Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
7. The Revolution of the Prophet
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quiet reasoning falls on deaf ears; the prophets
appear insignificant compared to the grandeur
surrounding the faith of their people’s forefathers.
Take the case of Jesus Christ, homeless and sleeping
under a tree, while the chief priest of the Jews
resided in the lavish splendour of the palace of
Haykal.
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How could people accept someone who
slept under a tree as the bearer of truth rather than
the occupant of the grand palace of Haykal? That is
why people poured scorn on their prophets. They
held established figures in reverence: why, then,
should they forsake them for an insignificant
creature without status? True, prophets of the past
were also objects of their esteem, but these prophets
had become more national heroes than preachers of
truth in the eyes of their admirers.
It is one thing to attach oneself to a message, and
quite another to attach oneself to an institution.
There is nothing more difficult than service carried
out in accordance with a message, and nothing
easier than service in the name of an institution. All
that a message has in support of it is its conceptual
truth, while institutions are backed up by all sorts of
material grandeur. It is those who extend their
