Muhammad: Seal of the Prophets — Page 2
MUHAMMAD : SEAL OF THE PROPHETS 2 and he could understand them perfectly. So would they, if they tried being able to understand him. It may be said that a prophet is different from other men. This is true in a certain sense, but the difference is only one of degree, and not of kind. Every human being has a distinct personality and thus differs from his fellows in certain respects. His p hysical and mental characteristics and equipment may differ from those of the men with whom he associates and among whom he moves about. The only specialty of a prophet in respect of which he is distinguished from other men is that he enjoys an intense deg ree of communion with God. But even in that respect, those who believe in him and associate with him can share with him, to a greater or lesser degree, in such communion. They can understand him perfectly. Did the Holy Prophet appear at a time when the world was in need of a universal and comprehensive spiritual guidance? It should be recalled that he was born in AD 570 and received the divine call in 610. He died in 632. History bears out that this was the darkest period of the Dark Ages. There was a faint glimmer of light, here and there, but on the whole, mankind was bereft almost entirely of spiritual light. The light and the guidance nee ded were supplied through Muhammad. Pringle Kennedy has observed ( Arabian Society at the Time of Muhammad pp. 8 - 10, 18 - 21): Muhammad was, to use a striking expression, the man of the hour. In order to understand his wonderful success, one must study the conditions of his times. Five and half centuries and more had elapsed when he was born since