Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 702 [Read full issue]
Other-World Consciousness
The Muslim community is not a community of people drawn together for any commercial or other material purpose. Fundamentally they are and remain a religious community, a brotherhood of faith, moved by an awareness of God, and of the Hereafter. This other-world consciousness has been emphasized over and over again by the letter and spirit of the Quran, and recounted endless times in the sayings of the Prophet. When he ordered the building of his Mosque, he said:
'I want it to be a simple building, like the thatching of my brother Moses. But in reality this world is more transient than would deserve even such a simple building - wa al-Amr a'jal min dhalik (the matter is more transient than that)'.
This other-world consciousness in Islam must not be lost sight of. The whole community must be made continually aware of it. The establishing of the prescribed five daily prayers, and the fact that they commence at dawn and finish at night is a most effective instrument for doing so. The very chant that the Prophet chose to sing and repeat while the Mosque was being built is a reminder of just this:
'O Lord! There is no worthwhile living but one oriented towards the Hereafter.'
Through the constant, strict observance of the five daily prayers performed at the Mosque under the leadership of the Prophet, the community of believers in Madinah was transformed into a society of thoroughly spiritualized people. They became so thoroughly permeated by the Quranic and Prophetic light, energy and vitality, that they were themselves transformed into a great reservoir of light, energy and vitality. They became a society of special persons, whose essence was spiritual energy and whose inward constitution was wholly dominated by God-consciousness.
Compiled From:
"Sunshine At Madinah" - Zakaria Bashier, pp. 78, 79