Late Annadurai, former chief minister of Tamil Nadu, made a speech on the life of Prophet Muhammad on 7th October 1957. It will be useful to reproduce parts of his speech here. He said:
“The world today which is faltering in search of a true ideology is more in need of Islam than it was in the sixth century A.D. Our world which today is grouping in search of ideologies and has failed to find peace anywhere, is more in need of Islam today than it was in the sixth century A.D. Islam is not merely a religion, rather an ideology; the best way of life. A few countries have adopted it as an ideology and a system of life.
“There is no contradiction between my own religious views and my presence here. I have come to participate in today’s celebration knowing and acknowledging Islam as a way of life. Why do we so much admire the Islamic way of life? Only because the Islamic principles free us from all doubts and uncertainties. The first teaching of the Prophet was ‘associate none with God in His Godhood’. I value it a lot and respect it from the core of my heart. I value it because it is so full of meaning and is so thought-provoking. ‘Associate none with God.’ Why? Who is God? What are His attributes? All these questions lead us to think. A Tamil poet has said:
He who saw did not get;
He who got did not see;
He who saw did not tell;
He who told did not see.
“The attributes of God are countless. To be lost in those and yet move forward is truly laudable.
“To equate some one with Him is to declare him His equal. And who can be His equal? That is why Muhammad (PBUH) forbade it.
“The provision for polytheism, in other religions, has caused a lot of harm to people like us. By sealing the path of polytheism Islam bestows upon man greatness and grandeur and saves him from possible degeneration and its other unsavoury effects.
“Islam makes a man perfect. Islam generates in man the necessary abilities and strength that take him to the height for which he was created.
‘Accept me’, God might have come and ordered man so. But in that case man could not have got the chance to use his own judgement. This might have withered man’s thinking abilities and kept him away from mental development. When man got this message through His Prophet, he was bound to think over it. Has God really sent him? Did he possess the qualities of a prophet? It was upto man to ponder and decide for himself. A Tamil poet has equalled God with knowledge. Real Knowledge leads man to God. People who neglect God remain deprived of real knowledge, notwithstanding that they boast of knowledge.
“Moreover, one who embraces Islam frees himself from the discrimination of caste and creed. When people of Madaktur, who were engaged in killing each other, embraced Islam they turned into real brothers. All discriminations ended. The discriminations of caste disappeared and all became equal and respectable. Equality bound them in bonds of brotherhood. This side of islam has impressed me immensely. Bernard Shaw having a very analytical mind gave his well considered opinion by calling Islam the only everlasting religion.
“Why do we praise the last Prophet so much and recognise him as the greatest man?
“Today, in 1957, we face so much opposition when we try to arouse consciousness and awakening among men. Fourteen hundred years ago Muhammad asked people to obey only one God. Standing among the idolators he told them that idols were not God; so do not bow before them. Pray the only God who is the Creator of all.
“Can we imagine the amount of courage required for such bold proclamation, and the opposition the messenger of God must have and did face in his home town? His biography tells us that he disseminated his revolutionary message very steadfastly even amidst highly adverse circumstances and despite the strongest opposition. There lies his greatness. The example of his steadfastness is followed by the true followers of Islam.
“The Islamic way of life unites mankind. It sharpens man’s intellect. It creates the bonds of brotherhood and awakens the human mind. Religions other than Islam create prejudice and make people fight each other until the police force intervenes. While the Islamic way of life and the Islamic ideology bind all in the bonds of love.
“There cannot be any contradiction between religion and true way of life. Any difference is possible only when the conception of religion is narrow and incomplete – limited to the extend that it is supposed to have nothing to do with the every day problems of life.
“A true religion – which is a way of life also – if adopted would be useful for mankind. A congenial climate will have to be created for this way of life to work, and thus provide justice, respect, peace and all that man needs.
“Circumstances shape a man and generally man adapts to the circumstances. Common people do not bother whether circumstances allow for the healthy working of a way of life or not. They march on blindly. But the great men give a direction to the social movement. When they see that the society is moving in the wrong direction they move against it. They never bother about any possible harm to them. For the healthy working of the correct way of life they move in the opposite direction unless the situation is changed into the right one. Those are the real people who have the courage and determination to move on the path of the truth defying all the hurdles and obstructions. Only such courageous people succeed in creating the atmosphere where a true way of life may work.
“Muhammad (PBUH) was one of the such rarely courageous and great men. Teachings of such a great man should be widely spread in the country. Good atmosphere is a must for spreading such teachings, and for that a noble system of education is inevitable. A noble government is impossible without noble rulers and noble rulers can be had from noble individuals. The importance of noble person can be thus be estimated. These people are the real treasure of the society, and on then the future of society rests. Their loss is the greatest loss of mankind.
“Islam is like a diamond. People use it differently. While some put it in his finger ring some use it in Jewellery and some sell it to make money and squander in lustful pursuits. It all depends on the use to which it is put. So we should think of our attitude towards this way of life which is more valuable than diamond.
