What Thomas Carlyle said about Muhammad?

Muhammad before his ProphethoodNon-Violence.
  
Up to the age of forty, Muhammad was notSpeaking on the character of Muhammad,
known as a statesman, a parson a spokesman orMahatma Gandhi says in (Young India):
a lecturer.  He was never seen discussing the"I wanted to know the best of one who holds
principles of metaphysics, beliefs, moral principles,today's undisputed sway over the hearts of
ethics, law, politics, economics or sociology.millions of mankind....I became more than
His Pagan people knew that he possessed anconvinced that it was not the sword that won a
excellent personality, pleasant manners and Heplace for Islam in those days in the scheme of
was well known as an honest and a trustworthylife. It was the rigid simplicity, the utter
man.  His people used to call him the trustworthyself-effacement of the Prophet, the scrupulous
honest man.regard for his pledges, his intense devotion to this
Nevertheless, there was nothing in his manner offriends and followers, his intrepidity, his
life that would make his people expectingfearlessness, his absolute trust in God and in his
something great and revolutionary from him in theown mission. These and not the sword carried
future.everything before them and surmounted every
 obstacle. When I closed the 2nd volume (of the
Muhammad after the age of fortyProphet's biography), I was sorry there was not
At the age of forty, the Angel Gabriel revealedmore for me to read of the great life."
unto Muhammad the first seven verses of the 
Quran which are:On the other hand, Diwan Chand Sharma, a Hindu
1) "Read (O prophet Muhammad) in the name ofscholar wrote [in his book "The Prophets of the
thy lord and cherisher, it is He who created,East," Calcutta 1935, p. 122.],
2) Created man from "Alaq"."Muhammad was the soul of kindness, and his
3) Read! And thy lord is most bountiful, is theinfluence was felt and never forgotten by those
most generous,around him."
4) He who taught (the use of) the pen, 
5) Taught the human what he did not know."Thomas Carlyle (1795 –1881) was a Scottish
 satirical writer, essayist, historian and teacher
Since then, Muhammad has completelyduring the Victorian era. He called economics "the
transformed.dismal science", wrote articles for the Edinburgh
Logically-wise, it is not possible for such a personEncyclopedia, and became a controversial social
of the above qualities to turn all of a sudden intocommentator.
a liar and claim that he is the Prophet of Allah andOn Heroes and Hero Worship and the Heroic in
stimulate all the wrath of his people againstHistory also accorded a key function to heroes
himself.and great men in history. Carlyle centered history
His people offered to accept him as their King, toon the biography of a few central individuals.
give him all the money he wants, to give him all 
the noble women he wants to marry them andThomas Carlyle, in his book (Heroes and
he would leave the preaching of his religion. But heHeroworship), was too amazed to say: "how one
chose to refuse their tempting offers and go onman single-handedly, could weld warring tribes and
preaching his religion single-handedly in face of allwandering Bedouins into a most powerful and
kinds of insults, social boycott and even physicalcivilized nation in less than two decades."
assault by his own people. 
Muhammad stood like a mountain in the face of all 
opposition and conspiracies to eliminate himThe Encyclopædia Britannica is a general
Muhammad was but a human being.  He was aEnglish-language encyclopedia that is regarded as
man with a mission, which was to unite humanitythe most scholarly of encyclopedias.
on the worship of One and Only One God and toArticles are aimed at educated people, and
teach them the way to honest and upright livingwritten by about 100 full-time editors and more
based on the commands of God.  He alwaysthan 4,000 expert contributors.
described himself as, "A Servant and Messenger 
of God".The Encyclopædia Britannica says:
 "....a mass of detail in the early sources show that
 he was an honest and upright man who had
This article presents what Mahatma Gandhi,gained the respect and loyalty of others who
Thomas Carlyle, Diwan Chand Sharma andwere like-wise honest and upright men."
Encyclopedia Britannica said about the Prophet(Vol. 12)
Muhammad  
  
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869 –1948)Appendix
was the pre-eminent political and spiritual leader ofIt is interesting that
India during the Indian independence movement.- The first revealed word of the Quran was
He was the pioneer of mass civil disobedience, a"Read".
philosophy firmly founded upon total- The last word in the first revealed five verses
nonviolence—which led India to independencewas "Know".
and inspired movements for civil rights and- The Arabic word pronounced as "Alaq" is
freedom across the world. Gandhi is commonlytranslated to blood clot; however, in Arabic
known around the world as Mahatma Gandhi ordictionary, it has 37 different meanings and all of
"Great Soul". He is officially honored in India as thethem fit for the creation and nature of man. 
Father of the Nation; his birthday, 2 October, isThe meanings of "Alaq" will be given in a separate
commemorated there as Gandhi a national holiday,article.
and worldwide as the International Day of