Our attitude concerning mockery of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)

Firstly: 

We and every Muslim who feels pride in his religion is
grieved by what these fools and criminals have done by mocking our Prophet
Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who is the best
man who ever walked on this earth, and he is the leader of the earlier and
later generations, may the blessings and peace of my Lord be upon him. 

This insolence is nothing strange on their part, rather it is
to be expected of them.  

Moreover this crime – although it breaks our hearts and fills
them with anger, and we are prepared to sacrifice our lives in defence of
the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) –
is nevertheless something which brings us glad tidings of their doom, and
tells us that the end of their supremacy is at hand. Allaah says
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“Truly, We will suffice you against the scoffers”

[al-Hijr 15:95]

Allaah will suffice His Prophet (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) against the criminals who mock him. He says
(interpretation of the meaning): 

“For he who hates you (O Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم),
he will be cut off (from posterity and every good thing in this world and in
the Hereafter)”

[al-Kawthar 108:3]

i.e., he is scorned and humiliated and cut off from all that
is good. 

When the Muslims besieged a stronghold and its people
resisted, then they heard them mocking and reviling the Prophet (peace
and blessings of Allaah be upon him), they would sense that victory was at
hand, and it would only be a short time before Allaah granted them victory,
to avenge His Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him). 

Al-Saarim al-Maslool (p.
116-117). 

There are many historical cases where those who mocked the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) were destroyed and
finished off. 

Moreover, why do they resent the leader of mankind, Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)? 

They resent him because he called people to believe in the
Oneness of God (Tawheed), and they do not believe that God is One. 

They resent him because he venerated his Lord, may He be
blessed and exalted, and declared Him to be far above what these fabricators
say, as they attributed a wife and son to Him. 

They resent him because he called people to the loftiest of
morals and to give up the lowest. He called them to virtue and to block all
the means that lead to immorality, but they want moral disorder and
unlimited sexual liberty. 

They want to indulge in the swamp of evil whims and desires,
and they have got what they want! 

They resent him because he is the Messenger of Allaah!
Allaah, may He be exalted, is the One Who chose him above all mankind to
convey His message and receive His revelation. 

The signs of his Prophethood are innumerable. 

Have they not heard about the splitting of the moon? Have
they not heard how water sprang from his fingers time after time? 

Have they not heard about his greatest sign, which is the
Holy Qur’aan, the words of the Lord of the Worlds, which Allaah has
protected so that it has not been tampered with by those who would distort
it? Whereas their books which were revealed to their Prophets have been
tampered with to a large extent. 

“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands
and then say, “This is from Allaah,” to purchase with it a little price! Woe
to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for that they earn
thereby”
[al-Baqarah 2:79]. 

The greatest proof of the truth of our Prophet Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is the fact that his religion
has continued for so many centuries to prevail and be victorious. Throughout
his lifetime (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) he continued
to prevail over his enemies. The wisdom of Allaah dictates that no liar who
lies about him and his religion can ever prevail for a long time. Indeed, in
their books, which their scholars concealed and distorted, it says that the
liar who falsely claims to be a prophet will only survive for thirty years
or so, then his message will fade away. 

It was narrated from one of their kings that a man who
followed the same religion as him (Christian) was brought to him, who used
to revile the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and
accuse him of lying. The king summoned his religious scholars and asked
them: How long does a liar remain for? They said: Such and such – thirty
years or thereabouts. The king said: This religion of Muhammad has lasted
for more than five hundred years or six hundred years [i.e., at the time of
that king], and it is prevailing and is accepted and followed. How can he be
a liar? Then he had that man beheaded. 

Sharh al-‘Aqeedah al-Asfahaaniyyah
by Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah (may Allaah have mercy on him). 

Do they not know that many of their wise men, kings and
scholars, when the pure and clear call of Islam reached them, had no choice
but to affirm the truth of this religion, and they venerated the Prophet
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), and many of them announced
their entry into Islam? 

The king of Abyssinia, the Najaashi (Negus) affirmed that,
and became a Muslim. 

When the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) sent a letter to Heraclius the king of Byzantium, calling him to Islam,
Heraclius affirmed that he was indeed a Prophet, and he thought of
announcing his Islam, and he wished that he could go to the Messenger
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) and be his servant, but he
feared that his people would kill him, so he remained a kaafir and died in
that state. 

Many of their contemporaries are still proclaiming that.  

