The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Policy of the Prophet
~ 105 ~
Prophet shows that the Prophet opted exclusively
for the former course.
For instance, 360 idols were ensconced in the Kabah
(the house of God). Although the Prophet’s mission
was to remove them, he never attempted to smash
them during his 13-year stay in Makkah after
receiving his prophethood. Twenty years thus
passed (13 in Makkah, 7 in Madinah), without his
having taken any action, for throughout this period
the Prophet confined himself only to verbal
dawah.
It was only twenty years later, when Makkah had
been conquered, that he took practical steps to
purify the Kabah of these idols.
This shows that the Prophet drew a line between
what was practicable and what was not. For twenty
years verbal
dawah
alone was acceptable as far as
idols were concerned. If the Prophet was able to
continue his mission, it was because he confined
himself to the field of peaceful
dawah.
After the
conquest of Makkah, when the purification of the
Kabah became feasible, the Prophet took concrete
steps towards this end. This shows that
differentiating between result-oriented action and
