As a part of a campaign titled “Muhammad: A prophet of Mercy” a group of Muslim students distributed 100,000 free roses with short quotations from the Prophet Muhammad such as “peace be upon him and his family” on Feb. 7 in 52 cities in 25 states.
Muslim students at Grambling State University have organized this event and participated in giving 700 roses in Ruston and they will hold this event in Grambling next year.
Last year, the campaign started giving 40,000 roses in 19 States and the message was “Love and Peace”. Beside to peace this year the message was “Muhammad: A Role Educator and a Man of Wisdom”. Moreover, this year the event was adopted by Muslim student organizations in different countries, such as New Zealand, Australia, Poland, Netherland, Great Britain, Canada.
The campaign coordinators ensured that the mission of this nationwide event is to “promote the human values of peace, love and compassion among the general public and to bridge the cultural understanding between Muslims and Americans based on mutual respect and to show Americans our utmost respect and appreciation for accepting us in their society”.
Muslims aimed to explain to others who the prophet Muhammad was and what his message for humanity was. He was the greatest man to walk on earth and his legacy in both the spiritual and political realms have shaped the world more than any other figure in history; yet, he remains a mystery to the non-Muslim world, most of the people do not know that his message was based on peace and love between all humanity. The campaign coordinators held the responsibility to fill the knowledge gap between Muslims and the society where they are living.
The Prophet Muhammad (PBUHF) quotations distributed included:
n “Prophet Jesus son of Mary said, ‘Verily wisdom is the light of every heart'”
n “The worthiest people are those who have the most knowledge, and the least of them in worth are those with the least knowledge”
n “Knowledge is the root of all goods, whereas ignorance is the root of all evil”
n “When Jesus son of Mary was asked, ‘who gave you good manners? He replied, ‘No one disciplined me; when I saw the ugliness of ignorance I avoided it”
n “The seeker of knowledge among ignorant people is as the living one among the dead”
n “The ones with the best faith, are the ones with the best inner knowledge”