Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was born in 571 A. D. in the noblest family of Arabia. His father Abdullah had died six months before his birth. Prophet’s e mother expired when he was six years old and his grandfather (Abdul Mutalib) died when he was eight years old. Muhammad (Peace be upon him), as an orphan, was thereafter brought up by his uncle (Abu Talib). At the age of twenty five he got married to a lady who had been widowed twice and was fifteen years older than he. The wedlock led a very happy life till she passed away twenty five years later. Polygamy was rule of the day but Muhammad (Peace beupon him) did not go for second wife during her lifetime.
The Truthful, The Trustworthy
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) because of his good habits, exemplary conduct, and concern for others, enjoyed good reputation not only in his clan but also those living in Makkah and its surroundings. He never betrayed anyone somebody. He was upright and honest. The Quresh called him ‘Sadiq’ (Truthful) and ‘Ameen’ (Trustworthy). But at the age of forty when he announced his Prophet-hood and started calling people to worship none but One God, the Quresh turned against him. However, whenever he faced opposition from the Quresh, he would ask them:
“O Quresh! Every moment of my life has been spent in front of your eyes. Tell me if during all
this time you have seen any evil in me.”
The Quresh - The Worst Enemies
The Quresh took Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) as the biggest threat to their authority, age-old beliefs, and customs. They used every possible method including persuasion, temptation, threats, intimidation, coercion, social boycott, and confinement to the small isolated and enclosed area (Sha’eb-i-Abu Talib) for three years. The persecution, with every passing day, increased in dimension and severity. They forced him to leave Makkah. When Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) established an Islamic state in Madinah they did their utmost to finish it off once for all. They launched many attacks on the Muslims. The other Arab tribes and the Jews also joined hands with them. However, Prophet’s(Peace be upon him) perseverance, dedication to the cause, determination not to step back from his mission and firm belief in Allah, helped him not to succumb to the social, economic, ethnic and physical pressures. He continued his efforts with zeal, fervor and enthusiasm. He was ultimately successful.
No Accusing Finger
The challenge thrown to the Quresh of Makkah and to all the human beings including the future generations stands till Doom’s Day. No individual, except Muhammad (Peace be upon him), has been focus of so much attention of people from all walks of life. During the past over fourteen hundred years even the worst enemies of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) do not point an accusing finger at any aspect of his life.
Innumerable dignitaries and men of influence: religious stalwarts with millions of die-heart followers; renowned research scholars; leading doctors, engineers, scientists; well reputed professors, philosophers, educationists, writers and poets; high ranking government officials and bureaucrats; superstars, sportsmen, musicians and singers with countless enthusiastic admirers; well established industrialists and businessmen; the triumphant military commanders and strategists with valour medals on their chests; mighty kings and patriarchs; popular presidents and prime ministers; politicians and statesmen enjoying heavy public support, followers of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, or Zoroastrianism, through their writings and speeches, have paid homage and rich tribute to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
Had people with negative mind and biased opinion against the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of Islam, known the tributes paid by the towering personalities all over the world, they would have realized that they were on the wrong track. It may be submitted that only for the sake of brevity, extracts from opinions and remarks of the eminent men mentioned in various books about Prophet (Peace be upon him) have been mentioned in brief.
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.)
Nothing Could Silence Him
“In short, as much as any man could suffer short of death… and yet he (Muhammad (Peace be upon him) unflinchingly proclaimed his message. No bribe, threat or inducement could silence him.” (Marcos Dods, Dr: Muhammad (Peace be upon him), Buddha and Christ.)
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) Top Of List
“My choice of Muhammad (Peace be upon him) 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…In fact as the driving force behind the Arabs conquests, he (Muhammad (Peace be upon him) may well rank as the influential political leader of all time.” (Michael H. Hart: The Hundred, N.Y.1978.)
Correct The Errors
“Not merely must we credit Muhammad (Peace be upon him) with essential honesty and integrity of purpose, if we are to understand him all; we are to correct the errors we have inherited from the past. (Montgomery Watt: Muhammad (Peace be upon him), At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, Page 52.)
Muhammad (Peace be upon him) - The Hero
“The personality of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), 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 (Peace be upon him), the General; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the King; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Warrior; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Businessman; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Preacher; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Philosopher; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Statesman; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Orator; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Reformer; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad (Peace be upon him)), the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad (Peace be upon him)), the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Judge; Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Saint. And in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is like a HERO.” (K.S Rama Krishna Rao: Muhammad (Peace be upon him) the Prophet of Islam, Page 11.)
