The children cried and screamed and grew up in conditions...

The children cried and screamed and grew up in conditions which were not conducive to the creation of love or sympathy for anyone in their minds. In these circumstances, they heard another voice which said “What are you doing? You kill one another although you are all brothers because all of you have been created by God. Strife is something satanic. Peace and friendship are more beneficial for you. The blessing for which you fight can’t be achieved except through peace”.

The Arabs were the most proud and egoistic people. They considered the non-Arabs inferior to themselves. Not only this but they did not consider the non-Arabs even human beings. Muhammad disliked this attitude of the Arabs very much. Addressing these proud people he said: “No Arab is superior to a non-Arab unless he is more pious. Whether you like it or not all human beings are brothers of one another”.

There were oppressed, homeless and helpless persons whose faces had been scorched by the hot winds. The society had discarded them and made their lives miserable. They were more humble in the eyes of the people than the particles of sand and their life had become extremely unenviable. And these were the true friends of the prophet of Islam, just as the indigent and outcasts of society were the friends of Jesus Christ and other great men of the world.

It was these very people for whose benefit the prophet of Islam endeavoured to prevent the establishment of a dictatorship, disallowed slavery, freed man from the bondage of his fellow men, and established the public treasury so that all might benefit from it without any discrimination. He directed the efforts of the people towards public welfare.

He insisted on Quraysh, who were his kinsmen, at every step that they should improve their conduct, do good deeds, and keep their attention directed wholeheartedly to God, who has united the scattered creation into a single whole. However, Quraysh instigated the ignorant persons as well as their own children to stone and ridicule him.

The helpless, oppressed and homeless slaves among whom one was Bilal, the Mu’azzin of the prophet, were overjoyed when they heard this: “All human beings are fed by God. He likes him most who is more helpful to his creatures”. Those who were his enemies and stoned and ridiculed him heard this animating voice: “If you (Muhammad) had been stern and hard-hearted they would all have deserted you a long time ago.