In an American publication entitled The Hundred, the author Dr Michael Hart mentions the one hundred people he believes to have exerted the greatest influence on human history, placing Prophet Muhammad at the top of his honour roll. He believed that Prophet Muhammad had a major impact on history:
"He 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)
The life of the Prophet of Islam is so well-documented and laid down in history that anyone who studies his life is forced to agree with Professor Philip Hitti: "Muhammad was born in the full light of history." (Philip K Hitti, History of the Arabs, London, 1078)
Earlier religious beliefs had been founded on superstition, but the Prophet of Islam established religion on the foundation of reality. Displacing nature from the position of worship, he taught people to conquer nature instead of worshipping it, thus paving the way for the scientific age. During the fourteen hundred years since the times of the prophet Muhammad, innumerable historical changes and massive advances in human knowledge have taken place, leading to the age of science, the industrial revolution, and the modern age. These achievements of the prophet Muhammad changed the tide of human history.
Prophet Muhammad was a Prophet for all humanity. In making Prophet Muhammad the most significant figure, the historical prophet, and consequently one of the most resplendent landmarks in human history, God has bestowed his greatest favour on humanity in their search for Truth. Whoever seeks guidance cannot fail to see him, for he stands out like a tower, radiating light like a beacon, beckoning all to the true path. The seekers of Truth will inevitably be drawn up to the magnificent pinnacle on which he stands.
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A prediction of the Prophet about dawah work in later times has been recorded in these words: “To every home, big or small, God will bring this message.” (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith No. 23814) The printing press and modern communication and technology have made it possible to turn this prediction into reality. The Companions of the Prophet used to recite passages from the Quran to people. These Companions were called ‘Muqris’—reciters. Now in the age of the printing press and technology, we have to distribute printed and soft copies of the Quran and Islamic literature so that they reach each and every home. If the Companions became Muqris of the Quran, now the need is for every Muslim to become the distributors of the Divine Book.
The Arabian Prophet, may God’s peace and blessings descend upon him, was the last of God’s messengers. No other prophet will now come to the world.
All of God’s prophets have taught one and the same religion. They spoke different languages, but the religion they expounded was one. Since the followers of previous prophets were unable to preserve the prophetic teachings in their original form, messengers of God used to appear frequently in order to revitalize the true religion and refresh people’s memories of it. The Prophet Muhammad for his part initiated a revolutionary process, which ensured the preservation of religion in its original form and obviated the necessity for other prophets to follow him by preserving the Book of God intact, in its original form.
God’s final Prophet imparted to the true religion stability, which it had never had before. His own life was exemplary, as has been reliably recorded. It is noteworthy, too, that the community that developed after the Prophet continued to demonstrate Islamic practices, like prayer in a practicable and imitable form. People of every subsequent age have found this religion exactly as it was when God’s messenger preached it.
The preservation and continuity of religion are now ensured without prophets coming to the world. God’s Book and the Prophet’s Sunnah are now serving the same purpose, which it had taken a succession of prophets to accomplish. It is the duty of their followers to carry on their mission.
Source: The Seeker’s Guide
The prophetic mission has been continued after him and continues till today through dawah work being performed by Muslims. It is the task of conveying the message of God to all mankind generation after generation, making people aware of the divine will so that no one may blame God on the Day of Judgement for not having been informed of the Creation Plan.
The purpose of dawah is to acquaint man with the creation plan of God. He should be told what his relationship with God is, and how God is going to deal with him in the future. It is like introducing man to God. The purpose of this work is to put a lost person on the path to God, so that he may truly realize God.
This is the act that makes believers deserving of divine blessings. If we fail to perform this desired task, no other struggle can make us deserving of divine blessings.
Source: Calling People to God
