YOU MUST KNOW THIS MAN
MUHAMMAD
(May peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him)
You may be an atheist or an agnostic; or you may belong to anyone of the
religious denominations that exist in the world today. You may be a
Communist or a believer in democracy and freedom. No matter what you are,
and no matter what your religious and political beliefs, personal and social
habits happen to be - YOU MUST STILL KNOW THIS MAN!
He was by far the most remarkable man that ever set foot on this earth. He
preached a religion, founded a state, built a nation, laid down a moral code
initiated numberless social and political reforms, established a dynamic
and powerful society to practice and represent his teachings, and completely
revolutionized the worlds of human thought and action for all times to come.
HIS NAME IS MUHAMMAD, peace and blessings of Almighty God be upon him and he
accomplished all these wonders in the unbelievably short span of
twenty-three years.
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him was born in Arabia
on the 20th of August, in the year 570 of the Christian era, and when he
died after 63 years, the whole of the Arabian Peninsula had changed from
paganism and idol-worship to the worship of One God; from tribal quarrels
and wars to national solidarity and cohesion; from drunkenness and
debauchery to sobriety and piety; from lawlessness and anarchy to
disciplined living; from utter moral bankruptcy to the highest standards of
moral excellence. Human history has never known such a complete
transformation of a people or a place before or since!
The Encyclopedia Britannica calls him "the most successful of all religious
person alities of the world". Bernard Shaw said about him that if Muhammad
were alive today he would succeed in solving all those problems which
threaten to destroy human civilization in our times. Thomas Carlysle was
simply amazed as to how one man, single-handedly, could weld warring tribes
and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less
than two decades. Napoleon and Gandhi never tired of dreaming of a society
along the lines established by this man in Arabia fourteen centuries ago.
Indeed no other human being ever accomplished so much, in such diverse
fields of human thought and behavior, in so limited a space of time, as did
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him. He was a
religious teacher, a social reformer, a moral guide, a political thinker, a
military genius, an administrative colossus, a faithful friend, a wonderful
companion, a devoted husband, a loving father - all in one. No other man in
history ever excelled or equaled him in any of these difficult departments
of life.
The world has had its share of great personalities. But these were one sided
figures who distinguished themselves in but one or two fields such as
religious thought or military leadership. None of the other great leaders of
the world ever combined in himself so many different qualities to such an
amazing level of perfection as did Muhammad, peace and blessings of God
Almighty be upon him.
The lives and teachings of other great personalities of the world are
shrouded in the mist of time. There is so much speculation about the time
and the place of their birth, the mode and style of their life, the nature
and detail of their teachings and the degree and measure of their success or
failure that it is impossible for humanity today to reconstruct accurately
and precisely the lives and teachings of those men.
Not so this man Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him.
Not only was he born in the fullest blaze of recorded history, but every
detail of his private and public life, of his actions and utterances, has
been accurately documented and faithfully preserved to our day. The
authenticity of the information so preserved is vouched for not only by
faithful followers but also by unbiased critics and open-minded scholars.
At the level of ideas there is no system of thought and belief-secular or
religious, social or political-which could surpass or equal ISLAAM- the
system which Muhammad peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him
propounded. In a fast changing world, while other systems have undergone
profound transformations, Islaam alone has remained above all change and
mutation, and retained its original form for the past 1400 years. What is
more, the positive changes that are taking place in the world of human
thought and behavior, truly and consistently reflect the healthy influence
of Islam in these areas. Further, it is not given to the best of thinkers to
put their ideas completely into practice, and to see the seeds of their
labors grow and bear fruit, in their own lifetime. Except of course,
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him, who not only
preached the most wonderful ideas but also successfully translated each one
of them into practice in his own lifetime. At the time of his death his
teachings were not mere precepts and ideas straining for fulfillment, but
had become the very core of the life of tens of thousands of perfectly
trained individuals, each one of whom was a marvelous personification of
everything that Muhammad peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him
taught and stood for. At what other time or place and in relation to what
other political, social, religious system, philosophy or ideology-did the
world ever witness such a perfectly amazing phenomenon?
Indeed no other system or ideology secular or religious, social or political
ancient or modern - could ever claim the distinction of having been put
into practice in its fullness and entirety EVEN ONCE in this world, either
before or after the death of its founder. Except of course ISLAAM, the
ideology preached by Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon
him which was established as a complete way of life by the teacher himself,
before he departed from this world. History bears testimony to this fact and
the greatest skeptics have no option but to concede this point.
In spite of these amazing achievements and in spite of the countless
absolutely convincing and authentic miracles performed by him and the
phenomenal success which crowned his efforts, he did not for a moment claim
to be God or God's incarnation or Son - but only a human being who was
chosen and ordained by God to be a teacher of truth to man kind and a
complete model and pattern for their actions.
He was nothing more or less than a human being. But he was a man with a
noble and exalted mission-and his unique mission was to unite humanity on
the worship of ONE AND ONLY GOD and to teach them the way to honest and
upright living in accordance with the laws and commands of God. He always
described himself as A MESSENGER AND SERVANT OF GOD, and so indeed every
single action and movement of his proclaimed him to be.
A world which has not hesitated to raise to Divinity individuals whose very
lives and missions have been lost in legend and who historically speaking
did not accomplish half as much-or even one tenth-as was accomplished by
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him should stop to
take serious note of this remarkable man's claim to be God's messenger to
mankind.
Today after the lapse of some 1400 years the life and teachings of Prophet
Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him, have survived
without the slightest loss, alteration or interpolation. Today they offer
the same undying hope for treating mankind's many ills which they did when
Prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him, was alive
This is our honest claim and this is the inescapable conclusion forced upon
us by a critical and unbiased study of history.
The least YOU should do as a thinking, sensitive, concerned human being is
to stop for one brief moment and ask yourself: Could it be that these
statements, extraordinary and revolutionary as they sound, are really true?
Supposing they really are true, and you did not know this man Muhammad,
peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him or hear about his teachings?
Or did not know him well and intimately enough to be able to benefit from
his guidance and example? Isn't it time you responded to this tremendous
challenge and made some effort to know him? It will not cost you anything
but it may well prove to be the beginning of a completely new era in your
life.
Come, let us make a new discovery of the life of this wonderful man Muhammad
peace and blessings of God Almighty be upon him the like of whom never
walked on this earth, and whose example and teachings can change YOUR LIFE
and OUR WORLD for the better. May God shower His choicest blessings upon
him!

if you are interested or need to know more about Islam
please e- mail me at didytalks@...
or visit any of those sites:
www.al-sunnah.com
www.islam-qa.com
www.iad.org
www.islaam.com
http://www.islam-guide.com/
http://www.thetruereligion.org/
http://www.it-is-truth.org/
http://www.beconvinced.com/
http://www.plaintruth.org/
http://english.islamway.com/
http://www.todayislam.com/
http://www.prophetmuhammed.org/
http://www.islamtoday.net/english/
http://www.islamunveiled.org/
http://www.islamic-knowledge.com/

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]