The Prophetic Method

territory or accumulate spoils of war. Instead, they were to become a source of wealth—the wealth of true faith— for others. So when the Prophet entrusted ‘Ali with the Muslim standard in the field of Khaybar, he told his cousin to proceed softly: “And when you reach their fields, call them to Islam and tell them what their responsibilities to God are. By God, if the Lord guides just one of them through you to Islam, then that will be better for you than a herd of red camels.” Missionary activity was such a prominent part of the Prophet’s life that if one put his whole struggle under one heading, this would surely be the one. He did not concentrate on political, economic and social issues, as leaders usually do; instead, he devoted his entire time and energy to preaching the word of God. At first, it may have seemed that his single-mindedness was unjustified. But from the outcome of his efforts, it became apparent that worldly goals are automatically achieved if we set our sights on the next world—as the Prophet did. Patience and Steadfastness The third part of the Prophet’s mission, mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, was steadfast forbearance in the face of the difficulties encountered on the divine path. The Arabic word for patience is sabr. One of the words derived from the same root is sabbarah, meaning hard, unfertile ground, which does not accept any seed. Likewise, a patient endowed with sabr does not let events affect him, who never