The Ultimate Gentleman: A Global Search

Prophet Muhammad is considered by many to be the greatest man ever. Born in Saudi Arabia in the city of Makkah around 1400 years ago, he is regarded as a central figure in the Islamic faith. Prophet Muhammad is described as having excellent morals and manners, as well as being a wise teacher, a successful leader, a kind and compassionate father, and a strong messenger of peace and Islam. His character is revered by both Islamic and non-Islamic circles, and he is remembered for his selflessness, generosity, and pleasantness.

Prophet Muhammad

Muhammad was an orphan, losing his father, Abdullah, before his birth and his mother, Amina, when he was six years old. He was raised by his grandfather, Abdul-Muttalib, and later his uncle, Abu Talib. As a young man, Muhammad worked as a shepherd and a trader, and he was known for his honesty and trustworthiness. At 25, he married Khadija, a wealthy businesswoman, and remained monogamous with her until her death.

Muhammad began receiving revelations from Allah at 40, conveyed to him by the angel Gabriel. He started preaching these revelations publicly, proclaiming the oneness of God and that complete submission to God (Islam) is the right way of life. He gained a small following, but his teachings were met with opposition from the Meccan polytheists, who persecuted his followers for 13 years.

In 622 CE, Muhammad and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina, an event known as the Hijrah, which marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad established the Islamic state and united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina. He also led military campaigns against the Meccan tribes, ultimately seizing control of the city in 630 CE with minimal casualties.

Muhammad is described as having excellent morals and manners. He was kind to children, considerate of women, orphans, and animals, and generous to those in need. He was also a successful political and military leader, a teacher, and a role model for Muslims, teaching them how to maintain a connection with Allah and spreading the message of peace and monotheism.

Muhammad passed away in 632 CE, and by that time, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam. Today, he is regarded as the greatest man in history by Muslims and is known for his selflessness, wisdom, and pleasant demeanour.

Isaac Newton

Newton was born in Woolsthorpe, Lincolnshire, England, three months after his father, also named Isaac Newton, died. His mother, Hannah Ayscough, remarried when he was a child, and Newton was sent to live with his grandmother. He was educated at The King's School in Grantham, and later attended Trinity College at the University of Cambridge. At Cambridge, Newton was exposed to the works of Aristotle, Descartes, Galileo Galilei, and Thomas Street. During his time at the university, he developed a passion for mathematics and modern analysis, discovering the binomial theorem and laying the foundations for calculus.

Newton's work on calculus, or what he called ''fluxions,' led to a dispute with German mathematician Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who had also developed calculus independently. Despite this controversy, Newton's work in mathematics, physics, and astronomy is considered groundbreaking. He formulated the laws of motion and universal gravitation, which formed the dominant scientific viewpoint for centuries. Newton's inference that the Earth is an oblate spheroid was later confirmed, and his work on light and optics, detailed in his book 'Opticks' (1704), led to the development of modern physical optics.

In addition to his scientific pursuits, Newton dedicated much of his time to the study of alchemy and biblical chronology. He also served as a Member of Parliament for the University of Cambridge and was knighted by Queen Anne in 1705. He spent the last three decades of his life in London, serving as Warden and Master of the Royal Mint, and as president of the Royal Society.

Jesus Christ

Jesus was born to Mary, wife of Joseph, in Bethlehem. He was born in a manger as there was no room at the inn. His birth is celebrated annually on the 25th of December as Christmas.

Jesus was an itinerant teacher who interpreted the law of God with divine authority and was often referred to as "rabbi". He gathered twelve apostles and performed miracles such as healing the sick and feeding the multitude. He was crucified on the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judaea.

After his death, his followers became convinced that he rose from the dead, and the community they formed eventually became the early Christian Church. Jesus is believed to have founded the Christian Church, and his teachings continue to influence the course of human history.

Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE. He is the founder of Buddhism, one of the major religions and philosophical systems of southern and eastern Asia and of the world. The title 'Buddha' means 'awakened one' or 'enlightened one' and is conferred on an individual who discovers the path to nirvana, the cessation of suffering, and propagates that discovery so that others may also achieve nirvana.

The Buddha was born in Lumbini, near Kapilavastu, in the Shakya republic, Kosala kingdom (now in Nepal) to royal parents of the Shakya clan. His given name, Siddhartha, means 'he who achieves his goal'. The Shakya community was on the periphery, both geographically and culturally, of the eastern Indian subcontinent in the 5th century BCE. The Buddha's father was an elected chief of the Shakya clan.

The Buddha lived to the age of 80. He abandoned his comfortable life as a householder, as well as his wife and young son, in order to seek a solution to the problem of existential suffering. He first took up with a number of wandering ascetics who claimed to know the path to liberation from suffering but found their teachings unsatisfactory. He then struck out on his own and, through a combination of insight and meditational practice, attained the state of enlightenment, which is said to represent the cessation of all further suffering. The Buddha then devoted the remaining 45 years of his life to teaching others the insights and techniques that led him to this achievement.

The Buddha's basic teachings are usually summarised using the device of the Four Noble Truths:

• There is the origination of suffering.
• There is the cessation of suffering.
• There is a path to the cessation of suffering.
• The first of these claims might seem obvious, even when 'suffering' is understood to mean not mere pain but existential suffering, the sort of frustration, alienation and despair that arise out of our experience of transitoriness.

The Buddha's teachings formed the basis of a philosophical tradition that developed and defended a variety of sophisticated theories in metaphysics and epistemology. The ultimate aim of the Buddha's teachings is to help individuals attain the good life. His analysis of the source of suffering centrally involves claims concerning the nature of persons, as well as how we acquire knowledge about the world and our place in it.

Confucius

Confucianism emphasises personal and governmental morality, harmonious social relationships, righteousness, kindness, sincerity, and a ruler's responsibilities to lead by virtue. Confucius considered himself a transmitter of the values of earlier periods, which he believed had been abandoned in his time. He advocated for filial piety, endorsing strong family loyalty, ancestor veneration, the respect of elders by their children and of husbands by their wives. He recommended a robust family unit as the cornerstone for an ideal government.

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