THE PROPHETIC METHOD
Strengthening Oneself Inwardly
The story of Islam began in A.D. 610 when the Prophet Muhammad received his first revelation. At that time, he was the only Muslim, the only believer, in the whole world. In A.D. 622, the Prophet emigrated from Makkah to Madinah. There he established an Islamic state, but its boundaries were limited. They extended only to a few parts of the small town of Madinah, the larger portion remaining under the control of Jewish tribes and Arabs who had not yet converted to Islam. The Prophet died eleven years later. By his death, the frontiers of Islam had spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and reached southern Palestine. An Islamic empire covering 1 million square miles had come into existence. Islam had advanced through North Africa to Spain on the western front in just under one century and from Spain to the frontiers of China in the east. There are still signs of Islamic influence in such far-off places as Budapest, where a Muslim shrine, “Gul Baba,” still stands on the banks of the river Danube, and France, where many church steeples contain stones with Arabic engravings—a remnant of the 8th century A.H. when southern France was a European province of the Caliph in Damascus. Two hundred years before, the people of Arabia had been driving camels; now, they were leading the world. Baghdad had become the centre of the civilized world, taking over from Seleucia, Persepolis, Babylon and Rome as the major international seat of learning.
These outstanding triumphs were the result of a straightforward programme, which the Quran explains in these words:
You who are wrapped up in your vestment arise and give warning. Magnify your Lord, cleanse your garments, and keep away from all pollution. Bestow no favours expecting a gain. Be patient, for your Lord’s sake.
When summarized, this programme can be divided into three stages:
- Personal reform, so that one worships God alone, corrects one’s moral standards and avoids all forms of sin and wrongdoing.
- Impressing on others the reality of their existence and final destiny—that they are God’s servants and will return to Him after death.
- Remaining steadfast in the face of difficulties which afflict one in one’s attempt to reform both oneself and Society.
Inward Strength
The Islamic struggle is personal, motivated by an overpowering urge for salvation in the next world, a longing that God should forgive us when we come before Him. When Islam penetrates the depths of our consciousness, we become concerned with one thing alone: how to earn God’s favour and forgiveness. We immediately seek to mould our faith, ideas, character, actions, and all we do in life, following our overriding concern to avoid displeasing God. It is on the hereafter that we focus all our attention. We call others to Islam, making sure that we are first good Muslims ourselves:
Say: “I was commanded to be the first to submit to Him.”
Regarding its motivation, becoming the “first to submit to God” is an entirely personal affair. But in its consequences, this act has far-reaching implications for society. A volcanic eruption starts within a mountain, invisible to the eyes of humankind. But when the eruption occurs, it illuminates the surrounding area with its glow. So it is with those who first submit to God. The transformation that occurs within them has repercussions on their entire environment. The exact sequence can be found in the revelation of the Quran. The initial verses to be revealed were those dealing with personal reform. Later came the chapters dealing with the improvement of society at large. Comparing this sequence with the method adopted by the Prophet of Islam, Muhammad Marmaduke Pickthall, in the introduction to his translation of the Quran, writes:
The inspiration of the Prophet progressed from inward things to outward things.
Generally, people consider assaults on the outside world to be the most worthwhile task in life. But the lesson of the Prophet’s life is that one should work to strengthen oneself inwardly. Individuals who have consolidated themselves from within become irresistible when they break out into the open. How is it that a person becomes strengthened inwardly? The Quran does not give us any magical prescription for achieving this purpose. Faith, righteous actions and steadfast perseverance can only attain it. Firstly, divine truths should be embedded in our hearts and minds. We should try to fix our thoughts on the next world, the world of eternal realities. We should cultivate the attitude that we have no rights in life, only responsibilities. Difficulties are bound to arise as we pursue the divine path. Rather than seek to lay the blame for them on others, we should bear them in a spirit of quiet and humble acceptance. These are the qualities that consolidate inward strength. The Prophet Muhammad gave us a perfect example of cultivating these qualities. He developed them to such a degree that no one could withstand the force of his character. When the Prophet exploded on the outside world, almost all of the known world capitulated before him. People succumbed before his inspired character, for the strength of his personality came from within.
In his article entitled “Bravery,” the renowned Hindi writer, Sardar Pooran Singh (1882-1932), called the Prophet Muhammad the bravest man in history. So he had to be to bring about such a great revolution in the Arabian Peninsula. His greatness can be judged because anyone who met him accepted him as his master. What kind of bravery is this which makes one so powerful? In the words of Pooran Singh:
To strive every moment, every hour, towards making oneself greater and greater is bravery. It is the cowards who say, “Go ahead.” While the brave say, “Step back” (move backwards). Cowards say, “raise the sword,” while the brave say, “bring your head forward! The policy of the brave is to gather and increase strength from all quarters. The brave build up their inner reserves, marching ahead within themselves. They can move the entire world by moving people’s hearts. Bravery does not consist of becoming emotionally overwrought and cooling off like a piece of tin that heats up and cools off in no time. The fire may keep burning for centuries yet will not heat the brave, while centuries of snow may not be enough to dampen the chill, even the tip of the brave. People say, “Act, act, work, work”, but all such talks seem futile. First, create and gather the strength for work. It is pointless to shout, Act, act, act! Without first creating and gathering the strength for work. One must grow and root oneself deep like a tree within oneself. The world does not stand on a heap of garbage where any cock can win fame and acclaim by mere crowing. Instead, the eternal principles of religious and spiritual truths bear the world. Whosoever fully associates with these truths emerges victorious.
The secret of this bravery does not lie in magical prescriptions or spiritual exercises undertaken in seclusion. Practices in the occult can delude into the world of matter, but they are useless to people grappling with the day-to-day problems that confront them. Real strength is that which leads us to overcome the difficulties of life.
People develop inner strength when they become free of all selfish ties when they attain a level of thinking in which all superficial considerations are cast aside and, as the Prophet put it, “they see things as they are.” Their thoughts and actions are not guided by prejudice, anger, greed, hate, the lust for power, vanity, self-interest or any such base urge. This is what makes for a strength of character. It is an irresistible force that enables a person to face every test. The initiatives of those endowed with inward strength are inevitably seen through to their conclusion. They make allowances for all eventualities, both probable and possible, in their decision-making. The more people oppose them, the more they adhere to their position of truth and righteousness.
An example of how the Prophet Muhammad’s inner strength provided solutions to all the problems that faced him can be found in the situation that developed after the conquest of Makkah. His strength of spirit manifested itself in different ways as the need arose. Sometimes it took the form of forgiveness, sometimes supreme courage, and sometimes trust in God. Sometimes his success was due to farsightedness. Sometimes he showed how one who disavows self-interest becomes an invincible force who gains all by forsaking everything.
After the Prophet Muhammad had captured Makkah in A.H. 8, some of the Quraysh fled to the tribes of Hawazin and Thaqif and incited them to start a new war against the Muslims. The tribes responded by mobilizing all their human resources and amassing a force of 20,000 men. They met the Muslims on the field of Hunayn. The archers of Hawazin had concealed themselves in a ravine, and when they rained their arrows down on the Muslims, about 11,000 of the 12,000-strong army turned and fled. Yet, despite this initial setback, the Muslims finally won an extraordinary victory. The reason for their recovery was the inner strength of their leader, the Prophet Muhammad, who, at this critical juncture, showed no signs of panic, but was the epitome of “tranquillity”74 and remained full of trust in God. Once his inner strength came out into the open, he immediately altered the course of battle. Standing up in the very midst of the enemy, he called out to his panicking followers:
I am the Prophet, and I do not lie:
I am the grandson of ‘Abdul Muttalib.
“To me, servants of God!” the Prophet called. His cousin Ibn ‘Abbas, had a loud voice. The Prophet asked him to appeal to the fleeing soldiers: “You who swore allegiance to the Prophet in the shadow of the Ridwan tree: you swore that you would give your lives for the Faith! Where are you now?” When the Muslims saw their leader standing firm in the face of the enemy, they realized that God’s help was with him. Their flagging spirits were rekindled, and they returned with a new determination to the field of battle. So unbounded was their new-found enthusiasm that they would not even wait for their floundering camels to turn around: they jumped off the backs of their mounts and ran back to the battlefield on foot. Suddenly the course of the battle changed. Now it was the enemy’s turn to take flight. The Muslims won the day, along with booty amounting to 24,000 camels, 40,000 goats and 40,000 ounces of silver. They also took some 6,000 prisoners.
