Is Essential
“To analyze Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) character, to appreciate the scope of his achievements and to measure his sensitivity, a study of the Qura’n is essential.” (R. V. C. Badley: The Messenger, 1954.)
God’s Servant / Messenger
“He had no pretensions and hated all sham. “I am only a preacher of God’s word and bringer of God’s message to mankind.” Once a Companion addressed him (The Blessed Prophet Peace be upon him), “O, our Master! the son of our Master…” The holy Prophet Peace be upon him) said, “I am but Muhammad the son of Abdullah, the servant of God and His Apostle. I do not desire that you should exceed which God has conferred on me.” (Mazhar ul Haq: A Short History Of Islam, Lahore, 1992, Page 137.)
Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Was Pope And Caesar But
“Head of the state as well of the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one: but he was a Pope without the Pope’s pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a body guard, without a palace, without fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a right Divine, it was Muhammad Peace be upon him) for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports.” (Bosworth Smith: Muhammad (Peace be upon him) And Muhammadanism, 1974.)
Nothing Will Be Achieved
“Nothing will be achieved by trying to discredit Muhammad (Peace be upon him). Nothing will be gained by dismissing the Qur’an as a lot of incoherent nonsense. Much will be attained by studying Islam impartial.” (R. V. C. Badley: The Messenger (a), Page, 271.)
Messenger Of One God
“His whole life is one long argument for his loyalty to truth. Surely the character of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has been misjudged. He was not the ambitious schemer some would have him, still less the hypocrite and sham prophet others have imagined. He was an enthusiast in that noblest sense when enthusiasm becomes the salt of the earth, the one thing that keeps men from rotting whilst they live… his enthusiasm for noble cause. He was the messenger of God and never to his life’s end did he forget who he was, or the message which was the marrow of his being.” (Stanley Lane-Poole: Studies In A Mosque,1966, Page 81.)
One God, One Humanity
“Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) vision was of a world brotherhood uniting all men of good-will in One God and One Humanity.” (Reverend Peacock: Muhammad ((Peace be upon him) in Non Muslims’ Eyes.)
Muhammad (Peace Be Upon Him) Was True
“The spread of Islam in a most amazing way and with a terrific speed which dazzled the Christian world are enough to confirm that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was true and that the book which he gave to his followers was true and revealed.” (M. Montgomery Watt: Muhammad (Peace be upon him) at Macca, Edn. 1953, Page 52.)
Spiritual Energy
“For Muhammad (Peace be upon him) without a shadow of doubt, was centuries before his age .In his God concept, he was essentially a modern – a modern of 20th century. It was this catholicity, therefore, that made Islam blossom into a spiritual energy that embraces so many national units.” (Major Leonard: Islam, Her Moral and Spiritual Value, London, 1927.)
Deepest Human Feelings
“The Prophet (Peace be upon him) of Islam was a man inspired with deepest human feelings and his heart always beat in unison with the suffered and the afflicted.” (David De Santilan: Legacy of Islam.)
Prophet’s a Mission – Humanize Man
“An honest man, as the saying goes, is the noblest work of God. Muhammad Peace be upon him) was more than honest. He was human to the marrow of his bones. Human sympathy, human love was the music of his soul. To serve man, to purify man, to educate man, in a word, to humanize man—this was the object of his mission, the be-all and end-all of his life. In thought, in word, in action he had the good of humanity as his sole inspiration, his sole guiding principle.”(Prof. K.S. Krishna Rao: Muhammad (a) the Prophet of Islam, Page 14.)
Benefactor Of Mankind
“I have very carefully studied Islam and the life of its Prophet (Peace be upon him). I have done so both as a student of history and as a critic. I have come to the conclusion that Muhammad Peace be upon him) was indeed a great man and a deliverer and benefactor of mankind……” (George Bernard Shaw: Letter to Najam Saqib, Cyprus.)
Equality Of All Men
“He (Muhammad Peace be upon him)) is in fact the promoter of the first social and international revolution of which history gives mention. He lays the foundation of a state that is to spread over the whole world and to observe no other laws than those of justice and of charity. He preaches the equality of all men and the duty of mutual aid and universal fraternity.” (R. Leronge Viede: Mahmet, Page 18.)
A Blessing For Mankind
“Muhammad (Peace be upon him) has been a blessing for his people nay for the whole of mankind…He preached the Oneness of God and of implicit faith in Him as the Lord of the Universe. He got the idolatrous activities and evil habits buried fathoms deep and groomed a barbarous and ignorant people into a disciplined community…He was undoubtedly gifted with great qualities of head and heart and I simply scratch my head to find out any other Prophet of his stature.” (Lord Stephenson: Freedom, October, 1976.)
Made No Distinctions
“God had sent him (Muhammad Peace be upon him) to reform the world. He had been endowed with the strength of character and moral qualities of a great reformer and of a great man. He transformed the down trodden evil society of Arabia into a very refined, virile and virtuous society. The Prophet Peace be upon him) of Islam was a very kind hearted and never took revenge on personal grounds, nor turned away any supplicant from his door. He was responsible for the emancipation of women and made no distinction between a rich and a poor.” (Pandit Gopal Karishna: Editorial, Bharat Samachar.)
Beacon Light
“These teachings, in my opinion, have proved to be a beacon light to mankind. As a student of history of Islam which has been my subject since my university days I have been deeply impressed by the personality of the Prophet (a) of Islam, the like of whom is seldom born in history.” (Pandit Sunder Lal: Freedom, October, 1976.)
