Hamza Yusuf said
Twenty-six years ago I became a Muslim largely because
I fell in love with a beautiful human being. “I was
only sent to perfect noble character,” said the man
declared as a “mercy to all the worlds.”
As time passed, this love grew as my knowledge of him
increased. I painfully watched his religion hijacked
by some for their own ends distorting his message and
forgetting that he was indeed a mercy to all the
worlds. I am troubled by the media’s portrayal of him
sometimes in the worst of lights. How could the man I
came to know and love be so vilified and maligned by
those who claim to represent him and also by those who
aim to be unbiased interpreters?
Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a shy, reticent man
who lived among his people with such high moral
character they called him al-Amîn—the Trustworthy. The
Prophet of Islam was born in the city of Mecca,
Arabia, into a poor but noble branch of an
aristocratic clan known as Quraysh, a people who
despised treachery, lies and stupidity, while
honouring bravery in battle, generosity in partying,
and cleverness in poetry.
April 13, 2008, 11:00 AM PDT
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