The mosque of the Holy Prophet in Medina.

Six hundred years after the time of Jesus, a man was born in Mecca, Arabia, who was to become the beacon of guidance, the dispeller of falsehood and the greatest of the Almighty’s creations sent as a “mercy to the worlds”.

Neither time nor space separates the love and bewilderment that engulfs and penetrates deep in the hearts of all those who know him — the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).

Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) was, from his birth, brought up in the sight and under the care of God. He was deprived of his father while still in his mother’s womb and lost his mother aged just six years. Muhammad (pbuh) was thus placed under the care of his grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, and then under the guardianship of his uncle Abu Talib.

Muhammad (pbuh) started out his adult life as a shepherd and went on to become a successful merchant. He passed through a diversity of circumstances throughout his life from orphan-hood (the extreme of helplessness) to royal glory (the height of power) but none of these external changes in circumstance brought about the slightest change in his simple way of living — he sustained himself on the same meagre food and wore the same simple dress.

Muhammad was the embodiment of Allah’s (swt) attributes on earth, his peak of piety and perfection was reflected in his character and speech and it was through him the final revelation, the Quran, descended from the Lord to mankind.

His moral excellence was well-known and throughout his life he was known by all the residents in Mecca as al-sadiq al-ameen (the truthful and trustworthy). This was a man who won the hearts and minds of people through the beauty of his character and his love of Allah. Muhammad (pbuh) was always gentle, loving and kind even with his enemies.

When the people of the city of Taif, including the children and slaves, threw stones and rocks at Muhammad (pbuh) until he bled, he raised his hands and asked God to guide them. His gentility and mercy extended even to animals and he taught kindness towards them. He spoke softly, never abused anyone and forgave his worst enemies.

Allah (swt) Himself has testified to his outstanding qualities in the Quran:

“Certainly you have in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar for him who hopes in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.” (Quran, 33:21)

Muhammad (pbuh) is regarded by many as the most influential man in all of history, successful on both the religious and secular levels. He is a man who is alive and well in the minds of the 1.2 billion followers of Islam, the fastest growing religion of our times.

In the Plain of Arafat, he gave a sermon of unsurpassable beauty and with a lasting message for mankind: “No man has any superiority over another man, all men (people) are equal — whatever their origins, colour or nationality.” In Arabia, this was revolutionary. Even now, it is a value few nations and peoples truly adhere to —our own communities are plagued with internal strife related to race and assumed superiority and inferiority.

Muhammad (pbuh) is the perfect role model to all humanity in all the spheres of life and we should strive to follow in his footsteps. As his followers, we should treat all human beings with that same mercy and dignity and have the same perfection in manners and relations. We should be honoured to have been given Muhammad (pbuh) as our guiding light and do this great man justice by perfecting ourselves.

Annie Besant, British theosophist and writer, said:

“It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme.”