நபிகள் நாயகம் பற்றி கூறும் பைபிள்--02

முஹம்மத் (ஸல்) அவர்கள் பற்றி புனித பைபிள் --02

எமது முதல் தொடரில் "ஜே" தொடர்பான எழுத்து மாராட்டங்கள், பெயர்களை தங்கள் விருப்பம் போல் மாற்றுவது தொடர்பான செய்திகள்வெளீயிடப்பட்டிருந்தன,                                                                                                                                     அதன் அடுத்த தொடரை இங்கு வாசிக்கலாம்.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

                                                   இயேசு அந்நாளில் எழுப்பப்படும் போது இவ்வுலகில் அவரின் பெயரைக்கொண்டு தங்களது காரியங்களைச் செய்தவர்களைப்பார்த்து அவர் கூறுவார், என்னை விட்டு அகன்று போங்கள், என்னை விட்டு ஒதுங்கிக்கொள்ளுங்கள்....

இந்த நடத்தையை, காட்சியை பைபிள் படம்பிடித்துக் காட்டுகின்றது

                                                                                "இறுதி நாளன்று பலர் என்னிடம் "நீரேஎங்கள் கர்த்தர், உம்மைப் போற்றினோம். அசுத்த ஆவிகளை உம் பெயரால்விரட்டினோம், அற்புதங்கள் பல செய்தோம் என்று கூறுவார்கள். அவர்களிடம் நான்'என்னை விட்டு விலகுங்கள். தவறு செய்தவர்கள் நீங்கள். உங்களை எனக்குத்தெரியாது' என்று வெளிப்படையாகவே சொல்வேன்.      (மத்தேயு 7 : 22-23)

இந்த வார்த்தைகள் எந்த ஒரு முஸ்லிமுக்குக்கோ, இந்துவுக்கோ அல்லது ஏனைய மதத்தவர்களுக்கு பொருந்தாது, ஆனால் கிறிஸ்தவர்களை மட்டுமே குறித்துச் சொல்லுவதாக அமையும்,

இன்று பகிரங்க மேடைகள் போட்டு, இயேசு கிறிஸ்துவின் நாமத்தால் என்று அவரது பெயரைக்கொண்டு அற்புதங்களை நிகழ்த்துவர்களை, மக்களை அதிகமாக,  ஏமாற்றுபவர்களை பரவலாக காணமுடிகிறது.

இப்படிப்பட்டவர்களுக்குத் தான் இந்த இயேசு கிறிஸ்துவின் முன்னெச்சரிக்கைகளாகும் என்பதை கிறிஸ்தவ நண்பர்கள் கவனத்தில் கொள்ள வேண்டும்.

அந்த நாளில் ஈஸா (அலை) அவர்களைப் பார்த்ததும் ஜீசஸ், ஜீசஸ் என்று கிறிஸ்தவர்களெல்லாம் கூடி அழைத்தால் அவர் யார் ஜீஸ்ஸ் என்று திரும்பிப் பார்க்கும் நிலை வரும்.

அந்தளவுக்கு பெயர் மாற்றம் செய்யப்பட்டிருக்கிறது.

அதுபோல் தான் பீட்டர் என்பதும், அவரது வாழ்க்கையில் ஒருநாளும் அவரை அல்லது அவராகவே தன்னை பீட்டர் என்று அறிமுகப்படுத்தியிருக்கமாட்டார். அவரது உண்மையான பெயர் 'சைமன் கீபஸ்'

இவ்வாறு பெயர்களை மாற்றியதனால் உண்மையான பெயர்கள் இல்லாது போய்விட்டன.

மசாயா ஜீசஸாக மாறிவிட்ட்து, அந்த பெயரை அல்குர் ஆன் ஈஸா அலை என்றே அறிமுகப்படுத்துகின்றது.

முஹம்மத் (ஸல்) அவர்களின் வருகையை முன்னைய வேதங்களில் முன்னறிவிப்பு செய்த்தாக அல்லாஹ் அல் குர்ஆனில் எமக்கு ஞாபகமூட்டுகின்றான்.

وَإِذْ قَالَ عِيسَى ابْنُ مَرْيَمَ يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقاً لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّراً بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ فَلَمَّا جَاءهُم بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ قَالُوا هَذَا سِحْرٌ مُّبِينٌ [الصف : 6

"இஸ்ராயீலின் மக்களே! நான் உங்களுக்கு (அனுப்பப்பட்ட) அல்லாஹ்வின் தூதர். எனக்கு முன்சென்ற தவ்ராத்தை உண்மைப்படுத்துபவன். எனக்குப் பின்னர் வரவுள்ள அஹ்மத் என்ற பெயருடைய தூதரைப் பற்றி நற்செய்தி கூறுபவன்"என்று மர்யமின் மகன் ஈஸா கூறியதை நினைவூட்டுவீராக! அவர்களிடம் தெளிவான சான்றுகளைக் கொண்டு வந்த போது "இது தெளிவான சூனியம்" எனக் கூறினர்"                                               (அல்குர் ஆன் 61 – 6)

முஹம்மத்  மற்றும் அஹமத் ஆகிய இரண்டும் ஒரே பெயர்கலாகும்.

ஆனால் இன்றைய கிறிஸ்துவ பைபிள் மொழிபெயர்ப்புக்களில் 'முஹம்மதோ அஹம்மதோ'காணக்கிடைப்பதில்லை.

ஆனால் அதனை பைபிள் வேரு ஒரு இடத்தில் உறுதிப்படுத்துகின்றது:

                                                                                                                 "நான் உண்மையைச் சொல்லிக்கொண்டிருகிறேன். நான் போவது உங்களுக்கு நன்மையைத் தரும். ஏனென்றால் நான் போனால், உதவியாளரை அனுப்புவேன். நான் போகாவிட்டால் அந்த உதவியாளர் வரமாட்டார். அவர் வரும்போது இவற்றைப்பற்றி உண்மைகளையெல்லாம் உலகிலுள்ள மக்களுக்கு நிரூபிப்பார். அதோடு பாவத்தின் குற்றம் பற்றியும், நியாயத்தீர்ப்பு பற்றியும் விலக்குவார்."   (யோவான் 16 : 7 - 8)

 இயேசு கிறிஸ்து என்கின்ற ஈசா (அலை) அவர்கள் இங்கு சொல்லுகிற அந்த தீர்க்கதரசி, அல்லது தேற்றரவாளன் முஹம்மது (ஸல்) அவர்கள் மாத்திரமே.

ஆனால் அந்த தீர்க்கதரசி பரிசுத்த ஆவி தான் என்று கிறிஸ்துவ அறிஞர்கள் சொல்லுகிறரகள், ஆனால் பைபிளின் மூலப் பிரதியைப் பார்த்தால்  பரிசுத்த ஆவி என்பதற்கு இந்த சொல் பாவிக்கப்படுவதாக எங்கும் காணக்கிடைப்பதில்லை.

