(History of the Saracen Empires, London, 1870, p. 54)
Alfonso de Lamartine, the renowned historian speaking on the essentials of human greatness wonders: "Never has a man set for himself, voluntarily or involuntarily, a more sublime aim, since this aim was superhuman; to subvert superstitions which had been imposed between man and his Creator, to render God unto man and man unto God; to restore the rational and sacred idea of divinity amidst the chaos of the material and disfigured gods of idolatry, then existing. Never has a man undertaken a work so far beyond human power with so feeble means, for he (Muhammad) has in conception as well as in execution of such a great design, no other instrument than himself and no other aid except a handful of men living in a corner of the desert. Finally, never has a man accomplished such a huge and lasting revolution in the world, because in less than two centuries after its appearance, Islam, in faith and in arms reigned over the whole of Arabia, and conquered, in God’s name, Persia, Khorasan, Transoxania, Western India, Syria, Egypt, Abyssina, all the known parts of Northern Africa, numerous islands of the Mediterranean Sea, Spain, and part of Gaul.”
"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? The most famous men created arms, laws and empires only. They founded, if anything at all, no more than material powers which often crumbled away before their eyes. This man moved not only armies, legislation, empires, peoples and dynasties, but millions of men in one-third of the then inhabited world; and more than that, he moved the altars, the gods, the religions, the ideas, the beliefs and souls….his forbearance in victory, his ambition, which was entirely devoted to one idea and in no manner striving for an empire; his endless prayers, his mystic conversations with God, his death and his triumph after death; all these attest not to an imposture but to a firm conviction which gave him the power to restore a dogma. This dogma was two-fold, the unity of God and the immateriality of God; the former telling what God is, the latter telling what God is not; the one overthrowing false gods with the sword, the other starting an idea with the words.
"Philosopher, orator, apostle, legislator, warrior, conqueror of ideas, restorer of rational dogmas, of a cult without images, the founder of twenty terrestrial empires and of one spiritual empire that is MUHAMMAD. As regards all the standards by which Human Greatness may be measured, we may well ask, is there any man greater than he?” (Alfonso de Lamartine, Histoire De La Turquie, Paris, 1854, Vol.II, pp 276-277)
Dr. Gustav Well in "History of Islamic Peoples.”
"Muhammad was a shining example to his people. His character was pure and stainless. His house, his dress, his food — they were characterized by a rare simplicity. So unpretentious was he that he would receive from his companions no special mark of reverence, nor would he accept any service from his slave which he could do for himself. He was acceptable to all and at all times. He visited the sick and was full of sympathy for all. Unlimited was his benevolence and generosity as also was his anxious care for the welfare of the community.”
J.W.H. Stab in "Islam and its founder”
"Judged by the smallness of means at his disposal, and the extent and permanence of the work he accomplished, his name in world’s history shines with a more specious luster than that of the Prophet of Makkah. To the impulse which he gave numberless dynasties have owed their existence, fair cities and stately places and temples have arisen, and wide provinces became obedient to the faith. And beyond all this, his words have governed the belief of generations, been accepted as their rule of life, and their certain guide to the world to come. At thousand shrines the voices of the faithful invoke blessings on him, whom they esteem the very Prophet of God, the seal of the Apostles…
Judged by the standards to human renown, the glory of what mortal can compare with this?”
Edward Montet
Islam is a religion that is essentially rationalistic in the wildest sense of this term considered etymologically and historically…the teaching of the Prophet, the Quran has invariably kept its place as the fundamental starting point, and the dogma of unity of God has always been proclaimed therein with a grandeur of majesty, and invariable purity and with note of sure conviction, which it is hard to find surpassed outside the pale of Islam…A creed so precise, so stripped of all theological complexities and consequently so accessible to the ordinary outstanding might be expected to possess and does indeed possess a marvelous power of winning its way into the consciences of men.”
"La propagnde Chretienne et ses Adversaries Musulmans,” Paris 1890. (Also in T. W. Arnold in "The Preaching of Islam,” London 1913.)
