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Who is Muhammad (sallallahu alayhe wa sallam)?
"We have sent you (O Muhammad) only as
a mercy for all the worlds." (21:107)
Muhammad [Sallallahu Alyhi Wa
Sallam (SAWS) / peace be upon him] is the last of Allah's
Messengers and Prophets. His name is Muhammad, son of Abdullah.
He was born in Makkah in 570 A.D. The Prophet Muhammad (SAWS)
was, in his youth, a combination of the best social qualities.
He was an exemplary man of weighty mind and faultless insight.
He was favored with intelligence, originality of thought and
accurate choice of the means to accurate goals.
His long silence
helped favorably in his habit of meditation and deep
investigation into the truth. His vivid mind and pure nature
were instrumental in assimilating and comprehending ways of life
as well as individuals, groups and communities. He shunned
superstitious practices but took an active part in useful and
constructive activities. In the case of the useless and
destructive dealings, he would have recourse to his self-adopted
solitude. He refrained from drinking wine, eating meat
slaughtered on stone altars or attending idolatrous festivals.
He proved himself to be the ideal of manhood, in possession of a
spotless character. He was the most obliging to his compatriots,
the most honest in his talk and the mildest in temper. He was
the most gentle-hearted, chaste, and hospitable, and always
impressed people by his piety-inspiring countenance. He was the
most truthful and the best in keeping agreements. Due to the
fine reputation he enjoyed among his people, they nicknamed him
'The Trustworthy.'
This impression on people can be deduced by the bliss that
overwhelmed their hearts and filled them with dignity. Men's
respect, awe and appreciation of Allah's Messenger (SAWS) were
unique and matchless. No other man in the whole world has been
so honored and beloved. Those who knew him well were fascinated
and enchanted by him. They were ready to sacrifice their lives
for the sake of saving a nail of his from hurt or injury. He had
been favored with many aspects of perfection no one else had
been granted, so his Companions found him peerless and loved
him.
When he was commissioned as a Prophet at the age of forty, Allah
revealed the first Qur'anic Verses to him through the Angel
Gabriel. He asked the Prophet (SAWS) to preach the Oneness of
Allah and warn people against polytheism.
The Makkan polytheists opposed him and persecuted his followers
severely, but that did not shake his faith nor cause his
steadfastness to waiver. Nor did it stop more people from
responding to his preaching. Finally, when the majority of the
people of Al-Madinah embraced Islam, the Makkan Muslims took
flight to Al-Madinah. Later on, Allah's Messenger (SAWS) himself
migrated to Al-Madinah to establish the Islamic state there. A
few years later, the polytheists of Makkah and their allies
succumbed to the growing power of the Muslims, and Makkah was
conquered without violence. Some thirty years after the death of
the Prophet Muhammad (SAWS), Islam spread throughout the world,
displacing the greatest two empires at the time, the Persian and
the Roman.
Many Western scholars and famous personalities have admitted
that no faults or flaws are to be found in the character and
behavior of the Prophet (SAWS). Some of their observations are
remarkable. George Bernard Shaw wrote:
"I believe that if a man like him were to assume the
dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving
the problems in a way that would bring the much needed peace and
happiness. Europe is beginning to be enamoured of the creed of
Muhammad. In the next century it may go further in recognizing
the utility of that creed in solving its problems."
Lamartine praised the Prophet (SAWS) writing:
"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding
results are the three criteria of human genius, who could claim
to compare any great man in modem history with Muhammad?"
The Hindu leader Mahatma Gandhi wrote about the Prophet (SAWS):
"I become more than ever convinced that it was not the sword
that won a place for Islam in those days. 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 and 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."
From: A Brief Look Upon Islam
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