|
لَقَدْ كَانَ لَكُمْ فِي رَسُولِ اللَّهِ أُسْوَةٌ حَسَنَةٌ
لِّمَن كَانَ يَرْجُو اللَّهَ وَالْيَوْمَ الْآخِرَ وَذَكَرَ اللَّهَ كَثِيرًا
"You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah an excellent exemplar, for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the glorification of the Divine." [Quran 33:21]
Prophet Muhammad (PBUH):
- Callous cartoonists caricature him
- Wise people adore him
- Over a billion* bear witness in him as a Messenger of God
With the recent negative media attention towards Prophet Muhammad (PBUS) the following quotes are from Non-Muslim writers about the prophet's life from birth to his legacy:
Birth
Quote:
"Four years after the death of Justinian, 569 A.D., was born at Makkah, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race,"
[Historian, John William Draper in his well known work, "A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe"]
Quote:
The well known British historian, Sir William Muir, in his "Life of Mohammed" adds: "Our authorities, all agree in ascribing to the youth of Mohammad a modesty of deportment and purity of manners rare among the people of Makkah... The fair character and honorable bearing of the unobtrusive youth won the approbation of his fellow-citizens; and he received the title, by common consent, of Al-Ameen, the Trustworthy."
Youth
Quote:
James Michener in his well known work, "Islam, The Misunderstood Religion" writes: "Orphaned at birth, he was always particularly solicitous of the poor and the needy, the widow and the orphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty he was already a successful business man, 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 the older, he married her, and as long as she lived remained a devoted husband."
Message
Quote:
The celebrated British writer, Thomas Carlyle, in his book On Heroes, Hero-Worship and the Heroic in History- ,observes:
"Ah on: this deep-hearted son of the wilderness with his beaming black eyes and open social deep soul, had other thoughts than ambition. A silent great man; he was one of those who cannot but be in earnest; whom Nature herself has appointed to be sincere. While others walk in formulas and hearsays, contented enough to dwell there, this man could not screen himself in formulas; he was alone with his own soul and the reality of things. The great mystery of Existence, as I said, glared in upon him, with its terrors, with its splendors; no hearsays could hide that unspeakable fact. 'Here am I'; such Sincerity as we name it, has in very truth something of divine. The work of such a man is a voice direct from Nature's own Heart. Men do and must listen to that as to nothing else; all else is wind in comparison."
Quote:
"'I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MAHOMED, AS 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."
(EDWARD GIBBON and SIMON OCKLEY - HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRES, London, 1870, p. 54)
Quote:
"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"
(Poet Sarijini Naidu, IDEALS OF ISLAM, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169)
Character
Quote:
ENCYCLOPAEDIA 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)
Motivation
Quote:
Dr. Marcus Dods, in his work, "Mohammad, Buddah and Christ" writes:
"Certainly he had two of the most important characteristics of the prophetic order. He saw truth about God which his fellowmen did not see, and he had an irresistible inward impulse to publicize this truth."
Commitment
Quote:
Prof . W. Montgomery Watt writes in his
"Mohammad at Makkah" : "His readiness to undergo persecution 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 as imposter raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad. Thus, not merely must we credit Muhammad with essential honesty and integrity of purpose, if we are to understand him at all: if we are to correct the errors we have inherited from the past ..."
Leadership
Quote:
A well known writer, Rev. Bosworth Smith, in his well known book
"Mohammad and Mohammadanism", adds: "Head of the State as well as of the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legion of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a body-guard, 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 Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instructions and without its supports."
Commander-In-Chief
Quote:
James A. Michener, in his invaluable work, Islam: The Misunderstood Religion, observes: "...Forced now to fight in defense of the freedom of conscience which he preached, he became an accomplished military leader, Although he repeatedly went into battle outnumbered and out speared as much as five to one, he won some spectacular victories."
Quote:
Stanley Lane-Poole, in his work, The Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Mohammad adds:
"The day of Mohammad's greatest triumph over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over himself. He freely forgave the Koraysh all the years of sorrow and cruel scorn in which they had afflicted him and gave an amnesty to the whole population of Makkah. Four criminals whom justice condemned made up Mohammad's proscription list, when he entered as a conqueror to the city of his bitterest enemies. The army followed his example, and entered quietly and peacefully; no house was robbed, no women insulted. One thing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Kaaba, Mohammad stood before each of the three hundred and sixty idols, and pointed to it with his staff, saying, 'Truth has come and falsehood has fled away!' and at these words his attendants hewed them down, and all the idols and household gods of Makkah and round about were destroyed. It was thus Mohammad entered again his native city, Through all the annals of conquest there is no triumphant entry comparable to this one."
Humility
Quote:
Another well-known English writer, John Davenport, in his outstanding work, An Apology for Mohammad and the Koran states: "With all that simplicity which is so natural to a great mind, he performed the humblest offices whose homeliness it would be idle to conceal with pompous diction; even while Lord of Arabia, he mended his own shoes and coarse woolen garments. milked the ewes, swept the hearth, and kindled the fire. Dates and water were his usual fare and milk and honey his luxuries. When he traveled he divided his morsel with the servant. The sincerity of his exhortations to benevolence was justified at his death by the exhausted state of his coffers"
Kindness
Quote:
"Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him."
(Diwan Sharma, THE PROPHETS OF THE EAST, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12)
Influence
Quote:
Dr Michael H. Hart He ranked Mohammed first in the list, who contributed towards the benefit and uplift of mankind: "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)
Acomplishment
Quote:
"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?
"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....
"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 MUHAMMAD?"
(Alphonse de Lamartine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp 276-277)
Legacy
Quote:
"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 ... 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." PROF. HURGRONJE
Quote:
"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.
MAHATMA GANDHI Speaking on the character of Muhammad, (pbuh) says in YOUNG INDIA:
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."
Quote:
"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."
I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion, which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence, which can make itself appeal to every age.
I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion for from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior 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 the much needed peace and happiness."
(Sir George Bernard Shaw in The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.)
Quote:
Dr Annie Besant said; "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.]
Quote:
"How one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades."
"The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only."
"A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world, the world's Maker had ordered so."
THOMAS CARLYLE in his HEROES AND HERO-WORSHIP
Hero
Quote:
Prof K. S. Ramakrishna Rao in his book 'Mohammed: The Prophet of Islam' writes:
"The personality of Muhammad is most difficult to get the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of him I can catch. What dramatic succession of picturesque scenes? There is Muhammad the Prophet; there is Muhammad the General; Muhammad the King; Muhammad the Warrior; Muhammad the Businessman; Muhammad the Preacher; Muhammad the Philosopher; 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... In all these magnificent roles and in all these departments of human activities he is equally a hero."
By: Br. Sadullah Khan
See Learning Bridge for Published Lectures, Friday Sermon, Audio & Video Lectures
|
