5 - The Seal of Prophecy
from Part One - Characteristics of the Message of Muhammad
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 12 September 2012
Summary
From these and similar examples one can deduce that the religious message of Muhammad had one significant distinguishing feature. This message belonged to what Muhammad Iqbal called “the ancient world”, not merely, as Iqbal pointed out, because of its source, but also because his message included a number of elements rooted in the society of the time. However, as Iqbal says, “insofar as the spirit of his revelation is concerned, he belongs to the modern world”. The need for an invisible source of power, the presence of images drawn from mythology, for rites uniformly accomplished with no room for variation among adherents of the religion, the consecration of a number of social values and practices: all of this reflects a way of looking at the world which is not fundamentally different from that of the Arabs and peoples everywhere over many centuries. It is impossible to impose this traditional way of looking at the world on those who have experienced transformations which have radically affected human consciousness as well as the material dimensions of existence. Human history does not stand still nor is its course reversed, although human needs are universal: food; clothing; sexual relations; shelter; self-expression; life in a community; a sense of security both physically and emotionally; and, above all, a need to give life and destiny some kind of meaning. These needs can be met in a simple, unsophisticated way or in a refined and complex way in the modern world.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- IslamBetween Message and History, pp. 77 - 84Publisher: Edinburgh University PressPrint publication year: 2009