YOU MUST KNOW THIS MAN

In
The Name Of Allaah,

Most
Gracious, Most Merciful
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 personalities 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!

Written by S.H.
Pasha