﴿ لَقَدْ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌۭ مِّنْ أَنفُسِكُمْ عَزِيزٌ عَلَيْهِ مَا عَنِتُّمْ حَرِيصٌ عَلَيْكُم بِٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَءُوفٌۭ رَّحِيمٌۭ ﴾

“INDEED, there has come unto you [O mankind] an Apostle from among yourselves: heavily weighs -upon him [the thought] that you might suffer [in the life to come]; full of concern for you [is he, and] full of compassion and mercy towards the believers.”

The Quran tells us that God’s messenger is extremely kind and affectionate towards people. He is so perturbed by others’ suffering that it is as if he himself were affected by it. He is extremely anxious to give guidance to others. What moves him to convey the message of truth to the people is nothing but his great desire for their welfare—far from his having any personal ambition or there being any national problem. According to a tradition narrated by ‘Abdullah ibn Mas‘ud, the Prophet Muhammad said, ‘People are falling into the fire like flies and I am trying to keep them away from it by holding on to their waists.’ (Musnad Ahmad). In this depiction of the Prophet, we can see the mental and moral makeup of the eternal preacher of truth. He should have two prominent features. Firstly, his reliance should be solely on the one and only God. Secondly, he should have in his heart feelings only of love and well-wishing for the addressee. There might be many grievances against the addressee, there might be national or communal or material quarrels between the preacher (da‘i) and the addressee (mad‘u), yet, in spite of this, the preacher must ignore all points of conflict and must not allow any feelings to be aroused in him other than those of affection and kindness. The preacher should rise above the psychology of reaction. He should unilaterally become the well-wisher of his congregation, regardless of any objectionable behaviour on their part and call them to the Truth.