The Revolution of the Prophet

THE REVOLUTION OF THE PROPHET They were the cream of the Muslim community, the most warm-hearted, the most knowledgeable, and the least formal. They were the ones that God chose to accompany His prophet and establish his religion. What polytheism had deprived man of more than anything was the ability to see the truth on an abstract level. It had made him want to see and feel something before he would believe it. The prophets who came to the world spoke of a truth, which was an abstract force. Their peoples could not appreciate this, hence the scorn and ridicule to which prophets have been subjected in every age. The polytheists had not denied the existence of God. What they had done was mould Him in the image of insensate objects. Finding it difficult to fathom a God that could not be seen, they depicted Him in material or human forms and made these visible objects the focus of their attention. The objects they chose to revere were invariably things that appeared great to them, so when the prophets came, they failed to achieve public recognition, for they appeared in the guise of ordinary people. No historical greatness was attached to them when they came to the world. It was only much later that they came to be considered national heroes. Part of Abraham’s prayer when he commenced the construction of the Kaaba in Makkah went like this: And remember when Abraham said: “Lord, make this town one of peace. Preserve my descendants and me from serving idols. Lord, they have led