I AM leaving behind two weighty things, viz, the Quran and my personal example. If you hold fast to these, you will never go astray.
This parting advice of the Master, (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) when made the basis of life, has accomplished some of the rarest marvels of history. It has inspired generations of Muslims to the highest levels of thought and action. It has, during the centuries, produced the greatest of men and the noblest specimens of humanity.
The soul-stirring message of the Quran and the example of the Master (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) have put on a new beauty in the context of each age. They seem ever capable of sweeping away the pettiness and shallowness that dog the path of human life. They enable man, as nothing else can, to take his destiny into his own hands, and rise to the highest sense of duty toward Allah and fellow-men. A life guided by these twin stars never fails to identify itself with the great on-going forces of history. This book gives a brief account of a life characterised by such a timeless quality. Mankind is, at present, passing through a period of unprecedented social change. Adjustment to the inexorable requirements of a rapidly changing world-order is undermining old beliefs and customs everywhere. Much of this is from the good. However, there is a very real danger that, in the inevitable social shake-up, some of the basic values may go by the board. No worse calamity could befall a culture. The best safeguard against such an eventuality is to remind ourselves constantly how those before us met the challenge of their times, without flinching an inch from the great tradition of the Master (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam).For light on our path to progress, we must turn to those immortal sons of Islam who showed to the world how the example set by the Master (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) could always be capable of a dynamic interpretation.
The set of short biographies, of which this booklet is a part, has been written with a double purpose in mind:
(1) to acquaint Pakistani boys and girls with the spiritual possessions of which they are to be the guardians, and (2) to provide easy and interesting reading material that may stimulate love and ability for independent reading. It is earnestly hoped that the youngsters who read this booklet will catch at least some sparks of the fire that inflamed the soul of our hero.