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ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA confirms:
"....a mass of detail in the early
sources show that he was an honest and upright man who had gained
the respect and loyalty of others who were like-wise honest and
upright men." (Vol. 12)
MICHAEL H. HART in his recently
published book on ratings of men who contributed towards the benefit
and upliftment 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." (M.H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST
INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)
GEORGE 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. 8, 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 behavior for all
times to come.
"HIS NAME IS MUHAMMAD" May Peace of
God Be Upon Him (pbuh)
He was born in Arabia in the year 570
C.E. (common era), started his mission of preaching the religion of
Truth, Islam (submission to One God) at the age of forty and
departed from this world at the age of sixty-three.
During this short period of 23 years
of his Prophethood, he changed the complete Arabian peninsula from
paganism and idolatry to worship of One God, from tribal quarrels
and wars to national solidarity and cohesion, from drunkenness and
debauchery to sobriety and piety, from lawlessness and anarchy to
disciplined living, from utter bankruptcy to the highest standards
of moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete
transformation of a people or a place before or since - and IMAGINE
all these unbelievable wonders in JUST OVER TWO DECADES.
Lamartine, the renowned historian
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 Muhammad? 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 mystic conversations with 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 MUHAMMAD. 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, 1854, Vol. II,
pp 276-277)
The world has had its share of great
personalities. But these were one-sided figures who distinguished
themselves in but one or two fields, such as religious thought or
military leadership. The lives and teachings of these great
personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist 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. Muhammad (pbuh)
accomplished so much in such diverse fields of human thought and
behavior 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 record
so preserved are vouched for not only by the faithful followers but
even by his prejudiced critics.
Muhammad (pbuh) 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 equaled him in any of these different aspects of life -
but it was only for the selfless personality of Muhammad (pbuh) to
achieve such incredible perfections.
MAHATMA GANDHI, speaking on the
character of Muhammad, (pbuh) says in YOUNG INDIA: "I wanted to know
the best of one who holds today's 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 this friends and followers, his intrepidity, 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 CALYLE in his HEROES AND
HEROWORSHIP, was simply amazed as to: "how one man single-handedly,
could weld warring 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 write: "'I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD,
AND MAHOMET, AN 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 honor 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 of reason and religion." (HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRES,
London, 1870, p. 54)
Muhammad (pbuh) was nothing more or
less than a human being. But he was a man with a noble mission,
which was to unite humanity on the worship of ONE and ONLY ONE 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 so indeed every action of his proclaimed to
be.
Speaking on the aspect of equality
before God in Islam, the famous poetess of India, 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." He continues: "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 (pbuh) accomplished. And all his striving
was for the sole purpose of uniting mankind for the worship of One
God on the codes of moral excellence. Muhammad (pbuh) or his
followers never at any time claimed that he was a Son of God or the
God-incarnate or a man with divinity - but he always was and is even
today considered as only a Messenger chosen by God.
K. S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO, an Indian
Professor of Philosophy in his booklet, "Muhammad, The Prophet of
Islam," calls him the "PERFECT MODEL FOR HUMAN LIFE." Prof.
Ramakrishna Rao explains his point by saying: "The personality of
Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it.
Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of
picturesque scenes! There is Muhammad, the Prophet. There is
Muhammad, the Warrior; Muhammad, the Businessman;
Muhammad, the Statesman; Muhammad, the Orator; Muhammad, the
Reformer; Muhammad, the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad, the Protector
of Slaves; Muhammad, the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad, the Judge;
Muhammad, the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all
these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero."
Today after a lapse of fourteen
centuries, the life and teachings of MUHAMMAD (pbuh) have survived
without the slightest loss, alteration or interpolation. They offer
the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills, which they
did when he was alive. This is not a claim of Muhammad's (pbuh)
followers but also the inescapable conclusion forced upon by a
critical and unbiased history.
The least YOU could do as a thinking
and concerned human being is to stop for a moment and ask yourself:
Could these statements sounding so extraordinary and revolutionary
be really true? And supposing they really are true and you did not
know this man MUHAMMAD (pbuh) or hear about him, isn't it time you
responded to this tremendous challenge and put in some effort to
know him?
It will cost you nothing but it may
prove to be the beginning of a completely new era in your life.
--by Eng. Husain Pasha
We invite you to make a discovery of
this wonderful man, MUHAMMAD (pbuh), the like of whom never walked
on the face of this earth.
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