Spirit of Islam October 2017

28 Spirit of Islam Issue 58 October 2017 TRUSTING HUMAN NATURE Assured Results D URING his 23-year movement, Prophet Muhammad brought about a revolution which took place at the level of human thought. Monotheism replaced polytheism, people who had been insolent became dutiful, those whose thinking had been parochial became upholders of the international message, those who had known nothing but fighting and aggression became champions of peace and humanitarianism spreading their message all over the world; those who had no history of their own, rose to fashion a history of the nations of the world. Now the question arises as to how did the Prophet succeed in bringing about this unique revolution? The answer is that a huge amount of sacrifice was needed to bring it about. This sacrifice is what we call in today’s jargon as ‘taking risks’. The world is governed by the principle: The greater the risks the greater the success. Changing the minds of the people is the most difficult task in this world. Therefore, one who aspires to do so cannot but imperil his own interests. As far as this world of cause and effect is concerned, Prophet Muhammad took the greatest of risks, and hence the success he achieved was also the greatest. Two examples will bring out the magnitude of risks undertaken by the Prophet. The first example concerns the takeover of Makkah. After the acquisition of Makkah, the Prophet declared a general amnesty for all those people who had displayed the greatest antagonism towards him and his Companions. They had expelled him and his Companions from their homes, waged offensive battles against him and killed a large number of his Companions. The past crimes could be forgiven, but another danger lurked which was even greater. It was the danger of those people re-organizing themselves to plot against the Prophet and his Companions again. In the face of all this, the Prophet took a great risk and set them free and he benefitted equally as a result. This was an example of trust in human nature, although it was fraught with dangers. When these people came to Prophet Muhammad, after the acquisition of Makkah, they were in a psychological state when death seemed certain; they felt sure that they were to be consigned to their graves. The moment the Prophet granted them pardon, it seemed as if they had been given a new lease of life. It was such a great favour to them that after this they could no longer remain obdurate. Psychologically,