Principles of Success in the
Light of Seerah
Maulana
Wahiduddin Khan
It is a well-known fact that the Prophet of
Islam (saw) has been the supremely successful man in human history. But he
was not just a hero, as Thomas Carlyle has called him. According to the
Qur'an, he was the best example for all mankind. He has shown us the way
of achieving supreme success in this world.
By studying the life of the Prophet (saw),
we can derive those important principles which were followed by the
Prophet (saw). Indeed, the Prophet of Islam (saw) was a positive thinker
in the full sense of the word. All his activities were result-oriented. He
completely refrained from all such steps as may prove counter-productive.
First Principle: To
Begin from the Possible
This principle is well explained in a
saying of Aishah (ra). She said: "Whenever the Prophet had to choose
between two options, he always opted for the easier choice." (Al-Bukhari)
To choose the easiest option means to begin from the possible, and one who
begins from the possible will surely reach his goal.
Second Principle: To
See Advantage in Disadvantage
In the early days of Mecca, there were
many problems and difficulties. At that time, a guiding verse in the
Qur'an was revealed. It said: "With every hardship there is ease,
with every hardship there is ease." (94:5-6).
This means that if there are some problems,
there are also opportunities at the same time. And the way to success is
to ignore the problems and avail the opportunities.
Third Principle: To
Change the Place of Action
This principle is derived from the
Hijrah. Hijrah was not just a migration from Mecca to Medina. It was to
find a more suitable place for Islamic work, as history proved later on.
Fourth Principle: To
Make a Friend out of an Enemy
The Prophet (saw) of Islam was
repeatedly subjected to practices of antagonism by the unbelievers. At
that time the Qur'an enjoined upon him the return of good for evil. And
then, as the Qur'an added, "You will see your direst enemy has become
your closest friend" (41:34).
It means that a good deed in return of a
bad deed has a conquering effect over your enemies. And the life of the
Prophet (saw) is a historical proof of this principle.
Fifth Principle: To
Turn Negatives into Positives
After the Battle of Badr, about 70 of
the unbelievers were taken as the prisoners of war. They were educated
people. The Prophet (saw) announced that if any one of them would teach
ten Muslim children how to read and write he would be freed. This was the
first school in the history of Islam in which all of the students were
Muslims, and all of the teachers were from the enemy rank. Here I shall
quote a British orientalist who remarked about the Prophet of Islam (saw):
He faced adversity with the determination to writing success out of
failure.
Sixth Principle: The
Power of Peace is Stronger than the Power of Violence
When Mecca was conquered, all of the
Prophet's (saw) direst opponents were brought before him. They were war
criminals, in every sense of the word. But the Prophet (saw) did not order
to kill them. He simply said: "Go, you are free." The result of
this kind behavior was miraculous. They immediately accepted Islam.
Seventh Principle: Not to be a
Dichotomous Thinker
In the famous Ghazwa of Muta, Khalid
bin Walid decided to withdraw Muslim forces from the battlefield because
he discovered that his army was disproportionately outnumbered. When they
reached Medina, some of the Muslims received them by the word "O
Furrar (O deserters!)" The Prophet (saw) said "No. They are
Kurrar (men of advancement)."
Those Medinan people were thinking
dichotomously, either fighting or retreating. The Prophet (saw) said no.
There is also a third option, and that is to avoid war and find a time to
strengthen yourself. Now history tells us that the Muslims, after three
years of preparation, advanced again towards the Roman border and this
time they won a resounding victory.
Eighth Principle: To
Bring the Battle in One's Own Favorable Field
This principle is derived from the
Ghazwa of Hudaibiyya. At that time, the unbelievers were determined to
engage Muslims in fighting, because obviously they were in an advantageous
position. But the Prophet (saw), by accepting their conditions
unilaterally, entered into a pact. It was a ten-year peace treaty. Until
then, the meeting ground between Muslims and non- Muslims had been on the
battlefield. Now the area of conflict became that of ideological debate.
Within two years, Islam emerged as victorious because of the simple reason
of its ideological superiority.
Ninth Principle: Gradualism instead of
Radicalism
This principle is well established by a
hadith of Al-Bukhari. Aishah (ra) says that the first verses of the Qur'an
were related mostly to heaven and hell. And then after a long time when
the people's hearts had softened, the specific commands to desist from
adultery and drinking were revealed in the Qur'an. This is a clear proof
that for social changes, Islam advocates the evolutionary method, rather
than the revolutionary method.
Tenth Principle:
To be Pragmatic in Controversial Matters
During the writing of Hudaibiyya treaty, the Prophet (saw) dictated these
words: "This is from Muhammad, the Messenger of God." The
Quraysh delegate raised objections over these words. The Prophet (saw)
promptly changed the word and ordered to write simply Muhammad, son of
Abdullah.
These were the principles through which the
Prophet of Islam (saw) gained that success which has been recognized by
historians as the true success.
Maulana@alrisala.org
Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, President,
The Islamic Centre, 1,
Nizamuddin
West Market,
New Delhi - 110 013; INDIA
Tel. 91-11-4625454, 4611128
Fax
91-11-4697333, 4647980
reprinted with permission from:
Islamic
Training Foundation
http://www.islamist.org/
contact
info beekun@unr.nevada.edu |
