Uswa Hasana: Difference between revisions

In the mainstream theology of Sunni [[Islam]], the Prophet Muhammad is known as '''al-Insān al-Kāmil''' (the perfect human) and '''uswa hasana''' (an excellent model of conduct). This is taken to mean that his conduct in all things, from how he prayed, how he conducted himself in business and in war, his sexual relations with his wives, slaves and concubines, and even how he cleaned himself after defecation and urination is an exemplar and model for all humans to follow at all times, regardless of historical circumstance and independent of culture.  

Modern historians tend to approach the study of particular historical periods, governments and personages from a perspective of historical and cultural relativism. So when in the course of study it comes to light that for instance Julius Caesar sold the women and children of the Gaules he defeated into slavery and paraded his enemy Vercin Geterix like an animal through Rome before executing him (likely by strangulation), although not necessarily endorsing these actions historians will tend to offer context such as explaining that such actions were not at all unusual for other people at the time. On the other hand, when a leader such as Adolf Hitler ordered his soldiers entering the Soviet Union to specifically ignore international treaties on the treatment of prisoners of war in order to brutalize and murder as many "sub-humans" as possible or to set up industrial killing camps with the objective of physically annihilating entire ethnic groups, a idea new to the entire history of mankind, historians tend to pass judgement on these actions as being worse for breaking the contemporary norms of the times these leaders lived in, exceeding even their contemporaries' expectations of human cruelty and viciousness.  

See related: [[Qur'an, Hadith and Scholars:Islamic Theology#Hadith_and_Sunnah|Islamic Theology/Hadith and Sunnah]]

{{quote|[http://www.studyquran.co.uk/1_ALIF.htm Lane's Lexicon - Alif Siin Waw]|

'''Alif-Siin-Waw''': to imitate any one. uswah - model, imitation, relief, consolation, pattern, example worthy of imitation.

Muhammad and child marriage:

{{Quote|{{Muslim|8|3310}}|A'isha (Allah be pleased with her) reported: Allah's Apostle (Mohammad) married me when I was six years old, and I was admitted to his house when I was nine years old.}}

Muhammad and the murder of prisoners of war, including young boys:

{{Quote|Ishaq 464|“The Jews were made to come down, and Allah’s Messenger imprisoned them. Then the Prophet went out into the marketplace of Medina, and he had trenches dug in it. He sent for the Jewish men and had them beheaded in those trenches. They were brought out to him in batches. They numbered 800 to 900 boys and men.”}}

Muhammad and slavery:

{{Quote||Muhammed's Maid Slaves "are Salma Um Rafi', Maymuna daughter of Abu Asib, Maymuna daughter of Sa'd, Khadra, Radwa, Razina, Um Damira, Rayhana, Mary the Coptic, in addition to two other maid-slaves, one of them given to him as a present by his cousin, Zaynab, and the other one captured in a war.<ref name="Zad al-Ma'ad"></ref>}}

Muhammad and homosexuality:

Muhammad and domestic violence against women:

{{Quote|{{Muslim|4|2127}}| Aisha: I said, Messenger of Allah, may my father and mother be ransom for you, and then I told him (the whole story). He said: Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said: Yes. He struck me on the chest which caused me pain.}}

In contemporary discourse modern Muslims who wish to live and practice their faith in accordance with modern norms of behaviour often condemn such actions as barbaric, and often seek to invoke Muhammad's culture context to explain them. The doctrine of Uswa Hasana, howver, makes this argument exceedingly difficult, especially when the argument is between Muslims who wish to follow modern mores and traditionalist Muslims who wish to hew to the traditional understanding of the tradition. To take one example, Muhammad himself is claimed to have said: “A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.”<ref>Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab - {{Abu Dawud|11|2142}}</ref>

==Challenges to Uswa Hasana from Within the Islamic Tradition==

==See Also==

==External Links==

'''Islamic sites'''

*[{{Reference archive|1=http://web.archive.org/web/20090122054220/http://islamia.com/the_last_prophet.htm|2=2011-07-29}} The Last Prophet - Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets]

'''Videos'''

==References==