Muhammad (saw) – The Perfect Man — Page 324
CHAPTER 17 The Prophet sa as a Summoner to All a h 324 Muhammad sa has given us the best example of preaching wisely. God Almighty guided him at every step of the way and taught him the wisdom necessary for preaching. The Holy Prophet Muhammad sa acted on these principles. His morals and character were a perfect reflection of the teaching of the Holy Qur’ a n. In the early period, the prudent measure of individual preaching was adopted. In the first three years of his Prophethood the Holy Prophet Muhammad sa preached by his own example secretly and individually. As a result of this preaching his family members, Hadrat Khad i jah ra , Hadrat ‘Al i ra and his close friends Hadrat Ab u Bakr ra and Hadrat Zaid ra accepted Islam. Ism a ‘ i l ra bin Ay a s relates some of the details of that early period which he had heard from his grandfather ‘Af i f ra. ‘Af i f ra relates, "I was a businessman. I came to Min a during the H ajj time. ‘Abb a s bin Mu tt alib was also a businessman. I went to him for trading my merchandise. While I was sitting in his tent a man rose up, went out of the tent and started to offer S al a t while facing the Ka‘bah. Then a woman and a child joined him as well. I asked ‘Abb a s ra , to what faith these people belonged? We were unaware of any such religion. He told me, "this person is Muhammad bin ‘Abdull a h, who claims that God has commissioned him and the treasures of kings of Persia and Rome