Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
17. Manifestation of Prophethood in the Present Day and Age
~ 439 ~
of their word, they did exactly what they said they
would. They were forgiving to others, in the hope
that God in turn would be forgiving to them. So
constant was their vision of truth that they would
not waver from it; nor would they allow their own
feelings to cloud their vision of it. Their decisions
were based on sound reason. They did things—not
to retaliate for the way they had been treated—but
because they were the right things to do.
This is how a positive character works. The
functioning of a negative character is totally
different. Negativity is to follow impulse rather than
truth. The hesitant and suspicious nature that it
fosters prevents one from taking meaningful
initiatives, or cooperating with others. A lack of
realism dominates one’s attitudes, both towards
oneself and to others. Unable to see things in terms
of truth, one sees them through one’s own tainted
vision. One’s own ability is inflated in one’s view,
while that of others is minimized. One’s defeats turn
into victories in the fairy-tale world of one’s own
imagination, while in reality even one’s successes
turn into failures. It is here that present-day Muslims
differ from the founding fathers of their religion.
