PROPHET AS A MODEL

one who called humankind to God. The true believer is one who knows him in his latter capacity, for it is historians, not believers, who portray him as a conqueror. It will not be out of place to discuss the reasons for portraying the Prophet as a conqueror which is a total misrepresentation of the facts. The Muslim biographers, because of a lack of objective understanding of the Prophet's life, misrepresented the facts by ignoring the prevailing tribal customs and culture of the time. Due to the prevailing culture the Prophet and his Companions were forced to engage themselves in defensive battles for a short while. This was falsely construed as forming the major events of the Prophet’s life. This is far from the truth. The true personality of the Prophet as a peaceloving and modest person appeared to many of his biographers as deficient in some way or the other. This image of the Prophet appeared to them as falling short of the standards of leaders of other peoples of the time, who were great conquerors and warriors. Hence these biographers tried to present an image of their Prophet as a warrior, which, in their eyes was a superior image. On the other hand, non-Muslim biographers of the Prophet have adopted a different approach. These people have largely ignored the main events of the Prophet’s life choosing to focus on a few, exceptional incidents that they have used as a basis of a picture of the Prophet’s life, that portrays him as a warrior prophet. A true believer follows the pristine teachings from the Quran and the life of the Prophet, whose only goal was to call people towards God. Quran addresses the individual and it is a book of wisdom. The prophet to whom this Quran was revealed could not have preached anything else but God’s message of spirituality and peace. A believer is a missionary in the truest sense. He is a well-wisher of humanity. He desires to establish peace in the society at all cost. o Quran addresses the individual and it is a book of wisdom. The prophet to whom this Quran was revealed could not have preached anything else but God’s message of spirituality and peace.