Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
3. Exemplary Conduct
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Prophet was twenty-five, she offered herself to him
in marriage. Not only did marriage with Khadijah
provide the Prophet with wealth and property; it
also threw open to him a vast field of business in
Arabia and beyond. The Prophet had every
opportunity, then, of leading a successful and
comfortable life. But he forsook all these things and
chose something quite different for himself. Quite
intentionally, he took a road that could lead only to
worldly ruin. Before his marriage, the Prophet had
earned his living in different ways. Now he
relinquished all such activity, and dedicated himself
to his lifelong vocation—the pursuit of truth. He
used to sit for hours and ponder over the mysteries
of creation. Instead of socializing and trying to gain
a position for himself among the nobles of Makkah,
he would wander in the hills and dales of the
desert. Often he used to retire to the loneliness of a
cave in Mount Hira’—three miles from Makkah—
and stay there until his meagre supply of food and
water was exhausted. He would return home to
replenish his supplies, and then go back to the
solitude of nature for prayer and meditation. He
would beseech the Maker of the heavens and the
earth for answers to the questions surging in his
