Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
9. The Prophetic Method
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Those they address are bound to show some
reaction to their words, and sometimes it is going to
be violent and uncompromising. If they start
bemoaning their treatment by others, the very
seriousness of their efforts to bring them over to the
true faith is cast into doubt. Those who are really
working for God’s sake will not be affected by the
reactions of others to what they are doing. The
difficulties we encounter in pursuit of God’s good
pleasure, then, are really a test of our sincerity.
Unless we have proved our sincerity, we cannot
expect our words to have an effect on others.
When faced with enemy onslaughts people usually
take retaliatory measures of their own: People are
generally used to retaliating when they face any
unpleasant treatment by others.
Sabr,
on the other
hand, means to bear patiently whatever is meted
out by the enemy. For instance, if Muslims in a
certain country find themselves up against the
economic bias of their non-Muslim compatriots, the
way of
sabr
is not to start demanding equal
treatment, but is rather to make extra efforts oneself
to excel over others. Prejudice can only have an
adverse effect when people of equal ability are
