Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Mutallib
Born 570 C.E. (Christian Era); died 633 C.E.
The following is based on books, manuscripts, texts and actual
eyewitness accounts, too numerous to mention herein, preserved in
original form throughout the centuries by both Muslims and non-Muslims.
Many people today are discussing Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Who was he exactly? What did he teach? Why was he loved so much by
some and hated so much by others? Did he live up to his claims? Was he
a holy man? Was he a prophet of God? What is the truth about this man?
You be the judge.
First before listing the A-Z (+2) Facts about Muhammad, peace be upon
him, let us begin with the very simple historical evidences. Here are
the facts as narrated by thousands of people, many of whom knew him
personally.
Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abdul Mutalib (Muhammad, the son of
Abdullah, the son of Abdul Mutalib) - Muhammad means "praised one" or
"praising one"
Muhammad was born from the lineage of Abraham's oldest son, Ishmael
(Ismail in Arabic), to the noble tribe of the Quraish who were the
leaders of Makkah in those days,.
He never fell into the common practice of his tribesmen to worship
statues, idols or man-made "gods."
He believed that God was truly One God, and as such, He was to be
worshipped alone, without any other "gods" beside Him.
He held the Name of God in the highest of reverence and never took
God's Name in vain or for any vainglorious purpose.
He despised false worship and all of the complexities and degradation
to which it leads.
He insisted on keeping the Commandments of Almighty God, just as
prophets of old had done in the past.
He never committed adultery, and he forbids others from doing it.
He forbade usury and interest on money lending, as Jesus, peace be
upon him, had done centuries before him.
He never gambled and did not allow it.
He never drank alcohol or strong drink; even though it was a very
normal thing for people of his time and place.
He did not engage in gossip and used to turn away from hearing
anything related to it.
He offered prayers in the manner and direction (toward Jerusalem,
until Allah ordered the change toward Makkah) as was prescribed of
prophets in the Bible, standing, bowing, kneeling and prostrating as
they had done before him.
He fasted for days at a time to be closer to Almighty God and away
from the narrowness of worldly attractions.
He taught that Jesus, peace be upon him, was the Immaculate Conception
and miracle birth of Mary, and that she was the best creation of
Almighty God.
He insisted even to the Jews of Madinah, that Jesus, peace be upon
him, was the Messiah, the Christ, the one predicted to come in their
Torah (Old Testament).
He said Jesus, peace be upon him, did many miracles by the permission
of Almighty God, curing the lepers, restoring sight to the blind and
even bringing a dead man back to life.
He stated clearly that Jesus, peace be upon him, was not dead, rather
Almighty God had raised him up.
He predicted Jesus, peace be upon him, is going to return again in the
Last Days to lead the true believers in a victory over the evil and
unrighteous people, and he will destroy the Anti-Christ.
He commanded the payment of charity to the poor and he was the
defender and protector of widows, orphans and the wayfarers.
He ordered people to unite with their families and honor the ties of
kinship and he restored relationships between family members.
He required his followers to engage only in lawful marriage
relationships with women, and forbid sex outside of Almighty God's
Ordinance.
He insisted on giving women their proper rights, dowries, inheritance
and property.
His patience and humble attitude were exemplary and all who knew him
had to admit to these virtues.
A. He never lied, never broke a trust, never bore false witness,
he was famous with all the tribes in Makkah and was known as: "Spirit
of Truth" (As-Saddiq).
B. He never once engaged in sex outside of marriage, nor did he
ever approve of it, even though it was very common at the time.
C. His only relationships with women were in legitimate,
contractual marriages with proper witnesses according to law.
D. His relationship to Ayesha was only that of marriage. He did
not marry her the first time her father offered her hand to him in
marriage. He did not marry her until she reached puberty and could
decide for herself. Their relationship is described in every detail by
Ayesha herself in the most loving and respectful manner as a match
truly made in heaven. Ayesha is considered as one of the highest
scholars of Islam and lived out her entire life only having been
married to Muhammad, peace be upon him. She never desired any other
man, nor did she ever utter a single negative statement against
Muhammad, peace be upon him.
E. He forbade any killing until the orders for retaliation came
from Allah. Even then the limits were clearly spelled out and only
those engaged in active combat against the Muslims or Islam were to be
fought in combat. And even then, only according to very strict rules
from Allah.
F. Killing any innocent life was forbidden.
G. There was no genocide of Jews. He offered mutual protection and
forgiveness to the Jews even after they broke their covenants with him
many times. They were not attacked until it was clearly proven they
were traitors during time of war and tried to bring down the prophet,
peace be upon him, and the Muslims at any cost. Retaliation was only
to those Jews who had turned traitor and not others.
