Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
16. The Companions of the Prophet
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from Madinah. But the Ansar did not use this as an
excuse. It redounds to their credit that they went far
and beyond the strict terms of their agreement and,
along with the Prophet, offered their life’s blood on
the field of Badr.
AVOIDING CONTROVERSY, AND
CONCENTRATING ON ONE’S BASIC GOAL
The historian Tabarani tells us on the authority of
Masar ibn Makhramah, of how on one occasion the
Prophet addressed the Companions with these
words: “God has sent me as a mercy for all, so pass
on what you have heard from me. God will make
manifest His mercy. And do not quarrel with one
another, as the disciples quarrelled over Jesus, the
son of Mary. He called on them to perform the same
mission as I am entrusting to you now. But those
who lived far away did not like the idea, and asked
not to go, and Jesus remonstrated with his Lord
over this matter.” “We will pass on your message,”
the Companions assured him in response. “Send us
wherever you please.”
Internal friction is the greatest thorn in the side of a
community, preventing its members from pursuing