Despite this victory, the situation continued to deteriorate. The Thaqif were the second most prominent tribe in the whole of Arabia. They also owned the only fortified town on the peninsula. They were now besieged in Ta’if, but during the three weeks of sieges, they inflicted more losses on the Muslims than they had received at Hunayn. Moreover, their opposition to Islam was so deep-rooted that when one of their number, ‘Urwah ibn Mas’ud Thaqafi—who was reputed to be “dearer to his people than sweet maidens”—came to the Prophet and accepted Islam, they forgot their previous affection for him, and cruelly riddled him with arrows.
Once again, the Prophet’s inner strength came to his rescue. As the siege was tightened, ‘Umar asked the Prophet to pray for the destruction of the people of Ta’if; instead, the Prophet prayed for their guidance. He was entirely free of anger and prejudice in this treatment of them. Finally, after besieging the town for three weeks, he ordered his army to retreat. On his return from Ta’if, the Prophet reached Ji’ranah, where the spoils of the Battle of Hunayn had been stored. Here the Prophet had an opportunity to take reprisals against the Thaqifs ally, Hawazin. But he did quite the opposite, accepting an appeal from a delegation of that tribe for the release of all their six thousand prisoners. His magnanimous treatment of them—he set them free and gave them clothes and provisions for their journey—was bound to make an impression on them. And it did: the whole Hawazin tribe accepted Islam, won over by the Prophet’s unbounded generosity.
The effects of this event were also felt in Ta’if. The Hawazin and the Thaqif were two branches of one large tribe. The Thaqif felt much more threatened by the Hawazin’s conversion to Islam than they had been by the siege of their city. The severance of the Hawazin from their alliance was a mortal wound, which they knew would render them incapable of doing battle with the Muslims:
The Thaqif consulted among themselves. They saw that they would not now be able to fight against all the Arabs around them who had sworn allegiance to the Prophet and accepted his Faith.
In A.H. 9 (A.D. 630), a delegation from Ta’if arrived in Madinah. They were willing to accept Islam, but only under certain unusual conditions. For example, they denied the right of passage to the Muslim army through their territory; they refused to pay land tax; they declined to participate in jihad; they also said that they would not pray or recognize any ruler who was not from their tribe. The Prophet accepted all their conditions but clarified that there was no good in a religion which did not include bowing down to God. The Companions were amazed that the Prophet should accept their Islam, along with all these reservations. But the Prophet was looking further into the future and put their minds at rest with these words:
Once they have submitted to God, they will, after a while, give alms and strive in the path of God.
Imam Ahmad had related, on the authority of Anas ibn Malik, that the Prophet used to grant any request that people made before they accepted Islam. For example, one person who came to the Prophet was given a herd of goats so large that they stretched from one mountain to another. He then returned to his people and urged them to accept Islam, “for Muhammad gives in such abundance that one need never go wanting again.” But, as Ibn Kathir has pointed out, even if a person came to the Prophet seeking only the world before a day had passed, he would transform: the Prophet’s Faith would become dearer to him than all the world has to offer.
Once the Thaqif and the Hawazin had been settled, another more severe problem reared. The Muslims had accumulated a massive stock of booty in the victory over the Hawazin. The Prophet distributed these spoils among the new Makkan converts with incredible generosity. However, some of the Ansar—who had helped the Prophet when he emigrated to their town—found this hard to bear. It seemed to them that, now that the Prophet was re-established in his hometown, he had adopted a chauvinistic attitude and was showering his people with riches to please them. There is no doubt that the Prophet was above such base motivations, but the resentment that the Ansar felt at being left out was natural enough and posed severe problems for Muslim unity. The Prophet’s sincerity of purpose, however, showed in the emphatic manner in which he removed their doubts.
