The Prophetic Wisdom

The Prophet as a Model The Prophet of Islam not only presented God’s religion theoretically, but also diligently followed it in practice. Therefore, he is not only one who has told us what to do, but is also one who has demonstrated a practical example of what he preached: ‘You have indeed in the Prophet of God a good example for those of you who look to God and the Last Day, and remember God always’ (The Quran, 33:21) This verse was revealed in the context of the battle of Ahzab. However, according to the principle of exegesis, it has a general application. As regards its general sense, this verse means that not only in the context of the campaigns of Ahzab, but in every respect, the Prophet’s life serves as the best example for the believer. God’s true servant is one who adopts the model presented by God’s Prophet throughout his life. A good or an excellent example does not mean a complete model as is generally understood. That is to say, it does not mean that from every aspect of human existence, all kinds of paradigms are to be found in the prophet’s life. Rather it means that as regards principles he demonstrated fully in his practical life, those moral values which are regarded as being the best for human beings to practice. In that sense his is the ideal example to follow. Yet it should not be expected that the Prophet’s life will afford a list from A to Z of all the possible situations in which a model may be found necessary. No single person’s life can cover such a broad spectrum of practical or ethical issues. For instance, in terms of an “A to Z” list, one can say that the Prophet’s life does not provide an example of normal family life with both parents alive but does provide an example of orphanhood. The Prophet’s life provides an example of how to bring up daughters but does not provide an example of how to give proper training to sons. Similarly, one can say that we can learn from him how to wage war with arrows and swords, but not with guns and missiles. We may find examples in his life relative to the pre-scientific or traditional age, but there is no direct example in his life for things pertaining to the scientific age. The life of the Prophet of Islam is indeed a perfect example. But this perfect example concerns principles rather than their application. The Prophet of Islam brought to the world high principles of ethics. He lived his life in complete accordance with these principles and set a practical example in his resolution of the issues and problems faced by him. In this way he became the best model for all human beings. However, this model enshrines principles, but not practical details. For instance, when he presented the model of a businessman, it related to being honest and not to how to organize business either in ancient times or in the age of computers. It should also be taken into consideration that the Prophet’s example does not relate to all human situations, but rather to certain basic matters. For instance, we find that the Prophet held some eatables lawful, and others unlawful, enjoining us to eat the lawful and forbidding us to eat the unlawful. On the other hand, in the context of the incident of pollination, the Prophet observed: