The Path of the Prophet

brethren. Undoubtedly the most significant challenge facing Muslims today is the dissemination of Islam in the outside world, but since they are so busy fighting among themselves, it is not surprising that they have no time or energy for this all-important task. There was another important reason for the Prophet’s insistence on the despatch of the army. The Arab tribes had been fighting among themselves from time immemorial and would start fighting again if not confronted with some external foe on whom to test their strength. Towards the end of his life, the Prophet averted this danger by pitting them against the might of the Roman army. The Arabs now had an eminently suitable arena to display their valour. They no longer had time for the fratricide and plundering which had hitherto been their way; instead, they turned their attention to distant horizons, blazing their way— within just one hundred years—to conquests that spanned three continents.