ஆனால் கிறிஸ்தவர்களின் வாதப்படி அது பரிசுத்த ஆவிதான் என்றால், இங்கு பாருங்கள்; மேலே சொன்ன வசனத்தின் படி: "ஏனென்றால் நான் போனால், உதவியாளரை அனுப்புவேன். நான் போகாவிட்டால் அந்த உதவியாளர் வரமாட்டார்."  நான் போனால்தான் அவர் வருவார், நான் போகாவிட்டால் அவர் வர மாட்டார். என்று சொல்லும் போது எப்படி பரிசுத்த ஆவி அந்த வாக்குக்கு சம்பந்தப்படுத்த முடியும்? பைபிளில் இடம்பெருகின்ற பரிசுத்த ஆவியுடைய வரலாற்றை ஆராய்கின்ற போது பரிசுத்த ஆவி இயேசுவுடைய பிறப்புக்கு  முன்னர் இருந்திருக்கிறது. இயேசுவுடனும் இருந்திருக்கிறது, அப்படி இருக்கும் போது எப்படி இந்த வசனத்திற்கு பரிசுத்த ஆவிதான் வரப்போதும் தேற்றரவாளன் என்று சொல்ல முடியும்?                                                                                    

****இது ஒரு changesdo.com யின் படைப்பு****                                                                          

தொடரும்.........

http://changesdo.blogspot.com/2010/08/02.html                                                                                

 

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நம் காலகட்டத்திற்கான ஒரு தீர்க்கதரிசி

THE TELEGRAPH, Calcutta

Saturday, February 16, 2008

புகழ்பெற்ற பத்திரிக்கையாளரும் நாடறிந்த எழுத்தாளருமான குஷ்வந்த்சிங் அவர்கள் "தி டெலெக்ராஃப்" என்ற பத்திரிக்கையில் பிப்ரவரி 16ம் தேதி, 2008-ல் மேற்குறிப்பிட்ட தலைப்பில் எழுதிய கட்டுரை. (இந்த கட்டுரை இஸ்லாத்தின் வரலாறு, கொள்கைகள், அது பரவியவிதம், இஸ்லாத்திற்கெதிரான அவதூறுகள் முழுவதையும் வெகு சுருக்கமாகவும், அழகாகவும் விவரிப்பதோடு அந்த குற்றச்சாட்டுகள் இஸ்லாத்திற்கு எதிரான முன்முடிவுகள் மற்றும் விரோத மனப்பான்மையை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்ட வேண்டுமன்றே புனையப்பட்ட கதைகள் என்பதை ஆதாரங்களுடன் விளக்குகிறது).

 

எந்த ஒரு இனம் அல்லது சமூகத்தின் மீதும் தவறான எண்ணம் கொண்டிருப்பது விஷம் போன்றதாகும். அதை நமது மனதிலிருந்து ஆரம்ப காலகட்டங்களிலேயே வேரோடு பிடுங்கி எறியாவிடில், அது புற்றுநோய் போல் பரவி உண்மையையும் போலியையும் பிரித்தறியும் தன்மையை அழித்துவிடும். நாம் கொண்டுள்ள பலவகையான முன்முடிவுகள் மற்றும் தவறான எண்ணங்களில் மிக மோசமானது நாம் சார்ந்திருக்கும் சமயம் மற்றெல்லா சமயங்களைவிட மேலானது என்று நம்புவதுதான். இதை மாற்று மதத்தவர் நட்பு வேண்டி அல்லது மரியாதை நிமித்தம் சகிப்புத்தன்மையுடன் கேட்டுக் கொள்வார்களே ஒழிய நடைமுறையில் ஏற்றுக் கொள்ளமாட்டார்கள். இன்றைய காலகட்டத்தில் உலகில் மிகவும் தவறுதலாக புரிந்துகொள்ளப்பட்ட முக்கிய மதங்களில் ஒன்று இஸ்லாம்.  இஸ்லாம் உலகில் கிறிஸ்துவத்திற்கு அடுத்தபடியாக மக்கள் அதிக எண்ணிக்கையில் பின்பற்றக்கூடிய மார்க்கம். மேலும் உலகின் எந்த சமயத்தை விடவும் இஸ்லாத்திற்கு மாறுபவர்களின் எண்ணிக்கைதான் மிக அதிக அளவில் உள்ளது.

மத்திய கிழக்கு நாடுகளிலும், வட  ஆப்பிரிக்கா, ஸ்பெயின் நாடுகளிலும்  முஸ்லிம்களின் கை ஓங்க ஆரம்பித்த காலத்திலிருந்து இஸ்லாத்திற்கு எதிரான அவதூறுகள் கிறிஸ்தவ நாடுகளில் பரப்பப்பட்டு வருகின்றன.  கிறிஸ்தவ போராளிகள் இஸ்லாத்தை அது உருவான தாய்மண்ணில் அழித்துவிட வேண்டும் என்ற அவர்களது குறிகோள்களில் தோல்வியுற்றனர்.  ஆனால் இஸ்லாத்தை தோற்றுவித்தவரான முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) மீது தொடர்ந்து அவதூறுகளை அள்ளிவீசினர்.  (தொன்று தொட்டு வீசப்படும் இந்த அவதூறுகளுடன்) அல் காய்தா மற்றும் தாலிபான் போன்ற வன்முறையை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்ட தீவிரவாத இயக்கங்களின் தோற்றம் இவர்களின் குற்றச் சாட்டுகளுக்கு மேலும் வலுவூட்டியது.  செப்டம்பர் 11, 2001-ல் நியூயார்க்கிலுள்ள உலக வர்த்தக மையத்திலும், வாஷிங்டனிலுள்ள பென்டகன் இராணுவ அலுவலகத்திலும் நடத்தப்பட்ட தாக்குதல்களும் இவர்களுக்கு இஸ்லாத்தை மேலும் நிந்திக்கக் கிடைத்த புதிய ஆயுதங்களாக அமைந்தன.  அன்றிலிருந்து இஸ்லாத்திற்கு எதிரான அவதூறு முஸ்லிமல்லாதவர்களால் எங்கும் வேண்டுமென்றே பரப்பப்பட்டு வருகிறது. 

 

இஸ்லாமிய விரோதிகளால் இஸ்லாத்திற்கு எதிராக முன் வைக்கப்படும் முதன்மையான இரு வாதங்கள் என்னவென்றால் ஒன்று இஸ்லாம் வாளால் பரப்பப் பட்டது என்பதும் மற்றது இஸ்லாத்தை தோற்றுவித்த தீர்க்கதரிசியான முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்), முஸ்லிம்கள் கூறுவது போல் ஒழுக்கச்சீலர் அல்லர் என்பதுதான். இஸ்லாமிய மார்க்கம் மக்களின் மீது திணிக்கப்படவில்லை என்பதை வரலாற்றுச் சான்றுகளிலிருந்து நிரூபிக்க இயலும்.  இந்த தவறான கூற்றுக்கு மாறாக இஸ்லாம் அன்றைய காலகட்டத்தில் மனித இனமே கேள்வியுற்றிராத புதிய கோட்பாடுகளையும் (உலகிலேயே முதன் முறையாக) பெண்களுக்கான உரிமைகளையும் வழங்கியது என்பதால் கோடிக்கணக்கான மக்களால் உடனுக்குடனே முழுமனதுடன் இஸ்லாம் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ளப்பட்டது.  இந்தோனேசியா, மலேசியா போன்ற நாடுகளில் இஸ்லாம் திணிக்கப்படவில்லை மாறாக இஸ்லாமிய மதப்பிரச்சாகர்களால் பரப்பப்பட்டது.

