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.  

==Historical Moral Relativism ==

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.  

 

 

Muhammad repeatedly told his followers to follow his [[Sunnah]] (example) and in the [[Qur'an]] we see that [[Allah]] even asserts his morality as being “sublime” ({{Quran|68|4}}), therefore Muhammad cannot be seen as simply a product of his time. To orthodox Muslim eyes, admitting to a cultural relativism vis-a-vis the prophet would be blasphemy. Amongst other effects it would essentially invalidate the majority of Islamic [[fiqh]] which very often takes as its starting point the actions and attitudes of the prophet regarding a given question. From an orthodox Islamic perspective, this is simply unthinkable. The Qur'an itself though delivered by the prophet was created by god and is beyond the constraints of time, just as likewise the actions of the prophet were in every way divinely ordained and sanctioned. It is not simply 'inspired' but the very words of Allah, uttered through the lips of his final messenger who pleased his lord in every way. Hence, Muhammad's actions are (and always will be) morally acceptable to orthodox Muslim.

==The Implications of Uswa Hasana for Muslims in the Modern World==

Orthodox Muslims today are encouraged by the ulemaa' to emulate Muhammad and his 7<Sup>th</Sup> century actions (as remembered by scholars writing in the 8<Sup>th</Sup>, 9<Sup>th</Sup>, 10<Sup>th</Sup>, 11<Sup>th</Sup>, 12<Sup>th</Sup> and 13<Sup>th</Sup> centuries, when Islamic doctrine and supremacy was unquestioned and unchallenged in its own lands) as closely as they can, as a form of devotion to Allah. Due to this, the actions and ideas endorsed by orthodox Islamic scholars often stand in stark contrast to modern ideas of human rights, women's rights, minority rights, freedom of expression, and freedom of religion inter alia. Some examples include:

Muhammad and child marriage:

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

Muhammad and slavery:

Muhammad and homosexuality:

Muhammad and domestic violence against women:

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>

 

An often mentioned counterpoint to Uswa Hasana is that the prophet himself appears to be rebuked in surah 80 and told to repent, thus proving the Muhammad was not perfect. Muhammad is rebuked in the Qur'an for turning away from a blind man, but this has not traditionally been taken as proof against the doctrine of Uswa Hasana. In Islam, prophets are ''ma'asoom'' معصوم (infallible/sinless/innocent). They may err (''Zallat'' ظلات "slips"), but this is not the same as committing a sin. Sin in Islam has traditional been seen as doing something against Allah's prescribed teachings. Muhammad did not sin because the incident involving the blind man occurred prior to Allah admonishing him. An act thus only becomes a sin only after Allah ordains it as such. For example, Muhammad and the early Muslims drank [[alcohol]], but this allowance was abrogated by a later Qur'anic revelation, and the scholars have not traditionally held that Muhammad committed a sin here.