Muhammad: The Ideal Character
MUHAMMAD The Ideal Character
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instill in him an attitude of humility and courtesy to
others, and eagerness for paradise should make the
world unreal and of trifling importance in his eyes.
God’s greatness should so preoccupy him that any
idea of demonstrating his own greatness should
appear to be of the utmost frivolity. No criticism
should provoke him. Neither should he be made
vain by praise.
Many things happened to the Prophet which, on the
one hand, could have turned his head—like
excessive adulation, and his final success in,
converting large numbers to Islam—or, on the other
hand, could have left him a hopeless and
embittered man—like the dishonourable treatment
meted out to him at Taif and the initial rejection of
his teachings by so many of his people. But he never
allowed his success to make him conceited, nor did
he ever allow adversity to plunge him in despair,
for his life was completely governed by piety and
the fear of God, and right to the end of his life—for
twenty three years—he remained the steadfast
champion of justice and moral rectitude. This is the
ideal human character which the Prophet displayed
throughout his entire life.