பொதுவாக முஸ்லிம்கள் தங்களின் தீர்க்கதரியான முஹம்மது (ஸல்) மீது விமர்சனத்தை சிறிதும் சகிக்க மாட்டார்கள்.  பாரசீக மொழியில் ஒரு பழ மொழியே உண்டு "ப ஹுதா திவானா பஷோ, ப முஹம்மத் ஹோஷியார்!" – "இறைவனைப் பற்றி என்ன வேண்டுமானாலும் சொல்லிக் கொள்ளுங்கள், முஹம்மதை (ஸல்) பற்றி சொல்லும் வார்த்தையில் எச்சரிக்கையாய் இருங்கள்". முஸ்லிம்கள் முஹம்மது நபியை (ஸல்)  ஆதாம், மூசா (மோஷஸ்), நூஹ் (நோவா), இப்ராஹிம் (ஆப்ரஹாம்) மற்றும் ஈஸா (ஏசு) போன்ற தீர்க்கதரிசிகளின் தொடர்ச்சியில் கடைசி தீர்க்கதரிசியாகவும், இந்த உலகில் இது வரை தோன்றிய மனிதர்களில் முழுமையானவர் என்ற ஸ்தானத்தில் தங்கள் மனதில் வைத்து பார்க்கின்றனர். முஸ்லிம்கள் அவரை அப்படி எண்ணக் காரணம் என்ன என்பதை நீங்கள் நேர்மையாக தெரிந்துகொள்ள விரும்பினால், அவருடைய வாழ்க்கையையும் அவருக்கு இறைவன் மூலமாக வெளிப்படுத்தப் பட்டது என்று முஸ்லிம்கள் நம்புகின்ற அவரது போதனைகளையும் நன்றாக படித்து ஆராய வேண்டும்.  மாறாக, அல்காய்தா, தாலிபான் இவர்களின் செயல்களைக் கொண்டோ மற்றும் அயோத்துல்லாக்களும், அரைவேக்காட்டு முல்லாக்களும் கொடுக்கின்ற ஃபத்வாக்களையும் அடிப்படையாக வைத்தோ அவரை மதிப்பிடுவது  முற்றிலும் தவறாகும். வேதங்களையும், உபநிசத்துகளையும் அருளியிருக்கும் ஹிந்துயிசக் கொள்கையை ஹிந்துத்வா என்ற பெயரில் மசூதிகளை இடித்தும், கிறிஸ்துவ மதப்பிரச்சாகர்களையும், கன்னியாஸ்திரிகளையும் கொலை செய்தும், நூலகங்களையும், கலை பொருட்களையும் இடித்தும், எரித்தும் நாசப்படுத்தும் ஹிந்துக்களின் செயல்களை வைத்து நீங்கள் மதிப்பிடுவதில்லை.சீக்கிய குருமார்களின் போதனைகளை ஜர்னைல் சிங் பிந்தரன்வலாவின் சொற்களைக் கொண்டோ அல்லது அப்பாவி மக்களைக் கொன்று குவிக்கும் குண்டர்களைக் கொண்டோ கணிப்பதில்லை.  அதேபோல்தான், முஹம்மதை (ஸல்), முஸ்லிம்கள் என்ற பெயர் தாங்கிய சிலரின் தவறான போக்கைக் கொண்டு மதிப்பிடாமல், முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) என்ன என்ன போதித்தார், எதற்காக பாடு பட்டார் என்பதை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்டு ஆராய்ந்து பாருங்கள். 

முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) கி.பி. 570-ல் மக்காவில் பிறந்தார்.  சிறு வயதிலேயே அவர் பெற்றோர்களை இழந்ததால் தன் பாட்டனாலும், தாய் மாமனாலும் வளர்க்கப்பட்டார்.  ஒரு விதவையின் வியாபாரத்தை கவனித்து வந்தவர் பின்னர் அந்த விதவையின் விருப்பத்திற்கிணங்க அவரையே மணந்துகொண்டார்.  அவர்களுக்கு ஆறு குழந்தைகள் பிறந்தன.  தன் மனைவி இறக்கும்வரை முஹம்மது (ஸல்) வேறு திருமணம் செய்துகொள்ளவில்லை. நாற்பது வயதான போதுதான் அவருக்கு ஒருவித உணர்வற்ற மயக்கநிலையில் (வஹி என்று சொல்லப்படும்) இறைச்செய்தி வெளிப்பட ஆரம்பித்தது. முஸ்லிம்கள் அவரை தங்கள் புதிய (கடைசி) தீர்க்கதரிசி என்று அறிவித்தனர். இது போன்ற இறைச்செய்திகள் பல நேரங்களில் வந்து கொண்டிருந்தன. சமயங்களில் அந்நேரத்தில் எழுந்த பிரச்சனைகளுக்கு விடையளிப்பதாகவும் அல்லது தீர்வாகவும் சில நேரங்களில் ஆன்மீக விஷயங்களைக் குறித்தும் வெளியாயின. அந்த (இறைச்செய்தி) வெளிப்பாடுகள் அனைத்தும் முஹம்மது நபியை (ஸல்) மனப்பூர்வமாக நம்பியவர்களால் மனனம் செய்யப்பட்டும், எழுதப்பட்டும் "சப்தத்துடன் ஓதுதல்" என்ற பொருள்படும் "குர்ஆன்" ஆனது.  மேலும் அவர் சொல்லிய கருத்துக்களில் பெரும்பான்மையானவை ஏற்கனவே யூத சமூகத்தில் கடைபிடிக்கப்பட்டவைதான் என்பதை நாம் மனதில் கொள்ள வேண்டும் (ஒரு சிலவற்றைத் தவிர).  அல்லாஹ் என்ற வார்த்தையின் பொருள் அரபி மொழியில் நபிக்கு முன்னரே "இறைவனை" குறிப்பதாகத்தான் இருந்தது.  அதே போல்தான் "இஸ்லாம்" என்றால் "அடிபணிதல் அல்லது அற்பணித்தல்" என்றும் சலாம் என்றால் "அமைதி" என்றும் அரபுமொழியில் பொருள் பட்டது. மக்கா நகரம் பது என்ற குலத்தவரின் சந்தை நகரமாக இருந்து வந்தது. அங்கிருந்த கஃபா என்று அழைக்கப்பட்ட ஒரு சிறிய கருப்புக்கல் பதிக்கப்பட்ட ஆலயத்தில் ஹஜ் மற்றும் உம்ரா என்ற இரு வகையான புனித யாத்திரைக்காக மக்கள் கூடினர். முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) யூதர்களின் மரபின் படியே ஹலால் (அனுமதிக்கப்பட்டது) ஹராம் (தடுக்கப்பட்டது – உ..ம். பன்றி இறைச்சி) என்ற உணவு பழக்க வழக்க முறைகள், ஐ வேளை தொழுகையின் பெயர்கள், ஆண் குழைந்தைகளுக்கான சுன்னத் முறை போன்ற பழக்க வழக்கங்களை பின்பற்றி மக்களுக்கும் போதித்தார். முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) ஏகத்துவத்தை வலியுறுத்தியதுடன் இறைவனுக்கு இணை வைப்பதையும், பல்வேறு குலத்தினர் பின்பற்றிய சிலை வழிபாட்டையும் தடுத்தார்.  முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) ஒரு போதும் தன்னுடைய நம்பிக்கையை மக்களின் மீது கட்டாயப்படுத்தவில்லை. மாறாக நம்பிக்கை சம்பந்தப்பட்ட விஷயங்களில் கட்டாயம் கூடாது – லா இக்ரா ஃபில் தீன்" என்று (குர்ஆனில் சொல்லப்பட்டிருக்கும்) இறைச் செய்தியை வலியுறுத்தினார். மேலும், "இறைவன் நினைத்திருந்தால் உங்கள் அனைவரையும் ஒரே கட்டளையில் அப்படி தான் விரும்பியபடி மாற்றியிருக்க முடியும்; ஆனால் அவன் உங்களுக்கு அருளியிருப்பவற்றிலிருந்து உங்களை சோதிக்க எண்ணினான்.  எனவே, நற்காரியங்களில் நீங்கள் ஒருவரை ஒருவர் முந்திக் கொள்ளுங்கள்" என்ற (குர்ஆனில் கூறப்பட்ட) இறைச்செய்தியையும் மேற்கோள் காட்டினார்.

