Muslims' eyes“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 Makkah and Madina is preserved, after the revolutions of twelve centuries by the Indian, the African and the Turkish proselytes of the Qur'an… 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 Mohammad the Apostle of God' is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honors of the Prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtue, and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.” – Edward Gibbon and Simon Oklay, History of the Saracen Empire, London, 1870, p.54. James A. Michener “Muhammad, the inspired man, was born about A.D. 570 into an Arabian tribe that worshipped idols. Orphaned at birth, he was always particularly solicitous of the poor and needy, the widow and the orphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty, he was already a successful businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans for a wealthy widow. When he reached twenty-five, his employer, recognizing his merit, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years older, he married her, and as long as she lived, remained her 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. Whereupon Muhammad is said to have announced, “An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish to attribute such things to the death or birth of a human being.” “At Muhammad's own death an attempt was made to deify him, but the man who was to become his administrative successor killed the hysteria with one of the noblest speeches in religious history: “If there are any among you who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God you worshipped, He lives forever.” – James A. Michener, “Islam: The misunderstood religion,” in Reader's Digest (American edition), May 1955, pp. 68-70. George Bernard Shaw If a man like Muhammad were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems that would bring it the much-needed peace and happiness. W. Montgomery Watt “His readiness to undergo persecutions for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement – all argue for his fundamental integrity. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad.” – W, Montgomery Watt, Muhammad at Makkah, Oxford, 1953, p.52. John William Draper “Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Makkah, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race…Muhammad…” – John William Draper, A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol.1, pp.329
