The Beloved Prophet
'And the Book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying: 'Read this I pray thee'. And he saith: 'I am not learned.' ' (Isaiah 29: 12) .
Did you ever care to look
Beneath the olive skin
Do you ever care to find
The meaning of his words
Did you ever care to seek
The secret of the desert winds
What tidings do they have in store
for men who care to know - -
for years on end these men who dwelt
among the scorching sands
remained aloof and uncontrolled
beyond the writ of law- -
They had no law to govern them
except the natural law
Their bloodline was their burning pride
And passion was their only guide
The desert was their habitat
That made them swift and sure
They were the panthers of the sands
fearless and secure- -
yet they were a gifted race
mercurial to the core- - -
And then according to a plan
A child is born within this clan
who was to change their destiny- -
He was a man of modest ways
who never lied or socialized
Who always kept away from sin
and never broke his vows- -
Al Amin- - the trustworthy
was the name bestowed by all - - -
At forty years he then resigned
to prayer and solitude-
He would be gone for days on end
to pray inside a cave
little did he care to know
what lay in store for him- - -
One day as he was worshipping
secluded from the world
An angel in a cave appeared
and held him tightly close to him
'Read in the name of Lord' he said
inside the lonely cave
unlettered from his early days
Mohammad had no clue
'I dont know how to read'- -
was all the prophet could utter
The Angel once again
commanded him to read
this time around the prophet did
exactly what was asked
repeating what the angel said
complete in verbatim- - -
Terrified and Still in shock
Mohammad ran home to his wife
Who listened what he said to her
without a trace of doubt- -
She took him to her relative
a scholar of Torah-
He asked him to relate again
what happend in the cave
pressing him on for more detail
as how the angel had appeared
and what exactly were his words-
After a while he exclaimed!
Indeed if this is true -
Mohammad was the Chosen one
foretold in all the holy books- -
He would be banished from this land
as prophesied before- - -
And so began this heavy task
of calling people to the truth
Mohammad was to preach the word
That came through angel Gabriel
Idolatry is blasphemy
these Idols that you revere
, Are nothing but the wood you carve
out of a fallen tree-
You polish them with oil and wax,
Which only sticks the flies on them,
They bring no good to you
nor harm in any way- -
Worship the single God alone
The one who owns this world- - -
He first approached his trusted friends
who all believed in him- -
The others took offence
The moment he dispelled their Gods- -
They now became his greatest foes
and left no stone unturned
to put an end to his life
and those who followed him
Mohammad and his followers
grew as they went along
preaching the word of God
to friend and foe alike
For thirteen years they were to preach
without the use of arms
And then at last it was revealed
To fight in self defense- - - -
' Kill not those who are infirm
The women and the little ones
harm not those who are peaceful
and choose to stay away from war
Trample not the standing crops
stay away from monastries - -'
These were the rules of war he taught
which were to be strictly observed- -
Not lightning, thunder nor despair
Deter his strong resolve
He fought and won against all odds
And truth came shining through - -
Not glory did he seek
No treasures of the world
A king without a crown
Subdued before the lord
He put an end to practices
That were the cause of misery
He put an end to racism
and swept away the prejudice
of color and of caste- -
no man was high or low he taught
except by piety-
He gave women the right to own
their properties and share in wealth
he gave them rights hitherto
were unknown to the world- -
.
These men who roamed the earth
Unnoticed from the world
Were torch bearers of light and truth
Within a few decades- -
His coming was foretold
Through signs and miracles
He came to light a troubled world
Immersed in ignorance
Unlettered to the core he put
The wisdom of the world to shame
Who was this splendid man who spoke
So well of Jesus Christ
confirmed the Torah and the Psalms
as holy scriptures of the past
Jesus was a man he said
A Prophet like the rest in line
They all came with the simple truth
To worship God alone- -
In the name of Allah, most Gracious most Merciful
'Read! In the Name of the Lord and Charisher, Who Created. Created man from a (mere) clot of congealed blood: Read! and thy Lord is the Most Bountiful, He Who taught (the use of) the pen, taught man that which he new not'. (the Holy Quran 96: 1-5) .
These are the first five verses which were revealed to Muhammed, which now occupy the beginning of the 96th chapter of the Holy Quran.
