MUHAMMAD
(May peace and
blessings of God Almighty be upon him)
You may be an atheist or an agnostic; or
you may belong to anyone of the religious denominations that exist in the world
today. You may be a Communist or a believer in democracy and freedom. No matter
what you are, and no matter what your religious and political beliefs, personal
and social habits happen to be - YOU MUST
STILL KNOW THIS MAN!
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 numberless social and
political reforms, established a dynamic and powerful society to practice and
represent his teachings, and completely revolutionized the worlds of human
thought and action for all times to come.
HIS NAME IS MUHAMMAD, peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon him and he
accomplished all these wonders in the unbelievably short span of twenty-three
years.
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God
Almighty be upon him was born in Arabia on the 20th of August, in the year 570
of the Christian era, and when he died after 63 years, the whole of the Arabian
Peninsula had changed from paganism and idol-worship to the 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 moral 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!
The Encyclopedia Britannica calls him
"the most successful of all religious personalities of the world".
Bernard Shaw said about him that if Muhammad were alive today he would succeed
in solving all those problems which threaten to destroy human civilization in
our times. Thomas Carlysle 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. Napoleon and Gandhi
never tired of dreaming of a society along the lines established by this man in
Arabia fourteen centuries ago.
Indeed no other human being ever
accomplished so much, in such diverse fields of human thought and behavior, in
so limited a space of time, as did Muhammad, peace and blessings of God
Almighty be upon him. He was a religious teacher, a social reformer, a moral
guide, a political thinker, a military genius, 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 difficult departments of life.
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. None of
the other great leaders of the world ever combined in himself so many different
qualities to such an amazing level of perfection as did Muhammad, peace and
blessings of God Almighty be upon him.
The lives and teachings of other great
personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much
speculation about the time and the 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 today to
reconstruct accurately and precisely the lives and teachings of those men.
Not so this man Muhammad, peace and
blessings of God Almighty be upon him. Not only was he born in the fullest blaze
of recorded history, but every detail of his private and public life, of his
actions and utterances, has been accurately documented and faithfully preserved
to our day. The authenticity of the information so preserved is vouched for not
only by faithful followers but also by unbiased critics and open-minded
scholars.
At the level of ideas there is no system
of thought and belief-secular or religious, social or political-which could
surpass or equal ISLAAM- the system which Muhammad peace and blessings of God
Almighty be upon him propounded. In a fast changing world, while other systems
have undergone profound transformations, Islaam alone has remained above all
change and mutation, and retained its original form for the past 1400 years.
What is more, the positive changes that are taking place in the world of human
thought and behavior, truly and consistently reflect the healthy influence of
Islam in these areas. Further, it is not given to the best of thinkers to put
their ideas completely into practice, and to see the seeds of their labors grow
and bear fruit, in their own lifetime. Except of course, Muhammad, peace and
blessings of God Almighty be upon him, who not only preached the most wonderful
ideas but also successfully translated each one of them into practice in his
own lifetime. At the time of his death his teachings were not mere precepts and
ideas straining for fulfillment, but had become the very core of the life of
tens of thousands of perfectly trained individuals, each one of whom was a marvelous
personification of everything that Muhammad peace and blessings of God Almighty
be upon him taught and stood for. At what other time or place and in relation
to what other political, social, religious system, philosophy or ideology-did
the world ever witness such a perfectly amazing phenomenon?
Indeed no other system or ideology
secular or religious, social or political, ancient or modern - could ever claim
the distinction of having been put into practice in its fullness and entirety EVEN ONCE in this
world, either before or after the death of its founder. Except of course ISLAAM, the ideology
preached by Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him which was
established as a complete way of life by the teacher himself, before he departed
from this world. History bears testimony to this fact and the greatest skeptics
have no option but to concede this point.
In spite of these amazing achievements
and in spite of the countless absolutely convincing and authentic miracles
performed by him and the phenomenal success which crowned his efforts, he did
not for a moment claim to be God or God's incarnation or Son - but only a human
being who was chosen and ordained by God to be a teacher of truth to man kind
and a complete model and pattern for their actions.
He was nothing more or less than a human
being. But he was a man with a noble and exalted mission-and his unique mission
was to unite humanity on the worship of ONE
AND ONLY GOD and to teach them the way to
honest and upright living in accordance with the laws and commands of God. He
always described himself as A MESSENGER AND
SERVANT OF GOD, and so indeed every single
action and movement of his proclaimed him to be.
A world which has not hesitated to raise
to Divinity individuals whose very lives and missions have been lost in legend
and who historically speaking did not accomplish half as much-or even one
tenth-as was accomplished by Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be
upon him should stop to take serious note of this remarkable man's claim to be
God's messenger to mankind.
Today after the lapse of some 1400 years
the life and teachings of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty
be upon him, have survived without the slightest loss, alteration or
interpolation. Today they offer the same undying hope for treating mankind's
many ills which they did when Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God
Almighty be upon him, was alive. This is our honest claim and this is the
inescapable conclusion forced upon us by a critical and unbiased study of
history.
The least YOU should do as a thinking,
sensitive, concerned human being is to stop for one brief moment and ask
yourself: Could it be that these statements, extraordinary and revolutionary as
they sound, are really true? Supposing they really are true, and you did not
know this man Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him or hear
about his teachings? Or did not know him well and intimately enough to be able
to benefit from his guidance and example? Isn't it time you responded to this
tremendous challenge and made some effort to know him? It will not cost you
anything but it may well prove to be the beginning of a completely new era in
your life.
Come, let us make a new
discovery of the life of this wonderful man Muhammad, peace and blessings of
God Almighty be upon him the like of whom never walked on this earth, and whose
example and teachings can change YOUR LIFE and OUR WORLD for the better. May
God shower His choicest blessings upon him!