The Messenger of Allah (p.) was not sent for a certain nation, race or people; he was sent as mercy to the two worlds. He embodied this mercy throughout his life both in his sayings and deeds. He called on the people to believe in Allah with wisdom and goodly preaching. He worked with full devotion and dedication to build man at the moral and civilizational levels to promote his existence. The Messenger (p.) rejected all the racial, religious and national barriers which drive people apart and segregate them. He even fought these barriers, knowing that it is he who said: “There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for the white over the black or for the black over the white except in piety.”
The biography of the Messenger (p.) that is flourished with all the good, giving and struggle for the sake of elevating the status of humanity and making it progress at all levels made him worthy of the appreciation and respect of all the people from all over the world, especially the educated among them.
The British playwright, George Bernard Shaw, refused to participate in the plays he wrote in distorting the image of the Messenger (p.), and instead he said: “I have studied the life of the Messenger of Islam very well, time after time, and I have found nothing but moral standards as they should be... and I turned to place Muhammad on top of the chosen men who ought to be followed.”
The great British philosopher and the Noble Prize winner for 1950, Bertrand Russell said: “I have read about Islam and the Prophet of Islam and I came to the conclusion that it is a religion that came to become the religion of the world and humanity, for the teachings Muhammad brought along and that the book that was revealed to him was flourished with, we are still searching and holding on to tiny parts of them and earning awards thanks to them.”
As for the eighteenth century poet and writer Voltaire, he said: “The laws that Muhammad brought along conquered and educated the soul, for the beauty of that Shariah and the simplicity of its authentic rules attracted many nations to the religion of Muhammad and drove them to embrace Islam.”
On his part, the international Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, said: “No prophet earned the respect of his enemies except Muhammad, which made many of them embrace Islam.”
The international French writer, Jean Jacques Rousseau, said: “I have never seen a man in the world like Muhammad.”
Moreover, we cannot but quote the great French poet and writer Lamartine as saying: “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? As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?”
He added: “The greatest event in my life is that I thoroughly studied the biography of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad and I could not but notice the greatness and immortality it entailed. Who attained such greatness of humanitarianism as Muhammad and who reached such high levels of perfection as Muhammad? The Messenger destroyed the false beliefs that resort to intermediaries between the creator and the creature.”
Last but not least, the Indian spiritual leader, Mahatma Ghandi, said: “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.”
The Messenger of Allah (p.) was not sent for a certain nation, race or people; he was sent as mercy to the two worlds. He embodied this mercy throughout his life both in his sayings and deeds. He called on the people to believe in Allah with wisdom and goodly preaching. He worked with full devotion and dedication to build man at the moral and civilizational levels to promote his existence. The Messenger (p.) rejected all the racial, religious and national barriers which drive people apart and segregate them. He even fought these barriers, knowing that it is he who said: “There is no superiority for an Arab over a non-Arab and for a non-Arab over an Arab, nor for the white over the black or for the black over the white except in piety.”
The biography of the Messenger (p.) that is flourished with all the good, giving and struggle for the sake of elevating the status of humanity and making it progress at all levels made him worthy of the appreciation and respect of all the people from all over the world, especially the educated among them.
The British playwright, George Bernard Shaw, refused to participate in the plays he wrote in distorting the image of the Messenger (p.), and instead he said: “I have studied the life of the Messenger of Islam very well, time after time, and I have found nothing but moral standards as they should be... and I turned to place Muhammad on top of the chosen men who ought to be followed.”
The great British philosopher and the Noble Prize winner for 1950, Bertrand Russell said: “I have read about Islam and the Prophet of Islam and I came to the conclusion that it is a religion that came to become the religion of the world and humanity, for the teachings Muhammad brought along and that the book that was revealed to him was flourished with, we are still searching and holding on to tiny parts of them and earning awards thanks to them.”
As for the eighteenth century poet and writer Voltaire, he said: “The laws that Muhammad brought along conquered and educated the soul, for the beauty of that Shariah and the simplicity of its authentic rules attracted many nations to the religion of Muhammad and drove them to embrace Islam.”
On his part, the international Russian writer, Leo Tolstoy, said: “No prophet earned the respect of his enemies except Muhammad, which made many of them embrace Islam.”
The international French writer, Jean Jacques Rousseau, said: “I have never seen a man in the world like Muhammad.”
Moreover, we cannot but quote the great French poet and writer Lamartine as saying: “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? As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?”
He added: “The greatest event in my life is that I thoroughly studied the biography of the Messenger of Allah Muhammad and I could not but notice the greatness and immortality it entailed. Who attained such greatness of humanitarianism as Muhammad and who reached such high levels of perfection as Muhammad? The Messenger destroyed the false beliefs that resort to intermediaries between the creator and the creature.”
Last but not least, the Indian spiritual leader, Mahatma Ghandi, said: “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.”