An Invitation to Peace

An Invitation to Peace
Indeed, all who were sent by God had only one call: towards God:
“It befits not a man that God should give him the Book and wisdom
and apostleship that he should then say to people: ‘Be you
worshippers of me rather than God!’ On the contrary, (he would say):
59
‘Be you people of the Lord…’”
Careful to ensure the followers of the last revelation would not make
the same mistake, God makes it repeatedly clear that “Muhammad is
60
but a messenger,” and that he was, “a man like yourselves, though
61
the recipient of divine revelation.”
“Say: ‘I do not own (even) for myself (the power to) benefit or
harm, except as God wills. And if I had knowledge of the unseen, I
should have had a great deal of good, and no evil should ever have
touched me: I am but a warner, and bringer of glad tidings to those
62
who have faith.’”
The Messenger of God was anxious to make certain that there was no
mistake after he left this world: “Do not exaggerate in venerating me as
the Christians exaggerated in venerating Jesus son of Mary, but say you:
63
‘(Muhammad was) the slave of Allah, and His Messenger.’”
“‘I believe in One God and Mahomet [sic] the Apostle of God,’ is
the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of
the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honours of
the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and
59
Qur’an 3: 9
60
Qur’an 3:144
61
Qur’an 18:110
62
Qur’an 7: 188
63
Related by al-Bukhari, v. 6, p. 2505
35