muhammad (pbuh) preached to the people to trust in allah (swt). his whole life was a sublime example of the precept. in the loneliness of makkah, in the midst of persecution and danger, in adversity and tribulations, and in the thick of enemies in the battles of uhud and hunain, complete faith and trust in allah (swt) appears as the dominant feature in his life. however great the danger that confronted him, he never lost hope and never allowed himself to be unduly agitated. abu talib knew the feelings of the quraish when the prophet (pbuh) started his mission. he also knew the lengths to which the quraish could go, and requested the prophet (pbuh) to abandon his mission, but the latter calmly replied,

"dear uncle, do not go by my loneliness. truth will not go unsupported for long. the whole of arabia and beyond will one day espouse its cause." (ibn hisham, sirat-ur-rasul.)

when the attitude of the quraish became more threatening, abu talib again begged his nephew to renounce his mission but the prophet's (pbuh) reply was:

"o my uncle, if they placed the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, to force me to renounce my work, verily i would not desist thereform until allah made manifest his cause, or i perished in the attempt." (ibid)

to another well-wisher, he said,

"allah will not leave me forelorn."

a dejected and oppressed disciple was comforted with the words:

"by allah, the day is near when this faith will reach its pinnacle and none will have to fear anyone except allah." (bukhari, sahih bukhari)

it was the same trust in allah (swt) which emboldened the prophet (pbuh) to say his prayers openly in the haram in the teeth of opposition. the quraish were once collected there and were conspiring to put an end to his life when he next entered the haram. his young daughter fatima, who happened to overhear their talk rushed weeping to her father and told him of the designs of the quraish. he consoled her, did his ablutions and went to the kaaba to say prayers. there was only consternation among the quraish when they saw him (ahmed, musnad, vol. 1, pg. 368).

then leaving his house for madinah he asked ali (ra) to sleep on his bed and told him,

"do not worry, no one will be able to do you any harm" (tabari, ibn hisham)

even though the enemies had surrounded the house, he left the house reciting the quranic verse:

"we have set a barricade before them and a barricade behind them and (thus) have covered them so that they see not" (translation of qur'an 36:9)

abu bakr was frightened when pursuers came close to the cavern in which he and prophet muhammad (pbuh) were hiding during their flight, but the prophet (pbuh) heartened him,

"grieve not. allah is with us."

a guard was kept at the prophet's house in madinah because of the danger that surrounded him but he had it withdrawn when the quranic verse was revealed:

"allah will protect you from the people" (translation of qur'an 5:67).

a man was caught waiting in ambush to assault the prophet (pbuh) but he was directed to be released with the words,

"even if this man wanted to kill me, he could not." (ahmed, musnad, vol.3 pg. 471)

a jewess from khaibar had put poison in the prophet's (pbuh) food. he spat it out after taking a morsel but a disciple who had his fill died the next day. the jewess was brought before the prophet (pbuh) who questioned her:

"why did you do this?" "to kill you," was her defiant reply. she was told, "allah would not have allowed you to do it." (muslim, sahih muslim.)

in the battle of uhud when the rear guard action of the makkan army had disorganized the muslim army and had turned the tables, the prophet (pbuh) stood as firm as a rock even though he had suffered personal injuries. when abu sufiyan taunted the muslims and shouted "victory to hubal!" (hubal was one of their idols), the prophet (pbuh) asked umar (ra) to shout back, "allah is our protector and friend. you have no protector and friend. allah is great, magnificent." (ibn hisham, sirat-ur-rasul).

again in the battle of hunain, when the unexpected assault of the army had swept the muslim force off its feet and a defeat seemed imminent, the prophet (pbuh) did not yield ground. with trust in allah (swt) he showed such courage that the muslim army rallied behind him to win a signal victory.