In what ways especially do Muhammad's achievements draw attention to his prophethood?

Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was peerless in educating people.

• A man, whoever he is and whatever he does, may regard his own occupation as more important, more necessary, more beneficial to social life and more difficult than others. However, although every occupation has some difficulty of its own and is of some degree of use for social life, educating people must be much more difficult than others and more necessary for a healthy social life.
  
  To bring up distinguished persons require distinguished educators. Only an educator who has established his aim in educating people and practices what he will teach and advise to his students, only one who knows the character, potentialities, desires, and ambitions of his students with the shortcomings and strong and weak spots and the level of learning and understanding of each, can be successful in educating people. Of course, this is not all that a good, successful educator must have. Furthermore, he must know how to treat his students in all circumstances, how to approach their problems and how to purify them of bad qualities and morals and, in place of them, inculcate laudable and good ones.
  
  A man may have strong belief in what he must believe but he may not be practicing his belief in his daily life. He may have some good moral qualities but they might have not been an ingrained part of his character. Moreover, he may have certain weak spots such as taking bribery and insensitivity to making use of common property or hoarding up wealth. Therefore, if an educator can change his students completely and, purifying them of all bad habits and morals and all bad qualities which have long been ingrained in them and, in their place, establishing laudable ones, can form a community which will be a good example for future generations in all fields of life and good moral qualities, if an educator can transform the �rock, copper, iron and coal� in his hand into �silver, gold, brilliant and diamond�, without doubt, you will conclude that that educator is an extraordinary one. What the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, achieved in educating people within so short a time as 23 years is much more than what that educator does.

Prophet Muhammad was matchless in knowing people each with his character.

• It is another important dimension of a good education is not to resort to force. Penal sanctions, coercion and military and police forces can have some effect on directing people but only to a slight degree and for a short time only. Therefore, convincing people of the truth of what we teach to them and making it approved by them wholeheartedly is of vital importance in a good education.
  
  No one in world history has so far been able to know man with all the dimensions of his character as well as the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and there has never appeared a second one next to him who has made pitiless, crude, warmongering, ignorant and unyielding individuals into a community which sets a perfect example for all the future generations in all aspects of life and good moral qualities.

Prophet Muhammad guided people in every aspect of life.

• No one can guide people in every field of life. It is very difficult for one, however able and clever, to be both an able statesman and commander and a brilliant scientist and successful educator at the same time. However, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was the most perfect spiritual and intellectual master, the most able statesman and commander, the most efficient educator, and the greatest scholar history has ever seen.

Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is the foremost in practicing all the forms of worship prescribed by his religion and the most God-fearing of people.

• The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is the foremost in practicing all the forms of worship prescribed by his religion and the most God-fearing of people. He observed the duties of worship with the utmost care and attention down to their minutest details even in most perilous circumstances of his life which passed in constant struggle and activity. He never imitated anyone in his worship and combined in a perfect fashion the beginning and the end of spiritual evolution.
  
  He is also unparalleled in prayer and gnosis, for in his supplications and prayers he describes his Lord with such a degree of gnosis that all the saints since his time have never been able, although those coming after have made use of the heritage of the preceding ones, to attain a similar degree of gnosis and description of God.

Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, was absolutely convinced of the truth of his message.

• He had in his faith so extraordinary a strength, so wonderful a certainty, and such elevated and world-enlightening conviction that none of the prevailing ideas and beliefs of that time, and none of the philosophies of the sages and teachings of the spiritual leaders, although they were all opposed and even hostile to him, was ever able to cause in him any doubt, hesitation or anxiety concerning his certainty, conviction, and assurance. Moreover, all saintly men of all times, his Companions primarily included, have all benefited from his faith which they admit to be of the highest degree. This fact proves that his faith too is matchless.

All the sacred attributes, miracles and functions that indicate the truthfulness and Messengership of the Prophets, peace be upon them all, were all to be found in Muhammad in the utmost degree.

• Just as the consensus of the Prophets is a very strong proof of the existence and Oneness of God, so, too, it is a firm testimony to the truthfulness and Messengership of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. For history confirms that all the sacred attributes, miracles and functions that indicate the truthfulness and Messengership of the Prophets, peace be upon them all, were all to be found in Muhammad in the utmost degree. The Prophets verbally predicted his coming, that is, they gave the good tidings of him in the Torah, the Gospels, the Psalms, and other Scriptures which are called �Pages� in the Qur�an; likewise through their missions and miracles they affirmed and �sealed� the mission of Muhammad, who is the foremost and most perfect in Prophethood.

Thousands of saints unanimously bear witness to the truthfulness and Messengership of Muhammad.

