The Way of the Prophet

The Way of the Prophet

1985 10 October 8 The Way of the Prophet (428) According to ancient Arab custom, a person could only live with the protection of his tribe. At the beginning of his mission in Mecca, the Prophet of Islam lived under the protection of his uncle, Abu Talib, who was chief of the Banu Hashim tribe. In the tenth year of the Prophet’s mission, Abu Talib died, and his position was taken by Abu Lahab. Abu Lahab refused to grant the Prophet protection. For the Islamic mission to stay alive the Prophet had to seek the protection of another tribe. It was for this purpose that he traveled to Taif.

Taif is an oasis situated 65 miles south-east of Mecca where the Prophet had some relatives. At that time there were three chiefs in Taif: Abd Yalil, Masood and Hubaib. The Prophet met all three of them, but each of them refused to grant the Prophet protection. One of them said that if God had appointed him as His messenger, he would tear the veil of the Holy Kabah. “Could not God have found someone else to send as His Prophet?”, was the reaction of another. “I will not talk to you at all,” the third one said. “If you are a Prophet then it would be disrespectful for me to do so, and if you are lying then it would be below me.”

Sorrowful, the Prophet set off, back to Mecca. But the people of Taif still did not leave him alone. They set the village urchins on him. He was pursued by stones and abuse. The Prophet’s servant, Zaid ibn Harithah, who had accompanied the Prophet on this journey, tried to shield his master with his blanket, but he could not do so. The Prophet’s body was stained in blood.

Imagine what a desolate evening that must have been. The Prophet himself later admitted to his wife Aisha that it was the most terrible evening of his life. But the Prophet, in all his pain and sorrow, did not say anything against those who were persecuting him. Rather he prayed for their guidance. “Lord,” he said, “guide them for they do not know what they are doing.”

This is the attitude that the preacher of the word of God should have towards his people. He should be so eager for their guidance that any pain, any affliction would seem insignificant to him in comparison with his anguish on their behalf. This was the way of the Prophet; if Muslims today do not adopt the same attitude, then on what grounds do they claim to be his followers?