What they said about Islam & prophet Mohamed (pbuh)

What did some of the world greatest thinkers, writers, politicians and musicians say about Islam and prophet Muhammad (pbuh):

"People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same." Professor Jules Masserman

"Everything made so much sense. This is the beauty of the Qur'an; it asks you to reflect and reason....When I read the Qur'an further, it talked about prayer, kindness and charity. I was not a Muslim yet, but I felt the only answer for me was the Qur'an and God had sent it to me." Cat Stevens (Yusuf Islam), former British pop star.

"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 far from being an anti-Christ, 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 the much needed peace and happiness: I have prophesied about the faith of Muhammad that it would be acceptable to the Europe of tomorrow as it is beginning to be acceptable to the Europe of today." George Bernard Shaw, THE GENUINE ISLAM, Vol. 1, No. 81936.

"The extinction of race consciousness as between Muslims is one of the outstanding achievements of Islam, and in the contemporary world there is, as it happens, a crying need for the propagation of this Islamic virtue." --A.J. Toynbee, CIVILIZATION ON TRIAL, New York, 1948, p. 205.

"I have read the Sacred Scriptures of every religion; nowhere have I found what I encountered in Islam: perfection. The Holy Qur'an, compared to any other scripture I have read, is like the Sun compared to that of a match. I firmly believe that anybody who reads the Word of Allah with a mind that is not completely closed to Truth, will become a Muslim." Saifuddin Dirk Walter Mosig, U. S.A.

"The universal brotherhood of Islam, regardless of race, politics, color or country, has been brought home to me most keenly many times in my life -- and this is another feature which drew me towards the Faith." Col. Donald S. Rockwell, U.S.A. Poet, Critic and Author.

"It has been a great pleasure for me to help clarify statements in the Qur’aan about human development. It is clear to me that these statements must have come to Muhammad from God, or 'Allah', because almost all of this knowledge was not discovered until many centuries later. This proves to me that Muhammad must have been a messenger of Allah." Professor Keith Moore , one of the world’s prominent scientists of anatomy and embryology. University of Toronto, Canada

Read more quotes here

Quran Manuscripts

The Quran is the most preserved Sacred Text amongst the world major religious texts. There exist numerous ancient manuscripts of the text of the Quran-some which date to the first century of Islam- all of which are identical (not similar but IDENTICAL).......

(article continues.... ) In addition to the written text, Muslims maintained a rigorous system of oral transmission, practiced not only by scholars, but also by thousands of lay people, who could recite the whole book from memory, down to the letters and accents. Wherever you go in the Islamic world, you can always find innumerable people who have memorised the whole Quran and have been taught the exact pronunciation of every word in the Book.
This oral tradition is unique to the Quran, as I did not come across non-Muslims who can recite their holy book from beginning to end from memory.

Even western scholars who were known for their animosity to Islam, acknowledge the fact that the Quran text read today is identical to the text recited by the Prophet and his companions.
I am providing a link to an article by Theodor Nöldeke, a fierce critic of Islam, but even he admits that the text we have today is the same as the one which existed 20 years (at most), after the death of Prophet Mohamed.

I will deal with his article in a separate post a sort of rebuttal to various charges and point to weaknesses in his arguments.

Details and photos of Quran manuscripts (including photo on main page of this blog are from website of professor Brannon Wheeler, a distinguished American scholar and expert on Islamic and Middle Eastern history.
more Quranic manuscripts can be found here


Muhammad Peace be upon him

The prophet of Islam, Muhammad, peace be upon him was born in Mecca in 572 A.C.E.
He was 40 years old when he received the first Revelation from God, The Creator of heavens and earth, through the Angle Gabriel, who appeared to the Prophet in the Cave of Hira, located in a mountain in Mecca.
It was a habit of the Prophet to worship God in the Cave, away from the Idolatry environment which was prevailing in Mecca and the whole of Arabia at the time.

The following narration of the first encounter with the Angle Gabriel is extremely significant, and I will return to it again when discussing the Old Testament's prophecies concerning the Prophet of the Gentiles:....

In the Book of Bukhari, (1:1:3), Aisha, the Prophet's wife said:

("The commencement of the Divine Revelation to Allah's Messenger was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright day light, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him.
He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family. He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food like-wise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira.

The angel came to him and asked him to read. The Prophet replied: "I do not know how to read.
The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said: , 'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists) has created man from a clot'
.)
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The Quran: Words of GOD

There is only one book that says of itself, in no uncertain way, that it is purely composed of the literal "Words of God". This book is the Muslim holy book "The Quran". This book is read in the first person narrative with the speaker being God, exalted, .....

Read the following verses to get an idea of Quranic narrations:
(Quran [13: Thunder]: verse:1)
"Alif. Lam. Mim. Ra. These are verses of The Book. That which is revealed unto thee from thy Lord is the Truth, but most of mankind believe not.
"

(Quran [14: Abraham]: verse 1):
"Alif. Lam. Ra. (This is) a Book which We have revealed unto thee (Muhammad) that thereby thou mayst bring forth mankind from darkness unto light, by the permission of their Lord, unto the path of the Mighty, the Owner of Praise."