The Messenger of Peace and Practice

Man needs the light of his past experiences to brighten his present and future. All the different segments of humanity which have done anything to make this world a better place to live in deserve our gratitude; but, the most deserving of our regard are those whom we call the prophets of God. Each one of them has, in his own time, presented a winsom example of his sublime conduct and moral behavior. If one was a model of endurance, others were emblems of selflessness, sacrifice, fervour for Truth and Oneness of God, submission to the Will of the Lord, chastity and piety, in short, each of them was a lighthouse of guidance showing the path of exalted behaviour in one or the other walk of life everyman has to tread in his sojourn on the earth. Man, however, stood in the need of another guide who could illuminate the entire gamut of human behaviour, in all its manifoldness, by his comprehensive example of goodness and virtue. Man, in other words, needed a perfect and universal exemplar who could place in his hands a guidebook of practical life, so that every wayfarer may reach his destination safely. And, this exemplar did come to the world in the person of the last of the prophets, Muhammad, on whom be peace and blessings of the Lord:

"O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and, as a lamp that giveth light."[1]

He is the prophet well-informed, the witness to God's commandments, the bringer of glad tidings, the warner unto those who are heedless, the summoner of the erring to the way of God, the resplendent light which dispels the darkness and shows the right path.

Every prophet of God came to this world as a witness, or a harbinger of good tidings, or as a warner, or as a summoner, but never in the past there came a prophet who combined all these qualities. There were witnesses to God's majesty and overlordship like Jacob, Isaac and Ishmael. Others like Abraham and Jesus were the heralds of glad tidings. There were also warners like Noah, Moses, Hūd and Shuyeb, the key-note of whose forebodings was terrible punishment awaiting the evildoers. Then, there were the prophets like Joseph and Jonah whose teachings set the tone for summoners to divine guidance. But the messenger par excellence who had all these marks of prophethood-a witness as well as a welcomer, a warner as well as a caller-and who was a distinguished Apostle in every respect was none else save Muhammad. He was sent to the world as the last Prophet, the final one, after whom no other messenger was to be sent again by God. This is the reason why he was granted a shariah or the law that was perfect and final requiring no revision in the days to come.

For the teachings of the last Prophet were to be everabiding, to remain unchanged to the end of time, he was sent as an acme of perfection with ever-plooming guidance and resplendent light. This is an indisputable fact attested by the pages of history.

A character held out as an ideal or model for humanity needs must fulfill certain conditions before such a claim can be universally accepted. The first and foremost test to which the character of such a guide should be put is historicity.

Historicity means that the genuineness of the accounts of life and character of any man put forth as a perfect exemplar should proceed not from any fable or a legendary tale, but from reputed sources and methodical records of what we call as history. Man is never disposed, by his frame of mind, to be deeply impressed by any happening, event or biography which he knows to be fictitious. For a lasting impression of any character, one needs the assurance that every detail of the life, saying and doing of such a personality is perfectly genuine and verifiable. Historical stories have, for that very reason, a greater appeal than the works of fiction. Another reason for the historicity of a character, particularly if it is intended to impart a lesson to others, is that no bed-time fable, told to while away the hours of leisure, can be deemed to hold up a model for emulation or following its example. For nobody can be expected to follow a mythical or imaginary character, it is absolutely essential that the journal of a life presented as an emblem of virtuous human conduci should be perfectly authentic in accordance with the criterion set for acceptance of any event as historical.

We hold all the prophets of God in reverence and pay homage to them. We also agree that every one of them was a truthful messenger of divine guidance but the Lord has Himself told us that –

We believe that this was the honour granted to Muhammad since he was the last of the line of prophets, bearer of the final and ever-abiding message of God and, thus, he was sent as a standard of virtue and goodness for the guidance of mankind to the end of time. No other prophet than he was intended to be the seal of the divine messengers; nor were the any teachings of other prophet to last till the Doomsday. They were all sent as models teachers and guides, no doubt; but for a particular age and people, and, hence, whatever they had taught gradually vanished from the memory of humanity.

