What They Said About Muhammad (asws)
- From: "LeNoir" <lenoir@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: 3 Feb 2006 21:38:03 -0800
P r o p h e t M u h a m m a d
( peace be upon him)
Do You Know This Man?
( http://al-sunnah.com/ )
History has recorded the appearance and deeds of many religious
leaders: Moses, Jesus Christ and Abraham, to name just a few. There
have also been many self-proclaimed prophets and messengers, each of
whom has claimed to bring a divine revelation for mankind. Some have
proven to be false, and others have been forgotten. But there is one
religious leader who stands alone, an unlettered man who transmitted a
revelation from God that literally changed the course of history and
the destinies of a major portion of mankind: Muhammad, the Prophet and
Messenger of God.
ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA confirms:
"...a mass of detail in the early sources shows that he was an honest
and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who
were likewise honest and upright men." (Vol. 12)
BERNARD SHAW said about him:
"He must be called the Saviour of humanity I believe that if a man like
him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would
succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much
needed peace and happiness." (The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No.
X 1936)
He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth.
He preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a
moral code, initiated numerous social and political reforms,
established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent
his teachings, and completely revolutionized the worlds of human
thought and behaviour for all time to come.
"HIS NAME IS MUHAMMAD "
May the Peace of God Be upon Him (PBUH)
Born in Arabia in the year 570 CE, Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)
started his mission of preaching Islam, the religion of truth and the
submission of man to one God, at the age of forty and died at the age
of sixty-three. During the short twenty-three year period of his
prophethood, Muhammad changed the entire Arabian Peninsula forever.
Within the space of one generation, the vast majority of people went
from paganism and idolatry to devout and strict monotheism, from tribal
quarrels and wars to national solidarity and cohesion, from drunkenness
and debauchery to sobriety and piety, from lawlessness and anarchy to a
lifestyle characterized by discipline, from moral bankruptcy to the
highest standards of moral excellence. Human history has never seen
such a complete transformation of a people or a place before or
since-and just IMAGINE that all of these unbelievable wonders took
place in JUST OVER TWO DECADES and because of the efforts of one man.
The renowned historian Lamartine, when speaking on the essentials of
human greatness, wonders: "If greatness of purpose, smallness of means
and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who
could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him)? The most famous men created arms, laws
and empires only they founded, if anything at all, no more than
material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man
moved not only armies, legislation, empires, peoples and dynasties but
millions of men in one-third of the then-inhabited world; and more than
that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the
beliefs and souls.... his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which
was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an
empire; his endless prayers; his supplications to God; his death and
his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a
firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma
was two-fold: the unity of God and the immateriality of God-the former
telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one
overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with
the words. Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror
of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images, the
founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire: that
is PROPHET MUHAMMAD (peace be upon him). As regards all the standards
by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask IS THERE ANY
MAN GREATER THAN HE?"
(Lamartine: Histoire de la Turquie, Paris, 1854Vol.11, pp 276-277).
The world has had its share of great personalities. But these were
one-sided figures who distinguished themselves in only one or two
fields, such as religious thought or military leadership. The lives and
teachings of these great personalities are shrouded in the mists of
time. There is so much speculation about the time and place of their
birth, the mode and style of their life, the nature and detail of their
teachings, and the degree and measure of their success or failure that
it is impossible for humanity to reconstruct accurately the lives and
teachings of these men.
Not so this man The Prophet Muhammad accomplished so much in so many
fields of human thought and behaviour in the fullest blaze of human
history. Every detail of his private life and public utterances has
been accurately documented and faithfully preserved to our day. The
authenticity of the records so preserved are vouched for not only by
the faithful followers but even by his prejudiced critics. Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a religious teacher, a social
reformer, a moral guide, an administrative colossus, a faithful friend,
a wonderful companion, a devoted husband, a loving father-all in one.
No other man in history ever excelled or equalled him in any of these
different aspects of life- but it was only for the selfless
personality of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to achieve such
incredible perfection. Mahatma Gandhi, speaking on the character of
Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), says in Young India: "I wanted to
know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of
millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the
sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life.
It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet,
the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his
friends and followers, his intrepidness, his fearlessness, his absolute
trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried
everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the
2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography) I was sorry there was not more
for me to read of the great life." Thomas Carlyle, in his Heroes and
Hero-worship, was simply amazed as to "how one man single-handedly
could weld tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and
civilized nation in less than two decades." Diwan Chand Sharma wrote:
"Muhammad was the soul of kindness and his influence was felt and never
forgotten by those around him. "
(D. C. Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, pp. 12)
Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley, speaking on the profession of Islam
wrote: "I believe in one God, and Mahomet, a Apostle of God" is the
simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of
the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honour of
the Prophet has never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and
his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples
within the bounds or reason and religion." (History of the Saracen
Empires, London, 1870, p. 54). Muhammad was nothing more or less than a
human being but he was a man with a noble mission, one which was to
unite all human beings on the worship of the one and only God and to
teach them the way to honest and upright living based on the commands
of God. He always described himself as "a servant and messenger of
God," and every single one of his actions proclaimed loudly the truth
of this phrase.
Speaking on the aspect of equality before God in Islam, the famous
Indian poetess Sarojini Naidu says: "It was the first religion that
preached and practiced democracy for, in the mosque when the call for
prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy
of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel
side by side and proclaim: "God Alone is Great." I have been struck
over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man
instinctively a brother. (S. Naidu, "Ideals of Islam," vide Speeches ~
Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169). In the words of Prof. Hurgronje: "The
League of Nations founded by the prophet of Islam put the principle of
international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations
as to show candle to other nations ... the fact is that no nation of
the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the
realization of the idea of the League of Nations. "The world has not
hesitated to raise to divinity individuals whose lives and missions
have been lost in legend. Historically speaking, none of these legends
achieved even a fraction of what Muhammad accomplished. And all of his
striving was for the sole purpose of uniting mankind for the worship of
the one God on the codes of moral excellence. Muhammad or his followers
never at any time claimed that he was a son of God, a God-incarnate, or
a man having a divine nature-he always was and is even today considered
as only a human messenger chosen by God.
Michael H. Hart, in his recently published book on the rating of
individuals who have contributed towards the benefit and advancement of
mankind writes: "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's
most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be
questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was
supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels. (MH.
Hart, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History,
New York, 1978, pp. 33) Today even after a lapse of fourteen century,
the life and teachings of Muhammad have survived without the slightest
loss, alteration, or interpolation. They offer the same undying hope
for treating mankind's many ills that they did when he was alive. This
is not a claim of Muhammad's followers but also the inescapable
conclusion reached by a critical and unbiased study of human history.
Maybe it is time for you to get to know this outstanding person who has
influenced the life of billions of people over the last fourteen
hundred years. He could also change your life.
.
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