1-

Michael Hart said in his book The 100: A Ranking of the
Most Influential Persons in History (p. 13), where he put Muhammad
(peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) at the head of his list of one
hundred: 

I chose Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him) to be top of this list … because Muhammad (peace and blessings of
Allaah be upon him) was the only man in history who was supremely successful
on both the religious and secular levels. 

2-

The Englishman George Bernard Shaw wrote a book called
Muhammad, which was burned by the British authorities. He said: 

The world is in the utmost need of a man with the mentality
of Muhammad.

Medieval ecclesiastics, either through ignorance of bigotry,
painted Mohammadanism in the darkest colors. They were in fact; trained to
hate both the man Muhammad and his to them was anti-Christ. But I have
studied his life, and found him to be extraordinary. I have reached the
conclusion that  he was never an enemy to Christianity. He must be called
the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the
dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems
in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness. 

3-

Annie Besant said: 

It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and
character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he
lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the
great messengers of the Supreme. 

4-

The Austrian Schabrak said: 

Mankind may be proud of having a man like Muhammad among
them, for despite being illiterate he was able more than ten centuries ago
to introduce legislation that we Europeans would be the happiest ever if we
could produce something of equally high quality. 

5-

Dr. Zwemer (a Canadian Orientalist): 

Muhammad was an able reformer, eloquent and well spoken,
courageous and daring, a great thinker. We cannot attribute to him anything
that contradicts these qualities. This Qur’aan that he brought and his
history bear witness to the truth of these claims. 

6-

The English philosopher Thomas Carlyle, the Nobel Prize
winner, says in his book Heroes: 

It is very shameful for any individual in this era to listen
to what is said about the religion of Islam being a fabrication and Muhammad
being a treacherous fabricator. Throughout his life we see him holding firm
beliefs, sincere in resolve, generous and kind, compassionate, pious,
virtuous, very serious. In spite of that, he was easy-going, cheerful,
friendly, and even sometimes light-hearted. He was just, sincere in
intention, smart, chivalrous, and quick-witted, as if he carried in his
heart the lamps of every dark night, filled with light; a naturally great
man who never studied in school or at the hand of a teacher, because he had
no need of that. 

7-

Goethe, the German poet, said: 

We Europeans with all our concepts and ideas have not yet
attained that which Muhammad attained, and no one will ever surpass him. I
searched in history for the loftiest example for man to follow, and I found
it in the Prophet Muhammad. Thus the truth must prevail and become supreme,
because Muhammad succeeded in subjugating the whole world by means of the
message of Divine Oneness. 

—

If that is the case, then the entire world – with no
alternative – must regard the greatness of Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) among all of creation above all greatness,
and his virtue above all virtues, and his status as greater than any other.
The world must unite in believing in the message of Muhammad (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him), and that he is the Final Prophet of
Allaah. 

We would like to make the most of this opportunity to call
these people to Islam, for what their sinful hands have fabricated cannot be
erased except by Islam. But if they are stubborn and persist in their ways,
then let them receive tidings of the punishment of Hell, to abide therein
forever. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Verily, whosoever sets up partners (in worship) with
Allaah, then Allaah has forbidden Paradise to him, and the Fire will be his
abode. And for the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrongdoers) there are no
helpers”

[al-Maa’idah 5:72] 

“And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will
never be accepted of him, and in the Hereafter he will be one of the losers”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:85]

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
said: “By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, no one among this
nation, Jew or Christian, hears of me then dies not believing in that with
which I was sent, but he will be one of the people of the Fire.” Narrated by
Muslim (153). 

Secondly: 

Allaah is wise and does not decree anything that is pure
evil; rather there must be something good in it for His believing slaves, no
matter how evil it appears to people. The Messenger (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) spoke the truth when he said: “How
wonderful is the situation of the believer, for all his affairs are good. If
something good happens to him, he gives thanks for it and that is good for
him; if something bad happens to him, he bears it with patience, and that is
good for him. This does not apply to anyone but the believer.” Narrated by
Muslim (2999). 

Concerning the incident of the slander (al-ifk) – which is
well known – Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning): 

“Consider it not a bad thing for you. Nay, it is good for
you. Unto every man among them will be paid that which he had earned of the
sin, and as for him among them who had the greater share therein, his will
be a great torment”

[al-Noor 24:11]

There follow some of the good things that have resulted from
this sinful crime. 

1.

What was concealed in the hearts of these criminals, such as
resentment and hatred of the Muslims, has been made known, even though they
pretend most of the time to be peaceful.

“Hatred has already appeared from their mouths, but what
their breasts conceal is far worse”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:118]

 2.

