Praise of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) by Non-Muslims:

Muhammad is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.

- Encyclopaedia Britannica,
11th Edition.

By a fortune absolutely unique in history, Mohammed is a threefold founder of a

nation, of an empire, and of a religion.
- Rev. R. Bosworth-Smith
Mohammed and Mohammedanism 1946.

Head of the State as well as the Church. He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was
Pope without Pope's pretensions, Caesar without the legions of Caesar: without a
standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue. If
ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was
Mohammad, for he had all the power without its instruments and without its
supports. He care not for the dressing of power. The simplicity of his private life was
in keeping with his public life.
- Rev. R. Bosworth Smith
Mohammed and Mohammedanism, London, p 92.

Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten
by those around him.
- Diwan Chand Sharma,
The Prophets of the East, Calcutta 1935, P.122.

Michael H. Hart put Muhammad (PBUH) No. 1 on his list and his own Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ (PBUH) No. 3. William Mcneill considers Muhammad (PHUB)
as worthy of Honour in his list of the three names of his. James Gavin puts
Muhammad (PBUH) before Christ. James Masserman adjudges Muhammad
(PBUH) No. 1 and his own Hero Moses (PBUH) a close second.
- Ahmed Deedat,
"Muhummed (PBUH) the Greatest" p. 13-14

“Even if a Non-Muslim becomes neutral in judging Prophet Muhammad (peace be

upon him)”
Michael Hart (Michael S. Hart is Professor of Electronic Text and Executive
Director of Project Gutenberg) a Christian ranked Prophet Muhammad (peace be
upon him) as number one in his popular book “The One Hundred”- a ranking of the
most influential people in history of the WORLD.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was supremely successful on both

religious, and secular levels. From world famous book “The 100” by Michael Hart.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) did not had the did not had the advantage
of his birth in the center of civilization, Mecca then used to be far from the centers
of trade, art, and learning. But yet Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the
greatest success. Central idea from World famous book “The 100” by Michael Hart.

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a remarkable person. From world
famous book “The 100” by Michael Hart.

Greatness of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) = numerically, the Arabs

were no match for their opponents. On the field of battle though, the inspired Arabs
rapidly conquered. From world famous book “The 100” by Michael Hart.

Muhammad (pbuh) (unlike Jesus (pbuh)) was a secular as well religious leader.
From world famous book “The 100” by Michael Hart.

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 level.
- Michael H. Hart
The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History,
New York: Hart Publishing Company Inc. 1978, p 33.

If a man like Muhammad were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he
would suceed in solving its problems that would bring it the much needed peace and
happiness.
- George Bernard Shaw

I have studied him - the wonderful man - and in my opinion far from being an anti-
Christ he must be called the saviour of humanity.
- George Bernard Shaw

in "The Genuine Islam"

In the person of the prohphet of Islam the world has seen the rarest phenomenon on
earth, walking in flesh and blood.
- Professor K.S. Ramakrishna Rao

"Muhummed - The Prophet of Islam"

I doubt whether any man whose external conditions changed so much ever changed
himself less to meet them.
- R.V.C. Bodley
"The Messenger", London 1946, p 9

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 are Mohammed, who
combimed all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.
- Professer Jules Masserman
If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three
criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modem
history with Muhammad? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires
only They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often
crumbled away before their eyes This man moved not only armies, legislation,
empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then-
inhabited world; and more than that he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the
ideas, the beliefs and souls.... His forbearance in victory, his ambition which was
entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire, his endless
prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death-
all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the
power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold: the unity of God and the
immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is
not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with
the words. Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas,
restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty
terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all
standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there
any man greater than he?
- Lamartine
Histoire de la Turquie, Pans 1854, Vol. 11, pp. 276-77.

It is not the propagation but the permanency of his religion that deserves our
wonder; the same pure and perfect impression which he engraved at Mecca and
Madina is preserved, after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the
African and the Turkish proselytes of the Koran... The Mahometans have uniformly
withstood the temptation of reducing the object of their faith and devotion to a level
with the senses and imagination of man. I believe in One God and Mahomet is the
Apostle of God' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual
image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of the
prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue; and his living
precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason
and religion.
- Edward Gibbon and Simon Ocklay
History of the Saracen Empire, London 1870, p 54.

It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of
Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence
for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although
in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I
myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of
reverence for
that mighty Arabian teacher.
- Annie Besant
The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, p 4
His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral character of the
men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his
ultimate achievement all argue his fundamental integrity To suppose Muhammad
an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures
of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.
- W Montgomery Watt
Mohammad At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, p 52.

