Chapter
One
The
Beginnings
In the desert of Arabia was Muhammad born, according to Muslim
historians, on April 20, 571. The name means "highly praised". He is
to me the greatest mind among all the sons of Arabia. He means so much more
than all the poets and kings that preceded and succeeded him in that
impenetrable desert of red sand.
When he appeared, Arabia was a desert - a nothing. Out of nothing of the
desert a new world was fashioned by the mighty spirit of Muhammad - a new life,
a new culture, a new civilization, a new kingdom which extended from Morocco to
Indies and influenced the thought and life of three continents - Asia, Africa,
and Europe.
Need For Understanding
When I thought of writing on Muhammad the Prophet, I was a bit hesitant
because it was to write about a religion one does not profess and it is a
delicate matter to do so, for there are many persons professing various
religions and belonging to diverse schools of thoughts and denominations even
in the same religion. Though it is sometimes claimed that a religion is
entirely personal, yet it cannot be gainsaid that is has a tendency to envelope
the whole universe seen as well as unseen. It somehow permeates, sometime or
other, our hearts, our souls, our minds, their conscious parts, subconscious
parts, unconscious or whatever part they contain or are supposed to contain.
The problem assumes overwhelming importance when there is a deep conviction
that our past, present and future all hang by the soft, delicate, tender-silked
cord. If we further happen to be highly sensitive, the center of gravity is
very likely to be always in a state of extreme tension. Looked at from this
point of view, the less said about other's religion the better. Let our
religions be deeply hidden and embedded in the recesses of our innermost hearts
fortified by unbroken seals of our lips.
Man Is Gregarious
But there is another aspect of this problem. Man lives in society. Our
lives are bound with the lives of so many, willing or unwillingly, directly or
indirectly. We eat the food grown in the same soil, drink the water from the
same spring, breathe the air of the same atmosphere. Even while staunchly
holding our own views, it would be helpful, if for no other purpose, at least
to promote proper adjustment to our surroundings, if we also know to some
extent, how the mind of our neighbor moves and what are the mainsprings of his
actions. From this angle of vision, it is highly desirable that one should try
to know all religion of the world, in the proper spirit, to promote mutual
understanding and better appreciation of our neighborhood, immediate and
remote.
Further, our thoughts are not scattered as they appear to be on the
surface. They have got themselves crystallized around a few nuclei in the form
of great world religions and living faiths that guide and motivate the lives of
millions that inhabit this earth of our. It is our duty, in one sense, if we
have the ideal of ever becoming citizens of the world before us, to make a
little attempt to know the great religions and systems of philosophy that have
ruled mankind.
The Prophet - A Historic
Personality
In spite of these preliminary remarks, the ground in the field of
religion, where there is often a conflict between intellect and emotion, is so
slippery that one is constantly reminded of fools that rush in where the angels
fear to tread. It is also so complex from another point of view. The subject of
my writing is about the tenets of a religion, which is historic, and its
Prophet, who is also a historic personality. Even a hostile critic like Sir
Willian Muir speaking about the Holy Qur'an says that:" There is
probably in the world no other book which has remained twelve centuries with so
pure text"[1]. I may also add, Prophet Muhammad is also a historic personality[2], every event of whose life has been most carefully recorded and even
the minutest details preserved intact for posterity. His life and work are not
wrapped in mystery. One need not hunt for the accurate information and embark
on arduous expeditions to sift the chaff and husk from the grain of truth.
Past Misrepresentation
My work is further lightened because those days are fast disappearing
when Islam was highly misrepresented by some of its critics [3], for reasons political and otherwise. Prof. Bevan writes in Cambridge
Mediaeval History:" The accounts of Muhammad and Islam which were
published in Europe before the beginning of the 19th century are now to be
regarded as literary curiosities". My problem to write this monograph
is easier because we are not generally fed now on this kind of history and much
time need not be spent on pointing out our misrepresentations of Islam.
The theory of Islam and Sword for instance is not heard now frequently
in any quarter worth the name. The Principle of Islam that there is no
compulsion in religion is well-known. Gibbon, a historian of worldwide fame,
says:"A pernicious tenet has been imputed to the Muhammedans[4], the duty of extirpating all the religions by the sword". This charge of ignorance and bigotry,
says the eminent historian, is refuted by Qur'an, by the history of Musalman
conquerors and by their public and legal toleration of Christian worship. The
greatest success of Muhammad's life was affected by sheer moral force without
the stroke of a sword.
[1] Now 14 centuries.
[2] "Most historical of all religious personalities"
Encyclopaedia Britannica.
[3] "The lies which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man
(Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only". Thomas Carlyle.
[4] The author means Muslims. "Muhammedans" might imply
"worshippers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)"; but no Muslim ever
worships the Holy Prophet as God.
to be continued . . . .
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