….a ramble…to stroll about freely with no particular direction, or to follow a winding course; meander….
is there meant to be a destination? When it comes to the sending of letters or items in the mail….yes…
…but here in the Kingdom, a ramble is an apt description of the postal service. Outgoing, incoming…so many meandering items, journeying here and there, or maybe entombed in the pen and ink dead letter maqbarah! Many items have never been delivered and others never received. Rambling around this tiny sphere we all cling to, competing with undersea cables of optic fibres and the high in the sky satellites that provide us with super connectivity with an array of click click gadgets! This instant magical technology is also potentially fickle, as during this past week two different undersea cables supplying many of the Gulf Countries with their net ‘lifeline’ were severed, with repair work still ongoing.
"The lines that tie the globe together by carrying phone calls and Internet traffic are just two-thirds of an inch (1.68 cm) thick where they lie on the ocean floor.
The foundation for a connected world seems quite fragile, an impression reinforced this week when a break in two cables in the Mediterranean Sea disrupted communications across the Middle East and into India and neighboring countries."
So temporarily we are hobbling along with the net, but unfortunately the postal system seems a permanent test. A home delivery service is non-existent. A shock to many, especially expats who are from countries where an efficient mail service operates. Over the past few years the authorities have made attempts to provide home delivery, but like so many things here it has been thwarted, with millions of vandalized letter boxes hanging as ugly reminders of dysfunctional mentality. It has become a joke, made even more laughable when these boxes have been attached to the wall of a graveyard!
At least they remain intact!
From todays Al Watan…the old man asking the worker as he attaches a letter box to the wall of the maqbarah…is this so the residents of the graveyard can pay their bills?
So it is always with joy and elation when communication arrives via a post office box address, even if it was a month coming from Europe. And it becomes a celebratory occasion when I receive word that something sent has made it. One month ago something was sent to Jordan…which is ‘just up there’ and still no sign of it arriving. Khair, Alhumdulillah.
Proof of a successful ramble, one that reached its destination, and bearing the stamp: ‘Kingdom of Humanity’!
This message jolted my inner ramblings to the letters written and sent at the time of our Beloved Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. All correspondence was sealed with his Mubarak seal. The seal synonymous with the true qualities of humanity: kindness and mercy. The heart trembles in awe by merely glancing upon this image and all it represents.
While I was in the Rowdha Shareef this morning I spent time near the Delegation Pillar, on the platform indicating where Rasulullah SallAllahu alaihi wasallam received dignitaries, sat for what seemed an eternity where it is said the outside door from our Lady Ayesha RadhiAllahu anha’s house led to the alley way on Jannatul Baqi side. All the while imagining who may have been in these very places while discussing the contents of letters and treaties, and deciding who would be the best to deliver them. SubhanAllah! The rich and glittery Ottoman decorations lost their luster as I was taken back to mud walls, palm ceilings, dim oil lamps and the gentle calm that must have saturated and illuminated the entire City when our Master Muhammad SallAllahu alaihi wasallam was there, fashioning all the noble qualities that constitute this glorious Deen.
In order that the message of Islam should reach all the countries, nations, tribes and peoples, our Beloved Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wasallam personally travelled to various places in Arabia as well as sending messengers to many lands. His letters were in the form of treaties, agreements, pacts and deeds, composed by consulting with various groups within Arabia, and letters inviting emperors, kings, rulers, vicegerents and governors to Islam.
These missives were not only to safeguard the Muslims from troubles and disputes, but to establish an atmosphere of universal peace and tranquility. Non-Muslims were given their fundamental rights.
“In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful. This letter is from Muhammad the slave of Allah and his Apostle to Heraclius, the ruler of the Byzantines. Peace be upon him who follows the right path. Furthermore, I invite you to Islam and if you become a Muslim you will be safe, and Allah will double your reward, and if you reject this invitation of Islam you will be committing a sin by misguiding your subjects. And I recite to you Allah’s statement:
“O People of the Scriptures! Come to a word common to you and us that we worship none but Allah and that we associate nothing in worship with Him, and that none of us shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then if they turn away, say: Bear witness that we are Muslims (those who have surrendered to Allah). (Qur’an: Surah 3, Ayah 64).”
From the letter to Harqal (Heracles) the Emperor of the Byzantines, Eastern Roman Europe.
“May peace be upon you. I praise Allah who is One and there is no associate of His. I invite you to believe in Allah, the One. Obey Allah and enter the fold of Islam. This is the best way for you, and security is for him who follows the straight course.” From the letter to the Chief of Bahrain.
“Truly I call upon you to obey God’s command and convert to Islam. I am God’s Messenger to all the people so that living hearts will be awakened and illuminated and so that infidels will have no excuses. Submit to Islam so you will be safe and immune.” From the letter to Khusrow, the King of Persia, Iran.
“Greetings to the one who follows the path of salvation and the instructions of the divine guides. You, the ruler of Yamamah, note that my faith will advance to the farthest place where man can go, so submit to Islam to be immune.” From letter to the Ruler of Yamamah.
"This is a message from Muhammad ibn Abdullah, as a covenant to those who adopt Christianity, near and far, we are with them. Verily I, the servants, the helpers, and my followers defend them, because Christians are my citizens; and by Allah! I hold out against anything that displeases them.
No compulsion is to be on them. Neither are their judges to be removed from their jobs nor their monks from their monasteries." From the ‘Charter of Privileges’ to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in Mt. Sinai. The full letter here along with accounts of other events and incidents related to letters.
The contents of the main letters, and the stories enumerating how they were received with replies are in this small edition of Letters of the Holy Prophet:
"A miraculous quality of the letters is that even after a passage of 14 centuries they still retain their freshness, brilliance and beauty, which cannot fail to appeal direct to the human mind. They are simple, yet forceful. The sentences are short and pithy. It seems as if a galaxy of glittering jewels has been infused in them." The major Seerah books descibe details related to this aspect of our Blessed Prophet SallAllahu alaihi wassalam and the fikr he had for spreading Islam for the sake of his Ummah.
The following sites (1,2,3,) have various images of some of the letters that have survived to this day, while here has a chart of some of the messengers and where they were sent. Alhumdulillah.
Such a rich, noble and just legacy from the true Kingdom of Humanity, where our Liege Lord, Al-Mustafa SallAllahu alaihi wasallam so meticulously sowed the seeds of peace, freedom, equality and justice. The foundations of universal brotherhood, amity and unity.
Yaa Nabi Salaam ‘alaika
Yaa Rasul Salaam ‘alaika
Yaa Habib Salaam ‘alaika
Salawaatu’llah ‘alaika
Salutations on you, O Prophet
Salutations on you, O Messenger of Allah
Salutations on you, O Beloved
Blessings of Allah be upon you.
*
…so why grumble when the heart can embrace our past and the tongue be wet with Salawaat…?
All good is from Allah Ta’ala whereas mistakes are from this humble speck. May Allah Ta’ala Bless all readers, bringing you all closer to Him and His Rasul SallAllahu alaihi wasallam. May He accept our humble efforts and grant us the capacity to be good and do good. Ameen.
