A beautiful Model: The Prophet Muhammad as an Ideal Guide for Living

Gregory Egerton

A Beautiful Model: The Prophet Muhammad as an Ideal Guide for Living

Religious Studies 180

Rose Aslan

October 14, 2008

As a Prophet, Muhammad is viewed by Muslims to be closer to God than any mortal could ever be. His transcendence to the heavens through spiritual experiences enabled Muhammad to communicate the word of God to mankind, resulting in the creation of the sacred Qur’an from his metaphysical revelations (Carl Ernst 2003: 73). While this aspect of Muhammad’s integrity to Islam has its place, his role in the religion was substantially larger than that of a messenger. Muhammad, through his demeanor, actions and words, served as an exemplary guide for Muslims to assist them to live according to the will of God. His prophetic model, known as the Sunna, has permeated throughout every facet of Islam, shaping the spiritual, legal, ethical and cultural practices of Muslims so that they, too, may attain nearness to God. Even though there exist a myriad of variations in a multitude of aspects within those individuals who comprise Islam, it is safe to say that the guiding influence of the Sunna as a paradigm for a divinely bound life is seemingly unavoidable for any member of the Umma, or Islamic community. This concept is evident in nearly every component of Muslim life, from the devotional practices of some Muslims to the ethical and political thought of others.

One of the most blatant examples of Muhammad’s religious role as a guide for living closely to God is demonstrated in the basis of the complex of Islamic law, or the Shari’a, along with jurisprudence, known as fiqh, that updates the Shari’a according to new interpretations of Islamic text by jurists (Vernon Egger 2004: 122) . Islamic law is derived from a combination of the word of the Qur’an and the Hadith, which is a revered collection of texts, composed of depictions of both the actions and sayings of Muhammad that have been maintained by oral transmitters who witnessed these events or were themselves informed by others(Carl Ernst 2003: 81). While the Qur’an is viewed as the word of God, the Hadith is more closely associated with the life of the Prophet Muhammad, and therefore his example of living. Understanding this idea, it is now possible for one to see that the Sunna described within the Hadith is directly related to Islamic law, and would therefore have a tremendous influence in guiding the daily lives of all individuals who avidly follow and obey the Shari’a. The implementation of Islamic law on Muslims can be seen as an attempt to impose moral character, and Muhammad’s influence on the Shari’a corresponds with his saying,

I came only for the perfection of character (Carl Ernst 2003, 167).

From this idea, it seems that Muhammad certainly intended to guide the Umma towards perfection in life, regardless of the manner through which it was attained. Although some may argue that the legitimacy of the Hadith has become less than acceptable due to some fabricated stories that it may contain, the fact is that if one were to review Islamic law for incorrect rulings based on fake Hadith it is typical that falsified tales could only be applied to extremely specific situations, in that they were most likely created initially to support a position in a legal argument that lacked evidence, and would therefore have a minimal effect on a vast majority of Muslims if implemented within the Shari’a (Carl Ernst 2003: 81) . Derived from the same paradigm, Fiqh, Islamic jurisprudence, allows for the expansion of the Shari’a based on legal precedent located within either the Hadith or the Qur’an (Vernon Egger 2004: 119). This means that guidance derived from the model of Muhammad’s life will continue to shape and govern eternally, until the unlikely time passes that the need for jurisprudence discontinues, and law becomes stagnate.

The imitation Muhammad’s prophetic model and its guiding influence can again be detected in Muslim life when reviewing some typical Islamic devotional practices, particularly that of ritual prayer as described by Carl Ernst,

The motions of bowing, kneeling, prostration, and standing that comprise this sequence of ritual prayer can be understand in part as a reenactment or evocation of the Prophet Muhammad’s ascension to the presence of God (Carl Ernst 2003: 88).

This demonstrates the Muslim integration of different aspects of the Prophet Muhammad’s life and the use of these aspects as a guide to be followed in order to achieve nearness the God. Muhammad is believed to have ascended to the heavens and met God on a night known as the Night of Power (Carl Ernst 2003: 167). Muslims will reenact this process of ascendency because it is felt that the Prophet’s actions exemplify the how one must behave to become closer to God. Other Muslim devotional practices are seemingly derived from events in Muhammad’s life relative to the Night of Power as well. Sufi Muslims, Muslim mystics, have a strong history of using the exemplar of the Prophet as a guide for living their own lives, as discussed by Vernon Egger,

For over a century, many of the most prominent Sufis were among those who were engaged in the gathering of the Hadith in order to have a guide for living according to the will of God (Vernon Egger 2004: 123).

A key component of religion for most Sufis is spirituality that transcends the material world (Vernon Egger 2004: 123). They believed that one could reach God through meditation and revelation, much as the Prophet Muhammad had received revelations on the Night of Power (Vernon Egger 2004: 125). Once again, Muhammad’s life serves as a model by which to follow in order to attain closeness to God.

With this said, some individuals might contend that not all Muslim’s follow the Sunna as a primary component used to shape their lifestyle, and that Muhammad’s life may be secondary to Shi’ite Muslims, who generally take their guidance from the Imam, or their supernaturally influenced spiritual leader (Vernon Egger 2004: 122). On the surface, this postulation proves to be true, but when critically analyzing and deconstructing the basis for the Shi’ite Imam’s decisions regarding religious conundrums, one might find Muhammad’s guidance closer than it appears. The Qur’an would appear to be a major reference point for the Imam, but within its text Muhammad is described to be “a beautiful model,” suggesting that his way of living was exemplary (Carl Ernst 2003: 80). While many Shi’ites view the Hadith as a compilation of numerous obviously false texts, looking toward the Imam and rationality for guidance, it seems nearly impossible to avoid the influence Muhammad’s life has had on any aspect within Islam (Vernon Egger 2004: 122). The teachings of Muhammad are often viewed from a purely religious standpoint, reasoning that much of what he professed would fall on deaf ears when they attempted to be imposed on an individual of another religion, or of no religion at all. But rationality was not something unfamiliar to Muhammad, and many of his teachings easily double as support for both religious and rational arguments in a plethora of situations. From this perspective, one might understand how, then, rational thought of the time might have been influenced by the life and deeds of the Prophet Muhammad. Also, all Muslims follow the Shari’a even if variations exist between the Shari’a of specific sects of Islam (Vernon Egger, 2004: 122). Since the initial foundation for the Shari’a was derived from the Qur’an and the Sunna, it becomes unlikely that during the schism that resulted in the sectarian groups of Islam, all influence of the Sunna on the Shari’a of newly developed sects had been eliminated (Vernon Egger 2004: 117). These concepts demonstrate the irrefutable guidance that Muhammad’s life has afforded to all Muslims. Even if it is not their intention to imitate his model, they have certainly become what would be considered closer to God through its influence.

Ultimately it stands to reason that as the one who brought the teachings of Islam to mankind, Muhammad ought to shape those principles to serve the purposes initially intended by God. The Prophet instated his doctrine most effectively through exemplifying it within his own life. Since his death in 632 B.C.E, Muslims have continuously revisited the Sunna, utilizing Muhammad’s words and actions to instruct them in regards to how they might live their lives as to be in accordance with the will of God (Carl Ernst 2003, 92). In this sense, the word of Muhammad has never ceased to placate throughout the Umma, boasting guidance when necessary and offering nearness to a God that maintains no physical locality.

Works Cited

Ernst, Carl. Following Muhammad: Rethinking Islam in the Contemporary World. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: University of North Carolina Press, 2003.

Egger, Vernon. A History of the Muslim World to 1405. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc., 2004.