Misconceptions

 

About Muhammad (pbuh)

 

"Muhummed is the most successful
of all Prophets and religious personalities." Encyclopedia Britannica.

 

 "If a man
like Muhamed were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in
solving its problems that would bring it
the much needed peace and happiness." George Bernard Shaw.

 

 "The
founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammed. As
regards all standards by which human
greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he? " Lamartine,
Historie de la Turquie, Paris 1854, Vol. 11 pp. 276-2727.

"The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal
has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only."

"A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to
kindle the world, the world’s Maker had ordered so." Thomas Carlyle
in 'Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History,' 1840.

"Muhammad, the inspired man who
founded Islam, was born about A.D. 570 into an Arabian tribe that worshipped idols.
Orphaned at birth, he was always particularly solicitous of the poor and needy, the widow
and the orphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty, he was already a successful
businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans for a wealthy widow.  When he reached twenty-five, his employer, recognizing his
merit, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years older, he married her, and as
long as she lived, remained a devoted husband.

"Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as the
transmitter of God's word, sensing his own inadequacy.  But the angel commanded
'Read.'  So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but he began to
dictate those inspired words which would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth:
'There is one God.'

"In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died,
an eclipse occurred, and rumours of God's personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon
Muhammad is said to have announced, 'An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish
to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being.

"At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to
become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches
in religious history: 'If there are any among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But
if it is God you worshipped, He lives forever."  --James A. Michener,
"Islam: The Misunderstood Religion," in READER'S DIGEST (American edition),
May 1955, pp. 68-70.

 

"My choice of Muhammad 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 level....It is probable that the relative influence of
Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul
on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence
which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in
human history." --Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL
PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, p. 33.

"The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of
royalty. The Apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the
fire; swept the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own hands his shoes and
garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of a hermit, he observed without effort of
vanity the abstemious diet of an Arab." Gibbon in 'The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 1823.

 

 "I have
studied him - the wonderful man - and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ he must
be called the saviour of humanity."
George Bernard Shaw in "The Genuine Islam".

"Muhammad was a shining example to his people. His
character was pure and stainless. His house, his dress, his food - they were characterized
by a rare simplicity. So unpretentious was he that he would receive from his companions no
special mark of reverence, nor would he accept any service from his slave which he could
do for himself. He was accessible to all and at all times. He visited the sick and was
full of sympathy for all. Unlimited was his benevolence and generosity as also was his
anxious care for the welfare of the community." Dr. Gustav Weil
in 'History of the Islamic Peoples'.

"Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or
involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions
which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto
God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the
material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a
work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) had in the
conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than
himself and no other aid except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert.
Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world,
because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, in faith and in arms,
reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's name, Persia Khorasan,
Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern
Africa, numerous islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and part of Gaul."

"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the
three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in history with
Muhammad? 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, dynasties, but millions of
men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the
gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and the souls."

"On the basis of a Book, every letter which has become law, he created a spiritual
nationality which blend together peoples of every tongue and race. He has left the
indelible characteristic of this Muslim nationality the hatred of false gods and the
passion for the One and Immaterial God. This avenging patriotism against the profanation
of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad; the conquest of one-third the
earth to the dogma was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of man but that of
reason."

"The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of the fabulous
theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon it's utterance from his lips it
destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world. His
life, his meditations, his heroic revelings against the superstitions of his country, and
his boldness in defying the furies of idolatry, his firmness in enduring them for fifteen
years in Mecca, his acceptance of the role of public scorn and almost of being a victim of
his fellow countrymen: all these and finally, his flight his incessant preaching, his wars
against odds, his faith in his success and his superhuman security in misfortune, his
forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no
manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his
death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm
conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold the unity
of God and the immateriality of God: the former telling what God is, the latter telling
what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an
idea with words." Alphonse de LaMartaine in 'Historie de la
Turquie,' Paris, 1854.

"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 in his own 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 not more for me to
read of that great life." Mahatma Gandhi, statement published
in 'Young India,'1924.

 

 "Judged by the
smallness of the means at his disposal, and the extent and permanence of the work that he
accomplished, his name in world's history shines with a more specious lustre than that of
the Prophet of Makkah. To the impulse which he gave numberless dynasties have owed
their existence, fair cities and stately palaces and temples have arisen, and wide
provinces became obedient to the Faith. And beyond all this, his words have governed the
belief of generations, been accepted as their rule of life, and their certain guide to the
world to come. At a thousand shrines the voices of the faithful invoke blessings on him,
whom they esteem the very Prophet of God, the seal of the Apostles.... Judged by the
standards to human renown, the glory of what mortal can compare with his?" J.W.H. Stab.

 

 "In
little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal rule of
Medina, with his hands on the lever that
was to shake the world."  John Austin, "Muhammad the Prophet of
Allah," in T.P. 's and Cassel's Weekly for 24th September 1927.

 

"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 . . . To be the religious head of many empires, to
guide the daily life of one-third of the human race, may perhaps justify the title of a
Messenger of God." John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D., A History of the
Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330

 

"Muhammad was the soul of
kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him." Diwan
Chand Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, p. l 22.

"He was the most faithful protector of those he
protected, 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..." Lane-Poole in 'Speeches and Table Talk
of the Prophet Muhammad'.

