The Excellent Exemplar - Muhammad — Page 38
THE EXCELLENT EXEMPLAR — MUHAMMAD 38 connected with the Ka’aba? Saad retorted that if this were the attitude of the Meccans, their caravans plying between Mecca and Syria would no longer enjoy the right of free passage between Medina and the coast. And so the stage was set for open warfare between the Meccans and the Muslims in Medina. Meanwhile the Prophet was organizing the Muslims as a religious community who should put into effect all the commandments and values inculcated by Islam. His undertaking involved tremendous responsibility. To weld into a homogeneous whole a community made up of Meccan refugees and Medina Arabs drawn from tribes which had till lately been sworn enemies, and to instruct them in ways which would make their individual and communal lives wholly beneficent for themselves as well as for those who came in contact w ith them demanded unremitting attention and every moment of available time. It was a monumental task even for a man with the capacity of the Prophet, strengthened and reinforced by Divine revelation. The administration of the affairs of Medina and its people was an onerous addition to this main purpose. The threat of invasion from Mecca greatly multiplied the Prophet’s responsibilities and preoccupations, and taxed his capacities to the utmost. Yet he set about doing whatever was needful in a serene and ste adfast spirit, putting his complete trust in God and exhorting the Muslims in their turn to be patient and steadfast, and constantly to foster their communion with God, so as to make it a rich and living experience. All due precautions were taken. For, though God’s promise of succor for, and ultimate triumph of, Islam was wholly true