What has been said above is true of all religions and their founders; and surely no less of Islam and its Prophet. It is unfortunate that the average Muslims pays so much attention to Islam’s reported teachings on worship and spirituality that it eclipses their noble faith’s revolutionary rules of guidance for temporal aspects of life. A little more, if not the same, attention paid to the latter would bring about a metamorphosis in the world’s perception of Islam, which is awfully misunderstood today.

The Prophet Mohammad’s birthday, Eid-e-Milad-un-Nabi, is celebrated in the subcontinent with great fanfare every year on the 12th day of Muslim calendar’s third month. Milad (birthday) and Seerat (life story) functions are held everywhere, at which speeches are made on the life and times of the Prophet. It’s a pity that on such occasions people take solace in supernatural beliefs about the great Prophet — how he had split the moon into two pieces, how djinns used to be in attendance at his sermons, and so on. All this about a great humanist who never claimed to be a superhuman and was never tired of pronouncing Innama ana basharun (verily I am a human being).

This author also has had the privilege of addressing some of these functions, in Urdu or English, but always speaking of the Prophet’s superb teachings on human rights, rule of law, human dignity and brotherhood, social etiquette and inter-personal relations. “Value four things before four other things,” said the Prophet Muhammad to his followers, “life before death, youth before old age, health before sickness, and affluence before poverty.” In this exhortation indeed lies a complete plan faithfully acting on which one can live a very meaningful life. Death is inevitable and therefore life whose span nobody knows must be spent purposefully; people must make full use of their talent when they are young since no one can either avoid advanced age or anticipate indifferent health; and it must be kept in mind that financial circumstances of a person may not necessarily remain stable.

What a marvellous code of conduct for all those who care to follow it.

The writer is member, Law Commission of India