Chapter Three: The Glad Tidings Given by Jesus and Moses –peace be upon them both– of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him– & the Sayings of the Impartial non-Muslims in that Regard

 Chapter Three: The Glad Tidings Given by Jesus and Moses –peace be upon them both– of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him– & the Sayings of the Impartial non-Muslims in that Regard

Prologue:
The Glad Tidings Given by the Prophets of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him–

Section One: The Glad Tidings Given by Moses –peace be upon him– of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him–
Section Two: The Glad Tidings Given by Jesus –peace be upon him– of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him–
Section Three: Sayings of the Impartial non-Muslims Regarding Muhammad –peace be upon him–

Chapter Three:
The Glad Tidings Given by Jesus and Moses –peace be upon them both– of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him– & the Sayings of the Unbiased non-Muslims in that Regard

Prologue:
The Glad Tidings Given by the Prophets of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him–
It was only appropriate in the case of a great messenger such as Muhammad –peace be upon him– especially considering the universality of his call, as well as the perpetuity of his religion and legislation – that Allah the Exalted informed His prophets and messengers –peace be upon them– of his coming, and described to them some of his characteristics and his signs so that they could give glad tidings of his coming to their nations, and instruct them to accept his call and obey him.[477]

This is indeed what took place, just as Allah the Mighty and Majestic said:
]وَإِذۡ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَٰقَ ٱلنَّبِيِّ‍ۧنَ لَمَآ ءَاتَيۡتُكُم مِّن كِتَٰبٖ وَحِكۡمَةٖ ثُمَّ جَآءَكُمۡ رَسُولٞ مُّصَدِّقٞ لِّمَا مَعَكُمۡ لَتُؤۡمِنُنَّ بِهِۦ وَلَتَنصُرُنَّهُۥۚ قَالَ ءَأَقۡرَرۡتُمۡ وَأَخَذۡتُمۡ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكُمۡ إِصۡرِيۖ قَالُوٓاْ أَقۡرَرۡنَاۚ قَالَ فَٱشۡهَدُواْ وَأَنَا۠ مَعَكُم مِّنَ ٱلشَّٰهِدِينَ]
Sura aali-`Imran; (3):81
]Meaning: And remember when Allah took the covenant of the prophets saying: "Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you must believe in him and support him.” Allah said: “Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?” They said: “We have acknowledged it.” He said: “Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.”]

Ibn Kathir said in explanation of this verse:
“`Ali bin Abi Talib and his cousin, Ibn `Abbas – may Allah be pleased with them both – said: ‘Allah did not send any of the prophets except that He took a covenant from them that if Muhammad –peace be upon him– was sent while they were still alive then they would believe in him and support him.”[478]

The greatest glad tidings given were by those messengers of strong will; namely Moses and Jesus –peace be upon them– mention of which shall follow in the next two sections.

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(477) See: ‘Muhammadun Rasulullah wa Khatam an–Nabiyyin’ of Shaikh Muhammad al–Khadhir Husayn (pp. 54–55).

(478) See: ‘Tafsir al–Quran al–Adhim’ of Ibn Kathir (1/357).

Section One: The Glad Tidings Given by Moses –peace be upon him– of the Coming of Muhammad
News regarding the coming of the trustworthy Prophet had been delivered to the Israelites by the prophet of Allah Moses long ago. They had been informed of his sending; his attributes; the clarity of his message; and the characteristics of his religion. He was the unlettered Prophet who commanded the people with good and forbade them from evil; he made lawful for them fine things and prohibited them from immorality; and he relieved those who believed in him of the burdens and shackles which Allah knew they would be bound by because of their sins – so he freed them from such when they believed in him. The followers of this prophet were fearful of their Lord and dutiful to Him; they paid the alms due upon them; and they believed in the signs of Allah.

The inevitable news was delivered to the Israelites that whoever believed in this unlettered Prophet, honoured him, revered him, aided him and followed the guidance that was revealed to him – they would be the successful and victorious ones in this life and the Hereafter.

Allah says in the Quran:
]قَالَ عَذَابِيٓ أُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَنۡ أَشَآءُۖ وَرَحۡمَتِي وَسِعَتۡ كُلَّ شَيۡءٖۚ فَسَأَكۡتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤۡتُونَ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلَّذِينَ هُم بِ‍َٔايَٰتِنَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ ١٥٦ ٱلَّذِينَ يَتَّبِعُونَ ٱلرَّسُولَ ٱلنَّبِيَّ ٱلۡأُمِّيَّ ٱلَّذِي يَجِدُونَهُۥ مَكۡتُوبًا عِندَهُمۡ فِي ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَٱلۡإِنجِيلِ يَأۡمُرُهُم بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ وَيَنۡهَىٰهُمۡ عَنِ ٱلۡمُنكَرِ وَيُحِلُّ لَهُمُ ٱلطَّيِّبَٰتِ وَيُحَرِّمُ عَلَيۡهِمُ ٱلۡخَبَٰٓئِثَ وَيَضَعُ عَنۡهُمۡ إِصۡرَهُمۡ وَٱلۡأَغۡلَٰلَ ٱلَّتِي كَانَتۡ عَلَيۡهِمۡۚ فَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ بِهِۦ وَعَزَّرُوهُ وَنَصَرُوهُ وَٱتَّبَعُواْ ٱلنُّورَ ٱلَّذِيٓ أُنزِلَ مَعَهُۥٓ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ]
Sura al-A’raf; (7):156-7
]Meaning: Allah said: "My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things." So I will ordain it especially for those who are fearful of Me and dutiful to Me and give Zakat and those who believe in Our verses - Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find written in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honoured him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him - it is those who will be the successful.][479]

