Fair-minded and impartial non-Muslim thinkers tell us about the Messenger

no one can read about the magnanimous manners and the noble character of the messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, without expressing admiration of his character and bedazzlemen by it. thus, it is no wonder that we see such fragrant praise and objective testimonies from many of those who have not even embraced islam. history has recorded their quotations, writings and heritage in this regard and this provides firm evidence and decisive proof of his sublime morals and characteristics, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

fair-minded and impartial non-muslim thinkers tell us about the messenger, sallallaahu

‘alayhi wa sallam:

in the eyes of the orientalists:

1- the american orientalist, washington irving, said, “muhammad, (sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam), was the final and greatest prophet that allaah sent to call people to worship him  alone.” (excerpted from qaaloo ‘an al-islam (what they said about islam) by professor ‘imaad ad-deen khaleel)

2- the spanish orientalist, jan lake, in his book the arabs said, “the life of muhammed cannot be described using any words that are better than what allaah says: {and we have not sent you, [o muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds.} [quran 21:107] and indeed, muhammed was a real mercy, and i ask for blessings upon him passionately and ardently.”

3- the italian orientalist, laura veccia vaglieri, said, “muhammad, who always held on to divine principles, was very compassionate - especially with those who believe in one god. he knew how to have great patience with the pagans, ever showing deliberation.” [apologia dell' islamismo (translated into english as: an interpretation of islam) by laura veccia vaglieri]

4- the french orientalist, gustave le bon, said, “muhammad met all the harm and torture with great patience and endurance. muhammad treated the people of quraysh, who were his enemies for twenty years, with kindness and forbearance.” [la civilisation des arabes, (the civilization of arabs) by gustave le bon]

in the eyes of the philosophers:

1- the renowned british philosopher and playwright, sir george bernard shaw, said, “i have studied the life of the messenger of islam very well, time after time, and i have found nothing but moral standards as they should be. i always wished that islam would become the way of the world.” [ar-rasool, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, fee ‘uyoon gharbiyyah munsifah by al-husaini ma‘di]

2- the english philosopher, thomas carlyle, who was said to be the finest british mind after shakespeare said, “this great, kind-hearted merciful wise man had other thoughts in his mind than worldly ambitions, and other intentions than seeking authority and high status.” [ar-rasool, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, fi ‘uyoon gharbiyyah munsifah by

al-husayni ma‘addi]

in the eyes of historians:

1- the british historian, sir william muir, said, “mahomet, peace be upon him, was characterized by his distinct and emphatic speech. his religion is uncomplicated. he did amazing actions. actually, history has never witnessed a reformer like the prophet of islam who increased awareness and revived the proper meaning of noble manners and virtue in such a short time.” he added, “a remarkable feature was the urbanity and consideration with which mahomet treated even the most insignificant of his followers. modesty and kindness, patience, self-denial, and generosity, pervaded his conduct, and riveted the affections of all around him. he was not known ever to refuse an invitation to the house even of the most meager, nor to decline a proffered present however small. when seated by a friend, he did not haughtily advance his knees towards him. he possessed the rare faculty of making each individual in a company think that he was the most favored guest. when he met anyone rejoicing, he would seize him eagerly and cordially by the hand. with the bereaved and afflicted he sympathized tenderly. he shared his food, even in times of scarcity, with others; and was sedulously solicitous for the personal comfort of every one about him.” [the life of mahomet by william muir and ar-rasool sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, by sa‘eed hawa]

in the eyes of poets and linguists:

1- the famous french poet, alphonse de lamartine, said, “i have studied the life of muhammad well and realized the greatness of it.” [voyage en orient (travelling to the orient)]

2- the well-known german poet and writer, johann wolfgang von goethe, said, “i have searched the history of humanity for a role model for man and found it in the arab prophet muhammad.” [allahs sonne über dem abendland (allaah's sun over the occident) by sigrid hunke]

3- the french writer, edward montet, professor of oriental languages at the university of geneva said in his book muhammad and the quran, “muhammad, peace be upon him, had magnanimous manners, sublime morality, sweet speech and sound judgment. he was characterized by soundness of judgment, truthfulness of words and a firm belief in what he did and said.”

these were the testimonies of some european orientalists, philosophers, historians and poets about the noble character of the prophet muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, the seal of the prophets.

we aim to prove that western people acknowledge the prophethood of muhammad, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, his noble traits and his favors that will last until the day of judgment over mankind in all parts of the world.

although christian european fanaticism is always partial and makes no attempt to be objective, there remain fair-minded thinkers who have affirmed the truth unequivocally.

however, the dominant western cultural trends that are filled with fanaticism, stubbornness and self-centeredness have explored every possible avenue to hide and suppress these obvious facts, so the european lay-person would not know these facts that his fellow countrymen have proved as true about islam, its prophet and his universal everlasting message. all such things are done only to realize two aims:

first, to keep the christians of europe away from islam whose effectiveness in affecting thehuman personality has been evidently proved. in fact, the  people in the west are afraid of islam because of the steady decline in the number of those converting to christianity in the world in spite of the enormous amounts of money and time they spend to make people christians.

the well-known evangelist, lawrence brown, said, "we have found that the real danger for us is islam and its ability to expand and to submit people to its teachings and its remarkable vitality." he added, “the real universal danger in this age is muslims. so we have to unify our powers, mobilize armies and be aware of it ... the cause of islam is totally different from the jewish one. the religion of muslims differs from that of the jews. it calls all people to embrace it. it is spreading among the christians themselves and among non-christians. as a matter of fact, muslims have engaged in a long struggle in europe. muslims, as the evangelists view, have never been a downtrodden minority … therefore, we see evangelists supporting the jews against muslims in palestine. we used to fear the jews, the yellow danger (japan when it defeated china), and the bolshevik danger; however, none of these dangers have been realized as we expected. we have found that the jews are our friends and thus, whoever oppresses them will be our sworn enemy. furthermore, we have discovered that the bolsheviks are our allies. as for the yellow peoples, there are big democratic states resisting them. indeed, the real danger lies in the system of islam." [at-tabsheer walisti‘ maar (evangelization and occupation) by dr. mustafa al-khaalidy and dr. ‘amr farrookh, excerpted from al-bayaan magazine, issue no. 174, p. 92, and ar-rasool fi ‘uyoon gharbiyyah munsifah (the messenger (peace be upon him) in fair-minded western eyes)]

second, guaranteeing the continuation of the conflict between the west and islam, and their disagreement for the interests of zionism and freemasonry which believe they are the first parties to be harmed by any agreement or serious dialogue between islam and the west.

in the following pages, we will delve into the character of the messenger, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, in order to reveal the pearls of sublime morality and refined manners. we will adhere only to the authentic reported narrations of the deeds and speech of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, so that muslims may realize an important aspect of the greatness of the character and incredible magnanimous manners of their prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam. this, in turn, will instill love for him in their hearts, and by virtue of that love they will call people to adopt and support his religion and adhere to his sunnah.

perhaps this may reach some fair-minded people and be a reason for guiding them to islam, or stop those who, because of their ignorance and blind fanaticism, support heinous campaigns of distorting and defaming the biography of the finest man who ever lived, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam.

as we have mentioned, we will touch upon the beauty of the sublime morality of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and the testimonies of the previous nations about him. then we will discuss these characteristics in detail. we will begin with his personal attributes such as truthfulness, honesty, humility, bashfulness, asceticism, and patience. then we will touch upon his refined manners with people around him such as his mercy, forbearance, forgiveness and pardoning, justice, loyalty, generosity, benevolence, bravery and strength.

then we will learn the manners of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, especially with those who were very close to him and for whom he cared very much, such as his family, children, young people, servants, and the weak and needy.

then we will conclude with a question: how should we support the noble prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam? we will answer this question through mentioning the means of establishing true love of the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, and some of the duties that the one who truly loves the prophet, sallallaahu ‘alayhi wa sallam, should adhere to, and what such love entails in terms of supporting him.