Muhammad (saw) – The Perfect Man — Page 428
CHAPTER 18 The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa as a Patron and a Great Teacher 428 meetings. He said once, "Three persons came to a meeting. One of them seeing an empty space in the front, came forward to listen. The second person sat down at the back in an available space. The third turned back and left. " Commenting on the conduct of these people, H u du r sa said, "God treated them according to their attitude. The one who stepped forward, God took him under His shelter. The second who displayed modesty and sat at the back, God treated him gently and forgave him. The third one who turned away, God turned away from him". 29 Advice Through Laudable Example The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa possessed the excellent quality of ingraining advice with the help of simple examples and parables. For instance he cited this example for reformation of the society by promoting good while stopping it from bad deeds. The example he quoted was that some people were traveling in a boat. One person from amongst them started to drill a hole in the boat. If others did not stop him from doing so, the boat would have sunk and everyone would have been destroyed. 30 A society in which no effort is made to stop evil and promote goodness, meets a similar end. Likewise he compared the five daily prayers to a stream. By taking a bath five times a day, no grime remains on the body; similarly by offering five daily prayers, the means of