This verse clearly mentions that the Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him– is written in the Torah and the Gospel, and what is meant by him ‘being written’ in them is: his sending is mentioned; as well as his call and some of his traits.

This is certainly the case as the aforementioned verse was revealed upon the ears of scholars from the two nations; the Jews and Christians. Some of them believed in him  and informed others of that which their books contained regarding his signs and attributes, while others –although they do not deny their books mention a prophet who was to come with such signs and attributes– they stubbornly denied that the reference was to the Prophet Muhammad, instead claiming another prophet was meant.

Allah revealed the following verse in reference to such people:
]ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيۡنَٰهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ يَعۡرِفُونَهُۥ كَمَا يَعۡرِفُونَ أَبۡنَآءَهُمۡۖ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقٗا مِّنۡهُمۡ لَيَكۡتُمُونَ ٱلۡحَقَّ وَهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُونَ]

 Sura al-Baqarah; (2):146
]Meaning: Those to whom We gave the Scripture know him as they know their own sons. But indeed, a party of them conceal the truth while they know it.]

Some scholars and researchers sought to compile the indications of Muhammad’s coming, highlighting how they correspond precisely to the Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him– such that the reader is left without a doubt that he is indeed the Messenger whom the prophets gave glad tidings of his coming, and whose comprehensive message they prophesied.

Due to how conclusive these indications are in serving as proof for the truthfulness of Muhammad’s prophethood, the noble Quran mentions them as evidence of prophethood.

Allah the Almighty said:
]أَوَ لَمۡ يَكُن لَّهُمۡ ءَايَةً أَن يَعۡلَمَهُۥ عُلَمَٰٓؤُاْ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ]
Sura ash-Shu’ara; (26):197
]Meaning: And has it not been a sign to them that it is recognized by the scholars of the Children of Israel?]

The recognition of the Israelite scholars was from the signs of Muhammad’s truthfulness in his claim to prophethood because their knowledge was based on that which the Torah mentioned of his traits and his signs – coupled with the fact these traits and signs matched how he  was.[480]

The Torah contains remnants of Moses’ glad tidings informing of Muhammad’s coming, as mentioned in the Book of Deuteronomy – Chapter Eighteen, Verse 18-19, wherein Allah said to Moses: “I will raise up for them [i.e. for the Israelites] a prophet like you from among their fellow Israelites, and I will put my words in his mouth. He will tell them everything I command him. I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.”

These glad tidings clearly denote the messengership of Muhammad –peace be upon him– as he was from the sons of Ishmael who were brothers to the sons of Israel; their grandfather was Isaac who was the brother of Ishmael. In addition to this, he had the noblest of lineages.

His saying:
“like you” means: a person of legislation – just as Moses was. He also put His words in Muhammad’s mouth, as Muhammad was illiterate and could not read books. Rather Allah revealed His speech to him, and he would memorize and recite it. Muhammad was the messenger sent to the whole of mankind and the Israelites are required to follow him, and to leave their legislation for his legislation. Whoever does not do so then Allah will punish them, as is mentioned: “I myself will call to account anyone who does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name.”

Further evidence that these were indeed the tremendous glad tidings Allah revealed to Moses is the fact it occurred during a particular setting, namely when Moses chose from his people seventy men for the appointed time and place that Allah set for him, and the earthquake seized them due to their request to see Allah, the Exalted and Most High. Moses then supplicated to his Lord and interceded on their behalf, so Allah resurrected them after their death.

Allah said following Moses’ intercession and supplication:
]عَذَابِيٓ أُصِيبُ بِهِۦ مَنۡ أَشَآءُۖ وَرَحۡمَتِي وَسِعَتۡ كُلَّ شَيۡءٖۚ فَسَأَكۡتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ...]

 Sura al-A’raf; (7:156)
]Meaning: My punishment - I afflict with it whom I will, but My mercy encompasses all things." So I will decree it especially for those who fear Me and are dutiful to Me…]

If you refer to the Torah, Book of Exodus, you will find that Allah revealed these glad tidings after Moses went to the appointment that Allah had set for him. The Torah also makes mention of something similar to an earthquake, when it mentions: “When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance…” Book of Exodus, Chapter 20 of the Samaritan Torah.[481]

The Torah that is available today, however, has been distorted and changed as is indicated by the great degree of differing present between the various copies and editions. One will find there are three copies of the Torah: Hebraic, Greek and Samaritan; with each people claiming their copy is most correct and authentic. In addition to this, there are clear differences between the numerous editions of the Torah and their translations.

This distortion has resulted in many of the indications and signs of Muhammad’s coming being omitted or erased. Despite this, a great deal of these prior indications remain in existence and are clear to those who contemplate them and compare them to the biography of the Messenger –peace be upon him– whilst remaining impartial.

Discussion relating to the indications of Muhammad’s coming is lengthy due to their number.[482]

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(479) See: ‘ar–Rusul war–Risalat’ of Dr Umar al–Ashqar (pp. 165).

(480) See: ‘Muhammadun Rasulullah wa Khaatam an–Nabiyeen’ (pp. 55–6).

(481) See: ‘ar–Rusul war–Risalat’ (pp.165–6).

(482) See: ‘ar–Rusul war–Risalat’ (pp. 168–73) wherein a number of signs indicating the coming of Muhammad ﷺ‬ are mentioned. Also see: ibid. Chapter 8.

Section Two: The Glad Tidings Given by Jesus –peace be upon him– of the Coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him–
Jesus –may peace be upon him– gave glad tidings of the coming of Muhammad, as Allah mentions in the Quran in His saying:
]وَإِذۡ قَالَ عِيسَى ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَ يَٰبَنِيٓ إِسۡرَٰٓءِيلَ إِنِّي رَسُولُ ٱللَّهِ إِلَيۡكُم مُّصَدِّقٗا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِ وَمُبَشِّرَۢا بِرَسُولٖ يَأۡتِي مِنۢ بَعۡدِي ٱسۡمُهُۥٓ أَحۡمَدُۖ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم بِٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ قَالُواْ هَٰذَا سِحۡرٞ مُّبِين]
Sura as-Saff; (61):6
]Meaning: And when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic."]

Ahmad is from the names of our Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him–; as is authentically established in ‘Sahih al-Bukhari’ from a narration of Jubayr bin Mut’im that he said: I heard the Messenger of Allah –peace be upon him– say: “I have five names: I am Muhammad; I am Ahmad; I am the effacer (al-Mahi) by whom Allah wipes out disbelief; I am the gatherer (al-Hashir) before whom people are gathered; I am the last successor (al-Aqib).”[483]

In the previous section, discussion of the verse in Chapter 7 (Sura al-A’raf) which mentions the prophecy of Moses regarding the coming of Muhammad also mentions that his description is contained within the Gospel as well as the Torah.

Similarly, in Chapter 48, Verse 29, Allah –the Mighty and Majestic– strikes two examples to describe Muhammad –peace be upon him– and his companions.

He –the Almighty– said:
]مُّحَمَّدٞ رَّسُولُ ٱللَّهِۚ وَٱلَّذِينَ مَعَهُۥٓ أَشِدَّآءُ عَلَى ٱلۡكُفَّارِ رُحَمَآءُ بَيۡنَهُمۡۖ تَرَىٰهُمۡ رُكَّعٗا سُجَّدٗا يَبۡتَغُونَ فَضۡلٗا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرِضۡوَٰنٗاۖ سِيمَاهُمۡ فِي وُجُوهِهِم مِّنۡ أَثَرِ ٱلسُّجُودِۚ ذَٰلِكَ مَثَلُهُمۡ فِي ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةِۚ وَمَثَلُهُمۡ فِي ٱلۡإِنجِيلِ كَزَرۡعٍ أَخۡرَجَ شَطۡ‍َٔهُۥ فَ‍َٔازَرَهُۥ فَٱسۡتَغۡلَظَ فَٱسۡتَوَىٰ عَلَىٰ سُوقِهِۦ يُعۡجِبُ ٱلزُّرَّاعَ لِيَغِيظَ بِهِمُ ٱلۡكُفَّارَۗ وَعَدَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ مِنۡهُم مَّغۡفِرَةٗ وَأَجۡرًا عَظِيمَۢا]
Sura al-Fath; (48):29
]Meaning: Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating [in prayer], seeking bounty from Allah and His good pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers - so that Allah may enrage the disbelievers by way of them. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward.]

The Gospel of Matthew contains a mention of some of the glad tidings foretelling the coming of Muhammad –peace be upon him–. Chapter 11, Verse 14 mentions: “And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him– informed us that there was no other prophet between him and Jesus, which means when Jesus mentioned Elijah he was referring to Muhammad –peace be upon him–. According to gematria ‘Elijah’ equals ‘Muhammad’.

In the Gospel of John, Chapter 14, Verse 15, it says: “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever.” Some versions mention: “And he will give you another Paraclete that he may abide with you forever.”

The literal meaning of the Greek word ‘Paraclete’ is Ahmad, which is from the names of Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him–.

The Gospel of John, Chapter 15, Verse 26, also states: “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.”

His saying
“He will testify of Me”: this is true as Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him– testified to the prophethood and messengership of Jesus. “The Spirit of truth” is a metaphor for Muhammad, in addition to the fact that the meanings mentioned in the modern translation are not precise. This is because their Greek origin –which the Gospels were translated from– mention the word ‘Parakletos’– translated as ‘Faraqalet (Paraclete)’ in the Arabic versions printed in London in 1821, 1831 and 1834, which is closer to the original aforementioned Greek word than the term ‘helper’ we find occurring in the modern versions.

Allah criticized the people of the Book because of their distortion of the scriptures in His saying:
]يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ]
Sura an-Nisa; (4):46
]Meaning: There are some who displace words from their right places.]

It is to be noted that there is a sentence preceding Verse 26 that has been omitted from this chapter in the modern versions; however, it clearly exists in the older versions of the Gospel. It states: “But when the Manhamanna who Allah will send to you comes” – ‘Manhamanna’ literally meaning ‘Muhammad’ in Syriac.[484]

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(483) Reported by al–Bukhari no. 4614; & Muslim no. 2354.

(484) See: ‘ar–Rusul war–Risalat’ (pp. 165–6). Also refer to the books which contain a detailed discussion of the prior indications of the coming of Muhammad ﷺ‬, such as: ‘al–Jawab as–Sahih li man Baddala Din al–Masih’ and ‘an–Nubuwwat’ of Ibn Taymiyah; ‘Hidayat al–Hayara fi Ajwibat al–Yahud wan–Nasara’ of Ibn Al–Qayyim; and ‘Idhar al–Haq’ of Shaikh Rahmatullah al–Hindi.

Section Three: Sayings of the Impartial non-Muslims Regarding Muhammad –peace be upon him–
Every impartial, intellectual person cannot help but marvel at the greatness of Muhammad –peace be upon him– while attesting to the truthfulness of that which he brought, due to the multitude of signs which indicate this.

There is no doubt regarding the significance of an opposer’s attestation, just as it is said: ‘Merit is that which one’s enemies attest to’.

What follows is a number of testimonies given by Christian and other non-Muslim philosophers and thinkers regarding Prophet Muhammad.

1. The testimony of the famous English philosopher Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Thomas’ testimony is arguably the greatest and most famous given by a Western writer, and it is as if it were written by a Muslim possessing detailed knowledge regarding the circumstances of the Prophet –peace be upon him–.

Here are some excerpts from his book ‘On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History’ in which he addresses his Christian audience:
“Our current hypothesis about Mahomet, that he was a scheming Impostor, a Falsehood incarnate, that his religion is a mere mass of quackery and fatuity, begins really to be now untenable to anyone. The lies, which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man, are disgraceful to ourselves only.

It is really time to dismiss all that. The word this man spoke has been the life-guidance now of one hundred and eighty millions of men these twelve hundred years. These hundred and eighty millions were made by God as well as we. A greater number of God’s creatures believe in Mahomet’s word at this hour than in any other word whatever. Are we to suppose that it was a miserable piece of spiritual legerdemain, this which so many creatures of the Almighty have lived by and died by?

I, for my part, cannot form any such supposition. I will believe most things sooner than that. One would be entirely at a loss what to think of this world at all, if quackery so grew and were sanctioned here.

Alas, such theories are very lamentable. If we would attain to knowledge of anything in God’s true Creation, let us disbelieve them wholly! They are the product of an Age of Scepticism; indicate the saddest spiritual paralysis and mere death-life of the souls of men: more godless theory, I think, was never promulgated in this Earth. A false man found a religion?

Why, a false man cannot build a brick house! If he do not know and follow truly the properties of mortar, burnt clay and what else he works in, it is no house that he makes, but a rubbish-heap. It will not stand for twelve centuries, to lodge a hundred and eighty millions; it will fall straightway.”

He continues:
“This Mahomet, then, we will in no wise consider as an Inanity and Theatricality, a poor conscious ambitious schemer; we cannot conceive him so. The rude message he delivered was a real one withal; an earnest confused voice from the unknown Deep. The man’s words were not false, nor his workings here below: no Inanity and Simulacrum To kindle the world; the world’s Maker had ordered it so. Neither can the faults, imperfections, insincerities even, of Mahomet, if such were never so well proved against him, shake this primary fact about him.

One other circumstance we must not forget:
that he had no school-learning of the thing we call school-learning none at all. The art of writing was but just introduced into Arabia; it seems to be the true opinion that Mahomet never could write! Life in the Desert, with its experiences, was all his education. What of this infinite Universe he, from his dim place, with his own eyes and thoughts, could take in, so much and no more of it was he to know. Curious, if we will reflect on it, this of having no books. Except by what he could see for himself, or hear of by uncertain rumour of speech in the obscure Arabian Desert, he could know nothing. The wisdom that had been before him or at a distance from him in the world, was in a manner as good as not there for him. Of the great brother souls, flame-beacons through so many lands and times…

But, from an early age, he had been remarked as a thoughtful man. His companions named him ‘Al Amin, The Faithful.’ A man of truth and fidelity; true in what he did, in what he spoke and thought. They noted that he always meant something. A man rather taciturn in speech; silent when there was nothing to be said; but pertinent, wise, sincere, when he did speak; always throwing light on the matter. This is the only sort of speech worth speaking! Through life we find him to have been regarded as an altogether solid, brotherly, genuine man. A serious, sincere character; yet amiable, cordial, companionable, jocose even; —a good laugh in him withal: there are men whose laugh is as untrue as anything about them; who cannot laugh.”

He further states:
“Ah no: this deep-hearted Son of the Wilderness, with his beaming black eyes, and open social deep soul, had other thoughts in him than ambition. A silent great soul; he was one of those who cannot but be in earnest; whom Nature herself has appointed to be sincere. While others walk in formulas and hearsays, contented enough to dwell there, this man could not screen himself in formulas; he was alone with his own soul and the reality of things. The great Mystery of Existence, as I said, glared in upon him; with its terrors, with its splendours; no hearsays could hide that unspeakable fact, “Here am I!” Such sincerity, as we named it, has in very truth something of divine. The word of such a man is a Voice direct from Nature’s own Heart. Men do and must listen to that as to nothing else; — all else is wind in comparison.”

Carlyle continues:
“We will leave it altogether, this impostor-hypothesis, as not credible; not very tolerable even, worthy chiefly of dismissal by us.”

He goes on to say:
“And now if the wild idolatrous men did believe this, and with their fiery hearts lay hold of it to do it, in what form soever it came to them, I say it was well worthy of being believed. In one form or the other, I say it is still the one thing worthy of being believed by all men. Man does hereby become the high-priest of this Temple of a World. He is in harmony with the Decrees of the Author of this World; cooperating with them, not vainly withstanding them: I know, to this day, no better definition of Duty than that same. All that is right includes itself in this of cooperating with the real Tendency of the World: you succeed by this (the World’s Tendency will succeed), you are good, and in the right course there. Homoiousion, Homoousion vain logical jangle, then or before or at any time, may jangle itself out, and go whither and how it likes: this is the thing it all struggles to mean if it would mean anything. If it do not succeed in meaning this, it means nothing. Not that Abstractions, logical Propositions, be correctly worded or incorrectly; but that living concrete Sons of Adam do lay this to heart: that is the important point. Islam devoured all these vain jangling Sects; and I think had right to do so. It was a Reality, direct from the great Heart of Nature once more. Arab idolatries, Syrian formulas, whatsoever was not equally real, had to go up in flame, — mere dead fuel, in various senses, for this which was fire.”

Furthermore, he writes:
“Forger and juggler? Ah, no! This great fiery heart, seething, simmering like a great furnace of thoughts was not a juggler. His Life was a Fact to him; this God’s Universe an awful Fact and Reality.”

He continues by saying:
“Traits of that kind shew us the genuine man, the brother of us all, brought visible through twelve centuries, — the veritable Son of our common Mother.

Withal I like Mahomet for his total freedom from cant. He is a rough self-helping son of the wilderness; does not pretend to be what he is not. There is no ostentatious pride in him; but neither does he go much upon humility: he is there as he can be, in cloak and shoes of his own clouting; speaks plainly to all manner of Persian Kings, Greek Emperors, what it is they are bound to do; knows well enough, about himself, ‘the respect due unto thee.’ In a life-and-death war with Bedouins, cruel things could not fail; but neither are acts of mercy, of noble natural pity and generosity, wanting. Mahomet makes no apology for the one, no boast of the other.”

Carlyle goes on to say:
“No Dilettantism in this Mahomet; it is a business of Reprobation and Salvation with him, of Time and Eternity: he is in deadly earnest about it! Dilettantism, hypothesis, speculation, a kind of amateur-search for Truth, toying and coquetting with Truth: this is the sorest sin. The root of all other imaginable sins. It consists in the heart and soul of the man never having been open to Truth; — ‘living in a vain show.’ Such a man not only utters and produces falsehoods, but is himself a falsehood. The rational moral principle, spark of the Divinity, is sunk deep in him, in quiet paralysis of life-death. The very falsehoods of Mahomet are truer than the truths of such a man. He is the insincere man: smooth-polished, respectable in some times and places; inoffensive, says nothing harsh to anybody; most cleanly, — just as carbonic acid is, which is death and poison.

We will not praise Mahomet’s moral precepts as always of the super-finest sort; yet it can be said that there is always a tendency to good in them; that they are the true dictates of a heart aiming towards what is just and true. The sublime forgiveness of Christianity, turning of the other cheek when the one has been smitten, is not here: you are to revenge yourself, but it is to be in measure, not over much, or beyond justice. On the other hand, Islam like any great Faith, and insight into the essence of man, is a perfect equalizer of men: the soul of one believer outweighs all earthly kingships; all men, according to Islam too, are equal.”

He concludes with the statement:
“To the Arab Nation it was as a birth from darkness into light; Arabia first became alive by means of it. A poor shepherd people, roaming unnoticed in its deserts since the creation of the world: a Hero-Prophet was sent down to them with a word they could believe: see, the unnoticed becomes world-notable, the small has grown world-great; within one century afterwards Arabia is at Grenada on this hand, at Delhi on that;—glancing in valour and splendour and the light of genius, Arabia shines through long ages over a great section of the world.[485]

2. The testimony of Count Henry de Castries (1850-1927), a French politician, and a governor of Algeria says in his book ‘L'Islam Impressions et Études (1906) [Islam, Impressions and Studies]’ translated by Fathi Zaghlul Basha –may Allah have mercy upon him–: “The nation of Arabs prior to the coming of the Prophet were an idolatrous people for the most part, and within this predominantly idolatrous mass stirred a ferment monotheistic. The doctrine of monotheism was represented by a group of people called Hanifites[486], who remained upon the religion of Abraham; that of the simplest monotheism. The Christians, however, split into many sects – all of which had polytheistic dogmas, or the belief and worship of multiple gods. Muhammad received from them the first notion of one God; however as the Prophet possessed a religious soul he transformed this notion into a faith few souls had previously known. This profound faith completely transformed humanity.

It is not necessary to look elsewhere than in the path of the Hanifites for this fertile sprout. Muhammad could neither read nor write; he was –as he repeated often– an unlettered prophet.

This assertion has not been contradicted by any of his contemporaries, and it is certainly not in the East, where life goes on in the open, that he could have received clandestine instruction. The knowledge of reading and writing was at that time very rare in Arabia, and there was only one man in Mecca who knew how to write. We can conclude, then, from the aforementioned, that Muhammad –peace be upon him–did not consult any divine book, nor did he seek the guidance of a previous methodology.

Surmising that our sacred books were used in the composition of the Quran, and supposing that the Quran reproduced some passages even; the psychological phenomenon of the life of Muhammad, this faith in the unique God who explodes in his soul and raises all his being, remains deeply inexplicable.

The crisis which determined his vocation was long and terrible. He had received from heaven an eminently religious soul. Retirement was a double necessity for him. First of all, to escape the idolatry and polytheism of Christian heretics, which he also abhorred. "It was a thorn in his flesh," says Kuenen. Then be alone with the great thought that obsessed him: the Oneness of God. He retired to Mount Hira and his nights were spent in meditation and prayer; desert nights that invade the soul of emotion…

What could be in such an environment the meditation of this man of forty years, in all the maturity of his intelligence, but endowed with this intelligence of Semite, essentially intuitive and unfit for discursive reasoning? It must consist in repeating with force these words: “Allah is One! Allah is One!” That all Muslims have repeated after him, words whose profound meaning eludes us [i.e. the Christians], due to our farness from monotheism. His thought then revealed the multiple forms we read in the Quran: “He begets not, nor was He begotten. Nor is there to Him any equivalent.”[487]

All the energetic pleonasms of the Arabic language helped him to return again to an idea already expressed so powerfully. It is from such a meditation that the Islamic profession must have gone out: “There is no god worthy of worship but Allah!” Such was the genesis of this faith in the one God, as irreducible as a rock and which the mind can scarcely conceive, an energetic faith whose affirmations are still listened to today by the Muslims and which distinguishes them from the followers of all religions. They are well, as they call themselves, in all the strength of the term: the Believers. The explosion of this faith, we repeat, is the capital fact of the life of the Prophet and the best guarantee of his sincerity.”

Castries goes on to discuss revelation and the miraculous nature of the Quran in its eloquence and meanings – something that the articulate Arabs such as Utbah bin Rabi’ah, Musaylamah the liar and others attested to. He also demonstrated the fallacy of Musaylamah’s claim.

Then he said:
“If the Quran is not the word of God, if it is only a purely subjective conception of the spirit of Muhammad, let us retain at least, for the honour of humanity, that the admirable wonders of the Arab Prophet are not those of an impostor. This was not the opinion of many who called him a false prophet. Our poor vocabulary is partly complicit in this calumny, forcing us to this blatant contradiction to call a perfectly sincere individual as a sincere prophet.”

He continues:
“Muhammad is not an impostor; he is not a plagiarist, nor is he "a plundering prophet," as Mr. Sayous calls him. There are no doubt similarities between the Quran and certain passages of the Scriptures; but they have their natural explanation in that Muhammad directly linked Islam to Christianity and Judaism, just as Muhammad is the seal of the prophets and messengers.”

The Count follows on by saying:
“However the most important point is that the Quran is the last divine book to be revealed to humanity, the one after which there shall be no other book; and Muhammad is the last of the prophets after whom Allah’s words will not be changed.

After lengthily analysing the preceding subjects and answering the slanders that the extremist orientalists invented about the Prophet of Islam, he writes:
“Every land Islam entered it became the preponderant religion therein, despite never seeking to supplant them. It is not, therefore, to intolerance that Mohammedanism owed its rapid expansion, and it would be more correct to maintain that the religious toleration which it has shown has caused the ruin of the Western empires.”

He also states:
“Let us remember that the religion of the Quran, without any pressure other than that resulting necessarily from Arab conquest and domination, without apparent conversion, was capable of capturing the hearts of all the Jewish, Christian, or idolatrous populations of northern Africa, as well as of a considerable part of Asia and that, even in Spain, enlightened Christians willingly abjured their faith to become Muslims.”

Here is a summary of the view that Count Henry de Castries had of Islam. His book ‘L'Islam Impressions et Études (1906) [Islam, Impressions and Studies]’, of which we have reproduced some excerpts, deals with various subjects and refutes slander invented by priests, missionaries and some extremist orientalists who do not lend any worry to fairness.

Even though he claims to belong to Christianity, Henry de Castries has given fair opinions about Islam, the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad for two reasons:
1. He wanted to exercise his freedom of thought and his sense of fairness in speaking the truth – even if it went against the interests of his own religion.

2. He wanted to make the true nature of Islam known to the French people so that they were aware of its reality, and so that they would not be deceived by the slanders invented by the missionaries who swallowed up the wealth of the nation under the pretext of Christianisation, while the results were far from the reality which was: their wealth was being spent to satisfy the desires and endless greed of the priests.[488]

3. The testimony of Professor Louis Pierre Eugène Sédillot. Sédillot was a French orientalist, a European scholar, and French politician who wrote a book entitled: ‘Histoire des Arabes [The History of the Arabs]’ which was translated into Arabic by Ali Basha Mubarak –may Allah have mercy upon him–. After recalling the merits of the Arab peoples, he wrote in the introduction: "And when Muhammad came, he tightened the bonds and united the various tribes in the Arabian Peninsula, directing them to a common goal. Thus, their standing increased to the point that their empire extended from the River Tagus – which runs through Spain and Portugal –to the Ganges– the largest river in India. They carried the torch of civilisation in the East and in the West, whilst Europe, who were plunged into the darkness of the Middle Ages, seemed to have completely forgotten the traditions of Greeks and Romans.

The Abbasids in Baghdad; the Umayyads in Cordoba; and the Fatimids in Cairo all strove for scientific advancement and the development of the various knowledge branches before their Mamluk sultanates broke up and lost their political powers. Thus, they focussed on their religious influence which continued to be felt throughout their realms. The Christians of Spain borrowed from them their knowledge, their industry, and their discoveries which resulted in their expulsion; just as the Turks and the Mongols who defeated the Asian sultanates in Asia benefitted from the knowledge of those they conquered.”[489]

4. Testimony of the orientalist Professor Reinhart Dozy. Dozy said:
“If, as the priests claimed, Muhammad was a false prophet, an imposter, how do we explain his victories? How did his adherents achieve innumerable conquests? How is this not indicative of the miracles of this Messenger? The Christians used to believe that disgrace of the Muslims would be achieved by a near miracle, as they had heard of the miracles of the Church occurring for the smallest of reasons. In vain, they awaited a miracle that would save the Christian lands from the conquests of the Muslims. There had been actual miracles, however, miracles greater than those of all the saints together: a previously unknown people had suddenly announced themselves to the world, conquering the largest countries one after the other; but far from testifying against the doctrine which he preached, they testified for it. If the apostasy of Christians must be attributed in part to self-interest and the desire to escape a humiliating situation, it is positive that many of them embraced Islam through personal conviction and true faith.”[490]

5. Testimony of the French poet Lamartine:
Professor Muhammad Kurd Ali writes in his book of memoirs ‘al-Mudhakkirat’: “The most recent writings evoking the life of the Arab Prophet and analysing his eminent work I have read come from the great French poet Lamartine who said: “Never has a man consciously or unconsciously had divine intentions as this is something superhuman: to undermine superstitions interposed between the creature and the Creator; to render God to man and man to God; and to restore the rational idea of worshipping a single God amid this chaos of twisted material idolatry.

