Muhammad: The Ideal Character
MUHAMMAD The Ideal Character
~ 23 ~
be sternly punished. You will live thereafter either
in the Garden of Bliss or in the Fire of Hell.”
If a man runs counter to the trends of the times, his
every step is beset with difficulties. This is
particularly true when he launches himself on a
religious mission against the ingrained habits of
irreligion. People, who become set in their ways, are
seldom willing to listen to the voice of change. The
Prophet in his role of believer and missionary,
therefore, found himself at loggerheads with his
own countrymen. Bent, as he was, on preaching the
word of God, he ran headlong into clashes with his
own people. His trials and tribulations were legion,
hunger and privation being regular features of his
early missionary days.
He even had to suffer assaults on his person, and
there were pitched battles between his converts and
the infidels. In the third year after his emigration,
his opponents mounted an assault on Madinah and
the battle of Uhud took place. At the outset, the
Muslims had the upper hand, but, because of some
misguided strategy on the part of some of his
followers, the enemy forces attacked from the rear,