Mohammad's experience in the Cave of Hira, and his response to that first Revelation is the exact fulfillment of the Biblical Prophecy. In the Book of Isaiah, chapter 29, verse 12, we read: 'And the Book is delivered to him that is not learned' (Isaiah 29: 12) . 'The Unlettered prophet' (the Holy Quran 7: 158) . And the Biblical verse continues: 'Saying, read this, I pray thee: ' 'And he saith, I am not learned.'. 'I am not learned.' is the exact translation of the Arabic words which Muhammed uttered twice to the Holy Spirit, the Archangel Gabriel, when he was commanded: 'Read! ') .
The similitude of Jesus before Allah is as that of Adam; He created him from dust, then said to him: 'Be'. And he was.
(Quran3: 59)
Muhammad (peace be upon him) in the words of Western Scholars
If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modem history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes This man moved not only armies, legislation, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then-inhabited world; and more than that he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls.... His forbearance in victory, his ambition which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire, his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold: the unity of God and the immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with the words. Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he? -
Lamartine Histoire de la Turquie, Pans 1854, Vol.11, pp.276-77.
It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our wonder; the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and Madina is preserved, after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Koran... The Mahometans have uniformly withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level with the senses and imagination of man. I believe in One God and Mahomet is the Apostle of God' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.
Edward Gibbon and Simon Ocklay
History of the Saracen Empire,
London 1870, p 54.
He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue. If ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports. -
Bosworth Smith Mohammad and Mohammadanism, London 1874, p 92.
It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher. -
Annie Besant The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, p 4
His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement all argue his fundamental integrity To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad. -
W Montgomery Watt Mohammad At Mecca,
Oxford,1953, p 52.
Muhammad, the inspired man who founded Islam, was born about AD.570 into an Arabian tube that worshiped idols. Orphaned at birth, he was always particularly solicitous of the poor and needy the widow and the orphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty he was already a successful businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans for a wealthy widow. When he reached twenty-five his employer, recognizing his meet, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years older, he married her, and as long as she lived remained a devoted husband. Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as the transmitter of God's word, sensing his own inadequacy But the angel commanded Read'. So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon revolutionize a large segment of the earth: 'There is one God.' In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumors of God's personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, ' An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being.' At Muhammads own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: 'If there are any among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you worshipped, He lives for ever'.
James A. Michene~ 'Islam: The Misunderstood Religion, ' Reader's Digest (Amencan ea.) May 1955, pp.68-70.
George Bernard Shaw:
'If a man like Muhammed were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems that would bring it the much needed peace and happiness.'
The weekly news magazine Time dated July 15,1974, carried a selection of opinions by various historians, writers, military men, businessmen an others on the subject: 'Who were History's Great Leaders? ' Some said that it was Hitler; others said Gandhi, Buddha, Lincoln and the like. But Jules Masserman, a United States psychoanalyst, put the standards straight by giving the correct criteria wherewith to judge. He said: 'Leaders must fulfill three functions: Provide for the well-being of the led, Provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure, and Provide them with one set of beliefs.' With the above three criteria he searches history and analyses Hitler, Pasteur, Gaesar, Moses, Confucius and the lot, and ultimately concludes: 'People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Ghandi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar, and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second, and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Muhammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same
J.H.Denison: In the fifth and sixth centuries the civilized world stood on the verge of a chaos. The old emotional cultures that had made civilization possible, since they had given to men a sense of unity and of reverence for their rulers, had broken down, and nothing had been found adequate to take their place. It seemed then the great civilization which it had taken four thousand years to construct was on the verge of disintegration, and that mankind was likely to return to that condition of barbarism where every tribe and sect was against the next, and law and order was unknown. The old tribal sanctions had lost their power. The new sanctions created by Christianity were working division and destruction instead of unity and order. It was a time fraught with tragedy. Civilization, like a gigantic tree whose foliage had overarched the world and whose branches had borne the golden fruits of art and science and literature, stood tottering? rotted to the core. Was there any emotional culture that could be brought in to gather mankind once more into unity and to save civilization- It was among these people that the man (Muhammad) was born who was to unite the whole known world of the east and south.
