Respect

Thirteen times in the Qur'an we are told to obey God,

and each time along with that we are told to obey the Messenger.

Because how can we obey God

if we don't have someone who can tell us what God wants from us.

Of course, since the death of the Messenger

there has been no-one to take his place,

and the interpretation of how God wants humans to behave

has been left in the hands of ordinary humans.

Once you believe in God,

the vast incomparability that we encounter can make it a hard mental stretch

trying to find a way to

personally relate to this incomparability.

Looking at the Signs,

the scale of sun and moon and stars,

the power of wind and wave and weather,

does encourage us to feel awe and wonder,

but it is much harder to feel something more intimately personal like love.

Much easier to focus love upon a human subject,

whose life and behaviour are closer to our experience,

while at the same time linking us with the Divine.

Now whereas this is an admirable way to approach God's Way of Life, it has dangers,

as can be seen in what has happened in other religions,

where love of a Messenger was ultimately confused with

the One from whom the Message was being revealed.

The incomparability of humans

is not like

the incomparability of God.

Putting too much stress

on the Messenger and his Holy Family

brings consideration of God

down to consideration of what is

inevitably limited by being human.

In calling to God for blessings to be rained upon Muhammad the Messenger,

we remind ourselves that the One to be worshipped

was also constantly worshipped by the Messenger himself,

a worship that was the main focus of his days.

Now everyone says that imitation is the finest form of flattery,

so the best way to form a personal, loving relationship with God

has to be to follow the Messenger's life example,

behaviour that we can be certain he would love us to follow.

But that involves becoming familiar with Muhammad's life,

not just a few battles,

but all the ordinary things that happened every day.

How he worshipped through his Deen.

And that involves imagining who he was,

which involves imagining the situations he was dealing with

over the years that he was receiving the Message,

and how the words of his Reading were integrated with his life

and that of the society that existed around him.

The words did not come into a vacuum.

They were set in a context of cultural assumptions and societal events.

And in a context today

that is so different to the context of that of the time,

we really have to look to the human commonality for our example.

So it is important to distinguish between the surface,

what was superficial to his worship,

related to local conditions and culture,

and not to simply copy externals,

focusing on the trivial

as a distraction from the moral imperative

that was the key example of the Messenger's life.

And we can be sure that the Way that made him beloved in his community

was not how or whether he moved a finger in a certain way.

Issues of fiqh were not really an issue in the time of the Messenger.

But there are many instructions in the Qur'an

that need knowledge of context for understanding.

To understand Sura 2.104 it is useful to know

that the demand 'Look at us' was considered demeaning,

and 'Watch and listen'

was more appropriate to voice when in the company of the Messenger.

And the specific words may not have the same effect or purpose nowadays,

but knowledge of context can provide understanding of behaviour

that is transferable to now.

Again, in Sura 3.159,

the words describe the events of a particular time,

but the example to be followed is clear.

The Messenger dealt with those who treated him brusquely

with gentleness,

and the Qur'an explains why,

that in matters of daily interaction

hardness of heart repels people,

while gentleness attracts.

And along with gentleness goes forgiveness,

and talking things over.

But in the end, whatever decision is arrived at,

it must be recognised that only God can cause anything to happen,

so whatever the desired outcome, it is necessary to trust in God.

The ultimate praise of the Messenger

will never be one of words alone,

and 33.21 lets us know

that the primary example the Messenger holds for us

is believing in the coming of the Last Day,

putting our hope in God,

and remembering God,

the Fount-of-All-Mercy

and the Ever-Merciful,

often.

If we want to follow in the footsteps of the Messenger,

we need to remember what God tells us in Sura 21.107,

that the Messenger was not sent to the world except as

a mercy to all beings.