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The Visage of Prophet Mohammad
By:Dr. Ali Shariati
 
Some of the Salient Characteristics of the Prophet'sPersonality Truly, even thinking about the Prophet (S) isextremely difficult and awe inspiring. A greatpersonage like Ali (A) said: "Whenever we found thesituation to be grave, we used to take refuge in theProphet of God and sought the shelter of hispresence in order to feel safe and protected in hisloving company". How sublime and lofty was thepersonality of this great man. It is quite natural thatour limited and little minds are unable to realize this greatness. Thetools and criteria that we have to evaluate and measure men by, fail toassess and understand such a great being. Hence, we are compelled tounderstand him within the limits imposed on our intellects.Strength and Popularity at their Peak:One of his characteristics' (with which I myself came across whilelecturing on the life and personality of the Prophet (S)) indicates thatno personage has existed in the annals of history in whose being bothstrength of character and popularity, at such a high level, werecombined together in this way. In a personage of such greatness, whichinspires awe, fear, and another quality; which fills the heart with aspecial kind of friendly love for him, has never been integrated witheach other. The lovableness of the Prophet (S) is separate from hisprophethood; for instance Moses, Abraham and Jesus were alsoprophets and all of them were loved and respected by their people asprophets and apostles of God. But our Prophet (S) possessed anadditional quality, and that was the compassion of all who came incontact with him. (We who know and love the Prophet (S) through hiswords alone can naturally imagine to what extent those who dealt withhim personally, could love him.) This dimension of his personality was,in itself such a great force that many of his Companions were greatlyaffected by his words in such a way that they feared that the Quranicverses reflecting the Prophet's utterances filled their hearts so full thateven the words of the Quran might not fit. They were anxious toremember whatever he said, because they loved him so much theymemorized his words by heart. Even today, after the passage of fourteen hundred years, his words are so familiar to the masses of 
 
Makkah and Madinah, who now have no culture whatsoever and havefallen to the lowest intellectual level, it is as if the Prophet (S) is stillalive and speaking to them. His words, his reminiscences, his relics, hismemoirs and all that belong to him are ever recounted by the people,as if he still resides in Madinah. Even the drivers, grocers and vendors-those who are not acquainted with history, who have never read abouthis life and character and are illiterate still feel his presence amongthem. As if he was still alive, and in contact with them.In the course of these fourteen hundred years, no incident, no rift orgap has been able to create a gulf or distance between them and theProphet (S) (this is something very unusual). This lovableness iswonderful and extraordinary, to the extent that when one reads hisbiography, after some time one begins to love him. All this greatnesswithin all this simplicity seems to be impossible is a miracle in itself.Philosophically, it is to contain the whole world in an eggshell, but thisactually became reality.While sitting in the corner of the Prophet's Mosque, one can imaginethe magnificence of the Prophet (S). What kind of a man was thisperson who razed all the great empires of the world to the ground?Who was he? What was the extent of his might and strength? Those of you who have fortunately visited this mosque can envision it in yourmind. The additions that have been made to the Prophet's Mosque, arefully distinguishable. If you envision that portion of the Prophet'sMosque which is between the columns coloured in yellow ochre, it wasthe entire area of the Prophet's Mosque, both the covered anduncovered area measured 2,100 sq cubits. The area covered by theyellow ochle columns with a golden margin, indicates the exact placewhere the columns were erected during the Prophet's time. In place of the present columns date trees were placed (exactly in the same placewhere the present columns stand). It perfectly reveals the nature andextent of the government which brought down and destroyed themajestic edifice of the Roman Empire and leveled to the ground thelofty mansions of the Mada'in rulers within the short period of less thana quarter of a century. A few houses made of mud in one corner of thecourtyard of the mosque, a pulpit in another corner. a nitche at thedistance of two three meters; there a small house, here the site of themosque and the place where he prayed, and in that corner he used toconverse with the people. This was the centre of his power* the entiredomain of his strength, which served as the base of Islam throughoutthe entire world. This was actually the whole administration hecontrolled until the time of his death.When one views that history was made in this small space of ten totwelve meters and all the ancient magnificent powers were humbled to
 
the ground, one has to believe that it was in fact an extraordinaryphenomenon. One can feel this miracle and witness it with his owneyes. The other specific quality of the Prophet's personality is that in everyplace of the (Arabian) Peninsula, which the Prophet (S) visited, manfeels a sense of attachment to that land and is attracted to its soil, itspebbles and the mountains thereof. It attracts the heart like a magnet,as if one has entered a magnetic field. At first I thought that maybesince I knew what had happened on the other side of the mountain AbuQubays, and what role it played in the Prophet's life, and I knew aboutthe gloomy years when the sequence of the revelations wasinterrupted for years- those nights, when sometimes the Prophet (S)even considered throwing himself down, made a great emotionalimpression on me, for they had a specific attraction for me. Eventhough, when a group of Germans and other youths came to visit thisplace, even before I told them about where we were, (we were talkingand as we passed through the ravines of Bani 'Amir and Bani Hashim,and went up the summit of Abu Qubays), when we reached the tops allof them had the same unconscious feeling, even though they did notcherish any memory which could stir their feelings. The Elevated Status of The Prophet (S): Today I shall describe some very unique characteristics of the Prophet(S), since it is a day especially connected with his person. On all otherdays we can talk about his philosophy and ideology. Today is not theanniversary of the beginning of his prophetic mission, it is his birthday.Due to this, it is not improper if I choose to speak about him personally,the characteristics of this great personage and his personality.Whenever one reads the account of his life, the places where he lived,one realizes the one of the characteristics inherent to his nature washis choice of high and lofty places like an eagle. Wherever he went andput up his tent, he chose the highest point. For instance, during Haji hewould go to 'Arafat. His spiritual state was exactly like a bird thatdwells in lofty heights. If you look at Mina, the highest hilltop there isKhayf, where the mosque of Khayf is situated- that is the place wherethe Prophet (S) preferred to stay.Arafat is a desert and a plateau. There is a hill in a corner. You knowthat at Arafat the Prophet (S) went and stayed there.Before he was appointed to the prophethood, he chose the mount of Hira, which was the highest and the most mysterious mountain amongthe mountains surrounding Makka, to go into retreat and seclusion.
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