PROPHET MUHAMMAD—PART I

heartfelt contrition. He lived on a completely different plane from that of ordinary human beings. This is illustrated by many incidents a few of which are mentioned here. Once the Prophet was at home with his wife, Umm Salamah. He called the maid-servant, who took some time in coming. Seeing signs of anger on the Prophet’s face, Umm Salamah went to the window and saw that the maid was playing. When she came, the Prophet had a miswak (a small stick used as a dentifrice) in his hand. “If it wasn’t for the fear of retribution on the Day of Judgement,” he told the maid, “I would have hit you with this miswak.” Even this mildest of punishments was to be eschewed. The men taken prisoner in the Battle of Badr were the Prophet’s bitterest enemies, yet he treated them impeccably. One of these prisoners, Suhayl ibn ‘Amr, a fiery speaker, denounced the Prophet virulently in public to incite people against him and his mission. Umar ibn al-Khattab, the Prophet's Companion suggested that two of his lower teeth be pulled out to dampen his oratorical zeal. The Prophet was shocked by ‘Umar’s suggestion. “God would disfigure me for this on the Day of Judgement, even though I am His messenger,” he said to ‘Umar. This is what is meant by the world being a planting ground for the hereafter. One who realises this fact lives a life oriented towards the hereafter—a life in which all efforts are aimed at achieving success in the next eternal world; a life in which real value is attached—not to this ephemeral world—but to the life beyond death. One becomes aware that this world is not the final destination; it is only a road towards the destination, a starting-point of preparation for the future life. All actions of God’s faithful servants are focused on the hereafter. Their reactions reflect their perspective of life after death, and the effect in the next world. Whether it be an occasion of happiness or sorrow, success or failure, domination or depression, praise or condemnation, love or anger—they are forever guided by thoughts of the hereafter, until finally these thoughts become a part of their unconscious minds. They are mortal, but their minds function only on matters related to the world of immortality, making them almost forget their interest in worldly matters. o When the Prophet Muhammad discovered the reality of the world hereafter, it came to dominate his whole life.