அவர் எதிர்பார்த்திருக்கக் கூடியது போலவே, முஹம்மது நபியின் (ஸல்) தூதுத்துவம் அவருக்கெதிரான கடும் பகைமையை உருவாக்கியது. அவரை கொலை செய்ய பல வகை முயற்சிகள் மேற்கொள்ளப்பட்டன. ஆனால் அவர் தெய்வீகமாக ஆச்சர்யப்படும் வகையில் அனைத்து கொலை முயற்சிகளிலிருந்தும் உயிர்தப்பினார். கடைசியாக, கி.பி. 622-ல் அவர் மக்காவை விட்டு மதீனா செல்ல பணிக்கப்பட்டார். முஸ்லிகளின் ஆண்டு கணக்கீடு என்று அறியப்படும் இந்த நபியின் பயணம்தான் ஹிஜ்ரா என்று அழைக்கப் படுகிறது.  மக்கா வாசிகள் மதீனாவை பிடிக்க சில முயற்சிகள் செய்து விரட்டியடிக்கப் பட்டனர். கடைசியில் முஹம்மது நபியை (ஸல்) தலைமையாகக் கொண்டு சென்ற முஸ்லிம் படைகள் மக்காவை வெற்றி கொண்டு மக்காவுக்கு வெற்றிவீரர்களாக திரும்பினர்.  கி.பி. 632-ல் முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) இறந்தபோது, இஸ்லாத்தை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்ட ஒன்றிணைந்த பல்வேறு குலத்தினரை உள்ளடக்கிய அரேபிய தீபகற்பம் உருவானது.

முஹம்மது நபிக்கு (ஸல்) எதிராக வீசப்படும் அவதூறு விமர்சனங்களில் பெரும்பாலனவை அவர் தன் முதல் மனைவி கதீஜாவின் மரணத்திற்கு பின் பலதாரமணம் புரிந்ததையே சுட்டுவதாக உள்ளன. இதை அக்கால அரேபிய சமூகத்திலிருந்த பழக்க வழக்கங்கள் மற்றும் சூழலின் கண்ணோட்டத்தில் பார்க்க வேண்டும்.  அக்காலத்தில் அரேபியாவில் பல்வேறு குலத்தவர்கள் ஒருவருக்கொருவர் போரிட்டும், பாலைவனத்தில் பிரயாணம் செய்யும் கூட்டத்தினரை கொள்ளையடித்தும் வாழ்க்கையை நடத்தி வந்ததால் ஆண்கள் அதிக எண்ணிக்கையில் உயிரழந்தனர் (நபியின் காலத்திற்கு பிறகுதான் அரேபியர்களின் வாழ்க்கைமுறை மாறி சிலை வழிபாடு, கொலை, கொள்ளை போன்ற அநீதிகள் மாறின).  அது ஆண் பெண் விகிதாச்சாரத்தில் பெருத்த சமநிலையின்மையை உருவாக்கியது.  இறந்த ஆண்களின் விதவை மனைவிகளுக்கும், அனாதையாக விடப்பட்ட குழந்தைகளுக்கும் இருப்பிடமும், உணவும் தேவைப்பட்டது. இல்லையென்றால் அவர்கள் விபச்சாரம் செய்தோ அல்லது பிச்சை எடுத்தோ பிழைக்க வேண்டியிருந்தது. அதனால் அவர்களுக்கு பாதுகாப்பு வழங்கும் பொருட்டு அவர்களை சட்டப்படி திருமணம் செய்துகொண்டனர். மேலும், திருமணம் என்ற சமூக அமைப்பு வெவ்வேறு குலத்தவரை இணைக்கும் பாலமாக இருந்தது.  முஹம்மது நபி (ஸல்) ஒருபோதும் மக்களால் ஏற்றுக்கொள்ள இயலாத ஒரு கருத்தைச் சொன்னதோ அல்லது செய்ததோ இல்லை.  முஹம்மது நபிதான் (ஸல்) முதன் முதலில் ஓர் மணமே சிறந்த வாழ்க்கை முறை என்ற கருத்தை வலியுறுத்திய போதகர்.  பிறகு அன்றைய சூழலுக்கு ஏற்றாற் போல் அதிகபட்சமாக நான்கு மனைவிகளை திருமணம் செய்து கொள்ளலாம் என வரையறுத்தார்; ஆனால் அனைத்து மனைவிகளையும் சமநிலையாக மகிழ்ச்சியில் வைத்திருக்க முடியும் என்ற நிபந்தனையின் பேரில் – (இது முற்றிலும் சாத்தியமற்றது என்பதை நாம் அறிவோம்). அது சம்பந்தமாக குர்ஆன் கூறுகிறது "நீங்கள் அனாதைகளிடம் நடுநிலையுடன் நியாயமாக நடந்துகொள்ள முடியாது என்று அச்சப்படுவீர்களேயானால், வேறு தாங்கள் விருப்ப்படும் (அனாதையல்லாத) சட்டபூர்வமாக அனுமதிக்கப்பட்ட பெண்களிலிருந்து திருமணம் செய்துகொள்ளுங்கள். இரண்டோ, முன்றோ அல்லது நான்கு வரை மணந்துகொள்ளலாம். ஆனால், அனைவரையும் சமமாகவும், நேர்மையாகவும் நடத்த இயலுமா என்ற அச்சம் உங்களுக்கு எழுமேயானால், ஒரு பெண்ணை மட்டுமே மணந்து கொள்ளுங்கள்". அன்றைய கால கட்டத்தில் உலகம் முழுவதிலும் பரவலாக இருந்த குலத்தை அடிப்படையாகக் கொண்ட சமூகங்களில் பலதாரமணம் என்பது ஒரு அங்கீகரிக்கப்பட்ட பழக்க வழக்கமாகவே இருந்தது என்பதை ஞாபகத்தில் வைத்துக் கொள்ளுங்கள்.

முஸ்லிம்களுக்கு எதிரான எண்ணங்களையும் முன் முடிவுகளையும்  உங்கள் மனதிலிருந்து அகற்றுவதற்கு முதல்படியாக காரன் ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங்கின் "முஹம்மது: நம் காலகட்டத்திற்கான ஒரு தீர்க்கதரிசி" என்ற புத்தகத்தை வாசியுங்கள். காரன் ஆம்ஸ்ட்ராங் சமய ஆராய்ச்சி ஒப்பீட்டு எழுத்தாளர்களில் இன்றைக்கு முண்ணனி எழுத்தாளராக திகழ்பவர். காரன் ஒரு முஸ்லிம் அல்லர்.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/archives/archive.html

இந்தக் கட்டுரையின் மூலப்பிரதியை ஆங்கிலத்தில் படிக்க விரும்புபவர்கள், மேலே கொடுக்கப்பட்டுள்ள சுட்டியைச் சொடுக்கவும்.

 

Health and Nutrition of The Prophet

Health and Nutrition of The Prophet:
Prophetic Sayings & Modern "Discoveries"

By Karima Burns (MH, ND)

A tradition states, "There are no new ideas, just new people to discover them." It is, in fact, amazing to find how many "modern discoveries" have already been written about in the Qur'an or Hadith. 

