Perseverance

Muhammad struggled all his life, to his utmost ability and power, to achieve his objective. He was born an orphan and his mother and grandfather died during his childhood. He earned the good reputation of an honest and truthful person by his hard and constant effort. He was raised to Prophethood at the age of forty and, within a few years, he was able to convert hundreds of people to Islam through his perseverance in Makkah. When he died, at the age of 64, hundreds of thousands of illiterate and ignorant Arabs had seen the Light of Islam. He brought about this wonderful revolution in those times only by his hard labour when there were no quick means of communication and transportation and no media of publicity. It is true that it was all due to God's Help and Grace, without which nothing could have been achieved, but His Help is always promised to those who persevere and work hard. Muhammad worked strenuously to spread the Message of Islam among the people and God made his efforts succeed. The honour of all these achievements goes to Muhammad. People today declare God's Glory and sing His Praises in the four corners of the world in billions, day and night; all the credit for this goes to one man, Muhammad.

 

Muhammad was very patient, worked ceaselessly, tolerated all the abuses of the unbelievers and never became disheartened or impatient. God praised the high determination and perseverance of the famous Messengers of previous times and asked Muhammad to follow in the footsteps of those noble men.

 

"Therefore patiently persevere, as did the Messengers of high resolve, and be in no haste about the unbelievers."

 

[Qur'aan 46:35]

 

This is, in a way, a tribute by God to the determination and perseverance of the Last Messenger and it is fully corroborated by history. From the beginning to the end, every contribution of Islam is a living tribute to the determination and perseverance of Muhammad. One man all alone, without any external help, stood up in the heart of polytheism, and invited the people to One God and the Truth. They stood against him and left no stone unturned in opposing his mission and in bringing his life to an end, but amidst all this storm of opposition, he stood like a solid rock. Ultimately, they were all thrown back by the extreme determination and high perseverance of Muhammad.

 

He was offered every kind of prize and distinction by the unbelievers, enough to stagger the determination even of the bravest of men, but it had no effect on him. He continued his work with enthusiasm under all opposition and provocation. The chiefs of Makkah invaded his town three times with large armies, out-numbering his men' many times, but he never lost hope and always stood fast and finally succeeded in overcoming them all.