The Greatest Leader Of All Times
“Leaders must fulfill three functions - provide for the well-being of the led; provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure; and provide them with one set of beliefs. People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on the one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other. Jesus (Peace on him) and Buddha belong in the third category. Alone perhaps the greatest leader of all the times was Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who combined all the three functions lesser, Moses (Peac on him) did the same.” (Jules Masserman US Psycho Analyst: Time, July 15, 1975.)
Compare Any Great Man
“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 (Peace be upon him). 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…more than that he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls. On the basis of a Book, every letter of which has become law he created a spiritual nationality which blended together people of every tongue and of every race.”
“Philosopher, Orator, Prophet, Legislator, Warrior, Conqueror of ideas, Restorer of national dogma of a cult without images, the Founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire that is Muhammad (Peace be upon him). As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?” (Lala Hardyal: Quoted from Speeches, in Freedom, May, 1975.)
One Of The Greatest
“If ever man on this earth found God, if ever man devoted his life to God’s service, with a great motive, it is certain that the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of Arabia was that man. Not only was he great but one of the greatest.’’ (Major Leonard: Islam Her Moral And Spiritual Value, London, 1927.)
Never Seen His Like
“Those who saw him (Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him) were suddenly filled with reverence, those who came near him love him, they who described him would say; “I have never seen his like either before or after.” (Stanley Lane Poole: The Speeches and Table Talk of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him).
Un - Paralleled In Human History
“... His (Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) problem was to replace humanity for cruelty, order for anarchy and justice for sheer might. The sincerity with which he under - took his tasks, the complete faith that his followers had in his revelations and the test of centuries make it unlikely that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) was guilty of any kind of deliberate deception… When Muhammad (Peace be upon him), died in 632 A.D. the success of Islam completely vindicated the faith of Khadija - Prophet’s (Peace be upon him) wife… the new Monotheistic creed was on the road to spiritual and physical conquest unparalleled in human history.” (R. Landau: Islam And The Arabs, 1958, Pages 23, 245.)
Never Heard Before
“Do not use frauds, nor deceptions, said Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) to his followers. Do not kill children when you fight against the army of an enemy in his own territory, do not oppress the peaceful inhabitants of the country. Spare weak women, have pity on the suckling infants and the sick. Don’t destroy houses, don’t over-run fields. Do not devastate orchard, do not cut down the dates/ palm trees. Such are the words never heard before, the words which resounded in seventh century, from the court yard of the mosque of Madina.” (Raymond Leronge Viede: Mahamet (Peace be upon him), Paris, 1939 Edn. Pages 164,165.)
Astounding Fact Of History
“Hazrat Muhammad (Peace be upon him), the Prophet of Islam, was a very great man. His honesty and probity as a poor young man carried him the social title of the Just:Al-Amin. His immense contribution to civilization remains an outstanding and astounding fact of history. However, we may judge, the character of this man as a precious heritage for humanism. We can learn from his inspiring example. He was always very abstemious in his habits and contended himself with simple food, clothes and lodging. He was entirely free from avarice. He risked his life for his faith…Dates and water were frequently his only food, even when he was the ruler of Arabia.”(Lala Hardyal: Quoted from ‘Speeches’, Freedom, May, 1975.)
I Salute This Great Man
“Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in reality was a great leader of mankind. He preached unity among Arabs and taught the way they should live as human being. His followers …… and the discipline they maintained was simply marvelous and so was their bravery, courage and devotion to the cause …… this, coupled with the contempt for death as taught by their leader, made them great soldiers and fighters like of whom history rarely produces. I simply marvel at the achievement of this Son of the Desert within a period of fifteen years only - a thing that Moses (Peace on him) and Christ (Peace on him) couldn’t do in fifteen hundred years. I salute this great man; I salute the qualities of head and heart.” (Napoleon Bonaparte: Quoted in ‘Freedom’ October 1975, 1976.)
As A General
“What is remarkable is that Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in spite of his ignorance of military matters showed high talents as a general in every battle or skirmish in which he took part. He was brave too and in spite of his age able to undergo hardships with the youngest of his soldiers.” (R. V. C. Badley: The Messenger ((Peace be upon him), Edn. 1954, Pages 136,137.)
In The History Of Mankind
“The founder of religion of Islam and the Arab Empire, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) initiated religious, social, and cultural developments of monumental significance in the history of mankind.” (The New Encyclopedia Britannica 15th Edition.)
