Who was the most influential person in the whole human history?

[TimeToScoot]

My father was the most influential man as far as I'm concerned

On a serious note this is a subjective question and some names that come to my mind are Gandhi, Buddha, Tesla and Einstein.

 

[TeesraIndiotHunter]

I always highly respect our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) but he did a big mistake by treating Banu Quraiza Jews harshly in his lifetime. I don't get why he was so against the Jews. Other than that I feel a person who has atleast 1.5 billion followers in the world must be a man who can only be a true messenger of God. Jesus (pbuh) and Muhammad (pbuh) both are more or less in same status as the most influential but if I had to pick one I would always pick Muhammad (pbuh).

Are you a Muslim or just another internet propaganda reader? Because if you are Muslim then did you take BASIC Islamic studies in 3rd grade?

Banu Quraiza were judged according to Jewish Law on their own demand. Were they not? They were not even judged by Muhammad, but a Jewish Rabbi...remember? So how come "Muhammad" was against Jews? Or you never even read the Banu Quraiza event and just read internet sites where christians leave out all the details and just bash muhammad for the sake of it?

Moses was a religious and secular leader, that brought forth the first set of laws from God.
This includes the ONE GOD concept which is the basis of Judaism, Christendom and finally Islam.

If you believe in the existance of Adam and Eve, then Eve must have had the most influence.

If you argue that Muhammed has the most influence, consider what would have happened
if Muhammeds father would have decided to marry someone else. That is quite an influence,
although not so obvious.

Most people know by heart that the most influential person in history is "Your Wife".

One God concept comes from ancient Egypt, not from Moses. Yes, Moses preached it, but he wasn't the first man in history to develop the idea of monotheism.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

That is sad if he is your most influential historical character.

Anyways,


Well the problem here is that we are talking about "single" most influential person of history.

Things like "Fire, seed, invention of agriculture" etc can not be attributed to "one, known man" ...but rather early homo sapiens stumbled upon them. So 'one-man' from early homo sapiens can't be regarded as influential..U see what I'm saying?

Moreover, influence is something that has to be intentional...Newton some-what "intentionally" created his science to discover the secrets of universe...Muhammad intentionally did what he did to achieve certain goals/objectives in particular pivot in history...

Early homo-sapiens didn't intentionally influence anything--including their stumbling upon fire or agriculture. And again, it goes back to the point that it wasn't one-man who invented agriculture or discovered fire from his/her efforts.



Not really.

Each human individual is influenced by alot of things. But we have to judge him by the influence he had/has on humanity.

For example, it is quite possible that Bill Gates was influenced by his high school Math teacher..and this led Bill Gates to the path of computer science where he changed the world.

Now, we can't say "Math teacher of Bill Gates was more influential because if he wasn't there, we couldn't have a Bill gates interested in Computer Science" ...You see my point?

It doesn't matter if Moses came first or not---only thing that matters is the influence Moses, Jesus, Muhammad, Newton, and others had on the humanity.

And this is where Muhammad easily cruise on the top of the list as I explained in this post

The one god concept is introduced by Moses. He is the Revolutionary which is establishing the connection
between humans and God through the ten commandments.
Muhammed is Evolutionary, and only the last (according to Islam) in a series of prophets.

So my vote is still on Moses, both secular and religious leader (like Caesar and Henry VIII)

Anyway, both are as unimportant.
You do not credit a loudspeaker for beautiful music, you credit the artist and the writer.

 

[IamBengali]

Are you a Muslim or just another internet propaganda reader? Because if you are Muslim then did you take BASIC Islamic studies in 3rd grade?

Banu Quraiza were judged according to Jewish Law on their own demand. Were they not? They were not even judged by Muhammad, but a Jewish Rabbi...remember? So how come "Muhammad" was against Jews? Or you never even read the Banu Quraiza event and just read internet sites where christians leave out all the details and just bash muhammad for the sake of it?

I think this is the only dark part of the history. I always feel Prophet should have been more merciful towards the Jews since Allah said you are sent as mercy to all human and living beings in the world.

Banu Quraiza was alleged to be involved in conspiracy against Muslims by joining hands with Quraish tribe but for this allegation almost 600-900 were slaughtered in one day. Prophet should have shown some mercy beacuse it was just an allegation and even if they were involved with Quraish tribe the punishment should not have been so harsh.

Its written in Hadiths. I have read all hadiths regarding Banu Quraiza. Being a Muslim I can say I support prophet for whatever he did to the Jews but as a neutral person I think prophet did a big mistake by not showing some mercy to those Jews. He was not Adolf Hitler. He was God's messenger. He showed mercy to a donkey, a dog but was harsh towards Banu Quraiza Jews.

Anyways, apart from this one incident I always feel Prophet was the most influential and most successful in his leadership.

 

[TeesraIndiotHunter]

The one god concept is introduced by Moses.

You are not very well-versed in history then.

He is the Revolutionary which is establishing the connection
between humans and God through the ten commandments.

Personal opinion. Not a secular, historical fact.

So my vote i still on Moses, both secular and religious leader (like Caesar and Henry VIII)

Writing Moses and Henry VIII in the same line? I was right. You aren't very well-verse in history.

