Beyond slogans: returning to the Prophet’s message

Beyond the slogan

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) never demanded grand displays of faith. His life was anchored in truth, justice, forgiveness, and intellectual engagement. Love for the Prophet was not expressed through performance but through conduct. Yet today, devotion is often measured by participation in public campaigns rather than by adherence to his ethical framework. This marks a significant cultural and spiritual shift: from faith as lived practice to faith as performance.

This shift has not occurred by accident. Over decades, a clerical and political culture has emerged that often prizes emotional mobilisation over intellectual development. Education, critical thinking, and self-reflection have been neglected. A community vulnerable to emotional triggers but without strong intellectual resources is easier to influence. Its sentiments can be channelled for political bargaining. In this sense, some contemporary displays of religious devotion risk becoming less about faith and more about influence framed in the language of piety.

The “I Love Muhammad” campaign fits into this pattern. It offers a ready-made script: rally people around slogans, stir emotion, and occupy moral space, without encouraging deeper engagement with the Prophet’s actual teachings.

The Prophet’s example: moral leadership, not outrage

The Prophet’s life provides a stark contrast. When he visited Taif and was attacked and humiliated, the angel Gabriel offered to destroy the town. The Prophet refused, praying instead for the guidance of future generations. Later, when a Jewish woman attempted to poison him, he responded with restraint and mercy, not vengeance.

These moments are not mere anecdotes. They reveal a moral vision that privileges forgiveness, justice, and intellectual clarity over anger and retribution. Yet these values are often absent in the rhetoric of those who claim to speak in his name today.

Emotional heat, intellectual freeze

Clerical politics thrives in an environment where religious identity is emotionally heightened but intellectually underdeveloped. It is easier to fill shrines and rallies than to build schools, libraries, and universities. The result is a community that can respond quickly to emotional cues but may lack the intellectual tools to critically examine the forces shaping those emotions.

This dynamic benefits those in positions of authority, both religious and political. A community without intellectual anchors becomes vulnerable to manipulation from within and without.

Not just a theological question

It is tempting to view campaigns like “I Love Muhammad” as benign religious expressions. But they have broader social consequences. When introspection is replaced by performance, and moral clarity is substituted with over-reliance on clerical authority, communities lose their capacity for renewal. Faith becomes reactive rather than reflective.

The concern is not with such campaigns in themselves, but with the absence of parallel efforts to build intellectual and moral capacity and to revive the critical spirit that was once central to Islamic civilisation.

A necessary return

If Indian Muslims truly love the Prophet, that love must be reflected in character, knowledge, and moral courage, not only in campaigns that primarily serve organisational interests. Saying “I Love Muhammad” is easy. Living by his example, where forgiveness triumphs over anger and justice over control, is far more difficult.

The choice before the community is clear: to continue relying primarily on emotional mobilisation and clerical leadership, or to return to the Prophet’s timeless ethical and intellectual teachings. One path leads to stagnation. The other leads to renewal.

(The writer is a veteran communication strategist, governance & media)

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