The Prophet called all the Ansar together in a courtyard and addressed them in the following manner: “What is this that I hear about you? Is it not a fact you were lost, and God guided you, through me, to the right path? Whatever you needed, He granted you in abundance--again through me. You were at war with one another, and God brought you together as one people around me?” Everyone shouted out their agreement. Then the Prophet continued:
You have every right to say that we Muhajirs came to you as refugees, expelled from our land, and sheltered us; we were in need, and you looked after us; we were terrorized and made us secure, friendless, and you gave us company. Tell me, helpers, are you resentful just because I have given some new converts a trivial gift to raise their spirits and make them secure in the Faith while entrusting you with the great gift God has bestowed upon you—that is Islam? Company of Helpers, are you not happy to see people take camels and goats home with them while you return home with the Messenger of God?
On hearing this speech, everyone broke down and wept. “We are happy with the Messenger of God!” they cried in unison. In this way, the Prophet’s inner strength broke down every barrier, opened every door and surmounted every obstacle. It was his key to success in every situation in life.
The External Target: Missionary Activity
When the Prophet Muhammad started his active struggle, he was not motivated by any urge to revenge himself on an outside world that had mistreated him. Usually, popular movements are sparked by some instinct for revenge, but the Prophet’s struggle was based on positive concepts of its own; it was not a negative reaction to an event or how others had treated him. Indeed, all the circumstances, which usually cause political, social and economic reactions, leading to the establishment of popular movements, were present in full force when the Prophet was sent to the world. But it was not these points that the Prophet dwelt on in his communication of the Faith. He pursued his aims unremittingly, according to the programme mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, but he did so without clashing with anyone on political, social or economic issues.
When the Prophet commenced his mission, the land of the Arabs had become a prime target for attacks by the imperial powers of the day, who had been incredibly swift in annexing the comparatively fertile and prosperous parts of the country. Syria was under Roman rule in the north of the peninsula, governed by Arab chieftains who owed allegiance to Caesar. In the southern territory of Yemen, the Persians held sway and ruled during the time of the Prophet by a governor named Bazan. The only regions to have retained their independence were Hijaz, Tahamah and Najd. Besides, these were only rocky deserts, with the occasional oasis in the wilderness. The Caesars and the Khusraus considered Arabia their property: that was why, when the Prophet wrote to the Emperor of Persia inviting him to accept Islam, that proud monarch tore up his letter and said indignantly:
He writes to me—and he is my slave!
Abrahah’s attack on the Ka’bah in the year of the Prophet’s birth (A.D. 570) was part of this encroachment of foreign powers on Arab territory. Before the advent of Islam, the Ka’bah had been a centre of idol worship for the whole of Arabia: every tribe had erected its idol there and considered its precincts sacred. Throughout the year, people would flock to Makkah from far and wide to pay their respects to the Holy Ka’bah and make offerings to the idols lodged there. The economy of Makkah benefited greatly from this constant influx of pilgrims, and Abrahah desired to divert this great source of wealth towards his land—Yemen, which lay southeast of Makkah. He was willing to resort to any means to achieve his ends by killing the previous Yemenese governor, taking over the country, and forcing the king of Abyssinia to recognize his authority in the province. A Christian by faith, Abrahah had built a massive church in Sana’a, after which he launched an intensive propaganda campaign to induce people to go on pilgrimages. In this way, he hoped to divert the lucrative pilgrim trade from Makkah to San’a’. It is recorded in Arab history that when all his efforts failed, he set out to destroy the Ka’bah so that people would have nowhere to make their pilgrimage to, save the church he had built in Sana’a. For this purpose, he took an army of elephants, which gained him the name “Lord of the Elephants.” Even the names of some of the people who built his church are known. The Arabs called the road he passed along, ‘The Road of the Elephants.” The spring from which they drank, the gate through which they entered Makkah and the year of their attack were also similarly named.
What most leaders would have done under such adverse conditions was raise a popular movement against the political threat of foreign imperial powers. They would have sought to rid their land of the yoke of foreign domination and revived the nationalistic instincts of their people. But the Prophet of Islam refrained completely from instigating any nationalistic freedom struggle of this nature.
