Muhammad Quotations

Muhammad

From Wikiquote All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.

Muhammad (Arabic: محمد) (c. 570 – 8 June 632), full name: Muhammad Ibn `Abd Allāh Ibn `Abd al-Muttalib (Arabic: محمد إبن عبدالله إبن عبد المطلب), was a trader, political, military, and religious leader. Muslim religious belief holds that he is the Seal of the prophets, and that the Qur'an is the message of Allah revealed to him by the angel Jibreel (Gabriel). Archaic spellings of his name in English include: Mohammed, Muhammed, and Mahomet.

See also quotes from the Qur'an (القرآن)

Contents 1 Quotes 1.1 Final sermon 1.2 Sunni Hadith 1.3 Shi'ite Hadith 2 Quotes about Muhammad 3 External links

Quotes

Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever has not kindness has not faith.

• Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever has not kindness has not faith.
  • As quoted in Al-Islam‎ (1926) by Khwajah Kamal al-Din, p. 47
  • Variant translations:
  • Kindness is a mark of faith, and whoever hath not kindness hath not faith.
    • As quoted in Prabuddha Bharata : or Awakened India, Vol. 44 (1939) published by Advaita Ashrama, p. 84.
  • Kindness is a mark of faith and whoever has no kindness has no faith.
    • As quoted in Islamic Terrorism? (2004) by Syed Manal Shah Alquadri, p. 14.

Final sermon

Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right, nor any preference to claim over another. You are brothers.

The Last Sermon of Muhammad delivered on the Ninth Day of Dhul Hijjah 10 A.H (c. 630 AD)

• O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I don't know whether, after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you carefully and take these words to those who could not be present here today.

• O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have right over you. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers.

• All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. You know that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.

• All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly.

• Even as the fingers of the two hands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one has any right, nor any preference to claim over another. You are brothers.

Sunni Hadith

It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing.

Note: Hadith ("Traditions") of the prophet are accounts of sayings attributed directly to Muhammad, through traditionally accepted sources, and to Muslims they are second in importance only to the Qur'an. They are seen as explanations of the Quranic verses and the second source of legislation in Islamic jurisprudence.

(Arranged alphabetically)

Avoid cruelty and injustice for, on the Day of Judgment, the same will turn into several darknesses; and guard yourselves against miserliness; for this has ruined nations who lived before you.

• All doings are built on intentions,and every man will be rewarded or punished (for his work) according to his intention
  • Narrated by Al-Bukhari and Muslim ^{[citation needed]}

• Destroying Kabaa stone by stone, is less evil than killing a single Muslim...
  • Narrated by An-Nasaie and At-Termithi ^{[citation needed]}

• I would order someone to collect firewood and another to lead prayer. Then I would burn the houses of men who did not present themselves at the compulsory prayer and prostration.
  • Bukhari:V1B11N617 (Volume 1 does not contain Book 11. Book 11 does not contain Hadith 617.)

• Hadith 617 Vol.1 Book:10 (Chapter 11)

Narrated Salim bin 'Abdullah: My father said that Allah's Messenger said, "Bilal pronounces Adhan (call to pray) at night, so keep on eating and drinking (Sahur)till Ibn Umm Maktum pronounces Adhan." Salim added, "he was a blind man who would not pronounce the adhan un less he was told that the day had dawned."

• Faith (belief) consists of more than sixty branches (i.e. parts). And Haya (This term "Haya" covers a large number of concepts which are to be taken together; amongst them are self respect, modesty, bashfulness, and scruple, etc.) is a part of faith.
  • Bukhari 1:8

• Surely, there is no advantage (preference) for an Arab over an aajami (non-Arab), nor a non-Arab over an Arab, nor a white over a black, except by piousness and good deeds.
  • Narrated by Imam Ahmad ^{[citation needed]}

• O people! Your God is one and your forefather (Adam) is one. An Arab is not better than a non-Arab and a non-Arab is not better than an Arab, and a red (i.e. white tinged with red) person is not better than a black person and a black person is not better than a red person, except in piety.
  • Narrated in Mosnad Ahmad, #22978

• Whoever killed "Muaahadan" a confederate (a term used in Islamic state to refer to non-Muslim citizens), will not smell Paradise. And its scent can be smelled from a distance of forty years (a term in Arabic means "far distance").
  • Narrated By An-Nasaie ^{[citation needed]}

• Whoever possesses the following three qualities will have the sweetness (delight) of faith:
  • 1. The one to whom Allah and His Apostle becomes dearer than anything else
  • 2. Who loves a person and he loves him only for Allah's sake
  • 3. Who hates to revert to Atheism (disbelief) as he hates to be thrown into the fire.
  • Bukhari 1:15

• Allah's Apostle [Muhammad (peace be upon him)] said, "The deeds of anyone of you will not save you (from the fire [of hell])." They asked, "Even you (will not be saved by your deeds), O Allah's Apostle?" He said, "No, even I (will not be saved) unless and until Allah bestows His mercy on me. Therefore, do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately, and worship Allah in the forenoon and in the afternoon and during a part of the night, and always adopt a middle, moderate, regular course whereby you will reach your target (Paradise).
  • Sahih Bukhari 8:76:470.

• The ink of scholars (used in writing) is weighed on the Day of Judgement with the blood of martyrs and the ink of scholars outweighs the blood of martyrs.
  • As quoted in Al-Jaami' al-Saghîr by Imam al-Suyuti, where it is declared a "weak Hadith".
  • Variant translations:
  • The ink of the scholar is holier than the blood of the martyr.
    • The Islamic Review, Vol. 22 (1934), p. 105, edited by Khwajah Kamal al-Din
  • The ink of scholars will be weighed in the scale with the blood of martyrs.
    • As quoted in Knowledge of God in Classical Sufism: Foundations of Islamic Mystical Theology (2004) by John Renard

• A Muslim asked: "Oh Apostle of God, who are your kin whom you have ordered us to obey?" He replied, "Ali (blessings and peace be upon him), Fatimah (blessings be upon her), and her two sons."
  • al-Suyuti, Dur al-Manthur, vol.7, p.7 ; ibn Jarir al-Tabari, Tafsir al-Tabari, vol.5, p.16 ; al-Fakhr al-Razi, al-Tafsir, vol.7, p.406 ; ibn Hajar al-Haythami, al-Sawa'iq al-Muhriqah, p.102 ; Muhibbuddin al-Tabari, Dhakha‘ir al-Uqba, p.25 ; al-Shablanji, Nur al-Absar, p.100.

• A prostitute was forgiven by Allah, because, passing by a panting dog near a well and seeing that the dog was about to die of thirst, she took off her shoe, and tying it with her head-cover she drew out some water for it. So, Allah forgave her because of that.
  • Bukhari 4:538 This is an extraordinary hadith, because following the Sunnah of Muhammad (peace be upon him), prostitutes can be extremely despised figures among most Muslims, yet it expresses the idea that even someone working in one of the most despised of professions, in showing mercy to an animal, can merit the forgiveness of Allah, and the wise.

• While a man was walking along a road, he became very thirsty and found a well. He lowered himself into the well, drank, and came out. Then [he saw] a dog protruding its tongue out with thirst. The man said: "This dog has become exhausted from thirst in the same way as I." He lowered himself into the well again and filled his shoe with water. He gave the dog some water to drink. He thanked God, and [his sins were] forgiven. The Prophet was then asked: "Is there a reward for us in our animals?" He said: "There is a reward in every living thing."
  • Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 3, Number 104

• The Messenger of Allah said, "Verily, Allah has revealed to me that you should adopt humility. So that no one may wrong another and no one may be disdainful and haughty towards another."
  • Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Compiled By Al-Imam Abu Zakariya Yahya bin Sharaf An-Nawawi Ad-Dimashqi, Chapter 279, Hadith 1589 [1]

• Allah’s Messenger kissed Al-Hasan ibn `Ali while Al-Aqra` ibn Habis At-Tamim was sitting with him . Al-Aqra` said, "I have ten children and have never kissed one of them." The Prophet cast a look at him and said, "Whoever is not merciful to others will not be treated mercifully."
  • Al-Bukhari ^{[citation needed]}

• Allah will not be merciful to those who are not merciful to people.
  • Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, #473

• Narrater Abu Hurairah. Allah's Apostle said, "Anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should not harm his neighbor, and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should entertain his guest generously and anybody who believes in Allah and the Last Day should talk what is good or keep quiet.
  • Sahih Bukhari 8:73:47(Previous Reference for link only. Correct Ref: Bukhari Vol.8 Book78 Hadith6018)

• Avoid cruelty and injustice for, on the Day of Judgment, the same will turn into several darknesses; and guard yourselves against miserliness; for this has ruined nations who lived before you.
  • Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 203

• By his good character, a believer will attain the degree of one who prays during the night and fasts during the day.
  • Abu Dawood, Hadith 2233

• ...Do not betray, do not be excessive, do not kill a newborn child.
  • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1731, and Al-Tirmizi, #1408.

