Conclusion of the
Ph.D. Dissertation "Thematic Analysis of Values in the Public
Communication of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) by Dr. Ali Zohery
Prophet
Muhammad’s unique communication and leadership style led to the spread
of Islam, not only within Arabia but also outside to the north, south,
east, west and southwest of Arabia . As a leader during
wartime or as a leader during peacetime, Prophet Muhammad proved to
master skillful techniques with which he accomplished his goals in
delivering the message of Islam.
Prophet
Muhammad communicative values of liberty, justice, modesty, and
politeness were matched with practical deeds. The people saw this
action of his and identified with. Prophet Muhammad' skills as
manifested in his speeches demonstrated to the eyes of all humankind
that he was indeed a great leader worthy of note.
The
messages of the Prophet as viewed and analyzed in this study have a
multipurpose implications both for the Moslem world and the Western
world. His skillful use of rhetoric demonstrated his commitment for
meaningful competent communication for humankind in general. His
speeches demonstrated that he sought to see all humankind from the lens
of kindness, modesty, moderation, justice, liberty, gentility,
generosity and love.
Regardless
of religion and political affiliation, Prophet Muhammad use Islam as a
channel to preach kindness. This study has shown through his manifold
communicative talents that he tried to influence thoughts by advocating
kindness in our dealings with one another. By indicating to his wife
Aisha that she should love the poor, it was an indirect way to teach
all humankind to share love and kindness regardless of a person’s
economic background. This same implication in the speeches of the
Prophet can be discerned in his notion of modesty.
The
world today is far from modest. Political factions and all sorts of
social and economic discrimination have segmented the human race.
People now think more in terms of class. Modesty is exclusive to
‘members of the club’. If you do not belong you can neither be heard
nor seen. Prophet Muhammad speeches on the need for modest behavior and
his exemplary behavior seen throughout this study have a significant
meaning to our lives. When he said that every religion must have some
kind of meaningful character, he laid emphasis on the fact that Islam
was a modest religion.
On
the other hand, he was calling on all Islamic believers to question
their conscience whether by following the belief system of Islam, they
were practicing its basic tenets of modesty. He who is not has to
examine his conscience and choose the rightful path and not be a
hypocrite. This is how significant Mohammad’s message is to the world
of today. This is what he intended to achieve in his message. Since
modesty is akin to moderation, the Prophet’s communication themes also
laid emphasis on it.
His
speech about abstaining from extremism in the practice of Islam has a
greater significance to our world of today. His intended his message
about religious extremism to be upheld through out the lifespan of
humankind. He was so emphatic about this issue because he believed that
by practicing extreme Islamic rituals or ideals, the person or persons
doing so would be following something else than Islam and that kind of
attitude could send a different signal to his enemies. And the only way
to show to potential followers of Islam that by practicing extreme
Islam, they were not true followers of Allah, he said: “ Those people
who went to extremes( in practicing their religion) were destroyed.” (
This therefore, shows in no ambiguous terms that Prophet Muhammad
condones extreme religious practices.
The
findings on the Prophet's values of moderation revealed that he placed
a lot of weight on mannerism. Humankind has to match words with deeds.
Believers were not to say one thing and do the other. When told by some
of his followers that they will abstain from women and devote their
entire energy to prayer, he responded by stating that he was married.
This was like an indirect way to inform the speaker that there was no
room for pretense. By choosing to abstain you open yourself to
irresistible temptation. Getting married would therefore serve as the
means to shun sin and other forms of temptation. This is certainly the
landmark of difference between Muhammad and other spiritual and secular
leaders of his time and today. To begin with, some other spiritual
leaders remained unmarried and by deciding to do so created a pattern
for their followers to follow suit. But experience has shown that most
of these followers could not faithfully follow their religion without
falling into the temptation of bodily pleasures. This could have been
unwelcome by Muhammad. He foresaw this kind of contradiction and so
taught by examples. It was like doing justice to natures calling. The
Prophet was in essence advocating justice between sexes.