Muhammad, the inspired man who founded Islam, was born about AD. 570 into an
Arabian tube that worshipped idols. Orphaned at birth, he was always particularly
solicitous of the poor and needy the widow and the orphan, the slave and the
downtrodden. At twenty he was already a successful businessman, and soon became
director of camel caravans for a wealthy widow. When he reached twenty-five his
employer, recognizing his meet, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen
years older, he married her, and as long as she lived remained a devoted husband.
Like almost every major prophet before him, Muhammad fought shy of serving as
the transmitter of God's word, sensing his own inadequacy But the angel
commanded Read'. So far as we know, Muhammad was unable to read or write, but
he began to dictate those inspired words which would soon revolutionize a large
segment of the earth: "There is one God." In all things Muhammad was profoundly
practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumors of
God's personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have
announced,' An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such
things to the death or birth of a human-being." At Muhammads own death an
attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative
successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: 'If
there are any among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God
you worshipped, He lives for ever'.
- James A. Michene~
"Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,"
Reader's Digest (Amencan ea.) May 1955, pp. 68-70.

Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born in Mecca, in Arabia the
man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race...
Mohammed...
- John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D.,
A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875,
Vol 1, pp. 329-330.

In little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal ruler
of Medina, with his hands on the lever that was to shake the world.
John Austin, "Muhammad The Prophet of Allah,"
in T.P.'s and Cassel's weekly for 24th September 1927

A Frenchman Surgeon Maurice Bucaille “The bible the Holy Quran and the
science” in the end of the book he categorically said that HOLY QURAN
certainly can’t be the work of a human, because its so scientifically correct.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?ie=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books-
uk&field-author=Maurice%20Bucaille&page=1

Prophet MUHAMMAD (peace be upon him) was renown even before his prophet
hood 4 his great behavior, Sincerity & honesty read history 2 TESTIFY. { FACT
FILE }

EVEN NON-MUSLIMS USED TO GIVE HIM THEIR THINGS TO TAKE CARE

OFF.

Allah call himself as “ RAAB-UL-ALAMEEN “ means “ MAKER OF THE

UNIVERSE “(Means Maker of everything in the Universe) and call Prophet
Muhammad (peace be upon him) as “REHMAT-UL-ALAMEEN” means “
BLESSING FOR THE UNIVERSE “(Not only 4 Muslims but 4 everything in the
Universe).

Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Warrior, Conqueror of ideas, the Restorer of rational
beliefs, the preacher of a religion without images, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of
one heavenly Empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards [I repeat, ‘ALL’] by which
human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, “Is there any man greater than he?”
(Alphonse Lamartine, French poet)

If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astounding results are the three criteria of
human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad?
Mohammad established a system based upon true and immortal ideology. Is there any like he?
(Alphonse Lamartine)

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. (Jules Masserman, Professor of History, Chicago University)

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. (Michael H. Hart, The 100)

I believe that if a man like Mohammad’s caliber were to assume the dictatorship of the modern
world he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it the much needed
peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be
acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today.
(George Bernard Shaw)

I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality.
It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing
phase of existence which can make itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - the wonderful
man, and in my opinion, he must be called the Savior of Humanity. (George Bernard Shaw)

He was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pop without Pope’s pretensions, Caesar without the
legions of Caesar: without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed
revenue; if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by the right divine, it was Mohammad,
for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports. (Reverend B. Smith)

Mohammad never assigned himself a status more than a common man and a messenger of God.
People had faith in him when he was surrounded by poverty and adversity and trusted him while
he was the ruler of a great Empire. He was a man of spotless character who always had
confidence in himself and in God’s help. No aspect of his life remained hidden nor was his death
a mysterious event. (M.H. Hyndman)

The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of
it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes! There is Muhammad, the
Prophet; there is Muhammad, the Warrior; Muhammad, the Businessman; Muhammad, the
Statesman; Muhammad, the Orator; Muhammad, the Reformer; Muhammad, the Refuge of
Orphans; Muhammad, the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad, the Emancipator of Women;
Muhammad, the Judge; Muhammad, the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these
departments of human activities, he is like a hero. (Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao)

I become more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those
days in the scheme for life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the
scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity,
his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and his own mission. These and not the sword, carried
everything before them and surmounted every trouble. (Mahatma Gandhi)