• Do not turn away a poor man...even if all you can give is half a date. If you love the poor and bring them near you...God will bring you near Him on the Day of Resurrection.
  • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1376

• (Each one) of you should save himself from the fire by giving even half of a date (in charity). And if you do not find a half date, then (by saying) a pleasant word (to your brethren).
  • Sahih Bukhari, Volume 2, Hadith 394

• Fear Allah and treat your children [small or grown] fairly (with equal justice).
  • Al-Bukhari and Muslim ^{[citation needed]}

• Five kinds of animals are mischief-doers and can be killed even in the Sanctuary: They are the rat, the scorpion, the kite, the crow and the rabid dog.
  • Hadith - Bukhari 4:531, Narrated by 'Aisha

• "God does not judge you according to your bodies and appearances, but He looks into your hearts and observes your deeds."
• Narrated Abu Hurairah: A man came to Allah's Messenger and said, "Who is more entitled to be treated with the best companionship by me?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man said. "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man further said, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your mother." The man asked for the fourth time, "Who is next?" The Prophet said, "Your father."
  • Sahih al-Bukhari, 8:2

• Abu Huraira reported that a person came to Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and said: Who among the people is most deserving of a fine treatment from my hand? He said: Your mother. He again said: Then who (is the next one)? He said: Again it is your mother (who deserves the best treatment from you). He said: Then who (is the next one)? He (the Holy Prophet) said: Again, it is your mother. He (again) said: Then who? Thereupon he said: Then it is your father.
  • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Book 032, Number 6180 [2]

• "Happy is the man who avoids dissension, but how fine is the man who is afflicted and shows endurance."
  • Sunah of Abu Dawood, Hadith 1996

• "He who builds a masjid in the way of Allah, God will build a house for him in the paradise."
  • Sahih Muslim, Nr. 828; muslim-canada.org

• He who has been a ruler over ten people will be brought shackled on the Day of Resurrection, until the justice (by which he ruled) loosens his chains or tyranny brings him to destruction.
  • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1037

• "I and the person who looks after an orphan and provides for him, will be in Paradise like this," — putting his index and middle fingers together.
  • Sahih Al-Bukhari Volume 8 Book 73 Number 34

• I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The reward of deeds depends upon the intentions and every person will get the reward according to what he has intended. So whoever emigrated for worldly benefits or for a woman to marry, his emigration was for what he emigrated for."
  • Narrated by 'Umar bin Al-Khattab: Sahih Al-Bukhari: Volume 1, Book 1, Number 1

• In the name of God, I put my trust in God. O God, I seek refuge in Thee lest I stray or be led astray or cause injustice or suffer injustice or do wrong or have wrong done to me!
  • Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 67b.

• It is better for a leader to make a mistake in forgiving than to make a mistake in punishing.
  • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 1011

• It is a fine thing when a believer praises and thanks God if good comes to him, and praises God and shows endurance if smitten by affliction. The believer is rewarded for (every good action), even for the morsel he raises to his wife's mouth.
  • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 537

• It is better for any of you to carry a load of firewood on his own back than to beg from someone else.
  • Riyadh-Us-Saleheen, Chapter 59, hadith 540

• Narrated by Abu Qatadah: "The Messenger of Allah came towards us while carrying Umamah the daughter of Abi Al-`As (the Prophet’s granddaughter) over his shoulder. He prayed, and when he wanted to bow, he put her down, and when he stood up he lifted her up."
  • Al-Bukhari ^{[citation needed]}

• Narrated Umm Khalid: I (the daughter of Khalid ibn Said) went to Allah’s Messenger with my father and I was wearing a yellow shirt. Allah’s Messenger said, "Sanah, Sanah!" (`Abdullah, the narrator, said that sanah meant "good" in the Ethiopian language). I then started playing with the seal of prophethood (between the Prophet’s shoulders) and my father rebuked me harshly for that. Allah’s Messenger said, "Leave her." The Prophet, then, invoked Allah to grant her a long life thrice.
  • Al-Bukhari ^{[citation needed]}

• People, beware of injustice, for injustice shall be darkness on the Day of Judgment.
  • Narrated in Mosnad Ahmad, #5798, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2447.

• Religion is very easy and whoever overburdens himself in his religion will not be able to continue in that way. So you should not be extremists, but try to be near to perfection and receive the good tidings that you will be rewarded.
  • Sahih Bukhari 1:2:38(This, as well most other Bukhari reference are incorrect. The correct Hadith in respect to the reference is as follws:
• Narrated Abu Huraira: Allah's Apostle said, "Whoever observes fasts during the month of Ramadan out of sincere faith, and hoping to attain Allah's rewards, then all his past sins will be forgiven." )

• Righteousness is good morality, and wrongdoing is that which wavers in your soul and which you dislike people finding out about.
  • An-Nawawi's "Forty Hadith," Hadith 27

• Seven kinds of people will be sheltered under the shade of God on the Day of Judgment...They are: a just ruler, a young man who passed his youth in the worship and service of God...one whose heart is attached to the mosque...two people who love each other for the sake of God...a man who is invited to sin...but declines, saying 'I fear God'...one who spends his charity in secret, without making a show...and one who remembers God in solitude so that his eyes overflow.
  • Riyadh-us-Salaheen, Hadith 376

• Sometimes I enter prayer and I intend to prolong it, but then I hear a child crying, and I shorten my prayer thinking of the distress of the child's mother.
  • Fiqh us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 51b

• The Prophet said, "(It happens that) I start the prayer intending to prolong it, but on hearing the cries of a child, I shorten the prayer because I know that the cries of the child will incite its mother’s passions."
  • Al-Bukhari ^{[citation needed]}

• The best among you are those who are best to their wives.
  • Narrated in Ibn Majah, #1978, and Al-Tirmizi, #3895.

• The example of a believer is like a fresh tender plant; from whichever direction the wind blows, it bends the plant. But when the wind dies down, (it) straightens up again.
  • Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 4, Number 1

• The first cases to be adjudicated between people on the Day of Judgment will be those of bloodshed [killing and injuring]
  • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #1678, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #6533.

• The first to be summoned to Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be those who praise God in prosperity and adversity.
  • Al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 730

• There is a reward for kindness to every living animal or human.
  • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, #2244, and Saheeh Al-Bukhari, #2466.

• "The whole earth has been made a mosque and pure for me."
  • Bukhari, www.alislam.org

Beware that www.alislam.org is a Qadyani website (so called Ahmadi Muslims) and according to the Muslim belief throughout the world (agreed upon) Qadyani's are not Muslims.

• "What is the best type of Jihad [struggle]?" He answered: "Speaking truth before a tyrannical ruler."
  • Riyadh us-Saleheen Volume 1:195

• Whoever killed a person having a treaty with the Muslims, shall not smell the smell of Paradise though its smell is perceived from a distance of forty years.
  • Sahih Bukhari 4:53:391

• Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: A woman was punished because she had kept a cat tied until it died, and (as a punishment of this offence) she was thrown into Hell. She had not provided it with food or drink, and had not freed her so that she could eat the insects of the earth.
  • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Book 026, Number 5570 [3]

• Verily Allah has enjoined goodness to everything; so when you kill, kill in a good way and when you slaughter, slaughter in a good way. So every one of you should sharpen his knife, and let the slaughtered animal die comfortably.
  • Narrated in Saheeh Muslim, Book 021, Number 4810 [4]

• Allah's Apostle said: "I have been ordered (by Allah) to fight against the people until they testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is Allah's Apostle, and offer the prayers perfectly and give the obligatory charity, so if they perform a that, then they save their lives an property from me except for Islamic laws and then their reckoning (accounts) will be done by Allah."
  • Narrated by Ibn Umar, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 24

• Allah's Apostle said, "The Hour will not be established until you fight with the Jews, and the stone behind which a Jew will be hiding will say. "O Muslim! There is a Jew hiding behind me, so kill him."
  • Narrated by Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 177

• Allah's Apostle said, "I have been sent with the shortest expressions bearing the widest meanings, and I have been made victorious with terror (cast in the hearts of the enemy), and while I was sleeping, the keys of the treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand." Abu Huraira added: Allah's Apostle has left the world and now you, people, are bringing out those treasures (i.e. the Prophet did not benefit by them).
  • Narrated in Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 220

• Some Zanadiqa (atheists) were brought to 'Ali and he burnt them. The news of this event, reached Ibn 'Abbas who said, "If I had been in his place, I would not have burnt them, as Allah's Apostle forbade it, saying, 'Do not punish anybody with Allah's punishment (fire).' I would have killed them according to the statement of Allah's Apostle, 'Whoever changed his Islamic religion, then kill him.'"
  • Narrated in 'Ikrima, in Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 84, Number 57

• Allah's Apostle called: "War is deceit".
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 268