Muhammad
suggested Justice for all humankind. Without justice to the weak, the
poor, and the women, there could not be peace in the entire world.
“….Whether it be against rich or poor…follow not the lust of your
hearts, lest you swerve from doing justice.” (Qur’an, 4:135) This
powerful statement has become apocalyptic. Humankind today have all
prone to worshipping themselves and yielding to mundane pleasures of
money and women and as such have resorted to indulging in all forms of
corruption at the detriment of justice. The poor and the weak remain
poorer and weaker while the powerful -those with influence and
affluence have hijacked the world and set wrongful precedence of
monetary and political gains. This study has found out that what
Muhammad said echoes in our world of today and no one seem to heed his
advice. Hence, this study is like a mirror or an awakening to those in
spiritual and moral slumber to reconsider their thoughts and do justice
because Allah tolerates only justice in his kingdom. He intended this
message for all and not only to Arabs.
General
human condition, the world over was the main preoccupation in the
speeches of Prophet Muhammad. When he spoke lengthily about
truthfulness, he was indirectly sending the strong message of truth as
the pillar of strong faith in any religious person. The society that we
live today is constantly turning its back on truth and replacing it
with untruth or multiple truths to justify falsehoods. Humankind has
sort of fashion a way to go around truth and honesty by resorting
legitimizing falsehood intended to achieve political, social, economic,
cultural and spiritual gains. The Prophet’s message about truth
analyzed in this study serves as a waking call to our consciences about
hell and Paradise . We may be having temporary pleasures on earth by
resorting to false statements, teachings, lectures and counseling but
we are in effect preparing ourselves for hell and not Paradise because
Allah has no place for liars in his kingdom. We should therefore
refrain from such wrong practices and be models of truth while still on
earth.
The
Prophet’s message of Islam was intended for the Arabs during the
seventh century and to all humankind at all times thereafter. He took
advantage of the peace treaty between himself and the Quraish tribe,
his main enemy, and sent ambassadors to the world leaders of his time.
He informed them about the message of Islam. Most of these leaders
responded positively. He used Islam as an example to convince and
influence other leaders of his time.
The Prophet Muhammad was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level.
As
a private person, he was a husband, father, friend and businessman; as
a public figure, he was a leader, legislator, judge, statesman and
general; as a Messenger of God, he was a law-giver, preacher,
theologian, saint and mystic. Such a combination is unique in history.
There
are sayings from the Prophet related to every activity that a person
might encounter during the day or during the night. Islam is a way of
life. By exemplifying these qualities that he preached to his people,
the Prophet was in essence warning against all other rulers who were
saying what they do not practice. He also laid the foundation stone for
responsible leadership. A leader was not to be protected by the army
and fierce dogs but by the loyalty given by his people. By shaking
hands and taking children under his arms, the Prophet made himself
human and approachable. This was a lesson that he wanted to teach to
all other leaders in the world.
The
farewell speech of the Prophet Muhammad was directed to all humankind
at all times and for all generations. He laid down the foundation of
morality, justice, equality, brotherhood, and accountability. He
abolished economic exploitation and human enslavement. In his speeches
on liberty, he preached against the institution of slavery. When he
witnessed the slave beating episode as reported in Bukhari, The Prophet
demonstrated one of the rare instance of humane leadership by letting
Abu Mas’ud Ansari, the accused in this instance that only Allah has
‘power and control over human beings’. This served as a powerful lesson
to him awakening his conscience to the realization that indeed, he was
doing something very wrong. The fact that he let go of the slave by
referring to Muhammad that he let the slave go because of his
intervention is to show the power of communicative skills of the
Prophet. He did not speak harshly or threateningly, rather he used
speech in such a subtle way as to prick the conscience of people. This
is what most leaders do not do today. This study then serve as the
panacea for future leaders who want to rule spiritually or secularly.