There are a number of words of advice and nutritional habits of the prophet (SAWS) that have substantial support in recent scientific literature. Among this advice is that we should eat whole foods, we should combine foods properly, we should eat foods in their seasons, and we should not drink with meals.

In Sahih Bukhari, a number of examples can be found showing how carefully the prophet combined foods. One hadith relates, "A man from among the Companions of the Prophet (PBUH) said, 'The Prophet (SAW) forbade (mixing) unripe dates and dried dates, and (mixing) raisins and dried dates. Aisha, Ummul Mu'minun, related that, "The Apostle of Allah (SAW) used to eat melon with fresh dates, and he used to say, 'The heat of the one is broken by the coolness of the other, and the coolness of the one by the heat of the other.' He was also said to have never combined fish and milk.

Modern science supports these habits by informing us that the combination of foods we eat and the order in which we eat them are very important factors in health. "Recently," it has been found that foods require different digestive processes in the body; thus, they are most easily digested when combined properly. Modern scientists say that improper food combinations can cause a person to inadequately digest their food, which can create imbalances in PH levels, improper absorption of nutrients, constipation or other digestive troubles. Dr. Ted Morter, in Your Health... Your Choice, advises us to not eat fresh fruit with any other food, even dried fruit, since it is a pre-digested food that moves straight through the stomach and into the intestines. When it is eaten with any other food, it ferments itself and anything else that is in the stomach.

The second advice given by Dr. Morter in his book is that we should start each meal off with something raw. The reason is that raw foods contain the enzymes we need to digest our food. His third rule of food combining is to avoid mixing protein and starches. We may eat starches with vegetables or vegetables with meat, but we should do our best to avoid combining starches and proteins. The reason is that proteins and starches require completely different environments for digestion. Proteins need a more acidic environment while carbohydrates and starches can be digested much more quickly. When a person combines them, neither food has the ideal environment. Furthermore, a protein meal takes up to five hours for the body to digest so it should be the last meal of the day when your body is not digesting other foods as well. 

Improper food combining will not cause a person to become immediately sick, but it will prevent what they are eating from being digested and utilized to the best of its ability, which means they will need to eat more food to get additional nutrients.

Modern allergists also advise against improper food combining and tell us that many combinations can create synergistic allergic reactions. In the book The Whole Way to Allergy Relief and Prevention, Dr. Krohn advises us not to combine milk with chocolate, mint, or fish; corn and bananas; beef and yeast; eggs and apples; or cola and chocolate. 

The hadith provide numerous examples of the respect the prophet had for the purity and value of water, and relate that he did not drink while eating a meal. Sahih Bukhari relates that, "The Apostle of Allah (SAW) came out from the valley of a mountain... there were some dried dates on a shield before us. We called him and he ate with us. He did not touch water." Experts in the field of food combining inform us that water impedes the digestive process in the stomach when eaten within a half hour of a meal.

The Qur'an (2:168) advises us, "Ye People, eat of what is on earth, lawful and wholesome." In the time of the prophet, the choices of food were simply related to whether a food was halal or haram. However, in modern times we have many more choices. 

Many people have difficulty understanding what "whole" foods are because so few people actually eat whole foods. As few as two hundred years ago, everyone consumed whole foods because they did not have processed foods as an option. In 1940, about 80% of the nation consumed whole foods. Abram Hoffer, MD, and Morton Walker, DPM, report in their book, Putting it all Together: The New Orthomolecular Nutrition, that today, only 25% of the population actually eat "whole foods." A whole food is merely a food that has retained its original constituents. An apple is a whole food and applesauce made from fresh apples at home in a grinder is a whole food. However, applesauce ground and cooked by machines, and then separated to create a better texture and supplemented with sugar and color is not a whole food. Wheat Berries are a whole food; therefore, flour made from pure ground wheat berries containing bran is a whole food. Flour made by removing the bran and germ, and then bleaching the final product (white flour) is not a whole food. 

Even some popular "health food" items fall into the category of processed partial foods rather than whole foods. This list includes rice cakes, granola bars, pretzels, turkey and tofu hot dogs, whole grain cereals, and frozen juices. These so called "health foods" are only a fraction more nutritious than their mainstream processed counterparts.

It is important to eat whole foods (grains, vegetables and fruits) because they contain all the nutrients that we need to thrive as human beings in their natural form. The more we change them from their original state, the less benefit we get from them. With new vitamins and minerals being discovered every year, it is increasingly obvious that Allah's "Mother Nature" is way ahead of us, and we are not qualified to duplicate His process through our efforts to "enrich" processed foods in laboratories. Bernard Jensen, in his book, Chemistry of Man says, "Natural foods contain all the vitamins that have been and will be discovered." 

This apparent fact should make it obvious that the only way we can guarantee we are getting all of our nutrients is to get them from whole foods. Attempting to build our health any other way is to merely make an educated guess. Furthermore, it does not make sense to eat devitalized foods, and then spend time and money buying vitamins and supplements, and following various health programs. In fact, processed foods actually have the ability to leech nutrients from the system. E. Cheraskin, in his book Diet and Disease, reports that laboratory tests indicate that processed foods do not have enough vitamins and minerals to help in their own assimilation. Pasta, for instance, does not have sufficient amounts of vitamins, enzymes or even fiber to aid in the digestive process. 

Manufacturers claim their products contain high nutritious value, but they can only claim that by adding synthetic vitamins and minerals that are not useful to the human body to them. The elements that comprise organic minerals are loosely held together so that when they enter the body, they can easily be assimilated. However, the constituent parts of inorganic minerals are held together by bonds that are so tight that the body cannot easily break them apart; therefore, we rarely benefit from their consumption. 

The Qur'an (20:81) also advises us to, "Eat of the good things We have provided for your sustenance, but commit no excess therein." The Prophet himself was always known to eat fruits and vegetables grown in the region in which he lived and in season (Al-Akili, Medicine of the Prophet). Donald Lepore, a nutritionist and author of the book The Ultimate Healing System, has found in his allergy relief therapies that, "God did not permit foods that are antagonistic to man's existence to be grown in the area of consumption." We can often avoid most of our problems by simply eating foods that are grown nearby and in season. Bernard Jensen, in his book Chemistry of Man, reports that unripe or imported produce, often found in grocery stores, is lacking in natural sodium among other things. Furthermore, he has found that the chemistry of barley, for instance, warms the blood and is thus appropriate for winter months, but is not as advisable as a regular summer food unless there is a "cold" illness involved.

As you read through Qur'an and the Hadith, and compare them to modern scientific "discoveries," you will find again and again that Qur'anic and prophetic wisdoms are being rediscovered. This is, perhaps, one of the best reasons to refer to Qur'an and the Hadith as not only the starting point for all knowledge, but as a "double-check" system for what we find in secular literature as well. 

http://www.islamonline.net/english/Science/2000/4/article3.shtml

 

 

 

A must Read ! Muhammad's sword!

This is a great article written by a Jew who knows
more about history than many of us. It is well worth
reading and then circulating to as many people as you
know especially since it was not written by a
Muslim...therefore no prejudice was involved.

 

Muhammad's sword

By Uri Avner

09/24/06

Since the days when Roman emperors threw Christians to
the lions, the relations between the emperors and the
heads of the church have undergone many changes.