Also, having attained the truth and perfection, and the rank of working wonders, and gained insight into the reality of things, and spiritual discovery through following the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, in all his deeds and principles, thousands of saints unanimously bear witness not only to the Oneness of God but also to the truthfulness and Messengership of that being, upon him be peace and blessings. It is as bright a proof as the sun for the truthfulness of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, that, those saints believe in and affirm all of the truths that being proclaimed through the light of faith to the degree of either certainty coming from knowledge or certainty by sight, or of certainty by experience.

Thousands of exacting scholars of purity, meticulous scholars of truthfulness and believing sages have reached the highest station of learning through the teaching contained in the sacred truths brought by the Prophet Muhammad

Again, thousands of exacting scholars of purity, meticulous scholars of truthfulness and believing sages, who have reached the highest station of learning through the teaching contained in the sacred truths brought by the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, despite his being unlettered, the sublime sciences to which he gave birth, and the Divine knowledge he discovered, not only prove unanimously with their strongest proofs and affirm the Oneness of God, the foundation of his mission, but also bear unanimous witness to the truthfulness of that greatest teacher and supreme master, and to the veracity of his words.

First and foremost of all, the family and the Companions of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, who with their insight, wisdom and spiritual accomplishments, are the most renowned, the most respected, the most celebrated, the most pious, the most keen sighted of mankind after the Prophets, after having examined and scrutinized all the thoughts and states of that being, whether hidden or open, with the utmost attention and exactitude, unanimously concluded that he was the most truthful, the most elevated, and the most honest being in the world.

In his preaching of the message and calling people to the truth, Muhammad displayed extraordinary steadfastness, firmness and courage.

• In his preaching of the message and in his calling people to the truth, he displayed such steadfastness, firmness and courage that, in spite of the antagonism of big powers and great religions, and of his own people and tribe, even of his uncle, he never showed even the slightest trace of hesitation, anxiety or fear, and he successfully challenged the world, and, as a result, made Islam superior to all other religions and systems. This proves that there is not and cannot be anyone like him also in his preaching of and calling to the message of Truth.

Muhammad solved social, political and economic problems so easily and established such perfect rules in all these fields that they left permanent and inerasable imprints on all centuries and in the corners of the world.

• Let us go to the Arabian peninsula in the Time of Happiness. That unlettered man who had not attended any military academy, nor a school for civil servants or a school of law, nor a school of sciences, presented such a religion and law that they contain all the principles to secure happiness in both worlds. His speech is so effective and penetrating that human beings in all times listen to him and his voice is echoed in every century. He solves all social, political and economic problems so easily and establishes such perfect rules in all these fields that they leave permanent and inerasable imprints on all centuries and in the corners of the world. He spends a considerable part of his life on battlefields and proves to be the most able commander of all times. He also shows himself as the best of husbands, the most eminent, yet most compassionate of fathers and the most amiable and loyal of friends. He does all this in so short a time as 23 years.

Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is also beyond all compare in knowing his people and educating them to mould their characters in the crucible of his message.

• A leader must know his people very well in order to educate them and urge them to the realization of a cause. Alexis Carrel, a great French scientist and philosopher of this century, still describes man as unknown. Man is the most complex and intricate of creatures. However, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, is also beyond all compare in knowing his people and educating them to mould their characters in the crucible of his message. He knew everyone to whom he would convey his message with all the details of his character, with his abilities, shortcomings, feelings, disposition and level of understanding. Besides, he also knew very well how to act in certain conditions and was able to give the best decision in all crises. To every position he appointed the one most qualified for and deserving of it and did not have to change the appointment later. He succeeded in bringing the most refined, well-mannered and civilized society out of an extremely backward, uncivilized and rough people.

Muhammad equipped and adorned the desperate, wild and unyielding peoples of the seventh-century Arabian peninsula with all the praiseworthy virtues, and made them teachers of all the world and masters, especially, to the civilized nations.

• Consider how, eradicating their evil and savage customs and immoral qualities to which they were so fanatically attached, he equipped and adorned the desperate, wild and unyielding peoples of the seventh-century Arabian peninsula with all the praiseworthy virtues, and made them teachers of all the world and masters, especially, to the civilized nations. His was not an outward domination; rather, he conquered their minds, spirits, hearts, and souls. He became the beloved of hearts, the teacher of minds, the trainer of souls, and the ruler of spirits.

Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, removed numerous ingrained habits from large obsessed communities with a little effort over a very short period of time, and in their place implanted and inculcated exalted qualities in such a way that they became inherent in their being.

