Secular scholars have affirmed the historical authenticity of Prophet Muhammad and accepted his contribution in history. The Scottish historian Thomas Carlyle referred to Prophet Muhammad as “the hero of the Prophets.” (Thomas Carlyle, Muhammad: The Hero as Prophet) In an American publication entitled The Hundred, the author, Dr Michael Hart, mentions the one hundred people he believes to have exerted the most significant influence on human history. At the top of his roll of honour, he has placed neither Christ’s name nor Newton’s but the name of Prophet Muhammad. Saying, that no one else has had such an impact on the history of man, he wrote: “He (Prophet Muhammad) was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.” (Dr Michael Hart, The Hundred, New York, 1978) In his book, The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (pp. 79-80), the historian Edward Gibbon affirms the historical authenticity of Prophet Muhammad.

Source: The Life of Muhammad