A MAJOR DIFFERENCE

A MAJOR DIFFERENCE

1987 11 November 22-23 A MAJOR DIFFERENCE (426) Then and Now And where are the people nowadays, like the people of Mecca in the old days, who will be satisfied with nothing but the truth?

In the early days of the Muslims in Mecca, the chieftains of the Quraysh (who had still not converted to Islam) once gathered at the house of Walid ibn Mughirah to consult with each other as to what they should tell the people about Mohammed. One of their member suggested they should say he was a soothsayer. To this Walid ibn Mughirah replied “By God, he is no soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers, and there is none of the humming and hawing of the soothsayer about Mohammed.” Another suggested they label him a madman, at which Walid ibn Mughirah swore an oath that he was no madman, for they had seen madmen, and there was no mistaking what madmen were like. Someone else proposed that they call him a poet. To this Walid ibn Mughirah replied: “He is not a poet either. We are familiar with all the various forms of verse and his words do not sound like verse to us.” Another suggestion was that they should say he was a magician, but Walid ibn Mughirah rejected this idea also, saying that he had seen magicians and their magic.” He does not cast spells as magicians do, nor does he tie knots, as is their wont.”

The people then asked Walid ibn Mughirah to tell them what he thought they should say. His answer was that Mohammad was certainly none of these things and, no matter what they called him, the untruthfulness of their accusation would be exposed.

The chieftains of the Quraysh, although idolaters, realized that people would accept the accusations they levelled against Mohammad only if they were supported by the facts. Even although the people were hostile towards Mohammad, they would see through derogatory labels for what they were – misnomers. What the people wanted was the truth.

In those days, such was the conduct of even the idolaters of Mecca, but what of Muslim conduct nowadays? We see all around us that it is governed by an entirely different type of mentality. A Muslim leader has only to level an accusation against someone and his followers take it up and spread it around without pausing for even a second to consider whether it contains a single grain of truth, or whether the accuser can back up his allegations with substantial proof. In this way many a good name is unfairly besmirched and many a good reputation completely ruined. And where are the people nowadays, like the people of Mecca in the old days, who will be satisfied with nothing but the truth?