• You know that despite all the advanced techniques and methods, modern communities are unable to remove permanently so small a vice as cigarette smoking. However, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, removed numerous ingrained habits from large obsessed communities with a little effort over a very short period of time, and in their place implanted and inculcated exalted qualities in such a way that they became inherent in their being. To those who refuse to see the testimony of the blessed age of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, we present as a challenge any part of today�s civilized world. Let them go there with hundreds of philosophers, sociologists, psychologists and pedagogues and educators, and strive for a hundred years, I wonder whether they will be able to achieve in that period a hundredth part of what the Prophet Muhammad achieved in a year.

When the Prophet began preaching his Message, he had to face severe opposition, but he confronted all the opposition with a smile on his lips.

• When the Prophet began preaching his Message, he had to face severe opposition, but he confronted all the opposition with a smile on his lips. Once, the leaders of the Quraysh warned Abu Talib, the Prophet�s uncle, to persuade his nephew to abandon preaching his mission. The Prophet answered:
  
  O uncle! Should they place the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left, so as to make me renounce this mission, I shall not do so. I will never give it up; either it will please God to make it triumph or I shall perish it the attempt.

The faith, perseverance and resolution, with which Prophet Muhammad carried his mission to ultimate success, is an eloquent proof of the supreme truth of his cause.

On another occasion, a deputation of the leading Quraysh called on him and offered him all the worldly glory they could imagine in return for his abandoning his mission. They said:

� If you want to possess wealth, we will amass for you as much as you wish; if you aspire to win honor and power, we are prepared to swear allegiance to you as our overlord and king; if you have a fancy for beauty, you shall have the hand of the most beautiful maiden of your own choice.

The terms were extremely tempting for any ordinary mortal, but they had no significance in the eyes of the Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings. He responded:

� I want neither wealth nor power. God has commissioned me as a warner to humanity. I deliver His Message to you. Should you accept it, you shall have felicity in this life and eternal bliss in the life Hereafter. Should you reject the Word of God, surely God will decide between you and me.

The faith, perseverance and resolution, with which he carried his mission to ultimate success, is an eloquent proof of the supreme truth of his cause. Had there been the slightest doubt or uncertainty in his heart, he would never have been able to brave the storm that continued in all its fury for twenty-one long years.

None of the world leaders have been able to bring about among the members of their followers so strong a unity of belief, thought and ideal as that which the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, realized among the desert men of the seventh-century Arabia.

• Great leaders have appeared on the horizon of humanity. They have changed the course of history through either the states or empires they have established or the revolutions they have made. Nevertheless, almost none of them have been able to bring about among the members of their followers so strong a unity of belief, thought and ideal as that which the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, realized among the desert men of the seventh-century Arabia. Although Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, had never given any indication of political interest or activity for full forty years until Prophethood, he appeared all of a sudden on the stage of the world as such a great political reformer and statesman that, without the aid of press or of any modern telecommunication means, he brought together the scattered inhabitants of a desert of twelve hundred thousand square miles�a people who were warlike, ignorant, unruly, uncultured, and plunged in tribal war-fare�under one banner, one law, one religion, one culture, one civilization and one form of government.

Prophet Muhammad conquered minds and hearts and promised his followers nothing other than God�s approval and Paradise.

• A leader must know men very well in order to urge them to the realization of a cause. In order to gain a following, most leaders make alluring promises to people, like power, wealth, position or a bright future. However, the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, made no such promises to his followers. Nor did he resort to any force to realize his aim. He conquered minds and hearts and promised his followers only God�s good pleasure and Paradise. His followers sacrificed themselves in his way willingly and preferred to live a poor life in return for gaining God�s good pleasure and Paradise. Especially his own family lived as the poorest of his community. He always sought to prepare them, as well as his Companions, for the eternal peace and permanent bliss while himself setting for them a good example of that peace and bliss. His daughter Fatima, the most beloved to him among his family, once came to him with a necklace around her neck or a bracelet around her wrist. The Prophet said to her:
  
  � Do you want people�inhabitants of the earth and the inhabitants of heavens�to say that the daughter of the Prophet is wearing a chain from Hell?
  
  These words were enough for Fatima, for they were coming from the mouth of one whose throne was established in people�s hearts and who had conquered their minds. Fatima narrates the rest of the story as follows:
  
  � I immediately sold the necklace, bought a slave and emancipated him, and then went to the Messenger of God. When I told him what I had done, he rejoiced. He opened his hands and thanked God, saying: All thanks to God, Who protected (my daughter) Fatima from Hell.

Despite all the most pitiless cruelties, Prophet Muhammad used to pray: �O God! Forgive them and guide them to truth, for they do not know�. Through his limitless love, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance, he made extremely cruel, warmongering people into the best community in human history.

• Supposing you are a teacher at a school or a director in an institution. In order to bring up your students or the people under your command according to the ideal you pursue, you are determined to bear all hardships that may appear before you. Now, if they spit in your face when they are passing by you, if they put an animal abdomen over your head while you are in prostration before God, if they sometimes slap you in face, if they sometimes throw stones at you and scatter thorny plants along the roads you pass, if they ambush you in corners with daggers in their hands, if they mock you in front of others, if they slander your wife, if they kill your relatives and cut their bodies into pieces, if they attack you many times and injure you, and if they expel you from your native land, still can you bear all such cruelties and continue your way without the least hesitation? More than that, can you forgive them, pity them and pray to God for them, saying: O God! Forgive them and guide them to truth, for they do not know. If you are taken to a Paradise-like place and left free to choose between living there and going back to serve your cause amid hardships, do you choose to go back among the people to continue your mission?
  
  Is it not the worst form of �blindness� and ignorance to reject the Prophethood of that pride of humanity who, through his limitless love, compassion, forgiveness and tolerance, made extremely cruel, warmongering people into the best community in human history?

In human history there has been no one as much loved as his followers from the first day up to now love the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.

• The Prophet, upon him be peace and blessings, sent a group of envoys to the Adal and al-Qarah tribes to teach them Islam. However, a group from the Hudhayl tribe attacked the envoys half-way and, killing some of them, submitted the remaining three to the Quraysh. Zayd ibn Dasina was among the envoys. Before the Qurayshi polytheists executed Zayd, Abu Sufyan, who had not yet embraced Islam, said to him:
  
  � I adjure you by God, Zayd, don�t you wish that Muhammad was with us now in your place so that we might cut off his head, and that you were with your family?
  
  � �By God�, said Zayd, �let alone wishing that Muhammad were here in my place so that I were with my family, I do not wish that even a thorn should hurt his feet in Madina.�
  
  Abu Sufyan had to remark: �I swear by God that I have never seen a man who was so loved as Muhammad�s Companions loved him.�
  
  In human history there has been no one as much loved, as his followers from the first day up to now love the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.

Prophet Muhammad answered all of the questions asked without faltering and he has not been contradicted ever since.

• The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, had to answer innumerable questions put to him by both the desert men of Arabia and the Jews and Christians of his time, concerning not only religion but also many other subjects such as history, metaphysics, astronomy, medicine and so on. He answered all of them without faltering and he has not been contradicted ever since.

Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, brought into history such a law, a religion, a way of life, a code of worship, a way of prayer, a message, and faith that the like of them has never existed, nor will or could exist.

• The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, brought into history such a law, a religion, a way of life, a code of worship, a way of prayer, a message, and faith that the like of them has never existed, nor will or could exist. For the law brought by that unlettered being is matchless in that it has administered one fifth of mankind for fourteen centuries, in a just and precise manner through its rules and injunctions. The religion of Islam, which originated in the Qur�an he received from God and his own sayings, precepts and example, is also peerless, for in each century it has been for hundreds of millions of people a guide and a competent authority or source for whatever matter is referred to it. It has also trained their minds, illumined and purified their hearts, trained and refined their souls, and perfected their spirits.

After the Companions, hundreds of thousands of saints and purified, meticulous scholars, thousands of scientists, and hundreds of thousands of literary geniuses, commanders and statesmen have been brought up in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad.

• After the Companions, who gave the lead to all mankind in all fields of life including the scientific, political, social, administrative and economic, hundreds of thousands of saints and purified, meticulous scholars such as Abu Hanifa, Shafi�i, Bayazid al-Bistami, �Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani, Imam Ghazali, Imam Rabbani, Bediuzzaman Said Nursi and many others, and thousands of scientists like al-Biruni, al-Zahrawi, Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Haytham and others, and hundreds of thousands of literary geniuses, commanders and statesmen, and other stars of mankind, have all followed in the footsteps of the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. Besides those persons, many intellectuals and statesmen of the West such as Lamartine, William Muir, Edward Gibbon, John Davenport, L. A. Sedillot, Goethe, P. Bayle, Stanley Lane-Poole, A. J. Arberry, Thomas Carlyle, Rosenthal, Elisee Reclus, Andrew Miller, Bismarck, Leopold Weis, Marmaduke Pickthall, Martin Lings and Roger Garaudy have had to confess his greatness, even that he is the greatest of mankind, and some of them have embraced Islam. This is another proof of his Prophethood.