H. Slaves were common in those days for all nations and tribes. It
was Islam that encouraged freeing of the slaves and the great reward
from Allah for those who did so. Prophet, peace be upon him, gave the
example of this by freeing slaves and encouraging all of his followers
to do the same. Examples include his own servant (who was actually
considered like a son to him) Zaid ibn Al Haritha and Bilal the slave
who was bought by Abu Bakr only for the purpose of freeing him.
I. While there were many attempts of assassination made on
Muhammad, peace be upon him, (most famous was the night that Ali took
his place in bed while he and Abu Bakr escaped to Madinah), he did not
allow his companions to slaughter any of those who had been involved
in these attempts. Proof for this is when they entered Makkah
triumphantly and his first words were to command his followers not to
harm such and such tribes and so and so families. This was one of the
most famous of his acts of forgiveness and humbleness.
J. Military combat was forbidden for the first thirteen years of
prophet hood. The desert Arabs did not need anyone to tell them how to
fight or do combat. They were experts in this area and held feuds
amongst tribes that lasted for decades. It was not until the proper
method of warfare was instituted by Allah in the Quran, with proper
rights and limitations according His Commandments, that any
retaliation or combat was sanctioned. Orders from Allah made it clear
who was to be attacked, how and when and to what extent fighting could
take place.
K. Destruction of infrastructures is absolutely forbidden except
when it is ordained by Allah in certain instances and then only
according to His Commands.
L. Cursing and invoking evil actually came to the prophet, peace
be upon him, from his enemies, while he would be praying for their
guidance. Classic example is that of his journey to At-Taif where the
leaders would not even hear him out nor offer so much as the normal
courtesy called for and instead they set the children of the street
against him, throwing rocks and a stones at him until his body was
bleeding so much, blood filled his sandals. He was offered revenge by
the angel Gabriel, if he would give the command, Allah would cause the
surrounding mountains to fall down upon them destroying them all.
Instead of cursing them or asking for their destruction, he prayed for
them to be guided to worship their Lord alone, without any partners.
M. Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, claimed every person who
is born is born in a state of ISLAM (submission to God on His Terms in
Peace), as a Muslim (MU-Islam means; "one who does ISLAM" i.e.;
submits to God's Will and obeys His Commandments). He further stated,
God has created each person in the image that is His according to His
plan, and their spirit is His. Then as they grow older they begin to
distort their faith according to the influence of the prevailing
society and their own prejudices.
N. Muhammad, peace be upon him, taught his followers to believe in
the God of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, Solomon and
Jesus, peace be upon them all, and to believe in them as true
prophets, messengers and servants of Almighty Allah. He insisted on
ranking all the prophets up at the highest level without any
distinction between them, and ordered his followers to say the words,
"Peace be upon him" after mentioning their names.
O. He also taught the Torah (Old Testament), Zabur (Psalms) and
Enjil (Gospel or New Testament) were originally from the very same
source as the Quran, from Allah to the angel Gabriel. He asked the
Jews to judge according to their own Book, and they tried to cover up
some of it to hide the correct judgment, knowing he, peace be upon
him, could not read.
P. He prophesied, predicted and foretold of events to come and
they happened as he had said. He even predicted something from the
past that would come true in the future, and it has.
The Quran states pharaoh was drowned in the Red Sea while chasing
after Moses and Allah said He would preserve Pharaoh as a sign for the
future. Dr. Maurice Bucaille in his book, "Bible, Quran and Science"
makes it clear this has happened and the very person of Pharaoh has
been discovered in Egypt and is now on display for all to see.
This event took place thousands of years before Muhammad, peace be
upon him, and it came true in the last few decades, many centuries
after his death.
Q. There has been more written about the prophet Muhammad, peace be
upon him, than any other person on earth. He has been praised very
high even by famous non-Muslims for centuries. One of the first
examples we quote from is from the Encyclopedia Britannica, as it
confirms:
(regarding Muhammad) ". . . a mass of detail in the early sources
shows that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect
and loyalty of others who were likewise honest and upright men."
(Vol. 12)
R. Another impressive tribute to Muhammad, peace be upon him is in the
very well written work of Michael H. Hart, "The 100: A Ranking of the
Most Influential Persons in History." He states that the most
influential person in all history was Muhammad, peace be upon him,
with Jesus second. Examine his actual words:
"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."
Michael H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN
HISTORY, New York: Hart Publishing Company, Inc., 1978, page. 33.
S. While we are reviewing statements from famous non-Muslims about
Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, consider this:
"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 standards by which human greatness
may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?"