Communicative tactics should be the first consideration for any leader.
It is with it that you either make or mar. He has set the tone for
interpersonal communicative interaction especially in the case of
conflict resolution. Liberty , according to Muhammad did not mean
carrying a large army to invade your enemy. Rather, it was the
management of speech delivery.
He
demanded that the congregating Muslims deliver his message to all
humankind. Accordingly, they did deliver the message. For this reason,
the message of Islam has spread through the centuries to every corner
of the world. The global population of Muslims is now more than one
billion. He has used Islam as the vehicle to transport others into his
flock. The values espoused in his speeches have generated untold number
of response exemplified by the geometric increase in the number of his
followers. This is prove of the fact that people all over the world are
recognizing the power behind his messages and are slowly becoming aware
of themselves. He demonstrated how political leadership can be
fruitful.
In
his political leadership communication, the Prophet’s demonstration of
extreme self-control made his followers to love him and his enemies
either to give up and join his religion or to fear him and stay away.
There was no human being who had his life more scrutinized and
documented than the Prophet Muhammad. His behavior toward
his companions was perfect and towards his foes was fair. In essence,
he was kind of educating them about governance.
In
his educational communication, the Prophet used different approaches in
dealing with different circumstances. Education and training are not
merely the matter of correcting mistakes; they also involve teaching
and showing the basic principles of the rules and the regulations and
using various methods to establish these concepts firmly in peoples
minds and hearts, by example, by exhorting them, by telling stories or
by discussing incidents.
The
study finds that the narrative methods that the Prophet used to deliver
his message through his sayings made his ideas clear and convincing. His
narrative fidelity and truthfulness raised no questioned from his
followers or enemies. Even before his Prophet hood, he was known by
“the trusted and the honest one”. The textual analysis of his speeches clarified his message to be correctly understood. By
talking of values that are necessary to influence and inspire others,
he provided a basis for understanding how he was able to accomplish so
much during his brief Prophet-hood. Hundreds of books have been written for that purpose in most languages of the world. The
Prophet taught exactly what the ancient Prophets had been teaching. The
high and noble aim of preaching such a universal religion is to unite
the nations of the world, establish peace, and eradicate all causes of
conflict. Today the world is out of joint. People all over the world
are searching for peace. The light of scientific knowledge is
spreading. But it has signally failed to dispel clouds of hatred and
hostility which spread darkness. Every now and then, plans for world
peace are put forward. But they prove all to be superficial. The most
effective panacea for world peace was proclaimed by the Prophet
Muhammad. He forcefully exhorted the people that they
should cherish reverence for the Prophets of all nations, and live up
to their revealed teachings. This style of speech communication was
tried with unparalleled success in Arabia , where the warring tribes
were cemented into brotherhood. It can even be tried today. It will
surely lay the foundations of real and enduring union and peace. Belief
in the unity of God alone can bring about unity among nations. As this teaching is universal in character, the Prophet who gave it to the world, was rightly entitled "mercy for all people” (
Bukhari
). Just
as one universal religion is an effective means of uniting the nations,
it is also a guarantee for establishing international peace and justice. The
Prophet laid the foundation and the guidelines for establishing peace
and justice among the nations. If any teachings can put an end to
conflicts and strengthen the bonds of human brotherhood in these times
of crisis, it is the Prophet's teachings.
The Prophet Muhammad’s life and teaching center on the values he espoused in his public communication. His
teachings focus on values identified by Burns (1978) who defines a
transformational leader and in addition focus on extraordinary values
which are gleaned from a textual analysis of his public communication. Bass
(1985) explained that transformational leaders “inspire followers to
transcend their own self-interests for the good of the group or
organization” and that “followers become motivated to expend great
effort than would normally be expected” (p. 18) when they are
adequately inspired. Muhammad did inspire, and continues
today to inspire followers to follow his teachings and public
communication and his directives.
