The Prophet Muhammad A simple Guide to his Life
The Prophetic Mission
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abreast of the creation plan of God, which in the
Qur’an is referred to as ‘leading people out of
darkness into light.’ (5:17)
But the recitation of the verses did not mean that
the Prophet had to recite the entire Qur’an to the
people. For although this task began at the outset of
his prophethood, at that time the whole Qur’an did
not exist in the compiled form as it does today.
What the recitation of verses meant was the
communication of the basics of religion – that is
monotheism, prophethood and
shariah.
The action
of
dawah
is, in actual fact, a means of keeping people
abreast of the basics of religion, whereas the
detailed commands of the
shariah
are addressed to
those who are already initiates, and not to those
who have not yet entered the fold of Islam.
Another part of the prophetic mission was that
which in this verse is called
‘tazkia’ (purification).
The act of purification meant the same as what is
called instruction in present times. That is, man’s
thinking and feelings should be so reformed that he
should be enabled to follow the path of God whole-
heartedly and with total concentration.
