Imam Khalid Latif

Imam Khalid Latif is blogging his reflections during the month of Ramadan, featured daily on HuffPost Religion. For a complete record of his previous posts, click over to the Islamic Center at New York University or visit his author page, and to follow along with the rest of his reflections, sign up for an author e-mail alert above, visit his Facebook page or follow him on Twitter.

It's about 2:30am in Abu Dhabi and I'm sitting in my hotel room with my wife eating halal chicken nuggets from McDonald's. I am quite happy at the moment, alhamdulillah.

Earlier this evening we broke fast with a small, yet quite unique, group of individuals that included Karen Armstrong, Lesley Hazleton and Her Highness Sheikha Mariam bint Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. We went on from dinner to attend a private gathering hosted by Sheikha Mariam in which I, Karen and Lesley spoke about the concept of compassion and tolerance in Islam. It was most refreshing to be a part of a gathering that brought diverse voices together to speak positively not only about Islam, but also the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.

More often than not, the only stories that get told about Muhammad these days in popular media are those that malign him. Even in the few instances where opportunities are presented to offer a different perspective, a barrage of negativity follows anything that is positive. Karen and Lesley represent two important voices for Islam, even though they are not Muslim. The manner in which they speak about Muhammad is remarkable. They've moved beyond the basic stereotypes that people feed into, done extensive research, and literally written books that speak about his life, his character, and his pursuit of compassion for all people.

To me, the Prophet Muhammad is someone to look up to. He embodies a sense of compassion and mercy towards others that is hard to find in much of the world today. Selflessness was the basis of his character as he sought to serve his Creator by serving creation. He sought to act justly with others but did not demand justice for himself. Even when he himself was being ridiculed and mocked by his people, when his companions were being boycotted, beaten and even killed, his prayers would include those who were causing the harm. A regular supplication that he would make was Allahuma-ghfirli qawmi, fa innahum laa ya'alamoon -- Oh my lord, forgive my people for indeed they do not understand. Here he is not seeking forgiveness for just Muslims, but for people in general. His compassion wasn't limited to his ummah, a Muslim nation, but to his qawm, his society-at large....to continue reading please click here