Life-of-Muhammad

Life of Muhammad sa 213worship. He taught that true worship consists in thebeneficent use of the faculties with which God hasendowed man. God having bestowed eyes upon man tosee with, it would not be worship but impertinence tokeep them shut or to have them removed. It is not theproper use of the faculty of sight which can be regardedas sinful, it is the improper use of the faculty that wouldbe a sin. It would be ingratitude on the part of a man tohave himself deprived of the faculty of hearing, though itwould be sinful of him to use that faculty for thepurpose of listening to slander and backbiting.Abstention from food (except on occasions when it isprescribed or is otherwise desirable) may amount tosuicide and thus constitute an unforgivable sin, thoughit would also be sinful on the part of a man to devotehimself entirely to food and drink or to indulge in theeating or drinking of prohibited or undesirable articles.This is a golden principle which was taught andemphasized by the Holy Prophet sa of Islam and whichhad not been inculcated by any previous Prophet.The correct use of natural faculties constitutes highmoral qualities; the frustration or stultification of thosequalities is folly. It is their improper use that is evil orsinful. Their proper use is true virtue. This is theessence of the moral teachings inculcated by the HolyProphet sa of Islam. And this, in brief, was also a pictureof his own life and actions. ‘A’isha ra relates: "Wheneverthe Holy Prophet sa had a choice of two courses of actionhe always chose the easier of the two, provided it wasfree from all suspicion of error or sin. Where a course ofaction was open to such suspicion, the Holy Prophet sa ofall men gave it the widest berth" (Muslim, KitabulFada’il ). This is indeed the highest and the mostadmirable course open to man. Many men voluntarilycourt pain and privations, not for the purpose ofwinning God's pleasure, for God's pleasure is not to bewon by inflicting purposeless pain and privations upononeself, but with the object of deceiving mankind. Suchpeople possess little inherent virtue and wish to cover