1. ISLAM: CREATOR OF THE MODERN AGE

~ 19 ~ We have revealed to you this book so that, by the will of their Lord, you may lead men from darkness to light (14:1). This same mission of leading men from darkness to light had been entrusted to all the prophets in turn. The sense, however, in which the Prophet of Islam was distinct from the others was that, in his case, God had decreed—since no Prophet was to come after him—that he should not just communicate the divine message to humanity and leave it at that, but that he should also take practical steps to change the entire existing state of affairs. The prerequisites for putting this plan into action were all provided by God. Moreover, God also guaranteed that any shortcoming in worldly resources would be amply compensated for by special help from the angels. This point has been made in the Hadith in different ways. One hadith in particular is quite direct in its wording: “I am the eradicator through whom God will obliterate unbelief”. Thus the Prophet was not just a dai, but also a mahi. He was the caller to the faith, but he had also to compel people to answer