"It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and
character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knew 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 reread them, a new way of admiration, a new sense
of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher." Annie Besant in
'The Life and Teachings of Mohammad,' Madras, 1932.

 

"His readiness to undergo
persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and
looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his
fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it
solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the
West as Muhammad."  --W. Montgomery Watt, MOHAMMAD AT MECCA, Oxford,
1953, p. 52.

"So great was his liberality to the poor that he often
left his household unprovided, nor did he content himself with relieving their wants, he
entered into conversation with them, and expressed a warm sympathy for their sufferings.
He was a firm friend and a faithful ally." W.C. Taylor in 'The
History of Muhammadanism and its Sects'

 

"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. To a lesser
degree, Moses did the same." Professor Jules Masserman.

 

"He was
Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the
legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force,
without a fixed revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right
divine, it was Mohammed, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its
supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was
in keeping with his public life." --Bosworth
Smith, MOHAMMAD AND MOHAMMADANISM, London, 1874, p. 92.

 

"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 sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher."  --Annie
Besant, THE LIFE AND TEACHINGS OF MUHAMMAD, Madras, 1932, p. 4.

"The greatest success of Mohammad’s life
was effected by sheer moral force."

“It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that
deserves our wonder, the same pure and perfect impression which he
engraved at Mecca and Medina is preserved after the revolutions of
twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes
of the Koran....The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the temptation
of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level with the
senses and imagination of man. ‘I believe in One God and Mahomet the
Apostle of God’ is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The
intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible
idol; the honors of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of
human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of
his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.”
Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley in ‘History of the Saracen Empire,’
London, 1870.

"His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain
glory as they would have done had they been effected by selfish purposes. In the time of
his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manner and appearance as in the
days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on
entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect was shown to him." Washington Irving in 'Life of Muhammad,' New York, 1920.

"Deeply read in the volume of nature, though extremely
ignorant of letters, his mind could expand into controversy with the wisest of his enemies
or contract itself to the apprehension of meanest of his disciples. His simple eloquence
was rendered impressive by a manner of mixed dignity and elegance, by the expression of a
countenance where the awfulness of his majesty was so well tempered by an amiable
sweetness, that it exerted emotions of veneration and love. He was gifted with that
authoritative air or genius which alike influences the learned and commands the
illiterate." Charles Stuart Mills in 'History of Mohammadanis

"Within a brief span of mortal life, Muhammad called
forth of unpromising material, a nation, never welded before; in a country that was
hitherto but a geographical expression he established a religion which in vast areas
suppressed Christianity and Judaism, and laid the basis of an empire that was soon to
embrace within its far flung boundaries the fairest provinces the then civilized
world." Philip K. Hitti in 'History of the Arabs'

"He was one of those happy few who have attained the
supreme joy of making one great truth their very life spring. He was the messenger of One
God, and never to his life's end did he forget who he was or the message which was the
marrow of his being. He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity sprung from
the consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet humility." Stanley Lane-Poole in 'Studies in a Mosque'

"Mohammad's career is a
wonderful instance of the force and life that resides in him who possesses an intense
faith in God and in the unseen world. He will always be regarded as one of those who have
had that influence over the faith, morals and whole earthly life of their fellow men,
which none but a really great man ever did, or can exercise; and whose efforts to
propagate a great verity will prosper." Rodwell in the Preface
to his translation of the Holy Qur'an.

"Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted
a canon which millions observe this day with conscious memory. No one regarded by any
section of the human race as Perfect Man has ever been imitated so minutely. The conduct
of the founder of Christianity has not governed the ordinary life of his followers.
Moreover, no founder of a religion has left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim
apostle." D. G. Hogarth in 'Arabia'

"He was sober and abstemious in his diet and a
rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of
a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected but a result of real disregard
for distinction from so trivial a source."

"In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and
poor, the powerful and weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the
affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints."

"His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had
they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained
the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from
affecting a regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual
testimonials of respect were shown to him. If he aimed at a universal dominion, it was the
dominion of faith; as to the temporal rule which grew up in his hands, as he used it
without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it in his family." Washington
Irving 'Mahomet and His Successors'

Learn Holy Quran because it will be a proof for us muslim on the Day of Judgment.

This is due to the statement of the Messenger: “And the Quran is a proof for you or against you.” [Muslim] so the deputy of every Muslim is to read quran and learn quran with tajweed so one of two things will occur with this proof, the Book of Allah. And this quran education will be in your favor, a proof for us on the Day when we will need every single good deed and learning quran along with doing quran memorization is one of it and to add more spread the quran teaching and spread the kids quran knowledge and listening to quran online and understand the quran tafseer , it will be something standing against us and follow the guidance of or prophet Muhammad peace be upon him, and these good deeds will be a proof against us! Who could be saved from the terrors of that Day if Allah’s own Speech is against him?!?! Think carefully, so reading Arabic Quran and teaching our kids quran qaida with the tafseer of quran  and let the kids memorize quran dear Muslim brother or sister, about your position with the reading Quran! Are you neglecting it, contradicting it, being heedless of its orders and prohibitions, are you thinking deeply over it?! Will it be on your side on the Day of Judgment.? So learn quran recitation! O Allah! We ask you, by Your Glorious Speech and the rest of your beautiful Names and Attributes, to make the Quran a proof for us! So the Quran tutor should let his student know about these facts also,