Lessons of the Prophet’s Life

LESSONS OF THE PROPHET’S LIFE Their conversion was utterly anathema to the Banu Makhzum. They would take the family out to the desert in the heat of noon and lay them down on the burning sand, where they would savagely torture them. They even went so far as to murder ‘Ammar’s mother. Relating this incident, this is what the Prophet’s biographer, Ibn Hisham, writes: When the Prophet passed them by, from what I have heard, he would say to them: “Be patient, the family of Yasir. Heaven is your promised land.”30 If the hadith mentioned above were meant in an absolute sense, then the Prophet’s advice to Yasir would have been tantamount to encouraging cowardice. The Prophet would then have never given such advice. Instead, he would have urged Yasir to fight and be martyred. Then, he would have taken up this holy cause, whether the result had been Yasir’s release or his martyrdom. The truth is that the example of the Prophet is open to more than one interpretation, and it may happen that the wrong—or right—interpretation is made. Only if one is sincere will one interpret the situation correctly, and this can only be achieved through the realism that comes from the fear of God. When sincere people consider these incidents in the Prophet’s life, questions such as those posed here are bound to crop up in their minds. They are not just seeking a meaning which will serve their ends; instead, they are seeking to ascertain the exact nature of the example imparted by the Prophet. This approach keeps them from