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!
Written by S.H. Pasha
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