How did the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) Treat Non-Muslims?

[Breshna]

What Non-Muslims Say About Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him and His Family)

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of God and the Last of the Prophets. (Holy Qur'an 33:40)

This is a collection of short quotations from a wide variety of Non-Muslim notables, including academics, writers, philosophers, poets, politicians, and activists belonging to the East and the West.

To our knowledge none of them ever became Muslims. These words, therefore, reflect their personal views on various aspects of the life of the Prophet.


Michael H. Hart (1932- ) Professor of astronomy, physics and the history of science.

q "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level." [The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History, New York, 1978, p. 33]


William Montgomery Watt (1909- ) Professor (Emeritus) of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

q "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 his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad." [Mohammad At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, p. 52]



Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869) French poet and statesman.

q "Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?"[Translated from Histoire De La Turquie, Paris, 1854, vol. II, pp. 276-277]



Reverend Bosworth Smith (1794-1884) Late Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.

q "he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a right Divine, it was Mohammed; for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports." Mohammed and Mohammedanism, London, 1874, p. 235]


Mohandas KaramchandGandhi (1869-1948) Indian thinker, statesman, and nationalist leader.

q "....I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble." [Young India (periodical), 1928, Volume X]



Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) Considered the greatest British historian of his time.

q "The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected by sheer moral force without� the stroke of a sword."
[History Of The Saracen Empire, London, 1870]



John William Draper (1811-1882) American scientist, philosopher, and historian.

q "Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race . . . Mohammed." [A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London, 1875, vol.1, pp. 329-330]


David George Hogarth (1862-1927) English archaeologist, author, and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

q Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious mimicry. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the Founder of Christianity has not so governed the ordinary life of His followers. Moreover, no Founder of a religion has been left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim Apostle.� [Arabia, Oxford, 1922, p. 52]


Washington Irving (1783-1859) Well-known as the first American man of letters".

q He was sober and abstemious in his diet, and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected, but the result of a real disregard to distinction from so trivial a source ... In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and the weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints ... His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect were shown to him." [Life of Mahomet, London, 1889, pp. 192-3, 199]



Annie Besant (1847-1933) British theosophist and nationalist leader in India. President of the Indian National Congress in 1917.

q "It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher." [The Life And Teachings Of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, p. 4]


Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) Considered the greatest British historian of his time.

q "His (i.e., Muhammad's) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action."[History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, 1838, vol.5, p.335]



Badlun here's what the non.believers have to say.



Here's what the French Lamartine wrote.


What the Non-Believers say About the Prophet Muhammad SAW.mov - YouTube

[Dreamer]

What Non-Muslims Say About Muhammad, The Prophet of Islam(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him and His Family)

Muhammad is not the father of any of your men, but he is the Messenger of God and the Last of the Prophets. (Holy Qur'an 33:40)

This is a collection of short quotations from a wide variety of Non-Muslim notables, including academics, writers, philosophers, poets, politicians, and activists belonging to the East and the West.

To our knowledge none of them ever became Muslims. These words, therefore, reflect their personal views on various aspects of the life of the Prophet.


Michael H. Hart (1932- ) Professor of astronomy, physics and the history of science.

q "My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level." [The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History, New York, 1978, p. 33]


William Montgomery Watt (1909- ) Professor (Emeritus) of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the University of Edinburgh.

q "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 his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorly appreciated in the West as Muhammad." [Mohammad At Mecca, Oxford, 1953, p. 52]



Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869) French poet and statesman.

q "Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad. As regards all standards by which human greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?"[Translated from Histoire De La Turquie, Paris, 1854, vol. II, pp. 276-277]



Reverend Bosworth Smith (1794-1884) Late Fellow of Trinity College, Oxford.

q "he was Caesar and Pope in one; but he was Pope without the Pope's pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar. Without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a palace, without a fixed revenue, if ever any man had the right to say that he ruled by a right Divine, it was Mohammed; for he had all the power without its instruments and without its supports." Mohammed and Mohammedanism, London, 1874, p. 235]


Mohandas KaramchandGandhi (1869-1948) Indian thinker, statesman, and nationalist leader.

q "....I became more than ever convinced that it was not the sword that won a place for Islam in those days in the scheme of life. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter self-effacement of the prophet, the scrupulous regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to his friends and followers, his intrepidity, his fearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his own mission. These, and not the sword carried everything before them and surmounted every trouble." [Young India (periodical), 1928, Volume X]



Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) Considered the greatest British historian of his time.

q "The greatest success of Mohammad's life was effected by sheer moral force without� the stroke of a sword."
[History Of The Saracen Empire, London, 1870]



John William Draper (1811-1882) American scientist, philosopher, and historian.

q "Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Mecca, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race . . . Mohammed." [A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London, 1875, vol.1, pp. 329-330]


David George Hogarth (1862-1927) English archaeologist, author, and keeper of the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford.

q Serious or trivial, his daily behavior has instituted a canon which millions observe this day with conscious mimicry. No one regarded by any section of the human race as Perfect Man has been imitated so minutely. The conduct of the Founder of Christianity has not so governed the ordinary life of His followers. Moreover, no Founder of a religion has been left on so solitary an eminence as the Muslim Apostle.� [Arabia, Oxford, 1922, p. 52]


Washington Irving (1783-1859) Well-known as the first American man of letters".

q He was sober and abstemious in his diet, and a rigorous observer of fasts. He indulged in no magnificence of apparel, the ostentation of a petty mind; neither was his simplicity in dress affected, but the result of a real disregard to distinction from so trivial a source ... In his private dealings he was just. He treated friends and strangers, the rich and poor, the powerful and the weak, with equity, and was beloved by the common people for the affability with which he received them, and listened to their complaints ... His military triumphs awakened no pride nor vain glory, as they would have done had they been effected for selfish purposes. In the time of his greatest power he maintained the same simplicity of manners and appearance as in the days of his adversity. So far from affecting regal state, he was displeased if, on entering a room, any unusual testimonial of respect were shown to him." [Life of Mahomet, London, 1889, pp. 192-3, 199]



Annie Besant (1847-1933) British theosophist and nationalist leader in India. President of the Indian National Congress in 1917.

q "It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher." [The Life And Teachings Of Muhammad, Madras, 1932, p. 4]


Edward Gibbon (1737-1794) Considered the greatest British historian of his time.

q "His (i.e., Muhammad's) memory was capacious and retentive, his wit easy and social, his imagination sublime, his judgment clear, rapid and decisive. He possessed the courage of both thought and action."[History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, London, 1838, vol.5, p.335]



Badlun here's what the non.believers have to say.



Here's what the French Lamartine wrote.


What the Non-Believers say About the Prophet Muhammad SAW.mov - YouTube

as a leader he has impressed them no doubt... as a religious personality he has not otherwise they would have accepted his claims of prophethood

[Al Hanif]

That's not how it works.

Only good people are guided to Islam.

These intellectuals are intelligent enough to realize Muhammad (pbuh) is an extraordinary man but they weren't good enough to be granted the guidance from Allah Most High.

[Badlun]

Do you see all these people write the same thing which I already said about the Prophet Muhamamd. He had double role as a prophet for religion and as a political secular Arab leader. Read the quotes again

"My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level." [The 100: A Ranking Of The Most Influential Persons In History, New York, 1978, p. 33]

He has been declared both Pope and Caesar.

He has been declared as Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images; the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire, that is Muhammad.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

But he wasn't an "ARAB" leader his goal wasn't simply to lead the Arabs. Even by admitting to the fact WEHSHI who was Abyssinian converted to Islam was pardoned. Would mean that his goal was not simply in regards to Arabs. Thus he is not a secular or national leader. But a Theocratic leader.

BY Posting those quotations Badlun. You just confirmed Muhammad(saw)was a Theocra and t by AGREEING with the conversion of a Rabbi and admitting that Muhammad(saw) ruled and governed by the ideologies of his religion. Which confirms what Islam always stated, That The Secular and the Sacred are the same in Islam.

This means you have no legitimate grounds to claim that Islam is simply belief and worship any longer.

You disproved your own ideas, We trapped you Badlun, you lost, and your ideas have been disproven.

[Badlun]

Muhamamd was Arab and a leader thus an Arab leader. I always say the same thing that he had double role. Religious/spiritual and an Arab political leader. His religious message is for all, Arabs and non Arabs but as he governed only Arab land thus he cannot be termed a global leader.

He married 12 wives including a child. Do you think his this act is part of the religion. He converted almost all the Arabs of Mdinah, Makkah and around. Do you think this is the religious duty of all Muslims to convert all the non Muslims around? He smashed all the statues of Kaaba. Do you think every one of us start destroying all the statues we see around us in public parks and museums.

Let us recognize the fact that Muhamamd was a religious as well as secular leader. This is what I always claim and this is what has been depicted in the quotes by non Muslim intellectuals. We may follow Muhamamd in religion but we may not follow in all his acts which include many things which suited him as a person or leader but not as a prophet otherwise we will be in jail marrying a child!