• The Prophet passed by me at a place called Al-Abwa or Waddan, and was asked whether it was permissible to attack the pagan warriors at night with the probability of exposing their women and children to danger. The Prophet replied, "They (i.e. women and children) are from them (i.e. pagans)." I also heard the Prophet saying, "The institution of Hima is invalid except for Allah and His Apostle."
  • Narrated As-Sab bin Jaththama, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 256

• The Prophet said, "Who is ready to kill Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf who has really hurt Allah and His Apostle?" Muhammad bin Maslama said, "O Allah's Apostle! Do you like me to kill him?" He replied in the affirmative. So, Muhammad bin Maslama went to him (i.e. Ka'b) and said, "This person (i.e. the Prophet) has put us to task and asked us for charity." Ka'b replied, "By Allah, you will get tired of him." Muhammad said to him, "We have followed him, so we dislike to leave him till we see the end of his affair." Muhammad bin Maslama went on talking to him in this way till he got the chance to kill him.
  • Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 270

• When the last moment of the life of Allah's Apostle came, he started putting his 'Khamisa' on his face and when he felt hot and short of breath he took it off his face and said, "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the places of worship at the graves of their Prophets." The Prophet was warning (Muslims) of what those had done.
  • Narrated 'Aisha and 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 8, Number 427

• The Prophet said, "Nobody who dies and finds good from Allah (in the hereafter) would wish to come back to this world even if he were given the whole world and whatever is in it, except the martyr who, on seeing the superiority of martyrdom, would like to come back to the world and get killed again (in Allah's cause). The Prophet said, "A single endeavor (of fighting) in Allah's cause in the afternoon or in the forenoon is better than all the world and whatever is in it. A place in Paradise as small as the bow or lash of one of you is better than all the world and whatever is in it. And if a houri from Paradise appeared to the people of the earth, she would fill the space between Heaven and the Earth with light and pleasant scent and her head cover is better than the world and whatever is in it."
  • Narrated Anas bin Malik, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 53

• A man came to Allah's Apostle and said, "Instruct me as to such a deed as equals Jihad (in reward)." He replied, "I do not find such a deed." Then he added, "Can you, while the Muslim fighter is in the battle-field, enter your mosque to perform prayers without cease and fast and never break your fast?" The man said, "But who can do that?" Abu- Huraira added, "The Mujahid (i.e. Muslim fighter) is rewarded even for the footsteps of his horse while it wanders about (for grazing) tied in a long rope."
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 44

• The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: If you find anyone doing as Lot's people did, kill the one who does it, and the one to whom it is done.
  • Narrated Abdullah ibn Abbas, in AbuDawud, Book 38, Number 4447

• On 'Id ul Fitr or 'Id ul Adha Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) went out to the Musalla. After finishing the prayer, he delivered the sermon and ordered the people to give alms. He said, "O people! Give alms." Then he went towards the women and said. "O women! Give alms, for I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-Fire were you (women)." The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the reason for it?" He replied, "O women! You curse frequently, and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. O women, some of you can lead a cautious wiseman astray." Then he left. And when he reached his house, Zainab, the wife of Ibn Masud, came and asked permission to enter. It was said, "O Allah's Apostle! It is Zainab." He asked, 'Which Zainab?" The reply was that she was the wife of Ibn Mas'ub. He said, "Yes, allow her to enter." And she was admitted. Then she said, "O Prophet of Allah! Today you ordered people to give alms and I had an ornament and intended to give it as alms, but Ibn Masud said that he and his children deserved it more than anybody else." The Prophet replied, "Ibn Masud had spoken the truth. Your husband and your children had more right to it than anybody else."
  • Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri, in Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 24, Number 541

• The things which annual prayer were mentioned before me (and those were): a dog, a donkey and a woman. I said, "You have compared us (women) to donkeys and dogs. By Allah! I saw the Prophet praying while I used to lie in (my) bed between him and the Qibla. Whenever I was in need of something, I disliked to sit and trouble the Prophet. So, I would slip away by the side of his feet."
  • Narrated 'Aisha, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 9, Number 493

• Allah's Apostle said, "Know that Paradise is under the shades of swords."
  • Narrated 'Abdullah bin Abi Aufa, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 73

• Allah's Apostle said, "In Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them. And there are two gardens, the utensils and contents of which are made of silver; and two other gardens, the utensils and contents of which are made of so-and-so (i.e. gold) and nothing will prevent the people staying in the Garden of Eden from seeing their Lord except the curtain of Majesty over His Face."
  • Narrated Abdullah bin Qais, in Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 402

• Allah's Apostle said, "You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin."
  • Narrated Anas bin Malik, in Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 89, Number 256

• Allah's Apostle said, "There is no Zakat either on a horse or a slave belonging to a Muslim"
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 24, Number 542

• A man came to the Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) and said: I have found a woman of rank and beauty, but she does not give birth to children. Should I marry her? He said: No. He came again to him, but he prohibited him. He came to him third time, and he (the Prophet) said: Marry women who are loving and very prolific, for I shall outnumber the peoples by you.
  • Narrated Ma'qil ibn Yasar, in AbuDawud, Book 11, Number 2045

• The Prophet said, "By Him in Whose Hands my life is! Were it not for some men amongst the believers who dislike to be left behind me and whom I cannot provide with means of conveyance, I would certainly never remain behind any Sariya' (army-unit) setting out in Allah's Cause. By Him in Whose Hands my life is! I would love to be martyred in Allah's Cause and then get resurrected and then get martyred, and then get resurrected again and then get martyred and then get resurrected again and then get martyred.
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 54

• It has been reported from Sulaiman b. Buraid through his father that when the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) appointed anyone as leader of an army or detachment he would especially exhort him to fear Allah and to be good to the Muslims who were with him. He would say: Fight in the name of Allah and in the way of Allah. Fight against those who disbelieve in Allah. Make a holy war, do not embezzle the spoils; do not break your pledge; and do not mutilate (the dead) bodies; do not kill the children. When you meet your enemies who are polytheists, invite them to three courses of action. If they respond to any one of these, you also accept it and withold yourself from doing them any harm. Invite them to (accept) Islam; if they respond to you, accept it from them and desist from fighting against them. Then invite them to migrate from their lands to the land of Muhairs and inform them that, if they do so, they shall have all the privileges and obligations of the Muhajirs. If they refuse to migrate, tell them that they will have the status of Bedouin Muilims and will be subjected to the Commands of Allah like other Muslims, but they will not get any share from the spoils of war or Fai' except when they actually fight with the Muslims (against the disbelievers). If they refuse to accept Islam, demand from them the Jizya. If they agree to pay, accept it from them and hold off your hands. If they refuse to pay the tax, seek Allah's help and fight them. When you lay siege to a fort and the besieged appeal to you for protection in the name of Allah and His Prophet, do not accord to them the guarantee of Allah and His Prophet, but accord to them your own guarantee and the guarantee of your companions for it is a lesser sin that the security given by you or your companions be disregarded than that the security granted in the name of Allah and His Prophet be violated When you besiege a fort and the besieged want you to let them out in accordance with Allah's Command, do not let them come out in accordance with His Command, but do so at your (own) command, for you do not know whether or not you will be able to carry out Allah's behest with regard to them.
  • Sahih Muslim, Book 019, Number 4294

• It has been narrated by 'Umar b. al-Khattib that he heard the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.
  • Sahih Muslim, Book 019, Number 4366

• Allah's Apostle said, "Say Amen' when the Imam says "Ghair-il-maghdubi 'alaihim wala-ddal-lin; not the path of those who earn Your Anger (such as Jews) nor of those who go astray (such as Christians); all the past sins of the person whose saying (of Amin) coincides with that of the angels, will be forgiven.
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 12, Number 749

• It is narrated on the authority of 'Abdullah b. Umar that the Messenger of Allah observed: O womenfolk, you should give charity and ask much forgiveness for I saw you in bulk amongst the dwellers of Hell. A wise lady among them said: Why is it, Messenger of Allah, that our folk is in bulk in Hell? Upon this the Holy Prophet observed: You curse too much and are ungrateful to your spouses. I have seen none lacking in common sense and failing in religion but (at the same time) robbing the wisdom of the wise, besides you. Upon this the woman remarked: What is wrong with our common sense and with religion? He (the Holy Prophet) observed: Your lack of common sense (can be well judged from the fact) that the evidence of two women is equal to one man, that is a proof of the lack of common sense, and you spend some nights (and days) in which you do not offer prayer and in the month of Ramadan (during the days) you do not observe fast, that is a failing in religion. This hadith has been narrated on the authority of Abu Tahir with this chain of transmitters.
  • Sahih Muslim, Book 001, Number 0142

• The Prophet said, "Isn't the witness of a woman equal to half of that of a man?" The women said, "Yes." He said, "This is because of the deficiency of a woman's mind."
  • Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri, in Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 48, Number 826

• I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The example of a Mujahid in Allah's Cause-- and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause----is like a person who fasts and prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty."
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 46

