The Seal of Prophets - His Personality and Character — Page 7
The Seal of Prophets 7 Chapter 2 New Era of Interpretation of Islam Unfortunately, this sad chapter of calumny and extreme expression of hatred against the Holy Founder of Islam did not come to an end. However, we do see a change in the wind, which has brought about one of the outstanding writers on Islam from England, that is Thomas Carlyle. He ushered in a new era of an approach towards Islam. In an age darkened by hatred he was the first lark with the courage and nobility to sing the praises of Prophet Muhammad sa , and was the first swallow to give an indication of the coming spring. After Carlyle, things began to change but did not go on to develop into a steady trend. Instead it remained an interrupted phenomena. We see that all through the history of criticism of the Prophet Muhammad sa there were scholars who sank back to their past, with a Salman Rushdie being born here and there. The birth of Rushdie is not a new phenomenon in the history of religious bigotry; deeply related to ignorance, the lack of tolerance is something well-known to man. The introduction of the great orientalist Carlyle has already been made. Now let me quote two important passages from his book Heroes and Hero Worship. He says: “Alas, such theories are very lamentable. If we would attain to knowledge of anything in