There were also critical economic problems facing Arabia when the Prophet came to the world. Arabia was an almost entirely arid land: in an agrarian age, it had no agricultural foundation on to base its economy. This problem affected every individual in the land and could easily have provided the incentive for a popular revolutionary movement. But the Prophet did not capitalize on the economic issues of his people in any way. On one occasion, the Makkan gentry gathered before the Ka’bah after sunset and summoned the Prophet. When he laid the basic teachings of Islam before them, this is how they reacted to his message:
Muhammad, you know that no country is poorer or drier than ours. You know how hard it is for us to make a living. So pray to your Lord on our behalf that He should remove these dry mountains that have made life so difficult for us; that He should make our land fertile and make rivers, like those of Syria and Iraq, flow in its valleys.
To understand what made the leaders of the Quraysh speak to the Prophet in this manner, one has to understand the geographical situation of Arabia. A chain of mountains stretching along the coastline of Hijaz as far as Najd prevented sea winds from penetrating inland, resulting in rainfall in the Arabian Peninsula, in contrast to that of Iraq and Syria, which was minimal. This geographical situation was at the root of Arabia’s economic problems. Any budding leader could instantly attract people’s attention by exploiting these problems. The Prophet, however, did not choose this path. He did not pay any direct attention to issues of this nature and devoted his efforts entirely towards preaching the oneness of God. History shows that the Prophet’s struggle in the field of missionary activity had far-reaching effects, opening up new opportunities for the Arabs in political and economic areas. But it is essential to realize that these advantages were an indirect result of the Prophet’s struggle: it was not towards political and financial gain that he directed his efforts.
The Prophet’s whole life shows that the matter to which he attached fundamental importance was preaching of the faith. As soon as he started his active mission, he laid aside all other issues and concentrated solely on propagating the message of Islam. First, he was determined to inform his kinsfolk that he had been chosen to communicate the word of God to humanity. For this purpose, he invited all his relatives— about forty were invited, at least thirty attended—to a dinner. After dinner, he addressed his guests but met with little success. “Banu Muttalib,” he said, “I have been sent to you in particular, then to humanity as a whole. Who then will fulfil on my behalf my debts and my promises? Who will look after my family while I am away? Whoever does so will be my companion in paradise.” The Prophet repeated his words, but only ‘Ali, a young boy at the time, responded positively. “I will, Prophet of God,” he said. “You, ‘Ali, you, ‘Ali!” came the Prophet’s reply.
Abu Jahal threw a stone at the Prophet one day, drawing blood from his face. The Prophet’s uncle, ‘Abbas, heard about this. Though Abbas had not accepted Islam then, family pride moved him to go and smite Abu Jahl in return. Then he returned to the Prophet, “Nephew,” he said triumphantly, “I have taken your revenge.” “It would make me happier if you accepted Islam,” The Prophet replied.
Once, the leaders of the Quraysh came to Abu Talib, another of the Prophet’s uncles. “Abu Talib,” they said, “your nephew enters our arenas and gatherings and says things which upset us. Please, if you can manage it, stop him from doing so.” Abu Talib sent his son, Aqil, to fetch the Prophet. When he told his nephew what the Quraysh had said, the Prophet raised his eyes to heaven. “By God,” he said, “can anyone among you light a fire from a flame of the sun? Well, I can no longer forsake the message God Himself entrusted to me.” Having said this, the Prophet broke down weeping.
The Banu Hashim, to which tribe the Prophet belonged, were the cream of Arab society. Since his tribe was already in a dominant position in Arabia, some people thought that perhaps the Prophet wanted to consolidate his authority and be crowned king. But the Prophet’s actions showed he was interested in only one thing: to convey to people the importance of preparing themselves for the next world. So persistently would he emphasise this matter that sometimes the leaders of the Quraysh would plead with him in almost desperate terms to leave them alone. “Muhammad,” Abu Jahl once said, “will you stop insulting our gods? If you want us to witness that you have communicated your message, then all right: we bear witness; you certainly have communicated it.”
The Prophet, however, was undeterred and went on delivering his message. This infuriated the Quraysh further, and they decided to ostracize the whole Banu Hashim family. An interdict stopped intermarriage and commercial relations. On learning of this, the Banu Hashim moved to the place known as Shi’b Abi Talib. While this interdict was in force, preaching was confined to those affected, and the Prophet took full advantage of it. These restrictions, however, came to an end temporarily in the sacred months. The Prophet’s family used to benefit from this period of respite in that they could conduct transactions. Then, gathering the meat of sacrifice, they would dry it for the rest of the year. But the Prophet would use this time differently: he would go to tents where various tribes were staying and communicate the message of Islam to them.
Imagine how precarious the Prophet’s situation was when he emigrated from Makkah to Madinah. Yet even during this journey, he did not miss a single opportunity to preach Islam to those he encountered. When he reached Ghamim, for instance, he communicated the message of Islam to Baridah ibn Hasib, who then—along with eighty members of his family—accepted Islam. On reaching the mountain pass of Rakubah, he met two men whom he told about Islam and who accepted the Faith. When the Prophet asked them their names, they said they belonged to the tribe of Aslam and were bandits. For this reason, they explained, they were called “Muhanan” or “The Two Despicable Ones.” “No,” the Prophet told them, “you are two honourable ones.”
The Prophet Muhammad inculcated in his companions the same attitude. It was not to be their aim to conquer territory or accumulate spoils of war. Instead, they were to become a source of wealth—the wealth of true faith—for others. So when the Prophet entrusted ‘Ali with the Muslim standard in the field of Khaybar, he told his cousin to proceed softly: “And when you reach their fields, call them to Islam and tell them what their responsibilities to God are. By God, if the Lord guides just one of them through you to Islam, then that will be better for you than a herd of red camels.”
Missionary activity was such a prominent part of the Prophet’s life that if one put his whole struggle under one heading, this would surely be the one. He did not concentrate on political, economic and social issues, as leaders usually do; instead, he devoted his entire time and energy to preaching the word of God. At first, it may have seemed that his single-mindedness was unjustified. But from the outcome of his efforts, it became apparent that worldly goals are automatically achieved if we set our sights on the next world—as the Prophet did.
Patience and Steadfastness
The third part of the Prophet’s mission, mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, was steadfast forbearance in the face of the difficulties encountered on the divine path. The Arabic word for patience is sabr. One of the words derived from the same root is sabbarah, meaning hard, unfertile ground, which does not accept any seed. Likewise, a patient endowed with sabr does not let events affect him, who never loses heart but pursues his goal with unflagging resolution. Courageous people are also called sabar, for they do not bend to pressure; they stand firm and uncompromising, no matter how adverse the circumstances may be.
Patience is the loftiest virtue that one who has adopted Islam as a cause can have. When Islam has become a vital part of our life, it imbues us with an undying spirit which enables us “never to lose heart on account of what befalls (us) in the path of God”—never to weaken or cringe abjectly.81 To believe in God is to trust in Him absolutely, and one who trusts in God is the possessor of great strength: nothing can weaken their resolve.
Without patience, preachers of God’s word cannot continue their work for long. When they embark on their mission, they find they are alone in the company of strangers. They are restricted by God’s commandments, while others are free to do as they like. Everything they do is geared towards success and salvation in the next world, while all the avenues towards worldly success are open before their adversaries. All their efforts are concentrated on spiritual ends, while the political and economic expertise of others makes them strong in the eyes of men. They maintain strict ethical standards, while others’ actions are free of all restrictions. The preachers of God’s word can easily be affected by such matters. They may even be tempted to follow the madding crowd and give up their task. It may occur to them that if their actions are so ineffectual, they may as well spare themselves the trouble. This is where sabr comes to their rescue, preventing them from giving up just because their words seem not to affect others:
Therefore, have patience. God’s promise is true. Let not those who have no certainty make you impatient.
Sometimes, sabr takes on another form: steadfastness and forbearance in the face of persecution from others. This was the method adopted by all the prophets of God: They used to say to their adversaries:
We will endure your persecution patiently. In God, let all the faithful put their trust.
