Seerah Competition 2017 Essay – Sofia Aleem

Allah sent Prophet Muhammad as a prophet to guide people to Islam, but also as a role model. As Muslims, we are supposed to study his life, his experiences, his difficulties and take lessons from him because he was the closest to being a perfect person. His story comes with a lot of lessons but one of the most important is this verse from the Quran, ‘When things get really difficult, relief comes from Allah.” Prophet went through many difficulties but his strong imaan and love for Allah allowed his to stay strong and get relief from Allah during the Makkan period. This is shown through the deaths of his parents at a really young age, the conversion of Umar , and the year of sorrow.

The support from a community positively impacts those who have experienced recent loss. The impact of losing one’s parents, especially at a young age is difficult and often leads children and teenagers off of the path of Islam. They blame Allah with their pain and rebel against the teaching of the Quran, not realizing that everything happens for a reason. You can see this most clearly through when Prophet Muhammad lost both of his parents before the age of 8. However, Allah provided relief for the Prophet by leaving a support system in place for him. The extended family and community of Rasulullah were kind to him and raised him to be a good man. They supported him through love of their own kin, love given by Allah . Because Prophet Muhammad had kin like Abdul Muttalib and Abu Talib, I lessened the negative impact his parent’s death had on him . He cared for his parents long after their death and mourned them, but the loneliness and angst you often see in adolescence was wiped away due to Allah’s will.

When one cannot speak for themselves, Allah will send another to speak it for you. During the beginning of Islam, Prophet had to keep Islam quiet due to the small numbers of Muslims that were from his family. When, eventually, people from Makkah found out, all Muslims from that time was targeted to the point where claiming your religion as Islam was taboo. It was a concerning time for Muslims, because all ready, there were the first martyrs of Islam: Yasir and Sumayyah. However, Allah brought relief to them by the man Umar , who, ironically, was an opposer of Islam and had set out to kill Prophet Muhammad . Through Allah ’s will Umar heard the verses of Quran when he was at his sister’s after finding out she accepted Islam, and immediately repented and also accepted Islam. This was beneficial for the Muslims because Umar encouraged them to speak out proudly for their religion, strengthening their confidence. He was also someone who was frightening and provided Muslim’s protection. The conversion of Umar was a game changer for the Muslim community at that time and really helped them out.

With every situation one experiences, there are obvious negatives, but large positives. The Year of Sorrow was a very hard time, especially for the Prophet who was dealing with those who would not accept Islam and responded, often violently to the death of Khadijah and his uncle who did not convert, Abu Talib. Prophet mourned their deaths, but remained a good and supportive prophet without letting these deaths take over his life. This was a test for the Prophet that he passed with flying colors and was rewarded with re-marriages to two women and his trip to Isra and Miraaj, when he was gifted with the 5 times daily prayer. This gift was truly loved by the Prophet and showed that even if Prophet went through one of the most difficult years of his life, named the Year of Sorrow because, Allah was still there for him and provided him with relief.

As you can see through the Makkan period of Rasulullah ’s life that his faith in Allah provided him and the Muslim community a sense of relief and confidence to keep on preaching the religion of Islam. You could see this especially through Prophet Muhammad ’s loss of his parental figures during his childhood, Umar accepting Islam, and the rewards of experiencing the Year of Sorrow. There were examples in our Prophet’s life and had lessons behind them as well. His ’s loss of his parents and the support he received not only showed how Allah brought relief but also of the importance of community and family that we should also extend to others experiencing difficulty. The support the Muslim community received from Umar showed us now, that we should help out those who are unable to fight for themselves and being ignorant makes us blind to many good things that Allah is sending our way. Lastly, the positive events of the Year of Sorrow helps us understand that extreme difficulty and a time period of an all time low always gets better because of Allah ’s mercy. You can apply these lessons as well by being there and comforting those in our family and community when something traumatic occurs on their life. We can also defend those communities, whether Muslim or not, all over the world if they cannot defend themselves. And having faith in Allah and knowing that we are not ever alone and when we need help, Allah provides help, the knowledge of Allah ’s mercy is a lesson in itself. As Muslims in a a violent and ignorant world, it is our duty to take lessons from Rasulullah’s life in order to make us better Muslims and help those out who are in need. This also reminds us that Allah genuinely cares for us and will bring us relief when we need it.