Before we proceed and discuss the last days of the life of Allah’s Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), we ought to cast a quick glance at the great works that were unique to him. Such unique achievements made him excel all the other Prophets and Messengers, and Allah made him superior to them all. It was about this Allah said:
``O you wrapped in garments (i.e., Prophet Muhammad)! Stand (to pray) all night, except a little.’’ [73:1, 2]
And said:
``O you (Muhammad) enveloped (in garments). Arise and warn!’’ [74:1, 2]
So, he arose and continued in that call for over twenty years. During the course of years he undertook great burdens for the sake of all humanity, the burden of expanding the faith, the burden of performing Jihad in various fields, and the burden of struggles to remove oppression and injustice.
Allah’s Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) undertook the burden of struggle and Jihad in the conscience of mankind which was then drowning deep in the illusions of jahiliyah. He took up the burden of freeing peoples’ conscience from the desires and lusts that chained it. As soon as he had freed the conscience of his Companions from the burdens and heaps of Jahiliyah and the earthly life, he started another battle in another field or rather successive battles against the enemies of Allah’s call. It was a battle against those who conspired against the believers, and against those who wanted to do away with the religion before it took the form of a growing pure plant that stretched its roots in the soil and extending its branches up into the air, and thus dawning upon other areas. No sooner than he had finished the battles in the Arabian Peninsula, the Byzantines, on the northern borders, began preparations to destroy this new nation.
The first battle, the battle for the conscience, was not over concluded. It was in fact a continuous one. Satan, who was the foe, did not spare a moment without exercising his activity in the depth of human conscience. Muhammad (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), on the other hand was calling to Allah’s religion, and he was keen on fighting that continuous battle in all fields, in spite of the difficult circumstances and the world’s conspiracy against him. He went on calling effectively and actively, surrounded by believers who were seeking security through ceaseless toil and great patience. The Prophet acted constantly and patiently by day and spent the night worshipping his Lord, reciting the Qur’an glorifying and magnifying Allah and begging Him; all that by the Will of his Lord, the All-Mighty.
For over twenty years, Allah’s Messenger (May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) led that progressive steady battle, in all its fields. He continued in that way until the Islamic call proved to be successful on a large scale, which amazed all men possessed of good reason.
The Islamic call eventually prevailed over all of Arabia. It removed all traces of jahiliyah from the horizon of the peninsula. The sick minds of jahiliyah grew healthy in Islam. Not only did they stop the worship of idols, but they destroyed them with their own hands. The general atmosphere began to echo “There is no God but Allah.’’ The calls to prayer were heard five times a day penetrating space and breaking the silence of the dead desert and bringing back life through the new belief. Reciters and memorizers of the Qur’an set out northwards and southwards reciting verses of the Qur’an, and carrying out Allah’s injunctions.
Scattered people and tribes were united and people moved from the worship of creation to the worship of Allah. There no longer were any oppressors or oppressed, no masters or slaves, or people bound to other people, or aggressors that would practice aggression. All were slaves of Allah. They were beloved brothers obeying Allah’s rules. Due to Allah they disposed of arrogance and the boastful spirit:
``An Arab is no better than a non-Arab. In return a non-Arab is no better than an Arab. A red man was not better than a black one except in piety. Humanity is all of Adam’s children and Adam was created from dust.’’
It was all thanks to the Islamic call that Arab unity became a reality. This was also the case concerning unity of the people and social justice as far as their earthly and heavenly affairs were concerned. The course of events had changed, the demography of the land had changed and the crooked lines of history had finally become straight along with the mentality of the people.
The spirit and corrupted conscience of people, the distorted values and measures of the days of ignorance had overwhelmed the entire world during the period of Jahiliyah. The prevalence of slavery, injustice, extravagant luxury, adultery, depression, depravity, disbelief, straying from the straight path to darkness; all of those were realities in spite of the existence of the heavenly religions. The teachings of those religions had grown weak and lost influence on the people’s souls and spirits, becoming a mere lifeless ritual tradition.
When this call accomplished its role in human life, it freed the spirit from superstitions, illusions, slavery, corruption and the worship of the creation. Islam had freed the humanity from filth, injustice, and oppression. There were no more social distinctions, nor clergymen’s or governors’ dictatorship. Islam had set up a world built on solid virtuous and clean foundations which were based on positivity, righteous construction, freedom, and revitalization. Truth, faith, righteous deeds, the development and improvement of the means of living and fulfillment of the rights were all bases upon which the Islamic State was built.
Thanks to these evolutions, Arabia witnessed an unprecedented and blessed resurrection, since production and establishment found its way to it. Never had the history of Arabia been so religious, pious, and brilliant as it was during those days of its life.