Islam - Its Meaning for Modern Man — Page 120
120 That is why God affirmed that the Prophet possessed the highest moral excellences (68:5) and that God’s Grace had been bestowed upon him in abundance (4:114; 17:88). The highest yearning of the human soul is to win the love of God through its own devotion to, and love of, Him. The Quran succinctly points the way for the satisfaction of that yearning. The Prophet was commanded to say: “If you love God, follow me: then will God love you and forgive you your faults. Surely, God is Most Forgiving, Merciful” (3:32). When Ayesha said that the character of the Prophet was the Quran, she meant that the Prophet illustrated in his own person to the highest degree the excellences that the Quran teaches. It was because he had become a living example and illustration of the highest excellences that man is capable of achieving, that God’s testimony affirmed: “Verily, you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar, for him who fears Allah and the Last Day, and who remembers Allah much” (33:22). Muhammad’s soul being in travail over the moral and spiritual degradation of his people did strive to approach the Majesty of God, seeking and praying for a remedy. His striving found favour with God, Who, on Muhammad’s approach, drew near to him, and the spiritual communion between the two wrought a unity of purpose. Muhammad’s will and