The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Policy of the Prophet
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The way Umar undertook his journey was justified
by its being a personal or individual action, but the
position of the Prophet of Islam was not merely that
of an individual. The Prophet was the leader of the
entire Muslim community. His each and every step
served as an example for the entire
ummah.
Whatever he did was to be followed by the Muslims
for all time, therefore, when it is a question of
taking the initiative at the communal level, the same
way would be adopted as that of the Prophet at the
time of his emigration. That is, before taking any
action, all precautions should be taken and full
concessions
made
to
the
situation
and
circumstances.
The principle we derive from this incident of the
Prophet’s emigration is that if someone on his own
personal basis, wanted to take a dangerous step, he
would be allowed to do so. However, there is no
doubt about it that an individual’s taking such a
step would remain a matter of option or concession
and not one of compulsion.
But where a group or community is concerned,
taking risky steps with no thought for the result is
