Through Force or Faith? — Page 253
Chapter 7 Novelty in the Teachings of Muhammad? by Dr. Mohammad Daud Majoka, Mir ‘Abdul Lat i f The passage that was read out by the Pope taken from the Emperor of Byzantium also contained a question whether there was any- thing new in the teachings of the Holy Prophet Muhammad s as ! The Emperor, on his own, stated that there was nothing but inhu- mane teachings that the Prophet had brought (God forbid). There is no doubt that serious misunderstandings about Islam exist in the non-Islamic world because of such statements by responsible persons like the Pope. Instead of removing misunderstandings, the irresponsible talk by the Pope made it all the more problematic. In this chapter, we shall present those features of the teachings of the Holy Prophet that were not present in the world before his advent, and, God-willing, the readers will come to know what new teachings did the Holy Prophet s as bring to the world. What is new in the teachings of Muhammad s as can be deter- mined only when we compare various aspects of Islamic teach- ings with those of previous religions. Therefore, we will make a comparison in the following discourse between Islam and the