Compassion- The Most God like
“It is a wonderful thing that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) born of a fierce and war like race, a people given to many cruel practices, should have so much regard for compassion. He thanked God Who had put in men’s hearts to be compassionate… of all the qualities he regarded compassion as the most God-like and every chapter of the Qura'n begins with this invocation, “In the name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful.” (Mr. Holland: The Story of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), Page 100.)
Kindness Toward Birds / Animals
“Muhammad Peace be upon him) liked animals. He made it a matter of principle that no animal should be roughly treated …… he put an end to the custom of tethering a camel at its master’s grave so that it died there. He abolished the use of living birds as targets at shooting contests.” Furthermore commentaries on the status of women were forbidden thirteen hundred years ago.” (R. V. C. Badley: The Messenger (Peace be upon him), 1954.)
Not Sent For Curses
“On the field of Uhod Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was very near losing his life, being struck down by a shower of stones and wounded in the face with arrows. When in this pitiable plight and profusely bleeding some of his companions asked him to curse the unbelieving enemy, he declined their request and prayed for the unbelieving enemy: “I have not been sent for cursing.” (Muhammad Sulaiman Nadvi: Rehmat - ul - Alamin (a) Volume 1, Page 114.)
Essentially Modern
“The Mind of this remarkable Teacher (e) was, in its intellectualism and progressive ideals essentially modern.” (Syed Amir Ali: The Spirit Of Islam, Page 121 and Mazhar ul Haq: A Short History Of Islam, Lahore, 1992, Page 140.)
The Most Enlightened Jurisprudence
“The Muhammadan law which is binding on all from the crowned head to the meanest subject is a law interwoven with a system of the wisest, the most learned and the most enlightened jurisprudence that ever existed in the world.” (Edmund Burke:The Impeachment of Warren Hastings, Pages 233, 234.)
He Preached, He Achieved
“I salute Muhammad Peace be upon him) as one of the world’s mighty heroes. Muhammad Peace be upon him) has been a world force, a mighty power for the uplift of many people. Consider for a moment what a faith he preached he achieved.” (T. L. Vaswani: Islam the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) and Non Muslims.)
The Greatest Revolution
“It was, in fact, the greatest revolution that has ever appeared in the world.” (A.M. Lathrop Stoddard: The New World of Islam.)
Imprints On Course Of History
“Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was the greatest revolutionary leader known to us. He has left as imprint on the whole course of human history which no man after him has been able to efface. Indeed he appeared at the crossroads of human history and changed the course of human history.”
“I hope it will now be realized that the Holy Prophet (Peace be upon him) provided practical guidance for balanced living at all levels including physical, mental, emotional and metaphysical.” (Professor Bon: Critical Study of Message of God.)
A Notable Chapter Of History
“The more one reflects on the history of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) and of early Islam, the more one is amazed at the vastness of his achievements… had it not been for his gift as seer, statesman and administer, and, behind these, his trust in God and firm belief that God had sent him, a notable chapter in the history of mankind would have remained unwritten.”(Muhammad (Peace be upon him) At Madinah, Page 335, and Mazhar ul Haq: A Short History Of Islam,, Lahore, 1992, Page 143.
Stop For A While – Point To Ponder
History is unable to present any other person except Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who is a philanthropist, a reformer, a politician, a statesman, a leader, a commander, a strategist, and a king / ruler who exhorted his followers not only through word of mouth but also by setting personal examples, to protect rights of women, orphans, slaves, servants, the poor and the oppressed classes of the society. He stressed on his followers to take pity on animals and birds as well.
Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) taught and also stressed upon his followers to protect, regardless of colour, creed, race, religion, status or area one belongs to, the human life, honour and property of others. It was Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who emphasized upon equality, justice, peace and tranquility, and complete harmony among clans, tribes and nations. He, through his conduct, taught us that the mutual contracts, may those be between individuals or among nations, must be honoured. Out of all the human being he is like a very high tower that we can’t find his parallel.
Muhammad’s (Peace Be Upon Him) Life An Open Book
Unlike any other prophet or a man of influence, Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) life is recorded by the Muslim Traditionalists and his life is like an open book. In fact his mention could be found in the Old and New Testaments and other Scriptures and Divine books. Lane Poole has beautifully described Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in his poem captioned ‘Dazzling” which is really worth reading.
No individual, except Muhammad (Peace be upon him), in the annals of human history, has been the focus of so much attention of all types of people. He who changed the course of humanity continues / will continue to serve as a beacon light to the entire ailing humanity. After all why not - he is called the ‘Helper’, the ‘Comforter’, the ‘Advocate’, the ‘Teacher’, ‘Mohammana’ (Muhammad (Peace be upon him) ¬¬_ a paragon of virtues) and “The Prophet” in the Old and the New Testaments and the Gospel of Barnabas. His mention is also found in the Hindu and Parsi Scriptures.
He has been given ninety-nine names by Allah—the Creator of the universe. About him Allah says:
“We have not sent thee but Mercy for all the worlds.” (21:107)
Almighty God, besides mentioning many of the attributes of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), tells us that he is ‘Model of Excellence’:
“He (Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)) is a model of excellence for all of us.”(The Holy Qura’n 33:21)
In the end I request the reader to join me, with all humbleness, in the prayer revealed to (and taught to the Muslims by) Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Last Prophet of Allah:
“O God! Show us the right path, the path of those whom Thou hast blessed. Not of those who
incurred Your wrath, nor of the astray.” (The Holy Qura’n 1:5-7)