“Will this religion side with the tyrants and oppressors? Will it exploit the weak? Or will it help the oppressed and the downtrodden? If the result in the real world is the former, all our praise for Islam is in vain; but in case the result is the latter one can believe that Islam will be a boon for the world.
“Islam, even to this day, is present with all its virtues and diamond- like glitter. It is the duty of the followers of Islam to adhere to it earnestly and sincerely. In this way they can please God as well as solve the problems of the poor and oppressed people, and thus humanity can march towards material and spiritual development.”
ISLAM IN THE EYES OF GREAT MEN
We have just gone through Annadurai’s reverential remarks about Islam. It is not restricted to Annadurai, many more thinkers and intellectuals of the world have admitted the greatness of the Prophet of Arabia. From Napoleon to this day hundreds of intellectuals have paid rich tributes to Muhammad (PBUH) and talked of the supremacy of Islam and the quran.
Napoleon said: “The day is not far off when all the thinkers of the world would jointly adopt a system of governance based on the Quran. The principles and teachings of the Quran are based on truth and are capable of bestowing happiness and prosperity. I am proud of God’s Prophet Muhammad and the Book revealed unto him and pay my reverential tribute to him.”
Gandhiji said that he read the Quran serveral times and was impressed by its teachings and the truth it contains.
Freedom fighter and poet Sarojini Naidu once said: “Sense of justice is one of the most wonderful ideals of Islam, because as I read in the Quran I find those dynamic principles of life, not mystic but practical ethics for the daily conduct of life suited to the whole world.”
Famous Orientalist H.A. R. Gibb says:
“But Islam has a still further service to render to the cause of humanity. It stands, after all, nearer to the real East than Europe does, and it possesses a magnificient tradition of inter-racial understanding and cooperation. No other society has such a record of success in uniting in an equality of status, of opportunity, and of endeavours so many and so various-Islam has still the power to reconcile apparently irreconcilable elements or race and tradition. If ever the opposition of the great societies of East and West is to be replaced by cooperation, the mediation of Islam is an indispensible condition.”
Goethe, the great German poet, said:
“However often we turn to it(Quran), at first disgusting us each time afresh, it soon attracts, astounds, and in the end enforces our reverence-its style, in accordance with its contents and aim, is stern, grand, terrible, ever and anon truly sublime. Thus this book will go on exercising through all ages a most potent influence.”
Michael H. Hart, American scientist, in his famous book “The Hundred” said:
“My choice of Muhammad to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others, but he was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular level.”
George Bernard Shaw, a great British dramatist and thinker has this to say:
“I have always held the religion of Muhammad in high estimation because of its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion which appears to me to possess that assimilating capacity to the changing phase of existence which can make its appeal to every age. I have studied him-the wonderful man, and in my opinion far from being anti-Christ, he must be called the saviour of humanity. I believe that if a man like him were to assume the dictatorship of the modern world, he would succeed in solving its problems in a way that could bring it the much needed peace and happiness.”
La Martine, a French writer asks;
“If greatness of purpose, smallness of means and astounding results are the three criteria of human genius, who could dare to compare any great man in modern history with Muhammad?”
Muhammad was born in Arabia in the sixth century A.D.. His coming was forecast in the Vedas much earlier. I was surprised to learn of it from an elderly person. This led me to make research. I found it to be true. Bhavishya Puran is one of the eighteen Puranas by Maharishi Veyas. One shloka in it says:
“An Acharya will descend in another country, along with his companions. His name will be Mohammad. He will come in desert.” (chapter 2, shloka 3 sutra 5-8).
It further explains,
“He will be circumcised. He will not have the jata (long hair tied on the above). He will have beard and be a meat-eater. He will present his message most clearly and forcefully. He will call his followers Muslai.” (chapter 2, shloka 25, sutra 3).
This is very meaningful. There was no tradition of circumcision among Hindus. Long hairs were religious symbol. The personality in forecast bears uncommon qualities and his followers are named Muslai. The word Muslai indicates Muslim and Musalman.
In Athar Veda chapter 20 we come across these shlokas:
“O followers! Hear. Praised and would be praised the great Rishi Mahamahe who will come among sixty thousand ninety people.” Muhammad in Arabic means the praised one. The population of Makka at that time was around sixty thousand.
“He will ride over twenty camels. He will be praised in haeven. That maharishi (great saint) will have hundred golden ornaments.” We do not know of any camel-riding maharish in India. It points towards Muhammad (PBUH) of Arabia. Hundred golden ornaments mean Prophet’s hundred loyal followers migrating to Ethiopia.
“He will posses ten pearl necklaces, three hundred Arabic horses and ten thousand cows.”
Ten pearl necklaces are Prophet’s ten Companions-widely known as ten who were given good news of their assured place in heaven. Three hundred horses indicate his 313 Companions who participated in the battle of Badr, the first battle fought by Muslims. Ten thousand cows indicate his multitudinous followers.
The Quran calls him (Muhammad) the blessing for the universe. The Rigveda says, “Getting the title of Blessing, he, the praised one, will come with ten thousand companions.” (Mantra 5 sutra 28).
Similarly, his coming had been referred in the Veda with names of Mohamad and Mohamahe.