Muhammad The Prophet Of Islam
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him and His Family)
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him and His Family)
This is a collection of short quotations from a wide variety of Non-Muslim notables, including academics, writers, philosophers, poets, politicians, and activists belonging to the East and the West.
To our knowledge none of them ever became Muslims. These words, therefore, reflect their personal views on various aspects of the life of the Prophet.
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi
(1869-1948) Indian thinker, statesman, and nationalist leader.
I became more than ever 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 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 trouble.”
[Young India (periodical), 1928, Volume X]
Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) Considered the greatest British historian of his time.
“ The greatest success of Mohammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force without the stroke of a sword.”
[History Of The Saracen Empire, London, 1870]
“His (i.e., Muhammad’s) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action.”
[History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, 1838, vol.5, p.335]
John William Draper
(1811-1882) American scientist, philosopher, and historian।
“Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race . . . Mohammed.”
[A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London, 1875, vol.1, pp. 329-330]
David George Hogarth(1862-1927) English archaeologist, author, and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.
“Serious or trivial, his daily behaviour has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious mimicry. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the Founder of Christianity has not so governed the ordinary life of His followers. Moreover, no Founder of a religion has been left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim Apostle.”
[Arabia, Oxford, 1922, p. 52]
(1932- ) Professor of astronomy, physics and the history of science.
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 level.”
[The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History, New York, 1978, p. 33]
William Montgomery Watt(1909- ) Professor (Emeritus) of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh.
“His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement – all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.”
[Mohammad At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, p. 52]
Alphonse de Lamartine
(1790-1869) French poet and statesman.
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 standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?”[Translated from Histoire De La Turquie, Paris, 1854, vol. II, pp. 276-277]
Reverend Bosworth Smith(1794-1884) Late Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.
“… he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a right Divine, it was Mohammed; for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports.”
[Mohammed and Mohammedanism, London, 1874, p. 235]
Washington Irving
(1783-1859) Well-known as the “first American man of letters”.
“He was sober and abstemious in his diet, and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected, but the result of a real disregard to distinction from so trivial a source … In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and the weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints … His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect were shown to him.”
[Life of Mahomet, London, 1889, pp। 192-3, 199]
Annie Besant(1847-1933) British theosophist and nationalist leader in India. President of the Indian National Congress in 1917.
“It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.”[The Life And Teachings Of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, p. 4]
“….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.”
“how one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering
Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two
decades.”
“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:
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.
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