A few months ago, I purchased Saiyid Sulaiman Nadwi's book, "Muhammad, The Ideal Prophet: A Historic, Practical, Perfect Model for Humanity" (translated by Mohiuddin Ahmad), and had promptly lost it. (Meaning, it had disappeared somewhere in my tiny flat. :) ) The other day, I found the book hidden by some bigger books in one of my bookcases, and I started reading it for the first time. The book, a series of lectures given in India in 1925, has been a great read so far. The following paragraph (from p. 82) is one of the book's many gems. When I first read this paragraph, I gasped (twice) and felt the start of tears forming, I was so touched by the beauty of this passage:
'Adi, the son of Hatim, the famous chief of the tribe of Tay, was still a Christian when he called upon the Prophet in Madina for the second time. He saw, on the one hand, the deference paid to the Prophet by his devoted companions and, on the other, the preparations being made for the holy war. Unable to decide whether Muhammad was a prophet or a king, he was still in two minds when he saw a slave girl coming to seek the Prophet's advice in private. "Come on," he heard the Prophet replying, "I'll go wherever you want." 'Adi at once saw that no king could be so modest and unassuming. He threw away the cross hanging from his neck and embraced Islam."
October 19, 2005
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Yes, as a matter of fact, I do have the book and have read it - and I agree: It is also a great read. I refer to it frequently when I write posts that touch on early Islamic history.
Let me know if you want to get a copy of the Nadwi book. My ustaz sells it for only S$16.
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