Personalities I admire: Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam

Hasan A. Yahya, Professor of Sociology

 The great Irish philosopher, George Bernard Shaw said once about Muhammad (pbuh): "I have studied him - the wonderful man - and in my opinion far from being an anti-Christ he must be called the savior of humanity." (The Genuine Islam)

In fact, Bernard  Shaw elaborated on this statement added comparative description between Muhammad and other great leaders in history. He says:

“People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.”

Other thinkers see Muhammad as the leader of list ranking the most influential persons in history, for example,  Michael H. Hart  in his book:  A Citadel Press Book, (Carol Publishing Group), he asserts that Prophet Muhammad is the Most Influential Man in History in his list.

In the ranking list of 100 most influential persons in history, Muhammad was the first in the list. Followed by Isaac Newton, Jesus Christ, Buddah, and Confoucious.

In his book: The 100, a Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History, Michael H. Hart  writes in justifying his selection:

“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels.”

He then, began to describe how Muhammad was influential in his people.  By describing his early life saying:  “Of humble origins, Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world's great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader.”

Muhammad’s influence, in fact, is still powerful and pervasive. While the majority of the 100 persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backward area of the world, far from the centers of trade, art, and learning. Orphaned at age six, he was reared in modest surroundings. Islamic tradition tells us that he was illiterate. His economic position improved when, at age twenty-five, he married a wealthy widow. Nevertheless, as he approached forty, there was little outward indication that he was a remarkable person. Most Arabs at that time were pagans, who believed in many gods. There were, however, in Mecca, a small number of Jews and Christians; it was from them no doubt that Muhammad first learned of a single, omnipotent God who ruled the entire universe. When he was forty years old, Muhammad became convinced that this one true God (Allah) was speaking to him, and had chosen him to spread the true faith. For three years, Muhammad preached only to close friends and associates. Then, about 613, he began preaching in public. As he slowly gained converts, the Meccan authorities came to consider him a dangerous nuisance. Afterwards, he was forced to migration from Mecca, to the city where people  believed his mission, whom supported him and stood behind his message,  Medina. (572 words) www.hasanyahya.com