The Prophetic Method

THE PROPHETIC METHOD The secret of this bravery does not lie in magical prescriptions or spiritual exercises undertaken in seclusion. Practices in the occult can delude into the world of matter, but they are useless to people grappling with the day-to-day problems that confront them. Real strength is that which leads us to overcome the difficulties of life. People develop inner strength when they become free of all selfish ties when they attain a level of thinking in which all superficial considerations are cast aside and, as the Prophet put it, “they see things as they are.” Their thoughts and actions are not guided by prejudice, anger, greed, hate, the lust for power, vanity, self-interest or any such base urge. This is what makes for a strength of character. It is an irresistible force that enables a person to face every test. The initiatives of those endowed with inward strength are inevitably seen through to their conclusion. They make allowances for all eventualities, both probable and possible, in their decision-making. The more people oppose them, the more they adhere to their position of truth and righteousness. An example of how the Prophet Muhammad’s inner strength provided solutions to all the problems that faced him can be found in the situation that developed after the conquest of Makkah. His strength of spirit manifested itself in different ways as the need arose. Sometimes it took the form of forgiveness, sometimes supreme courage, and sometimes trust in God. Sometimes his success was due to farsightedness. Sometimes he showed how one who