Amanda:
Pre-Islamic Arabia was rife with injustice. The
wealthy and powerful clans ruled and anyone who wasn’t born into the privilege
of that life was at the mercy of the system.
The weakest members of that society were often exploited and
discarded. Therefore, when our Prophet
Muhammad [Peace and Blessings be upon Him] brought the message of Islam, which demands
equality for both genders and the redistribution of wealth through obligatory
charity, it produced both a spiritual and a social revolution.
Muhammad himself was an orphan, and tradition holds
that he was unable to read or write. Although
he was known for his good character, he had very little in the way of education
or resources to make him the great revolutionary he would become later in his
life. I often reflect on our prophet in
my own activism, remembering that by most worldly standards, his contemporaries
considered him “unqualified” to lead.
But Muhammad’s humility and willingness to submit to God allowed him to
spread the word and advocate on behalf of the disadvantaged, producing a
beautiful new way of life for their entire community that inspires us to do the
same today. I have to remind myself
regularly that God doesn’t call the qualified—but qualifies the ones He calls.
This is the second of three posts by Guest Writers LeeAnne, Amanda & Yaira. Please join their conversation by leaving a comment below.