• Allah's Apostle used to say, "None has the right to be worshipped except Allah Alone (Who) honored His Warriors and made His Slave victorious, and He (Alone) defeated the (infidel) clans; so there is nothing after Him.
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 440

• When the tribe of Bani Quraiza was ready to accept Sad's judgment, Allah's Apostle sent for Sad who was near to him. Sad came, riding a donkey and when he came near, Allah's Apostle said (to the Ansar), "Stand up for your leader." Then Sad came and sat beside Allah's Apostle who said to him. "These people are ready to accept your judgment." Sad said, "I give the judgment that their warriors should be killed and their children and women should be taken as prisoners." The Prophet then remarked, "O Sad! You have judged amongst them with (or similar to) the judgment of the King Allah."
  • Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 52, Number 280

• I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The Jews will fight with you, and you will be given victory over them so that a stone will say, 'O Muslim! There is a Jew behind me; kill him!' "
  • Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 56, Number 791

• Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: The last hour would not come unless the Muslims will fight against the Jews and the Muslims would kill them until the Jews would hide themselves behind a stone or a tree and a stone or a tree would say: Muslim, or the servant of Allah, there is a Jew behind me; come and kill him; but the tree Gharqad would not say, for it is the tree of the Jews.
  • Sahih Muslim, Book 041, Number 6985

• Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight the people till they say: 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah.' And if they say so, pray like our prayers, face our Qibla and slaughter as we slaughter, then their blood and property will be sacred to us and we will not interfere with them except legally and their reckoning will be with Allah." Narrated Maimun ibn Siyah that he asked Anas bin Malik, "O Abu Hamza! What makes the life and property of a person sacred?" He replied, "Whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', faces our Qibla during the prayers, prays like us and eats our slaughtered animal, then he is a Muslim, and has got the same rights and obligations as other Muslims have."
  • Narrated Anas bin Malik, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 8, Number 387

• The Prophet said, "He who has a slave-girl and teaches her good manners and improves her education and then manumits and marries her, will get a double reward; and any slave who observes Allah's right and his master's right will get a double reward."
  • Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ashari, in Bukhari, Volume 3, Book 46, Number 723

• The Prophet said, "O 'Abdur-Rahman! Do not seek to be a ruler, for if you are given authority on your demand then you will be held responsible for it, but if you are given it without asking (for it), then you will be helped (by Allah) in it. If you ever take an oath to do something and later on you find that something else is better, then you should expiate your oath and do what is better."
  • Narrated 'Abdur-Rahman bin Samura, in Bukhari, Volume 9, Book 89, Number 260

• Jabir b. Abdillah reported that once he was on an expedition with the Prophet salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa sallam, and when they were close to the city of Madinah, he sped on his mount. The Prophet salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa sallam asked him why he was in such a hurry to return home. Jabir replied, “I am recently married!” The Prophet salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa sallam asked, “To an older lady or a younger one?” [the Arabic could also read: “To a widow or a virgin?”], to which he replied, “A widow.”The Prophet salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa sallam said, “But why didn’t you marry a younger girl, so that you could play with her, and she could play with you, and you could make her laugh, and she could make you laugh?”He said, “O Messenger of Allah! My father died a martyr at Uhud, leaving behind daughters, so I did not wish to marry a young girl like them, but rather an older one who could take care of them and look after them.” The Prophet salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa salam replied, “You have made the correct choice.”Jabir continues, “So when we were about to enter the city, the Prophet salla Allahu ʿalayhi wa sallam said to me, "Slow down, and enter at night, so that she who has not combed may comb her hair, and she who has not shaved may shave her private area." Then he said to me, "When you enter upon her, then be wise and gentle.”
  • Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah [Reported by al-Bukhari and Muslim, with various wordings, in their two Sahihs]

• When I got married, Allah's Apostle said to me, "What type of lady have you married?" I replied, "I have married a matron' He said, "Why, don't you have a liking for the virgins and for fondling them?" Jabir also said: Allah's Apostle said, "Why didn't you marry a young girl so that you might play with her and she with you?
  • Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah, in Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 17

• Allah's Apostle said, "The superiority of 'Aisha over other women is like the superiority of Tharid to other meals."
  • Narrated Anas bin Malik, in Bukhari, Volume 5, Book 57, Number 114

• I used to look down upon those ladies who had given themselves to Allah's Apostle and I used to say, "Can a lady give herself (to a man)?" But when Allah revealed: "You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives), and you may receive any of them whom you will; and there is no blame on you if you invite one whose turn you have set aside (temporarily).' (33.51) I said (to the Prophet), "I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires."
  • Narrated Aisha, in Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 311

• The Prophet said, "I have been given five things which were not given to any one else before me.

1. Allah made me victorious by awe, (by His frightening my enemies) for a distance of one month's journey.

2. The earth has been made for me (and for my followers) a place for praying and a thing to perform Tayammum, therefore anyone of my followers can pray wherever the time of a prayer is due.

3. The war booty has been made Halal (lawful) for me yet it was not lawful for anyone else before me.

4. I have been given the right of intercession (on the Day of Resurrection).

5. Every Prophet used to be sent to his nation only but I have been sent to all mankind.

• • Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 7, Number 331

• The Prophet said "None of you will have faith till he loves me more than his father, his children and all mankind."
  • Narrated Anas, in Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 2, Number 15

• Allah's Apostle said, "O Aisha! This is Gabriel sending his greetings to you." I said, "Peace, and Allah's Mercy be on him." 'Aisha added: The Prophet used to see things which we used not to see.
  • Narrated 'Aisha, in Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 220

• The Prophet said, "A group of Israelites were lost. Nobody knows what they did. But I do not see them except that they were cursed and changed into rats, for if you put the milk of a she-camel in front of a rat, it will not drink it, but if the milk of a sheep is put in front of it, it will drink it." I told this to Ka'b who asked me, "Did you hear it from the Prophet ?" I said, "Yes." Ka'b asked me the same question several times.; I said to Ka'b. "Do I read the Torah? (i.e. I tell you this from the Prophet.)"
  • Narrated Abu Huraira, in Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 54, Number 524

• A man from Bani Aslam came to Allah's Apostle while he was in the mosque and called (the Prophet ) saying, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed illegal sexual intercourse." On that the Prophet turned his face from him to the other side, whereupon the man moved to the side towards which the Prophet had turned his face, and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have committed illegal sexual intercourse." The Prophet turned his face (from him) to the other side whereupon the man moved to the side towards which the Prophet had turned his face, and repeated his statement. The Prophet turned his face (from him) to the other side again. The man moved again (and repeated his statement) for the fourth time. So when the man had given witness four times against himself, the Prophet called him and said, "Are you insane?" He replied, "No." The Prophet then said (to his companions), "Go and stone him to death." The man was a married one. Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari said: I was one of those who stoned him. We stoned him at the Musalla ('Id praying place) in Medina. When the stones hit him with their sharp edges, he fled, but we caught him at Al-Harra and stoned him till he died.
  • Narrated Abu Huraira Sahih Bukhari 7:63:196

• A bedouin came and said, "O Allah's Apostle! Judge between us according to Allah's Laws." His opponent got up and said, "He is right. Judge between us according to Allah's Laws." The bedouin said, "My son was a laborer working for this man, and he committed illegal sexual intercourse with his wife. The people told me that my son should be stoned to death; so, in lieu of that, I paid a ransom of one hundred sheep and a slave girl to save my son. Then I asked the learned scholars who said, "Your son has to be lashed one-hundred lashes and has to be exiled for one year." The Prophet said, "No doubt I will judge between you according to Allah's Laws. The slave-girl and the sheep are to go back to you, and your son will get a hundred lashes and one year exile." He then addressed somebody, "O Unais! go to the wife of this (man) and stone her to death" So, Unais went and stoned her to death.
  • Narrated Abu Huraira and Zaid bin Khalid Al-Juhani Sahih Bukhari 3:49:860

• Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying: Let there be the curse of Allah upon the thief who steals an egg and his hand is cut off, and steals a rope and his hand is cut off.
  • Sahih Muslim 17:4185

• Narrated AbuHurayrah: The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: If he is intoxicated, flog him; again if he is intoxicated, flog him; again if he is intoxicated, flog him if he does it again a fourth time, kill him. AbuDawud said: And there is a similar tradition of Umar ibn AbuSalamah, from his father, on the authority of AbuHurayrah, from the Prophet (peace be upon him): If he drinks wine, flog him if he does it so again, a fourth time, kill him..
  • Abu Dawud 38:4469

• The Prophet said, "No prayer is harder for the hypocrites than the Fajr and the 'Isha' prayers and if they knew the reward for these prayers at their respective times, they would certainly present themselves (in the mosques) even if they had to crawl." The Prophet added, "Certainly I decided to order the Mu'adh-dhin (call-maker) to pronounce Iqama and order a man to lead the prayer and then take a fire flame to burn all those who had not left their houses so far for the prayer along with their houses."
  • Narrated Abu Huraira Sahih Bukhari 1:11:626

• Um Habiba and Um Salama mentioned about a church they had seen in Ethiopia in which there were pictures. They told the Prophet about it, on which he said, "If any religious man dies amongst those people they would build a place of worship at his grave and make these pictures in it. They will be the worst creature in the sight of Allah on the Day of Resurrection."
  • Narrated 'Aisha (the wife of the Prophet) Sahih Bukhari 1:8:419

• That he heard the Prophet saying, "It is not permissible for a man to be alone with a woman, and no lady should travel except with a Muhram (i.e. her husband or a person whom she cannot marry in any case for ever; e.g. her father, brother, etc.)." Then a man got up and said, "O Allah's Apostle! I have enlisted in the army for such-and-such Ghazwa and my wife is proceeding for Hajj." Allah's Apostle said, "Go, and perform the Hajj with your wife."
  • Narrated Ibn Abbas Volume 4, Book 52, Number 250

• The Prophet (peace_be_upon_him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.
  • Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab Book 11, Number 2142

Shi'ite Hadith

The one who recites the Qur’an and the one who listens to it have an equal share in the reward.