Mohammad was the greatest Executive Officer for implementation of the Divine Will. Like other
prophets he knew that time will come when all mankind will become one community. (H.N.
Spalding)

If the object of religion be the inculcation of morals, the diminution of evil, the promotion of human
happiness, the expansion of the human intellect, if the performance of good works will avail in the
great day when mankind shall be summoned to its final reckoning it is neither irreverent nor
unreasonable to admit that Muhammad was indeed an Apostle of God. (S. P. Scott)

Muhammad adhered meticulously to the charter he forged for Medina, which - grounded as it was
in the Qur’anic injunction, “Let there be no compulsion in religion” (2:256) - is arguably the first
mandate for religious tolerance in human history. (Huston Smith)

Mohammad introduced the concept of such Glorious and Omnipotent God in Whose eyes all
worldly systems are pieces of straw. Islamic equality of mankind is no fiction as it is in Christianity.
No human mind has ever thought of such total freedom as established by Mohammad. (Dr.
Mawde Royden)

The Book revealed to Muhammad is one and unique of its kind. It has left indelible impression on
the hearts of humanity. Nothing can overcome its majesty. The Qura’n has given new dimensions
to human thinking - Surprising reforms, stunning success! (Rev. B. Margoliouth)

Muhammad saved the human civilization from extinction. (J.H. Denison)

He laid the foundation of a universal government. His law was one for all. Equal justice and love
for everyone. (George Rivorie)

Islam is the only religion that gives dignity to the poor. (Ramsey Clark, Former U.S. Attorney
General)

The message of Mohammad, Islam, is nothing but a blessing for mankind - The usher from
darkness to light and from Satan to God. (Rev E. Stephenson)

In Islam the believer is a worshiper and a soldier ever ready to go to the battlefield but only for
that battle which is waged to eradicate the evil. (H.N. Spalding)
Mohammad’s religion reformed all existing dogmas and brought the Arabs ahead of the super
powers of the time. (Dr. Marcus Dods)

Islam does not set impossible goals. There are no mythological intricacies in this message. No
hidden meanings or secrets and absolutely no priesthood. (Phillip K. Hitti, American historian and
philosopher)

Kingdom of God on Earth! God’s messenger serving as the greatest proponent of human
brotherhood, His viceroy on earth in the form of Muhammad. (Philip K. Hitti)

Muhammad was the most successful of all religious personalities. (Encyclopedia Britannica, 4th
& 11th editions)

The Message of Mohammad is not a set of metaphysical phenomena. It is a complete civilization.

(W.A.R. Gibb)

The Christian World came to wage crusades against Muslims but eventually knelt before them to
gain knowledge. They were spellbound to see that Muslims were owners of a culture that was far
superior to their own. The Dark Ages of Europe were illuminated by nothing but the beacon of
Muslim civilization. (F.J.C. Hearushaw)

The power that created in Muslims a ravenous appetite for knowledge sprung from the Qur’an.
(Rev. B. Margoliouth)

The solution to all international conflicts lies only in embracing Islam en masse because Islam is
the only religion that can transcend nationalism. I see, with great dismay, that nationalism is
gaining grounds even among the bearers of the Qur’an. I will hope for the day when all humanity
will break this idol and unite all as the children of God. (Arnold J. Toynbey)

Fellow inhabitants of the planet! Search for the ideal Prophet, who in the 7th century, has shown
you the way to total success. (Lewis Mumford)

All religions, save the word of Muhammad, are broken boats. They cannot take humanity to the
shore of serenity. (Dr. E.B. Hocking)

Mohammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those
around him. (Diwan Chand Sharma)

I hope the time is not far off when I shall be able to unite all the wise and educated men of all the
countries and establish a uniform regime based on the principles of Qur’an which alone are true
and which alone can lead men to happiness. (Napoleon Bonaparte)

The Islamic teachings have left great traditions for equitable and gentle dealings and behavior,
and inspire people with nobility and tolerance. These are human teachings of the highest order
and at the same time practicable. These teachings brought into existence a society in which hard-
heartedness and collective oppression and injustice were the least as compared with all other
societies preceding it. Islam is replete with gentleness, courtesy, and fraternity. (H.G. Wells)

The Creed of Mohammad is free from ambiguity and the Qur’an is a glorious testimony to the
unity of God. (Edward Gibbon, British historian)

