Why Do Scholars Consider Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) the Greatest Figure in History?
ما السبب الذي جعل كثيرًا من علماء الاجتماع يقولون: إن شخصية النبي ﷺ أعظم شخصية في تاريخ البشرية؟
Michael Hart, author of the book (The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History), said, “Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the only human being in history who succeeded perfectly on the religious and worldly levels. He called for Islam and spread it as one of the greatest religions, and he became a political, military and religious leader. Needless to say, many centuries after his death, his impact is still renewing…”
It was said in the past: The truth is what the enemies testify to. The author of the book is not a Muslim, but his study of the personality of the Prophet, peace be upon him, led him to this truth.
It can be said that the personality of the Prophet, peace be upon him, is the greatest in human history for many reasons, including the following:
The massive change that he brought about in the beliefs of the Ummah to which he was sent, peace be upon him. That Ummah used to worship idols, but she started to worship Allah, the One, the All-Powerful, and that did not happen out of compulsion and oppression, but rather out of free choice. The deniers of this religion attempted many times to force the believers to apostate, but they were confronted with the strong belief in Allah the Almighty, and the love for Him and for His Messenger, peace be upon him, so their attempts failed.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, did not have a political heritage in the Arabian Peninsula, upon which he would establish his unique Ummah. Rather, there was a group of disparate, and fighting tribes, united only by their common language. The Prophet, peace be upon him, came to them and united them based on the purified Shari’ah (Islamic law), so he established an Ummah with them within (23) years only- this is the duration of his mission. This Ummah terrified even the Persian kings and the Roman Caesars. Furthermore, a few years after he passed away to The Supreme Companion, his noble companions opened Al-Quds (Jerusalem), and they reached in their conquests to the Levant, Iraq and Persia.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, established his Ummah on the basis of justice and mercy, as it combines these two values in a unique way. Justice requires that a wrongdoer not be punished for anything other than his own wrongdoing, and mercy requires that forgiveness not be neglected for someone who admits his wrongdoing and shows remorse.
His mercy, peace be upon him, exceeded humans and reached animals and birds. For example, he forbade harming the camel that came to him complaining against its owner. Also, he ordered one of his companions to return the little bird he took away from its mother. As for his mercy to humans, he forbade anyone from killing women and old men in the battlefield, because they had no role in the fighting.
The unique personality that he, peace be upon him, had is one more reason. He was the best of people in morals, and the most Allah-fearing of them. He is the master of mankind, and he is the leader of the Ummah, yet he used to talk with the insane and used to caress the little child. Also, he used to serve his wives in his house. His character combined political and military leadership with a unique gift for teaching. Thus, he influenced those around him. Indeed, some of his companions were given a choice between their parents and the Prophet, peace be upon him, and they chose to stay with the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
By Following him and his Sunnah, the caliphs applied after him the purified Shari’ah rulings to economy, and so they reached what is called in the contemporary terms: (welfare economy), which means that no member of the society needs money, because he finds what suffices him and more than he needs. Humanity reached this only during the era of the Umayyad caliph, Umar bin Abdul Aziz, who did not take any economic measures except the accurate application of what came in the Shari’ah rulings during the era of the Prophet, peace be upon him.
Despite his passing away, peace be upon him, more than fourteen centuries ago, his Sunnah and Shari’ah are still established among people. Moreover, the followers of this great religion are increasing continuously. Not to mention, they are united by this religion even if they are far from each other in place, language and traditions, thanks to this great religion which the Prophet, peace be upon him, brought.
قال مايكل هارت مؤلف كتاب:
(The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History)
“محمد(ﷺ) هو الإنسان الوحيد في التاريخ الذي نجح نجاحًا مطلقًا على المستويين الديني والدنيوي، وقد دعا إلى الإسلام ونشره كواحد من أعظم الديانات، وأصبح قائدًا سياسيًّا وعسكريا ودينيًّا، وبعد قرون طويلة من وفاته فإن أثره ما يزال باقيًا متجددًا…”
ومما قيل قديمًا: والحق ما شهدت به الأعداء، فإن مؤلف الكتاب لم يكن مسلمًا لكن دراسته لشخصية النبي ﷺ، أوصلته لتلك الحقيقة.
ويمكن القول إن شخصية النبي ﷺ هي الأعظم في تاريخ البشرية لأسباب كثيرة، منها ما يلي:
التغيير الهائل الذي أحدثه في عقائد الأمة التي بعث فيها ﷺ فمن أمة تعبد الأوثان والأصنام إلى أمة تعبد الله الواحد القهار، وقد حدث ذلك لا عن إجبار وقهر، بل عن حرية واختيار، -بل عكس ذلك- يحاول بنو قومهم إرغامهم على ترك الدين الجديد، ولكن محاولات الكفار ترتطم بجبال الإيمان بالله ومحبته ومحبة رسوله ﷺ، فتتحطم المحاولات وتفشل.
إن النبي ﷺ لم يكن عنده تراث سياسي في جزيرة العرب يقيم على أثره دولته الفريدة، بل هناك مجموعة من القبائل المتناحرة المتحاربة المتفرقة، لا يجمعها إلا لغتها الأم، فأتاهم النبي ﷺ وجمعهم على الشرع المطهر فأقام بهم دولة خلال (23) سنة فقط-مدة بعثته-، حتى صارت تهابه أكاسرة فارس وقياصرة الروم، بل بعد لحوقه بالرفيق الأعلى بسنوات قليلة يفتح أصحابه بيت المقدس، ويصلون في أرض الشام وفلسطين والعراق وبلاد فارس.
