You Must Know This Man
Written by S. H. Pasha, Reprinted
from a publication by:
Unity Publishing Company P-O.
Box 521 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406
You may be an atheist or an agnostic; or you may
belong to
anyone of the religious denominations that exist
in the world
today. You may be a Communist or a believer in democracy
and
freedom- No matter what you are, and no matter what
your
religious and political beliefs, personal and social
habits
happen to be - YOU MUST STILL KNOW THIS MAN!
He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set
foot on this
earth. He preached a religion, founded a state, built
a nation,
laid down a moral code, initiated numberless social
and
political reforms, established a dynamic and powerful
society to
practice and represent his teachings, and completely
revolutionized the worlds of human thought and action
for alltimes to come.
HIS NAME WAS MUHAMMAD, peace and blessings of Almighty
God be
upon him-and he accomplished all these wonders in
the
unbelievably short span of twenty-three years.
Muhammad was born in Arabia on 20th August, in the
year 570 of
the Christian era, and when he died after 63 years,
the whole of
the Arabian Peninsula had changed from paganism and
idol-worship
to the 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 moral bankruptcy
to the
highest standards of moral excellence. Human history
has never
known such a complete transformation of a people
or a placebefore or since!
The Encyclopedia Britannica calls him 'the most successful
of
all religious personalities of the world".
Bernard Shaw said
about him that if Muhammad were alive today he would
succeed in
solving all those problems which threaten to destroy
human
civilization in our times. Thomas Carlysle 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. Napoleon and Gandhi never
tired of
dreaming of a society along the lines established
by this man in
Arabia thirteen centuries ago.
Indeed no other human being ever accomplished so
much, in such
diverse fields of human thought and behavior, in
so limited a
space of time, as did Muhammad, peace and blessings
of God
Almighty be upon him. He was a religious teacher,
a social
reformer, a moral guide, a political thinker, a military
genius,
an administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a
wonderful
companion, a devoted husband, a loving father -all
in one. No
other man in history ever excelled or equaled him
in any of
these difficult departments of life.
The world has had its share of great personalities.
But these
were one-sided figures who distinguished themselves
in but one
or two fields such as religious thought or military
leadership.
None of the other great leaders of the world ever
combined in
himself so many different qualities to such an amazing
level of
perfection as did Muhammad, peace and blessings of
God Almightybe upon him.
The lives and teachings of other great personalities
of the
world are shrouded in the mist of time. There is
so much
speculation about the time and the place of their
birth, the
mode and style of their life, the nature and detail
of their
teachings and the degree and measure of their success
or failure
that it is impossible for humanity today to reconstruct
accurately and precisely the lives and teachings
of those men.
Not so this man Muhammad, peace and blessings of
God Almighty be
upon him. Not only was he born in the fullest blaze
of recorded
history, but every detail of his private and public
life, of his
actions and utterances, has been accurately documented
and
faithfully preserved to our day. The authenticity
of the
information so preserved is vouched for not only
by faithful
followers but also by unbiased critics and open-minded
scholars.
At the level of ideas there is no system of thought
and belief-
secular or religious, social or political - which
could surpass
or equal ISLAM - the system which Muhammad propounded.
In a
fast changing world, while other systems have undergone
profound
transformations, Islam alone has remained above all
change and
mutation, and retained its original form for the
past 1400
years. What is more, the positive changes that are
taking place
in the world of human thought and behavior, truly
and
consistently reflect the healthy influence of Islam
in theseareas.
Further, it is not given to the best of thinkers
to put their
ideas completely into practice, and to see the seeds
of their
labors grow and bear fruit, in their own lifetime.
Except of
course, Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty
be upon
him, who not only preached the most wonderful ideas
but also
successfully translated each one of them into practice
in his
own lifetime. At the time of his death his teachings
were not
mere precepts and ideas straining for fulfillment,
but had
become the very core of the life of tens of thousands
of
perfectly trained individuals, each one of whom was
a marvelous
personification of everything that Muhammad taught
and stood
for. At what other time or place and in relation
to what other
political, social, religious system, philosophy or
ideology-did
the world ever witness such a perfectly amazing phenomenon?
Indeed no other system or ideology secular or religious,
social
or political, ancient or modern - could ever claim
the
distinction of having been put into practice in its
fullness and
entirety EVEN ONCE in this world, either before or
after the
death of its founder. Except of course ISLAM, the
ideology
preached by Muhammad which- was established as a
complete way of
life by the teacher himself, before he departed from
this world.
History bears testimony to this fact and the greatest
skeptics
have no option but to concede this point.
In spite of these amazing achievements and in spite
of the
countless absolutely convincing and authentic miracles
performed
by him and the phenomenal success which crowned his
efforts, he
did not for a moment claim to be God or God's incarnation
or
Son-but only a human being who was chosen and ordained
by God to
be a teacher of truth to mankind and a complete model
and
pattern for their actions.
He was nothing more or less than a human being. But
he was a man
with a noble and exalted mission-and his unique mission
was to
unite humanity on the worship of ONE AND ONLY GOD
and to teach
them the way to honest and upright living in accordance
with the
laws and commands of God. He always described himself
as A
MESSENGER AND SERVANT OF GOD, and so indeed every
single action
and movement of his proclaimed him to be.
A world which has not hesitated to raise to Divinity
individuals
whose very lives and missions have been lost in legend
and who
historically speaking did not accomplish half as
much-or even
one tenth -as was accomplished by Muhammad, peace
and blessings
of God Almighty be upon him, should stop to take
serious note of
this remarkable man's claim to be God's messenger
to mankind.
Today after the lapse of some 1400 years the life
and teachings
of Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty
be upon
him, have survived without the slightest loss, alteration
or
interpolation. Today they offer the same undying
hope for
treating mankind's many ills which they did when
Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be
upon him, was
alive. This is our honest claim and this is the inescapable
conclusion forced upon us by a critical and unbiased
study ofhistory.
The least YOU should do as a thinking, sensitive,
concerned
human being is to stop for one brief moment and ask
yourself:
Could it be that these statements, extraordinary
and
revolutionary as they sound, are really true? Supposing
they
really are true, and you did not know this man Muhammad
or hear
about his teachings? Or did not know him well and
intimately
enough to be able to benefit from his guidance and
example?
Isn't it time you responded to this tremendous challenge
and
made some effort to know him? It will not cost you
anything but
it may well prove to be the beginning of a completely
new era inyour live.
Come, let us make a new discovery of the life of
this wonderful
man Muhammad, the like of whom never walked on this
earth, and
whose example and teachings can change YOUR LIFE
and OUR WORLD
for the better. May God shower His choicest blessings
upon him!
Written by S. H. Pasha, Reprinted
from a publication by:
Unity Publishing Company P-O.
Box 521 Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52406
|