Lamartine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp. 276-277.
T. And then we read what George Bernard Shaw, a famous writer and
non-Muslim says:
"He must be called the Savior of Humanity. I believe that if a man
like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would
succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much
needed peace and happiness."
(The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936)
U. Then we found that K.S. Ramakrishna Rao, an Indian (Hindu)
professor of Philosophy, in his booklet "Muhammad the Prophet of
Islam" calls him the "perfect model for human life." Professor
Ramakrishna Rao explains his point by saying:
"The personality of Muhammad, 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 the Prophet. There
is Muhammad the Warrior; Muhammad the Businessman; Muhammad the
Statesman; Muhammad the Orator; Muhammad the Reformer; Muhammad the
Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad the
Emancipator of Women; Muhammad the Judge; Muhammad the Saint. All in
all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human
activities, he is alike a hero."
V. What should we think about our prophet Muhammed, peace be upon him,
when someone with the worldly status such as Mahatma Gandhi, speaking
on the character of Muhammad, peace be upon him, says in 'YOUNG INDIA':
"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over
the hearts of millions of mankind... I became more than 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 his 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 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I
was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life."
W. English author Thomas Carlyle in his 'Heroes and Hero Worship', 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."
X. And Diwan Chand Sharma wrote in "The Prophets of the East":
"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, pp. 12)
Muhammad, peace be upon him, was nothing more or less than a human
being, but he was a man with a noble mission, which was to unite
humanity on the worship of ONE and ONLY ONE GOD and to teach them the
way to honest and upright living based on the commands of God. He
always described himself as, 'A Servant and Messenger of God' and so
indeed every action of his proclaimed to be.
Y. Speaking on the aspect of equality before God in Islam, the famous
poetess of India, Sarojini Naidu says:
"It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for,
in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are
gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day
when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: 'God Alone
is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this
indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother."
(S. Naidu, Ideals of Islam, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p.
169)
Z. In the words of Professor 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."
Z-2. (we went over the A-Z alphabet) Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley,
on the profession of ISLAM, writes in "History of the Saracen Empires":
"I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MAHOMET, AN 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 honor of the
Prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his
living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within
the bounds of reason and religion."
(History of the Saracen Empires, London, 1870, p. 54)
Z-3. Wolfgang Goethe, perhaps the greatest European poet ever, wrote
about Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. He said:
"He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his Koran is to be seen
as Divine Law and not as a book of a human being, made for education
or entertainment."
(Noten und Abhandlungen zum Weststlichen Dvan, WA I, 7, 32)
People do not hesitate to raise to divinity and even make 'gods' out
of other individuals whose lives and missions have been lost in
legend. Historically speaking, none of these legends achieved even a
fraction of what Muhammad, peace be upon him, accomplished. And all
his striving was for the sole purpose of uniting mankind for the
worship of One God on the codes of moral excellence. Muhammad, peace
be upon him, or his followers never at any time claimed that he was a
son of God or the God-incarnate or a man with divinity but he always
was and is even today considered as only a Messenger chosen by God.
Today after a lapse of fourteen centuries, the life and teachings of
Muhammad, peace be upon him, have survived without the slightest loss,
alteration or interpolation. They offer the same undying hope for
treating mankind's many ills, which they did when he was alive. This
is not a claim of Muhammad's, peace be upon him, followers, but the
inescapable conclusion forced upon by a critical and unbiased history.
Now it is up to you.
You are a rational thinking, concerned human being. As such, you
should already be asking yourself:
"Could these extraordinary, revolutionary and amazing statements, all
about this one man, really be true?
What if this is all true?
Now ask yourself the question in light of what we have just discovered
about this man; "What do YOU say about Muhammad, peace be upon him?"
Compiled by Yusuf Estes, Former Christian Preacher
Edited and adapted by Khalid Latif, e-tabligue
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{Invite (mankind, O Muhammad ) to the Way of your Lord (i.e. Islam) with wisdom (i.e. with the Divine Inspiration and the Qur'an) and fair preaching, and argue with them in a way that is better. Truly, your Lord knows best who has gone astray from His Path, and He is the Best Aware of those who are guided.} (Holy Quran-16:125)
{And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims."} (Holy Quran-41:33)
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "By Allah, if Allah guides one person by you, it is better for you than the best types of camels." [al-Bukhaaree, Muslim]
The prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said, "Whoever calls to guidance will have a reward similar to the reward of the one who follows him, without the reward of either of them being lessened at all." [Muslim, Ahmad, Aboo Daawood, an-Nasaa'ee, at-Tirmidhee, Ibn Maajah]
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