(J. H. Denison Emotion as the Basis of Civilization, London,1928, pp.265,269)
` John William Draper: Four years after the death of Justinian,569 C.E. was born at Mecca, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race.(John William Draper A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, vol.1, pp.329-330 -)
`Sir William Muir: Our authorities, says Muir, all agree in ascribing to the youth of Mohammad a modesty of deportment and purity of manners rare among the People of Mecca. Endowed with a refined mind and delicate taste, reserved and meditative, he lived much within himself, and the ponderings of his heart no doubt supplied occupation for leisure hours spent by others of a lower stamp in rude sports and profligacy. The fair character and honorable bearing of the unobtrusive youth won the approbation of his fellow-citizens; and he received the title, by common consent, of Al-Ameen, the Trustworthy.(Sir William Muir Life of Mohammad, London 1903)
`James A. Michener: He became head of the state and the testimony even of his enemies is that he administered wisely. The wisdom he displayed in judging intricate cases became the basis for the religious law that governs Islam today.. Forced now to fight in defence of the freedom of conscience which he preached, he became an accomplished military leader. Although he repeatedly went into battle outnumbered and out-speared as much as five to one, he won some spectacular victories. (James A. Michener op. cit)
`Stanley Lane-Poole: The day of Mohammad's greatest triumph over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over himself. He freely forgave the Koraysh all the years of sorrow and cruel scorn in which they had afflicted him and gave an amnesty to the whole population of Mekka. Four criminals whom justice condemned made up Mohammad's proscription list when he entered as a conqueror to the city of his bitterest enemies. The army followed his example, and entered quietly and peacefully: no house was robbed, no women insulted. One thing alone suffered destruction. Going to the Kaaba, Mohammad stood before each of the three hundred and sixty idols, and pointed to it with his staff, saying, 'Truth is come and falsehood is fled away! ', and at these words his attendants hewed them down, and all the idols and household gods of Mekka and round about were destroyed.It was thus Mohammad entered again his native city. Through all the annals of conquest there is no triumphant entry comparable to this one. (Stanley Lane-Poole The Speeches and Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad, London 1882, Introduction, pp.46,47)
`Arthur Gliman: In comparison, for example, with the cruelty of the Crusaders, who, in 1099, put seventy thousand Muslims, men, women and helpless children to death when Jerusalem fell into their hands: or with that of the English army, also fighting under the Cross, which in the year of grace 1874 burned an African capital, in its war on the Gold Coast. Muhammad's victory was in very truth one of religion and not of politics; he rejected every token of personal homage, and declined all regal authority: and when the haughty chiefs of the Koreishites appeared before him he asked:
'What can you expect at my hands?
'Mercy O generous brother!
'Be it so; you are free! He exclaimed (Arthur Gliman The Saracens, London 1887 pp.184,185)
`H.G. Wells: A year before his death, at the end of the tenth year of the Hegira, Muhammad made his last pilgrimage from Medina to Mecca. He made then a great sermon to his people? The reader will note that the first paragraph sweeps away all plunder and blood feuds among the followers of Islam. The last makes the, believing Negro the equal of the Caliph, they established in the world a great tradition of dignified fair dealing, they breathe a spirit of generosity, and they are human and workable. They created a society more free from widespread cruelty and social oppression than any society had ever been in the world before.(H.G. Wells The Outline of History, London 1920, p.325)
`Edward Gibbon: His (i.e., Muhammad's) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action; and? the first idea which he entertained of his divine mission bears the stamp of an original and superior genius.
(Edward Gibbon The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London 1838, vol.5, p.335)
`Thomas Carlyle: These Arabs, the man Mahomet and that one century, is it not as if a spark had fallen, one spark, on a world of what seemed black unnoticeable sand: but lo! The sand proves explosive powder, blazes heaven-high from Delhi to Grenada: I said the Great Man was always as lightning out of heaven: the, rest of the men waited for him like fuel, and then they too would aflame. (Thomas Carlyle op. cit., p.311)
` Prof. Nathaniel Schmidt: The essential sincerity of Muhammad's nature cannot be questioned: and an historical criticism that blinks no fact, yields nothing to credulity, weighs every testimony, has no partisan interest, and seeks only the truth, must acknowledge his claim to belong to that order of prophets who, whatever the nature of their physical experience may have been, in diverse times, in diverse manners, have admonished, taught and uttered austere and sublime thoughts, laid down principles of conduct nobler than those they found, and devoted themselves fearlessly to their high calling, being irresistibly impelled to their ministry by a power within. (Prof. Nathaniel Schmidt The New International Encyclopedia,1916, vol.16, p.72)
`G. Lindsay Johnson: The ignorance displayed by most Christians regarding the Muslim religion is appalling? Mohammad alone, among the nations at that time, believed in one God to the exclusion of all others. He insisted on righteousness as the source of conduct, of filial duty, and on frequent prayers to, the Ever-living God, and of respect to all other peoples, and of justice and mercy to and moderation in all things, and to hold in great respect learning of every kind. Most of the absurdities which Christians would have us believe to exist in the Quran were never uttered by Mohammad himself, nor are they to be found in a correct translation of the work(G. Lindsay Johnson, F.R.C.S The Two Worlds, Manchester,9th August 1940)
`James A. Michener: In all things Muhammad was profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumors of God's personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, 'An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being'(James A. Michener op. cit.)
