Understanding The Prophet's Life
From Issue: 660 [Read full issue]
Intellectual Capacity
God's Messenger, peace be upon him, always assessed a person's or an audience's spiritual and mental capacities accurately. He spoke directly to a particular individual at a particular time and under particular circumstances; he had no need for flattery or falsehood. One time Husayn, an eloquent speaker renowned for his persuasive rhetoric, sought to dissuade him from his mission. God's Messenger listened carefully to his argument and then initiated the following dialogue:
- Husayn, how many deities do you worship?
- Eight; one in the Heavens and the others on Earth.
- Which one do you call upon when misfortune befalls you?
- The one in the Heavens.
- Which one do you call when your goods are gone?
- The one in the Heavens.
God's Messenger asked a couple of similar questions, and, upon receiving the same answer to each question, asked: "According to you, the one in the Heavens alone answers your call. Yet you continue to associate partners with Him. Isn't this what I have been preaching? There is no deity but God. Become a Muslim and be saved." [Ibn Hajar] This apparently simple argument defeated Husayn with his own logic.
Compiled From:
"The Messenger of God: Muhammad" - Fethullah Gulen, pp. 92, 93