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Introduction:
 During the centuries of the
crusades, all sorts of slanders were invented against Prophet
Muhammad (pbuh). But with the birth of the modern age, marked with
religious tolerance and freedom of thought, there has been a great
change in the approach of Western authors in their delineation of
his life and character. The views of some non-Muslim scholars
regarding Prophet Muhammad, given at the end, justify this opinion.
But the West has still to go a step
forward to discover the greatest reality about Muhammad and that is
his being the true and the last Prophet of God for the whole
humanity. In spite of all its objectivity and enlightenment there
has been no sincere and objective attempt by the West to understand
the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh). It is so strange that very
glowing tributes are paid to him for his integrity and achievement
but his claim of being the Prophet of God has been rejected
explicitly or implicitly. It is here that a searching of the heart
is required, and a review of the so-called objectivity is needed.
The following glaring facts from the life of Muhammad (pbuh) have
been furnished to facilitate an unbiased, logical and objective
decision regarding his Prophethood.
Up to the age of forty, Muhammad
was not known as a statesman, a preacher or an orator. He was never
seen discussing the principles of metaphysics, ethics, law,
politics, economics or sociology. No doubt he possessed an excellent
character, charming manners and was highly cultured. Yet there was
nothing so deeply striking and so radically extraordinary in him
that would make men expect something great and revolutionary from
him in the future. But when he came out of the Cave (HIRA) with a
new message, he was completely transformed. Is it possible for such
a person of the above qualities to turn all of a sudden into 'an
impostor' and claim to be the Prophet of Allah and invite all the
rage of his people? One might ask: for what reason did he suffer all
those hardships? His people offered to accept him as their King and
he would leave the preaching of his religion. But he chose to refuse
their tempting offers and go on preaching his religion
single-handedly in face of all kinds of insults, social boycott and
even physical assault by his own people. Was it not only God's
support and his firm will to disseminate the message of Allah and
his deep-rooted belief that ultimately Islam would emerge as the
only way of life for humanity, that he stood like a mountain in the
face of all opposition and conspiracies to eliminate him?
Furthermore, had he come with a design of rivalry with the
Christians and the Jews, why should he have made belief in Jesus
Christ and Moses and other Prophets of God (peace be upon them), a
basic requirement of faith without which no one could be a Muslim?
Is it not an incontrovertible proof
of his Prophethood that in spite of being unlettered and having led
a very normal and quiet life for forty years, when he began
preaching his message, all of Arabia stood in awe and wonder and was
bewitched by his wonderful eloquence and oratory? It was so
matchless that the whole legion of Arab poets, preachers and orators
of the highest calibre failed to bring forth its equivalent. And
above all, how could he then pronounce truths of a scientific nature
contained in the Qur'an that no other human being could possible
have developed at that time?
Last but not least, why did he lead
a hard life even after gaining power and authority? Just ponder over
the words he uttered while dying: "We the community of the
Prophets are not inherited. Whatever we leave is for charity."
As a matter of fact, Muhammad (pbuh)
is the last link of the chain of Prophets sent in different lands
and times since the very beginning of the human life on this planet. |
