Zayd Ibn Muhalhil, famed for his poetry, his horse racing and his swordsmanship, was born in Najd, sometime before the birth of the Prophet. He came to be known as Zayd al Khayl, the word Khayl, in Arabic being used to signify both ‘horse’ and ‘horseman.’ A fiery poem composed by him lavished praise on the horseman and the wielder of the sword, and cited his tribe as leader of the people and the chief of his tribe as the leader in any war waged by expert swordsmen. But all this was before his conversion to Islam. Zayed al Khayl came to Madinah after the Prophet had emigrated to that city. While there he visited the Prophet and embraced the faith. The Prophet disapproving of his name changed it from Zayd al Khayl to Zayd al Khayr, meaning Zayd the Good. He died in 9 A.H. in Madinah.

This incident demonstrates the true spirit of Islam. The goal of Islam is not to turn a man into Zayd the horse racer, but Zayd the Good. In ancient Arabia, horse racing and the wielding of the sword were considered feats of heroism. But the Prophet of Islam corrected this way of thinking by instilling in people the idea that our true goal should be to become the bearers of Good. Rather than try to kill people, we should bring them the gift of life, for the feats really worthy of our esteem are performed in the field of virtue.

In today’s jargon the main goal of Islam is to “produce creative human beings.” For belief in God does awaken creativity within the individual. In all respects, he becomes a new man—his thinking rising above the mundane and his moral fibre far surpassing the commonplace. While as yet living in this world, he becomes a heavenly soul. In short, a believer’s goal should not be to emulate Zayd al Khayl but Zayd al Khayr. Virtue should be the essence of the believer’s personality. □