The Prophet in the Quran

twenty years verbal dawah alone was acceptable as far as idols were concerned. If the Prophet was able to continue his mission, it was because he confined himself to the field of peaceful dawah. After the conquest of Makkah, when the purification of the Kabah became feasible, the Prophet took concrete steps towards this end. This shows that differentiating between resultoriented action and non-result-oriented action is also an important sunnah of the Prophet. The Principle of Differentiation From a study of the Prophet’s life, we learn an important principle – that of differentiation. That is to say, understanding significant distinctions in practical matters, and dealing with them accordingly. This differentiation is a principle of nature and the course followed by the Prophet of Islam bears out the fact that he made full concession to it. One of the distinctions to be made is between word and deed. For instance, these words of the Prophet have been recorded in a Hadith: The greatest jihad was to say a word of truth and justice to a tyrant ruler. (Sunan Abu Dawood, Hadith No. 4344) On the other hand, a number of traditions have been recorded in books of Hadith, which show that even if rulers became tyrants, Muslims had to obey them, and never clash with them or adopt a policy of confrontation. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1847) For instance, Huzaifa, a companion of the Prophet has been recorded as saying that the Prophet said, In later times perversion will set in in the rulers whose bodies will appear to be those of human beings, while their hearts will be those of Satans. Huzaifa then asked the Prophet what they were supposed to do at such times. The Prophet replied, You must pay heed to your ruler and obey him. Even if you are flogged on your back, and your wealth is taken away from you, you must hear and obey him. (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 1847) Let us make a comparative study of these two traditions. In the first Hadith we are encouraged to perform jihad against the tyrant ruler, whereas in the second Hadith we are strictly forbidden to do so. The reason for this difference is that the first Hadith relates to verbal advice while the second Hadith relates to practical confrontation. According to the Hadith, verbal advice is a desirable act, while practical confrontation is a totally undesirable act. Here verbal advice does not mean issuing statements in newspapers, making speeches and staging protests. It only means that when one finds some perversion in a ruler, one should pray for him, and meet him by appointment in private and try to make him understand his shortcomings in total sincerity and with expressions of well-wishing.