Perfection
After the envoy of the Prophet had delivered his message to the Byzantine Emperor, Heraclius, the latter called for Abu Sufyan, a sworn enemy of the Prophet, who had been arraying his forces against him for the last six years, for making enquiries about the man who had dared to address him. An enemy was thus called to avouch for his bitterest foe whom he wanted to destroy at any cost. Abu Sufyan also knew that if he could somehow provoke the passions of the powerful Emperor against his adversary, the Roman legions could devastate Madina in a couple of days. But this was the conversion that passed on between the two. Heraclius first demanded : "Tell me about his lineage amongst you." "It is pure", replied Abu Sufyan, "our best lineage." "Has any of his house made* the same claim earlier ?" asked Heraclius again. "No." replied Abu Sufyan. Heraclius now demanded again, "Did anybody possess sovereignty in his family?" Abu Sufyan had again to say "No" in reply. Now Heraclius put another question : "What sort of men are those who have accepted his religion ? Are they poor or influential people ?" "Weak and helpless", replied Abu Sufyan. Heraclius asked again, 'is the number of his followers increasing or decreasing ?" "Increasing", Abu Sufyan had to acknowledge in reply. "Has he ever told you a lie?", demanded the Emperor. Abu Sufyan again replied in the negative and then Heraclius enquired, "Has he ever been treacherous?" "No", said Abu Sufyan in reply, but added, "But we will see what he does in future". "And what does he teach you" was the last question asked by Heraclius. "He asks us", replied Abu Sufyan, "to worship only One God, to offer prayers, to become virtuous, to speak the truth and to discharge our obligatfons to the kinsmen." Does Muhammad need any more proof in support of the perfection of his character ? Was such a conclusive evidence ever produced for anyone by one's enemy ? From the book "Muhammad - The Ideal Prophet" by Shaykh Sulayman Nadwi
