ABSTRACT
Presumed within all biographical treatments of Muhammad as discussed in the previous chapter is the belief that Muhammad has something to say to modern Muslims. Clearly, all Muslims would agree that the story of Muhammad has didactic value; that is, there are lessons and wisdom which can be learned from the actual life story itself. Furthermore, there is fundamental religious inspiration to be gained from reading the story of the founder of the religion, his trials and tribulations, his victories and his defeats. But one question still remains that underlies all of these treatments: to what extent is Muhammad’s life, in the sense of all those things which he did in his life, actually binding upon Muslims? Are there simply general principles to be learned from Muhammad’s life or are the very details themselves elements which should or must be emulated? One Muslim scholar has expressed his views about this in the following way:
There is a difference between obedience to the Prophet in his quality of prophet and obedience to him in his quality of amir [i.e. leader of the community]. In his quality of prophet he is to be obeyed until the Resurrection, since the Koran is for all times. But in his quality of amir he was only obeyed during his life-time…. Instructions resulting from his amir-ship, will always remain temporary, because circumstances change.1
