WHAT THEY SAID ABOUT MUHAMMAD
During
the centuries of the Crusades, all sorts of slanders were invented
against the Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon
him. With the birth of the modern age, however, marked with religious
tolerance and freedom of thought, there has been a great change in the
approach of Western authors in their delineation of his life and
character. The views of some non-Muslim scholars regarding Prophet
Muhammad, given at the end, justify this opinion.
It
is so strange that very glowing tributes are paid to him for his
integrity and achievement, but his claim of being the Prophet of God has
been rejected explicitly and implicitly. It is here that a searching
of the heart is required, and a review if the so-called objectivity is
needed. The following glaring facts from the life of Muhammad have
been furnished to facilitate an unbiased, logical and objective decision
regarding his Prophethood.
Up
to the age of forty, Muhammad was not known as a statesman, a preacher
or an orator. He was never seen discussing the principles of
metaphysics, ethics, law, politics, economics or sociology. No doubt he
possessed an excellent character, charming manners and was highly
cultured.Yet there was nothing so deeply striking and so radically
extraordinary in him that would make men expect something great and
revolutionary from him in the future.
But
when he came out from the Cave of Hira with a new message, he was
completely transformed. Is it possible for such a person of the above
qualities to turn all of a sudden into ‘an imposter’ and claim to be the
Prophet of God and thus invite the rage of his people? One might ask,
for what reason did he suffer all the hardships imposed on him? His
people offered to accept him as their king and to lay all the riches of
the land at his feet if only he would leave the preaching of his
religion.
But
he chose to refuse their tempting offers and go on preaching his
religion single-handedly in the face of all kinds of insults, social
boycott and even physical assault by his own people. Was it not only
God’s support and his firm will to disseminate the message of God and
his deep-rooted belief that ultimately Islam would emerge as the only
way of life for humanity, that he stood like a mountain in the face of
all opposition and conspiracies to eliminate him?
Furthermore,
had he come with a design of rivalry with the Christians and the Jews,
why should he have made belief in Jesus and Moses and other Prophets of
God, peace be upon them, a basic requirement of faith without which no
one could be a Muslim?
Is
it not an incontrovertible proof of his Prophethood that in spite of
being unlettered and having led a very normal and quiet life for forty
years, when he began preaching his message, all of Arabia stood in awe
and wonder at his wonderful eloquence and oratory? It was so matchless
that the whole legion of Arab poets, preachers and orators of the
highest caliber failed to bring forth its equivalent. And above all,
how could he then pronounce truths of a scientific nature contained in
the Quran that no human being could possibly have developed at that
time?
Last
but not least, why did he lead a hard life, even after gaining power
and authority? Just ponder over the words he uttered while dying:
“We, the community of the Prophets, are not inherited. Whatever we leave behind is for charity.”
As
a matter of fact, Muhammad is the last link of the chain of Prophets
sent in different lands and times since the beginning of human life on
this planet. The following parts will cover the writings of some
non-Muslim authors regarding Muhammad.
“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, legislations, 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... the 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 twofold, the unit 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
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 standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may
well ask, is there any man greater than he?”
Edward Gibbon and Simon Ocklay, History of the Saracen Empire, London, 1870, p. 54:
“It
is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves
our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at
Mecca and Medina is preserved, after the revolutions of twelve centuries
by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the
Quran...The Mahometans[1] have
uniformly withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their
faith and devotion to a level with the senses and imagination of man.
‘I believe in One God and Mahomet the 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 honors of the prophet
have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living
precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the
bounds of reason and religion.”
Bosworth Smith, Mohammed and Mohammadanism, London 1874, p. 92:
“He
was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope’s pretensions,
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 the right divine, it was Mohammed,
for he had all the power without its instruments and without its
supports.”
Annie Besant, The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, p. 4:
“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.”
W. Montgomery, Mohammad at Mecca, Oxford 1953, p. 52:
“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.”
James A. Michener, ‘Islam: The Misunderstood Religion’ in Reader’s Digest (American Edition), May 1955, pp. 68-70:
“Muhammad,
the inspired man who founded Islam, was born about A.D. 570 into an
Arabian tribe that worshipped idols. Orphaned at birth, he was always
particularly solicitous of the poor and needy, the widow and the orphan,
the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty he was already a successful
businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans for a wealthy
widow. When he reached twenty-five, his employer, recognizing his
merit, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years older, he
married her, and as long as she lived, remained a devoted husband.
“Like
almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving
as the transmitter of God’s word, sensing his own inadequacy. But the
angel commanded ‘Read’. So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read
or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon
revolutionize a large segment of the earth: “There is one God.”
“In
all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son
Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumors of God’s personal
condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced,
‘An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such
things to the death or birth of a human-being.’
“At
Muhammad’s own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who
was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one
of the noblest speeches in religious history: ‘If there are any among
you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you
worshipped, He lives forever.’”
Michael
H. Hart, The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History,
New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc. 1978, p. 33:
“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.”
....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.
Prophet
Muhammad was born in Arabia in the year 570 C.E., 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 twenty three 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.
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, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him,
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
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 to achieve
such incredible perfections.
Mahatma Gandhi, speaking on the character of Muhammad, 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 Carlyle 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 Prophet of the East, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12)
Muhammad
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 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 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
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
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 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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