Now, according to the Quran, people can fight, not make war, but can defend themselves. You have to consider the time and the circumstances in which the Prophet Muhammad found himself as well as his own disciples. They were persecuted because, at that time, not many people understood what a living Master was. It is the same reason why they killed Jesus, and slandered and tried to assassinate the Buddha.

The same is happening nowadays, also. Some people also slander me and make a lot of trouble because of misunderstanding. They don’t take time to learn what I try to teach. They just take one or two sentences, maybe misprinted or misinterpreted, or they have only heard what other people say, and then they try to make trouble. But this is only a very few compared to the good majority, like you, so it is no problem.

But when the Prophet Muhammad was alive, it was terrible. They were followed and persecuted everywhere, so they had to defend themselves. And the consequence that followed the war is that they married many wives. Because many men died in battle and left many widows and children unattended, the Prophet or the leader would say, “Take them in hand and take care of the weak and orphaned. Love them just like your own wife or your own children.” Of course! But it must not always be physical.

For example, sometimes our initiate’s husband dies or something, or the wife dies, and then the children are left, and we take them into another initiate’s house and take care of them, also. But it must not be physical contact; it is just looking after them like brothers and sisters, like their own children, their own husband or wife. Therefore, the Prophet said, “If you take many wives into your house, you have to take care of them equally.” Under that condition, you can take many into your house. For example, if you give your wife one set of jewelry, you have to be able to give the other the same. Then you can take them into your arms and take care of them.

That is just like the security system these days — very civilized. If you want to adopt a child, then you have to declare to the government whether you have enough money in the bank, how much property you have, to see if you can take care of the child. You see, it was very civilized, even though at that time there was no security law. Moslems are like that. So actually, if we want to study a religious scripture, we should study it to the end until there is absolutely no doubt. But if we just take one or two sentences and say: “It is no good; the Moslems are no good,” then we will have prejudice.

From “Rise to the Realm of Enlightenment Together”
News 111, Master says
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
Paris, France • April 25, 1993
(Originally in French and English)

From “The Living Master is the Prophet of the Time”
News 156, Selected Questions and Answers
Spoken by Supreme Master Ching Hai
interview with reporters from the Iranian TV Network, Cape Town, South Africa • December 2, 1999
(Originally in English) Videotape #676

Q: I’m a Muslim.

M: Yes. Be welcome. Me, too!

Q: You’ve said that God lives within us.

M: Well, it’s not only I who’s said it. All the prophets have said that. Your Prophet, Muhammad, said the same thing. He even said that all religions are from God.

Q: Yes, I believe that. You also said that when God is in us, we are God. And I have another strange feeling. I feel that You are me and I am You.

M: That’s wonderful. I’m very honored. (Q: Is that all right?) That’s very all right. Welcome to the same feeling! Join the group; they all feel the same way (Master refers to the audience).

Q: Yes, it feels good to be among my own people. Really, it’s an ecstatic feeling.

M: That’s the way it should feel. So, do you have another question?

Q: I do have another question, but should I go public?

M: Oh, go all out!

Q: OK. Well, what happened to me is that my whole life changed. One day I was working on a project for my painting class. It was a drawing that they asked me to do, a self-portrait. So I drew what was inside me. And I wrote Arabic words on it, from the Quran. That was the real me. So I didn’t know what had happened, but when I went outside, everything was different. Things were happening that had never happened to me before. People were responding to me in a different way. And when the teacher saw the painting, she said, “This is it! You got it!”

M: Wow! So you probably got it!

Q: It’s just that it was so overwhelming. I couldn’t believe it.

M: So now, what’s the question? You don’t like that?

Q: I do! But it’s hard to believe. I wonder whether it’s my mind playing tricks on me or if it’s real.

M: Well, even if your mind is playing tricks on you, it’s a good trick, a very pleasant illusion.

Q: Yes, and there’s another thing. All my dreams and wishes are coming true. And it’s not just me; it’s other people, like my friends. They say something to me, and then they come and tell me, “Hey, it happened!”

M: Well, whatever it is, enjoy it! We only have to recognize ourselves, and other people will as well. The Prophet is very pleased with you. (Applause) If you’re pleased with yourself, He’s pleased. (Q: Thank You.) Don’t worry about it. Just live on. Everything we experience in life will pass, and then we’ll have another, better experience. It’s always better.

Q: So, should I go ahead and tell my family and friends that I’m a follower of the Quan Yin Method?