The greatest crime, the greatest ‘sin’ of Mohammad in the eyes of the Christian West is that he
did not allow himself to be slaughtered, to be ‘crucified’ by his enemies. He only defended
himself, his family and his followers; and finally vanquished his enemies. Mohammad’s success is
the Christians’ gall of disappointment: He did not believe in any vicarious sacrifices for the sins of
others. (Edward Gibbon)
The towering personality of Muhammad has left bright and indelible imprints on all mankind.
(John William Draper)

The man who of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race--Muhammad.
(John William Draper)

Among leaders who have made the greatest impact through ages, I would consider Muhammad
before Jesus Christ. (James Gavin, Speeches of a U.S. Army General)

Absolutely unique in history, Muhammad is a threefold founder of a nation, of an empire and of a

religion. (Reverend B. Smith)

The noble founder of a nation, an empire and a religion. The unlettered one bestowed upon the
world the Book which is a miracle, the eternal miracle and the true miracle. (Reverend B. Smith)

In the person of the prophet of Islam we see the rarest phenomenon on earth walking in flesh and
blood i.e. the union of the theorist, the organizer and the leader in one man. (Prof. K.S.
Ramakrishna Rao)

A man of truth and fidelity, true in what he did, in what he speaks and thought - this is the only
sort of speech worth speaking. (Thomas Carlyle)

The lies that we (Christians) have heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to
ourselves only. (Thomas Carlyle, British author)

The word of Mohammad is a voice direct from nature’s own heart - all else is wind in comparison.
(Thomas Carlyle)

The sword indeed, but where will you get your sword? Every new opinion, at its starting is
precisely in a minority of one. In one man’s head alone. There it dwells as yet. One man alone of
the whole world believes it, there is one man against all men. That he takes a sword and try to
propagate with that, will do little for him. You must get your sword! On the whole, a thing will
propagate itself as it can. (Thomas Carlyle)

History makes it clear however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world
and forcing Islam at the point of the sword is the most fantastically absurd myth that historians
have ever repeated. (De Lacy O’ Leary)

He was the Messenger of the One True God: And never to his life’s end did he forget for a
moment who he was! He was one of those happy few who have attained the supreme joy of
making one great truth their very life-spring. (Stanley Lane Poole)

Mohammad was an enthusiast in the noblest sense. (Stanley Lane Poole)

The Renaissance of Europe did not take place in the 15th century. Rather, it began when Europe
learned from the culture of the Arabs. The cradle of European awakening is not Italy. It is the
Muslim Spain. (Robert Briffault)

The height of human achievement and glory, Mohammad. (Pringle Kennedy)

Under his influence people became united in one bond which they knew not, the bond of true
monotheism. (L.E. Browne)

Mohammad brought an end to idol worship. He preached Monotheism and infinite Mercy of God,
human brotherhood, care of the orphan, emancipation of slaves, forbidding of wine. No religion
achieved as much success as Islam did. (Sir William Muir)
The Arabian Prophet Mohammad is the founder of a revolution unparalleled in history. He
founded a political state that will ultimately embrace the entire planet. The law of that Government
will rest on justice and kindness. His teachings revolve around human equality, mutual
cooperation and universal brotherhood. (Raymond Lerouge)

Islam is a forceful spiritual energy. Its true meaning will manifest itself when it will be implemented
on a large scale. (Tor Andre)

The Book revealed to Muhammad defines an unalterable guide to individual and collective lives of
people. (Sir Richard Gregory)

Think and ponder! Which person is it who taught mankind the way to establish the greatest
society; the society in which blessings descend upon every individual. (J.H. Dennison)

The message of Mohammad is flowing toward its noble destination like a pure, fresh and
transparent rivulet. (Johann Goethe)

The critics are blind. They cannot see that the only ‘sword’ Muhammad wielded was the sword of
mercy, compassion, friendship and forgiveness - the sword that conquers enemies and purifies
their hearts. His sword was sharper than the sword of steel. But the biased critics of Islam are
prejudicial and partisan, who are narrow minded and whose eyes are covered by a veil of
ignorance. They see fire instead of light, ugliness instead of beauty and evil instead of good. They
distort and present every good quality as a great vice. It reflects their own depravity. (Pandit
Gyanandra Dev Sharma Shastri)

Some people say that Islam was preached by the sword, but we cannot agree with this view.
What is forced on people is soon rejected. Had Islam been imposed on people through
oppression, there would have been no Islam today. Why? Because the Prophet of Islam had
spiritual power, he loved humanity and he was guided by the ideal of ultimate good. (A Hindu
Editor of Sat Updaish, 7 July 1915)

