Muhammed the Greatest Prophet Chapter 2
Muhammed The Greatest Chapter 2
Muhammad the Greatest
by Ahmad Deedat
Chapter 2
FROM THE HISTORICAL PAST
It is not difficult to reproduce a further dozen or more
eulogies by the admirers and critics of Muhammad (pbuh).
Despite all their objectivity, jaundiced minds can always
conjure up some aspersions. Let me take my readers deep
down in past history.
It was Friday the 8th of May, 1840, that is about a
hundred and fifty years ago, at a time when it was a
sacrilege to say anything good about Muhammad (pbuh),
and the Christian West was trained to hate the man
Muhammad (pbuh) and his religion, the same way as dogs
were at one stage trained in my country to hate all black
people.1 At that time in history, Thomas Carlyle, one of the
greatest thinkers of the past century delivered a series of
lectures under the theme - "Heroes and Hero-worship."
DEVELOPED SICKNESS
Carlyle exposed this blind prejudice of his people at the
beginning of his talk. He made reference to one of the
literary giants a Dutch scholar and statesman, by the name
of Hugo Grotius,2 who had written a bitter and abusive
invective against the prophet of Islam. He had falsely
charged that the Holy Prophet had trained pigeons to pick
out peas from his ears, so that he could by this trick bluff
his people that the Holy Ghost in the shape of a dove was
revealing God's Revelation to him, which he then had them
1. By the way "dogs are colour blind!" Yet it can be done.
2. From page 57 of the book - "On Heroes Hero-worship and the Heroic in History" by
Thomas Carlyle, London 1959.
recorded in his Bible the Quran. Perhaps Grotius was
inspired into this fairy-tale from his reading of his own Holy
Scriptures:
'Then, Jesus, when he had been
baptized (by John the Baptist in the Jordan
River), came up immediately from the
water; and behold, the heavens were
opened to him, and he saw the
Spirit of God Descending Like A
Dove and alighting upon him.
(Emphasis added) Matthew 3:16
WHERE'S THE AUTHORITY
Pococke, another respected intellectual of the time, like
"doubting Thomas" (John 20:25), wanted proof about
Muhammad (pbuh), the pigeons, and the peas? Grotius
answered "THAT THERE WAS NO PROOF!"
He just felt like inventing this story for his audience. To
him and his audience the "pigeons and peas" theory was
more plausible than that of the Archangel dictating to
Muhammad (pbuh). These falsities wringed the heart of
Carlyle. He cried:
"THE LIES, WHICH WELL-MEANING ZEAL HAS
HEAPED ROUND THIS MAN, ARE DISGRACEFUL TO
OURSELVES ONLY."
Thomas Carlyle
THE HERO PROPHET
Carlyle was a man of genius and God gifted him with
the art of articulation. In his own way, he wanted to put the
records straight. He planned to deliver a lecture and he
chose a very provocative topic"The hero as Prophet." and
he chose this hero-prophet to be the most maligned man of
his time, "MUHAMMAD (PBUH)!" Not Moses, david, Solomon,
or Jesus but Muhammad!1 To placate his overwhelming
Anglican (belonging to the Church of England) fellow
countrymen, he apologised -
"AS THERE IS NO DANGER OF OUR BECOMING,
ANY OF US, MAHOMETANS, 2 I MEAN TO SAY
ALL THE GOOD OF HIM I JUSTLY CAN."
In other words he, as well as his elite audience were
free from the fear of converting to islam, and could take a
chance in paying some compliments to Muhammad (pbuh).
If he had any fears regarding the strength of their faith, he
would not have taken that chance.
In an era of hatred and spite towards evernhing Islamic
and to an audience full of scepticism and cynicism, Carlyle
unfolded many a glowing truth about his hero -
Muhammad (pbuh). To the "praise-worthy," indeed be
praise. For that is what the very name Muhammad means -
the Praised One - the Praiseworthy. There are times when
Carlyle uses words and expressions which miqht not be too
pleasing to the believing Muslim, but one has to forgive him
as he was walking a cultural tightrope, and he succeeded
eminently.
