THE DONALD TRUMP PHENOMENON

stated: “All honour belongs to God, and to His Messenger and those who believe [in God]: but of this the hypocrites are not aware.” (63: 8) After migration, the Prophet lived in Madinah for ten years. Time and again he would face disparagement from those who had turned hostile to him. For instance, Ibn Ubayy once said to his Madinan followers about the Prophet and the Companions who had come from Makkah: “Our example and the example of these Muslims from Makkah is as the saying goes, ‘Feed your dog and it will eat you up!’” (Seerah Ibn Ishaq). In spite of such provocations from Ibn Ubayy, the Prophet did not engage in retaliatory measures nor did he respond verbally to the hurtful talk from Ibn Ubayy and his supporters. The approach followed by the Prophet and his Companions in this regard can be summed up in these words: Take it easy. Neither did the Prophet take any practical steps nor did he react in words. What was the reason for this unilateral avoidance on the part of the Prophet? The wisdom behind it was that the Prophet had a positive mission to work towards. Had he reacted to provocation from his opponents, it would have inevitably led to a chain reaction. By not reacting, the Prophet put an end to the provocation in the very first instance. In this manner, he found an opportunity to focus on a higher mission without wasting his time and energy on other issues. The above policy of the Prophet can be summarized thus: ‘Avoid provocation and continue with your mission in a positive manner.’ This method of the Prophet proved to be successful and the result was that his mission spread peacefully all over Arabia. The strange response by present-day Muslims is because they have made their Prophet only a matter of pride for their community. Due to this, they have ceased to take him as a role model. It is only by correcting this tendency will they be able to lead an honourable life in this world. o Muslims believe that the Prophet of Islam is a complete model for them. This complete model, however, is not in terms of superiority of the Prophet, but rather in terms of his offering a guiding example in every matter.