Constantine the Great, who became emperor in the year
306 - exactly 1700 years ago - encouraged the practice
of Christianity in the empire, which included
Palestine . Centuries later, the church split into an
Eastern (Orthodox) and a Western (Catholic) part. In
the West, the Bishop of Rome, who acquired the title
of Pope, demanded that the emperor accept his
superiority.

The struggle between the emperors and the popes played
a central role in European history and divided the
peoples. It knew ups and downs. Some emperors
dismissed or expelled a pope, some popes dismissed or
excommunicated an emperor. One of the emperors, Henry
IV, "walked to Canossa ", standing for three days
barefoot in the snow in front of the Pope's castle,
until the Pope deigned to annul his excommunication.

But there were times when emperors and popes lived in
peace with each other. We are witnessing such a period
today. Between the present Pope, Benedict XVI, and the
present emperor, George Bush II, there exists a
wonderful harmony. Last week's speech by the Pope,
which aroused a worldwide storm, went well with Bush's
crusade against "Islamofascism", in the context of the
"clash of civilizations".

In his lecture at a German university, the 265th Pope
described what he sees as a huge difference between
Christianity and Islam: while Christianity is based on
reason, Islam denies it. While Christians see the
logic of God's actions, Muslims deny that there is any
such logic in the actions of Allah.

As a Jewish atheist, I do not intend to enter the fray
of this debate. It is much beyond my humble abilities
to understand the logic of the Pope. But I cannot
overlook one passage, which concerns me too, as an
Israeli living near the fault-line of this "war of
civilizations".

In order to prove the lack of reason in Islam, the
Pope asserts that the Prophet Muhammad ordered his
followers to spread their religion by the sword.
According to the Pope, that is unreasonable, because
faith is born of the soul, not of the body. How can
the sword influence the soul?

To support his case, the Pope quoted - of all people -
a Byzantine emperor, who belonged, of course, to the
competing Eastern Church. At the end of the 14th
century, Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus told of a
debate he had - or so he said (its occurrence is in
doubt) - with an unnamed Persian Muslim scholar. In
the heat of the argument, the emperor (according to
himself) flung the following words at his adversary:


Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and
there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such
as his command to spread by the sword the faith he
preached.


These words give rise to three questions: (A) Why did
the Emperor say them? (B) Are they true? (C) Why did
the present Pope quote them?

 

(A) Why did the Emperor say them?
When Manuel II wrote his treatise, he was the head of
a dying empire. He assumed power in 1391, when only a
few provinces of the once illustrious empire remained.
These, too, were already under Turkish threat.

At that point in time, the Ottoman Turks had reached
the banks of the Danube . They had conquered Bulgaria
and the north of Greece , and had twice defeated
relieving armies sent by Europe to save the Eastern
Empire . On 29 May 1453, only a few years after
Manuel's death, his capital, Constantinople (the
present Istanbul ), fell to the Turks, putting an end
to the empire that had lasted for more than a thousand
years.

During his reign, Manuel made the rounds of the
capitals of Europe in an attempt to drum up support.
He promised to reunite the church. There is no doubt
that he wrote his religious treatise in order to
incite the Christian countries against the Turks and
convince them to start a new crusade. The aim was
practical, theology was serving politics.

In this sense, the quote serves exactly the
requirements of the present Emperor, George Bush II.
He, too, wants to unite the Christian world against
the mainly Muslim "Axis of Evil". Moreover, the Turks
are again knocking on the doors of Europe , this time
peacefully. It is well known that the Pope supports
the forces that object to the entry of Turkey into the
European Union.

(B) Are they true?
Is there any truth in Manuel's argument?

The pope himself threw in a word of caution. As a
serious and renowned theologian, he could not afford
to falsify written texts. Therefore, he admitted that
the Qur'an specifically forbade the spreading of the
faith by force. He quoted the second Sura, Verse 256
(strangely fallible, for a pope, he meant Verse 257)
which says: "There must be no coercion in matters of
faith."

How can one ignore such an unequivocal statement? The
Pope simply argues that this commandment was laid down
by the Prophet when he was at the beginning of his
career, still weak and powerless, but that later on he
ordered the use of the sword in the service of the
faith. Such an order does not exist in the Qur'an.
True, Muhammad called for the use of the sword in his
war against opposing tribes - Christian, Jewish and
others - in Arabia , when he was building his state.
But that was a political act, not a religious one;
basically a fight for territory, not for the spreading
of the faith.

Jesus said: "You will recognize them by their fruits."
The treatment of other religions by Islam must be
judged by a simple test: how did the Muslim rulers
behave for more than a thousand years, when they had
the power to "spread the faith by the sword"?

Well, they just did not.

For many centuries, the Muslims ruled Greece . Did the
Greeks become Muslims? Did anyone even try to Islamize
them? On the contrary, Christian Greeks held the
highest positions in the Ottoman administration. The
Bulgarians, Serbs, Romanians, Hungarians and other
European nations lived at one time or another under
Ottoman rule and clung to their Christian faith.
Nobody compelled them to become Muslims and all of
them remained devoutly Christian.

True, the Albanians did convert to Islam, and so did
the Bosniaks. But nobody argues that they did this
under duress. They adopted Islam in order to become
favourites of the government and enjoy the fruits.

In 1099, the Crusaders conquered Jerusalem and
massacred its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants
indiscriminately, in the name of the gentle Jesus. At
that time, 400 years into the occupation of Palestine
by the Muslims, Christians were still the majority in
the country. Throughout this long period, no effort
was made to impose Islam on them. Only after the
expulsion of the Crusaders from the country, did the
majority of the inhabitants start to adopt the Arabic
language and the Muslim faith - and they were the
forefathers of most of today's Palestinians.

There no evidence whatsoever of any attempt to impose
Islam on the Jews. As is well known, under Muslim rule
the Jews of Spain enjoyed a bloom the like of which
the Jews did not enjoy anywhere else until almost our
time. Poets like Yehuda Halevy wrote in Arabic, as did
the great Maimonides. In Muslim Spain, Jews were
ministers, poets, scientists. In Muslim Toledo,
Christian, Jewish and Muslim scholars worked together
and translated the ancient Greek philosophical and
scientific texts. That was, indeed, the Golden Age.
How would this have been possible, had the Prophet
decreed the "spreading of the faith by the sword"?

What happened afterwards is even more telling. When
the Catholics reconquered Spain from the Muslims, they
instituted a reign of religious terror. The Jews and
the Muslims were presented with a cruel choice: to
become Christians, to be massacred or to leave. And
where did the hundreds of thousands of Jews, who
refused to abandon their faith, escape? Almost all of
them were received with open arms in the Muslim
countries. The Sephardi ("Spanish") Jews settled all
over the Muslim world, from Morocco in the west to
Iraq in the east, from Bulgaria (then part of the
Ottoman Empire) in the north to Sudan in the south.
Nowhere were they persecuted. They knew nothing like
the tortures of the Inquisition, the flames of the
auto-da-fe, the pogroms, the terrible mass-expulsions
that took place in almost all Christian countries, up
to the Holocaust.

Why? Because Islam expressly prohibited any
persecution of the "peoples of the book". In Islamic
society, a special place was reserved for Jews and
Christians. They did not enjoy completely equal
rights, but almost. They had to pay a special poll
tax, but were exempted from military service - a
trade-off that was quite welcome to many Jews. It has
been said that Muslim rulers frowned upon any attempt
to convert Jews to Islam even by gentle persuasion -
because it entailed the loss of taxes.

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.

