Muhammad: The Prophet Who Wasn’t
By Dean Olson
This is the first in a series of commentaries on Islam based on the historical texts of the faith. They include: the Qur’an, the Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of god as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic; the ahadith, plural of hadith, a collection of traditions containing sayings and deeds of the prophet Muhammad; and the sira, or the biographies of Muhammad.
It is important for believers to know the truth about Islam because there is a growing heretical impulse among Christianity that asserts Islam is one of the three Abrahamic faiths, the other two being Judaism and Christianity. In this view, Islam is simply an extension of Judaism and Christianity and all three faiths worship the same God.
Some Christian churches have unwisely flung open their doors to Islamic holy leaders and held interfaith services. In the rush to embrace Islam, many Christian religious leaders fail to realize or accept that the Arabic sermons they allow to be uttered in their churches denigrate their faith, and especially the death and resurrection of Jesus, marking them as infidels or unbelievers who must ultimately either be killed or enslaved. Often referred to as “soft jihad,” the overarching goal of these machinations is the surreptitious dismantling of western culture and the elimination of the US Constitution, and all of its freedoms including freedom of religion, until Shari’ah, Islam’s barbaric 7th Century code of justice, is imposed on the entire world.
As we near the rapture, Satan and his minions are ramping up efforts to wrest human souls from God’s warmth and light to the dark emptiness of unbelief or false belief. As prophesied in the Bible, the end of the age will not come until the great falling away, or apostasy, occurs (2 Thessalonians 2:1-3). Islam is a major tool in that apostasy and Satan’s war on Christianity. Christians need to know Islam to avoid abetting these evils.
Some background first. Islam is the second largest faith in the world. It is second only to Christianity in the number of adherents. Nearly one billion people claim the Muslim faith created by its prophet Muhammad in 7th century Arabia. Muhammad’s claim to prophet hood is one of two central tenets of Islam and forms a significant part of its shahada, Arabic for “testimony.” The shahada is the first of five pillars of the Islamic faith and forms the statement of faith for Muslims. It consists of two testimonials that declare belief in the oneness of god and the acceptance of Muhammad as god’s prophet, “There is no god but god. Muhammad is the messenger of god.”
Muhammad’s claim to being a prophet is critical to the validity of the Islamic faith. There are three good tests of legitimacy, among many Biblical measures, for those claiming to be a prophet. First, the initial encounter experiences with God should mirror that of prior prophets. The first test is easy to do. Evidence of Muhammad’s experiences is available from entirely Islamic sources including the biography of Muhammad, called the Sira of which Tabari’s version is well-regarded by Muslims, the Qur’an, Islam’s holy book that is roughly equivalent to the Bible in Christianity, and the sayings and deeds of Muhammad that comprise the ahadith (plural of hadith). None of them contain information that establishes the bona fides of Muhammad.
Muhammad’s claim to prophet hood stem from the repeated appearances of a spirit being that Muhammad claimed was Jibreel, Arabic for the archangel Gabriel. It all began when Muhammad was 40 years old when he meditated in a cave on Mt. Hira near Mecca. Quoting from the Hadith of Bukhari, 9.111: Narrated ‘Ayesha: “…suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him in it and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, “I do not know how to read.” (The Prophet added), “The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and again asked me to read, and I replied, “I do not know how to read,” whereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and asked me again to read, but again I replied, “I do not know how to read (or, what shall I read?).” Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me and then released me and said, “Read: In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that exists). Has created man from a clot. Read and Your Lord is Most Generous…up to….. ..that which he knew not.” (Qur’an 96.15)”
That initial encounter was so terrifying that Muhammad ran back to his wife Khadija “…his neck muscles twitching with terror…” Like a child, he begged his wife to cover him to hide him from the terror yelling, “Cover me! Cover me!” They covered him till his fear was over and then he said, “O Khadija, what is wrong with me?” and ‘I fear that something may happen to me” (Bukhari: Book 9: Volume 87, Hadith 111).
The incident was so terrifying and ever present in his mind that Muhammad tried to commit suicide several times by throwing himself from the top of a high mountain. Every time he did the spirit would appear before him and say, “O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah’s Apostle in truth” causing him to calm down and return home.
The visitations from the spirit continued to terrify Muhammad until they suddenly stopped for a time believed to have been 6 months to 3 years. When this happened, Tabari, volume 6 page 76, records: “The inspiration ceased to come to the messenger of God for a while, and he was deeply grieved. He began to go to the tops of mountain crags, in order to fling himself from them; but every time he reached the summit of a mountain, Gabriel appeared to him and said to him, “You are the Prophet of God.” Thereupon his anxiety would subside and he would come back to himself.
