Muhammad: The Ideal Character
MUHAMMAD The Ideal Character
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wife of one of the leading merchants in Makkah and
when the Prophet married her, he found that a vast
field of business in Arabia and beyond was thrown
open to him. He now had every opportunity to lead
a successful and contented life. But this was not to
be. For the Prophet attached no importance to
worldly affluence and deliberately chose a path
which ran counter to it. Before his marriage he had
earned his livelihood in a variety of ways, but now
he gave up all these occupations and plunged into
the quest for truth and reality. He neglected, too, to
keeping up social relations, made no efforts to gain
eminence, and instead, would wander in the hills
and caves, absorbed in the profoundest of thoughts.
He would ponder over the mysteries of creation, of
life and death, of good and evil, and try to find
order and light amidst chaos and gloom. Often he
used to repair to the loneliness of a cave on Mount
Hira, and stay there till his meagre supply of food
and water was exhausted. He would go back home
only to replenish his supplies, then would return to
the solitude of nature to pray and meditate,
struggling to find answers to the questions which
surged through his consciousness.
