اسوہء انسانِ کامل

اسوہء انسانِ کامل — Page 624

نبیوں میں سب سے بزرگ اور کامیاب نبی 624 اسوہ انسان کامل The majority of the persons in this book had the advantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations۔Muhammad, however, was born in the year 570, in the city of Mecca, in southern Arabia, at that time a backward area of the world, far from the centers of trade, art, and learning۔Orphaned at the age of six, he was reared in modest surroundings۔Islamic tradition tells us that he was illiterate۔۔۔۔Most Arabs at the time were pagans, who believed in many gods۔۔۔۔The Bedouin tribesmen of Arabia had a reputation as fierce warriors۔But their number was small and plagued by disunity and internecine warfare, they had been no match for the larger armies of the kingdoms in the settled agricultural areas to the north۔However, unified by Muhammad for the first time in history, and inspired by their fervent belief in the one true God, these small Arab armies now embarked upon one of the most astonishing series of conquests in human history۔۔۔۔۔۔Numerically, the Arabs were no match for their opponents۔۔۔۔۔However۔۔۔۔۔۔in a scant century of fighting, these Bedouin tribesmen, inspired by the word of the Prophet, had carved out an empire stretching from the borders of India to the Atlantic Ocean the largest empire that the world had yet seen۔۔۔۔۔۔How, then, is one to assess the ever all impact of Muhammad on human history۔Like all religions, Islam exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers۔It is for this reason that the founders of the world's great religions all figure prominently in this book۔Since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Muslems in the world, it may initially seem strange that Muhammad has been ranked higher than Jesus۔There are two principal reasons for that decision۔First,