Mankind needs a set of moral principles having universal validity as well as a real personality in which these moral principles are exemplified. The Prophet Muhammad is the only answer to the question. He proclaimed the ethics which bear the stamp of divine authenticity, and is, moreover, a model of perfect conduct and character for all mankind.

Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Prophet of Islam, is generally believed to have been born in Arabia on 22^nd April 571A.D. and to have died on 8^th June, 632 A.D. His childhood gives indication to the sublime and vigorous personality that was to emerge and, as he grew up, handsome and powerfully built, the greatness of his persona overawed all who came into his presence. But he was so soft-spoken and genial in disposition that anyone who came into contact with him inevitably loved and respected him. He evinced such traits as tolerance, forbearance and truthfulness, along with a fine understanding of men and their affairs. His was a balanced personality and the example he set was one of noble, human greatness. Da’ud ibn Husain says that even from the earliest youth he had the reputation of being the best mannered of all his people - full of solicitude for his neighbours, kind and understanding, truthful and trustworthy. He sedulously avoided quarrels, never quibbled over anything and was never heard to use foul or abusive language. People never hesitated to entrust their valuables to him, for his trustworthiness was unimpeachable. In fact it had earned for him the title of al-amin – faultless custodian, unfailing trustee.

On the occasion of his marriage at the age of twenty-five, his uncle, Abu Talib, made a speech in the course of which he said, “Compare my nephew Muhammad, son of Abdullah, with anyone you know: he will outshine him in nobility, gentility, eminence and wisdom. By God, he has a great future and will reach a very high station”. Abu Talib did not attach to these words the sense in which later events proved them to be true; he meant, of course, that anyone possessing such virtues and such a versatile personality was bound to rise in the world and to acquire a distinguished position in its affairs. Little did he realize in what an otherworldly and non-material sense all of this would come true.

The would-be Prophet possessed great potentialities which he could have turned to advantage. His qualities had greatly impressed a rich, forty-year-old widow called Khadija, who offered herself to him in marriage. She had been the wife of one of the leading merchants in Mecca and when the Prophet married her, he found that a vast field of business in Arabia and beyond was thrown open to him. He now had every opportunity to lead a successful and contented life. But this was not to be. For the Prophet attached no importance to worldly affluence and deliberately chose a path which ran counter to it. Before his marriage, he has earned his livelihood in a variety of ways, but now he gave up all these occupations and plunged into the quest for truth and reality. He neglected, too, to keeping up social relations, made no efforts to gain eminence, and instead, would wander in the hills and dates, absorbed in the profoundest of thoughts. He would ponder over the mysteries of creation, of life and death, of good and evil, and try to find order and light amidst chaos and gloom. Often he used to repair to the loneliness of a cave on mount Hira, and stay there till his meager supply of food and water was exhausted. He would go back home only to replenish his supplies, then would return to the solitude of nature to pray and meditate, struggling to find answers to the questions which surged through his conciousness.

It was no small matter for a young man to adopt this course in the prime of his life. In effect, it meant renouncing worldly happiness and treading a path ridden with difficulty and sorrow. He had all the means and opportunities one could conceive of for a comfortable life, but his turbulent soul found no satisfaction in them. So little charm did they hold for him that he was consumed with restlessness. Not until he had discovered the reality of things and had solved the mysteries of creation would he achieve tranquility of spirit. Endlessly he sought answers to the question irresistibly arising within him: Whence do I come? To what end am I destined? Has my life a purposive goal? Is there any ultimate reality behind all external appearances?

His quest had reached a point where life itself had become an intolerable burden. But at last, God, in His infinite mercy, turned towards him and threw open to him the gates of enlightenment and guidance. “And when He found thee struggling in mind (to find the right way), did He not show thee the way”? AL-QURAN 93:7

In the fortieth year of his life, one day, while he was sitting in the solitude of the cave, an angel of God appeared before him in human shape, and accosted him with the words of God: “Announce in the name of thy Lord, that He hath created – created man from a clot – Announce! And the Lord is most generous. Who hath afforded knowledge through the pen. Afforded man the Knowledge of what he knew not…” AL-QURAN 96:1-5

The Prophet had found the answers to his questions. “Have We not broadened thy heart for thee, and relieved thee of thy burden which had weighed down thy back…” AL-QURAN 94:1-3 His restless soul was now in communion with the Lord of the Universe. God now chose him as His special envoy and gave him guidance.  The Revelation of God began descending upon him and continued to do so for twenty-three years, at the end of which time, the last Scripture of God, the Quran, reached completion.

The Prophet of Islam had discovered the Truth, but not before the fortieth year of his difficult life, and it was an attainment which brought with it no ease or comfort. The truth that he had discovered was that man was in the power of Almighty god. It was essentially a discovery of how humble and powerless he himself was before God’s superb omnipotence, of his own nothingness before the supernal magnitude of God. It was a discovery of the fact, hitherto little understood, that for a believer there is nothing in this world but responsibility. As for rights, he has none.

