We all know how amazing a leader The Prophet SAW was. Through discrimination, fights to the death, building a community and more.
What the thread title refers to specifically is the intelligence and wisdom of His leadership when it came to the nascent Muslim community.
This was born of a discussion I had with my dad about the historical context of some of the hadiths on physical appearance.
Regulations on beards, dress sense, avoiding looking like ‘others’ were IMO a genius move of leadership. Being able to tell at a glance who was friend or foe was a practical and sensible strategy during times the early community lived amongst hostiles.
It also gives the early community, most at risk of new reverts ‘lapsing’, a sense of belonging and identity through the togetherness of dressing and looking visually similar. A key component in ensuring your people feel like they remain a part of a community, especially in the face of challenges.
Eyebrows, teeth sharpening and tattoos - another few examples of stepping away from competing and other potentially influential (for new/young/wavering reverts) groups and carving out a space for Muslims not tied with other practices. Again, intelligent and clearly something that paid off long term.
I think that the practicality and community management of Muhammad SAW doesn’t get talked about enough. The real things a leader needs to do in order to protect a new community and keep the numbers growing. I feel like these practices have been focussed on rather than the reasons why He put them in place. For example, we argue about beard length and not why the beard was necessary in the style it was in the first place.
Thankfully we now no longer need to worry about the community being at risk (broadly speaking), with Islam having spread across the world and its cultures. Without The Prophet SAW’s shrewd decision-making we wouldn’t be able to transcend what we visually look like though - a new community is fragile, in need of protection, solidarity, identity. The physical makes a big difference.
Nowadays I can walk down the street and see Muslims of all descriptions - who I might not even know were Muslims unless I stopped to talk and exchange Salaams.
My $0.02.
Your thoughts.
(Fully aware I’m likely very late to this party and that many scholars have likely commented on this - always interested in hearing other thoughts).
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