The Call of the Quran
1. Divine Planning
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hardships in the mountainous and rocky
surroundings of ancient Hijaz, and in that setting
innate human qualities had acquired the maximum
importance, as external props were totally non-
existent. There, man possessed only one thing, and
that was his own existence. In such an environment,
it was but natural that man’s inner qualities should
be cultivated to the maximum. In this way a nation,
characterised by manliness to an amazing extent,
came into being through a process spanning two
thousand years. In the words of Philip K. Hitti, the
whole of Arabia was converted into a nursery of
heroes the like of which had never been found
before or after in history.
The hour had come with the dawn of the 6th
century to bring to completion the plan of breaking
the continuity of
shirk
(idolatry). It was then that the
Prophet Muhammad was born among the
Ishmaelites. These are the words of the Qur’an:
It is He who has sent His Apostle with
guidance and the Faith of Truth, so that he
may exalt it above all religions, much as the
pagans may dislike it (61:9).