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Your argument is like saying Barak Obama is a Black Leader or that Kofi Anan is a Black Leader or that Tony Blair is a White Leader. To Suggest he was an "Arab Leader" seems to be an attempt at suggesting he was an Arab Supremicist. But such a claim is a lie since he said there is no difference between people, Arab and Non-Arab are not different except by their piety. So such a suggestion is False by evidence.

He married 12 wives, but he never married a child in the Scientific sense, which is more objective, cultural interpretations of childhood are subject to emotional sentiments.

By saying that He has a double role means that Islam is both Politics and Morality/Worship, because the Political Role was to assist the religious one and the religious one was to assist the political one. Since his Political role would not exist without Islam.

If you have ALWAYS been saying this; then by saying this you admitted that Islam is a Theocratic docrtine which cannot be separated by politics. If you say that Muhammad(saw) is a religious AND a secular leader it means that RELIGION Must rule politics in Islam and are not separate identities.

By corroborating the dual role of Muhammad, you confirm the dual role of Islam; which is to rule every aspect of society from A to Z, thereby proving that secularism has no place in Islam.

[Badlun]

Why this simple fact is not understood that what did Muhaamd was not Islam. Islam is not whatever he said or did. When he says offer prayers, this is Islam but when he says kill every infidel around you or smash all the statues, this is not Islam. Every single act he did is not Islam. He married a child, but this is not Islam.

There is no theocracy in Islam or in the world. Theocracy is etymologically the rule of God. God never descends to earth to rule. Popes, Pundits, Mullahs representing God never rule. Otherwise Abu Harera or Abuzar would be the rulers not Omar and Ali.

The life of Muhamamd is a clear example that Islam is only religion while a person can rule as a political leader but the rule is not religious but political. He separated both and we cannot mix them even theoretically. In practice always Sultan and faqih or Sufi or Mullah were always separate.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

Your simple fact means that Islam is both politics and religion combined. Saying he was a religious and a secular leader means that he applied his Religious doctrine on Secular problems. When religion is applied towards secular problems this is the definition of Theocracy which means Islam is a theocratic movement and not simply a religious one.

Which you actually proved today by showing us quotes, Religious Leadership + Secular Leadership= Theocracy.

[Dreamer]

Your argument is like saying Barak Obama is a Black Leader or that Kofi Anan is a Black Leader or that Tony Blair is a White Leader. To Suggest he was an "Arab Leader" seems to be an attempt at suggesting he was an Arab Supremicist. But such a claim is a lie since he said there is no difference between people, Arab and Non-Arab are not different except by their piety. So such a suggestion is False by evidence.

He married 12 wives, but he never married a child in the Scientific sense, which is more objective, cultural interpretations of childhood are subject to emotional sentiments.

By saying that He has a double role means that Islam is both Politics and Morality/Worship, because the Political Role was to assist the religious one and the religious one was to assist the political one. Since his Political role would not exist without Islam.

If you have ALWAYS been saying this; then by saying this you admitted that Islam is a Theocratic docrtine which cannot be separated by politics. If you say that Muhammad(saw) is a religious AND a secular leader it means that RELIGION Must rule politics in Islam and are not separate identities.

By corroborating the dual role of Muhammad, you confirm the dual role of Islam; which is to rule every aspect of society from A to Z, thereby proving that secularism has no place in Islam.

yawn... hadith clearly state she was a child.. she was PLAYING with dolls and on a swing when her bridal procession came not to mention continued to play afterwards... clearly a CHILD behavior, though said individual was a gifted and intelligent person at the time of her "marriage" she clearly had no idea what was going on which begs the question if she didnt know what was going on how can she consent???? she was not therefore gillick competent ... as for the oft repeated argument of her having started her menses- the female reproductive tract contains an area known as the transformation zone... this is not fully mature till the girl is at least 16-18, sex before this exposes her to the HPV virus which in turn can result in cervical cancer... hence now the HPV vaccine to protect girls who expose themselves before said area is mature... not to mention coitus with a minor can result in internal bleeding and shock as a result which can lead to death as has happened in yemen for example... her womb is not ready for the trauma of childbirth but I am sure you will dig up some excuse to make this "ok"

[Dreamer]

That's not how it works.

Only good people are guided to Islam.

These intellectuals are intelligent enough to realize Muhammad (pbuh) is an extraordinary man but they weren't good enough to be granted the guidance from Allah Most High.

So God is responsible for allowing someone to become muslim by gifting them with the guidence? yet he punishes those that dont? makes perfect sence

[Al Hanif]

So God is responsible for allowing someone to become muslim by gifting them with the guidence? yet he punishes those that dont? makes perfect sence

Yes. You see that was not hard.

[RevolutionThroughReason]

yawn... hadith clearly state she was a child.. she was PLAYING with dolls and on a swing when her bridal procession came not to mention continued to play afterwards... clearly a CHILD behavior, though said individual was a gifted and intelligent person at the time of her "marriage" she clearly had no idea what was going on which begs the question if she didnt know what was going on how can she consent???? she was not therefore gillick competent ... as for the oft repeated argument of her having started her menses- the female reproductive tract contains an area known as the transformation zone... this is not fully mature till the girl is at least 16-18, sex before this exposes her to the HPV virus which in turn can result in cervical cancer... hence now the HPV vaccine to protect girls who expose themselves before said area is mature... not to mention coitus with a minor can result in internal bleeding and shock as a result which can lead to death as has happened in yemen for example... her womb is not ready for the trauma of childbirth but I am sure you will dig up some excuse to make this "ok"

*yawn*

Her playing with dolls =/= child. As this is heavily subjective to individuals and culture. In fact according to their social rearing dynamics.

*(the majority of scholars permit dolls to train women starting from youth about matters of their homes and raising children) “Fath-ul-Bari by, Imam Ibn Hajar"

Which would thus bear nothing on the issue of consent, rather what they would be is more your interpolation more than anything. Secondly we examine ALL Hadith about the issue

Aisha herself says:

Aisha said: ‘If the “jariyah” (young girl) reaches nine years, then she is a woman”, Al Munzhiri (the hadeeth expert) said: Narrated by Tirmithi and Nasaa’i;

Which would clearly be in reference to herself since she would have identified her own attainment of womanhood by that age. Thirdly you commit a correlation vs causation fallacy. HPV is more common in women in their late teens and early 20's. By your argument, Increased sussceptibility to HPV would imply lack of fitness for sexual intercourse even at these ages and thus would mean they have not matured.

https://www.mcgill.ca/hitchcohort/hpvfacts

How is HPV transmitted? HPVs that infect the genital area are sexually transmitted. HPV viruses are very common. So much so that more than 75% of women and men will have this type of infection at one point of their life or another, and between 10% and 70% of women and men have HPV at any one time. HPV is most common in young women and men who are in their late teens and early 20s.

The movement of the Transformation Zone in women is an ONGOING process that continues into menopause, women even in their early 20's thereby do not have a "fully mature" Transformation Zone as it is stil. Also Coitus with women of ANY age can result in internal bleeding, These are variants not exclusively determined by age as its vector but by genetics of individuals, body weight, size and lifestyle habits.Thus your argument is POOR scientific analysis and has nothing to do with Maturation into Adulthood. But I'm sure you'll find a way to DENY all this and make your ignorance of Islamic narrative, science and faulty reasoning "ok".

checkmate, Logic wins over cultural superstitions once again.

[DaZahroJaam.]

Muhamamd was Arab and a leader thus an Arab leader. I always say the same thing that he had double role. Religious/spiritual and an Arab political leader. His religious message is for all, Arabs and non Arabs but as he governed only Arab land thus he cannot be termed a global leader.

He married 12 wives including a child. Do you think his this act is part of the religion. He converted almost all the Arabs of Mdinah, Makkah and around. Do you think this is the religious duty of all Muslims to convert all the non Muslims around? He smashed all the statues of Kaaba. Do you think every one of us start destroying all the statues we see around us in public parks and museums.

Let us recognize the fact that Muhamamd was a religious as well as secular leader. This is what I always claim and this is what has been depicted in the quotes by non Muslim intellectuals. We may follow Muhamamd in religion but we may not follow in all his acts which include many things which suited him as a person or leader but not as a prophet otherwise we will be in jail marrying a child!

have you ever seen a political leader physically fighting in a battle?? can you not imagine the circumstances that might have lead him to it?? he was born in an arab city and his immediate followers were arabs. it's only natural that he fought to defend muslims who at that time in majority consisted of arabs. he didn't wage wars against people to force them to convert but because muslims were being punished and tortured for not worshiping idols (which brought a great amount of wealth to his political opponents at that time) like the rest of the people. he ended up leaving makah so he could continue with his teachings and eventually, even that didn't help which forced him in to building an army to defend his people.
and yes, as a prophet, it was his job to convert people to islam. and as muslims, if someone wants to convert or ask us about islam, it is our obligation to guide them.

[ghumbasa]

Prophet mohammad sallallaho alayhi waalihi wassalam.Kindly use his name with respect as he was our prophet...for those who are muslims.