• The one who recites the Qur’an and the one who listens to it have an equal share in the reward.
  • Mustadrakul Wasa’il, Volume 1, Page 293

• The best of those amongst you is the one who learns the Qur’an and then teaches it to others.
  • Al-Amali of Shaykh at-Tusi, Volume 1, Page 5

• Everything in existence prays for the forgiveness of the person who teaches the Qur’an - even the fish in the sea.
  • Usulul Kafi, Volume 3, Page 301

• These hearts rust just as iron rusts; and indeed they are polished through the recitation of the Qur’an.
  • Irshadul Qulub; Page 78

• In his last testament to ‘Ali (peace be upon him), the Messenger of Allah (blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) told him: "O’ ‘Ali! I advice you to recite the Qur’an in every state (which you may find yourself in)."
  • Man La Yahdhuruhul Faqih, Volume 4, Page 188

• Nothing is harder for Satan to bear than a person who recites the Qur’an by looking at the pages (of the Qur’an).
  • Thawabul A’mal, Page 231

• Brighten up your houses through the recitation of the Qur’an, and do not make them (your homes) like graves, similar to what the Jews and Christians have done (by not performing the prayers and worship of God in their house and limiting this to the Synagogues and Churches).
  • Usulul Kafi, Volume 2, Page 610

• One who recites ten verses (ayat) of the Qur’an every night will not be counted amongst the negligent ones (Ghafilin); and one who recites fifty verses (ayat) will be written as those who remember Allah (Dhakirin); and one who recites one hundred verses (ayat) will be written down as the obedient and worshipper of Allah (Qanitin).
  • Thawabul A’mal, Page 232

• I advise you to recite the Qur’an and remember Allah much, for surely the Qur’an will remember you (do your dhikr) in the Heavens and it will be a Divine Light (nur) for you on the Earth.
  • Al-Khisal, Page 525

• The superiority of the Qur’an over the rest of words, is like the superiority of Allah over His creations.
  • Mustadrak al-Wasa’il, Volume 4, Page 237

• Whoever recites the first four verses of Suratul Baqarah, Ayatul Kursi (verse 255 of Suratul Baqarah) along with the two verses which follow it (verses 256 and 257 up to ‘Wa Hum Fiha Khalidun’), and the last three verses (of this same Surah) will not see any bad or sorrow in his life or his wealth; Satan will not come near him; and he will not forget the Qur’an.
  • Thawabul A’mal, Page 234

• For every thing there is an embellishment (or a decoration), and the embellishment of the Qur’an is a good voice.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 190

• Surely this Qur’an is the rope of Allah, and a manifest Light (nur), and a beneficial cure. Therefore, busy yourselves with the recitation of it, for Allah - The Mighty and Glorious – grants the reward of ten good deeds to you for every letter which is recited.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 19

• Whenever the waves of calamities encompass you like the dark night, seek refuge with the Qur’an - for it is an intercessor whose intercession will be accepted. One who takes it as a guide, Allah will lead that person into Heaven; and whoever disregards it or goes against it, will be lead into the Hell fire.
  • Fadhlul Qur’an, Page 599

• Recite the Qur’an in such a way that your hearts develop a love for it and your skin becomes softened by it. However as soon as your hearts become indifferent to it (meaning that the Qur’an has no effect on you), then stop reciting it.
  • Mustadrakul Wasa’il, Volume 4, Page 239

• One who listens to the Qur’an (while it is being recited) will be kept away from the evils of this world; and one who recites the Qur’an will be kept away from the trials of the hereafter. And the person who listens to even one verse of the book of Allah - this is better (for him) than possessing a mansion of gold.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 19

• The number of levels (stages) in Heaven is (equivalent to) the number of verses in the Qur’an (6236). Thus, when a reciter of the Qur’an enters into Heaven, it will be said to him: ‘Go up one level for every verse that you can recite.’ Thus, no one will be in a higher level than the one who has memorized the entire Qur’an.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 92, Page 22

• If you want ease and success in this world, the death of a martyr, to be saved on the Day of Loss, a shade on the Day of the burning Qiyamat, and guidance on the Day of going astray, then take lessons from the Qur’an. Surely it is the word of the Merciful, a protection from the Satan, and one of the most weightiest of things for the scale of (good) deeds (on the Day of Judgement).
  • Jami’ul Akhbar, Page 78

• Surely the recitation of the Qur’an is an atonement for the sins, a covering (protection) from the Hell Fire, and a safety from the punishment. Mercy will descend upon the reciter, the Angels will seek forgiveness for him, Heaven will long for that person, and his Master (Allah) will be pleased with him.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 93, Page 17

• The people of the Qur’an (those who recite and those who memorize the Qur’an) will be in the highest level (in Heaven) from amongst all of the people with the exception of the Prophets and Messengers. Thus, do not seek to degrade the people of the Qur’an, nor take away their rights, for surely they have been given a high rank by Allah.
  • Thawabul A’mal, Page 224

• Place a portion (of goodness) from the Qur’an in your homes, for surely ease will come to the people of that house in which the Qur’an is read, goodness will increase, and the inhabitants (of that house) will be given excess bounties.
  • Wasa’ilush Shi’a, Volume 4, Page 85

• The first thing that Allah made obligatory upon my Ummah was the five prayers; and the first thing from their acts of worship that shall be taken up will be the five prayers; and the first thing that they will be questioned about will be the five prayers.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18859

• One who adheres to the five (daily) prayers diligently, they shall be a means of illumination and salvation for him on the Day of Judgment.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18862

• The prayer of a person is (in reality) a light in his heart, so whoever desires, can illuminate his heart (by means of prayers).
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume7, Tradition 18973

• The prayer is one of the (primary) dictates of religion, in it lies the pleasure of the Lord, the Mighty and the Glorious, and it is the conduct of the Prophets.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 231

• The prayer is the standard of Islam. Whosoever loves prayers, and observes their limits, timings and methods, is a true believer.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18870

• For every thing there is a face and the face of your religion is prayers. So see to it that none from amongst you damages and disfigures the face of his religion.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 209

• Whenever the time of each prayer arrives, an Angel announces to the people: (O’ People!) Stand up and extinguish, with prayers, the fire which you have set alight for yourselves.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 209

• The position of prayers with respect to religion is similar to that of the head with respect to the body.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18972

• The example of the five (daily) prayers is like that of a clear-water river flowing in front of your houses in which a person washes himself five times a day – cleansing him from all dirt.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18931

• The most beloved of deeds in the eyes of Allah are: offering prayers at the stipulated times; (then) goodness and kindness towards parents; (and then) Jihad in the way of Allah.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 18897

• One who considers the prayers to be insignificant and trivial is not from me. By Allah! He shall never come close to me at the pool of Kauthar.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 224

• Do not destroy your prayers for verily one who destroys his prayers shall be resurrected in the company of Qarun, Haman and Fir`awn.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 202

• Prayer is the pillar of your religion and one who intentionally forsakes his prayer has destroyed his religion. And one who does not guard the times of the prayers, shall be made to enter ‘Wayl’, which is a valley in Hell, as Allah, the Exalted, has said: "So woe to the praying ones, who are unmindful of their prayers."
  • Biharul Anwar,Volume 82, Page 202

• Do not abandon your prayers intentionally for surely the obligations of Allah and His Messenger cease to cover one who forsakes his prayers intentionally.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 19096

• If a person abandons his prayer such that he neither desires its rewards nor fears its chastisement, for such a person I do not care if he dies a Jew, a Christian or a Magian.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 202

• "The good deeds of one who, without any appropriate excuse does not offer his prayer until its time passes away, are annulled." He then said: "The divide between a believer and disbelief is the abandonment of prayers."
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 82, Page 202

• The name of one who forsakes his prayer intentionally is written upon The door of Hell from which he shall (eventually) enter.
  • Kanzul `Ummal, Volume 7, Tradition 19090

• A hopeful sinner is closer to the mercy of Allah then a hopeless worshipper.
  • Mizan al-hikma, Volume 10, Page 504, Tradition 7109

A person who circumambulates this House (the Ka’bah) seven times and performs the two Rak’at Salat (of Tawaaf) in the best form possible will have his sins forgiven.

