I’ve been wanting to write about this topic for a long time, but never got around to doing it. Inshallah, this week begins the start of a new project.
I first thought about creating a list of the most influential Muslims several years ago when I read a Time (or Newsweek, I forget) magazine article about the most influential people of the year (I think it was 2003).
There weren’t too many Muslims on that list, of course. But I was most shocked to see that Murtad Ayaan Hirsi Ali on that list.
How on earth does a woman whose only claim to fame is leaving Islam, become one of the most influential people on the planet? What has she done that was so great? Besides herself, who has she helped? Who benefits from her writings, beside herself and her publisher?
Besides, I bet most people in the world have probably never even heard of her.
This list upset me very much as it showed a great imbalance of bias towards Muslims. There are many Muslims, even here in America, who hold more sway over others than Ayaan Hirsi Ali ever could.
Anyway, that’s enough ranting for now. After seeing that list I decided it was time to create my own list of the most influential Muslims. But I didn’t want to use people who were popular or in power at the moment. I wanted to use historical figures. I wanted to create a list of the most influential Muslims of all time.
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My criteria for inclusion in this list are quite simple.
- The person must have been Muslim (Sunni or Shiite).
- And they must be dead.
Therefore, people who belonged to heretical sects like the Ahmadiyyahs or Nation of Islam would not be included.
And the person must be dead so we know that he or she died while still Muslim. Though unlikely, I wanted to avoid the possibility of including someone on this list who might leave Islam later in life.
This list is far from complete, but here are the names I’ve compiled so far:
- Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessing be upon him)
- Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Umar ibn Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Uthman ibn Affan (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him)
- Fatima bint Muhammad (may Allah be pleased with her)
- Aisha bint Abi Bakr (may Allah be pleased with her)
- Imam Malik (may Allah have mercy on him)
- Imam Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him)
- Imam Shafi (may Allah have mercy on him)
- Imam Hanbali (may Allah have mercy on him)
- Imam Bukhari (may Allah have mercy on him)
- Imam Muslim (may Allah have mercy on him)
- Salahuddin Al Ayyubi (may Allah have mercy on him)
- King Faisal ibn Abdul Aziz
- Ayatollah Khomeini
- Gamal Abdel Nasser
- Malcolm X
Do you have any other suggestions that I may have left out? If so, please let me know.
I am an American Muslim. I was born Muslim, but both of my parents were born Christian. I grew up mostly in Brooklyn, New York. Let me first tell you that I love Islam. I have studied Islam in West Africa and Darul Uloom...
How about Rumi & Nusrat Fateh ali Khan?
Thanks, I’ll consider them both. Rumi I’ve heard of. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan I haven’t, so I’ll have to do some research.
You should definitely put up Khalid Ibn Waleed (radhiAllahu anhu), who was the Muslim general that never lost a battle.
Inshallah, Khalid Ibn Waleed is definitely on the list.
How about adding the 2 great Pakistanis , that are Allama Iqbal who is , known as the poet of the East , a person who is considered to have provided great services for Islam by Many especially in Pakistan & India where more than 1/5 of the Muslim population lives , than The founder of Pakistan Qauid-e-Azam Muhammad ALi Jinnah , a leader declared as Max Weber List of Charismatic leaders , the person who founded the only country in the name of Islam , one of the greatest lawyers of Indian History , a person who made country get independence in just a span of 7 years when it seemed completely impossible even than it was created , Think of it Brp
Muhammad Ali Jinnah certainly deserves to be on the list; no doubt about it. I’ve heard of Allama Iqbal but not very familiar with his life or works. I’ll have to do more research on him.
Please Add Imam Hussain R.A,
Sheikh Abdul Qadir Jeelani R.A. of Baghdad,
Altutmash R.A. , Indian Ruler
Emperor Akbar of India???The most enlightened of rulers of his time….
jesus? or moses? they were in theory muslims
what of imam al ghazali
what about sheikh abdullah[the lion of kashmir]
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You have lest a lot of great muslims from this list…there are so many Sahabas that are missing… Abdur Rehman Bin Awf, Bilal Habshi, Zayd Bin Thabit, Abu Hurairah, Saad ibn Muwad, Anab ibn Malik, and the list goes on, may Allah have mercy on all of them.
and You should include Ibn Tayimiyah , Ibn Katheer, Ibn Qayyum, Muhammad bin Abdul Wahab, Nassir ud din Albani,
please review you list….there are lots of great great muslims missing…
As-Salaamu Alaikum Wajih Naeem,
You are right, there are a lot of Sahabah that belong on this list. My dilemma was that I wanted to include more recent Muslims yet still keep the list fairly short. If I include every great Sahaba and scholar from the first 3 generations, there would be no room for anyone else.
If you have any suggestions on how to deal with this, I’d be happy to hear them.
no imam hussain?
I dont think anyone who support american attack of another muslim state should be on the list. The Prophet (P.B.O.H) will be shaking his head for the way Saudi Arabia is been govern the country should have remain neutral after all it is the holy land on Muslim all over the world.
The only Saudi I have here is King Faisal who initiated the oil blockade against the US back in the 70′s due to their support of Israel. I disagree with many of Saudi Arabia’s policies also, but King Faisal was one who was willing to stand against the US using whatever leverage he had.