The Revolution of the Prophet

THE REVOLUTION OF THE PROPHET if each separate individual behaves with moral rectitude. Proper and consistent morality can come only from a profound belief in the hereafter. Belief in the hereafter means that we are not free to act as we please but will expect to be taken to task for our actions by God. It rids one of the wayward attitudes and makes one a disciplined and responsible human being. If one reads the Quran and the teachings of the Prophet with an open mind, one will find that life after death receives the most attention. Other matters are mentioned, but only incidentally. The purpose of the Prophet’s mission was to direct people’s attention towards the hereafter. The Prophet’s second principle was to avoid any material conflict between himself scrupulously—the teacher— and those to whom he was addressing his teachings. No matter what price had to be paid, he would let no worldly rivalry come in between himself and his congregation. One outstanding example of this policy was the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. By constantly waging war against the Muslims, the Quraysh had made Muslims and non-Muslims into two parties eternally at loggerheads. Both sides were spending all their time preparing for and engaging in warfare. In this treaty, the Prophet accepted all the Quraysh’s demands in return for a ten-year truce. The treaty’s terms were so one-sided that many Muslims considered it a humiliation; in reality, it paved the way for what the Quran called a “clear victory.”67 This treaty ended the atmosphere of confrontation which had developed between Muslims and