Islam is not merely confined to the affirmation of faith in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgement. Nor are the Muslims confined to performing the prayers, observing the fasts, paying zakat and performing Hajj. Over and above these duties, there is one which is the most important that your lives bear before all mankind witness to the Truth that you have been given by God, the Truth which you believe to be true. Allah says in the Qur’ān, “And thus We have made you a median (i.e., just) community that you will be witness over the people and the Messenger will be a witness over you.” (Qur’ān 2:143).
For this very purpose all the Messengers were sent to the world; this was their primary duty. After them, their followers were entrusted with the same duty. And now the Muslim Ummah, as the successor of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him), is charged with the very mission, just as he was charged with it during his lifetime. His seriousness, dedication and consistency helped him achieve the mission for which he was sent.
After seeing Islam spread so rapidly, the people of Quraish gave many offers to Prophet Muhammad. They said, “We will give you money and make you the richest man in Makkah. If you are looking for women, we will get you married to 10 beautiful women and you just give up your mission” but he did not agree and declined all their offers.
In another instance, the people of Quraish went to Abu Talib and threatened him saying, “Your nephew is crossing all limits, he is criticising our idols, he is condemning our ancestors, and he is putting your life and his life in danger.”
When Abu Talib met Prophet Muhammad, he said, “Do not put a burden on my shoulders which I cannot bear.” And now, it is the reply of Prophet Muhammad which helps us understand the seriousness which he had for the task given to him. He replied to Abu Talib saying, “O! My Uncle, even if you put the Sun in my right hand and the Moon in the left, I will not give up this mission (of spreading God’s word) until I die. (Ibne Hisham – Vol. I). It is actually impossible to bring the Sun in one’s right hand and the Moon in the left and even if his uncle made the impossible possible, he would not stop his work. What better an example can we get for his dedication and commitment?
When Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) went to Taif to invite people to Islam, the people stoned him and his shoes were filled with blood. Angel Jibrail came to Prophet Muhammad and said, “O Prophet of Allah! If you order, I will grind the people of Taif between mountains.” He said, “I am sent as the Prophet of mercy, not to punish people. These people just don’t know me and I hope that Allah will raise someone among these people who will serve Islam.” Let us try to understand the positive attitude and patience he had towards his mission and responsibility which was entrusted upon him by Allah the Exalted.
Tired, forsaken and wounded, he sought refuge in a nearby garden. The garden belonged to Atabah and Shaibah bin Rabee’ah, who were watching the cruel episode from behind, who were from a Quraishi family. Pitying the plight, they instructed their Christian slave Addas to take a tray of dates to the Messenger. The Christian slave came to Prophet Muhammad and offered him water and grapes. The Prophet said Bismillah and started eating. Addas was surprised. “The people of these lands don’t say these words?” he asked. The Prophet, in spite of the pain, used the opportunity to do Dawah. He asked, “Where are you from and what is your religion?” Addas replied, “I am a Christian from Ninawa (Iraq)”. Then the Prophet said, “From the town of the righteous man, Younus bin Mattah (Jonah)”. Addas burst out in excitement and asked, “And what makes you know about Younus bin Mattah?” He replied, “He is my brother. He was a Prophet, and so am I.” Addas kisses his forehead, hands and feet while his two masters stared in disbelief. And recited the kalima. Prophet Muhammad used to use every opportunity effectively to do Dawah, even in the state of pain and trauma, he conveyed the message.
Generally prisoners captured after the war are ill-treated. But Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) would use this opportunity to do Dawah. After the Battle of Badr, he told his companions to treat them well. So if the companion was given a prisoner under his custody and he was eating, he would give that food or even better food to the prisoner. Just seeing the character of the Muslims, many people would accept Islam. As they were prisoners, they could have been forced to accept Islam, but the Messenger and his companions used the opportunity wisely to invite them to Islam.
In the Hajjatul Wida, Prophet Muhammad delivered the final sermon. In the sermon, he said, “All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and it may be that the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people.” After saying this, he asked the people, “Have I conveyed the Message of Allah to you?” And the people answered saying, “Yes, Allah is the witness”. Then he raised his forefinger towards the heaven and said, “Be my witness O Allah, Be my witness O Allah, Be my witness O Allah.” In his final sermon he entrusted the responsibility on the Muslim Ummah to convey the message of Islam to others as he was not only addressing the people who were present but all the Muslims who will be coming to this world.
There was a Jewish boy who used to take care of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him). The Messenger came to know that the former was not feeling well, he rushed to him, sat next to him and asked him to recite the kalima. The boy looked towards his father who was a Jew and his father said, “Listen to Prophet Muhammad” and the boy recited the kalima and died. He said, “Allah has saved him soul from fire.” Let us try to understand the spirit and seriousness he had towards conveying the message that he travelled a long distance to convey the message to a boy.
Prophet Muhammad knew that he along could not do the work of conveying the message of Islam; so he appointed people to do the same so that the message is conveyed to more and more people. In this regard, he appointed Musab bin Umair to go to Madina and invite people to Islam. Even when his life was in danger, he used to pray in pubic in the Haram and give Dawah to the people. He forgave people after Makkah was captured. He gave more wealth to new converts of Makkah so that their hearts soften. He used to sit, speak and eat with the people, so that conveying the message becomes much easier.
To convey the message, one need not wait till he gains complete knowledge. He should go ahead and covey whatever he knows. Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) said, “Convey from me even if it is one verse.” If we need to make best use of the knowledge, it should only be spread, as Prophet Muhammad said, “There is no man who memorises knowledge then conceals it, but he will be brought forth on the Day of Resurrection bridled with chains of fire” (Ibn Majah). If one loves a person, he will always guide him and advise him to do good and Prophet Muhammad related this act with the belief of a person as once he said, “None of you are true believers until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.” From these sayings, we can understand the spirit and seriousness he had towards Dawah.
He considered the work so seriously, that he continued doing the work both in Makkah and Madina for 23 years. Doing this noble work also carries great reward as he once said to Ali, “If one man is guided towards Islam because of you, it is better for you that the red camels” (Bukhari). Taking into consideration the Indian context, the issue of conveying the message becomes really serious because we are living in a country where more than 80% of people are unaware of the teachings of Islam.
From the life of Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) we have a lot to learn. He never compromised with the task which was given to him. He always has a positive attitude towards the non-Muslims. He used every opportunity to do Dawah. He sent capable people to different places to convey the message. He used to ask people to just convey the message. He asked the companions and all the people to come, to spread the message to other people. He left no stone unturned to accomplish the task. He was the most sincere, patience, dedicated and steadfast Dayee. Truly, the Qur’ān has rightly said, “In the Prophet is the best example.”