• A person who circumambulates this House (the Ka’bah) seven times and performs the two Rak’at Salat (of Tawaaf) in the best form possible will have his sins forgiven.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 49

• Surely Allah has chosen four cities from amongst all others, just as He, the Noble and Grand has said (in the Noble Qur’an): "I swear by ‘the fig’ and ‘the olive’ and the ‘Mountain of Sinai’ and by this protected city." ‘The fig’ is the city of Madinah; ‘The olive’ is the city of Baitul Maqdas (in Jerusalem); ‘The Mountain of Sinai’ is Kufah; and the protected city is Makkah."
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 77

• Perform the tawaaf of the House and rub your hand over the Corner which has the Hajr al-Aswad because this is the right hand of Allah on His Earth which He shakes with His creations.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 202

• The water of Zamzam is a cure for whatever (ailment) it is taken for.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 245

• The greatest sin of a person who goes to ‘Arafat and then leaves is to think that he has not been forgiven of his sins.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 248

• A person seeing (visiting) my grave deserves my intercession. And a person who visits me after my death is like a person who visited me during my lifetime.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 334

• Walimah is only in five occasions: in the ‘Urs, Khurs, ‘Idhar, Wikar and the Rikaz – ‘Urs is when a person gets married; and Khurs is when a child is born; and ‘Idhar is on the circumcision of a baby boy; and Wikar is when a person purchases a house; and Rikaz is when a person returns from Hajj.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 96, Page 384

• The person who seeks knowledge while in his youth is similar to the act of inscribing something upon a rock; while the person who seeks knowledge while he is old is similar to the act of writing something upon the water.
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 1, Page 222

• A person shall arrive on the Day of Judgement and shall be in possession of good deeds in the measure of vastly accumulated clouds or towering mountains. (Witnessing them) he shall ask: ‘Oh My Lord! How can these be for me when I have not performed them?’ God shall reply: ‘This is your knowledge that you had taught and conveyed to the people, and which was acted upon after you had died.’
  • Biharul Anwar, Volume 2, Page 18

• (On the Day of Judgment, a group would be seen in the most excellent and honourable of states. They would be asked if they were of the Angels or of the Prophets. In reply they would state): "We are‑neither Angels nor Prophets but of the indigent ones from the ummah of Muhammad (S.A.W.)". They would then be asked: "How then did you achieve this lofty and honourable status?" They would reply: "We did not perform very many good deeds nor did we pass all the days in a state of fasting or all the nights in a state of worship but yes, we used to offer our (daily) prayers (regularly) and whenever we used to hear the mention of Muhammad (S.A.W.), tears would roll down our cheeks".
  • Mustadrak al‑Wasail, vol 10, pg. 318

Quotes about Muhammad

Alphabetized by author or source

• Much speculation and analysis has been devoted to an effort to discover the source of Muhammad's revelation and thus explain away his claim to Prophethood. The results have not been conclusive. Some say Muhammad had a Jewish tutor, which may be true; some think he was acquainted with, and impressed by, Syrian Christian monks, which may be true; others think the trading society in which he lived offered in itself a kaleidoscopic picture of different religions which may also be true. What is fundamental of course is that Muhammad did not lay claim to originality for his religion. Time and time again he announced that his revelation was only a confirmation of all previous revelations.
  • Freeland Abbot, in Islam and Pakistan (1968), p. 14

• He affirms that Mohammed did indeed dream, and (to make the affirmation good for any thing) mistook the dream for reality, that in one night he travelled from Mecca to Heaven, where he conversed with God, and returned to the holy city before morning. Where he received information to this purpose, he has not indeed told us, and therefore we hesitate not on our part to pronounce it an errant falsehood, and to affirm that the impostor mistook no such dream for reality, but boldly fabricated the story to serve his own purposes among the barbarous Arabs. He observes, however, in farther support of his opinion, that the belief of divine inspirations and missions probably acted so deeply on the mind of Mohammed, that, he believed himself the distinguished man chosen to reveal himself as a servant of God; and for this probability he appeals to the Koran itself, which evinces, he says, that there was no artfully corrupted pen. Now to the very fame Koran we confidently appeal for the direct contrary of all this. The imposter of Arabia artfully selected from the Jewish and Christian morality, those parts which seemed best adapted to the sentiments and manners of the inhabitants of the warmer climates in particular; blending them, at the same time, with the popular traditions, the superstitious ceremonies, and the religious opinions of his idolatrous countrymen. Hence, as interest required, he now flattered the pride of the Jews, and now appealed to the prejudice of the Arabs: now selecting the Temple of Jerusalem, and now that of Mecca, as the hallowed spot towards which the worship and the prayers of his followers should be directed. Sole master of the oracles of heaven, he even compelled them to speak that language, which was best adapted to his designs. Hence he was possessed of an unfailing resource under every exigency, and thus a satisfactory answer was always prepared to solve every objection, and to remove every scruple which the malice of his enemies, or the pious doubts of his friends might raise against him. All this is so apparent from the Koran itself, that the followers of the imposter attempt to obviate the objections which may be drawn from the glaring contradictions with which their pretended revelation abounds.
  • "Reviewers Reviewed : Outines of a Philosophy of the History of Man &c.", an anonymous review of a work of Johann Gottfried Herder, in The Anti-Jacobin Review, Vol XIX (1804, p. 502

• In little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal ruler of Medina, with his hands on the lever that was to shake the world.
  • John Austin, in "Muhammad the Prophet of Allah" in T.P.'s and Cassel's Weekly (24 September 1927)

• Mahomet made the people believe that he could call a hill to him, and from the top of it offer their prayers, for the observers of his law. The people assembled; Mahomet called the hill to come to him again and again; and when the hill stood still, he was never a whit abashed, but said "If the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill."
  • Francis Bacon in his Essays (1625), XII: On Boldness; there appears to be no historic truth to this anecdote.

• O ye men, whoever amongst you worshipped Muhammad, let him know that Muhammad is dead, and whoever amongst you worshipped Allah, let him know that Allah is Living, there is no death for Him.
  • Abu Bakr's speech after Muhammad's death, quoted in Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 23, Chapter Manaqibe Abu Bakr; as quoted in: Dawat-ul-Amir, English translation: Invitation to Ahmadiyyat, First Edition, pg. 17-21, by Mirza Basheer-ud-Din Mahmood Ahmad

• Since the coming of Jesus Christ, Mahometanism has overspread a great part of the barbarous world. But this carries in it such apparent and certain marks of falsity, that it can be no temptation to any person in whom there is but a spark of good sense...The author from whom it was derived: a robber, one drenched in sensuality, and therefore utterly unqualified to be the revealer of the will of the holy God to men...
  • Reverend William Bates in the Works of the Reverend William Bates, D.D. (1990) Volume 1, page 114, Sprinkle Publications

• It is no wonder the religion of Mahomet extended and established its conquests in many countries: for that seducer persuaded the barbarous people by force of arms, they must be his disciples or slaves. And can the mind form a clear judgment, or the will make a free choice, when under a tyrannous necessity of compliance, or losing all the comforts of life? Can violence and cruelty produce a rational faith? That may force them to a counterfeit compliance, but cannot make men sincerely believe; it is apt to breed form without, and atheism within.
  • Reverend William Bates (1990). The Whole Works of the Rev. William Bates, Volume 1 (W. Farmer, Ed.)(pages 152–153). Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications.

• ...in later times Mahomet opened a way for his religion by his sword, and advanced it by conquest. Now it is no wonder that a religion so pleasing to the lower appetites, that gives licence to all corrupt affections in the present life, and promises a sensual paradise suitable to beasts in the future, should be embraced by those who were subject to his arms.
  • Reverend William Bates (1990). The Whole Works of the Rev. William Bates, Volume 1 (W. Farmer, Ed.)(pages 503–504). Harrisonburg, VA: Sprinkle Publications.

• Not a few of the false prophets—for instance, Mahomet—without premeditated foresight, have by slow and imperceptible degrees gained over parties of retainers, and afterwards deceived both themselves and others: accordingly, the circumstances of their birth and their condition, in their early years, are in the case of such impostors unknown, unworthy of trust, and fictitious.
  • Johann Albrecht Bengel (1860). Vol. 2: Gnomon of the New Testament (M. E. Bengel & J. C. F. Steudel, Ed.) (A. R. Fausset, Trans.) (10). Edinburgh: T&T Clark.