Now, let us think it over again. How many apostles were sent by God to this world, to all the nations and countries? Their numbers must run into hundreds of thousands. Be that as it may, Islamic traditions put the figure at one hundred and twenty-four thousand although the Qur°ān tells us the names of a few only. But, even of those whose names we know, how little of their life and character is known to the world? Although there are no means to verify it, the Hindus claim that their's, was the oldest civilisation of the world. Their sacred writings mention innumerable sages, but is there one to be put forth as a historical personality? There are many amongst these saints and sages about whom nothing except their names are known to us; there are others who can be treated as mythological personalities rather than characters belonging to the realm of history. More detailed knowledge of the noble personages described in the Mahabharata and Ramayana are undoubtedly available, but can their lives be tested on the touchstone of history? Nobody knows the age, or the era, or the century, or the year, or period when they lived. Certain European orientalists have, of late, hazarded their opinion when these sages would have been living, but this is the only evidence available about their historicity. A majority of these experts do not even regard them as historical and deny that the mythological personalities described in these books were ever born on this earth.

The founder of ancient Iranian faith named after him, is still revered by a large number of people, but his historical personality is also hidden behind the mist of obscurity. Several sceptical orientalists of Europe and America have doubts if a man with this name ever lived in this world. Even the scholars who accept Zoroaster's historical existence, have succeeded in giving, through guess-work, some paltry details about his life. These accounts are so contradictory that no reasonable standard of practical human life can be based on them. Where was Zoroaster born, what was the year, what was his nationality or family, what was the religion he preached, whether the scripture attributed to him is genuine, what was the language spoken by him, when and where he died-each of these questions has elicited a hundred contradictory answers since no authentic and dependable records about him are available to clear the mist of doubt and uncertainty shrouding Zoroaster's personality. The Zoroastrians, or the Parsees, as they are known nowadays, lack acknowledged traditions about their Master and have to depend on the researches of European scholars for answering these questions. Their national sources do not go beyond Firdausi's Shahnama. It is hardly an excuse that the Greek invaders of Iran had destroyed their scriptures; the point is that they exist no more. The very fact of their destruction settles the issue that the teachings of Zoroaster, whatever they had been, were not. meant to be ever-abiding. This, by the way, is the reason why orientalists like Kern and Darmeteter refuse to accept Zoroaster as a historical figure.

Which was once the dominant faith of the people of India, China, the whole of Central Asia, Afghanistan and Turkistan and is still a living faith in Burma, Indo-China, China, Japan and Tibet. It was exterminated in India by Brahmanism and replaced by Islam in the Central Asia, but the power it commanded in South-Asia still sustains its faith and culture. Nevertheless, has its continued existence in several countries succeeded in preserving the dependable annals of Buddha's life and work? The age when the Buddha lived is calculated with reference to the time of Rajas of Magadh, which, in turn, is fixed by the chance discovery of diplomatic relations that these rulers had established with the Greeks. We have even more scant details about the life of Confucius, the founder of China's Confucianism, although the number of its adherents is still reported to be more than ten millions.

Semites have had hundreds of prophets; nevertheless, history knows hardly anything about most of them except their names. Only a few incidents about the lives of Noah, Abraham, Salih, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, Zachariah and John are known to posterity. All the important links transmitting the details of their lives and doings are missing from the chain of history. How, then, the incomplete, disjointed accounts of the lives of these patriarchs can serve as beacons of guidance to humanity today? Barring the description of their morals and conduct given in the Qur'an, all that is told about them in the Jewish Scriptures is held to be spurious by competent scholars. Even if we were to ignore these criticisms, only a dim and incomplete picture of these men of God emerges from the Jewish writings.

Torah[3] is the chief source of information about Moses, but if the experts and authors of Encyclopedia Britannica are to be believed, the Scripture extant today was written hundreds of years after the death of Moses. Some German scholars even claim to have discovered a two fold tradition on which the Torah is based for it carries the inconsistencies of its original sources. The learned discourse on this issue can be seen in the article included under the heading "Bible" in the latest edition of the Encyclopedia.[4] If these criticisms of the scholars are deemed to be correct, as they are generally accepted, what historical validity can be claimed for the records of other events prior to Moses?

