Bear with patience whatever they say, and remember Our servant David who was endowed with strength. He always turned to Us. We caused the mountains to join him in extolling Our limitless glory in the evening and at sunrise, and likewise the birds in flocks: They all would echo his praise. We strengthened his kingdom; We endowed him with wisdom and decisive judgment. (SAD: 38: 17-20)

With these verses, the surah begins a long passage that is devoted to aspects of the histories of earlier messengers so that Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) would remember them and disregard all the rejections, accusations, amazement and fabrications the unbelievers leveled at him. All this was certain to weigh hard on anyone, but the Prophet is told to bear it all and remain patient in adversity. At the same time, the stories present the effects of God’s grace as it was bestowed on earlier messengers. It shows how God granted them favors of all sorts, including power, authority, care and blessings. This contrasts with the amazement expressed by the Quraish at God’s favoring the Prophet with His message. He was not a unique case among God’s messengers. To some of them God granted a kingdom, in addition to their being His messengers. Among them one was favored with the mountains and birds echoing his glorification and praise of God, and to another the wind and jinn were made subservient. Such were David and Solomon. What is strange, then, for God to have chosen from among all the Quraish, Muhammad, the man of truth, upon whom to bestow His revelations?

Jabir ibn Abdullah

“Anyone from my community may pray wherever he is when prayer is due. War gains have been made lawful to me while they were not made lawful to anyone before. I have been allowed to intercede on behalf of my followers. Prophets before me used to be sent to their own local communities while I am sent to all mankind.” (Related by Al-Bukhari).

The Prophet outlines these five privileges, acknowledging God’s favors and expressing his gratitude. He is in no way boasting about them. He is also highlighting them to his community so that they will remain grateful to God for them. The first privilege is that the Prophet was supported with fear being struck into the hearts of his enemies.

As we mentioned, scores of her tribesmen and women had fallen captive in their attempt to wage war against the Prophet and his companions. According to the universally applied norms at the time, these people became slaves, unless they managed to pay their own ransom. They were actually taken into Muslim people’s homes to begin their life of slavery. However, when Juwayriyyah became the Prophet’s wife, all Muslims who took a captive from her tribe, Al-Mustalaq, freed them. They said: “These people are now the Prophet’s in-laws. How can they remain our slaves?” Thus, more than a hundred families of her own people were set free, without being charged a ransom, or having to pay anything for their freedom.

The Governor of Nigeria's Kano State, Ibrahim Shekarau, yesterday opened the First Islamic Summit in the city of Kano. In his opening address to the summit - which was organized by the Muslim Centre for Research & Planning - the governor expressed the need for Muslims the world over to re-focus their attention on unity and utilize their God-given resources to become productive and solid.

The three-day summit is taking place under the chairmanship of former Nigerian President, Ibrahim Babangida. Its goal is to appraise the religion in the context of contemporary global challenges.

In a goodwill message, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa'ad Abubakar called on Muslims to unite in the interest of the religion and peaceful coexistence with others.

Likewise, the Emir of the city of Kano, Dr. Ado Bayero, called on the Muslim Ummah to be united and God-fearing in their day to day dealings.

Ayesha reports: “A woman asked the Prophet about the form of taking a bath after she has finished her period. ‘How do I conduct my bath,’ she said. He replied: ‘Take a piece of cotton, perfumed with musk, and use it to purify yourself.’ She asked: ‘How do I purify myself with it?’ He said: ‘Well, use it and purify yourself.’ She said: ‘How?’ He said: ‘All glory be to God! Do purify yourself.’ I pulled her toward me and said to her: ‘Use it to remove any traces of blood.’” (Related by Al-Bukhari).

Muslims used to ask the Prophet about every little detail. They realized that Islam meant much more than a belief or a conviction that certain principles are true.