JOIN USFor a proper understanding of Islam, it is necessary to know the Prophet of Islam, Mohammed, on whom be peace, inasmuch as he was the receptacle of the Qur’an.
Not without reason has it been said that one cannot separate the message from the messenger: an observation so easily borne out in his case, for he not only preached, but also practiced, what was revealed to him.
When his wife, Aisha, was asked about his character, she replied, ‘Haven’t you read the Qur’an? He lived the Qur’an.’ Little there was which he preached which he did not practice to a superlative degree, leaving behind him, thereby, a complete model for all humanity.
In the words of the Qur’an, ‘Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for any who (rests his) hopes in Allah and the Final Day, and who remembers Allah much’ (33:21).
Before delving into his character, his mission – uniting people in the worship of the One and only God as also training them in upright living according to divine commandments – and the level of success he attained to finally, needs to be first understood. In a short span of 23 years he converted the situation in the whole of the Arabian Peninsula from idolatry to the worship of One God; from tribal wars to national solidarity; from drunkenness and debauchery to sobriety and piety; from lawlessness to disciplined living; from moral bankruptcy to moral excellence.
“In spite of the phenomenal success his mission achieved in his own lifetime, the constant austerity of the Prophet is stated thus by Prof. K S Ramakrishna Rao in his book, ‘Mohammed, the Prophet of Islam’:
“After the fall of Mecca, more than one million square miles of land lay at his feet. Lord of Arabia, he mended his own shoes and coarse woolen garments, milked the goats, swept the hearth, kindled the fire and attended to the other menial offices of the family.
The entire town of Medina where he lived grew wealthy in the later days of his life… and yet in those days of prosperity, many weeks would elapse without a fire being kindled in the hearth of the king of Arabia, his food being dates and water.”
His family went hungry for nights together because there was little to eat in the evening. It was on no soft bed that he slept, for a palm mat sufficed for his needs.
And this, too, only for him to spend most of the night weeping before his Creator for the strength to discharge his duties. His only possessions on the day he died were a few coins a part of which went to satisfy a debt and the rest to a needy person who came for charity.
Many a patch adorned the clothes in which the Prophet passed away.