Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
3. Exemplary Conduct
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When he married at the age of twenty-five, his
uncle Abu Talib performed the marriage service.
“There is no one to compare with my nephew,
Muhammad ibn ‘Abdullah,” he said. “He outshines
everyone in nobility, gentility, eminence and
wisdom. By God, he has a great future and will
reach a very high station.” Abu Talib did not utter
these words in the sense in which later events
proved them to be true. He meant them in a
worldly sense. Nature had endowed his nephew
with a magnetic and versatile personality. His
people would surely appreciate his qualities, and
raise him to a high position. Abu Talib envisaged a
future of worldly success and accomplishment for
his nephew; this was the “great future” which he
referred to in his sermon.
Without doubt the Prophet had every opportunity
for worldly advancement. He was born into a noble
family of Makkah and his virtues guaranteed his
success in life. True, he had inherited just one camel
and one servant from his father, but his inborn high
qualities had impressed the richest woman in
Makkah, Khadijah, a forty-year-old widow
belonging to a family of merchants. When the
