Exemplary Conduct

a point when life had become an unbearable burden. The Quran looks back on that time: Have We not lifted and expanded your heart and relieved you of the burden which weighed down your back?14 God, indeed, relieved him of his burden. He turned in mercy to His Prophet, illuminating his path and guiding him on his journey. On February 12, A.D. 610, the Prophet sat alone in his cave. The angel of the Lord appeared before him in human form and taught him the words which appear at the beginning of the ninety-sixth chapter of the Quran. The Prophet’s quest had finally been rewarded. His restless soul had joined in communion with the Lord. Not only did God grant him guidance, but He also chose Muhammad as His Prophet and special envoy to the world. The mission of the Prophet extended over the next twenty-three years. During this period, the entire content of the Quran—the final divine scripture—was revealed to him. The Prophet of Islam discovered Truth in the fortieth year of his arduous life. If was an attainment that was not to usher in ease and comfort, for this Truth was that he stood face to face with an Almighty God. It was the discovery of his helplessness before the might of God, of his nothingness before the supernatural magnitude of the almighty. With this discovery, it became clear that God’s faithful servant had nothing but responsibilities; he had no rights. The meaning that life took on for the Prophet after the Truth came to him can be ascertained from these words: