecca not only confiscated the property of the evacuees, but devised a plot to assassinate the Prophet. It became now impossible for him to remain at home. It is worthy of mention, that in spite of their hostility to his mission, the pagans had unbounded confidence in his probity, so much so that many of them used to deposit their savings with him. The Prophet Muhammad now entrusted all these deposits to 'Ali, a cousin of his, with instructions to return in due course to the rightful owners. He then left the town secretly in the company of his faithful friend, Abu-Bakr. After several adventures, they succeeded in reaching Madinah in safety. This happened in 622, whence starts the Hijrah calendar.

Reorganization of the Community:

28. For the better rehabilitation of the displaced immigrants, the Prophet created a fraternization between them and an equal number of well-to-do Madinans. The families of each pair of the contractual brothers worked together to earn their livelihood, and aided one another in the business of life.

29. Further he thought that the development of the man as a whole would be better achieved if he co-ordinated religion and politics as two constituent parts of one whole. To this end he invited the representatives of the Muslims as well as the non-Muslim inhabitants of the region: Arabs, Jews, Christians and others, and suggested the establishment of a City-State in Madinah. With their assent, he endowed the city with a written constitution - the first of its kind in the world - in which he defined the duties and rights both of the citizens and the head of the State - the Prophet Muhammad was unanimously hailed as such - and abolished the customary private justice. The administration of justice became henceforward the concern of the central organisation of the community of the citizens. The document laid down principles of defence and foreign policy: it organized a system of social insurance, called ma'aqil, in cases of too heavy obligations. It recognized that the Prophet Muhammad would have the final word in all differences, and that there was no limit to his power of legislation. It recognized also explicitly liberty of religion, particularly for the Jews, to whom the constitutional act afforded equality with Muslims in all that concerned life in this world (cf. infra n. 303).

30. Muhammad journeyed several times with a view to win the neighbouring tribes and to conclude with them treaties of alliance and mutual help. With their help, he decided to bring to bear economic pressure on the Meccan pagans, who had confiscated the property of the Muslim evacuees and also caused innumerable damage. Obstruction in the way of the Meccan caravans and their passage through the Madinan region exasperated the pagans, and a bloody struggle ensued.

31. In the concern for the material interests of the community, the spiritual aspect was never neglected. Hardly a year had passed after the migration to Madinah, when the most rigorous of spiritual disciplines, the fasting for the whole month of Ramadan every year, was imposed on every adult Muslim, man and woman.

Struggle Against Intolerance and Unbelief:

32. Not content with the expulsion of the Muslim compatriots, the Meccans sent an ultimatum to the Madinans, demanding the surrender or at least the expulsion of Muhammad and his companions but evidently all such efforts proved in vain. A few months later, in the year 2 H., they sent a powerful army against the Prophet, who opposed them at Badr; and the pagans thrice as numerous as the Muslims, were routed. After a year of preparation, the Meccans again invaded Madinah to avenge the defeat of Badr. They were now four times as numerous as the Muslims. After a bloody encounter at Uhud, the enemy retired, the issue being indecisive. The mercenaries in the Meccan army did not want to take too much risk, or endanger their safety.

33. In thc meanwhile the Jewish citizens of Madinah began to foment trouble. About the time of the victory of Badr, one of their leaders, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, proceeded to Mecca to give assurance of his alliance with the pagans, and to incite them to a war of revenge. After the battle of Uhud, the tribe of the same chieftain plotted to assassinate the Prophet by throwing on him a mill-stone from above a tower, when he had gone to visit their locality. In spite of all this, the only demand the Prophet made of the men of this tribe was to quit the Madinan region, taking with them all their properties, after selling their immovables and recovering their debts from the Muslims. The clemency thus extended had an effect contrary to what was hoped. The exiled not only contacted the Meccans, but also the tribes of the North, South and East of Madinah, mobilized military aid, and planned from Khaibar an invasion of Madinah, with forces four times more numerous than those employed at Uhud. The Muslims prepared for a siege, and dug a ditch to defend themselves against this hardest of all trials. Although the defection of the Jews still remaining inside Madinah at a later stage upset all strategy, yet with a sagacious diplomacy, the Prophet succeeded in breaking up the alliance, and the different enemy groups retired one after the other.

34. Alcoholic drinks, gambling and games of chance were at this time declared forbidden for the Muslims.

The Reconciliation:

35. The Prophet tried once more to reconcile the Meccans and proceeded to Mecca. The barring of the route of their Northern caravans had ruined their economy. The Prophet promised them transit security, extradition of their fugitives and the fulfillment of every condition they desired, agreeing even to return to Madinah without accomplishing the pilgrimage of the Ka'bah. Thereupon the two contracting parties promised at Hudaibiyah in the suburbs of Mecca, not only the maintenance of peace, but also the observance of neutrality in their conflicts with third parties.