M: Just tell them that you’ve found some friends who believe in the Quran, and that these friends not only believe in the Quran, they also live the way of the Quran. Not only do they believe in the prophet Muhammad and His teachings, but they try to live His teachings. And in your opinion or your experience of integrating with these friends, you feel they’re sincerely trying to live up to the teachings of the Prophet. So go slowly like that.

Q: I like that. Yes, I think that will make more sense.

M: In the Quran, the Prophet also mentions not to eat meat.

Q: He does? I didn’t know that.

M: Go ahead and look. Study more of the Quran. Study more before you talk to your parents or relatives again. Really, you’ll understand differently now. Everything will be clear to you, very, very clear. The Prophet also teaches non-discrimination among religious believers. So all those followers who make extreme judgments aren’t acting according to the Quran’s teachings at all.

You should study more of the Quran. Make sure you know what you’re talking about. I’ve studied the Quran, and the teachings are exactly the same as those of other Prophets. I’m very happy that you came. At last! We have a lot of other Muslim friends, too.

Q: I’m glad You know so much about Prophet Muhammad.

M: I don’t know that much, but we’re friends. He said to be a good guest on Earth, to live a “rich” life and be a good guest. He didn’t tell people to be ascetic, either. We should be rich both spiritually and materially. So, be a good guest on Earth and live a rich life here. Muhammad said that He was a guest and that we’re all guests here. He knew that. We’re all from Heaven.

Thus, what else did He mean by saying that we’re only guests here? He always talked about Heaven and God. Nothing else came from his mouth. Everything else about war and so on was just unavoidable. But they persecuted Him; they traced His footsteps everywhere and made hell for his disciples.

So He and His disciples unavoidably had to defend themselves sometimes. And during these defensive battles, some were bound to die while some were bound to live. Then He had to comfort those people and tell them that it was by accident. Because if you have to defend yourself and kill other beings, God will still take you to Heaven because you did it for a righteous cause.

Hence, some people made use of that concept to make war later on, which isn’t right. But the teachings of the Prophet are always right. It’s just that we sometimes understand wrongly, and that’s very sad.

Q: I’m so pleased to hear all of that.

M: It happens in every religion. And the same is true with the many wives and so on. In the time of Muhammad, when the Prophet was alive, His teachings provoked a lot of resentment and anger because he didn’t teach like anyone else at that time. He taught that Heaven was at hand, saying, “Come to me; then I’ll show you.” They thought he was being blasphemous, of course, like Jesus so they persecuted Him. They thought that He wanted political fame and that He was trying to be famous, maybe in a position against the government because he was too beloved by the people. And of course, any government at that time would feel threatened. Even nowadays, some governments would feel threatened if the Prophet were to come back to life again and lead the people.

So of course, there were wars. They were persecuted, and sometimes in the course of defending themselves, they had to fight with the government. Maybe they didn’t even fight. But the government and its soldiers, probably sometimes by mistake, killed themselves or were killed. For example, maybe they wanted to thrust a sword into a Muslim believer but suddenly they somehow fell down, thrusting the sword into themselves instead. But they would blame the Muslims for killing them.

Thus the Prophet’s life at that time was a continual war, with constant running and hiding. It was a very terrible time for Him and His followers. Still, their faith was very strong so they stuck together. The men would form a shield around the women and families. They were reluctant soldiers, on the alert and watching out. And yet they were the ones who died first because of being in the front. So if they died, their families were left behind.

The compassionate Prophet then had to tell the remaining disciples, “Each man who’s left must take care of his brother’s wife and children as his own. But only the ones who are able can do so.” That’s why He made the rule, “If you take on two or three wives from your brothers, you have to give to them exactly as you would to your own wife.” That’s only fair, to treat your brother’s family as your own. We do the same here; that’s the brotherhood. And then of course, only the ones who are able should do that. If you can’t feed your own family, how can you take on more family? That’s only being fair, just and wise.

So that’s how the brothers took on other wives and children. That was the spirit of brotherhood. If your brother sacrifices his life for you and for your family, you must take care of his wife and children, or his wife or his children. Whatever you can do, you do it. Then you share your property equally among your wife and the other wives and treat them as your own. Those were the Prophet’s compassionate instructions and wise strategy at that time. It was due to the necessity of the time that they took in more wives than necessary for themselves. But they didn’t take the person in as a wife, just as someone to care for.

So a lot of Masters do things that we don’t understand because the situation isn’t really the way we think. It may look like something we understand, but it’s not.