Is there any doubt left about his message? He was a man who devoted his entire life to a call from which he sought no personal gain in wealth, rank, kingship, or power. He did not even seek the “immortality” of fame, for he believed only in the true immortality of the next life, when one stands in the presence of Allah.
He spent his life from childhood until the age of forty in purity and contemplation, then spent the rest of it in worship, guidance, jihad, and struggle. When the world opened its doors to him, he rejected its deceptive glitter and continued on his path of worship and mission. How could such a man be a liar? Why would he lie?
We have said that sound logic and clear reason were—and still are—the best proof of the truth of Muhammad (PBUH) when he said, “I am Allah’s Messenger.” It does not accord with good logic or sound reason that a man who lived such a noble life would lie about Allah. The early believers who hastened to accept his message, and whom we are honored to know something about through the pages of this book, had this kind of relationship with him—after Allah’s guidance—which is the finest evidence of logic and reason.
We see Muhammad (PBUH) before the message, and we see him after the message. We see him in his cradle, and we see him wrapped in his shroud. Have we seen any contradiction or inconsistency in his entire life? Never.
Now, let us approach the first years of his mission. Those were years rarely matched in the stories of history for constancy, truth, and greatness. Those were the years that revealed, more than any others, all the dimensions of the teacher and guide of humanity. Those were the years that opened the living book of his life and heroism and formed, more than any others, the cradle of his miracles.
Throughout those years, the Messenger of Allah stood alone. He gave up the comforts of security and settled life. He came to people with something unfamiliar to them—in fact, with something they hated. He addressed them by appealing to their minds, which is always a difficult task, for the one who speaks to people’s intellect rather than merely their emotions carries a heavy responsibility. The Messenger of Allah, Muhammad (PBUH), did not only do that; if he had spoken to their minds while remaining within the boundaries of their customs and aspirations, the burden would have been lighter. Instead, he called them to a distant future that he clearly saw, but they did not, that he lived in, but they knew nothing of. He addressed their minds while rising to overturn the very foundations of their way of life. Even though he did this sincerely, purely for Allah, with no desire for personal glory, it was a risk that only the leaders of the righteous and the messengers of Allah could bear.
The Messenger (PBUH) was the great hero of that moment. The religious practice of that time was idol worship, with its rites firmly rooted as tradition. The Messenger (PBUH) did not resort to tricks or maneuvers. The rough road and heavy burden could have offered him an excuse to use his brilliant mind to prepare the people gradually for the word “monotheism” instead of confronting them directly with it. He could have slowed the pace, isolating the community bit by bit from their inherited idols, handed down through generations for centuries. He could have started with indirect steps, avoiding, as much as possible, a confrontation that he knew would provoke all the anger of his people and summon all their weapons against him.
Yet he did not. This is proof that he was truly a Messenger (PBUH). He heard a divine call within him telling him to rise, and he rose; telling him to convey the message, and he conveyed it—without using force and without fleeing. From the very first moment, he confronted them with the essence of the message and the core of the matter: “O people, I am the Messenger of Allah to you, commanding you to worship Him alone and not associate partners with Him. These idols are false in your minds; they can neither harm nor benefit you.”
From the beginning, he faced them with clear and simple words, and from the beginning, he faced the severe struggle that would continue until he left this world.
Did the early believers need any additional “push” to stand with the Prophet (PBUH)?
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