• But do you mean to tell me that the man who in the full flush of youthful vigour, a young man of four and twenty [24], married a woman much his senior, and remained faithful to her for six and twenty years, at fifty years of age when the passions are dying married for lust and sexual passion? Not thus are men's lives to be judged. And you look at the women whom he married, you will find that by every one of them an alliance was made for his people, or something was gained for his followers, or the woman was in sore need of protection.
  • Annie Besant, The Life and Teachings of Muhammad (1932), p. 4

• It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great Prophet of Arabia, who knew 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 reread them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.
  • Annie Besant, in "The Life and Teachings of Mohammad (1932), p. 4

• Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born in Mecca, in Arabia, the man Muhammad, who of all men, has exercised the greatest influence upon the human race. To be the religious head of many empires, to guide the daily life of one-third of the human race, may perhaps justify the title of a Messenger of God.
  • Dr. William Draper, M.D. L.L.D. in "History of Intellectual Development of Europe" (1876)

• By the false prophet, is sometimes meant the Pope and his clergy; but here an eye seems to be had to Mahomet, whom his followers call the great prophet of God.
  • Jonathan Edwards, referring to the false prophet of Revelation 16:13, in The Fall of Antichrist (1829), Part VII, page 395, New York, Published by S. Converse

I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind... ~ Mahatma Gandhi

• I wanted to know the best of one who holds today undisputed sway over the hearts of millions of mankind ... I became more than 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 obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the prophet's biography), I was sorry there was not more for me to read of the great life.
  • Mahatma Gandhi, speaking on the character of Muhammad in Young India

• He is a prophet and not a poet and therefore his Koran is to be seen as Divine Law, and not as a book of a human being made for education or entertainment.
  • Johann Wolfgang Goethe, Noten und Abhandlungen zum Weststlichen Dvan, WA I, 7, 32; translator unknown

• My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world's most influential person 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 levels. It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity. Furthermore, Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all time. It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence, which I feel, entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history.
  • Michael H. Hart, who in his book The 100 : A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History (1978) placed Muhammad in the first position, p. 33

• He spoke in the market and other public places. Most of those who heard him laughed at what he told them; but some poor people and a few slaves believed him and adopted the new religion. Others said he was a dreamer and a fool. Mohammed, however, paid no heed to the insults he received. He went on telling about the appearance of Gabriel and preaching the doctrines which he said the angel had ordered him to teach the people.
  • John Henry Haaren, in Famous Men of the Middle Ages (1904)

• The league of nations founded by the prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations as to show candle to other nations. ... the fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations.
  • Christiaan Snouck Hurgronje, as quoted in Encyclopaedic Survey of Islamic Culture (1997) by Mohamed Taher, p. 260

• Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was super human; to subvert superstitions which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he Muhammad had in the conception as well as in the execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself and no other aid except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God's name, Persia, Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssinia, all the known continent of Northern Africa, numerous islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain and part of Gaul. 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? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislations, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls. . . his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was twofold, the unity of God and the immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with words. 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?
  • Alphonse de Lamartine, Histoire de la Turquie (1854), Vol. II, pp. 276-277

He had brought a new religion which, with its monotheism and its ethical doctrines, stood on an incomparably higher level than the paganism it replaced. ~ Bernard Lewis

• He had achieved a great deal. To the pagan peoples of western Arabia he had brought a new religion which, with its monotheism and its ethical doctrines, stood on an incomparably higher level than the paganism it replaced. He had provided that religion with a revelation which was to become in the centuries to follow the guide to thought and count of countless millions of Believers. But he had done more than that; he had established a community and a well organized and armed state, the power and prestige of which made it a dominant factor in Arabia.... The modern historian will not readily believe that so great and significant a movement was started by a self-seeking imposter. Nor will he be satisfied with a purely supernatural explanation, whether it postulates aid of divine of diabolical origin; rather, like Gibbon, will he seek 'with becoming submission, to ask not indeed what were the first, but what were the secondary causes of the rapid growth' of the new faith...
  • Bernard Lewis, The Arabs in History (1950), p.45-46

• My whole heart and soul are stirred and incensed against the Turks and Mohammed, when I see this intolerable raging of the Devil. Therefore I shall pray and cry to God, nor rest until I know that my cry is heard in heaven.
  • Martin Luther while being confined to residence at Coburg, as quoted in History of the Christian Church, (1910) by Philip Schaff, Vol. VII : Modern Christianity : The German Reformation, § 123. Luther at the Coburg; though it mentions Muhammad, this remark might actually be directed at those responsible for his confinement, as he makes allusions to dwelling in the "empire of birds" and his location as a "Sinai" and regularly uses other uncomplimentary comparisons of those involved in suppressing his ideas to figures unpopular to himself and his contemporaries.

• I regard Mohammed as a great man, who solved a political problem of appalling difficulty, — the construction of a state and an empire out of the Arab tribes. I have endeavored, in recounting the mode in which he accomplished this, to do justice to his intellectual ability and to observe towards him the respectful attitude which his greatness deserves.
  • D. S. Margoliouth, Mohammed and the Rise of Islam (1905), Preface

• Leaders must fulfill three functions — provide for the well-being of the led, provide a social organization in which people feel relatively secure, and provide them with one set of beliefs. 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.
  • Jules Masserman, as quoted in "Who Were Histories Great Leaders?" in TIME magazine (15 July 1974)

• Looking round from the deck of the vessel, I could count above ninety minarets, many of them pure marble, carved and gilded in the richest manner. These all form part of mosques, or temples of the false prophet Mahomet. This religion is a singular invention of Satan; their Koran, or Bible, is a book filled with nonsense, and with much wickedness.
  • McCheyne, R. M., & Bonar, A. A. (1894). Memoir and Remains of the Rev. Robert Murray McCheyne (220). Edinburgh; London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier.

• Thomas Carlyle was amazed as to how one man, single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades.
  • The Muslim World League Journal (1994); this has resulted in "[It is simply amazing] how one man single handedly could weld warring tribes and wandering Bedouins into a most powerful and civilized nation in less than two decades" being cited as a direct quotation of Carlyle's Heroes and Hero Worship but such a statement is not actually found in that document.

• It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque, when the call for prayer is sounded and worshippers are gathered together, the democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim: 'God Alone is Great'... I have been struck over and over again by this indivisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother.
  • Sarojini Naidu, Ideals of Islam, vide Speeches & Writings (1918), p. 169

• "I BELIEVE IN ONE GOD, AND MOHAMED, AN APOSTLE OF GOD" is the simple and invariable profession of Islam. The intellectual image of the Deity has never been degraded by any visible idol; the honor of the Prophet have never transgressed the measure of human virtues; and his living precepts have restrained the gratitude of his disciples within the bounds of reason and religion.
  • Simon Ockley, History of the Saracen Empires, London, 1870, p. 54

• The great imposter Mohammed pretended that he was taught his Koran.
  • John Owen, in "Communion with God" (1657) in The Works of John Owen Volume 2, (1997) p. 391 Edinburgh: The Banner of Truth Trust ISBN 0-85151-124-4

• Say (O Muhammad): O mankind! Lo! I am the messenger of Allah to you all — (the messenger of) Him unto Whom belongeth the Sovereignty of the heavens and the earth. There is no god save Him. He quickeneth and He giveth death. So believe in Allah and His messenger, the unschooled prophet, who believeth in Allah and in His Words, and follow him that haply ye may be led aright.
  • ^{[Quran 7:158 (Pickthall)]}

• And We have sent you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم): not but as a mercy for the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists).
  • ^{[Quran 21:107]} as translated by Mohsin Khan

• O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers; and those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war whom Allah has assigned to thee; and daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Makka) with thee; and any believing woman who dedicates her soul to the Prophet if the Prophet wishes to wed her;- this only for thee, and not for the Believers (at large);
  • ^{[Quran 33:50 (Yusuf Ali)]}; special provision for the Prophet to exceed the four wives stipulated by sharia.