Gospels are the records of the life of Jesus Christ. The Christian world, however, accepts only four of them and rejects others, like the Gospels of Thomas and Barnabas, as apocryphal. However, not one of the writers of these four 'authentic' Gospels ever saw Jesus, Nothing is known about the sources on which these Gospels are based. Doubts have been raised whether the Gospels bearing the names of their authors were actually written by them. Even the time and language of the original Gospels are uncertain. Biblical scholars hold the view that the four extant Gospels were compiled from various sources from about 60 A.D. onwards. In regard to these dubious elements as well as the stories of birth and death of Jesus and the doctrine of Trinity, certain critics have expressed the view-as discussed recently by a famous Chicago Journal in its several issues-that the story of Christ is purely fictitious, adopted from Greek and Roman myths containing similar stories of birth, death and resurrection of some pagan gods. The researches into the origin of the Gospels show how puzzling and insufficient is the evidence to rediscover the Jesus of history.

That any human being should be set up as a perennial guide for man, it is most essential to have the entire life of that model before us. No incident, no part of the life of such a shining example should remains in the dark. Like an open book it should be known inside out so that humanity may be able to make out how far that life can serve as an ideal guide and teacher.

Viewed from this angle, none of the preachers and founders of the religions would stand the test of historicity except the Prophet of Islam. The uniqueness of Muhammad in this regard furnishes yet another testimony to the fact that he alone was sent down to this world as the seal of prophets. Only three or four of the founders of religions, as earlier stated by us, can at best be put forth as historical characters, but not all of them can claim that everything about their life and character is known to the world. Bunddhists form today about one-fourth of the world's population, but all that we know of the life of the Buddha consists of a mixture of fables and folk-lores. If we were to make a search for the missing links of his life, we would decidedly be unsuccessful in our quest. All that we can glean from the stories known about him is that a certain chieftain in the foothills of the Himalayas, south of Nepal, had a son who was endowed with a thoughtful disposition. After he had grown to manhood and become father of a child, he happened to see certain persons afflicted with misery. He was so shocked by the sufferings and decay manifest in all earthly things around him that he left his hearth and home to discover a higher and more enduring meaning in life and human destiny. He wandered all over the land-Varanasi, Patiputra and Rajgir-sometimes he roamed in the cities, at others rambled over the mountains and forests, and ultimately reached Gaya, where, sitting under a Bodhi-tree, he made the claim of having attained enlightenment. Thereafter, he went about expounding his discovery from Varanasi to Bihar and then left this fleeting world. This is, in fine, the sum total of our knowledge about the Buddha.

Moses is the most celebrated among the prophets of old. Let us leave aside the question relating to the authenticity of Torah, as it exists at present, and assume that its five books contain a correct and dependable account of its author. But, what do they tell us? The life story of this great Prophet told by the Torah can be summed up in a few sentences. Moses is brought up by an Egyptian princess in the palace of Pharaoh. After he comes of age, he helps the oppressed Bani Israel on one or two occasions and then he takes flight to Midian, where he marries and returns to Egypt again after a long period of exile. On his way back, mantle of prophethood falls upon him, he goes to the court of Pharaoh, works certain miracles and demands the emancipation of the enslaved Hebrews. He takes the advantage of a dark night to flee with his people from Egypt; Pharaoh leads the hordes of warriors and chariots thundering after Bani Israel; the sea gives way to Moses and his followers; but the watery walls surge back over the pursuing Egyptians. Moses takes his people to Arabia, and thence to Syria, fights the unbelieving folk living there and ultimately meets his death, on a hill, after he has grown quite old. Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Torah, thus describes the journey's end of Moses in the concluding paragraphs.

"So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulcher unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated[5] And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom LORD knew face to face." [6]

All the five books of Torah, the last of which is Deuteronomy, are believed to have been written by Moses himself. But, the few sentences cited above suggest, on the first glance, that the book of Deuteronomy, or at least its concluding portion, could have never been written by Moses. Nobody knows the name of Moses' biographer.

Similarly the words: 'no man knows his sepulchre unto this day' and 'there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses' clearly indicate that the Book must have been written after a fairly long time when people had lost trace of such an important monument as the grave of their greatest benefactor, or, it could be that the whole nation had forgotten all about Moses in the glimmerings of a new redeemer expected by them.

"Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died," says the Deuteronomy, but how little do we know of the events of his long life? Only a few sketchy and disjointed events of Moses' life, like his birth, migration to Midian, marriage and early period of ministry and exodus have been related by his biographer. He is then seen taking part in a few battles but makes his exit to enter the scene again when he has grown quite old. Let us wean our thoughts from the ups and downs of Moses' life for every man has to undergo a chapter of accidents which are peculiar in each case, but we do need to know about the morals and conduct, demeanor and behavior of a guide and leader of making. These very essential details of the life of Moses form the missing links of his story, however. Old Testament is replete with such trivialities as the ancestral lineage of its characters, population of the Hebrews at different periods and places and their rites and customs. Howsoever important these details may be for the study of the Holy Land's geography and chronology, geneology and sociology, but they are hardly of any practical utility for compilation of the biography of a religious guide like Moses. This deficiency makes the characterization of Moses incomplete.

The apostle of God nearest in time to the Prophet of Islam was Jesus Ohrist whose followers today outnumber the votaries of every other religion. Strange though it may seem, but it is a hard fact that the particulars of the life of this Prophet available today are the most meager in comparison to the founders of all other religions. The keen interest taken by the Christendom in the study of ancient civilisations, archaeological excavations and deciphering of ancient writings has shed a flood-light on the distant past of Babylon, Assyria, Arabia, Syria, Egypt, Africa, India and Turkistan and succeeded in rewriting not a few lost pages of the ancient history; yet, if it has failed anywhere to recover the missing pieces of the eternal landscape of the past, it is the sealed book of its own saviour's life story. Earnest Renan left no stone unturned to recreate the Vie de Jesus[7] but, as everybody knows, his effort proved fruitless. The New Testament tells us that Jesus Christdied at the age of thirty-three but it records the events of the last three years of his life only.[8] Even this is either not supported by sufficient evidence or has been proved to be dubious by good evidence to the contrary. The only information we have about the historical Jesus is that he was brought to Egypt after his birth, worked a few miracles during his childhood; but then he quits the scene to reappear at the age of thirty, baptising and preaching the gospel to fishermen in the mountains beside the sea of Galilee. He gathers a handful of followers, has a few discussions about the Law with the priests and elders, is got arrested by the Jews and produced before Pontius Pilate, is ultimately crucified and his sepulchre is found vacant on the third day. Nobody knows where jesus remained or what he did during the twenty-five years of his life's duration. And, of the happenings narrated about his last three years, what else is there except a few parables, miracles and crucifixion?

A biography to be ideal must also be comprehensive. In other words, whatever light and guidance people need in different walks of life-for fulfillment of their duties, redeeming the pledges, being fair and just and virtuous- should be had from the life of the ideal personage. Viewed from this angle, one would have to concede that only the life of the Prophet of Islam conforms to this standard. What is religion, after all? It is nothing save a means to unfold the relationship, on the one hand, between man and his Master, and, on the other, between man and man. Religion is, thus, meant to teach us the obligations we owe to God and our rights and duties with reference to our fellow beings; and, hence, it becomes a bounden duty of the follower of every religion to find out what light the life of his prophet or founder of religion sheds on these questions. From this standpoint, however, one would not find complete guidance anywhere save in the life of Muhammad, the last Prophet of God.

Religions are of two kinds. One, the religions like Buddhism and Jainism which are agnostic, denying the existence of God. It would, therefore, be futile to look for the awareness of God's nature and attributes or the tender regard and adoration for God and His Omnipotence and Unicity in the life of the precursors of these religions. The others are theistic faiths which acknowledge the existence of the Supreme Being in one form or the other, but the lives of their founders breathe little of their devotion to God. The portraits of their lives do not pretend to be shadows of divine perfection, nor do they tell us explicitly about their quest for God or their beliefs and convictions. Go through the Old Testament and you would find quite a few references to the Oneness of God, His commandments and the rules for offering oblations unto God, but hardly a sentence describing the feeling of awe and gratitude to God, spiritual exaltation and a living awareness of the Supreme Being experienced by Moses, Had the religion of Moses been the last and abiding principle of divine guidance, its followers must have preserved the aids to spiritual elevation; but they failed to do so, perhaps, as designed by Providence.

