OUR BELOVED PROPHET MUHAMMAD
By Nurudeen Dauda
To begin with, we say no to the desecration of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW). There are a lot of non muslims’ intellectuals from all parts of the world who had many centuries ago made objective comments on our beloved Prophet of Islam in their respective works. I will herewith present the works of ; namely: Napoleon Bonaparte (a former French leader), Henri de Boulainvilliers, Voltaire, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Claude-Emmanuel Pastoret all who are all French philosophers .
However, as muslims we are saddened by the desecration of our noble Prophet Muhammad (SAW). We love him more than the way we love ourselves as well as our parents. It is totally unacceptable for him to be shown in a “caricature”. Free speech must be sensitive to the sanctity of our beloved Prophet (SAW) for peace to rain. Muslims hold all prophets sent by the Almighty God in high esteem. All we want or ask for is the protection of the “sanctity” of our beloved Prophet (SAW).
No responsible “individual” or “government” should cross a religious “red-lines” or “boundaries” in the interest of peace and stability . No one should support the desecration of any “religion” or what it holds as sacred in the name of free speech. The only thing that will guarantee peace is mutual respect and the protection of religious sanctities.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821), was a military and political leader who was very interested in Prophet Muhammad (SAW). He came to the stage after the French Revolution.He referred to Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as “a great man who changed the face of the earth”.
He wrote about Prophet Mohammad (SAW) in his memoir thus: ” Arabia was idolatrous when Muhammad, seven centuries after Jesus Christ, introduced the cult of the God of Abraham, Ishmael, Moses and Jesus Christ. The Arians and other sects that had troubled the tranquility of the Orient had raised questions concerning the nature of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Muhammad declared that there was one unique God who had neither father nor son; that the trinity implied idolatry. He wrote on the frontispiece of the Qur‘an: There is no other god than God.”
Henri de Boulainvilliers (1658-1722) was a French nobleman and historian. In one of his famous works, titled the World of Muhammad, SAW ( Vie de Mahomed), said, Prophet Muhammad, SAW was a divinely-inspired messenger whom God had sent to liberate the Near East from the despotic rule of the Romans and Persians and to spread the message of Tawhid, or God’s indivisible unity, from India to Spain. Further said Muhammad’s success was such that it “could only be from God.”
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778) a French philosopher who couldn’t help but comment on Prophet Muhammad (SAW), and that too in his magnum opus, The Social Contract (1762). Prophet Muhammad, he said, “was neither an imposter nor a sorcerer, but an admirable legislator who successfully combined spiritual and worldly power”.
In 1787, Claude-Emmanuel Pastoret (1755-c. 1830), a French author and politician, published his Zoroaster, Confucius and Muhammad, in which he compared and contrasted the careers of the three Eastern religious “great men”, “the greatest legislators of the universe.” He defended Prophet Muhammad against the allegations commonly made against him, and praised the Qur‘an for the way it upholds the unity of God (Tawhid).
The French philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778), a renowned poet, essayist, playwright and also a historian. Later in his life, particularly in his historical writings such as the Essay on the Customs and the Spirit of the Nations (1756), Voltaire praised the Prophet as an effective and tolerant leader and a successful conqueror.
Allaahumma salli ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kama salayta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed. Allaahumma baarik ‘ala Muhammad wa ‘ala aali Muhammad kama baarakta ‘ala Ibraaheem wa ‘ala aali Ibraaheem, innaka hameedun majeed (O Allaah, send prayers upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad, as You sent prayers upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory.
O Allaah, send blessings upon Muhammad and upon the family of Muhammad as You sent blessings upon Ibraaheem and upon the family of Ibraaheem; You are indeed Worthy of Praise, Full of Glory).
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Dauda can be reached on
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