Why Is Prophet Muhammad Still Important Today?

Muhammad! Why should we follow the path of the extremists? You may repeatedly hear this question from lots of people. When you see a group of people who disrespect the basic teachings of humanity under the title of Islam, how can you trust Islam and Prophet Muhammad? Why should he be important nowadays?

If you study the history and the behavior of Prophet Muhammad, you will see that there are striking differences between Prophet Muhammad and most Muslims. He was so kind and merciful and spread love over all nations. However, we see many people who claim that they are the followers of Muhammad, but there are no similarities between Prophet Muhammad and them.

To clarify the issue and know why Prophet Muhammad is still important today, in this article on Islam4u.pro, we will discuss the following:

Who Was Prophet Muhammad (s)?

God created humanity and guided them. He never left society alone and provided humanity with guidance and messengers. The All-Wise and All-Merciful God desired to extend mercy to humanity and to lead them to prosperity. This is why He sent many messengers to humankind.

ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَىٰ ۖ كُلَّ مَا جَاءَ أُمَّةً رَّسُولُهَا كَذَّبُوهُ  فَأَتْبَعْنَا بَعْضَهُم بَعْضًا ‎

Then We successively sent Our messengers, [but] whenever a messenger came to a people they denied him, so We replaced some [of them] with another [generation].¹

Messengers were sent successively to people to deliver God’s message to mankind and lead them to prosperity. Prophet Muhammad was a human being like any other human being. He would eat and walk like ordinary people. However, he received divine messages from the Almighty. He received the news of God directly or from the archangel Gabriel. He was a messenger who delivered God’s message to humanity. 

قُلْ إِنَّمَا أَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثْلُكُمْ يُوحَىٰ إِلَيَّ أَنَّمَا إِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ ۖ فَمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدً

Say, “Indeed, I am a human being like you. It is revealed to me that indeed your Lord is One; therefore, whoever hopes to meet his Lord, he should associate no one with the worship of his Lord.”²

Prophet Muhammad was the last messenger who completed divine teachings and provided humankind with a complete and perfect law.

مَّا كَانَ مُحَمَّدٌ أَبَا أَحَدٍ مِّن رِّجَالِكُمْ وَلَٰكِن رَّسُولَ اللَّهِ وَخَاتَمَ النَّبِيِّينَ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا

Muhammad is not the father of anyone among you, but he is a messenger of God and the Last Prophet, and [you should know that] God knows all things.³

The Great Character of Prophet Muhammad

Prophet Muhammad was the best of the best among all other messengers. He was indeed a messenger of God and spread God-given mercy over all people. He never oppressed people and his people called him “the truthful and trustworthy one (صاىق الامين)” when he was young and before God sent him as a prophet to them. Even before his mission as a messenger of God, he had a perfect character and excellent and outstanding qualities. God praises him in the Quran:

وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٍ

Indeed, you genuinely have an exalted [ethical] quality. (68:4)

Not only he had exalted ethical qualities, but also he disseminated and taught these excellent qualities to people. Prophet Muhammad was a mercy of God among the creatures and was compassionate and wise. He encouraged people to learn and work hard, and pursued justice, and disliked the oppressors. God praises the Noble Prophet in the Quran by saying that he is mercy for all nations and the entire universe:

‏ وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ

And indeed, We have sent you [as] mercy for all the world.⁴

Muhammad Was Kind Even to Animals

The Prophet was a mercy for the whole world, not only humans. To clarify this issue, let us narrate a story about the Messenger of Islam to show how kind he was to animals. Then we will know and discover how much more merciful he was with people. One of the companions of the Messenger of Islam by the name of ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn Abdullah said, “One day we were on a journey with the Messenger of Islam. When he was away, we saw a sparrow, and so we went to its nest and took its chicks. The sparrow anxiously flew above us when the Messenger of Islam came and said, ‘Who has taken the chicks of this sparrow and made it so anxious? Let the chicks go to their mother and do not make her anxious.’ ”

Are Teachings of Prophet Muhammad (s) for All Times?

Why should the teachings of a man be practical and valuable for all times? Why is a doctor’s prescription the same for all times? To find out the answers to these questions, we should go back to the teachings of Islam and study what the teachings of Islam say. The answers to these mysterious questions rest in the nature of man and Islam. God created man with a divine nature, and He also legislated Islam and its law based on this nature.

فَأَقِمْ وَجْهَكَ لِلدِّينِ حَنِيفًا ۚ فِطْرَتَ اللَّهِ الَّتِي فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَا ۚ لَا تَبْدِيلَ لِخَلْقِ اللَّهِ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمُ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ 

Turn your face towards the religion [of God sincerely] following truth. Fiṭrat of God, upon which He made the [nature of] people [too]. There is no change in the creation of God [and traditions]. It is the correct religion, but most people do not know.⁵

Prophet Muhammad is the messenger of Islam, and his teachings are in accordance with the nature of humankind and the universe. This nature of humankind is unchangeable; this is what God has placed in the nature of man and the religion of Islam, so there is a coordination between man’s spirit and the law of Islam.  

Is Muhammad Important Today? 

We mentioned that the teachings of Islam are based on the nature of human beings, and Prophet Muhammad is the one who delivers the message of Islam and is the best teacher of the Quran and Islam. Those who neglect Prophet Muhammad are actually ignoring their nature and what they need. All human beings appreciate goodness and condemn evil deeds. For instance, everybody believes that we should respect our parents and the elderly or that we should not protect the oppressors. These are the teachings of the Noble Prophet that never become old and we should never neglect. 

The Prophet’s book teaches humankind that the value and belongings of man are based on his effort and works. Do you think such teachings will one day become useless?

وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَانِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ

And only whatever the human being strives for belongs to him.⁶

In addition to the things mentioned above, we should know that acquiring knowledge, establishing justice, and using reason are the undeniable teachings of Prophet Muhammad. We can neglect knowledge, and so why should we imagine that Muhammad is not necessary today while millions of people witness that on the one hand, he is a wise and truthful character, and on the other hand, he is a harbinger of mercy, wisdom, and progress for humankind. 

Conclusion

Prophet Muhammad is a messenger of God who delivered the message of God to humanity. The principle of His teachings is unity of God, belief in the Hereafter, using reason, acquiring knowledge, establishing justice, and spreading mercy over humankind.  

Muhammad is important today as he was influential in the past because his teaching is in accordance with the nature of man and the universe; this will never become old.