Arthur Glyn Leonard in "Islam, her Moral and Spiritual values.”
"It was a genius of Muhammad, the spirit that he breathed into the Arabs through the soul of Islam that exalted them. That raised them out of the lethargy and low level of tribal stagnation up to the watermark of national unity and empire. It was in the sublimity of Mohammed’s deism, the simplicity, the sobriety and purity it inculcated the fidelity of its founder to its own tenets that acted on their moral and intellectual fiber with all magnetism of inspiration.”
Sarojini Naidu says while speaking on the subject of equality before God in Islam, the famous poetess of India:
"It was the first religion that preached and practiced democracy; for, in the mosque when the call for prayer is sounded and worshipers are gathered together, democracy of Islam is embodied five times a day when the peasant and king kneel side by side and proclaim; "God Alone is Great” … I have been struck over and over again by this invisible unity of Islam that makes man instinctively a brother.” (S. Naidu, IDEALS OF ISLAM, vide Speeches & Writings, Madras, 1918, p. 169)
Lane Poole in ‘Speeches and Table Talk of the Prophet Muhammad’
He was the most faithful protector, the Sweetest and most agreeable in conversation. Those who saw him were suddenly filled with reverence, those who came near him loved him; they who described him would say, "I have never seen his like either before or after.” He was of great taciturnity, but when he spoke it was with emphasis and deliberation, and no one could forget what he said…
Professor Jules Masserman:
"People like Pasteur and Salk are leaders in the first sense. People like Gandhi and Confucius, on one hand, and Alexander, Caesar and Hitler on the other, are leaders in the second and perhaps the third sense. Jesus and Buddha belong in the third category alone. Perhaps the greatest leader of all times was Mohammed, who combined all three functions. To a lesser degree, Moses did the same.”
Diwan Chand Sharma says in “The Prophets of the East”, Calcutta 1935, page 122:
"Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his influence was felt and never forgotten by those around him.”
John William Draper, M.D., L.L.D. in A History of the Intellectual Development of Europe, London 1875, Vol. 1, pp. 329-330
"Four years after the death of Justinian, A.D. 569, was born at Makkah, in Arabia the man who, of all men exercised the greatest influence upon the human race . .Mohammed . .”
John Austin, "Muhammad the Prophet of Allah,” in T.P.’s and Cassel’s Weekly for 24th September 1927: "In little more than a year he was actually the spiritual, nominal and temporal rule of Madinah, with his hands on the lever that was to shake the world.”
In the words of Prof. Hurgronje:
"The league of nations founded by the Prophet of Islam put the principle of international unity and human brotherhood on such universal foundations as to show candle to other nations.”
He continues: "The fact is that no nation of the world can show a parallel to what Islam has done towards the realization of the idea of the League of Nations.”
Annie Besant:
"It is impossible for anyone who studies the life and character of the great prophet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feel anything but reverence for that mighty Prophet, one of the great messengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall say many things which may be familiar to many, yet I myself feel whenever I re-read them, a new way of admiration, a new of reverence for that mighty Arabian teacher.”
The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, Madras 1932, page 4
Encyclopedia Britannica: "Muhammad is the most successful of all Prophets and religious personalities.”
Encyclopedia Britannica further confirms: "….a mass of detail in the early sources show that he was an honest and upright man who had gained the respect and loyalty of others who were like-wise honest and upright men.” (Vol. 12)
Rev. R. Bosworth-Smith in "Mohammed and Mohammedanism 1946:”
"By a fortune absolutely unique in history, Mohammed is a threefold founder of a nation, of an empire, and of a religion.”
Rev. R. Bosworth-Smith also says:
"Head of the State as well as the Church, he was Caesar and Pope in one; but, he was Pope without the Pope’s pretensions, and Caesar without the legions of Caesar, without a standing army, without a bodyguard, without a police force, without a fixed revenue. If ever a man had the right to say that he ruled by a right divine, it was Muhammad, for he had all the powers without their supports. He cared not for the dressings of power. The simplicity of his private life was in keeping with his public life.”