Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
9. The Prophetic Method
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him. From the point of view of a zealous Muslim
political leader of the modern age, the emigration
would appear as a flight, for what he would
advocate in a similar situation would be a fight to
the death; he would be looking no further ahead
than making a martyr of himself. But if one looks at
the results of the emigration of the Prophet, one can
see that it was clearly the greatest watershed in
Islamic history.
Patience also enables us to refrain from taking
action, and permits things to take their natural
course. Human nature is an unchangeable reality
that always exerts a strong influence on the course of
human life. Deep down, people always have a soft
spot for one who bears abuse quietly, for one who
refuses to be provoked even in face of the utmost
provocation. The human conscience naturally tends
to favour the oppressed rather than the oppressor.
Great opportunities open out in the world of nature
for those who are denied them in the world of men:
then, when they stand firm in face of persecution,
they prove themselves to be in the right. The boycott
that was imposed on the Prophet and his family in
the seventh year of the prophetic mission was just