The story about "spreading the faith by the sword" is
an evil legend, one of the myths that grew up in
Europe during the great wars against the Muslims - the
reconquista of Spain by the Christians, the Crusades
and the repulsion of the Turks, who almost conquered
Vienna . I suspect that the German Pope, too, honestly
believes in these fables. That means that the leader
of the Catholic world, who is a Christian theologian
in his own right, did not make the effort to study the
history of other religions.

(C) Why did the present Pope quote them?

Why did he utter these words in public? And why now?

There is no escape from viewing them against the
background of the new Crusade of Bush and his
evangelist supporters, with his slogans of
"Islamofascism" and the "global war on terror" - when
"terrorism" has become a synonym for Muslims. For
Bush's handlers, this is a cynical attempt to justify
the domination of the world's oil resources. Not for
the first time in history, a religious robe is spread
to cover the nakedness of economic interests; not for
the first time, a robbers' expedition becomes a
Crusade.

The speech of the Pope blends into this effort. Who
can foretell the dire consequences?

Uri Avnery is an Israeli author and activist. He is
the head of the Israeli peace movement, "Gush Shalom".

You Must Know This Man

 

You Must Know This Man
The World Islamic Propagation Establishment (UK), 359 Rayners Lane, Pinner,  Middlesex,  HA5 5EN, U.K.
Telephone: +44 (0)181 426 2216, Fax number: +44 (0)181 426 2217, Email: wipecrc@home.virtual-pc.com

You may be an antheist or an agnostic; or you may belong to any 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 ideological and political beliefs, personal and social habits happen to be - you must still know this man.

ENCYCLOPEDIA BRITANNICA confirms:
"....a mass of detail in the early sources show that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who were like-wise honest and upright men." (Vol. 12)

GEORGE BERNARD SHAW said about him:
"He must be called the Saviour of Humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that would bring it much needed peace and happiness." (THE GENUINE ISLAM, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936)

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 numerous social and political reforms, established a powerful and dynamic society to practice and represent his teachings and completely revolutionized the worlds of human thought and behavior for all times to come.

"HIS NAME IS MUHAMMAD" May Peace of God Be Upon Him (pbuh)
He was born in Arabia in the year 570 C.E. (common era), started his mission of preaching the religion of Truth, Islam (submission to One God) at the age of forty and departed from this world at the age of sixty-three.

During this short period of 23 years of his Prophethood, he changed the complete Arabian peninsula from paganism and idolatry to 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 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 - and IMAGINE all these unbelievable wonders in JUST OVER TWO DECADES.

Lamartine, the renowned historian speaking on the essentials of human greatness wonders:

"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? 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 two-fold, 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 the standards by which Human Greatness may be measured, we may well ask, IS THERE ANY MAN GREATER THAN HE?" (Lamartine, HISTOIRE DE LA TURQUIE, Paris, 1854, Vol. II, pp 276-277)

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. The lives and teachings of these great personalities of the world are shrouded in the mist of time.

There is so much speculation about the time and 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 to reconstruct accurately the lives and teachings of these men.

Not so this man. Muhammad (pbuh) accomplished so much in such diverse fields of human thought and behavior in the fullest blaze of human history. Every detail of his private life and public utterances has been accurately documented and faithfully preserved to our day. The authenticity of the record so preserved are vouched for not only by the faithful followers but even by his prejudiced critics.

Muhammad (pbuh) was a religious teacher, a social reformer, a moral guide, 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 different aspects of life - but it was only for the selfless personality of Muhammad (pbuh) to achieve such incredible perfections.

MAHATMA GANDHI, speaking on the character of Muhammad, (pbuh) says in YOUNG INDIA:
"I wanted to know the best of one who holds today's undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind....I became more than convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to this friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission.

These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life."

THOMAS CALYLE in his HEROES AND HERO WORSHIP, 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."

DIWAN CHAND SHARMA wrote:
"Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him." (D.C. Sharma, THE PROPHETS OF THE EAST, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12)

EDWARD GIBBON and SIMON OCKLEY speaking on the profession of ISLAM write:
"'I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MAHOMET, AN 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 honor of the Prophet has never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion." (HISTORY OF THE SARACEN EMPIRES, London, 1870, p. 54)

Muhammad (pbuh) was nothing more or less than a human being. But he was a man with a noble mission, which was to unite humanity on the worship of ONE and ONLY ONE GOD and to teach them the way to honest and upright living based on the commands of God. He always described himself as, 'A Servant and Messenger of God,' and so indeed every action of his proclaimed to be.

Speaking on the aspect of equality before God in Islam, the famous poetess of India, SAROJINI NAIDU says:
"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." (S. Naidu, IDEALS OF ISLAM, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169)

In the words of PROF. HURGRONJE:
"The league of nations founded by the prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations as to show candle to other nations." He continues: "The fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations."

The world has not hesitated to raise to divinity, individuals whose lives and missions have been lost in legend. Historically speaking, none of these legends achieved even a fraction of what Muhammad (pbuh) accomplished. And all his striving was for the sole purpose of uniting mankind for the worship of One God on the codes of moral excellence. Muhammad (pbuh) or his followers never at any time claimed that he was a Son of God or the God-incarnate or a man with divinity - but he always was and is even today considered as only a Messenger chosen by God.

MICHAEL H. HART in his recently published book on ratings of men who contributed towards the benefit and upliftment of mankind writes:
"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." (M.H. Hart, THE 100: A RANKING OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL PERSONS IN HISTORY, New York, 1978, p. 33)

K. S. RAMAKRISHNA RAO, an Indian Professor of Philosophy in his booklet, "Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam," calls him the "PERFECT MODEL FOR HUMAN LIFE." Prof. Ramakrishna Rao explains his point by saying:
"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 alike a hero."

Thomas Carlyle in 'Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in History,' 1840

"The lies (Western slander) which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad) are disgraceful to ourselves only."

"A silent great soul, one of that who cannot but be earnest. He was to kindle the world, the world's Maker had ordered so."

A. S. Tritton in 'Islam,' 1951

The picture of the Muslim soldier advancing with a sword in one hand and the Qur'an in the other is quite false.

De Lacy O'Leary in 'Islam at the Crossroads,' London, 1923.

History makes it clear, however, that the legend of fanatical Muslims sweeping through the world and forcing Islam at the point of sword upon conquered races is one of the most fantastically absurd myths that historians have ever repeated.

Gibbon in 'The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire' 1823

The good sense of Muhammad despised the pomp of royalty. The Apostle of God submitted to the menial offices of the family; he kindled the fire; swept the floor; milked the ewes; and mended with his own hands his shoes and garments. Disdaining the penance and merit of a hermit, he observed without effort of vanity the abstemious diet of an Arab.

Edward Gibbon and Simon Oakley in 'History of the Saracen Empire,' London, 1870

"The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected by sheer moral force."

"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 Medina 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 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."

Lane-Poole in 'Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Muhammad'

He was the most faithful protector of those he protected, the sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence; those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or after." He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could forget what he said...

Annie Besant in 'The Life and Teachings of Mohammad,' Madras, 1932.

It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knew 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 reread them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.

W.C. Taylor in 'The History of Muhammadanism and its Sects'

So great was his liberality to the poor that he often left his household unprovided, nor did he content himself with relieving their wants, he entered into conversation with them, and expressed a warm sympathy for their sufferings. He was a firm friend and a faithful ally.

Reverend Bosworth Smith in 'Muhammad and Muhammadanism,' London, 1874.

"Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life."