Contrast Muhammad’s experiences with those of the prophets of the Bible. In Genesis 6 Noah was warned by God that He intended to destroy the earth because of pervasive sin and contamination of the human gene pool with demon seed from the Nephilim. Unlike Muhammad, Noah did not panic. Nor did he become depressed or driven by fear to kill himself. Noah knew that this was God speaking to him so there was no need for rash action.
Similarly, the story of Abraham in Genesis 12 – 18 affirms that genuine prophets have no doubt that they are receiving messages from God. Abraham, like Noah, was not terrified. He did not panic nor was he confused or bewildered about whom or what he is speaking to. Abraham did not doubt or become depressed, he simply believed and obeyed. The truth of God’s presence was self-evident to both prophets.
In Luke 1 the Bible describes Mary’s visitation by the real Gabriel. She too was initially perplexed and afraid. But during her experience she gained confidence and strength and she knew that God loved her. Unlike Muhammad, she did not become irrational or depressed and she did not run around terrified out of her mind seeking to kill herself to stop the terror. Because she experienced the living God she knew that Gabriel was real and that she had nothing to fear. In God’s presence, Mary knew that she was loved and accepted. Unlike Muhammad’s terrifying experience that drove him to try to commit suicide over and over, God always edified and strengthened His prophets. God’s peace and love comfort legitimate prophets and eliminate all their fears.
A second test is the character of the person chosen. Because they speak for God, legitimate prophets are inspiring. They are notable because of their exceptional reverence, faith, kindness and character. In short, they act in godly ways. The pages of the Qur’an, the Sira and the ahadith drip with the blood of those tortured, killed and raped by Muhammad and his band of Muslims. Muhammad killed poor, innocent and helpless people and sexually abused all of the women his band of Muslims conquered.
In several incidents, Muhammad attacked peaceful villages to take booty. After overcoming all resistance, Muhammad and his brigands raped the wives and daughters in front of the males. Then they lined up the males in front of the women and beheaded them, afterwards enslaving the women. Muhammad often took the most beautiful women from among the conquered and divvied up many of the other females as rewards to his followers like so much cattle.
His uncontrollable urge to rape knew no bounds and included “marrying” a six year old child that he masturbated to by “thighing” her. I will leave it to your imagination what thighing involved, and a Google search will suffice. According to an official Fatwa (an official religious edict) issued in Saudi Arabia, the prophet Muhammad began to practice thighing on his child-bride, Ayesha when she was six years old until she reached nine years of age (Fatwa No. 31409). According to the fatwa, the prophet Muhammad could not have intercourse with Ayesha when she was six due to her small size and age. However, the fatwa said that at age six he would “thigh” the child “…because he did not want to harm her.” Imagine a fifty one year old man removing the clothes of a six-year-old girl and sexually abusing her. If that fact alone does not indict Islam as the satanic pseudo-religion it is, nothing will.
Islam also teaches that Muhammad is the best example of proper ethical and moral behavior for mankind, or “al Insan al-Kamil,” Arabic for “the person who has reached perfection.” Numerous ahadith and Qur’an verses affirm this including, “Ye have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful pattern (of conduct) for any one whose hope is in Allah and the Final Day, and who engages much in the Praise of Allah” (Qur’an 33:21). Muhammad is the model against whom a Muslim’s conduct is to be measured. In other words, if Muhammad did it so should they. In the sick world that is Islam, to this day thighing a child is considered a benevolent act on the part of an adult male “not wanting to harm the child.”
Ayesha was not Muhammad’s only intended child sex victim. There are ahadith that reveal he also laid claim to at least two other infants among the children of his followers. His death was the only thing that prevented him from perpetrating another series of perverse sexual crimes upon other children. “Muhammad saw Um Habiba the daughter of Abbas while she was still nursing and he said, ‘If she grows up while I am still alive, I will marry her.'” (Musnad Ahmad, Number 25636). Similarly, according to Ibn Ishaq’s sira or biography of Muhammad, “The Life of Muhammad: A Translation of Ishaq’s Sirat Rasul Allah,” translated by A. Guillaume, Oxford University Press, Karachi, p. 311, Muhammad staked a claim to another infant while she was still a baby. “…the apostle saw…Ummu’l Fadl…when she was a baby crawling before him and said, ‘If she grows up and I am still alive I will marry her.'” Luckily for both infants Muhammad died before he could act on his unnatural impulses after being poisoned by one of the female slaves he had raped.
Instead of helping the suffering people in the harsh, unforgiving environment of 7th century Arabia, Muhammad and his brigands attacked and destroyed well-settled, peaceful communities, destroying water wells – a particularly despicable act due to the scarcity of water, burning orchards and crops, capturing their lands and making the captured children and women slaves. He committed mass murder and slaughtered innocents, especially Jewish tribes, in genocidal rage.
