When Faith and Ethics Were Inseparable
When the Prophet was sent to the city of Mecca, the moral state of his people was extremely degraded. To illustrate this, we need look no further than the plea made by the Meccan Companion Ja’far Ibn Abî Tâlib when he landed in Abyssinia in search of asylum and came face to face with its king. When asked about the nature of the message preached by God’s Messenger Muhammad Ibn ‘Abd Allah , he said:
“Honorable monarch! We were people of the Jâhiliyya, we worshipped idols, we ate dead flesh, we committed sins, we broke family ties, we were unkind to neighbors and the strongest among us crushed the weakest. We were like this until God sent us a Prophet and Messenger from our ranks; we know of his family origins, his truthfulness, his honesty and his integrity. He then invited us to turn to God, worshipping Him alone. He also invited us to get rid of what we and our forefathers worshipped outside Him as stones and idols. He also commanded us to be truthful in our words, to fulfill the deposits entrusted to us, to maintain our family ties, to show cordiality, and to preserve honor and blood [d’autrui]. He also forbade us to commit sins, to speak falsely, to squander the property of orphans and to defame chaste women…”
