The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 171
VI - Commencement of Prophethood 171 And abstain from all forms of polytheism. ” After this, the constant descent of revelation began. 1 Commencement of Preaching Now that the disposition of the Holy Prophet sa had settled and calmed, he began to invite people to the unity of God, the Most High, and propogated teachings against polytheism. In the beginning, the Holy Prophet sa did not preach his mission openly; rather, he began this process with extreme silence and kept his teachings confined to his close circle of friends. 2 The Message of Islām Although the true place for the elaboration of the doctrinal frame- work brought by the Holy Prophet sa shall come ahead, at this point, it seems necessary to include a brief outline of Islām, so that our readers may become aware of the mission of the Holy Prophet sa and its principle injunctions. Thus, it should be known that the name of the religion presented by the Holy Prophet sa is ‘Islām’ , which means complete submission to God, and this is the true essence of the teachings brought by the Holy Prophet sa. The first and foremost principle of the religion is the unity of God, the Exalted. In other words, the Creator and Lord of this world is one God, who in His being and attributes is alone and un-associated. He has existed from time immemorial and shall remain forever. He is the Creator and Sustainer of all that is in the earth and in the heaven. For this reason, none save Him, is worthy of worship and all deities fashioned by people, aside God, are fictitious and vain. This is the first and most important principle which the Holy Prophet sa presented before the people of Makkah. The second principle presented by the Holy Prophet sa was that Allāh the Exalted created this world for a particular purpose and that people should recognize Him and then adorn themselves with His attributes, 1 * Al-Muddaththir (74:2-6) * Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābut-Tafsīr Sūratul-Muddaththir, Bābun Wa Rabbaka Fakabbir , Ḥadīth No. 4924 * Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābu Bad’il-Waḥī, Bābu Minhu, Ḥadīth No. 4 2 * Sharḥul-‘Allāmatiz-Zarqānī ‘alal-Mawāhibil-Ladunniyyah, By Muḥammad bin ‘Abdul-Bāqī Az- Zarqānī, Volume 1, p. 461, Bābul-Ijhāri bi Da‘watihī, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, Lebanon, First Edition (1996) * Tārīkhuṭ-Ṭabarī, By Abū Ja‘far Muḥammad bin Al-Jarīr Ṭabarī, Volume 2, p. 221, Bābu Dhikril- Khabri ‘ammā kāna min Amrin-Nabī sa ‘inda Ibtidā’illāhi Ta‘ālā, Dārul-Fikr, Beirut, Lebanon, Second Edition (2002)