He Paid our hero many ardent and enthusiastic tribute,
and defended him from the false charges and calumnies of
his enemies, exactly as the Prophet had done in the case of
Jesus (pbuh) and his mother.3
1. May the Peace and Blessings of God be upon all his servants.
2. "Mahometans' means Muslims
3. See -Muhummed the Natural Successor to Christ" by the author.
HIS SINCERITY
la. "THE GREAT MAN'S SINCERITY IS OF THE
KIND HE CANNOT SPEAK OF: NAY, I SUP-
POSE, HE IS CONSCIOUS RATHER OF IN-
SINCERITY; FOR WHAT MAN CAN WALK
ACCURATELY BY THE LAW OF TRUTH FOR
ONE DAY? NO, THE GREAT MAN DOES NOT
BOAST HIMSELF SINCERE, FAR FROM THAT;
PERHAPS DOES NOT ASK HIMSELF IF HE IS
SO: I WOULD SAY RATHER, HIS SINCERITY
DOES NOT DEPEND ON HIMSELF: HE CAN-
NOT HELP BEING SINCERE!" Heros and Hero-Worship, p.59
b. "A SILENT GREAT SOUL, HE WAS ONE OF
THOSE WHO CANNOT BUT BE IN EARNEST,
WHOM NATURE HERSELF HAS APPOINTED TO
BE SINCERE. WHILE OTHERS WALK IN
FORMULAS AND HEARSAYS, CONTENTED
ENOUGH TO DWELL THERE, THIS MAN COULD
NOT SCREEN HIMSELF IN FORMULAS; HE WAS
ALONE WITH HIS OWN SOUL AND THE
REALITY OF THINGS. . . SUCH SINCERITY, AS
WE NAMED IT, HAS IN VERY TRUTH SOME-
THING OF DIVINE. THE WORD OF SUCH A
MAN IS A VOICE DIRECT FROM NATURE'S
OWN HEART. MEN DO AND MUST LISTEN TO
THAT AS TO NOTHING ELSE, - - - ALL ELSE IS
WIND IN COMPARISON." Heros and Hero-Worship, p.71
In his lengthy speech, Carlyle did not have the oppor-
tunity to inform his audience about the sources of his
inferences. I may furnish just one incident from the life of
the Prophet. An incidence which reflects the highest degree
of his sincerity in recording a Revelation in the Holy Quran
even if it seems to reprove him for some natural and human
zeal.
ADMONITION AS REVEALED
It was in the early days of his mission in Makkah.
Muhammad (pbuh) was deeply engrossed in trying to wean
the leaders of the pagan Quraish to his teachings. Apparen-
tly one of them was giving him an attentive hearing when a
poor blind man by the name Of Abdullah lbn Umm-1-
Maktum tried to barge in into the discussion and wanting
to draw attention to himself. The blessed Prophet said
nothing, but a thought went through his mind (why don't
you have a little patience, can't you see (sense) that because
of your impatience I might lose these customers). I believe
that lesser men, sinners and saints, will not be questioned for
such lapses, but not so for Muhammad (pbuh). Did not God
choose him and honour him with that lofty status as
recorded?
And Most Certainly
Thou (O Muhammad)
Are of Most sublime
And Exalted Character. Holy Quran 68:4
HE FROWNED
Whilst in the midst of the conversation with his pagan
fellow tribesmen, God Almighty sends Gabriel, the Angel of
Revelation, with this admonition:
(THE PROPHET) FROWNED
AND TURNED AWAY,
BECAUSE THERE CAME TO HIM
THE BLIND MAN (INTERRUPTING).
BUT WHAT COULD TELL THEE
THAT PERCHANCE HE MIGHT GROW
(IN SPIRITUAL UNDERSTANDING)?
OR THAT HE MIGHT RECEIVE
ADMONITION, AND THE TEACHING
MIGHT PRORT HIM?
Holy Quran 80:1-4
The holy Prophet (pbuh) had naturally disliked the
interruption. Perhaps the poor man's feelings were hurt. But
he whose gentle heart ever sympathised with the poor and
the afflicted, got new Light (Revelation) from his Lord, and
without the least hesitation, he immediately published it for
all eternity!
