Hundred Great Muslims

Xl
PREFACE
Muhammad (PBUH) the Prophet of Islam and the greatest benefactor of
mankind, had accomplished not only an impossible task of uniting the savage
and warring Arabs tribes but also gave birth to a society which created the
greatest revolution in the annals of mankind-a revolution which embraced all
spheres of human activity. In less than thirty years, after the death of the
Prophet, the Arabs swept over two of the mightiest empires of those times­
Persians and Romans-and later became pioneers in the realm of art and learning.
The memorable words of the Holy Prophet of Islam, "Seek knowledge
even unto the distant China," awakened a love of learning and a spirit of enquiry
among the Muslims which hitherto lay dormant in them. They were responsible
for reviving not only the dead Greek and Indian learnings but also made lasting
contributions to almost all branches of sciences and arts and thus provided the
necessary link between the ancient and modern civilizations. The light of learning
which illuminated Cordova, the seat of Arab culture in Spain, at last dispelled
the gloom that had enveloped the Mediaeval Europe, giving birth to Western
Renaissance.
The Arabs, being practical people, had employed both observation and
experiment in their pursuits of science-an advance over the Greek scientists
who confined themselves to observation only. Their efforts in the realm of
science were, therefore, crowned with greater success.
The invention of the Mariners Compass enabled the sea-faring Arab
mariners to explore the distant seas. The latest research by the celebrated
South African anthropologist, Dr. Jefferys, has credited the Arabs with the
discovery of the New World-America-five centuries ahead of Columbus.
The teachings of the Holy Prophet of Islam had given birth to an ideal
society, composed of a group of selfless people, who for thirty years successfOlly
experimented in true democracy in the world-based on equality, fraternity
and justice-which has no parallel in the annals of mankind. In that ideal democracy,
there was no material distinction between the Caliph and an ordinary
citizen.