Islam and Peace
The Importance of Studying the Life of the Prophet Muhammad and its
Application to Our Lives
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evils such as usury, adultery, excessive drinking
and senseless bloodshed; there still stood in the
Kabah no less than 360 idols.
It is significant that the first commandment in the
Qur’an was revealed to the Prophet was not about
purifying the Kabah of idols, or waging war on the
Persians and Byzantines, or punishing criminals
and wrongdoers according to the Shariah. On the
contrary, the first commandment was concerned
with reading, that is, with education. This is a clear
indication that the proper starting point for Islamic
activism must remain within the realm of the
possible. At the time of the Prophet’s advent, the
prevailing circumstances in Arabia did demand the
purification of the mosque, political stability and
the imposition of Shariah law, yet, in spite of all the
urgency for and desirability of such steps, they
were in practice, impossible to implement. On the
other hand, a beginning made on, the basis of
dawah, coupled with education, was conceivably
within reach. The Prophet, divinely inspired as he
was, made a point, therefore, of shunning the
impossible in favour of the possible, whenever he
engaged himself in Islamic activism. There is a