Subsequently, everytime he met this blind man, he
received him graciously and thanked him that on his
account the Lord had remembered him. During Muhammad's
(pbuh) absences from Madinah, the blind man was made
the Governor of the City twice. Such was the sincerity and
gratitude of Carlyle's Hero Prophet.
HIS FIDELITY 1
2. "IT IS A BOUNDLESS FAVOUR.HE
NEVER FORGOT THIS GOOD KADIJAH. LONG
AFTERWARDS, AYESHA HIS YOUNG FAVOURITE
WIFE, A WOMAN WHO INDEED DISTINGUISHED
HERSELF AMONG THE MOSLEMS, BY ALL MAN-
NER OF QUALITIES, THROUGH HER WHOLE
LONG LIFE; THIS YOUNG BRILLIANT AYESHA
WAS, ONE DAY, QUESTIONING HIM.'NOW AM
NOT I BETTER THAN KADIJAH? SHE WAS A
1. A few poetic verses on fidelity will be found in Appendix "D" page 63.
WIDOW; OLD, AND HAD LOST HER LOOKS:
YOU LOVE ME BETTER THAN YOU DID HER?'
'NO, BY ALLAH!' ANSWERED
MAHOMET: 'NO, BY ALLAH! SHE BELIEVED IN
ME WHEN NONE ELSE WOULD BELIEVE. IN THE
WHOLE WORLD I HAD BUT ONE FRIEND, AND
SHE WAS THAT!... Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 76
It would have been easier to repel the temptation of
the devil than to succumb to the ego of a young, loving,
brilliant and beautiful wife like lady Ayesha Siddiqa. Why
not let her hear the soft soothing balm of flattery-, it will not
harm anyone. Even the soul of Bibi Khadija, the mother of
the Faithful, would look light-heartedly at the ruse. There is
no shamming, no innocent "white lies" with Muhammad
(pbuh). Traits of this kind show us the genuine man, brother
of us all, brought visible through fourteen centuries, - - -
the veritable son of our common mother.
'AL AMEEN. THE FAITHFUL'
3a. "A MAN OF TRUTH AND FIDELITY; TRUE IN
WHAT HE DID, IN WHAT HE SPAKE AND
THOUGHT. THEY NOTED THAT HE ALWAYS
MEANT SOMETHING. A MAN RATHER TACI-
TURN IN SPEECH; SILENT WHEN THERE WAS
NOTHING TO BE SAID; BUT PERTINENT WISE,
SINCERE, WHEN HE DID SPEAK; ALWAYS
THROWING LIGHT ON THE MATTER. THIS IS
THE ONLY SORT OF SPEECH WORTH
SPEAKING!" Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 69
b. "MAHOMET NATURALLY GAVE OFFENCE TO
THE KOREISH, KEEPERS OF THE KAABAH,
SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE IDOLS. ONE OR
TWO MEN OF INFLUENCE HAD JOINED HIM:
THE THING SPREAD SLOWLY, BUT IT WAS
SPREADING, NATURALLY HE GAVE OFFENCE
TO EVERYBODY."1 Heros and Hero-Wotship, p. 77 c. "NOT A MEALYMOUTHED MAN! A CANDID
FEROCITY, IF THE CASE CALL FOR IT, IS IN
HIM; HE DOES NOT MINCE MATRERS! THE
WAR OF TABUC IS A THING HE OFTEN
SPEAKS OF: HIS MEN REFUSED, MANY OF
THEM, TO MARCH ON THAT OCCASION;
PLEADED THE HEAT OF THE WEATHER, THE
HARVEST, AND SO FORTH; HE CAN NEVER
FORGET THAT. YOUR HARVEST? IT LASTS FOR
A DAY. WHAT WILL BECOME OF YOUR
HARVEST THROUGH ALL ETERNITY? HOT
WEATHER? YES, IT WAS HOT; 'BUT HELL WILL
BE HOTRER!' SOMETIMES A ROUGH SARCASM
TURNS UP: HE SAYS TO THE UNBELIEVERS, YE
SHALL NOT HAVE SHORT WEIGHT!" Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 95/6.
