Tuesday, September 11, 2012

The Gladiators - Debate On Slavery - Intro - 6

Assalamualikum
May the peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon you.

"The rich people tried to lull the poor by games and contests in circuses, where gladiators were forced to fight and kill each other just to amuse the spectators.Nehru, Glimpses of World History, Page 86

This is not the 20th century epic historical drama script directed by Ridley Scott. 

This is not the story of the Roman General, Maximus Decimus Meridius who became a Slave, then became a Gladiator who rose through the ranks of the gladiatorial arena to avenge the murder of his family and his Emperor.



This is the story of unnumbered hundreds of thousands of people who were physically crumbled into ashes by the so called sport mentioned by the noted historian and the first prime minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.

The World Before Mohammad The Messenger of God

Rome was one of the super power of this world when Mohammad The Messenger of God came.

Nehru explains the conditions of Rome.

"But disorders increased in the Roman State. There were insurrections and massacres, and bribery and corruption during the elections. Even the poor, down-trodden slaves rose in revolt under a gladiator named Spartacus." - Glimpses of World History, Page 86

- Slaves had to revolt against their masters, for their life.

"But they were crushed ruthlessly, and it is said that 6000 of them were crucified on the Appian Way in Rome" - Ibid.

Those revolts did not help them but were crushed and they were crucified ruthlessly.

"There was pomp and show and a succession of gorgeous processions and games in the circus and gladiators done to death.- Glimpses of World History, Page 104

At one side, the poor slave people were sidelined and killed and on the other side, the luxury and enjoyment flourished.

"But behind this pomp was the misery of the masses. There was heavy taxation which fell on the common people chiefly and burden of work fell on the innumerable slaves." - Ibid

The poor slave people became just a trained cow to till the toil. Most often they were treated even worse than that cow.

A. Down-Trodden Government

"Emperor followed emperor, and some were bad and some were very bad. And gradually the army became all-powerful and could make and unmake emperors." - Ibid

- Emperor by emperor, the conditions of the slaves went from worse to worst.

"So it came about that there was bidding to gain the favour of the army and money was squeezed from the masses or from the conquered territories to bribe the army" - Ibid

- The Roman Army became the final word and the money & luxury went after them in the form of bribe.

B. Humans Were Hunted Like Wild Beasts

The 'triumph' of the Rome and its all-powerful army, continued. 

"One of the great sources of revenue was the slave-trade, and there were regular organized slave-hunts by Roman armies in the East" - Ibid

- The economy of Rome was mostly driven by Slave-trade and Slave-hunt.

"Slave merchants accompanied the armies to buy up the slaves on the spot."  - Ibid 

- Slave business flourished under the Roman Empire.

C. Slave Markets

"The island of Delos, sacred to the old Greeks, became a great slave-market, where sometimes as many as 10,000 slaves were sold in a day!" - Ibid

- An entire island became a great slave-market.

"In the great Colosseum of Rome, a popular emperor used to display as many as 1200 gladiators at a time--- slave who were to die to provide sport for the emperor and his people." - Ibid

- Innumerable humans turned slaves turned gladiators had to die to serve the sport of the emperors.

"Roman citizenship was extended to the whole Roman world - but remember that the poor slaves had nothing to do with it" - Ibid

- Slaves were out of the definition of citizenship.

This is a very brief depiction of the historical context of Rome when Mohammad The Messenger of God was deputed as the messenger for all mankind to come.

It is quite evident that slave were among the earliest followers of the messenger of God.

Why Did The Slaves Go To Mohammad The Messenger of God ?

"Islam also gave them a message of brotherhood - of the equality of all those who were Muslims. A measure of democracy was thus placed before the people." - Jawaharlal Nehru, Glimpses of World History, Page 167

A message of brotherhood, a message of equality, a measure of democracy were a few among the great reasons on why these Slaves and Gladiators went to Mohammad The Messenger of God.

- This message of brotherhood was not limited to people of any class.
- This message of brotherhood was not limited to people of any country.

"This message of brotherhood must have had a great appeal, not only for the Arabs, but also for the inhabitants of many countries where they went.- Ibid

People who followed Mohammad The Messenger of God, carried this message of brotherhood wherever they went. They presented it before whomever they met. They delivered this message across continents, round the world.

From The Down-Trodden treatment of this world, from The Bloody Killing Sport of The Roman Empire and from the trenches of this world, those Slaves and Gladiators were elevated to The Highest Echelons of life by The Ever-Powerful, The Ever-Challenging Ideology of Almighty God that was revealed through the words and actions of Mohammad The Messenger of God.

Regards
Nisam

"The Roman Empire sow the seeds of exploitation and disintegration, Mohammed The Messenger of God sow the seeds of Brotherhood and equality, among the slaves and the gladiators."

Saturday, September 8, 2012

MAIL - 19 - Part - 24


I Wrote - 

Dear Friend

"The Mother Of The Poor". That was the title of the twice/thrice widowed lady named Zaynab Daughter of Khuzayma.

"During the The Period of Ignorance itself She was known as The Mother of The Poor, due to her feeding of the poor people." - Ibn Hisham.

Even before recognizing the Mohammad as a prophet of God, the lady Zaynab was known for her charity.

"She was with Tufail son of Haris then he divorced her and his brother Ubaidah son of Haris married her and he was martyred during the battle of Badr." - Ibn Hisham.

She became a widow for the second time when her second husband was died in a battle.

"The scholar Zuhri said that she was with Ibn Jahsh and he was killed in the battle of Uhd." - Ibn Hisham.

She became a widow for the third time when her third husband was died in a battle.

The Fifth Marriage

"A year after being widowed she was still unmarried, and when the Prophet asked her to marry him she gladly accepted." - Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

Here also, you can see prophet Mohammad taking care of a lady who stood for his principles such as The Charity Principles.

"The Prophet married her with a dowry of four hundred Dirhams, and a apartment was constructed for her near those of Hafsa and Aisha" - Great Women of Islam by Ghadanfar.

He married her, in due accordance his Marriage Principles.

The Result of This Marriage

"And it was doubtless in connection with this new alliance that the Prophet now received a visit from Abu Bara, the ageing chief of Zaynab's tribe.Muhammad, Life Based on Earliest Sources by Martin Lings.

As a result of this marriage, prophet Mohammad received a visit from the chief of the tribe of Zaynab, in an effort to mend the fences that existed between various tribes.

"When Islam was put before him, the old man made it clear that he was not averse to it. He did not however embrace it then, but asked that some Muslims should be sent to instruct his whole tribe." - Ibid.

As a result, they asked for scholars to be sent for them so as to learn The Oneness of God and The Hundreds of Principles put forward by prophet Mohammad.

The Response of The Household

"The two ladies who were already part of the household - Aisha and Hafsah welcomed this new friend and tried their best to give her their sincere sympathetic companionship. They knew that the prophet married Zaynab because she was deeply affected by the death of her first husband." - Great Women of Islam by Ghadanfar.

Thus the lady Zaynab became The Mother of The Believers and she found peace in her life.

"Because of the kind behaviour of these two noble ladies, her grief was lightened and she felt more at peace." - Ibid.

This marriage, again, exemplified a novel elevation of women who lost their husbands just because they proclaimed The Oneness of God, belief in all of His messengers, defended it and martyred for it.


will be continued ...