Exposure of the West’s double standards. Here they cite
freedom of opinion, but every wise man knows that this so-called freedom of
opinion should stop before violating the sanctity of others and
transgressing against them. They are lying in their claims of freedom of
opinion. We all remember what happened a few years ago when one government
decided to destroy the idols in their country; there was a global outcry!
What about this so-called freedom of opinion? Why don’t they regard this
also as freedom of opinion? 

3.

Demonstration of the falseness of what some westernizers in
our countries say, “Don’t call the non-Muslims kuffaar, rather call them
‘others’ so as not to fan the flames of trouble between us and them.” 

But everyone should understand just who it is that hates the
other, and does not respect his sanctity, and declares war against him every
time he gets the opportunity. 

4.

The falseness of their claim with which they have filled the
world, namely the dialogue of civilizations that is based on respect for
others and not transgressing against them. What kind of dialogue do they
want?! What respect do they claim to show? They want us to respect them and
honour them, and even to bow and prostrate to them, but all they do is make
fun of us and mock us and wrong us even more. 

5.

Reviving faith in Muslim hearts. We have seen the Muslims’
reaction which is indicative of deeply-rooted faith in their hearts and the
extent of their love for the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him); even among those who neglect some religious duties leapt to
defend our noble Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon
him). 

6.

Uniting the Muslims. We have seen – praise be to Allaah –
solidarity among the Muslims who have adopted the same stance despite the
differences in their countries and languages. 

7.

It has become apparent that the West is ganging up against
Islam. As soon as that country sought the help of their fellow, they all
stood up to support that country and the criminals encouraged one another to
publish these pictures in their newspaper, so that the Muslims would know
that they are all united and that we cannot confront them all.  

8.

Some Muslims were keen to call these people to Islam and to
show them the true image of this religion. We have seen Muslims racing to
publish books in the language of these people so that the scales will fall
from their eyes and they may see clearly. 

9.

The effectiveness of Muslim boycotts against the products of
those who transgressed against the Messenger of Allaah (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) has been proven. Their nation did not
respond to any official or political requests, even at the highest levels,
but the boycott did not last more than a few days before the newspaper that
was in the wrong and its chief editor offered apologies and changed their
tone, so the Muslims softened their stance somewhat. 

This appears to be the new weapon of the Muslims, that they
can use to influence and harm their enemies. 

10.

A clear message was sent to the West: that we Muslims will
never accept to see our religion insulted or humiliated, or any
transgression against our Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be
upon him). We will all sacrifice ourselves for him.  

Thirdly: 

As for our role in all of this: 

1.

We must denounce it forcefully, each of us according to his
abilities, by sending letters and articles, or making phone calls, to their
government, foreign affairs departments and newspapers. 

2.

We should demand a clear and sincere apology from them, not
deception or justification of the crime which they call an apology. We do
not want an apology for showing disrespect towards the Muslims; rather we
want an admission of error and an apology for that error. 

3.

We should request them to punish the criminals for their
crime. 

4.

We should also request them to stop their governments’
transgressions against Islam and the Muslims. 

5.

We should translate books that call to Islam into the
language of these people, and books that explain about Islam and its
Prophet, and his biography. 

6.

We should buy time on radio and television programs to defend
the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), which should
be hosted by people of ability and well-founded knowledge, who know how to
speak convincingly to Westerners, of whom there are many, praise be to
Allaah. 

7.

We should write strongly worded articles to be published in
magazines, newspapers and web sites in various languages. 

8.

With regard to boycotting their products, if the boycott will
have an effect on them – which is what actually happens – then why don’t we
boycott them and look for other companies that are owned by Muslims? 

9.

We should resist this malicious attack against Islam and its
Prophet; by highlighting the beauty of Islam and the fact that it is in
accordance with sound reasoning, and responding to the specious arguments of
the criminals. 

10.

We should adhere to the Sunnah and follow the guidance of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) in all things, and
be patient in doing so.

“But if you remain patient and become Al-Muttaqoon (the
pious), not the least harm will their cunning do to you”

[Aal ‘Imraan 3:120]

11.

We should strive to call these people, for although we look
at them through a lens of hatred and resentment, we also look at them with
compassion, for soon they will die and will be among the people of Hell, if
they die in this state; so we should call them to Islam and salvation, out
of mercy and compassion towards them. 

We ask Allaah to cause His religion to prevail and to support
His close friends, and to humiliate His enemies.

“And Allaah has full power and control over His Affairs,
but most of men know not”

[Yoosuf 12:21]

May Allaah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet
Muhammad. 

And Allaah knows best.