I think this is the only dark part of the history. I always feel Prophet should have been more merciful towards the Jews since Allah said you are sent as mercy to all human and living beings in the world.

Banu Quraiza was alleged to be involved in conspiracy against Muslims by joining hands with Quraish tribe but for this allegation almost 600-900 were slaughtered in one day. Prophet should have shown some mercy beacuse it was just an allegation and even if they were involved with Quraish tribe the punishment should not have been so harsh.

Its written in Hadiths. I have read all hadiths regarding Banu Quraiza. Being a Muslim I can say I support prophet for whatever he did to the Jews but as a neutral person I think prophet did a big mistake by not showing some mercy to those Jews. He was not Adolf Hitler. He was God's messenger. He showed mercy to a donkey, a dog but was harsh towards Banu Quraiza' Jews.

Anyways, apart from this one incident I always feel Prophet was the most influential and most successful in his leadership.

Yeah but again, as I said, it was Muhammad who ordered the punishment. It were the Jews themselves who requested Muhammad to judge them not according to Islam, but according to Jewish law...and Muhammad appointed a Rabi (well-trained man in Jewish law) to handle the issue.

What happened afterwards was according to Jewish Law and the wishes of the jews of Banu Quraiza.

That is the whole story...You can still criticize/disagree with Muhammad on the issue. But don't say "Muhammad killed 900 jews..or ordered the killings of them blah blah"..because historically, that isn't accurate...

 

[Skull and Bones]

Has to be Newton.

 

[TeesraIndiotHunter]

Has to be Newton.

Newton and Karl Marx are the toughest contenders to Muhammad for number# 1 spot.

We discussed that already...See and the This Post

..............and the follow up response specially by Austerlitz.

 

[A.P. Richelieu]

You are not very well-versed in history then.


Personal opinion. Not a secular, historical fact.



Writing Moses and Henry VIII in the same line? I was right. You aren't very well-verse in history.


...

While Moses did not invent the "One God" concept
so I think that the 10 commandments and the bond formed
with the people of Israel, is the key event leading to the three religions.
Muhammed is only doing what Moses did, but in much higher detail,
and has less influence, since he affects less people.

You may of course think different.

Henry VIII created the Church of England with him on top, but is very different, since he only did so to have his way with women.
Caesar was both Dictator and Pontifex Maximus, so there is nothing unique about beeing a secular and religious leader.

 

[utraash]

Buddha undoubtedly .... no war no bloodshed no hate for others still he has followers in entire globe living peacefully n spreading his message. .. ........
Second is mother Teresa a lady who served her whole life for humanity. ......
Third is swami vivekanand .......

Fourth Jesus without fighting a single war he has largest follower on earth.....
Fifth martin Luther. ...
Sixth Abraham Lincoln
Seven George Washington....

APJ ABDUL KALAM......

 

[TeesraIndiotHunter]

Interesting thread...I'll like to add my two cents.


Most influential person in recorded human history till now?

Muhammad


Explanation of choice:

Well, there is literally no person that Muhammad can be compared to in entire history. He is THE most "uniquest" historical character of history (I know uniquest isn't correct use of English--but just to emphasize my point).

The remarkable fact about Muhammad was that he was one of the most influential religious and secular leader of human kind. This combination is unmatched by any other human being in history.

For example, Newton was one of the most influential person too---but in secular terms. Similarly, Buddha was really influential too--but in religious terms. Same goes for almost every historical character whether Einstein, inventor of paper, or Napolean. All of them were either 'secular' influential historical characters (like Alexander, Newton, or Ceasar) or 'religious' influential historical character (Like Buddha, Jesus, Abraham, Guru Nanak and so on).

Muhammad was THE only man to have ever walked on Earth was cosmically influential both in religious and secular terms.

By most accounts, the 'closest' competitor to Muhammad's global historical influence would be Jesus.

How about we take away the religious side of Muhammad and then compare it to Jesus? Muhammad, even as a secular political leader, dwarfs Jesus' over-all influence.

- For example, Muhammad wrote/dictated one of the most influential text of history...Qur'an...did Jesus write anything? No. Jesus did not even know about a book called 'bible' because bible was written by numerous people over many years. Muhammad's writing influences billions of people "directly" and it almost influences entire human race indirectly.

- Muhammad was a also political leader who united Arabs under one banner for the first time in their history, and this changed the historical pivot of history within decades (as Arabs conquered/defeated Persians and Romans (two super powers of their era) and turned the existing world order upside down)..and this event is one of the most influential historical event..and Muhammad directly orchestrated it by uniting and inspiring Arabs to conquer superpowers of the time. What was Jesus' political achievements and historical influence? Zilch. Jesus never became a political leader.

Muhammad is one of the greatest/most influential law giver to humanity. Shari'a Law, which directly influences 25% to 30% of humanity, is derived, for the most part, from Muhammad's writings (Qur'an), his example (Sunnah), and his sayings/philosophy (Hadith). All of it are direct works of Muhammad or directly comes from Muhammad. Therefore, Muhammad's sculpture is placed in U.S supreme court as a recognition of him being one of the greatest/ most influential law giver of humanity. Does Jesus have this kind of legal influence on humanity? Nopes.