Never has a man accomplished in such a short period of time such an immense and lasting revolution in this world, since less than two centuries after his preaching, Islam –through preaching and through use of arms– reigned over the three Arabian landmasses, calling to the worship of a Allah alone throughout Persia, Khorasan, Transoxiana, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, all the known continent of northern Africa, several islands of the Mediterranean, Spain and part of the Gaul (France).

If the greatness of the goal, the smallness of the means, and the immensity of the result are the three measures of the genius of a man. Who, then, will dare to compare any human to Muhammad? The most famous people have merely navigated armies, laid down laws, and founded empires which often collapsed after their passing.

As for Muhammad:
he wiped out armies; laid down legislation; established empires; reconciled between nations; founded countries; and united millions of men over a third of the inhabited globe. Moreover, he stirred ideas, beliefs, and souls. He came with a book of which every letter became law, a spiritual nationality inclusive of peoples of all languages and all races. He set an indelible, distinguishing trait for the character of this Muslim nationality; he called to the abolishment of all fabricated gods and called to the belief in Allah –the One– alone. Intellectual, orator, caller, legislator, warrior, intelligent, reviver of imageless worship, founder of twenty earthly empires and a single spiritual empire – that was Muhammad. Every scale where human greatness is measured, who was greater than him?”[491] The foregoing are some examples of the countless testimonies in this regard.[492]

Prologue
Believing in the unseen is one of the distinguishing characteristics of the believers; they believe in all that the Messengers of Allah transmit and inform of.

Existence is not limited to material things. Believing only what they physically sense and experience, atheists reject the existence of all else. Not only do they negate the unseen matters, they also deny that which the Messengers came with and the books revealed to them.

This false claim is belied by religion, reasoning and experience because things other than those perceived by the senses exist as truthful news the most eminent of which is: whatever Allah and His Messengers inform us of, since that contains an explanation of everything. Indeed, if we compare the knowledge acquired through perception to the knowledge brought by the Messengers, it would be like a drop of water in an immense sea.

There are also things that people believe without being able to see them – take the soul as an example. The soul is not something perceptible to the senses, but if it were to leave the body an inanimate object is all that would remain. Does one therefore question its existence on the pretext that it is not perceptible to the senses? Likewise, electricity: who has already seen it with their eyes? We only see its effect. Is it easier to believe in the existence of electricity than to believe in Allah who created it amongst all that He created in this vast universe?

Ironically, atheists contradict their restriction of belief to only what is perceived by the senses or experienced physically by firstly affirming a set of theories and experiments, and then leaving them for more recent findings which contradict the initial.[493]

Amongst his refutations of the atheists Shaikh Abdur-Rahman as-Sa’di –may Allah have mercy upon him– said:
"When atheists are asked why they reject what Allah and His Messenger tells us about the unseen, they say: because it is not proven by our sciences that rely on sense perception and experimentation.

The following arguments are to be made against them:
Assuming what you say is true, the means of obtaining conviction are numerous –most of which escape your perceptions as they are deficient even by your own admission. Indeed, you claim that your senses perceive certain terrestrial truths– but even these truths, you confess to not knowing them fully. You do not stop researching and performing experiments which sometimes succeed but fail most of the time. If this is their condition regarding the earthly truths which all human beings perceive to differing degrees, how then can you reject the existence of celestial or unseen worlds? Even worse, how can you deny the attributes of the Lord and His greatness when your sciences do not tell you anything about Him? All those of intellect are unanimous in considering these rejections as illegitimate and merely out of arrogance.”[494]

That being said, some elements of the belief in the unseen have been mentioned under the section on the pillars of faith, further discussion of which shall follow in the coming sections.

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(485) See: ‘al–Islam fi Nathar al–Gharb’ of Husayn Abdullah Ba–Salamah (pp. 89–95); & ‘Muhammadun Rasulullah – Khulasat Siratihi wa Maqalat Nadirah fiha’ of Muhammad al–Hamad (pp. 30–35).

(486) i.e. those who remained upon the true religion of Abraham; monotheism.

(487) Quran; (112):3–4.

(488) See: ‘Islam fi Nathari A’lam al–Gharb’ (pp. 25–8).

(489) Ibid (pp.29).

(490) Ibid (pp. 40–1).

(491) ‘al–Mudhakkirat’ of Muhammad Kurd Ali (4/1315–6).

(492) For further detail see: ‘al–Islam fi Nathari A’lam al–Gharb’; and ‘Atharul–Ulama al–Muslimeen fi al–Hadharah al–Urubbiyyah’ of Ahmad Ali al–Mulla (pp. 103–6).

(493) See: ‘al–Madhahib al–Mu’asirah’ of Dr ‘Abdur–Rahman ‘Umayrah (p. 142).

(494) ‘al–Adillah wal–Qawati’ wal–Barahin’ of Ibn Sa’di (p. 322).