| "We have not sent thee (O Mohammed) but (as) a Mercy unto-creaturcs." (The Koran 21. P.26)
Very often the prophet is called a Maitreya (Mercy) in the Koran
(1) "(Thouart sent as) a Mercy (Maitreya) from thy Lord." (Ibid. 28. P382)
(2) "There are some of them who injure the prophet and say, he is an ear: Answer, He is an ear of good unto you: he believeth in God and giveth credit to the faithful and is a mercy (Maitreya) unto such of you who bclieve. (Ibid. 9. PP. 187-8.)
A number of times in his conversation Mohammed gave out that he was sent as a Maitreya:-
(1) Narrator Ahu Saieh. "The apostle of God used to address people, 'O people, I am a Mercy (Maitreya) (who is) sent (to you.)'" (D.P. 6.)
(2) On the field, of Ohod Mohammed "was very near losing his life, being struck down by a shower of stones, and wounded in the face with arrows." (Sale's Koran Foot Note P. 60.) When in this pitiable plight and profusely bleeding some of his companions asked him to curse the unbelieving enemy, he declined their request and prayed for the unbelieving enemy:- "I have not been sent for cursing, but as an inviter (unto God) and a Mercy (Maitreya). 0 God, guide my people (and forgive them) as they know' mc not." (M.Quoted in RAHMAT-AL-LIL-ALAMINA Vol 1. p. 114 by Q Md. Sulaiman.)
"Mohammed was at all times of an affectionate disposition, and even demonstratively so" (Mohammed by S.D. Margoliouth P. 70.). "In the Koran he repeatedly points out what a privilege his presence is. and how he is a proof or embodiment of God's Mercy to the world" (Ibid. P.52).
"It is a wonderful thing," observes Mr. Holland, "that Mohammed born of a fierce and war-like race, a people given to many cruel practices, should have so much regard for compassion. He thanked God who had put in men's heart to be compassionate........of all the qualities he regarded compassion as the most God-like, and every chapter of the Koran begins with this invocation, 'In the name of God the Compassionate, the Merciful'" (The Story of Mohammad P. 100).
MEASUREMENT OF HEARTS
From the Muslim point of view all the inspired teachers of humanity, being the commissioned representatives of the most Merciful upon the earth, were all men of merciful nature. Their hearts were vast treasure houses of mercy. They were men of much more merciful nature than the uninspired. God in his wisdom chose to bestow upon them various amounts of His mercy. The Koran says -
"These are the apostles; We have preferred some of them before others." (2. P. 36)
Compared among themselves, some of the apostles were more merciful than others. We maintain that through the grace of God Mohammed had received the greatest portion of His mercy. In other words, the heart of Mohammed was the greatest treasure house of mercy, as compared with the hearts of other apostles. How to know this? We want a standard for measuring the merciful extent of hearts. Jesus gives a standard:-
"Out of the abundance of heart the mouth speaketh." (Matt. 12:34)
"The tongue" writes Rt. Rev. W. W. How D. D.. "is the truest sign of the state of the heart............The fountain within shall over-flow in the words of the mouth.........."(Commentary on the New Testament.)
In guidance of the above we suppose that if in the teachings of an inspired teacher the word "mercy" or "merciful" occurs once his heart is merciful to. one degree. With this standard we measure the merciful extent of the heart of Mohammed. The words "mercy" and "merciful" are used more than 409 times in the Koran alone.
We intentionally leave out the words occurring In the Hadis literature of more than quarter of a million of pages in which the sayings of the holy prophet are recorded. Therefore the heart of the holy prophet was merciful more than 409 degrees.
Now we measure the merciful extent of the heart of Jesus with his own standard. From the record of the four Gospels of the Bible we learn that the words "mercy" and "merciful" drop from the lips of Jesus only 9 times. Therefore his heart was merciful to 9 degrees only.
In view of the above an impartial enquirer shall consider Mohammed as the Buddha Maitreya in preference to Jesus.
The vast extent of the merciful nature of Mohammed is well expressed by the Koran:-
"Certainly an apostle has come to you from among yourselves, grievous to him is your falling into distress, excessively solicitous respecting you; to the believers (he is) compassionate-merciful." (IX.128.)
"Compassionate" is the translation of the Arabic word "Raoof" which according to Bokari (Vol. 2. P. 299) means "very great mercy." Raoof "denotes a more special and a more tender affection than Rahmet, or the utmost degree thereof."(Arabic English Lexicon by Lane.)
Shankaracharya being not an inspired teacher we leave him out of consideration.
AN INCORRUPTIBLE NAME.
When we go through the works written by men of various nations on Islam we observe one curious thing. The word "Mohammed" is spelled in a number of ways, as "Mahamet," "Mahomet," "Mohamet," "Mehemet," "Mahemmet,"..........
We utilise some of these natural differences for our purpose.
1. "Mahamet or Mahomet." The word seems to be composed of Maaha and Metta. The word Maho or Maha in Pali and Sanskrit means "Great, illustrious" (The Student's H. E. Dictionary by R. N. Lal) Metta means "mercy." Therefore the entire word Mahamet or Mahomet means "an illustrious mercy" or a great mercy". The Koran gives out that Mohammed is "a great mercy."
2. "Mohamet" seems to be composed of Moh and Metta. Moh in Sanskrit means, "Affection or sympathy";(Ibid.) therefore the entire word means "of an affectionate or of sympathetic mercy". The events of the life of Mohammed show that he was of a sympathetic nature to an extra-ordinary degree. We shall describe these events in details.
3. "Mehemet" seems to be composed of "Meh" and "Metta." Meh means "rain." (The Student's H. E. Dictionary by R. N. Lal) Therefore the entire word means ''a mercy like rain", or "a man who rains mercy in general." According to the Koran rain is a general blessing of God to His creatures:-
(a) "We send down rain as blessing from heaven, whereby We cause the gardens to spring forth and the grain of harvest, and tall palm trees having branches laden with dates, hanging one above another as a provision for man-kind, and We thereby quicken a dead country."(50.P.500.)
(b) "He sendeth down water from heaven, and quickneth thereby the earth, after it hath been dead: verily herein are signs unto people who understand." (30. P. 396.)
(c) "Dost thou not see that God sendeth down water from heaven, and causeth the same to enter (and form) sources on the earth, and produceth thereby corn of various sorts."(39. P. 451.)
Just as rain is a general blessing and mercy of God to all His creatures so the holy prophet was a mercy to all His creatures: the Koran supports this "We have not sent thee (O Mohammed) but (as) a mercy-unto-all-creatures." (21 P.326)
4. 'Mahemmet" seems to be composed of "Mahema" or "Mahima" which in Sanskrit means "greatness; glory," (The Studenti H. E. Dictionary by R. N. Lal.) and Metta which means "mercy." Therefore the entire word means "the glorious mercy" or a great mercy." |
