Muhammad (SAW) according to Michael H. Hart

To commemorate this year’s Maulid un-Nabiyy (the prophet’s birthday), this week’s piece showcases the work of Michael H. Hart which identifies Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the first among a list of 100 personalities he ranked as the most influential persons in human history.
Born in 1932, Michael H. Hart authored The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History in 1992. The book, which has sold more than 500,000 copies, has also been translated into 15 languages. An American by birth, Hart received his BA from Cornell University in 1952, an M. Sc from Adelphi University in 1969, and a PhD in astronomy from Princeton University in 1972. He was a professor at the University of Maryland, Anne Arundel Community College, and Trinity University. In one of his several articles, Hart argued that the works attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact written by Edward de Vere, the 17th Earl of Oxford.
Hart writes that his choice of Muhammad (SAW) to lead the list of the world’s most influential persons in history may surprise some readers and may be questioned by others. He maintains that he chose Muhammad (SAW) over Prophets Isa or Jesus (AS) and Musa or Moses (A.S) because Muhammad (SAW) was “supremely successful in both religious and secular realms”. Hart also recognizes Muhammad (SAW) for his role in the development of Islam, which he asserts, is far more influential than Jesus (A.S)’s in the development of Christianity.
Michael Hart further observes that Muhammad founded and promulgated one of the world’s great religions, and became an immensely effective political leader; adding that, “thirteen centuries after his death, his influence is still powerful and pervasive”. Hart continues, “The majority of persons in The 100: A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History had the advantage of being born and raised in centers of civilization, highly cultured or politically pivotal nations. Muhammad, however, was born in 570AD in the city of Mecca, which at that time was a backward area of the world; far from centers of trade, art and learning”.
In his assessment of the overall impact of Muhammad on human history, Hart states that Islam, like other religions, exerts an enormous influence upon the lives of its followers which according to him explains why founders of the world’s great religions all figure prominently in his book. Michael Hart opines that since there are roughly twice as many Christians as Moslems in the world, it may initially seem strange that Muhammad (SAW) has been ranked higher than Jesus; advancing two principal reasons for his judgment.
First, he clarifies, “Muhammad played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in the development of Christianity. Although Jesus was responsible for the main ethical and moral precepts of Christianity (in so far as these differed from Judaism), St. Paul was the main developer of Christian theology, its principal proselytizer, and the author of a large portion of the New Testament. Muhammad, however, was responsible for both the theology of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles. In addition, he played the key role in proselytizing the new faith and in establishing the religious practices of Islam….Since the Koran is at least as important to Moslems as the Bible is to Christians, the influence of Muhammad through the medium of the Koran has been enormous. It is probable that the relative influence of Muhammad on Islam has been larger than the combined influence of Jesus Christ and St. Paul on Christianity”. Hart affirms that unlike the Qur’an that has divinely remained preserved from being corrupted, “no such detailed compilation of the teachings of Christ has survived”.
His second reason is captured in his declaration that “Muhammad (unlike Jesus) was a secular as well as a religious leader. In fact, as the driving force behind the Arab conquests, he may well rank as the most influential political leader of all times. Of many important historical events, one might say that they were inevitable and would have occurred even without the particular political leader who guided them. For example, the South American colonies would probably have won their independence from Spain even if Simon Bolivar had never lived. But this cannot be said of the Arab conquests. Nothing similar had occurred before Muhammad, and there is no reason to believe that the conquests would have been achieved without him. The only comparable conquests in human history are those of the Mongols in the thirteenth century, which were primarily due to the influence of Genghis Khan. These conquests, however, though more extensive than those of the Arabs, did not prove permanent, and today the only areas occupied by the Mongols are those that they held prior to the time of Genghis Khan. It is far different with the conquests of the Arabs. From Iraq to Morocco, there extends a whole chain of Moslem nations united not merely by their faith in Islam, but also by their Arabic language, history, and culture”.
Besides appreciating the centrality of the Qur’an in the religious life of Muslims, Hart similarly underscores how Arabic language has continued to unite the Arabs in spite of the differences that exist among Arab states. He contends, for instance, that “neither Iran nor Indonesia, both oil-producing states and both Islamic in religion joined in the oil embargo of the winter of 1973-74. It is no coincidence that all of the Arab states, and only the Arab states, participated in the embargo. We see, then, that the Arab conquests of the seventh century have continued to play an important role in human history, down to the present day. It is this unparalleled combination of secular and religious influence which I feel entitles Muhammad to be considered the most influential single figure in human history”. May Allah (SWT) guide us to practice Islam in the manner taught by Muhammad (SAW), amin.