Since we are fasting in this Holy month of Ramadan and it is a religious practice and subjective experience based on the instructions of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H), let us consider the Prophet’s achievements in accordance with the modern world. Can we still find charms and success in his prophethood after the passage of about fourteen centuries thereafter? Is the heart of history still beating with the change and reformation he made? Considering the religious extremists, the subject may be really controversial especially for the non-Muslims. However, prejudice and judgment on the basis of the individuals’ action are not supposed to mingle with the fact.

The prophetic mission was intended to train the world gradually in divine wisdom according to its mental evolution, and to impart it to man, according to his understanding, in forms suitable to various lands at different periods. This is why numerous different religions are still in existence, although the moral principles of all are the same.

Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) was admired by his contemporaries for his courage, resoluteness, and impartiality, and for a firmness that was tempered by generosity. He won men’s hearts by embodying the qualities of equity and justice. He became for later Muslims an exemplar of virtuous character, and stories presented him as realizing the Islamic ideal of human life. In contrast to Jesus, who was mostly successful in his spiritual life, Muhammad (P.B.U.H) had a very active political life while he devoted his evenings and nights to meditation and prayers. Hence, for Muslims, he realized the perfect equilibrium between the material life and the spiritual life. From a Muslim perspective, Moses symbolizes the material life as expressed in the religious law while Jesus represents the spiritual life as unveiled in his spiritual exegesis of the law. Muhammad (P.B.U.H) came to reconcile Moses and Jesus.

The Holy Prophet preached with all his heart and soul, giving birth slowly to a revolutionary movement. Conversions to Islam increased. The Makkan leaders were now thoroughly alarmed. Their power and prestige were at stake. They were the guardians of the idols whom the Holy Prophet threatened with destruction. His preaching was intensely democratic; in the sight of his Lord all human beings were equal. This leveling of old distinctions was contrary to all their traditions. They were afraid to lose their exclusive privileges. Urgent measures were needed to prevent the movement from gaining further strength. Consequently, they planned the persecution of Muslims in order not to infringe their laws of vendetta. Each clan decided to exert pressure on each member who was sympathetic to his cause. Many Muslims were thrown into prison, starved and tormented. Some were exposed to cruel tortures such as being exposed to the burning heat of the desert, until they accepted to renounce their faith in Islam or die of thirst. The slave Bilal was submitted to such cruel tortures that he was on the verge of death; but just survived.

The reputation of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H) continued to grow after his death. He became the symbol of the unity of the new faith and he was called the founder of a new civilization. The Holy Prophet was a reformer who has left a considerable mark on culture and civilization. He was an eminent judge who spoke with knowledge and wisdom. He gave speeches to build bridges between rival tribes and he taught religious ethics. This great Prophet was able to unite all Arabia in a short period of only nine years. He united rival peoples scattered in a desert of two million square kilometers - peoples who were ignorant, undisciplined, uneducated and engaged in a permanent state of internecine warfare — under one banner and gave them a unified religion, culture, civilization and community. The Prophet was able to cure the chronic tribal rivalries and disunity of Arabian society. His main social achievement was the bonding of a hundred feuding tribes into one nation based on a faith that supersedes the ties of kinship and the enmity of blood-feuds. He changed how tribesmen think, their habits and even their morals. He transformed the society of his time into civilized, pious, and righteous people.

Thanks to the influence of the Holy Prophet, from a nation that had not seen a single great man for many centuries, many scientists emerged who travelled to preach and teach the principles of religion, of morality and civilization. In the beginning, the Muslims were so united that the power of Byzantium and Persia could not resist them. The new religion gave so great an impetus that within one generation the Muslims had conquered a vast territory extending from Tunisia to India. The reason for this great success is that the people of the surrounding dominions were fed up with their previous regime; the Muslims were therefore received as liberators. Moreover, the Muslims did not rule with a heavy hand over these lands. Following the example set forth by the Prophet in the Constitution of Medina, they entered into alliance with the local people, letting them practice their faith freely.

The entire Arabian society was changed from warring tribes into people united in worship of God. This society was transformed from one where adultery, drunkenness, gambling, robbery, racism, and oppression were rampant into a society united under the worship of God Almighty, one that encouraged its members to involve themselves in righteous actions and forbade evil ones.

How did the Holy Prophet accomplish all this without any education in psychology, sociology, or counseling?

French poet Lamartine wrote, “Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a religion without images, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire that is Muhammad. If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad?”