Remember, Thomas Carlyle uttered these words, and
many more to a shocked and bewildered Christian audience
in England, a hundred and fifty years ago. History did not
record for us the lively arguments and debates which his
lecture must naturally have caused. He kept to his promise:
"I mean to say all the good of him (his Hero Prophet)
I justly can'" and he went on in his talk to I defend
Muhammad (pbuh) against the false charges, slander and
calumnies of his enemies:
1. The Jews hated the Prophet: the Christians hated the Prophet: the mushriks (the
Polytheists) hated the Prophet, and the Munafiqeen (the hypocrites) hated the
Prophet. It is the nature of Falsehood to hate the Truth. Light dismisses Darkness, but
darkness does not take kindly to light.
CHARGE OF FALSITY
4a. "A FALSE MAN FOUND A RELIGION? WHY,
A FALSE MAN CANNOT BUILD A BRICK
HOUSE! IF HE DOES NOT KNOW AND
FOLLOW TRULY THE PROPERTIES OF
MORTAR, BURNT CLAY AND WHAT ELSE
HE WORKS IN, IT IS NO HOUSE THAT HE
MAKES, BUT A RUBBISH HEAP. IT WILL
NOT STAND FOR TWELVE CENTURIES,1
TO LODGE A HUNDRED-AND EIGHTY
MILLIONS;2 IT WILL FALL STRAIGHTAWAY
. . . SPECIOSITIES ARE SPECIOUS3 . . . IT
IS LIKE A FORGED BANK NOTE; THEY
GET IT PASSED OUT OF THEIR
WORTHLESS HANDS: OTHERS, NOT
THEY, HAVE TO SMART FOR IT. NATURE
BURSTS-UP IN FIRE-FLAMES, FRENCH
REVOLUTIONS AND SUCH-LIKE,
PROCLAIMING WITH THE TERRIBLE
VERACITY THAT FORGED NOTES ARE
FORGED."
Heros and Hero-Worship ), p. 58
b."IT GOES GREATLY AGAINST THE
IMPOSTER THEORY, THE FACT THAT HE
LIVED IN THIS ENTIRELY
UNEXCEPTIONABLE, ENTIRELY QUIET
AND COMMON PLACE WAY, TILL THE
HEAT OF HIS YEARS WAS DONE. HE
WAS FORTY BEFORE HE TALKED OF ANY
MISSION FROM HEAVEN . . ALL HIS
'AMBITION,' SEEMINGLY, HAD BEEN,
HITHERTO, TO LIVE AN HONEST LIFE; HIS
'FAME,' THE MERE GOOD OPINION OF
NEIGHBOURS THAT KNEW HIM..."
Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 70
1. Now, fourteen centuries.
2. A thousand million today.
3. Specious: Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually false.
c. "AMBITION? WHAT COULD ALL ARABIA DO
FOR THIS MAN; WITH THE CROWN OF GREEK
HERACLIUS, OF PERSIAN CHOSROES, AND ALL
THE CROWNS IN EARTH; - WHAT COULD
THEY ALL DO FOR HIM? IT WAS NOT OF THE
HEAVEN ABOVE AND OF THE HELL BENEATH.
ALL CROWNS AND SOVEREIGNTIES WHAT-
SOEVER, WHERE WOULD THEY IN A FEW
BRIEF YEARS BE? TO BE SHEIK OF MAKKAH
OR ARABIA, AND HAVE A BIT OF GILT
WOOD PUT INTO YOUR HAND, - - -
WILL THAT BE ONES SALVATION? I DECIDEDLY
THINK, NOT, WE WILL LEAVE IT ALTOGETHER,
THIS IMPOSTER HYPOTHESIS, AS NOT CREDIT-
ABLE: NOT VERY TOLERABLE EVEN, WORTHY
CHIEFLY OF DISMISSAL BY US."
Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 72/3 CHARGE OF SINNING
5. "FAULTS? THE GREATEST OF FAULTS, I
SHOULD SAY, IS TO BE CONSCIOUS OF
NONE. READERS OF THE BIBLE ABOVE ALL,
ONE WOULD THINK, MIGHT KNOW BETTER.
WHO IS CALLED THERE 'THE MAN ACCORD-
ING TO GOD'S OWN HEART'? DAVID, THE
HEBREW KING HAD FALLEN INTO SINS
ENOUGH; BLACKEST CRIMES; THERE WAS NO
WANT OF SINS.1 AND THEREUPON THE
UNBELIEVERS SNEER AND ASK, IS THIS YOUR
MAN ACCORDING TO GOD'S HEART? THE
SNEER, I MUST SAY, SEEMS TO ME BUT A
1. This is the Jewish and Christian concept of God's prophets. They charge their prophets
with incest, adultery and even murder. They impure horrendous crimes to them on the
authority of the Holy Bible.
SHALLOW ONE. WHAT ARE FAULTS, WHAT
ARE THE OUTWARD DETAILS OF A LIFE; IF
THE INNER SECRET OF IT, THE REMORSE,
TEMPTATIONS, TRUE, OFTEN-BAFFLED, NEVER-
ENDED STRUGGLE OF IT BE FORGOTTEN? 'IT
IS NOT IN MAN THAT WALKETH TO DIRECT
HIS STEPS.' OF ALL ACTS, IS NOT, FOR A
MAN, REPENTANCE THE MOST DIVINE? THE
DEADLIEST SIN, I SAY, WERE THE SAME SUPER-
CILIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS OF NO SIN; THAT
IS DEATH; THE HEART SO CONSCIOUS IS
DIVORCED FROM SINCERITY, HUMILITY, AND
FACT; IS DEAD: IT IS 'PURE' AS DEAD DRY
SAND IS PURE."
Heros and Hero-Worship. p. 61
CHARGE OF "THE SWORD"
The greatest crime, the greatest "sin" of Muhammad
(pbuh} in the eyes of the Christian West is that he did not
allow himself to be slaughtered, to be "crucified" by his
enemies. He ably defended himself, his family and his
followers; and finally vanquished his enemies. Muhammad's
(pbuh} success is the Christians' gall of disappointment: he
did not believe in any vicarious sacrifice for the sins of
others. He believed and behaved naturally. IN THE STATE
OF NATURE, EVERY ONE HAS A RIGHT TO DEFEND HIS
PERSON AND POSSESSIONS, AND EXTEND HIS HOSTILITIES
TO A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF SATISFACTION AND
RETALIATION," says Gibbon, the master historian in his
"Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." His struggle and
victory over the forces of unbelief and evil made the editors
of the Encyclopedia Britannica to exclaim, Muhammad
(pbuh} to be - - - "THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OF ALL
RELIGIOUS PERSONALITIES."
How can the enemies of Islam account for Muhammad's
phenomenal achievements except to decry that he spread
his religion at the point of the sword? He forced Islam down
peoples' throats!?
6a. "HISTORY MAKES IT CLEAR HOWEVER, THAT
THE LEGEND OF FANATICAL MUSLIMS SWEEP-
ING 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 in "Islam at the Crossroads'' London, 1923, p.8
You do not have to be a historian like O'Leary to know
that the Muslims ruled Spain for 736 years. The longest the
Christians ever ruled over Muslims was 500 years in Mozam-
bique, a territory captured from an Arab governor by the
name of Musa-bin-baique, a name they could not properly
pronounce, hence the name Mozambique. Even today, after
five centuries of Christian overlordship the country is still 60
percent Muslim.
However, after eight centuries in Spain the Muslims were
totally eliminated from that country so that not even one
man was left to give the Azan {the Muslim call to prayer}.
If the Muslims had used force, military or economic there
would not have been any Christian left in Spain to have
kicked the Muslims out. One can blame the Muslims for
exploitation if you like but one cannot charge them with
using the sword to convert Spaniards to the Islamic religion.
Today, Islam is still spreading all over the world -
and Muslims have NO sword!!
