The Prophet in the Quran

for the communication of the truth on his behalf, shall also have to adopt the same pattern. Only one who has the courage to bear all the difficulties created by the madu will be recognized as a dayee by God. Rising Above the Psychology of Reaction The Quran, addressing mankind at large, says: There has come to you a Messenger of your own. Your suffering distresses him: he is deeply concerned for your welfare and full of kindness and mercy towards the believers. But if they turn away, say, ‘God suffices me: there is no deity but He: in Him I have put my trust. He is the Lord of the Glorious Throne. (The Quran, 9:128-129) In these verses, the Prophet emerges in his struggle for Islam as one having full confidence in God the Almighty. The key to all treasure lies with Him. The Prophet stands on the firm ground of this same faith and conviction. It is therefore but natural that his entire faith should rest on one God alone and that he should devote himself to the service of Truth, free from all fears or the pressures of expediency. We are told in this verse that the messenger of God was extremely kind and compassionate towards people. He was so pained to see others in trouble that it was as though he himself were in distress. He was extremely keen to bring guidance to people. What inspired him to engage himself in this struggle to proclaim the truth was the feeling of wishing others well and was certainly unrelated to the fulfillment of any personal or communal goal. He rose for the betterment of the people and not to satisfy his own personal interests. According to Abdullah ibn Masood, the Prophet observed: People are falling in the fire like flies and I hold them by the waist to prevent them from falling into the fire. (Musnad Ahmad) The picture this hadith gives us of the Prophet defines for all time what a dayee of Islam should be like. He should have two special qualities in particular: First, he should have complete trust in God; second, his heart should have nothing but love and well-wishing for the madu. He will certainly face all sorts of complaints and animosity from the madu; there might be friction and discord, communal as well as material, between the dayee and the madu. But, despite all this, he has to adopt a non-confrontational policy in all matters of contention, never allowing any other feeling for the madu to enter his heart, save that of love and well-wishing. A dayee has to rise above the psychology of reaction. He has to become a unilateral well-wisher of the madu, howsoever adverse the attitude adopted by the latter.