The Prophet in the Quran

When Abdullah ibn Abbas asked the Prophet how to perform the duty of enjoining good and forbidding evil in the presence of the rulers, he replied: If you must do it, it should be done in complete privacy, with no one else between you and the ruler. (Jaami al-Uloom wa al-Hikam, Vol. 1, p. 236) Similarly, Islam differentiates between individual and congregational action. In individual action, only one’s own life is in danger (when an action is confined to the individual sphere, only an individual suffers the consequences). But in congregational initiatives, the lives of thousands of people are involved. It is therefore but natural that the command in each case is not identical. An incident connected with the Hijrah provides a pertinent example. When Umar bin Al Khattab migrated from Makkah to Madinah, he took his sword and bow and arrows and came to the Kabah. The Quraysh leaders were seated there in the courtyard. First, he circumambulated the Kabah, then said two rakah of prayer. Finally, he approached the Quraysh leaders and said to them: “Whoever wants his wife to become a widow and his children to become orphans should come and see me outside the city.” (The Quraysh were persecuting everyone, particularly those who were migrating to Madinah, that was why Umar threw down this challenge to them.) Then Umar set off for Madinah and none of them followed him. (Tarikh al-Khulafa’ by as-Suyuti, Vol. 1, p. 94) But, unlike Umar bin AI-Khattab, the Prophet migrated secretly. As we know, in the thirteenth year of the Makkan period, the Quraysh leaders met at Dar-al-Nadwah (Meeting Hall) to decide upon the steps to be taken to remove him from their path. The following night, youths wielding swords surrounded his house. But the Prophet, to avoid any confrontation, had quietly left the place at night under the cover of darkness. In this move the Prophet maintained such great secrecy that, although he had to go to Madinah from Makkah, he went in the opposite direction and remained hidden on the way for three days inside the cave of Thaur. Then he reached Madinah by an unfamiliar route. Noting this dissimilarity of strategy, some biographers have raised this question of why Umar departed publicly, after challenging the idolaters and without any fear or apprehension, and why the Prophet migrated secretly, taking every precaution to ensure his safety. Did that mean that Umar was braver than the Prophet? (Fiqh as-Seerah alNabawiyyah, Vol. 1, p. 137) This question has no validity, for actions have to be judged in terms of their motivations, which will be different at individual and communal levels. Islam always advises proceeding wisely and judiciously, and certainly does not favour acting on impulse. However, an individual may be allowed to take such steps, if it is only he himself who is concerned. This will be no more than his personal choice, and his actions will not serve as a model for others. The way Umar undertook his journey was justified by its being a personal or individual action, but the position of the Prophet of Islam was not merely that of an individual. The Prophet was