Textual
analysis was utilized in this research to review the writings of
Muhammad in the Qur’an and the Ahadith, or writings about the Prophet,
as it allows the researcher to describe and interpret the
characteristics of the messages and to ascertain the meaning of the
texts. This research is important as it cites the values
of transformational leaders as cited by Burns (1978) with the findings
here that extraordinary values the Prophet exemplified and espoused
include character, and community. Muhammad demonstrated
character values of gentleness, good character, humility, kindness,
modesty, moderation, politeness, and truthfulness. He suggested community values of charity, forgiveness, hospitality, and mercy. The
values he suggested are an excellent complement to the transformational
leadership values of liberty, justice, equality, and collective
well-being.
Muhammad’s
interactions with all people, both in spiritual and secular dealings,
impressed upon them the importance of his character and values. Because of his strong values, he was believable and trustworthy, encouraging all to follow the will of Allah.
The Prophet was successful in his leadership because he suggested and lived the values important to leadership. His
public communication was successful because he provided a living
example of his suggestions within his own interactions with family,
believers, and non-believers. His daily interactions as
husband, father, friend, businessman, public figure, and messenger of
God all reinforced his leadership ability and values orientation. The importance of Muhammad’s public communication through history is unquestioned (Hart, 1992). Muhammad’s
extraordinary leadership values, identified in this research,
complement the transformational leadership values found and further
researched by countless researchers. These additional
values can inform current and future leaders who want to be truly
inspiring and transformational in theory and practice, at home and in
organizational settings. This textual analysis found more
than 70 values in the public communication of Muhammad and they were
condensed into the broader categories of family, character, and
community values. There are many future research opportunities using the public communication of the Prophet Muhammad.
This
study concludes that the life of the Prophet Muhammad was like an open
book, especially when he started to deliver the message of Islam.
Prophet Muhammad practiced what he preached. The Prophet’s wife Aisha
was asked about his moral character. She responded that his morals were based on the Qur’an. It
is clear that his extraordinary values, which allowed him to accomplish
so much, too were based on the teachings of the Qur’an and the words
and will of God.
Prophet Muhammad was a farsighted visionary leader. The
Hudaybia treaty showed the Prophet’s wisdom in accepting some terms in
the treaty that a companion of the Prophet like Omar ibn al Khatab
refused. It was proven later on that these terms that the Prophet
accepted and Omar refused were for the benefit of Islam.
This
study concludes that Prophet Muhammad intended for his message of Islam
to be global. As soon as he signed the Hudaybia with Quraish, he sent
ambassadors to invite kings and states around the Arabia to Islam. The
Prophet said “each Prophet used to be sent to his people in particular,
while I was sent to all humankind, and Allah, glory to him, the exalted
said in the noble Qur’an: “say: humankind! Lo! I am the messenger of
Allah to you all, (the messenger) of Him to whom belongs the dominion
of the heavens and the earth” (Qur’an, 7:158).
The
results and discussion of analyses showed that the Prophet Muhammad
possessed not only transformational leadership values but that he also
possessed extraordinary values which made him a unique leader in the
history of humankind. The transformational leadership values Prophet Muhammad exemplified are liberty, justice, equality, and collective well being. His public communication also demonstrated the values he espoused. He
preached of family values that include affection and kindness for
children, children honoring their parents, the importance of educating
the children, financial security for wives after the husband’s death,
husbands treating their wives with kindness and gentleness, respecting
even foster parents, brothers, and sisters, and the importance of
loving and honoring relatives. The Prophet Muhammad’s
speeches focused also on character values that include gentleness,
humility, kindness, moderation, modesty, politeness, and truthfulness. His public communication included the admonition of community values that included charity, forgiveness, hospitality, and mercy.
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"Thematic Analysis of Values in the Public Communication of Prophet
Muhammad (PBUH) by Dr. Ali Zohery, please click on the link of paypal
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