Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
6. The Path of the Prophet
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They thus provided a great lesson for subsequent
generations of Muslims: that the place for Muslims
to test their strength was the outside world, not
among themselves. But successive generations of
Muslims have failed to learn this lesson, and in the
present age the situation has deteriorated to the
point where the Muslim world is locked in battle
with itself on every front.
No one is ready to face any challenge outside the
Muslim world, but all are willing to fight against
their own Muslim brethren. Undoubtedly the
greatest challenge facing the Muslims today is the
dissemination of Islam in the outside world; but
since they are so busy fighting among themselves, it
is not surprising that they have no time or energy
for this all-important task.
There was another important reason for the
Prophet’s insistence on the despatch of the army.
The Arab tribes had been fighting among
themselves from time immemorial, and would start
fighting again if not confronted with some external
foe on whom to test their strength. Towards the end
of his life, the Prophet averted this danger by
