BASIC TASKS AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PROPHET

without any hope of return and who suffers patiently all the hardships inflicted by others. The first task of the Prophet was to receive God’s revelations and to communicate them to man, i.e. he had to recite the verses of the Quran and explain them to his hearers. Innumerable signs within human nature and the outside world have been placed by God so that man may realize Him through them. Therefore, the next task of the Prophet was to reveal these signs and give man the insight to enable him to experience his Lord. Insight implies wisdom, so that when man has developed the insight to see God’s signs; when he has moulded his mind to the teachings of the Quran, a kind of intellectual light begins to shine within him. His cerebral level is raised to a point from which he is able to experience higher realities. In all matters he is able to arrive at the right conclusions as desired by God. This task was about purifying the soul of unfavourable elements in order that a man may, in a favourable atmosphere, elevate himself to the culminating point of spiritual development. Finally, the Prophet strove to prepare people whose souls should be free from all preoccupations except their devotion to God; who should be free also from psychological complexities, so that they might be capable of finding the spiritual sustenance placed by God in the universe for His devoted servants. These were the basic tasks of the mission of the Prophet of Islam. All his activities were directed solely to achieving these objectives enumerated above. After the Prophet, his followers have to work along the same lines as were followed by the Prophet on the basis of divine guidance. o After the Prophet, his followers have to work along the same lines as were followed by the Prophet on the basis of divine guidance. Making mistakes is not irremediable. And often all it takes to save the day is a reversal of policy.