In A Cloak
“No Emperor with his tiaras was obeyed as this man in a cloak of his own clouting.” (Thomas Carlyle: On Heroes, Hero Worship and Heroic in History, 1888.)
I Am A Sikh But
“Since the time I have learnt the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of Islam’s saying that the highest crusade is to speak the truth before a tyrant ruler. I could hardly measure the grandeur of a personality who has considered the expression of truth before a tyrant as the highest crusade. I have also been extremely impressed by the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of Islam’s prayer that he may be placed among the poor. I was born in a Sikh family but I am as much a believer of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of Islam as any Muslim.”(Sardar Dewan Singh Maftoon: Muhammad (Peace be upon him) in Non-Muslims’ Eyes.)
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.)
The Rarest Phenomenon On Earth
“A great theorist is seldom a great leader. An agitator is far more likely to possess these qualities. He will always be better leader for leadership means ability to move masses of men. The talent to produce ideas has nothing in common with capacity for leadership. The union of theorist, organizer, and leader in one man is the rarest phenomenon on this earth; therein consists greatness. In the person of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) of Islam the world has seen this rarest phenomenon on the earth, walking in flesh and blood.” (Adolf Hitler: Mein Kaimph, quoted in Muhammad (Peace be upon him) the Prophet of Islam, Page 12.)
My Personal Homage
“…I tell them that I do so as a token of my personal homage to Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) who was the greatest man the world has ever produced. He was so simple in his day- to- day life that one could hardly imagine that he was the man who was ruling over the hearts of the millions all over the world. …… I instructed the Congress Governments … that they should follow the footsteps of Hazrat Umar (b) who thoroughly implemented every preaching of Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him) and thus bettered the lot of common man.” (Gandhi M. K: Freedom, October, 1976.)
Moved Millions
“This man _ Muhammad (Peace be upon him) moved not only armies, legislators, empires, people and dynasties but millions of men in the world; and more than that he moved the altars, the gods, the ideas, the beliefs and souls. The idea of the unity of God, was in itself such a miracle destroyed all the ancient temples of idols. His life against the superstitions of his country and his boldness in defying the furies of idolatry attest not to an imposter, the one who overthrew the false gods with the sword.” (Prof. Dr. Lamartine:Historie De La Turquie, Volume II, Paris, 1854, Pages 276, 277.)
No Triumphant Entry Comparable
“The day of Muhammad’s (Peace be upon him) greatest triumph over his enemies was also the day of his greatest victory over himself. He really forgave the Korayash all amnesty to the whole population of Makkah. No house was robed, no woman insulted. One thing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Kabah, Muhammad (Peace be upon him) stood before each of the three hundred sixty idols, and pointed to it with his staff, saying, “Truth is come and falsehood is 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 Muhammad (Peace be upon him) entered again his native city. Through all the annals of conquest there is no triumphant entry comparable to this one.” (Stanley Lane Poole: The Speeches And Table Talk Of The Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), London, 1882, Introduction, Pages 46, 47.)
Victor Enters The Vanquished City
“This day is the day of showing greatness of Kaabah; it is the day for forbearance, toleration, loyalty and kindness.” The Prophet Peace be upon him) further said, “Whoso enters the Masjid-i-Haram, or takes refuge in the house of Abu Sufyan or stays in house with closed doors and does not offer armed resistance, for him there is peace.” Later on he asked the vanquished haughty chiefs of Quresh, “O Quresh! Tell me what can you expect at my hands?” The Quresh who had been the worst enemies, replied: “Mercy! O generous brother”. The Prophet e said, “This day is no blame on you. Go, you are all free.” (Mian Abid Ahmad: The Glory of Muhammad ( Peace be upon him), Lahore, 1993, Page 5.)
Universal Pardon
“The Long and obstinate struggle against his pretentions maintained by the inhabitants of Makkah, might have induced its conqueror to mark his indignation in inedible traces of fire and blood. But Muhammad Peace be upon him), excepting a few criminals, granted a universal pardon; and nobly casting into oblivion the memory of the past, with all its mockery, its afforonts and persecutions, he treated even the foremost of his opponents with gracious and friendly considerations.” (Sir William Muir: Life of Muhammad (Peace be upon him), Page 513 and Mazhar ul Haq: A Short History Of Islam, 1992, Lahore, Page 138.) To be continued……1/2.