MUHAMMAD THE IDEAL CHARACTER

~ 23 ~ be sternly punished. You will live thereafter either in the Garden of Bliss or in the Fire of Hell.” If a man runs counter to the trends of the times, his every step is beset with difficulties. This is particularly true when he launches himself on a religious mission against the ingrained habits of irreligion. People, who become set in their ways, are seldom willing to listen to the voice of change. The Prophet in his role of believer and missionary, therefore, found himself at loggerheads with his own countrymen. Bent, as he was, on preaching the word of God, he ran headlong into clashes with his own people. His trials and tribulations were legion, hunger and privation being regular features of his early missionary days. He even had to suffer assaults on his person, and there were pitched battles between his converts and the infidels. In the third year after his emigration, his opponents mounted an assault on Madinah and the battle of Uhud took place. At the outset, the Muslims had the upper hand, but, because of some misguided strategy on the part of some of his followers, the enemy forces attacked from the rear,