The Muslims were also the masters of India for a
thousand years, but eventually when the sub-continent
received independence in 1947, the Hindus obtained three-
quarters of the country and the Muslims the balance of the
one-quarter. Why? Because the Muslims did not force Islam
down the Hindus' throats! In Spain and in India, the Muslims
were no paragons of virtue, yet they obeyed the Qur'anic
injunction to the letter -
LET THERE BE NO COMPULSION
IN RELIGION:
FOR TRUTH STANDS OUT
DISTINCT FROM ERROR. Holy Quran 2:256
The Muslim conquerors understood from this command
that "compulsion" was incompatible with true religion:
because
(a} Religion depends on faith and will, and these
would be meaningless if induced by force.
Force can conquer but cannot convert.
(
Truth and Error have been so clearly shown
up by the Mercy of God that there should
be no doubt in the minds of any person of
goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith.
(c) God's protection is continuous and His Plan is
always to lead us from the depths of dark-
ness into the clearest light. 1
Except for some eccentrics here and there, the Muslims
as a whole adhered to the commandment of God in the
lands over which they held sway.
1. (a), (b} and (c) are Yusuf Ali's comments on verse 256. Obtain his translation with over 6000 explanatory footnotes from the IPCI.
The Muslims were also the masters of India for a
thousand years, but eventually when the sub-continent
received independence in 1947, the Hindus obtained three-
quarters of the country and the Muslims the balance of the
one-quarter. Why? Because the Muslims did not force Islam
down the Hindus' throats! In Spain and in India, the Muslims
were no paragons of virtue, yet they obeyed the Qur'anic
injunction to the letter -
LET THERE BE NO COMPULSION
IN RELIGION:
FOR TRUTH STANDS OUT
DISTINCT FROM ERROR. Holy Quran 2:256
The Muslim conquerors understood from this command
that "compulsion" was incompatible with true religion:
because
(a} Religion depends on faith and will, and these
would be meaningless if induced by force.
Force can conquer but cannot convert.
( Truth and Error have been so clearly shown
up by the Mercy of God that there should
be no doubt in the minds of any person of
goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith.
(c) God's protection is continuous and His Plan is
always to lead us from the depths of dark-
ness into the clearest light. 1
Except for some eccentrics here and there, the Muslims
as a whole adhered to the commandment of God in the
lands over which they held sway.
1. (a), (b} and (c) are Yusuf Ali's comments on verse 256. Obtain his translation with over 6000 explanatory footnotes from the IPCI.
ITS STARTING, IS PRECISELY IN A MINORITY
OF ONE. IN ONE MAN'S HEAD ALONE,
THERE IT DWELLS AS YET. ONE MAN ALONE
OF THE WHOLE WORLD BELIEVES IT; THERE IS
ONE MAN AGAINST ALL MEN. THAT HE TAKE
A SWORD, AND TRY TO PROPAGATE WITH
THAT, WILL DO LITTLE FOR HIM. YOU MUST
FIRST GET YOUR SWORD! ON THE WHOLE, A
THING WILL PROPAGATE ITSELF AS IT CAN.
WE DO NOT FIND, OF THE CHRISTIAN
RELIGION EITHER, THAT IT ALWAYS DIS-
DAINED THE SWORD, WHEN ONCE IT HAD
GOT ONE. CHARLEMAGNE'S CONVERSION OF
THE SAXONS WAS NOT BY PREACHING."
Heroes and Hero-Worship. p. 80
At the age of forty when Muhammad {pbuh} declared
his mission from heaven, there was no political party, or
royalty, and certainly no family or tribe to back him up. His
people - the Arabs, immersed in idol-worship and fetishism
were not by any means a docile people, they were no easy
meat. They were a very volatile people. given to internecine
and fratricidal wars: subject to "all kinds of fierce sin-
cerities - " {Carlyle}. One man, single-handed, to wean such a
people required nothing short of a miracle. A miracle did
happen. God alone could have made Islam and Muhammad
{pbuh} to triumph through with flimsy, gossamer support.
God fulfilling His promise:
And have We not raised
high the esteem in which
thou O Muhammad are
held?
Holy Quran 94:4