In the beginning the Prophet’s enemies made life difficult for him and his followers. So the
Prophet asked his followers to leave their homes and migrate to Medina. He preferred migration
to fighting his own people, but when oppression went beyond the pale of tolerance he took up his
sword in self-defense. Those who believe religion can be spread by force are fools who neither
know the ways of religion nor the ways of the world. They are proud of this belief because they
are a long, long way away from the Truth. (Sikh Journalist, Nawan Hindustan)

It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who
knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet,
one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to how I shall say many
things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new
admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher. (Dr. Annie Besant)

But do you mean to tell me that the man who in the full flush of youthful vigor, a young man of
four and twenty (24), married a woman much his senior, and remained faithful to her for six and
twenty years (26), at fifty years of age when the passions are dying married for lust and sexual
passion? Not thus are men’s lives to be judged. And you look at the women whom he married,
you will find that by every one of them an alliance was made for his people, or something was
gained for his followers, or the woman was in sore need of protection. (Dr. Annie Besant)

No great religious leader has been so maligned as Prophet Mohammed. Attacked in the past as a
heretic, an impostor, or a sensualist, it is still possible to find him referred to as ‘the false prophet’.
A modern German writer accuses Prophet Mohammed of sensuality, surrounding himself with
young women. This man was not married until he was twenty-five years of age, then he and his
wife lived in happiness and fidelity for twenty-four years, until her death when he was forty-nine.
Only between the age of fifty and his death at sixty-two did Prophet Mohammed take other wives,
only one of whom was a virgin, and most of them were taken for dynastic and political reasons.
Certainly the Prophet’s record was better than the head of the Church of England, Henry VIII.
(Geoffrey Parrinder)

His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who
believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement -
all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems
than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West
as Muhammad. (Montgomery Watt)

It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for in the mosque, when the call
for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is
embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: ‘God
Alone is Great’ … I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that
makes man instinctively a brother. (Sarogini Naidu)

No other religion in history spread so rapidly as Islam. The West has widely believed that this
surge of religion was made possible by the sword. But no modern scholar accepts this idea, and
the Qur’an is explicit in the support of the freedom of conscience. In all things Muhammad was
profoundly practical. When his beloved son Ibrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumors of
God’s personal condolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced,
“An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of
a human being.” At Muhammad’s own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who
was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches
in religious history: “If there are any among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it
is God you worshipped, He lives forever.” (James A. Michener)

If ever any man on this earth has found God; if ever any man has devoted his life for the sake of
God with a pure and holy zeal then, without doubt, and most certainly that man was the Holy
Prophet of Arabia. (Major A. Leonard)

Every honest Jew who knows the history of his people cannot but feel a deep sense of gratitude
to Islam, which has protected the Jews for fifty generations, while the Christian world persecuted
the Jews and tried many times ‘by the sword’ to get them to abandon their faith. (Uri Avnery, A
Jew)

The teachings of Islam can fail under no circumstances. With all our systems of culture and
civilization, we can not go beyond Islam and, as a matter of fact, no human mind can go beyond
the Qur’an. (Johann Goethe)

People who worry that nuclear weaponry will one day fall in the hands of the Arabs, fail to realize
that the Islamic bomb has been dropped already, it fell the day Muhammad was born. (Dr. Joseph
Adam Pearson)

The greatest success of Mohammad’s life was effected by sheer moral force without the stroke of
a sword. (Edward Gibbon)

The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other
is quite false. (A. S. Tritton, ISLAM, London, 1951)

Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the widest sense of this term considered
etymologically and historically. ...the teachings of the Prophet, the Qur’an has invariably kept its
place as the fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has always been
proclaimed therein with a grandeur a majesty, an invariable purity and with a note of sure
conviction, which it is hard to find surpassed outside the pale of Islam....A creed so precise, so
stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary
understanding might be expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvelous power of
winning its way into the consciences of men. (Edward Montet)

It was the genius of Muhammad, the spirit that he breathed into the Arabs through the soul of
Islam that exalted them. That raised them out of the lethargy and low level of tribal stagnation up
to the high watermark of national unity and empire. It was in the sublimity of Muhammad’s deism,
the simplicity, the sobriety and purity it inculcated the fidelity of its founder to his own tenets that
acted on their moral and intellectual fiber with all the magnetism of true inspiration. (Arthur Glyn
Leonard)