• The personality of Muhammad, it is most difficult to get into the whole truth of it. Only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes. There is Muhammad the Prophet. There is Muhammad the Warrior; Muhammad the Businessman; Muhammad the Statesman; Muhammad the Orator; Muhammad the Reformer; Muhammad the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad the Protector of Slaves; Muhammad the Emancipator of Women; Muhammad the Judge; Muhammad the Saint. All in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is alike a hero.
  • K. S. Ramakrishna Rao, in Muhammad the Prophet of Islam (1979)

• When a boy of four years he was seized with something like a fit of epilepsy, which Wâckidi and other historians transformed into a miraculous occurrence. He was often subject to severe headaches and feverish convulsions, in which he fell on the ground like a drunken man, and snored like a camel ... he became acquainted with Jews and Christians, and acquired an imperfect knowledge of their traditions. He spent much of his time in retirement, prayer, fasting, and meditation. He had violent convulsions and epileptic fits, which his enemies, and at first he himself, traced to demoniacal possessions ... Among his last utterances were: "The Lord destroy the Jews and Christians! He had a melancholic and nervous temperament, liable to fantastic hallucinations and alternations of high excitement and deep depression, bordering at times on despair and suicide. The story of his early and frequent epileptic fits throws some light on his revelations, during which he sometimes growled like a camel, foamed at his mouth, and streamed with perspiration. He believed in evil spirits, omens, charms, and dreams. His mind was neither clear nor sharp, but strong and fervent, and under the influence of an exuberant imagination. ... Mohammed was a slave of sensual passion. Ayesha, who knew him best in his private character and habits, used to say: "The prophet loved three things, women, perfumes and food; he had his heart’s desire of the two first, but not of the last." The motives of his excess in polygamy were his sensuality which grew with his years. … Ayesha, the daughter of Abû Bakr, was his especial favorite. He married her when she was a girl of nine years, and he fifty-three years old. She brought her doll-babies with her, and amused and charmed the prophet by her playfulness. …To compare such a man with Jesus, is preposterous and even blasphemous. Jesus was the sinless Saviour of sinners; Mohammed was a sinner, and he knew and confessed it. He falls far below Moses, or Elijah, or any of the prophets and apostles in moral purity. But outside of the sphere of revelation, he ranks with Confucius, and Cakya Muni the Buddha, among the greatest founders of religions and lawgivers of nations. "The sword," says Mohammed, "is the key of heaven and hell; a drop of blood shed in the cause of Allah, a night spent in arms, is of more avail than two months of fasting or prayer: whosoever falls in battle, his sins are forgiven, and at the day of judgment his limbs shall be supplied by the wings of angels and cherubim." This is the secret of his success.
  • Philip Schaff, in History of the Christian Church (1997), Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

• Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him.
  • Diwan Chand Sharma, The Prophets of the East, Calcutta, 1935, pp. 12

• The medieval ecclesiastics, either through ignorance or bigotry, painted Muhammadanism in the darkest colours. They were in fact trained both to hate the man Muhammad and his religion. To them Muhammad was Anti-Christ. 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.
  • George Bernard Shaw, as quoted in The Genuine Islam, Singapore, Vol. 1, No. 8, 1936

• Head of the State as well as of the Church, 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. He rose superior to the titles and ceremonies, the solemn trifling, and the proud humility of court etiquette. To hereditary kings, to princes born in the purple, these things are, naturally enough, as the breath of life; but those who ought to have known better, even self-made rulers, and those the foremost in the files of time — a Caesar, a Cromwell, a Napoleon — have been unable to resist their tinsel attractions. Mohammed was content with the reality, he cared not for the dressings, of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.
  • Reginald Bosworth Smith, in "Mohammedanism and Christianity" (7 March 1874), published in Mohammed and Mohammedanism (1889), p. 289

• The followers of the false prophet Mahomet make their weary pilgrimages from year to year to that impostor’s tomb. We pity their delusion, we pray for their deliverance; but we admire their devotedness.
  • The Pulpit Commentary: St. Mark Vol. II. 2004 (H. D. M. Spence-Jones, Ed.) (364). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

• Christians claimed the Antichrist was Muhammad, founder of Islam, because they consider him a false prophet who placed himself above Jesus, and whose religion conquered Jerusalem and forcibly converted Christians, Jews, and others.
  • Theopedia an Encyclopedia of Biblical Christianity, article on the Antichrist

• Islam was founded by Mohammed, a demon-possessed pedophile who had 12 wives, and his last one was a nine-year-old girl.
  • Jerry Vines, in "Vines calls founder of Islam a 'demon-possessed pedophile'" in Biblical Recorder (14 June 2002)

• 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.
  • William Montgomery Watt, Mohammad at Mecca (1953), p. 52

• The more one reflects on the history of Muhammad and of early Islam, the more one is amazed at the vastness of his achievement. Circumstances presented him with an opportunity such as few men have had, but the man was fully matched with the hour. Had it not been for his gifts as seer, statesman, and administrator and, behind these, his trust in God and firm belief that God had sent him, a notable chapter in the history of mankind would have remained unwritten. ...Only a profound belief in himself and his mission explains Muhammad's readiness to endure hardship and persecution during the Meccan period when from a secular point of view there was no prospect of success. Without sincerity how could he have won the allegiance and even devotion of men of strong and upright character like Abu-Bakr and 'Umar ? For the theist there is the further question how God could have allowed a great religion like Islam to develop on a basis of lies and deceit. There is thus a strong case for holding that Muhammad was sincere. If in some respects he was mistaken, his mistakes were not due to deliberate lying or imposture.
  • William Montgomery Watt, in Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman (1961), p. 229

• In Muhammad, I should hold, there was a welling up of the creative imagination, and the ideas thus produced are to a great extent true and sound. It does not follow, however, that all the Qur'anic ideas are true and sound. In particular there is at least one point at which they seem to be unsound; the idea that ' revelation ' or the product of the creative imagination is superior to normal human traditions as a source of bare historical fact. There are several verses in the Qur'an (II. 5I; 3. 39; I2. I03) to the effect that ' this is one of the reports of the unseen which We reveal to thee; thou didst not know it, thou nor thy people, before this '. One could admit a claim that the creative imagination was able to give a new and truer interpretation of a historical event, but to make it a source of bare fact is an exaggeration and false. This point is of special concern to Christians, since the Qur'an denies the bare fact of the death of Jesus on the cross, and Muslims still consider that this denial outweighs the contrary testimony of historical tradition. The primary intention of the Qur'an was to deny the Jews' interpretation of the crucifixion as a victory for themselves, but as normally explained it goes much farther. The same exaggeration of the role of ' revelation ' has also had other consequences. The Arab contribution to Islamic culture has been unduly magnified, and that of the civilized peoples of Egypt, Syria, 'Iraq and Persia, later converted to Islam, has been sadly belittled. Too much must not be made of this slight flaw. Which of us, conscious of being called by God to perform a special task, would not have been more than a little proud ? On the whole Muhammad was remarkably free from pride. Yet this slight exaggeration of his own function has had grave consequences and cannot be ignored.
  • William Montgomery Watt in Muhammad: Prophet and Statesman (1961), p. 239

• I always took the view — contrary to most previous scholars of Islam — that the Quran was not something that Muhammad had consciously produced. For long, however, I hesitated to speak of him as a prophet, because Muslims would have taken this to mean that everything in the Quran was finally and absolutely true, which was something I did not believe. More recently, however, I have said that Muhammad is a prophet comparable to the Old Testament prophets, though with a different task, namely, to bring the knowledge of God to people without such knowledge, whereas their task was mainly to criticize the conduct of those who already believed in God.
  • William Montgomery Watt, as quoted in Muhammad : A Short Biography (1998) by Martin Forward, p. 106 ISBN 1-85168-131-0

• I therefore do not believe that either the Bible or the Qur’an is infallibly true in the sense that all their commands are valid for all time. ... when the form of society changes in important respects some commands cease to be appropriate, though many others continue to be valid. I do, however, believe that Muhammad, like the earlier prophets, had genuine religious experiences. I believe that he really did receive something directly from God. As such, I believe that the Qur’an came from God, that it is Divinely inspired. Muhammad could not have caused the great upsurge in religion that he did without God’s blessing.
  • William Montgomery Watt, in "The whole house of Islam, and we Christians with them..." An interview with "the Last Orientalist" - the Rev Prof William Montgomery Watt, published in The Coracle (2000)

• A raw and raging debate pervades the Qur'an. Muhammad's tribe disputed his claims and mocked him unmercifully, saying his religion was a forgery, a counterfeit. Qur'an 11:13 Or, do they say: "He (Muhammad) has forged it (the Qur'an)." His contemporaries knew he was a fraud. And they weren't the least bit shy about saying so.
  • Craig Winn, in Prophet of Doom : Islam's Terrorist Dogma in Muhammad's Own Words (2004)

External links

Wikipedia has an article about: Muhammad Look up Muhammad in Wiktionary, the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Muhammad

Secular biography

• Public Broadcasting System program on Muhammad
• Encarta Encyclopedia
• 1911 Encyclopedia article of Muhammad

Sunni biography

• The Exemplary Life of the Prophet
• Evidence for the truth of Islam
• The Life of Muhammad Muhammad Husayn Haykal Translated by Isma'il Razi A. al-Faruqi
• Islamonline
• About Muhammad

Shia biography

• A Restatement of the History of Islam and Muslims by Sayed Ali Asgher Razwy
• The Life of Muhammad The Prophet by Syed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi

Sunni Hadith

• USC: Sahih Bukhari
• USC: Sahih Muslim
• IslamiCity
• Hadith Search by Keywords or narrator search from authentic sunni hadith
• Sahih Bukhari Sahih Bukhari hadith database

Critical perspectives

• The Quest for the Historical Mohammed
• Trends in Biographies of Muhammad

Miscellaneous

• Early manuscript editions of the Qur'an

 

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