Gospels are the mirrors of Christ's life. They tell us that God is the Father of Jesus, but what obligations the son owed to his Father and how he answered this call of duty? The son declares the great love of the Father for him, but how much did the son love his heavenly Father? How he obeyed His commands, how he paid Him divine honours, how he bowed and humbled himself to show his reverence and whether he asked the Father to grant him anything else save the day's bread? We do not know whether Jesus spent his nights in prayers and vigils except the one before his betrayal and arrest. What spiritual enlightenment and inspiration can we draw from a prophet like him? Had the gospelists clearly portrayed the picture of communion between Jesus Christ and God instead of spinning myths around him, the first Christian Emperor would not have had to convene the Nicene Council, after 325 years of the birth of Christ, to draw up a statement of Christian creed which remains an inexplicable riddle to this day.

Turning to the rights and duties of human beings, we again fail to find any clear exposition of this important matter in the life of any prophet or founder of religion except the life of Muhammad. Gautama Buddha left his home and family, severing all connections from his loving wife and innocent son, to discover the meaning of human destiny in the solitude of the woods. He said good-bye to his friends and abandoned the responsibility of administration in order to find the peace of Nirvana by overcoming the desire arising out of his will-to-live. Now, one can ask what message does the teaching of the Buddha contain for the common man, for the rulers and the ruled, for the rich and the poor, for the master and the servant; and how does it provide guidance in the discharge of one's obligations as a father, as a son, or as a brother, sister or friend? Are the teachings of the Buddha comprehensive enough to be followed by the ascetics and businessmen alike? His teachings were, in point of fact, never acted upon by the working classes, else the administration in the countries like China, Japan, Siam, Tibet and Burma would have long gone to winds; trade, industry and business would have come to a standstill; and the populous cities would have turned into woodlands.

Moses was an illustrious leader of men; noted for commanding the Hebrew hordes in the battlefields. He could thus be a model in the case of a call to arms, but has he left any precedent to be followed in the discharge of one's rights and duties and fulfillment of one's obligations to others? How he wanted the wife and the husband, the father and the son, brothers and friends to behave towards one another; what his custom was in making peace with his adversaries; how he spent his wealth for the benefit of the sick and the poor, the orphan and the way-farers? Moses was married, had children as well as a brother, relatives and friends and, we believe, as an Apostle of God, his behavior towards them would have been exemplary. But, we are at a loss to find any guidance in these matters from the books of Scripture attributed to him!

Jesus Christ had his mother and, as the Bible tells us, he had brothers and sisters and even his earthly father, although he was born of a virging mother. Nevertheless, the story of his life told in the Gospels keeps mum about his behavior towards his kith and kin. Social relationship has been, and shall ever remain, the pivot of civilised existence, and hence every religion must seek to regulate it. But, What is there in the life of Jesus Christ to offer guidance in these matters? He belonged to a subject race ruled by an alien power. How could he, then, set any example for the rulers and administrators? He did not marry, and hence his life has nothing to guide the spouses whose relationship of love and affection has been spoken of in the very first chapter of the Old Testament. Furthermore, since an overwhelming portion of world's population leads a married life, Jesus' life would come amiss to offer any guidance to them. Verily, Jesus can never be the ideal guide of humanity for he ever remained indifferent to his relatives, had nothing to do with earning and spending, war and peace and friends and foes. These very mundane affairs, unfortunately, form the hub of our earthly life. Were this world to follow the example of Jesus, all progress will be suspended and the silence of the grave would descend over the world. Christian Europe would, then, die a natural death.

Yet another determinant of an ideal life is its practicality-a decisive test for a founder of religion or law-giver; since, the preacher of a canon and system of belief should be able to lead the way by his personal example of living up to his precepts. His actions, in other words, should demonstrate the feasibility of his teachings.

Anybody can enunciate any number of fanciful notions, attractive concepts and appealing philosophies, but not everyone can live up to them. Innocent and fine maxims are no proof of one's virtuous character: it rather consists of following the narrow, straight path of unblemished rectitude. Were it not so, it would be difficult to distinguish between vice and virtue, good and bad and the world would then abound in agreeable chatterers. Now, let us judge the founders of religions by this acid test.