The afflictions beset preachers of God’s word and are an integral part of their mission. Those they address are bound to show some reaction to their words, and sometimes it is going to be violent and uncompromising. If they start bemoaning their treatment by others, the very seriousness of their efforts to bring them to true faith is cast into doubt. Those who are working for God’s sake will not be affected by the reactions of others to what they are doing. The difficulties we encounter in pursuit of God’s good pleasure are a test of our sincerity. We cannot expect our words to affect others unless we have proved our sincerity.
When faced with enemy onslaughts, people usually take retaliatory measures of their own: People are generally used to retaliating when they face any unpleasant treatment by others. Sabr, on the other hand, means to bear patiently whatever is meted out by the enemy. For instance, if Muslims in a particular country find themselves up against the economic bias of their non-Muslim compatriots, the way of sabr is not to start demanding equal treatment but rather to make extra efforts to excel over others. Prejudice can only have an adverse effect when people of similar abilities compete for one job. If one of the contestants excels over the others in ability, then not even prejudice can deny him his rightful place.
When the Muslims were economically isolated in Makkah during the time of the Prophet, some emigrated to Abyssinia, thus consolidating their position. The people of Makkah had made it impossible for the Prophet’s followers to continue trading. So the Muslims moved to a neighbouring country and pursued their livelihood there. So hardworking and honest were they in their dealings that Najashi, the king of Abyssinia, proclaimed that anyone who wronged a Muslim would have to compensate the wronged party 8 dirhams. This was just one of how God helped the Muslims re-establish themselves, considering their patience in the face of persecution by others.
Patience may appear to be a negative virtue, but as far as its results are concerned, it is a highly positive one. Once we have realized the value of sabr, we do not take immediate retaliatory measures against our oppressors; instead, we look further into the future and set in motion a series of events which lead to final success. Feelings run high when we have just been wronged. If we take immediate action, we may not be able to consider rationally what we should do: instead, we may act based on our emotions at the time. On the other hand, patience leads us coolly and objectively to consider all the possibilities open to us and the fundamental nature of the situation we have to deal with. We are then in a position to pursue a sound and solid policy. Impatience precipitates immediate action to contain the other party, while patience inclines us to wait for the eternal laws of nature devised by God to start working against our adversaries.
When we combat our enemy with impatience, we are spurred on by superficial motives and base emotions. As a result, we are bound to make mistakes and judgement errors, which only weaken our case. On the other hand, a divine strength—intelligence—is born within us when one is patient. Our intellect is a most extraordinary source of strength. It can look ahead, beyond temporary obstacles and barriers, and plan for the future. Intelligence frees one from negative impulses and enables one to think profoundly, penetrating the very depths of a situation. There we discover secrets, allowing us to control our rivals from all angles. He becomes like the quarry caught in the huntsman’s net: movement only enmeshes him further and tightens the huntsman’s hold on him.
The emigration from Makkah to Madinah exemplifies the Prophet’s patience. When the Quraysh decided to kill the Prophet, he had two options: take up his sword in self-defence or leave Makkah for some safer abode. The Prophet adopted the second course of action. He coolly thought the situation over and decided to emigrate to Madinah, where he could continue the same work, only in a different place. According to ‘Aisha, the Prophet came to their house every day before the emigration. There he would hold consultations with her father, Abu Bakr. Preparations were made, in the utmost secrecy, over six months. Everything went according to plan, and finally, the Prophet set out for Madinah, taking a dependable guide with him. From the point of view of a zealous Muslim political leader of the modern age, the emigration would appear as a flight, for what he would advocate in a similar situation would be a fight to the death; he would be looking no further ahead than making a martyr of himself. But if one looks at the results of the emigration of the Prophet, one can see that it was the most significant watershed in Islamic history.
