The love and unity displayed by many Muslims in Europe after the magazine Charlie Hebdo and its supporter's latest insults of our beloved Prophet (saw) has been heart-warming. Muslims looked to see if the Muslim governments would take decisive action to defend the honour of the Prophet (saw) but again so little reaction from the regimes. This is unsurprising as there is no Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashidah state (like that established by the Prophet (saw)) that cares about Allah (swt), the Prophet (saw) and the Muslim Ummah.

Despite the pressure from many politicians, intellectuals and sections of the media, many Muslims in Europe held events celebrating the life and vowing to speak against insults against Rasulallahi (saw). However, a few voices amongst the Muslim community have argued that Muslims in the West should ignore these latest insults and not respond claiming that in the Makkan period, Allah responded to insults of the Prophet (saw), that the Prophet himself did not respond and therefore we need not to say anything.

Is this statement of theirs out of fear? After all, Muslims in Europe currently face a strong climate of anti-terror laws, arrests and raids targeting Muslims who speak out about the policies of Western governments so many have reason to not want to rock the boat. Or are these statements an accurate reading of the Seerah in Makkah?

It appears that some have misunderstood what actually occurred in the Makkan period. Because when we look to the circumstances of Revelation (asbab un-nuzul) of some of the ayahs revealed in Makkah, we can properly understand what actually happened when some tried to tarnish the image of the Prophet (saw) by levelling various false accusations against him so that people do not listen to him. The Quraish called him a madman, a soothsayer (kahin) a mad poet and various other derogatory terms in order to turn people away from listening to him. In response, Allah (swt) showed how the Prophet (saw), his Sahaba and his Ummah should respond to such attempts at tarnishing the image of the Prophet (saw). So the verses of Surah al-Haqqah (69:40-43) were revealed throwing back their false arguments and showing the contradiction and falsehood of these allegations.

((إِنَّهُ لَقَوْلُ رَسُولٍ كَرِيمٍ))

"[That] indeed, the Qur'an is the word of a noble Messenger."

((وَمَا هُوَ بِقَوْلِ شَاعِرٍ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تُؤْمِنُونَ))

"And it is not the word of a poet; little do you believe."

((وَلَا بِقَوْلِ كَاهِنٍ ۚ قَلِيلًا مَّا تَذَكَّرُونَ))

"Nor the word of a soothsayer; little do you remember."

((تَنزِيلٌ مِّن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ))

"[It is] a revelation from the Lord of the worlds."

How was it that yesterday, before Revelation, they called him the Trustworthy one, and suddenly today, they accuse him of falsehood! They know full well that the words he now comes with are not the words of a soothsayer or a madman but are the Revelation of the Creator of the Heavens and the earth. Surah al-Masad even mentions one of his accusers (Abu Lahab) by name and these and the ayahs in Surah al-Haqqah were recited by the Sahaba and used in their debates with the elite of Quraish and others who wanted to tarnish the Prophet's image and turn people away from him and his message. The picture you get is one of a strong intellectual debate between the Muslims and the accusers, not one of silence on the part of the Muslims while these false allegations were allowed to sink and be swallowed by the common man.

So how can anyone claiming to know the Seerah demand that Muslims in Europe should be silent in the face of these latest insults? How can one claim to love him (saw) and not speak up when the minds of the common man are being poisoned against Islam and Muslims?
The more they insult him (saw), the more we will love him, hold onto his Sunnah and speak in his defence as Allah taught us.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Taji Mustafa
Media Representative of Hizb ut Tahrir in Britain