`Jean L'heureux: Islam had the power of peacefully conquering souls by the simplicity of its theology, the clearness of its dogma and principles, and the definite number of the practices which it demands. In contrast to Christianity which has been undergoing continual transformation since its origin, Islam has remained identical with itself.
(Jean L'heureux Etude sur L'Islamisme, p.35)
`H.A.R. Gibb: That his (Muhammad's) reforms enhanced the status of women in general is universally admitted.(H.A.R. Gibb Mohammedanism, London 1953, p.33)
`Annie Besant: You can find others stating that the religion (Islam) is evil, because it sanctions a limited polygamy. But you do not hear as a rule the criticism which I spoke out one day in a London hall where I knew that the audience was entirely uninstructed. I pointed out to them that monogamy with a blended mass of prostitution was a hypocrisy and more degrading than a limited polygamy.
Naturally a statement like that gives offence, but it has to be made, because it must be remembered that the law of Islam in relation to women was until lately, when parts of it have been imitated in England, the most just law, as far as women are concerned, to be found in the world. Dealing with property, dealing with rights of succession and so on, dealing with cases of divorce, it was far beyond the law of the West, in the respect that was paid to the rights of women. Those things are forgotten while people are hypnotized by the words monogamy and polygamy and do not look at what lies behind it in the West-the frightful degradation of women who are thrown into the streets when their first protectors, weary of them, no longer give them any assistance.
'I often think that woman is more free in Islam than in Christianity. Woman is more protected by Islam than by the faith which preaches Monogamy. In Al-Quran the law about woman is more just and liberal. It is only in the last twenty years that Christian England, has recognized the right of woman to property, while Islam has allowed this right from all times? It is a slander to say that Islam preaches that women have no souls. (Annie Besant The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, pp.25,26)
`Marquis of Dufferin and Ava: It is to Mussulman science, to Mussulman art, and to Mussulman literature that Europe has been in a great measure indebted for its extrication from the darkness of the Middle Ages.(Marquis of Dufferin and Ava
Speeches Delivered in India, London 1890, p.24)
` Bertrand Russell: Our use of the phrase 'the Dark Ages' to cover the period from 699 to 1,000 marks our undue concentration on Western Europe. From India to Spain, the brilliant civilization of Islam flourished. What was lost to Christendom at this time was not lost to civilization, but quite the contrary? To us it seems that West-European civilization is civilization; but this is a narrow view. (Bertrand Russell History of Western Philosophy, London 1948, p.419.)
`E. Alexander Powell: In their wars of conquest, however, the Muslims exhibited a degree of toleration which puts many Christian nations to shame(E. Alexander Powell The Struggle for Power in Moslem Asia, New York 1923, p.48)
`A. M. Lothrop Stoddard: The closer we examine this development the more extra-ordinary does it appear. The other great religions won their way slowly, by painful struggle, and finally triumphed with the aid of powerful monarchs converted to the new faith. Christianity had its Constantine, Buddhism its Asoka, and Zoroastrianism its Cyrus, each lending to his chosen cult the mighty force of secular authority. Not so Islam. Arising in a desert land sparsely inhabited by a nomad race previously undistinguished in human annals, Islam sallied forth on its great adventure with the slenderest human backing and against the heaviest material odds. Yet Islam triumphed with seemingly miraculous ease, and a couple of generations saw the Fiery Crescent borne victorious from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas and from the deserts of Central Asia to of Central Africa. Preaching a simple, austere monotheism, free from priest-craft or elaborate doctrinal trappings, he tapped the well-springs of religious zeal always present in the Semitic heart.