Patience also enables us to refrain from taking action and permits things to take their natural course. Human nature is an unchangeable reality that always strongly influences human life. Deep down, people always have a soft spot for one who bears abuse quietly and refuses to be provoked, even in the face of the utmost provocation. The human conscience naturally tends to favour the oppressed rather than the oppressor. Great opportunities open out in the world of nature for those who are deprived of them in the world of men: when they stand firm in the face of persecution, they prove themselves to be in the right. The boycott imposed on the Prophet and his family in the seventh year of the prophetic mission was just such an example. As a result of this boycott, the Banu Hashim clan, except for Abu Lahab, were besieged in a mountain ravine called Shi’b Abi Talib. How these people quietly endured all this cruel oppression was bound to affect the conscience of others. And it did. Within three years, people like Abu’l-Bakhtari, Hisham ibn ‘Amr, Zubayr ibn Umayyah, Zam’ah ibn al-Aswad and Mut’am ibn ‘Adi broke away from the ranks of the enemy, openly challenging the propriety of the pact by which this boycott had been imposed on the Banu Hashim. The pact collapsed, and the Banu Hashim were rescued from their terrible plight.
The most important thing about patience is that it qualifies one for divine succour. Patient perseverance in pursuit of a worthy cause means putting one’s affairs in the hands of the Lord of the Universe. It is inconceivable that those who trust in Almighty God for the sake of a just cause should find themselves forsaken.
There are various ways in which this divine succour manifests itself. But, unfortunately, the human mind can neither understand nor fathom them. Some of the forms which divine help takes, however, have been mentioned in the Quran. When Muslims confront non-Muslims in the field of battle, for instance, divine succour compensates for their insufficient resources: calmness and confidence enter the hearts of the believers, while fear weakens
their opponents:
Believers, remember God’s goodness to you when there came against your hosts. We unleashed against them a wind and soldiers you could not see. God saw all that you were doing.
This verse deals with the Battle of the Trench (A.D. 627), when God sent two things—wind and an army of angels to support the believers. There is nothing extraordinary about wind. There is nowhere that it does not blow. But it was made to blow faster at a particular time and in a special place, thus assisting the believers. This shows that when God decides to help anyone, normal physical happenings assume a certain intensity, ensuring success.
As for the army of angels, they did not come and wield their swords alongside the Muslims. They provided psychological rather than military support. As on several other occasions, they did “give courage to the believers, and cast terror into the hearts of the infidels.”85 They made the enemy appear as a “small band,” while the Muslims were made to appear as a “great army” in the eyes of their enemies.
During the reign of the second Caliph, ‘Umar (A.D. 634-644), the Muslim army landed at Qadsiyyah, on the threshold of Iran, under the leadership of Saad ibn Abi Waqqas. They had to stay there longer than expected, and it was not long before their provisions ran out. Saad then sent a few men to look for cattle they could eat. They met an Iranian, whom they asked whether there were any goats or cows around. Although—the Iranian was a shepherd himself, he denied all knowledge of any animals in the vicinity. He had hidden his flock in a dense jungle nearby on hearing of the presence of the Muslim army. But then an ox called out: “The shepherd is lying. We are here, in this under-growth.” On hearing the cry, the Muslims entered the wood, seized a few beasts, and took them before Sa’d. When the rest of the army listened to the story, they were pleased and interpreted it as a sign that God’s succour was with them.
But, as the historian Ibn al-Taqtaqi has written, one should not be under the impression that the ox called out, “We are here,” in Arabic. Instead, it lowed as oxen usually do, and from its sound, the Muslims realized that cattle were hidden in the undergrowth.
Trusting In God
The Quran sums up the Islamic method in the following words:
And if they incline to peace, incline you to it, and put your trust in God. Indeed He is the Hearing, the Knowing. Should they seek to deceive you, God is All-sufficient for you.
This shows that the proper Islamic method is to pursue our aims peacefully. Even when there is a fear that our opponents may deceive us, Muslims should still trust God and be ready to make peace.
This means that we should concentrate our efforts in that field of action where—without confrontation with others—there are opportunities for us to advance. As for other fields, those in which no opportunities present themselves—one should let the forces of nature go to work. If we reserve our efforts for those areas in which we can operate effectively, God will help us in others where we can do nothing. But, on the other hand, if we leave the arena of action allotted to us and seek to operate in some other where we have been afforded no opportunities, it is as if we have tried to function not from our arena but from God’s. To try to usurp God in His work can only lead to His displeasure; it cannot earn us His succour.
