Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
7. The Revolution of the Prophet
~ 156 ~
Prophets of every age have confronted one major
obstacle: the adherence of their people to an
ancestral religion, which enjoyed unrivalled
material grandeur. They themselves, on the other
hand, were standing on the abstract ground of
truth and reason. This nation that had grown up in
the Arabian Desert was endowed with the unique
ability to recognize truth on an abstract level—
before it had gained any external lustre. They had
been reared under open skies, in the wilderness of
the vast desert, and had developed an
extraordinary capacity for recognizing plain,
unvarnished truth. They were prepared to give up
everything for the sake of truth when it was a
solitary force, and one that appeared to have
nothing to offer them in return. ‘Abdullah ibn
Mas’ud summed up these qualities of the
Companions in the following words:
They were the cream of the Muslim
community the most warm-hearted, the most
knowledgeable, and the least formal. They
were the ones that God chose to accompany
His prophet, and to establish his religion.