36. Profiting by the peace, the Prophet launched an intensive programme for the propagation of his religion. He addressed missionary letters to the foreign rulers of Byzantium, Iran, Abyssinia and other lands. The Byzantine autocrat priest - Dughatur of the Arabs - embraced Islam, but for this, was lynched by the Christian mob; the prefect of Ma'an (Palestine) suffered the same fate, and was decapitated and crucified by order of the emperor. A Muslim ambassador was assassinated in Syria-Palestine; and instead of punishing the culprit, the emperor Heraclius rushed with his armies to protect him against the punitive expedition sent by the Prophet (battle of Mu'tah).

37. The pagans of Mecca hoping to profit by the Muslim difficulties, violated the terms of their treaty. Upon this, the Prophet himself led an army, ten thousand strong, and surprised Mecca which he occupied in a bloodless manner. As a benevolent conqueror, he caused the vanquished people to assemble, reminded them of their ill deeds, their religious persecution, unjust confiscation of the evacuee property, ceaseless invasions and senseless hostilities for twenty years continuously. He asked them: "Now what do you expect of me?" When everybody lowered his head with shame, the Prophet proclaimed: "May God pardon you; go in peace; there shall be no responsibility on you today; you are free!" He even renounced the claim for the Muslim property confiscated by the pagans. This produced a great psychological change of hearts instantaneously. When a Meccan chief advanced with a fulsome heart towards the Prophet, after hearing this general amnesty, in order to declare his acceptance of Islam, the Prophet told him: "And in my turn, I appoint you the governor of Mecca!" Without leaving a single soldier in the conquered city, the Prophet retired to Madinah. The Islamization of Mecca, which was accomplished in a few hours, was complete.

38. Immediately after the occupation of Mecca, the city of Ta'if mobilized to fight against the Prophet. With some difficulty the enemy was dispersed in the valley of Hunain, but the Muslims preferred to raise the siege of nearby Ta'if and use pacific means to break the resistance of this region. Less than a year later, a delegation from Ta'if came to Madinah offering submission. But it requested exemption from prayer, taxes and military service, and the continuance of the liberty to adultery and fornication and alcoholic drinks. It demanded even the conservation of the temple of the idol al-Lat at Ta'if. But Islam was not a materialist immoral movement; and soon the delegation itself felt ashamed of its demands regarding prayer, adultery and wine. The Prophet consented to concede exemption from payment of taxes and rendering of military service; and added: You need not demolish the temple with your own hands: we shall send agents from here to do the job, and if there should be any consequences, which you are afraid of on account of your superstitions, it will be they who would suffer. This act of the Prophet shows what concessions could be given to new converts. The conversion of the Ta'ifites was so whole hearted that in a short while, they themselves renounced the contracted exemptions, and we find the Prophet nominating a tax collector in their locality as in other Islamic regions.

39. In all these "wars," extending over a period of ten years, the non-Muslims lost on the battlefield only about 250 persons killed, and the Muslim losses were even less. With these few incisions, the whole continent of Arabia. with its million and more of square miles, was cured of the abscess of anarchy and immorality. During these ten years of disinterested struggle, all thc peoples of the Arabian Peninsula and the southern regions of Iraq and Palestine had voluntarily embraced Islam. Some Christian, Jewish and Parsi groups remained attached to their creeds, and they were granted liberty of conscience as well as judicial and juridical autonomy.

40. In the year 10 H., when the Prophet went to Mecca for Hajj (pilgrimage), he met 140,000 Muslims there, who had come from different parts of Arabia to fulfil their religious obligation. He addressed to them his celebrated sermon, in which he gave a resume of his teachings: "Belief in One God without images or symbols, equality of all the Believers without distinction of race or class, the superiority of individuals being based solely on piety; sanctity of life, property and honour; abolition of interest, and of vendettas and private justice; better treatment of women; obligatory inheritance and distribution of the property of deceased persons among near relatives of both sexes, and removal of the possibility of the cumulation of wealth in the hands of the few." The Quran and the conduct of the Prophet were to serve as the bases of law and a healthy criterion in every aspect of human life.

41. On his return to Madinah, he fell ill; and a few weeks later, when he breathed his last, he had the satisfaction that he had well accomplished the task which he had undertaken - to preach to the world the Divine message.

42. He bequeathed to posterity, a religion of pure monotheism; he created a well-disciplined State out of the existent chaos and gave peace in place of the war of everybody against everybody else; he established a harmonious equilibrium between the spiritual and the temporal, between the mosque and the citadel; he left a new system of law, which dispensed impartial justice, in which even the head of the State was as much a subject to it as any commoner, and in which religious tolerance was so great that non-Muslim inhabitants of Muslim countries equally enjoyed complete juridical, judicial and cultural autonomy. In the matter of the revenues of the State, the Quran fixed the principles of budgeting, and paid more thought to the poor than to anybody else. The revenues were declared to be in no wise the private property of the head of the State. Above all, the Prophet Muhammad set a noble example and fully practised all that he taught to others.