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Muhammad suggested Justice for all humankind. Without justice to the weak, the poor, and the women, there could not be peace in the entire world. “….Whether it be against rich or poor…follow not the lust of your hearts, lest you swerve from doing justice.” (Qur’an, 4:135) This powerful statement has become apocalyptic. Humankind today have all prone to worshipping themselves and yielding to mundane pleasures of money and women and as such have resorted to indulging in all forms of corruption at the detriment of justice. The poor and the weak remain poorer and weaker while the powerful -those with influence and affluence have hijacked the world and set wrongful precedence of monetary and political gains. This study has found out that what Muhammad said echoes in our world of today and no one seem to heed his advice. Hence, this study is like a mirror or an awakening to those in spiritual and moral slumber to reconsider their thoughts and do justice because Allah tolerates only justice in his kingdom. He intended this message for all and not only to Arabs.
General human condition, the world over was the main preoccupation in the speeches of Prophet Muhammad. When he spoke lengthily about truthfulness, he was indirectly sending the strong message of truth as the pillar of strong faith in any religious person. The society that we live today is constantly turning its back on truth and replacing it with untruth or multiple truths to justify falsehoods. Humankind has sort of fashion a way to go around truth and honesty by resorting legitimizing falsehood intended to achieve political, social, economic, cultural and spiritual gains. The Prophet’s message about truth analyzed in this study serves as a waking call to our consciences about hell and Paradise . We may be having temporary pleasures on earth by resorting to false statements, teachings, lectures and counseling but we are in effect preparing ourselves for hell and not Paradise because Allah has no place for liars in his kingdom. We should therefore refrain from such wrong practices and be models of truth while still on earth.
The Prophet’s message of Islam was intended for the Arabs during the seventh century and to all humankind at all times thereafter. He took advantage of the peace treaty between himself and the Quraish tribe, his main enemy, and sent ambassadors to the world leaders of his time. He informed them about the message of Islam. Most of these leaders responded positively. He used Islam as an example to convince and influence other leaders of his time.
The Prophet Muhammad was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level. As a private person, he was a husband, father, friend and businessman; as a public figure, he was a leader, legislator, judge, statesman and general; as a Messenger of God, he was a law-giver, preacher, theologian, saint and mystic. Such a combination is unique in history. There are sayings from the Prophet related to every activity that a person might encounter during the day or during the night. Islam is a way of life. By exemplifying these qualities that he preached to his people, the Prophet was in essence warning against all other rulers who were saying what they do not practice. He also laid the foundation stone for responsible leadership. A leader was not to be protected by the army and fierce dogs but by the loyalty given by his people. By shaking hands and taking children under his arms, the Prophet made himself human and approachable. This was a lesson that he wanted to teach to all other leaders in the world.
The farewell speech of the Prophet Muhammad was directed to all humankind at all times and for all generations. He laid down the foundation of morality, justice, equality, brotherhood, and accountability. He abolished economic exploitation and human enslavement. In his speeches on liberty, he preached against the institution of slavery. When he witnessed the slave beating episode as reported in Bukhari, The Prophet demonstrated one of the rare instance of humane leadership by letting Abu Mas’ud Ansari, the accused in this instance that only Allah has ‘power and control over human beings’. This served as a powerful lesson to him awakening his conscience to the realization that indeed, he was doing something very wrong. The fact that he let go of the slave by referring to Muhammad that he let the slave go because of his intervention is to show the power of communicative skills of the Prophet. He did not speak harshly or threateningly, rather he used speech in such a subtle way as to prick the conscience of people. This is what most leaders do not do today. This study then serve as the panacea for future leaders who want to rule spiritually or secularly. Communicative tactics should be the first consideration for any leader. It is with it that you either make or mar. He has set the tone for interpersonal communicative interaction especially in the case of conflict resolution. Liberty , according to Muhammad did not mean carrying a large army to invade your enemy. Rather, it was the management of speech delivery.
He demanded that the congregating Muslims deliver his message to all humankind. Accordingly, they did deliver the message. For this reason, the message of Islam has spread through the centuries to every corner of the world. The global population of Muslims is now more than one billion. He has used Islam as the vehicle to transport others into his flock. The values espoused in his speeches have generated untold number of response exemplified by the geometric increase in the number of his followers. This is the prove of the fact that people all over the world are recognizing the power behind his messages and are slowly becoming aware of themselves. He demonstrated how political leadership can be fruitful.
In his political leadership communication, the Prophet’s demonstration of extreme self-control made his followers to love him and his enemies either to give up and join his religion or to fear him and stay away. There was no human being who had his life more scrutinized and documented than the Prophet Muhammad. His behavior toward his companions was perfect and towards his foes was fair. In essence, he was kind of educating them about governance.
In his educational communication, the Prophet used different approaches in dealing with different circumstances. Education and training are not merely the matter of correcting mistakes; they also involve teaching and showing the basic principles of the rules and the regulations and using various methods to establish these concepts firmly in peoples minds and hearts, by example, by exhorting them, by telling stories or by discussing incidents.
The study finds that the narrative methods that the Prophet used to deliver his message through his sayings made his ideas clear and convincing. His narrative fidelity and truthfulness raised no questioned from his followers or enemies. Even before his Prophet hood, he was known by “the trusted and the honest one”. The textual analysis of his speeches clarified his message to be correctly understood. By talking of values that are necessary to influence and inspire others, he provided a basis for understanding how he was able to accomplish so much during his brief Prophet-hood. Hundreds of books have been written for that purpose in most languages of the world. The Prophet taught exactly what the ancient Prophets had been teaching. The high and noble aim of preaching such a universal religion is to unite the nations of the world, establish peace, and eradicate all causes of conflict.
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