Prophet Mohammed’s (PBUH) Struggle for a Better life for All

The information brought together in this Part 1 relates primarily to Mohammed’s (PBUH) struggle for recognition of his mission and message and is limited to this. Knowing about, and understanding, Mohammed's struggle is of vital importance if one wishes to understand what Mohammed taught, the Koran and Muslim belief and practice.

Throughout his whole life as Prophet, he struggled against the powerful Meccan ruling elite, against the Meccan family which dominated Mecca, the Quraysh. They first opposed and then persecuted him and his followers for ten years, following which he fought them for ten years till he won and then he died.

In every struggle, there is courage and there is fear. Write a short scene in which one of Mohammed’s (PBUH) followers must deal with his/her inner fear, however, courage prevails.

Name: Amani Khelifa
Class: Creative Writing
Teacher: Mrs. G
Date: 08/09/08

Fear vs. Courage

Nada peeked into her husband, Tariq’s, room, praying he would have fell asleep, already. Luckily, her prayers were accepted. Tariq lay sound asleep on the mattress on the floor, facing the wall, his blanket thrown on the floor. It was too hot and humid to use the blanket. She slowly and silently closed the door of the bedroom and crept her way through the kitchen and out the back door.

This was the sixth night Nada had snuck out of the house to go to the old, abandoned hut at the far side of the city. It was a long walk there, but it was worth it. In the rundown hut, the Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) gave lessons every night and preached about Islam. Nada always felt happy and free, and that is how she knew that Islam was the true religion. Many other people who had also heard about the Prophet (PBUH) and the message that he brought with him, came to these lessons as well. Most of them were from the lower status in Mecca. However, it did not matter at all because the Prophet always said that in the eyes of God, everyone is equal. It did not matter who was rich or poor, big or small, black or white, or male or female. They were all human beings, children of Adam and Hawwa (PBUT), and Nada believed strongly in that. She had decided to convert into Islam this night. Nevertheless, the thought of what her husband would do when he found out she had become a Muslim was eating away at the back of her brain. Would he beat her, divorce, her, abandon her? She waved the thought away like a fly buzzing around her, though she could still feel something missing. Maybe she should have asked her husband, but he would never approve of that. Tariq was one of the well-known leaders of their tribe and if her family and the tribe found out, they would kick her out for good. There were a million other thoughts whirring around her head like a whirlwind in the desert.. However, she shook them away; she had reached her destination.

The rundown hut looked smaller that night because there were many more people who had come. Nada was not the only one who had converted that night; the ones who had come the nights before converted also. They pledged their oath by saying, “There is no God but Allah, and Mohammed is the messenger of Allah”. The lesson that the Prophet gave them that night was about prayer. They had learned how to perform Wudu and how to keep themselves clean the night before. So now, Nada could pray and worship Allah (SWT) completely. They had to pray five times every day: before sunrise, at noon, in the late afternoon, at sunset, and at night. Nada could not wait to get started.

When she came back home, she changed into her sleepwear and crawled into bed. She had developed a plan to pray the five daily Salawat without her husband knowing. She could pray the sunrise prayer while her husband was still asleep. Then he usually went to the small shop that they owned for most of the day, so Nada could pray the noon and late afternoon prayers. And while he was eating dinner, Nada would pray the sunset prayer. Then when her husband leaves to go out at night with his friends, where he usually comes home very late, Nada would pray the night prayer. The first four days worked out perfectly. However, on the fifth day, something went wrong.

Nada was standing with her husband Tariq, who was at the door, wearing his shoes, getting ready to go to work at the small shop. He was late and that annoyed Nada because it meant she would be late for the noon prayer, too. She rushed him out the door, forgetting to give him his money pouch. Nada then ran to the bathroom to make her Wudu and went into the living room to pray. Just then, Tariq came back to get his money pouch. When he saw her standing facing the window, he began to talk to her and told her to get the money pouch. Instead, she went into Ruku and when Tariq saw her bowing, he knew what she was doing and was terrified, for he had seen the Muslim men praying. He shook her out of her prayer position and began beating her and yelling at her. However, Nada managed to remain calm and strong, which added to his anger. When he could not tolerate her behavior, he simply grabbed his money pouch and left without another word.

Throughout the day, Tariq tried to keep his mind of the situation. He knew what he had done was wrong because he did not know anything of it and when he returned home, he demanded an explanation. He was expecting Nada to cry and beg for forgiveness. Rather, she told him the truth: that every night she had gone to the lessons that the Prophet (PBUH) preached and told him everything that the Prophet had taught her. She taught him how to make Wudu and showed him the wise words of the Holy Qur’an. When she had finished, she had left him speechless. He did not say a word through dinner and he stayed home at night and refused to go out with his friends. Tariq watched in awe as his wife prayed and decided that he would go with her that night to the Prophet’s lessons.

Tariq pretended to go to sleep then followed his wife to the abandoned, old house. He watched her enter the hut where the lessons were held from across the street and after a few others had entered, he decided to go inside. When Nada saw Tariq she was afraid, nd so was everyone else who was there. They all knew that Tariq was a noble man of importance. They were all surprised and shocked when he said that he wanted to attend the lessons and listen to the message of the Prophet (PBUH). Tariq found the words of the Prophet very comforting and true, so he decided he would go to the lessons every night. Nada was overjoyed when, after a week or so, Tariq decided to embrace Islam.

Of course, the tribe would have found out by now that the couple had embraced Islam, so they were kicked out, not that it mattered to Nada and Tariq. They continued practicing Islam and taught it to their children, who taught it to their children, who taught it to their children, and so forth. Tariq and Nada lived a happy life and were a great Muslim couple. They learned many new things and always strived to do their best. This is a great example of a struggle, in which there is fear and courage. However, their courage prevails.