The Prophet’s Life was an Open Book

According to this Quranic verse, the Prophet’s life was an open book. His character was known to everyone in minute detail. No chapter of his life’s book was hidden from his contemporaries. He was accessible to everyone at all times. He was available to answer people’s questions. His life was as transparent as glass. Even his enemies could not say of him that there was any contradiction between his private life and his public life. This was not simply a personal matter. It had great social value. Leading a blameless life and having sterling qualities makes one predictable and encourages others to accept one as a trustworthy person. It was due to such a character, the Prophet projected such a noble image in Makkah that people gave him the very exceptional title of al-sadiq al-amin, that is, the truthful and trustworthy. According to this Quranic verse, the Prophet’s life was an open book. His character was known to everyone in minute detail. It was this flawless character of the Prophet that prevented anyone in ancient Arabia from saying: “O Prophet, you are telling a lie, we cannot believe that your claim of being a Prophet of God is true.” When he proclaimed that God had appointed him as a prophet, no one was able to deny his claim. This miracle of his acceptance was wrought purely by the sublimity of his character. Almost all those who had a close relationship with him, and were well informed about his life, accepted him as a Prophet at the very first instance, either publicly or privately. Once a Makkan leader met the Prophet and told him that the Makkans had reservations about what he had to say about divine revelations, because they had never witnessed an angel of God coming to him to reveal the word of God. But he added: