There is a book, published in America, entitled “The 100.” In it are mentioned one hundred people whom the author believes to have exerted the greatest influence on human history. The author, Dr. Hart, was born into a Christian family, and received a scientific education. But at the top of his roll of honour he has placed neither Christ’s name, nor Newton’s. There is one person, he believes, whose achievements excel all others: that person is the Prophet Mohammad. No one else has had such an impact on the history of man. “He was the only man in history,” he writes, “who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.” (Dr Michael Hart, The 100, New York, 1978)
The English historian, Thomas Carlyle, has called the Prophet of Islam “the hero of the Prophets.” To the American Michael Hart, he is the outstanding figure of human history. The greatness of the Prophet Mohammad is clear for all to see. This is not just a creed, accepted blindly by his followers; it is an established historical fact. Anyone acquainted with history cannot help but accept it.
If one looks up, one will see the sky encompassing one on all sides. The figure of the Prophet Mohammad encompasses human history in the same way. From whatever angle one looks at history, ever-broadening reverberations of his impact will be manifest. All that is best in human values, all the important advances of human civilization, are direct or indirect results of the revolution he brought about.
Religious institutions had become debased by the veneration of mere mortals; whereas Prophet Mohammad admitted of no other form of religion but that based on the worship of the immortal God. Religious beliefs had very frequently been founded on superstition; but he established them on the foundation of reality. It was he who taught men to conquer nature instead of worshipping it, thus paving the way for the scientific era. Political power had been in the hands of one hereditary monarch; he showed the way to government by the people. Learning had been based on conjecture and assumption; he taught man to learn from observation of reality. Human society had been vitiated by cruelty and oppression; he showed people how to live together in justice and peace. These are all achievements of the prophet of Islam. They cannot in truth be attributed to anyone else beside him. It was he who changed the tide of human history while others have just swum with the tide that he set in motion.
In making the Prophet Mohammad the greatest figure of history, God has bestowed His greatest favour upon mankind. He has made the figure of Mohammad stand out like a tower in human history. One cannot fail to see him, like a mountain on the horizon. He radiates light like a beacon, beckoning all to the true path. Whoever seeks the truth will be drawn towards him. The name of the Prophet Mohammad is one of the most resplendent landmarks in human history, for as a source of guidance he is the greatest. Whoever seeks his guidance will be ineluctably drawn up to the magnificent pinnacle on which he stands.
Mohammad was a prophet like the other prophets who came before him, and his mission was essentially the same as that of the other prophets (Quran, 42:13). But besides being a prophet of God, he had a special role because it had been ordained by God that he should be the last of the prophets.
Mohammad is the father of no man among you. He is the Prophet of God and the last of the prophets. God has knowledge of all things. (Quran, 33:40)
This world is a place of trial. Here man has been given free will to act as he chooses. The Prophets, then, cannot force people to change their ways. All they are expected to do is communicate the message with which God has entrusted them:
Yet what should apostles do but give plain warning? (Quran, 16:35)
But the last of the Prophets had an additional task. It was imperative that his Scripture should be preserved. This could only be ensured by his bringing about a revolution on earth, a revolution that would establish his followers over a substantial portion of the globe.
Without preservation of the Book of God there could be no end to the line of the prophets. Other prophets had been entrusted only with the mission of preaching the word of God, whereas the Prophet Mohammad, besides preaching it, had to ensure its preservation. For this purpose he had to bring about a revolution on earth.
Man has complete control over what he does, but not over the outcome of his actions. This is the grave situation that man is faced with on earth. Man then is in need of special guidance, and God has made provision for him to have it. He has done the maximum to ensure that man should not go astray in his journey through life, or come before God pleading that he had not been shown the way.
Firstly, God has created man in the most noble image. He has given man a conscience, enabling him to differentiate between right and wrong. Then He has placed man in a world based on justice. His silent message of truth emanates from every object of creation. And He has gone one stage further: He has sent prophets throughout the ages to put the truth to the peoples of many different lands; and this in their own languages so that they might not fail to comprehend.
The lives of the Prophets were perfect examples for mankind. But from Noah to Jesus, the treatment meted out to the Prophets made it difficult for their example to be preserved in its pure form; the true facts of their lives were distorted. The prophet of history was a far cry from the prophet of real life.
When Abraham and Ishmael were building the House in Makkah, they prayed for a prophet among their descendants. 2500 years later the Prophet Mohammad arose from the people of Makkah bringing with him special divine succor. The prayer of Abraham was fulfilled, and with it the purpose of the prophets’ coming to the world was achieved.
Not only in his personal life did the Prophet Mohammad leave a perfect example for mankind; he was made to experience all kinds of social conditions as well. He thus provides a complete model for man, both on an individual level and as a member of society at large. In every matter his actions were in accordance with the Will of God. He showed man the life that God would like him to live on earth.
Not only did he establish the perfect pattern of how to worship God, he also showed how God helps those who truly devote their lives to His service. We can see from his life how, if one fears God, one need fear nothing else; if one remains patient in times of provocation He will lead one to success; if one sacrifices this world for the next, one will be given the best in both the worlds; if one rises above negative impulses, one can even win over enemies.
History did not accurately record the lives of the prophets before Mohammad. From a strictly academic and historical point of view, then, their prophethood has not been established. The Prophet Jesus was the last of the ancient line of prophets. Yet so tenuous is his historical position that Bertrand Russell has had occasion to remark: “historically it is quite doubtful whether Christ ever existed at all.” This is not the case with the Prophet Mohammad, the last of the prophets. His life is so well-documented and clearly laid down in history that anyone who studies his life is forced to agree with Professor Hitti, “Mohammad was born in the full light of history.”
One other thing contributes to the permanence of the prophethood of Mohammad: the Quran, a permanent and lasting miracle, which was revealed to him. If this miracle had been like those bestowed upon the other prophets, its effect would not have lasted beyond his own lifetime, and his prophethood would not have endured throughout the coming generations as it did. A miracle is a wondrous event which man is unable to emulate. So it is with the Quran. It is beyond man to emulate it. There is no doubt that it is a miracle from God.
The dominance granted to the Prophet on earth is such as can be availed of at any time by his followers in just the same way that a farmer, after cultivating his land, using divinely inspired methods, can reap a fine crop. God has provided all of the conditions necessary and conducive to the dominance of the divine religion. By understanding and utilizing them, adherents of this religion can bring Islamic thought into pre-eminence.
Between the time of the Prophet Abraham and the coming of the Prophet Mohammad two thousand five hundred years elapsed. Throughout this period the stage was being set for the coming of the Prophet. The Prophet, acting at God’s behest, played the role for which he was cast. That was why his mission was supremely successful.
During the fourteen hundred years that have passed since the times of the Prophet Mohammad, the historical changes that have occurred, the massive advances in human knowledge that have taken place, have all combined in support of Islam. The religion that the Prophet taught can still take the pride of place over other religions. But for this to be achieved the divinely-inspired method has to be adopted. This rule which applied to the Prophet equally applies to his followers. □
Building for the hereafter rather than the world
A Muslim of Madinah was building home for himself. He was plastering the walls when the Prophet passed by and asked what he was doing. “Plastering the wall with mud,” he replied. The Hour (Day of Judgment) is closer to you than this,” the Prophet said to him.
