"Imagine this: You are at work, in the shops, on a bus. You overhear strangers maligning someone you don’t know. What do you do? Nothing?

Or this: You are at work, in the shops, on a bus. You overhear strangers maligning someone you cherish; your mother, your father, your husband, your wife. What do you do? Defend them? Set the record straight and demand an apology, even at the risk of causing a scene?

Why is that? Because, we want ‘respect’? Because right or wrong, no-one talks that way about our family? Or is it because we know what was said is untrue; and the truth about them is what causes us to love them and risk anything to defend them?

Or how about this: You are at work, in the shops, on a bus. You overhear strangers maligning the Prophet Muhammad, sallallaahu alayhe wa sallam3. What do you do?

Directly and indirectly, our Prophet (ï  ²) is maligned everyday; at work, in the shops, as well as on the bus. He is maligned by the media, by politicians, by strangers, by family even; but how do we react when he is the target of these lies and distortions? Do we react angrily or simply keep quiet?

Sadly, we do both. We do so because he is a stranger to us. We claim to love him but our behavior belies our words. We have little or no idea who he was, what he stood for, what he taught, or how he reacted when the same things happened to him, so how can our love be true?

The first Muslims were attracted to Islaam because they were attracted to the Prophet of Islaam (ï  ²). They grew up with him, they knew everything about him, and because they knew him, they loved him, gave up everything for him, and modeled their lives on his.