إن النبي ﷺ أقام دولته على أساس من العدالة والرحمة، فهي تجمع بين الاثنين على نحو فريد، فالعدالة تقتضي ألا يعاقب الظالم على غير ظلمه، كما أن الرحمة تقتضي ألا يهمل جانب العفو عند من يعترف بذنبه ويظهر ندمه.
تعدت رحمته ﷺ البشر ووصلت إلى البهائم والعجماوات، فينهى عن إيذاء الجمل الذي جاءه يشتكي، ويأمر برد صغير الطائر الذي أخذه أحد أصحابه، وينهى عن قتل المرأة والشيخ في ميدان القتال لأنهم لا علاقة لهم بالقتال.
الشخصية الفريدة التي كان يتمتع بها ﷺ فهو أحسن الناس خلقًا، وأشدهم لله خوفاً، وهو سيد البشر، وهو قائد الأمة، ومع ذلك يتحدث مع المجنون ويلاطف الصغير، ويخدم أزواجه في بيته، فقد جمعت شخصية القمة في القيادة السياسية والعسكرية الحكيمة، والقيادة التربوية الفريدة التي أثرت فيمن حوله، بل كان بعض أصحابه يخير بين والديه وبين النبي ﷺ فيختار البقاء مع رسول الله ﷺ.
على أثره وشريعته أقام الخلفاء بعده أحكام الشريعة المطهرة في الجانب الاقتصادي فوصلوا إلى ما يسمى بالاصطلاح المعاصر: (اقتصاد الرفاه)، أي عدم حاجة أي فرد من أفراد المجتمع إلى المال، لأنه يجد ما يكفيه وما يزيد عن حاجته، ومثل ذلك لم تصل إليه البشرية إلا في عهد الخليفة الأموي الراشد عمر بن عبد العزيز، ولم يكن يصنع من تدابير اقتصادية إلا التطبيق الدقيق لما جاء في شريعة النبي ﷺ.
على الرغم من رحيله ﷺ عن الدنيا قبل أكثر من أربعة عشر قرنًا إلا أن سنته وشريعته لا تزال باقية بين الخلق، ولا يزال أتباع هذا الدين العظيم يزيدون ولا ينقصون، بل تتوحد الأمم والشعوب التي تدخل في ذلك الدين ولو تباعدت بلدانها ولغاتها وطبائعها، وذلك بفضل هذا الدين العظيم الذي أتى به النبي ﷺ.
1. Michael Hart's Historical Assessment | شهادة مايكل هارت وتحليله التاريخي المنصف
In "The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History", Michael Hart put Muhammad ﷺ first, as the scholar's answer explains: he judged him the only person in history supremely successful on both the religious and the secular level.
وضع مايكل هارت في كتابه «المائة: ترتيب الأشخاص الأكثر تأثيرا في التاريخ» محمدا ﷺ على رأس القائمة، كما يذكر الشيخ، لأنه رآه الوحيد الذي نجح نجاحا مطلقا على المستويين الديني والدنيوي.
2. The Scholar's Reasons | أسباب الشيخ
The scholar's answer gives his own reasons: the change he brought in his people's belief, from idols to the worship of the One God, by free choice; uniting warring tribes with nothing in common but their language into one community within twenty-three years; and building it on justice and mercy together. Allah describes his sending as "a mercy for the whole world" (21:107).
وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَاكَ إِلَّا رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَالَمِينَ (سورة الأنبياء: 107)
يذكر الشيخ أسبابه: التغيير الهائل في عقائد قومه من عبادة الأوثان إلى عبادة الله الواحد عن حرية واختيار، وجمع القبائل المتناحرة التي لا يجمعها إلا لغتها في أمة واحدة خلال ثلاث وعشرين سنة، وإقامة دولته على العدل والرحمة معا.
3. The Divine Purpose: Perfecting Human Morals | الغاية الكبرى: إتمام صالح الأخلاق وتزكية النفوس
The Quran describes his mission: "He is the One Who raised for the illiterate ˹people˺ a messenger from among themselves, reciting to them His revelations, purifying them, and teaching them the Book and wisdom" (62:2). The scholar gives examples of that mercy: it reached animals and birds, and he forbade killing women in war (Sahih al-Bukhari 3015). See also his character.
هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ (سورة الجمعة: 2)
وصف القرآن مهمته: (هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ وَيُزَكِّيهِمْ)، ويذكر الشيخ من رحمته أنها تعدت البشر إلى البهائم والطير، وأنه نهى عن قتل النساء في الحرب (صحيح البخاري 3015).
4. Enduring Global Impact Across Eras | الأثر المتجدد والامتداد الحضاري عبر العصور
The scholar notes that more than fourteen centuries after his death his Sunnah and law are still followed, and his followers keep increasing, united across distance, language and custom.
ويذكر الشيخ أن سنته وشريعته ما زالت قائمة بعد أكثر من أربعة عشر قرنا من وفاته، وأن أتباعه في ازدياد، يجمعهم الدين على تباعد البلاد واللغات والعادات.
Frequently Asked Questions | الأسئلة الشائعة
Why did Michael Hart rank Prophet Muhammad first in "The 100"?
Because he was the only person in history who was supremely successful on both religious and secular dimensions.
How does the Quran describe the purpose of his mission?
Reciting Allah's revelations, purifying people, and teaching them the Book and wisdom (62:2).
How did Prophet Muhammad balance spiritual worship with social governance?
The scholar notes that he combined political and military leadership with humility: he served his wives at home and was gentle with children.
Which Quranic verse describes the Prophet as a universal mercy?
Surah Al-Anbiya (21:107): "And We have not sent you, [O Muhammad], except as a mercy to the worlds."