Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
5. Lessons of the Prophet’s Life
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enable one to see the life of the Prophet in true
perspective, and draw the right lessons from it.
This point can be understood from one example.
The following saying of the Prophet is related in the
Hadith:
One killed in defence of his property is a
martyr. One killed in defence of his life is a
martyr. One killed in defence of his religion is
a martyr. One killed in defence of his family is
a martyr.
2
As is clear from the text, this
hadith
is about being
“killed,” not about fighting as such. The Prophet
did not mean that whenever there is a threat to
one’s property, life, religion or family, one should
immediately resort to arms, even if one is slain as a
result. What he meant was that if, on any of these
grounds, a believer is slain, then his or her death is
one of martyrdom. The
hadith,
then, is not an
incitement to fight; it is a promise of martyrdom to
those who are slain.
Those who are not sincere in their attitude to
religion, however, who are more concerned with
