Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
2. The Emergence and Legacy of the Prophet Muhammad
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demise occurred three years before the emigration
of the Prophet to Madinah. The Prophet then, at the
most difficult stage of his life, was left without a
protector. But nature had endowed the Prophet
with a remarkable personality. Those who saw him
in his youth used to remark: “This boy has a great
future.” His dignified and impressive personality
grew with age. ‘Ali
1
once commented, “Those who
saw him for the first time were filled with awe, and
those who came close to him grew to love him.” The
Prophet’s noble character was undisputed, yet
when in his fortieth year, he announced his
prophetic mission, people’s attitude to him
changed. They poured scorn on his claim to
prophethood. “Look at this village boy who reckons
he’s in contact with the heavens,” they would say.
His preaching mission extended over a mere
twenty-three years. It was during this short time
that he brought about a revolution among the Arab
tribes, the like of which the world had never seen.
Within one hundred years this revolution had
vanquished both the Sassanian and the Byzantine
Empires. With the fall of these two great empires of
the world, Islam annexed the territory extending
