As a “born Muslim”, of course I grew up hearing and learning about the good qualities of our Prophet Muhammad, and the key points of his life story. He, and all other Prophets, always seemed distant to me, because the stories that are told are superlative in nature and rarely touched on the difficulties they went through (or they were not presented as particularly difficult, since they were men of God – their human responses were glossed over). When a school assignment required compiling a list of role models, he didn’t even make my list, because I couldn’t write about qualities I was unable to relate to.

It wasn’t until I read the Qur’an translation for myself, that he became a human being to me – whose character then became truly admirable in a real way because it was in spite of and perhaps rose from the very human experiences he went through, and therefore, relatable. I also realised that the previous Prophets had quite different personality traits – not the idealised mythic sameness that i understood them to be. it became then possible for me to wonder how each of them might have been clothed in the manner of their people, for instance (children’s books had every single one of them in Arabic long robes), thus making them real because historically the different human civilisations, and different human leaders at different eras, were obviously different. i remember because my friend at the time thought the idea that Moses might have worn Egyptian kilts when he was growing up in the Pharaoh’s palace, was somehow vaguely heretical.

anyway, that was when our Prophet, became real as a person to me, to be admired. eventually, as i knew more, and realised that on top of being relatable from *his* experiences, he would also have been able to understand *my* problems, i began to respect as well as admire him.

around this time i began to have some deeper understanding of what it means, that we would all be present at the time when time ends and the entire universe collapses into a burning inferno. so now here is the clincher. i already believed in Prophet Muhammad, admired him, and respected him. but he was alive then, and i am alive now. who am i to him? without that direct personal connection, you can respect and admire someone, even love his qualities, but love *him*? even God is loved by the realisation of His attributes to *you*, which is why Deists – though believing in God’s existence – don’t *love* Him.

so then i read the hadith where he directly thought about Muslims who will be after him, calling us brethren as though he knows us. and i learned that under a most distractingly honoured situation of the night of Ascension, he remembered us. and i learned that he saved his favour from God, intending out of his deep concern, to remember us again and rescue as many of us as he can. i mean, of course he is all but certain to be saved himself but think about it: i think every one of us would be hard-pressed to *remain* in the tumult any longer than absolutely necessary, if we could immediately escape it into heaven, even if we are in a protected bubble of sorts, yes? after all, as with other Prophets, he already completed his job, and very well too. yet on the day when everyone will only think of themselves, he will ask for other than himself, and it will be for us. that means, including me, (if i help him to help me). now that is love, and what moved me finally to love.