The non-Muslim verdict on Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)
K.S Ramakrishna Rao, an Indian Professor of Philosophy in his booklet, (“Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam”) calls him the:
“Perfect model for human life.”
Prof. Ramakrishna Rao explains his point by saying:
“The personality of Muhammad (pbuh), it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it can I catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes! There is Muhammad (pbuh), the Prophet. There is Muhammad (pbuh), the Warrior, Muhammad (pbuh), the Businessman;
“Muhammad (pbuh), the Statesman; Muhammad (pbuh), the Orator; Muhammad (pbuh), the Reformer; Muhammad (pbuh), the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad (pbuh), the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad (pbuh), the Judge; Muhammad (pbuh), the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is like a hero.”
Michael Hart in “The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in the History,” New York, 1978. p. 33
“My choice of Muhammad (pbuh) to lead the list of world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in the history who was supremely successful on both the secular and religious level.
“It is probable that the relative influence of Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. It is this unparalleled combination of the secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad (pbuh) to be considered to be the most influential single figure in human history.”
M.K Gandhi, statement published in “Young India,” 1924
I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind……….I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and his mission.
“These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet’s biography), I was sorry there was no more for me to read of that great life.”
THOMAS CALYLE in his HEROES AND HEROWORSHIP, 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.”
Sir Bernard Shaw said about him:
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 numerous social and political reforms, established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent his teachings and completely revolutionized the worlds of human thought and behavior for all times to come.
Alfonso de Lamar tine, the renowned historian speaking on his greatness wonders:
“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 HE?”
(Alfonso de Lamar tine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol.II, pp 276-277)
(Alfonso de Lamar tine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol.II, pp 276-277)
Lane Poole
He was the most faithful protector, the Sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence, those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, “I have never seen his like either before or after.” He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could forget what he said …
In ‘Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Muhammad’
Professor Jules Masserman:
“People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions.”
Diwan Chand Sharma says:
“Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him.”
(D.C. Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, page 122)
(D.C. Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, page 122)
John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D.:
“Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race . . . Mohammed . . .”
(A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol. 1, pp. 329-330)
In the words of PROF. HURGRONJE:
“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.” He continues: “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.”
Annie Besant:
“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 of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.”
(The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, page 4)
Encyclopedia Britannica:
“Muhammad is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.”
Rev. R. Bosworth-Smith in “Mohammed and Mohammedanism 1946:”
“By a fortune absolutely unique in history, Mohammed is a threefold founder of a nation, of an empire, and of a religion.”
“Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but, he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue.
“If ever a man had the right to say that he ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.”
I confine here with these few opinions of one of the greatest intellectual people in the world. Otherwise almost all prominent thinkers and philosophers, who have studied the prophet’s life thoroughly, have saluted the distinction of the prophet Muhammad
