The Personality of the Prophet of Islam

fluent’ (The Quran, 26:12-13), I am certain that he will receive the same answer as was received by Moses: “You have been granted your request, Moses.” (The Quran, 20:36) This incident marked a turning point in my life. From that time onwards, all my hesitancy in speech was gone and I began to address large gatherings without any diffidence. This is a personal example of the great lesson we have in the life of Prophet Moses. And there are many other lessons in his life, which will serve as a guide to believers right till Doomsday. Similarly, the Quran repeatedly mentions Christ. There are many examples in his life and teachings for the believers, one such example being an observation made by him to his disciples: But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on the one cheek, offer the other also. And from him who takes away your cloak, do not withhold your tunic either. Give to everyone who asks of you. And from him who takes away your goods, do not ask them back. (Luke 6:27:30). Christ has not taught us passivity in these words. This is in actual fact a part of dawah etiquette. A dayee must always possess good behaviour unconditionally. If he were to indulge in retaliation, the normal, favourable atmosphere essential for the performance of dawah would vanish altogether. The sunnah of the Prophet of Islam testifies to this. Let us take an incident relating to Suhaib Rumi, who migrated from Makkah to Madinah after most of the Muslims had left Makkah. Some way out of the city, a group of Quraysh youths blocked his path. They told him that they would not let him go with all the earnings he had made in Makkah. Suhaib had a few dinars (gold coins) with him at that time. He asked them: If I let you have these dinars, will you let me go? They said that they would. Suhayb then gave all his money to them and carried on to Madinah. When Suhayb reached Madinah and the Prophet heard about this incident, he said: Suhayb has profited! Suhayb has profited. (Sahih Ibn Hibban, Hadith No. 7082). The truth is that the ethics preached by Christ to his disciples apply equally to the believers. These are the salient pre-requisites of dawah, which the dayee has to adopt in the case of the madu. If a moral code of this nature is not adhered to unilaterally, the dawah process can never even be initiated. Prophet Yusuf (Joseph) is the only one of the prophets whose story takes up a whole chapter (entitled Yusuf). His story concludes with these words: “That which we now reveal to you is a tale of the unknown ... Assuredly, in its narrative is a lesson for men of understanding.” (12:103, 112). That is to say that it was a lost chapter of history, which had been opened by God, so that the believers might learn from it. Moreover, near the end of the story, we are told in the words of Prophet Yusuf “Those who keep