Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I New Age of Islam I February 27, 2015

According to a hadith, once the Angel Gabriel came down and sat by the Prophet. Then, he looked towards the sky and an angel was coming down from the heavens. On seeing him, Gabriel said, “This angel, since his birth, has never come down on earth.” When the angel came to the Prophet, he said, “O Muhammad, God, your Lord, has sent me to you with His message. Do you want God to make you a prophet-king or a messenger-servant?” Then Gabriel intervened and said, “O Muhammad, be humble for your Lord.” The Prophet said, “Yes, I would like to become a messenger-servant.”

This hadith does not apply just to the person of the Prophet alone. Rather, it has general applicability in terms of the role of a person who is engaged in inviting people to God. From this hadith we learn that such a person’s role is not a political one. Rather, it is a non-political role.

Islam is a peaceful religion, and the Islamic call is a peaceful one. The Islamic mission is not a political mission. It seeks, using peaceful means, to inform people what the purpose of life is, how they can acquire eternal success, and what sort of life they should adopt while in the world that will help them in this regard. The Islamic call is geared to helping people and saving them from unnecessary difficulties. The above-mentioned hadith talks about this reality of the life of a believer or a dai. It is related to the sunnat of the Prophet, and not to a quality exclusive to the Prophet.