Mary, held in honor in this world and the Hereafter and of (the
company of) those nearest to God.As the world grew, its resources diversified, and its people started trav-
eling to chart new local and international trading routes (resulting in
growth in trade and commerce), the Prophet Muhammad (pp) was commis-
sioned by God to expand further on the teachings of Moses (pp) and Jesus
(pp) and to offer the people of the world at large a universal working model
on how to live, raise a family, build a community, govern, and conduct
business with each other.
He was a revolutionary, like Moses (pp), leading a movement to free
the slaves and remove slavery of the body and the soul from Arabia and
the world. He worked hard to educate and liberate the pagans in Arabia
and the rest of the world, to set them free by worshiping only one God. He
also followed and built on the example of Jesus (pp) by intensifying people’s
commitment to God; by softening peoples’ hearts toward those who are
poor, deprived, underprivileged and in need; and by standing up in righ-
teousness to those who abused their riches and powers in the name of reli-
gion. In doing so, he made it easier for people to live in peace, with justice
and fairness for all.
With the emergence of the Roman/Byzantine Empire and the Persian
Empire as the two leading superpowers during the time of Prophet Muham-
mad’s (pp) mission, he was commissioned to offer the world, through
the revelations of God’s words in the Qur’aan and his living model (the
Sunnah^3 ) a detailed example of a living prophet who was a spiritual leader,
the head of a state, and a businessman.
His actions and model of living were all fully documented because he
was commissioned in the light of history brought on by the invention of
paper and the printing press. He acted as a prophet and as a shepherd (like
Jesus (pp) and Moses (pp)) and as a political leader and as head of the state
defense forces. He expanded his responsibilities to offer a role model for
being a successful merchant, an accomplished money manager, and an ad-
mired and trusted investor. Michael Hart, who was born in a Christian fam-
ily,^4 states: ‘‘He [Prophet Muhammad (pp)] was the only man in history
who was supremely successful on both religious and secular levels.’’ While
studying the Qur’aan and the style of living (theSunnah) of the Prophet
Muhammad (pp) depicted in the vastly researched, meticulously authenti-
cated and documented body of his sayings (theHadeeth^5 ) and his traditions
and story of his life (theSeerah^6 ), we learn about similar models of living
offered by Moses (pp) and Jesus (pp). Prophet Muhammad’s life expanded
on the examples of Moses (pp) and Jesus (pp) to demonstrate how to live in
the more complex world of the sixth century. This new world included
14 THE ART OF ISLAMIC BANKING AND FINANCE