Forgetting the chronic rivalries and blood feuds which had consumed their energies in internecine strife, and welded into a glowing unity by the fire of their new-found faith, the Arabs poured forth from their deserts to conquer the earth for Allah, the one true God. 'They (Arabs) were no blood thirsty savages, bent solely on loot and destruction. On the contrary, they were an innately gifted race, eager to learn and appreciative of the cultural gifts, which older civilizations had to bestow. Intermarrying freely and professing a common belief, conquerors and conquered rapidly fused, and from this fusion arose a new civilization? the Saracenic civilization, in which the ancient cultures of Greece, Rome and Persia were revitalized by the Arab genius and the Islamic spirit. For the first three centuries of its existence (circ. C.E.650-1000) the realm of Islam was the most civilized and progressive portion of the world.
Studded with splendid cities, gracious mosques, and quiet universities where the wisdom of the ancient world was preserved and appreciated, the Moslem world offered a striking contrast to the Christian West, then sunk in the night of the Dark Ages.
(A. M. Lothrop Stoddard The New World of Islam, London 1932, pp.1-3)
Excerpt from Hart's book:
Michael H. Hart
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, New York: Hart Publishing Company Inc.1978, p 33
My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels...
Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader. Today, thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive... Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers. It is for this reason that the founders of the world's great religions all figure prominently in this book. Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Moslems in the world, it may initially seem strange that Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus. There are two principal reasons for that decision. First, Muhammad played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (insofar as these differed from Judaism) , St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology, its principal proselytizer, and the author of a large portion of the New Testament.
Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theology of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles. In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new faith, and in establishing the religious practices of Islam. Moreover, he is the author of the Moslem holy scriptures, the Koran, a collection of certain of Muhammad's insights that he believed had been directly revealed to him by Allah. Most of these utterances were copied more or less faithfully during Muhammad's lifetime and were collected together in authoritative form not long after his death. The Koran therefore, closely represents Muhammad's ideas and teachings and to a considerable extent his exact words. No such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has survived. Since the Koran is at least as important to Moslems as the Bible is to Christians, the influence of Muhammed through the medium of the Koran has been enormous It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. On the purely religious level, then, it seems likely that Muhammad has been as influential in human history as Jesus.
Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time... the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role in human history, down to the present day. It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history
I believe in one God, and Muhammad, the Apostle of God, ' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol: the honors of the prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue: and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion'.
[Edward Gibbon and Simon Ockley, History of the Saracen Empire, London 1870, p.54].
' Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him'.
[Diwan Chand Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, p.122].
' Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D.569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race, Muhammad '
[John William Draper, M.D., LL.D., A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329-330].
' I doubt whether any man whose external conditions changed so much ever changed himself less to meet them'.
[R.V.C. Bodley, The Messenger, London,1946, p.9].
' In little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal ruler of Medina, with his hands on the lever that was to shake the world'.
[John Austin, 'Muhammad the Prophet of Allah, ' in T.P.'s and Cassel's Weekly for 24th September 1927].
' It is more read than any other book in the world. The Christian Bible may be a world best-seller, but nearly 250 million[11] followers of the Prophet Muhammad read or recite long sections of Alcoran five times a day, every day of their lives, from the time they can talk'.
[Charles Francis Potter. The Faiths Men Live By, Kingswood, Surrey 1955, p.81].
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' The Koran is the Mohammedan Bible, and is more reverenced than any other sacred book, more than the Jewish Old Testament or the Christian New Testament'.
[J. Shillidy, D.D., The Lord Jesus in the Koran, Surat,1913. p.111].
' Well then, if the Koran were his own composition other men could rival it. Let them produce ten verses like it. If they could not (and it is obvious that they could not) , then let them accept the Koran as an outstanding evidential miracle'.
[H.A.R. Gibb, Mohammadenism, Calcutta 1931, p.4].
' So there has been no opportunity for any forgery or pious fraud in the Koran, which distinguishes it from almost all other important religious works of ancient times.It is exceedingly strange that this illiterate person should have composed the best book in the language'.
[Basanta Coomar Bose, Mohammedanism, Calcutta 1931, p.4].
' The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with sword in one hand and the Koran in the other is quite false'.
[A.S. Tritton, Islam, London 1951, p.21].
' History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of the sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated'.
[De Lacy O'Leary, Islam at the Crossroads, London 1923, p.8].
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Care to find and realize the glory. Wonderful drafting shared. Nice job done.
Thanks Kumarmani Mahakul for taking the time to read my poem and gracing it with ur warm comments
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Wonderful research work resulting in such a great poem......................10
thanks Akhtar for ur encouragement yes i worked hard on it