Also, militarily, it was Muhammad, like Changez Khan, who inspired the great Arab conquests. Khalid, for example, was called 'The sword of God' by people..A title directly given to him by Muhammad. Muhammad recognized people's abilities and gave them best suitable roles, which resulted in remarkable results. The Great Arab military conquests were a direct result of Muhammad inspiration as he predicted that Muslims will "conquer Rome and Persia"... Again, where does Jesus stand in this category? Again, no where. He never became a military leader.


----and add to this the religious accomplishment of the man. Founder of the one of the largest, one of the most global religion out there. Moreover, Muhammad's influence on Islam was much greater than Jesus' influence on Christianity--since Christian theology was developed mainly by Saint Paul and not Jesus himself.

One other interesting point that I often thought of..

Muhammad is by far the single-most greatest individual behavioral influence in history of mankind.

This is what I mean by it..

Billions of people emulate him, try to dress like him or his prescribed dress-code, try to follow laws written by him..even on personal level like cleaning/hygiene/food etc, and heck, even try to emulate his appearance (Millions of Muslim men have beard only because "The Prophet" had it). Such direct grand behavioral influence on humanity on daily basis can not be attributed to any other man in entire history but Muhammad.

Therefore, it is not only me but also scholars like Michael H. Hart who wrote a book on "100 most influential people of history" also ranked Muhammad as number one.

And if anyone here think that Hart, an American Astrophysicist, was biased (which is unbelievable since he wasn't even Muslim or Arab), then I present you with this..

57 Swedish experts worked on a scholarly encyclopedia...That panel involved historians, scientists, journalists, sociologists etc....and in that encyclopedia, they published a list of 50 most important persons of human history... and even in this list.... Muhammad is ranked number one.

=================

I purposely did not write "Prophet" Muhammad because here I'm purely talking from an historical, factual, secular perspective

What do you think?

@AUSTERLITZ You are really into history...what do you think of my post? A neutral perspective on the issue is welcomed. Does my reasoning for placing Muhammad above others come out as somewhat sound to you? Or you see a clear, fanatical bias? (which I don't see but I'll you'll be most welcomed to point out so I can enhance by view)

Remember, influence is a neutral measure here. No one is claiming Muhammad to be the best or greatest person etc....just influence is being discussed.

You guys can also read my post

@Aeronaut @Zarvan @Hazzy997 @Jungibaaz @al-Hasani @Slav Defence @DESERT FIGHTER @KingMamba, @Wholegrain @RazPaK @Armstrong @cb4 @qamar1990 @BATMAN @Panther 57 @Secur @WebMaster @Zakii @Last Hope @Luftwaffe @Neptune @Arabian Knight @Pakistanisage @RescueRanger @Yzd Khalifa @nuclearpak @SOHEIL @Leader @Jazzbot @Juice @Infoman @Hyperion @gambit

 

[Neptune]

Great posts I've read. Personally, I believe it's ourselves. For me, the most influential person of my life would be my childhood teenage years

 

[queerbait]

newton, einstein, genghiz khan, indira gandhi, hitler, muhummad, jesus,Constantinople(He actually spread Christianity).....hard to choose any one from them.

 

[AUSTERLITZ]

newton, einstein, genghiz khan, indira gandhi, hitler, muhummad, jesus,Constantinople(He actually spread Christianity).....hard to choose any one from them.

Constantinopole.................Well u really massacred it there.Constantinopole is the old name of current istanbul,its a city not a person.Its named after constantine the great,an ancient roman emperor who first made christianity official religion of the empire.Polis is greek word for city like pur or nagar in sanskrit and its derivatives.Constantinopol is constantine's polis or constantine's city as he made the previously known byzantium the capital of the roman empire and renamed it constantinopole.Lol,thanks for the laugh..Also i ROFLed when i read indira gandhi.

 

[TeesraIndiotHunter]

Constantinopole.................Well u really massacred it there.Constantinopole is the old name of current istanbul,its a city not a person.Its named after constantine the great,an ancient roman emperor who first made christianity official religion of the empire.Polis is greek word for city like pur or nagar in sanskrit and its derivatives.Constantinopol is constantine's polis or constantine's city as he made the previously known byzantium the capital of the roman empire and renamed it constantinopole.Lol,thanks for the laugh..Also i ROFLed when i read indira gandhi.

Thats why I tagged you and other posters. I hoped that only senior, well-seasoned member will see it. But alas, same old bunch of kids writing nothing but their personal opinions backed by no reasoning or analytical construction.

 

[queerbait]

Constantinopole.................Well u really massacred it there.Constantinopole is the old name of current istanbul,its a city not a person.Its named after constantine the great,an ancient roman emperor who first made christianity official religion of the empire.Polis is greek word for city like pur or nagar in sanskrit and its derivatives.Constantinopol is constantine's polis or constantine's city as he made the previously known byzantium the capital of the roman empire and renamed it constantinopole.Lol,thanks for the laugh..Also i ROFLed when i read indira gandhi.

yup you are right...constantine, srry and thanks for pointing it out