The meaning and purpose of life for the Prophet after he had made this discovery are clearly set forth in his sayings:

To fear God openly and secretly in every state,

To follow justice whether calm or angry,

To practice moderation whether rich or poor,

To reunite my sundered friendships,

To give to him who takes away,

To gladly pardon my oppressors,

And seek the silent ways of meditation,

To utter words in God’s remembrance,

And look around me knowledge to acquire.

These sublime thoughts and poignant utterances could not be those of an empty man. They externalize his inner being and are a clear indication of his moral stature. In these words, his whole life is reflected. Even before the dawn of Prophethood, the Prophet’s life had followed such a pattern, but it had been instinctive and without deliberation. Now the discovery of truth lent discernment to his attitudes and behaviour, and what had formerly been inherent in him now became a well conceived part and product of profound thinking. There was now an intensified awareness in all his thoughts and actions. The exigencies of worldly life having been reduced to the barest minimum, his living assumed an entirely different pattern from that of his fellow men. In bodily appearance he lived in this world, but, spiritually, he was on a different plane.

An important statement which the Prophet made at this time concerned the special moments that there should be in the lives of the prudent. There should be:

Moments when one should commune with God.

Moments when one should be one’s own assessor,

Moments when one should be reflecting upon the mysteries of creation.

And also moments for the acquisition of the necessities of life.

In other words, the faithful servant of God is so given over to piety that he finds himself close to God, in divine communion with him, he so fears the Day of Judgement that his time is spent in constant self-appraisal, he ponders over the marvelous creation of God that he sees His splendour reflected everywhere. In this way he spends his days meeting his Lord, meeting himself, meeting the world and meeting the bodily requirements. And each of this special experiences has it’s special moment. These words reflect the personality of the Prophet. They show the restlessness of the believing and faithful soul and are an indication of his absorption on other-worldly affairs. A man who had not experienced such absorption would not be capable of describing it with such sublimity of expression. These are utterances of a perfect soul who wishes in his goodness to guide others to this same state of perfection.

Before God’s revelations began to be made to the Prophet, the world with all it’s shortcomings, faults and limitations appeared meaningless to him. But when God revealed to him that there is a world other than the present one, a world which is perfect and eternal – the real abode of man – he found new meaning and purpose both in this life and in the universe. He found the world not just a place where he could subsist, but a place of wonder and fascination. It was a world now on which he could pin his hopes and for which he could make plans for the future, even taking into account its ephemerality. For him now, the world is  place which has to be tilled so that men might reap their rewards in the hereafter, and all his actions were oriented towards the end. He attached real value to  the life beyond the grave, for he had become keenly aware of the fact that this world is not our final destination, but only the starting point and path leading to the future life. Everything we did here in this world was only by way of preparation. In all matters his attitude was determined by the thought of how it would affect the quality of his existence in the hereafter. Whether the occasion for him was one of happiness or sorrow, success or failure, domination or oppression, praise or obloquy, love or hatred, the guiding thought was always that of the hereafter. He was in no way lacking in human qualities, but his mind attached value only to things which were in some manner connected with the Hereafter, and when any such connection was absent, he found it difficult to take an interest in the purely mundane. He would often say to those who found him indifferent to the affairs of this world, “You know your worldly matters better than I do myself”. This conviction of the Prophet is no mere intellectual assumption. When it takes root, a man’s whole course of life and plane of living are altered by it; it turns a man into a being of an entirely different order. The lesson of the Prophet’s life is that unless the plane of living is radically changed, there can be no improvement in the quality of one’s actions. When the Prophet arrived at this truth, its propagation became his greatest concern. Paradise, tidings of which he brought to his fellowmen, became his prime objective, and his fear of hell, of which likewise he gave warning to others, knew no bounds. His inner agitation would repeatedly manifest itself in his invocations and sincere repentance.

Incidents abound in the traditions of the Prophet demonstrate the exemplary qualities of his exalted character, at the same time showing that man is unconditionally God’s servant, and must remain so at all times and in all circumstances. The relationship of God and man is that which is ideally based on man’s constant fear of God and his awareness of the Hereafter. Every single thing in the universe should serve to remind him of God. He should recognize His signs in every particle that exists. N all worldly matters he should never forget that God is the final arbiter. Fear of hell should instill in him an attitude of humility and courtesy to others, and the eagerness of paradise should make the world unreal and of trifling importance in his eyes. God’s greatness should so preoccupy him that any idea of demonstrating his own greatness should appear to be of the utmost frivolity. No criticism should provoke him. Neither should he be made vain by praise.

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