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The Greatest Man in History is Muhammad
‘The Greatest Man in History is MUHAMMAD,’ focuses on the life of the Prophet of Islam. Authored by a Pakistani diplomat, Mian Afrasiab Mehdi Hashmi Qureshi, the voluminous book looks at Muhammad from the perspective of the 21st century.
Quoting from original historical sources, including Ibne Ishaq, Ibne Kathir and others, Ambassador Afrasiab emphasises the fact that before the Prophet, there was no person on earth who was given the name Muhammad. Today, there are more than 400 million people the world over, who have his name as their name. In fact, Muhammad is the most popular name in the world today. Similarly, almost each and every Muslim woman today and in the last more than 1400 years, has been named after the lady family members of Muhammad, friends of his family, or have names that are connected with the message of the Prophet.
Muhammad was not just a preacher, he was a humanist, diplomat, general, administrator, and a constitutionalist who framed the first Constitution in the history of mankind. In his well-researched book, Ambassador Afrasiab has dwelt on the rights of women granted by Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago. The first person to accept the message of Muhammad was not a man, but a woman. The first person to sacrifice life for the message of Muhammad, was not a man, but a woman. Paradise according to Muhammad, lies “under the feet of the mother (and not under the feet of the father).” He advised his followers that whenever they bring gifts for their children after travel, they should give the gift “first to the daughter, and then to the son.” Emphasising the importance of education, once Muhammad underscored, “A drop of the ink from the pen of a scholar is more valuable in the eyes of God than the blood of a martyr.” Prophet Muhammad struggled against slavery. The first person granted the honour by Muhammad to give the call for the Muslim prayer, was a black slave Bilal Habashi.
Muhammad stood for human rights. He spoke of animal rights. Muhammad had a pet cat called ‘Muezza.’ He loved the cat so much that it used to sit on his lap when the Prophet delivered sermons in the mosque in Medina. Muhammad spoke of environment and conservation, instructing his followers, “not to cut a green tree,” and “not to waste water.”
The annexures in the book would also be useful to a research scholar. Among others, they relate to the Charter of Medina, Letters by the Prophet to the sovereigns of his time, the Charter of Rights granted by Muhammad to the Monks of the Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, and poetry in praise of the Prophet from the Morisco period of Al-Andalus.
Ambassador Afrasiab has used simple language in his book to convey to the reader the simple message of unity, peace and harmony, which forms the crux of Islam. The book highlights commonalities among Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the three great Abrahamic religions. Muhammad respected Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Islam has great respect for Holy Mary. The book aims at promoting interfaith harmony and building bridges, which isf the need of the time.
Afrasiab joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1984. He has done diplomatic assignments in the Pakistani Embassies in Washington DC, New Delhi, Vienna and Beijing. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad, he served as Director Americas, Director General South Asia, and later as Additional Foreign Secretary. He also served as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and was later appointed as High Commissioner to New Zealand. Other books authored by Ambassador Afrasiab, include the following: 1. Encyclopaedia of Dates, Quotes and Documents on China, US, India and Pakistan (Two volumes) Pages: 1167 ISBN: 978-969-9837-00-5 Published in: 2013 Publisher: Bangladesh Defense Journal Publishing, Dhaka 2. US Relations with South Asia and Pakistan-India Interaction Pages: 547 Second edition:
Quoting from original historical sources, including Ibne Ishaq, Ibne Kathir and others, Ambassador Afrasiab emphasises the fact that before the Prophet, there was no person on earth who was given the name Muhammad. Today, there are more than 400 million people the world over, who have his name as their name. In fact, Muhammad is the most popular name in the world today. Similarly, almost each and every Muslim woman today and in the last more than 1400 years, has been named after the lady family members of Muhammad, friends of his family, or have names that are connected with the message of the Prophet.
Muhammad was not just a preacher, he was a humanist, diplomat, general, administrator, and a constitutionalist who framed the first Constitution in the history of mankind. In his well-researched book, Ambassador Afrasiab has dwelt on the rights of women granted by Prophet Muhammad 1400 years ago. The first person to accept the message of Muhammad was not a man, but a woman. The first person to sacrifice life for the message of Muhammad, was not a man, but a woman. Paradise according to Muhammad, lies “under the feet of the mother (and not under the feet of the father).” He advised his followers that whenever they bring gifts for their children after travel, they should give the gift “first to the daughter, and then to the son.” Emphasising the importance of education, once Muhammad underscored, “A drop of the ink from the pen of a scholar is more valuable in the eyes of God than the blood of a martyr.” Prophet Muhammad struggled against slavery. The first person granted the honour by Muhammad to give the call for the Muslim prayer, was a black slave Bilal Habashi.
Muhammad stood for human rights. He spoke of animal rights. Muhammad had a pet cat called ‘Muezza.’ He loved the cat so much that it used to sit on his lap when the Prophet delivered sermons in the mosque in Medina. Muhammad spoke of environment and conservation, instructing his followers, “not to cut a green tree,” and “not to waste water.”
The annexures in the book would also be useful to a research scholar. Among others, they relate to the Charter of Medina, Letters by the Prophet to the sovereigns of his time, the Charter of Rights granted by Muhammad to the Monks of the Saint Catherine’s Monastery in Sinai, and poetry in praise of the Prophet from the Morisco period of Al-Andalus.
Ambassador Afrasiab has used simple language in his book to convey to the reader the simple message of unity, peace and harmony, which forms the crux of Islam. The book highlights commonalities among Christianity, Judaism and Islam, the three great Abrahamic religions. Muhammad respected Abraham, Moses and Jesus. Islam has great respect for Holy Mary. The book aims at promoting interfaith harmony and building bridges, which isf the need of the time.
Afrasiab joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1984. He has done diplomatic assignments in the Pakistani Embassies in Washington DC, New Delhi, Vienna and Beijing. In the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad, he served as Director Americas, Director General South Asia, and later as Additional Foreign Secretary. He also served as Pakistan’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, and was later appointed as High Commissioner to New Zealand. Other books authored by Ambassador Afrasiab, include the following: 1. Encyclopaedia of Dates, Quotes and Documents on China, US, India and Pakistan (Two volumes) Pages: 1167 ISBN: 978-969-9837-00-5 Published in: 2013 Publisher: Bangladesh Defense Journal Publishing, Dhaka 2. US Relations with South Asia and Pakistan-India Interaction Pages: 547 Second edition:
641 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
April 5, 2022
First chapter of the book is beautifully written with several references and narrations.
My favorite part was the chapter Women in Islam and the timeline.
but only thing that makes me stop from giving it 5 stars is excessive stuff in a book. For a time being I thought I’m not reading about prophet Muhammad, rather, a book on politics and history.
My favorite part was the chapter Women in Islam and the timeline.
but only thing that makes me stop from giving it 5 stars is excessive stuff in a book. For a time being I thought I’m not reading about prophet Muhammad, rather, a book on politics and history.
January 18, 2020
i really love this book
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews