He taught people lesson of brotherhood
The sixth century was the darkest phase of history. People had sunk to complete moral depravity, killing each other for no reason. Innovations in earlier scriptures resulted in chaos.
Though Roman and Persian empires at that time were termed as super power in the world but strangely under both the empires people were humiliated and agonized in so many ways. The mankind needed reform and Prophet Muhammad was chosen by God to deliver people from darkness into light and lead them to path of salvation. Prophet Muhammad taught people the lesson of brotherhood and fraternity and told them to differentiate between right and wrong.
In his magnum opus, “Islam and the World”, S. Abul Hasan Ali Nadwi says: “Prophets advent gave to humanity a new life, a new light, a new faith, a new warmth, a new society and new culture. It ushered in a new era in the human history marking the commencement of the real mission of man upon earth.”
Needless to add that Prophet Muhammad’s main mission was, “Let truth prevail at all cost.” His mission was to create such a society in which people, regardless of their faith, live in peace and amity.
As regards religion, the Holy Quran says : “there is no compulsion in religion” meaning that people should not be compelled to change their faith, else it states “To you your religion and to me mine.” That is why Prophet Muhammad treated Muslims and NonMuslims alike. His influence was not confined merely in social milieu but prompted in political arena also. The Prophet elected a non-Muslim Amr bin Omaiyah Al-Darmi and delegated him as his ambassador. A well-known saying of the Prophet is, ‘’Whoever oppresses the non- Muslim subjects I shall be their advocate on the Day of Judgment.” The Prophet stated that “When you see a funeral, you must stand until it has passed you by”. One day a funeral procession passed by and the Prophet stood up. The people objected, but it is the funeral of a Jew and the Prophet responded is it not a human being?”
An eminent Muslim scholar Syed Sulaman Nadwi has rightly said in his book “Muhammad and the Ideal Prophet”, “He is the Prophet well-informed, the witness to God’s commandment, the bringer of glad tidings, the summoner of the erring to the way of the God, the resplendent light which dispels the darkness and shows the right path He further says: “A good number of Hindus, Sikhs, Brama Samajis and other have written about the Prophet. Europe, too, despite its known hatred for Islam, has a tradition of studies made on the subject even though often they were taken up to serve the needs of evangelism or for historical and literary purposes. Al-Muqtabas, a literary magazine from Damascus, published a list of European works on the life of the Prophet some 15 years ago, which listed 13,000 books.
Michael H.Heart says: “My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s mostly influential person may surprise readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religions and secular levels. Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world’s greatest religions, and became immensely effective political leader. Today 13 centuries after his demise, his influence is still powerful and pervasive.” (The 100-A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History).
OBAIDUR RAHMAN NADWI