What is Islam
Pillars of Islam
What is Qur'an
What is Hadeeth
Who is Muhammad

Who is Prophet Muhammad?

Muhammad (PBUH) was born in Makkah in the year 570. Since his father died before his birth and his mother died shortly thereafter, he was raised by his uncle who was from the respected tribe of Quraysh. He was raised illiterate, unable to read or write. His people, before his mission as a prophet, were ignorant of science and most of them were illiterate. As he grew up, he became known to be truthful, honest, trustworthy, generous, and sincere. He was called by the name of Al Ameen which means 'Trustworthy.' Muhammad (PBUH) was very religious, and he had long detested the decadence and idolatry of his society.

At the age of 40, Muhammad (PBUH) received his first revelation from God through the Angel Gabriel. The revelations continued for twenty three years, and they are collectively known as the Qur'an.

As soon as he began to recite the Qur'an and to preach the truth which God had revealed to him, he and his small group of followers suffered persecution from unbelievers. The persecution grew so fierce that in the year 622 God gave them the command to emigrate. This emigration from Makkah to the city of Madinah, some 416 km to the north, marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar and is called Hijrah.

After several years, Muhammad (PBUH) and his followers were able to return to Makkah, where they forgave their enemies. Before Muhammad (PBUH) died, at the age of 63, the greater part of the Arabian Peninsula had became Muslims, and within a century of his death, Islam had spread to Spain in the west and as far east as China. Among the reasons for the rapid and peaceful spread of Islam was the truth and clarity of its doctrine. Islam calls for faith in only one God, Who is the only one worthy of worship.

During this short period of 23 years of his prophet hood, he changed the complete Arabian Peninsula from paganism and idolatry to 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 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 Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was a perfect example of an honest, just, merciful, compassionate, truthful, and brave human being. He was far removed from all evil characteristics and stove solely for the sake of God and His reward in the Hereafter. Moreover, in all his actions and dealings, he was ever mindful and fearful of God.

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

What others say about Prophet Muhammad?

Sir George Bernard Shaw (Irish playwright, critic & political activist):

"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."

"I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion, which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence, which can make itself appeal to every age.

I have studied him - the wonderful man and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ, 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 the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.”

"The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol.1, No.8, 1936"

Michael H. Hart (Jewish American astrophysicist):

"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 levels."

"Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive... Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers. It is for this reason that the founders of the world's great religions all figure prominently in this book."

"Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time... the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role in human history, down to the present day. 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."

Author of "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History"

Napoleon Bonaparte (French Emperor):

"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."

"Christian Cherfils’ Bonaparte et Islam (Bonaparte and Islam)"

Reverend R. Bosworth-Smith:

"Head of the state as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but, he was pope without the pope's claims, and 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 a Right Divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the power without instruments and without its support. He cared not for dressing of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life."

"Mohammed & Mohammedanism" in 1946"

Lamartine (French writer, poet and politician):

"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?"

"HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp. 276-277"

Mahatma Gandhi (Father of the Indian nation):

"How one man single handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades."

"Young India"

Sarojini Naidu, The Nightingale of India (freedom fighter and poet):

"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"

Wolfgang von Goethe (German writer and Philosopher):

"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"