"But I say unto you which hear," said Jesus Christ, "Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again," [9] Jesus also taught that one should forgive one's brother's misdemeanour not only seven times but "seventy times seven" [10] and that "a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven."[11] Many more glamorous sayings of Jesus and other sermonizers can be cited here but none can be treated as a wholesome moral precept unless it is also accompanied by a practical example of the preacher. These would be merely sparkling gifts of the gab rather than examples of practical conduct. How can one forgive his enemies unless he has first subdued them? What does charity, benevolence and philanthrophy of a man mean, if he is not blessed with anything to spare? Just as the man who has not married and has no children and relations cannot be held forth as an ideal husband, or a loving father, or a gracious kinsman; how can one be taken as a model of mercy, kindliness and forgiveness if one had never had an opportunity to pardon anybody?

Virtues are of two kinds: one is positive and the other negative. Living like an anchorite in a far off cave can, at the most, be reckoned as a negative virtue for the ascetics merely abstain from doing harm to others. But, what about the positive side of their actions? Do they help the poor, feed the hungry, raise the fallen or guide the erring? Forgiveness, charity, philanthrophy, hospitality, truthfulness, kindliness, zeal to restore truth and justice and fulfilment of one's obligations are some of the cardinal virtues requiring positive action. Virtues are, of a fact, more often positive than negative.

It would now be clear that there could be no "ideal life''-to be followed by others-unless its positive and practical aspect is also before us. How can we follow the example of any guide, if it is not illustrated? We want precedents for waging war and making peace, for leading our lives in affluence and poverty, for living as married couples and celibates, for our communion with God and social relationship with our fellow beings. In victory and defeat, in anger and forbearance, in loneliness and companionship, in short, in every situation of life marked by vicissitudes of our earthly existence we need an exemplar to show us the right path. We require practical examples of those who have successfully met these situations and hit upon a solution rather than those who have nothing to offer except sweet words. It is neither the poet's fancy nor the flower of speech, but an indisputable fact of history that no other life save that of Muhammad, the last Prophet of God, answers the test of practicality.

To recapitulate the essential ingredients of an ideal life, discussed afore, let me repeat that historicity, comprehensiveness, perfection and practicality are necessary for any character to be followed by others. I do not mean to say that other prophets lacked these qualities, but I do assert that the record of their lives and doings preserved by their followers and handed down to us throw no light on these aspects of their character. This was in conformity with the will of God, perhaps, as it constitutes, in itself, an intrinsic evidence that the prophets of yore were sent to their own peoples and for their own times. Their biographies were not preserved because posterity did not need them. It was only Muhammad, the last of the prophets, who was sent by God for all the nations, as a shining example, to be followed by the entire humanity until the Day of Judgment. His biography, the record of his sayings and doings, had thus to be perdurable and ever blooming, and this is the greatest testimony, a practical attestation of the finality of Muhammad's prophet hood.

" Muhammad is not the father of any man among you, but he is the messenger of Allah and the Seal of the Prophets; and Allah is Aware of all things."

Another scholar, Rev. Dr. Charles Anderson Scot says in his article on Jesus Christ written for the 14th edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica:

" The attempt to write a Life of Jesus' should frankly be abandoned. The material for it certainly does not exist. It has been calculated that the total number of days of his life regarding which we have any record does not exceed 50."

[1] Q. XXXIII: 45-46

[2] Torah is the Hebrew word for "the Pentateuch"

[3] 11^th Edition of Encyclopedia Britannica

[4] Q. II : 253

[5] Deut. 34: 5-7

[6] Deut. 34: 10

[7] Published in 1863

[8] In 1906, Albert Schweitzer, a philosopher and theologian, published his monumental work, entitled The Quest of the Historical

Jesus in which he surveyed the whole enterprise from the earliest time to his day. This is how he began his final chapter: ,,There is nothing more negative than the result of the critical study of the life of Jesus." Another scholar, Rev. Dr. Charles Anderson Scot says in his article on Jesus Christ written for the 14th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britaiinica:

"The attempt to write a ,Life of Jesus' should frankly be abandoned. The material for it certainly does not exist. It has been calculated that the total number of days of his life regarding which we have any record does not exceed 50." (Vol. XIII, pp. 16/17)

[9] Luke 6: 27-30

[10] Mt. 18: 22

[11] Mt. 19: 23