Hiba Magazine brings to you a selection of thought-provoking quotes by non-Muslim scholars about Prophet Muhammad (sa).
Napoleon Bonaparte – Quoted in
Christian Cherfils BONAPARTE ET ISLAM (PARIS 1914): “I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able
to unite all the wise and educated men of all the countries and establish a
uniform regime based on the principles of Qur'an which alone are true and which
alone can lead men to happiness.”
M. K. Gandhi, YOUNG INDIA, 1924: "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
his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his
intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and his own mission.
These, and not the sword, carried everything before them and surmounted every
trouble."
Lamartine - Histoire de la Turquie,
Paris 1854, Vol II, pp. 276-77: "If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and
astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to
compare any great man in modern 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 and 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
souls... the 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 unit 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.
"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?"
Edward Gibbon and Simon Ocklay -
History of the Saracen Empire, London, 1870, p. 54:
"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."
Rev. Bosworth Smith, Mohammed and
Mohammadanism, London 1874, p. 92: "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 palace, 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."
Annie Besant, The Life and
Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, p. 4: "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."
Montgomery Watt, Mohammad at Mecca,
Oxford 1953, p. 52: "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."
James A. Michener, 'Islam: The
Misunderstood Religion' in Reader's Digest (American Edition), May 1955, pp.
68-70: "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 rumors 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.'"
Michael H. Hart, The 100: A Ranking
of the Most Influential Persons in History, New York: Hart Publishing Company,
Inc. 1978, p. 33: "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."
Sarojini Naidu, the famous Indian
poetess says – S. Naidu, Ideals of Islam, Speeches and Writings, Madaras, 1918:
“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'...”
Thomas Caryle – Heros and Heros’
Worship: “How
one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and Bedouins into a most
powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades?”
“…The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammed) are disgraceful to ourselves only… How one man single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades… 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."
Stanley Lane-Poole – Table Talk of
the Prophet: “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...”
George Bernard Shaw - The Genuine
Islam Vol. No. 8, 1936: “I believe 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 much needed peace and happiness. I have studied him - the
man and in my opinion is far from being an anti–Christ. He must be called the
Savior of Humanity. I have prophesied about the faith of Mohammad that it would
be acceptable the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the
Europe of today.”
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