One of Muhammad’s most brutal acts involved a prisoner named Kinana. Kinana was one of the leaders of the Jewish clan of Banu Nadir of the village of Khaibar. The Jews there were primarily farmers and posed no threat to Muhammad. Khaibar was known to have some of the best date palm orchards in the region. The Jews there were prosperous and wealthy because they had worked hard and earned it, unlike Muhammad and his brigands who raided caravans and attacked peaceful villages to murder, rape and pillage the wealth of others.
Muhammad wanted Kinana to reveal where some buried treasure was hidden. When Kinana refused Muhammad had him tortured to the point of death then had him beheaded. Also from “Sirat Rasulallah” – “Life of the Prophet of Allah” page 515: “Kinana al-Rabi, who had the custody of the treasure of Banu Nadir, was brought to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was…When the apostle said to Kinana, “Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?” He said “Yes”. The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders to…”Torture him until you extract what he has.” So he kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for his brother Mahmud (who had been killed attacking the village).”
In ten years Muhammad ordered a score of assassinations of those whose only crime was to compose poetry critical of him. And he conducted seventy-five terrorist raids using the sword to force Arabs into submission. Proof that their submission was entirely coerced surfaced immediately following Muhammad’s death. The Ridda wars, also known as the Wars of Apostasy, were a series of military campaigns launched by Muhammad’s successor Abu Bakr against Arabian tribes that rebelled following Muhammad’s death. There is nothing godly about Muhammad and his leadership after he gained strength by migrating to Yathrib, later renamed Medina, “city of the prophet” in his honor.
A third test of legitimacy is miracles. The bible contains numerous examples of miracles performed by God for legitimate prophets. Perhaps the most famous are those of Daniel. They include the three boys in midst of the fire in Daniel 3; the handwriting on the wall in Chapter 5; and Daniel in the lions’ den in chapter 6. The prophet Elisha performed 32 miracles while Elijah performed 16.
Contrast that with Muhammad. He repeatedly denied being able to perform any miracle, admitting that although other prophets before him were given the power of performing miracles, his only miracle is the Qur’an: (Bukhari: Volume 9, Book 92, Number 379) Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, “There was no prophet among the prophets but was given miracles because of which people had security or had belief, but what I was given was the Divine Inspiration which Allah revealed to me. So I hope that my followers will be more than those of any other prophet on the Day of Resurrection.”
Those who knew Muhammad best, his contemporaries, were not impressed and openly ridiculed his claims to prophet hood. People doubted Muhammad because they saw nothing extraordinary or miraculous in him. Qur’an, 17:94, “And naught prevented mankind from believing when the guidance came unto them save that they said: Hath Allah sent a mortal as (His) messenger?” Qur’an 25: 7, “And they say: “What sort of a messenger is this, who eats food, and walks through the streets? Why has not an angel been sent down to him to give admonition with him? Qur’an, 15: 06, “They say: “O thou to whom the Message is being revealed! truly thou art mad (or possessed)!”
Muhammad’s feeble attempt to counter these attacks was to acknowledge that other prophets before him came with miracles or clear signs but still people rejected them, highlighting the futility of miracles as the proof of his revelation. Qur’an, 03: 138, “They (also) said: “Allah took our promise not to believe in an messenger unless He showed us a sacrifice consumed by Fire (From heaven).” Say: “There came to you messengers before me, with clear Signs and even with what ye ask for: why then did ye slay them, if ye speak the truth?”
When his fellow tribal members persisted, Muhammad changed his position claiming that he was sent only as a warner. Qur’an, 13: 07 “And the Unbelievers say: “Why is not a sign sent down to him from his Lord?” But thou art truly a warner, and to every people a guide.” A clear proof that Muhammad never performed any miracles is in this verse where says that people rejected even other messengers who came with miracles and clear signs, meaning miracles are not helpful. Qur’an 3: 184 “Then if they reject thee, so were rejected messengers before thee, who came with Clear Signs, Books of dark prophecies, and the Book of Enlightenment.”
The lack of esteem his contemporaries held for Muhammad was evident in the fact that they ridiculed him calling him a “sorcerer, spitting and blowing,” an “insane poet – preaching in rhyme,” and “demon possessed – whispering delirium.” Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad, p. 121. The Meccans who knew Muhammad all of his life were also bothered by his timing. If Muhammad was a prophet sent by Allah, then why didn’t he reveal the truth about Islam when he was a child or young adult? Why did he waste the best part of his life waiting until he was 40 years old to reveal Islam. They were bothered that this so-called prophet lived the vast part of his life as a non-Muslim idolater worshipping the same pagan gods they did.
In subsequent commentaries I will continue to examine the reality of Islam including its deplorable treatment of women, how Islam’s god Allah cannot be the same as Yahweh of the Bible, and others.
Maranatha!
Dean T. Olson, Omaha
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