WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT MUHAMMAD? (peace be upon him)

Lamartine says in histoire de la Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol ii, pp. 276-77,

“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 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 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 Oakley wrote in, 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*( The term and Mohammadanism is a misnomer introduced by orientalists due to their lack of understanding of Islam, in analogy to Christ and Christianity.) 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 says in, 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 writes in, 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.”

1. Montgomery said in, 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 writes in, ‘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 said in his book, 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.”

Encyclopedia Britannica says in Vol 12:

“….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.”

* A. D. stands for Anno Domini meaning – In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ or commonly used as After Death (of Jesus), both of which represent a wrong view     of Jesus according to the teachings of Islam. C.E. meaning Christian Era is a better alternative used in Islamic Literature worldwide. Pls refer to the in chapter Jesus in Islam for more details.

George Bernard Shaw said about muhammad in The Genuine islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, no. 8, 1936:

“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.”

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 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 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 book 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 in The Prophet of the east, calcutta, 1935, pp. 12:

“Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him.”

Sarojini naidu, the famous poetess of india, says on Speaking on the aspect of equality before God in islam writes in, ideals of islam, vide Speeches & Writings, madras, 1918 , p. 169

“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.”

Prof. 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.”

Wolfgang Goethe, perhaps the greatest european poet ever, wrote in Noten und Abhandlungen zum Weststlichen Dvan, WA I, 7, 32:

‘‘He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his Koran is to be seen as Divine Law and not as a book of a human being, made for education or entertainment.’’

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 (peace be upon him) 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.