He was sober and abstemious in his diet and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no
magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress
affected but a result of real disregard for distinction from so trivial a source. In his private dealings
he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and weak, with
equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and
listened to their complaints. (Washington Irving)

The sayings of Muhammad are a treasure of wisdom not only for Muslims but for all mankind.
(Mahatma Gandhi)

The principles of universal brotherhood and doctrine of the equality of mankind which he
proclaimed represents one very great contribution of Mohammad to the social uplift of humanity.
All great religions have preached the same doctrine but the prophet of Islam had put this theory
into actual practice and its value will be fully recognized, perhaps centuries hence, when
international consciousness being awakened, racial prejudices may disappear and greater
brotherhood of humanity come into existence. (Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao)

An honest man, as the saying goes, is the noblest work of God, Mohammad was more than
honest. He was human to the marrow of his bones. Human sympathy, human love was the music
of his soul. To serve man, to elevate man, to purify man, to educate man, in a word to humanize
man - this was the object of his mission, the be-all and end all of his life. In thought, in word, in
action he had the good of humanity as his sole inspiration, his sole guiding principle. (Prof. K. S.
Ramakrishna Rao)

The number of verses in Qur’an inviting close observation of nature are several times more than
those that relate to prayer, fasting, pilgrimage etc. all put together. The Muslim under its influence
began to observe nature closely and this gives birth to the scientific spirit of the observation and
experiment which was unknown to the Greeks. (Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao)

The Qur’an says that God has created man to worship him but the word worship has a
connotation of its own. Gods worship is not confined to prayer alone, but every act that is done
with the purpose of winning approval of God and is for the benefit of the humanity comes under
its purview. (Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao)

How often the words came in Qur’an -- Those who believe and do good works, they alone shall
enter paradise. Again and again, not less than fifty times these words are repeated as if too much
stress can not be laid on them. Contemplation is encouraged but mere contemplation is not the
goal. Those who believe and do nothing can not exist in Islam. (Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao)

My problem to write this monograph is easier because we are not generally fed now on that
(distorted) 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 in any
quarter worth the name. The principle of Islam, there is no compulsion in religion, is well known.
(Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao)

The sword of Islam is not the sword of steel. I know this by experience, because the sword of
Islam struck deep into my own heart. It didn't bring death, but it brought a new life; it brought an
awareness and it brought an awakening as to who am I and what am I and for what am I here?
(Ahmed Holt, a convert)

In Islam I found suitable replies to nagging queries arising in my mind with regard to the theory of
creation, status of woman, creation of universe, etc. The life history of the holy Prophet attracted
me very much and made easy for me to compare with other world leaders and their philosophies.
(Vengatachalam Adiyar, now Abdullah Adiyar)

I have lived under different systems of life and have had the opportunity of studying various
ideologies, but have come to the conclusion that none is as perfect as Islam. None of the systems
has got a complete code of a noble life, only Islam has it’ and that is why good men embrace it.
Islam is not theoretical; it is practical. It means complete submission to the will of God. (Herbert
Hobohm, now Aman Hobohm)

It will be wrong to judge Islam in the light of the behavior of some bad Muslims who are always
shown on the media. It is like judging a car as a bad one if the driver in the car is drunk and he
bangs it into the wall. Islam guides all human beings in daily life - in its spiritual, mental and
physical dimensions. But we must find the sources of these instructions, the Qur'an and the
example of the Prophet. Then we can see the ideal of Islam. (Cat Stevens, now Yusuf Islam)

Islam appears to me like a perfect work of Architecture. All its parts are harmoniously conceived
to complement and support each other. Nothing is superfluous and nothing lacking, with the result
of an absolute balance and solid composure. (Leopold Weiss, now Mohammed Asad)

For some time now, striving for more and more precision and brevity, I have tried to put on paper
in a systematic way, all philosophical truths, which in my view, can be ascertained beyond
reasonable doubt. In the course of this effort it dawned on me that the typical attitude of an
agnostic is not an intelligent one; that man simply cannot escape a decision to believe; that the
createdness of what exists around us is obvious; that Islam undoubtedly finds itself in the greatest
harmony with overall reality. Thus I realize, not without shock, that step by step, in spite of myself
and almost unconsciously, n feeling and thinking I have grown into a Muslim. Only one last step
remained to be taken: to formalize my conversion. As of today I am a Muslim. I have arrived. (M.
Hoffman, PhD in law, Harvard; now Murad Hoffman)