The Greatest Revolution of Human History

(This write-up has been rendered into English from Urdu, slightly modified and summarized. Original thoughts are of a well known religious scholar, late Dr. Asrar Ahmed)
Before our discernment about which of the incidents of human history can be considered as the greatest revolution, we have to define what ‘Revolution’ actually is. Literally, a big happening causing a drastic change in the course of the history is thought to be a revolution. We find this term used in compound sense with prefixes like culture revolution, knowledge revolution, scientific revolution and military revolution and so forth. An actual revolution is a vicissitude, giving the political, social or economic spheres of life entirely a new shape. The life is divided into two different realms. Religion is now deemed a personal matter, with a light colour of some religious dogmas, rituals and customs practiced in individual life but the collective and social spheres are completely secularized.
The modern man is not ready to let the religious institutions and bodies interfere in his freedom in case of his religious views and practices which he thinks his personal matter. Sermonizing and precept by the others is unapproved thing now just meddling in personal matters. He is free to have faith in One God or one hundred gods or refuse to have any faith. He is free to perform his religious rites and rituals in any way he likes, getting secluded in a corner, putting the images of the hand made deities or worship any imaginary being. He is free to fast and say his prayers or remain heedless, go to any temple or the church.

The orbit of his freedom is now extremely vast. The others have no right to knit the eye brows on his having a wife as life partner or a girl friend to satisfy his sexual desires. Burying the dead bodies or cremating the deceased in pyre is on his own discretion and others are not to advise him to do this or that.

The second part of life has its relevance with the fields of civilization, culture, state affairs and politics and social and economic, all important parts of the collective system. The collective system in these modern times is completely divorced from the religion. A commonly accepted definition of secularism is to keep the worldly life separated from the religious beliefs and moral values. A secular may have a faith and he may be worshiping God but he does not allow God to interfere in the matters of his earthly life. The west has raised the splendid structure of material life erected on the philosophy of secularism.

The problem of the West about Islam is the comprehensive nature of Islam. Leaving no room for secularism and as a Politico-Socio Economic system of life with its solid moral and spiritual values, it restrains its followers to abide by all its teachings. The term ‘revolution’ is applied on a complete change in entire system. Conversion from one religion to another by an individual or a big community is not accepted to be a revolution. The Roman Emperor Constantine 1 converted to Christianity and in the second month of 380 Emperor Theodosius enacted a law establishing Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. No doubt in the entire human history it was really an unparalleled change of faith, encompassing almost three continents, but still it can not be defined to be a revolution. Why? Because it brought no Politico-Socio Economic change. The existing system remained unshaken and deep rooted.

French Revolution was no doubt a heavy historical event, rightly credible to be a revolution but it brought only a political change with no breakthrough in the stagnant religious creeds and thickened social structure. The Bolshevik Revolution in 1917 was the second largest revolution of the modern history but it had its impact only on the economic system in Russia and the countries of its influence.

Now coming to what is here claimed to be the greatest revolution in entire human history, we have to judge it impassionedly. Fragrance itself is an enough evidence of the flower. The excellence conceded by the opponents indicates there is something unchallenged in case of the revolution brought by the last and final Prophet of Allah, be peace and blessings upon him. There is a long list of the non-Muslim statesmen and intellectuals who have bore witness about the matchlessness of revolution under the leadership of Muhammad, be peace and blessings of Allah upon him. In a function held in Bredla Hall Lahore, in 1920, Mr. M.N. Roy, a Bengali Hindu and a member of the International Communist Organization, delivered a lecture on the topic: ‘The Historical Character of Islam’ and very honestly and clearly he admitted that the revolution led by the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad, SAW, was no doubt the greatest of the revolutions occurring on the face of the earth.

And then comes the famous book ‘The 100’ written by Michel H. Hart, who chose 100 the Most Influential Persons in the last five thousand years of the human history and ranked Muhammad, be peace and blessings of Allah upon him, the greatest out of all one hundred persons, because his success in changing the course of the history was incomparable. He accepted the fact that Muhammad, SAW, was extraordinarily successful both in religious and secular realms. This book got translated in 15 languages of the world and just after its appearance in the market 500,000 copies were sold but then mysteriously the book disappeared from the markets and is still unprocurable.

All the great people, as Michael H. Hart opined, influenced only one aspect of the life or the other as we find founder of the Buddhism taught inner purification through extremely strict self-discipline and mortification and Jesus [Isa (AS)] gave tremendous moral teachings but very foxily manipulation of the state authorities, tyrannies of the governments and corruption of the politics never remained the matters of their concern. Both Buddha and Jesus could not provide any support to the lowly and oppressed people to for rising from the miseries of their economic condition and social status. Alexander the Great fully quenched his thirst of conquests and proved to be desolating for tract of human cultures but throughout his expeditionary adventurism he did nothing to boost Faith, morality and spirituality.

Muhammad, SAW, is unique and single in his grandeur while making remarkable achievements both in material as well as spiritual and moral aspects of life. He generated a splendid civilization and transformed a new culture based on high moral values. On one hand, he connected broken relation of the creature with the Creator and on the other hand he strengthened the links of man with his fellow men on the earth to make it a pleasant and beautiful place to live on. Generally the spiritual guides put the soul and body in clash but in Islam Paradise is the fruit of the believers’ struggle on the earth both for their lawful earnings and also cleansing it from the filth of evils and mischief.

H.G. Wells (1866-1946), an outspoken socialist and one of the bitterest opponents of Islam, notorious for his spiteful and venomous remarks against the Prophet of Islam, when comes to have a look on the sermon of the Holy Prophet, SAW, during his Farewell Hajj, he feels compelled to pay an extra ordinary tribute to Muhammad, be peace and blessings upon him. The following part of the sermon caught his heart.
“O you who believe! You are the slaves of One Lord and children of one father (Adam). Beware, neither an Arab has any preference over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab over an Arab, nor there is any distinction between the white skinned and black persons. The only reason for special honour in Islam is piety and righteousness.” (Ahmed)

In his famous work “A Concise History of the World” he conceded that a lot of talk, including the sermons of Jesus [Isa (AS)] about brotherhood, equality and freedom had been on the tongues, but we had to admit that it was none other but Muhammad who established a society on the basis of these principles.

We, as the Muslims, having a profound feeling of respect and devotion for our Holy Prophet, may be blamed of hyperbole, but bearing out the evidence by the adversaries is in fact an enormous ground for believing that the revolution brought by Muhammad, be peace and blessings upon him, was the greatest of entire human history.