In a world where evil has usurped the place of good; heroism and buffoonery have traded places; dignity is defined as an inheritance of heritage; beauty is only considered a commodity of vanity and virtue has become unrecognizable in the dark waters of shirk (associating partners with Allah), a young man trying to attain goodness, pure beauty, justice and truth in a determined fashion as he sets himself apart from the crowds, was bound to be labeled a "lunatic" at times and at other times a "poet."

There was a concern which left his conscience at unease -- thousands of concerns. The societal and humane values which he longed for had not disappeared entirely without a trace, but had been associated to a large extent with virtues that were forgotten and swept under the carpet. The questions he was in search of answers for, regardless of how intelligent and appropriate they were, were turned a blind ear to as they were of the kind that would meddle with the current social order. His vision thus faced the horizon that interplayed with the values that were glorified and made untouchable by society. It was noted that he may have appeared as a pure idealist with his intellectual concerns and criticisms to his peers; in a book written about him Kierkegaard would say, "The one fighting for divine existence, should remain devoid of the lofty joys of existence." What we are talking about is a measured care when approaching beauty, an introspection that is deep within, but becomes fades as it gazes outward in a world where injustices and ugliness that had been justified with esthetic interventions reign supreme. His outward gaze would not prevent him from pressing firmly on the ground he walked upon, and he would continue to appeal to the people who had declared that they would resist change.

There is no limit to falling from life, nor is there a limit to compassion... One day, while walking on the outskirts of Mecca, Muhammad (pbuh) saw a woman standing by a well and right beside her a dog that had begun to lose consciousness from illness and thirst, with his tongue hanging out as it struggled to breathe. The woman, who could be discerned as an old prostitute, untied her scarf, tying her shoe to the scarf in order to lower it into the well. She drew water from the well with her shoe and provided it for the dog. Some of the people who were waiting in line to use the well reacted to the woman, saying, "Why are you making us wait in order to give water to a dog? Let the animal die so that it can be freed from its suffering."

The woman didn't answer these words; all she did was lift her head toward the sky.

This scene would become etched into the mind of Prophet Muhammad. After becoming the Messenger of Allah, while speaking on the responsibilities of believers to animals, he would recall the act of that woman: "A prostitute felt pity for a dog, taking off her shoe and tying it to her scarf in order to draw water out of well so that the animal could quench his thirst, thereby saving it from death. Due to this move, that woman was granted paradise."

It can only be imagined how the perception of the Bedouins shifted on matters of sin and good deeds as well as punishment and reward upon hearing this.

Is this scene from the past still recalled with the same refined perception of not seeing a prostitute as a cursed woman that is destined for hell fire? This prostitute, who protected herself from the devastating judgment of people by gazing at the sky, was a victim in the eyes of Muhammad and not an evil person due to the stigma that had been attached to her by society. Here the victim is someone who points more in the direction of solution before the reason. The act that work to protect a victim from being trampled and destroyed, granting him or her the strength to make their life meaningful again are good deeds which rise from faith.

This dog, which was able to quench its thirst through the water dripped into its mouth by a woman with a less-than-good reputation centuries ago, now experiences a drought on the streets of the metropolis; it is in need alongside street children and cats. On the streets that become desert-like in the summer, cats and dogs die of kidney failure. Their presence lingering around garbage cans does not mean much to us. We pass them by, not thinking of whether or not they need food to sustain themselves.

Prophet Muhammad was wondering the streets of Mecca with an awareness towards the needy, the creatures who could not speak up for themselves and those left powerless; he was in search of associates whom he could share the social matters that were weighing heavy on his mind. It was for this reason that he participated in the Hilf ul Fudl meeting, held by philanthropists for the renewal of virtues on the land of the Masjid-i Haram. Those who attended the meeting promised each other that they would struggle so that there would not remain a single person, whether they be a local or an outsider, who would experience tyranny and if there was such a person, they would remain by his or her side. According to the narration of Ibn Kathir and Ibn Hisham, Prophet Muhammad would say the following on this agreement that was formed in the face of the oligarchy of Mecca against the unbelievers as a revolution siding with Allah, "I took part in such an agreement ceremony with my uncles at the home of Abdullah bin. Jad'an that if I had been invited to Islam, I would have accepted there."