"In Mohammadanism every thing is different here. Instead of the shadowy and the mysterious, we have history....We know of the external history of Muhammad....while for his internal history after his mission had been proclaimed, we have a book absolutely unique in its origin, in its preservation....on the Substantial authority of which no one has ever been able to cast a serious doubt."

Edward Montet, 'La Propagande Chretienne et ses Adversaries Musulmans,' Paris 1890. (Also in T.W. Arnold in 'The Preaching of Islam,' London 1913.)

"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."

Dr. Gustav Weil in 'History of the Islamic Peoples'

Muhammad was a shining example to his people. His character was pure and stainless. His house, his dress, his food - they were characterized by a rare simplicity. So unpretentious was he that he would receive from his companions no special mark of reverence, nor would he accept any service from his slave which he could do for himself. He was accessible to all and at all times. He visited the sick and was full of sympathy for all. Unlimited was his benevolence and generosity as also was his anxious care for the welfare of the community.

Alphonse de LaMartaine in 'Historie de la Turquie,' Paris, 1854.

"Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself and no other aid except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, in faith and in arms, reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's name, Persia Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern Africa, numerous islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and part of Gaul.

"If greatness of purpose, smallness of means, and astonishing results are the three criteria of a human genius, who could dare compare any great man in 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, legislations, empires, peoples, 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 the souls.

"On the basis of a Book, every letter which has become law, he created a spiritual nationality which blend together peoples of every tongue and race. He has left the indelible characteristic of this Muslim nationality the hatred of false gods and the passion for the One and Immaterial God. This avenging patriotism against the profanation of Heaven formed the virtue of the followers of Muhammad; the conquest of one-third the earth to the dogma was his miracle; or rather it was not the miracle of man but that of reason.

"The idea of the unity of God, proclaimed amidst the exhaustion of the fabulous theogonies, was in itself such a miracle that upon it's utterance from his lips it destroyed all the ancient temples of idols and set on fire one-third of the world. His life, his meditations, his heroic revelings against the superstitions of his country, and his boldness in defying the furies of idolatry, his firmness in enduring them for fifteen years in Mecca, his acceptance of the role of public scorn and almost of being a victim of his fellow countrymen: all these and finally, his flight his incessant preaching, his wars against odds, his faith in his success and his superhuman security in misfortune, 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 words.

"Philosopher, Orator, Apostle, Legislator, Conqueror of Ideas, Restorer of Rational beliefs.... 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?"

Mahatma Gandhi, statement published in 'Young India,'1924.

I wanted to know the best of the life of one who holds today an undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind.... I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the Prophet the scrupulous regard for pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every obstacle. When I closed the second volume (of the Prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of that great life.

Sir George Bernard Shaw in 'The Genuine Islam,' Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936.

"If any religion had the chance of ruling over England, nay Europe within the next hundred years, it could be Islam."

"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 for from being an anti-Christ, he must be called the Savior of Humanity."

"I believe that if a man like him 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."

Michael Hart in 'The 100, A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons In History,' New York, 1978.

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 secular and religious level. ...It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. ...It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.

Dr. William Draper in 'History of Intellectual Development of Europe'

Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born in Mecca, in Arabia, the man who, of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race... To be the religious head of many empires, to guide the daily life of one-third of the human race, may perhaps justify the title of a Messenger of God.

J.W.H. Stab in 'Islam and its Founder'

Judged by the smallness of the means at his disposal, and the extent and permanence of the work that he accomplished, his name in world's history shines with a more specious lustre than that of the Prophet of Makkah. To the impulse which he gave numberless dynasties have owed their existence, fair cities and stately palaces and temples have arisen, and wide provinces became obedient to the Faith. And beyond all this, his words have governed the belief of generations, been accepted as their rule of life, and their certain guide to the world to come. At a thousand shrines the voices of the faithful invoke blessings on him, whom they esteem the very Prophet of God, the seal of the Apostles.... Judged by the standards to human renown, the glory of what mortal can compare with his?

Washington Irving in 'Life of Muhammad,' New York, 1920.

His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory as they would have done had they been effected by selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manner and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect was shown to him.

Arthur Glyn Leonard in 'Islam, Her Moral and Spiritual Values'

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.

Charles Stuart Mills in 'History of Mohammadanism'

Deeply read in the volume of nature, though extremely ignorant of letters, his mind could expand into controversy with the wisest of his enemies or contract itself to the apprehension of meanest of his disciples. His simple eloquence was rendered impressive by a manner of mixed dignity and elegance, by the expression of a countenance where the awfulness of his majesty was so well tempered by an amiable sweetness, that it exerted emotions of veneration and love. He was gifted with that authoritative air or genius which alike influences the learned and commands the illiterate.

Philip K. Hitti in 'History of the Arabs'

Within a brief span of mortal life, Muhammad called forth of unpromising material, a nation, never welded before; in a country that was hitherto but a geographical expression he established a religion which in vast areas suppressed Christianity and Judaism, and laid the basis of an empire that was soon to embrace within its far flung boundaries the fairest provinces the then civilized world.

Stanley Lane-Poole in 'Studies in a Mosque'

He was one of those happy few who have attained the supreme joy of making one great truth their very life spring. He was the messenger of One God, and never to his life's end did he forget who he was or the message which was the marrow of his being. He brought his tidings to his people with a grand dignity sprung from the consciousness of his high office, together with a most sweet humility.

Rodwell in the Preface to his translation of the Holy Qur'an

Mohammad's career is a wonderful instance of the force and life that resides in him who possesses an intense faith in God and in the unseen world. He will always be regarded as one of those who have had that influence over the faith, morals and whole earthly life of their fellow men, which none but a really great man ever did, or can exercise; and whose efforts to propagate a great verity will prosper.

W. Montgomery Watt in 'Muhammad at Mecca,' Oxford, 1953.

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 a leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement - all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems that it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.... Thus, not merely must we credit Muhammad with essential honesty and integrity of purpose, if we are to understand him at all; if we are to correct the errors we have inherited from the past, we must not forget the conclusive proof is a much stricter requirement than a show of plausibility, and in a matter such as this only to be attained with difficulty.

D. G. Hogarth in 'Arabia'

Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious memory. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has ever been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the founder of Christianity has not governed the ordinary life of his followers. Moreover, no founder of a religion has left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim apostle.

Washington Irving 'Mahomet and His Successors'

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.

His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting a regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonials of respect were shown to him. If he aimed at a universal dominion, it was the dominion of faith; as to the temporal rule which grew up in his hands, as he used it without ostentation, so he took no step to perpetuate it in his family.

James Michener in 'Islam: The Misunderstood Religion,' Reader's Digest, May 1955, pp. 68-70.

"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."

"Muhammad, the inspired man who founded Islam, was born about A.D. 570 into an Arabian tribe that worshiped 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 merit, 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 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 worshiped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you Worshiped, He lives for ever'."

Lawrence E. Browne in 'The Prospects of Islam,' 1944

Incidentally these well-established facts dispose of the idea so widely fostered in Christian writings that the Muslims, wherever they went, forced people to accept Islam at the point of the sword.

K. S. Ramakrishna Rao in 'Mohammed: The Prophet of Islam,' 1989

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 that "there is no compulsion in religion" is well known.

Jules Masserman in 'Who Were Histories Great Leaders?' in TIME Magazine, July 15, 1974

Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammad, who combined all the three functions. To a lesser degree Moses did the same.

http://www.themodernreligion.com/quotes_muhammad.htm#tritton