No matter what you are, and no
matter what your ideological and political beliefs, personal and social
habits happen to be - you must still know this man.
۞
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)
۞
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 HERO WORSHIP, 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.
۞
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)
۞
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.
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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Source:
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