Preface
Modern technological advancement has reduced distance and turned the present world into a home whose residents have to live together like family members in spite of differences in their communal, social, national and religious backgrounds. It is absolutely necessary for co-existence, an accepted norm of the civilized' world of today, that mutual relationship among people should be based on cooperation, trust, respect, and goodwill. In order to achieve this end people must make honest and sincere efforts to know, understand, and respect the traits, cultures and beliefs of one another. The state of the affair, however, is different. Although today people from different communities in a country closely share life shopping, studying, working, and travelling together--they are still very much unfamiliar with the values and beliefs of one another.
In India, for example, Hindus, Muslims and followers of several other religions have been living together for centuries and sharing political and social responsibilities, but they remain unfamil For spelling here and elsewhere in this book I have followed A.S. Hornby, Oxford Advance Learner's Dictionary of Current English (London: Oxford University Press, 1974).
Introduction
The divine institution of prophethood, according to Islam, began with the descent of the very first man on the earth. Thus the first man Adam, may Allah's blessings be on him, was also the first prophet. After him thousands of prophets were sent for the guidance of humanity who continued to invite people to Allah. They all preached Oneness of Allah, denounced polytheism and infidelity, and tried to persuade people to accept the true faith. They conveyed to them the message of the true faith, taught them about good deeds and informed them about their rewards. They also informed the people about the punishment for holding wrong faith and doing evil deeds.
The progeny of Prophet Adam followed the correct faith for sometime, but later on a number of them went astray and adopted infidelity and polytheism. The prophets of Allah who came later kept on inviting people toward worshipping the One and the Only God, but a number of people rejected their teachings and even opposed them by all means available.
When Prophet Muhammad, blessings and peace be on him, called the people of his time to Islam, some accepted his message while others rejected and opposed. The opponents fought Islam tooth and nail in Makkah and did everything within their capacity to persecute the Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, and the first adherents to Islam. They dragged Muslims, like Bilal and Khabbab, in the streets of Makkah, humiliated and beat mercilessly even honourable people like Abu Darr Ghifari and Abu Bakr, and killed some, like the parents of Ammar Bin Yasir, may Allah be pleased with all these suffering souls. Such a hostile situation made it so difficult for Muslims to live in Makkah that a number of them, including the Prophet's daughter and his son-in-law Uthman Bin Affan, had to migrate in helpless-ness to Abyssinia. In spite of Such severe persecution, no Muslim ever relinquished Islam and returned to infidelity. When the Roman emperor of that time, Harqul, learnt about it from Abu Sufyan, he correctly commented:
Faith works like this when its felicity pierces the hearts.
This sincere adherence of the Prophet's companions to Islam and their readiness to undergo any consequent suffering ultimately touched the hearts of people and they slowly started coming to the fold of Islam in spite of all opposition. The Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, and his Companions continued incessantly to invite people to Islam. Whoever accepted Islam did so on its merits and immediately became a preacher of the faith. The Prophet, blessings and peace be on him, himself took the opportunity to invite members of two tribes from Madinah, Aws and Khazraj, when they came to Makkah to perform Hajj. They accepted Islam and all the other members of these two tribes came to the fold of Islam later when the Prophet of Allah, blessings and peace be on him, emigrated to Madinah. After the conquest of Makkah, the residents thereof embraced Islam. Then the delegations of the Arab tribes from all over the country came to Madinah and professed faith in Islam. When they returned, they propagated the message of Islam in their areas. Soon the whole Arabia came to the fold of Islam. As soon as it happened, the Prophet whose mission was to convey the message of Islam throughout the world, wrote letters and sent delegations to the rulers of the neighbouring countries.
In fact, Islam spread all over the world through preaching and won adherents on the strength of its eternal truth and beauty. The Muslim rulers did not exercise their power to spread Islam. It were the pious Muslims outside the royal courts who took the message of Islam to the doors of the people and knocked at their hearts. It is well known that about ninety hundred thousand people accepted Islam in India on the hands of Hazrat Moinuddin Chishti, a Sufi saint. History has preserved the name of a trader Sulaiman whose virtuous dealings and preaching won the hearts of people living in the islands of north-ern Asia and engendered in them a desire to accept Islam.
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