Muhammad a Prophet For all Humanity
5. Lessons of the Prophet’s Life
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personal and preaching interests, then preaching
of the faith must come first. It was in the interest
of his preaching mission that the Prophet advised
patience in the situations mentioned above. The
Prophet endured all kinds of personal, financial
and domestic losses in his life, just to ensure the
continuation of his efforts to spread the faith. He
knew that the Muslims’ success in this life and the
next lay in their pressing on with missionary
work.
When one has a purpose in life, that purpose
assumes over-riding importance. One will bear
losses in life in order to achieve it. In the absence of
such a purpose one becomes preoccupied with
every trivial matter. Seeking to avoid small losses,
one has to put up with even greater ones. The
preachers of God’s word are the most purposeful
people in the world: they endure small losses in
pursuit of their greater aim. They avoid clashing
with others on any issue, for this would be
detrimental to their missionary work. They only act
when forced to do so in self-defence, for this does
not interfere with their greater goal.
