This man stood a little higher than average. He was sturdily built with broad shoulders and long muscular limbshe was proportionate, with neither a head too small nor a stomach too large. He had a head of long, black hair, with some waves in it as it stretched down between his earlobes and shoulders. His face was slightly rounded, and he had a thick, dark, full rounded beard. His large eyes were a very dark brown, almost black, and his eyelashes were curved, long and thick. His dress consisted of a shirt, trousers, a sheet thrown over his shoulders, and a turban, all of which he kept clean despite the desert climate. His shirt was long, extending down to his thighs, and was either white or dyed with saffron. On his finger was a ring made of silver, and an inlaid gem bore his seal: Muhammad Rasulullah. Muhammad, the Messenger of God. Born in 570 CE, Muhammad 1 lived a simple life in Mecca as a merchant working with his wife, Khadijah. The society he lived in was harsh; people prided themselves on tribal lineage, and banditry was common even within the city. Idolatry was the religion of the day, and with it came superstition, sorcery, and scandal. Muhammad found solace in
1 The symbol used here is the Arabic form for Peace be upon him. It is part of Islamic faith to issue peace upon Muhammad and other Prophets when mentioned. I could write out peace be upon him in brackets, but I find it easier to use the Arabic symbol so it doesnt break the flow of the sentence. Wannamaker 2
solitary meditation in a cave outside of Mecca. When he was 40 years old, Muhammad was meditating in the cave, contemplating the cruel and backwards ideologies of his people. It was in this cave that he received his first revelation from God that he was to be a messenger. The emotional weight of the message was so overwhelming, that Muhammad attempted to throw himself off a cliff, but he was held back. He then accepted his duties as a messenger from God, and for the next 23 years, he laid the foundations for the religion of Islam, brought about by his revelations from God. Many people denied him and his message, calling him a poet, a liar, and a madman. However, by examining the evidence both within and outside of Islam, we can assess Muhammads legitimacy of Prophethood and come to the conclusion that he was, in fact, a true Prophet of God. Prophet Muhammads message can be summed up in the primary tenet of Islam, the testimony of faith (shahada in Arabic): There is no god but God, and Muhammad is His messenger. This encompasses the basics of Islamic belief, and believing this message is what makes one a Muslim. By believing in this, a Muslim is essentially saying that they believe in one God, and whatever is revealed to Muhammad is a message from God. Regarding other Messengers of God, Islam encompasses all Prophets mentioned in Judaism and Christianity. This includes the primary Prophets of each faith, Moses and Jesus respectively. Islam holds all of them with the highest respect, believing them to be men of perfect character and inspirations for the generations that followed them. Wannamaker 3
However, over time their original messages were lost as each faith distorted its holy book. As such, Jews came to believe that they were Gods chosen people based on their lineage to Moses, and Christians came to believe that Jesus was the son of God. Even from an objective viewpoint, there is much evidence of tampering with the Bible and the Torah. For instance, the only verse in the Bible that directly addresses the trinity is 1 John 5:7, and Biblical scholars agree that it was added around the 14 th century and, therefore, falsified. The revelations Muhammad received as a Prophet were for two reasons. First, they were meant to correct the distorted messages of Judaism and Christianity. In this regard, Muslims believe in the Torah and the Bible but only when filtered through the Quran. Secondly, the revelationsand, subsequently, the religion of Islam were meant to be the final revelation from God to humankind. That is why Muhammad is often referred to as the Seal of the Prophets. In the centuries following Prophet Muhammads death, many individuals have come forth claiming to be a prophet from Godeven within Islam itself. An offshoot of the Ahmadiyya sect of Islam (literally a sect within a sect) believes that its founder, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, is a prophet from God and the Promised Messiah that is to appear near Judgement Day. The Nation of Islam is another sect that was founded in the 1930s, and its followers believe that its founder, Wallace Fard Muhammad, was an incarnation of Wannamaker 4
God on earth and his follower, Elijah Muhammad, was the final prophet. However, this does not follow the faiths internal logic that Prophet Muhammad is meant to be the last of Gods messengers. One could argue that the founder of the Mormon Church, Joseph Smith, was a prophet from God because he claimed to have been divinely inspired and wrote the Book of Mormon. However, Smith did not claim to be creating a new religion; instead, he claimed to come with a new testament to Christianity. In his last sermon, Prophet Muhammad stated that no new apostle or faith would come after him; as of today, this claim has proved to be true. No major monotheistic religion has succeeded Islam. Michael J. Hart ranked Prophet Muhammad as the number one historical figure in his book The 100, a Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History. He justified this by saying that Prophet Muhammad was the only man in history who was supremely successful on both the religious and secular levels and that he played a far more important role in the development of Islam than Jesus did in Christianity. It is well known that Christianitys principle proselytizer was not Jesus, but St. Paul, who was also an author of a large part of the New Testament. Prophet Muhammad , on the other hand, is responsible for both the theology of Islam and its main ethical and moral principles. Wannamaker 5
Its a bold assertion for anyone to say that they are a Prophet of God. Such a claim obviously has to be backed up with proofs. Most faiths rely on miracles told through narratives. However, proofs of Prophet Muhammads legitimacy can be found both within the faith of Islam and outside of it as well. For starters, Prophet Muhammad is a historical figure just as much as a religious figure. Many people doubt that other prophets, like Jesus or Moses, even existed. Prophet Muhammads birth, life, and death have all been meticulously recorded by historians. He was born on either the 20 th or 22 nd of April, 571 CE 2 and died on the 8 th of June, 632 CE 3 ; both were Mondays. Every detail of his life has been recorded in numerous biographies by countless scholars. His actions and sayings have all been recorded and compiled into copious volumes of books, known collectively as the Hadith, which translates in Arabic to mean speech or report. How these sayings and actions were collected and recorded is no mystery; each hadith is accompanied by a chain of transmission, which begins with the individual who recorded it, goes through every person who heard it, and finally ends at Prophet Muhammad . Most hadith were narrated by Prophet Muhammads close companions; one of his companions, Abu Hurayrah, holds the most number of recorded hadiths, numbering over 5000. To fully grasp the complexity of hadith sciences would take numerous books, but in summary, a
2 The differences in the dates is due to different calculations from the Islamic to Gregorian calendar. In the Islamic calendar, he was born on the ninth of the month of Rabi Ul-Awwal. 3 Twelfth of Rabi Ul-Awwal. Wannamaker 6
single hadith would go through various chains of narrations and were checked and confirmed through various scholarly sources to confirm their authenticity. Each hadith has its own classification, and only the ones that stand up to strict examination are classified as authentic. Evidence for Muhammads legitimacy to prophethood also exists in other religions as well. In the Bible, Deuteronomy 18:18 states I (God) will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee (Moses), and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. Many Christians interpret this passage as referring to Jesus, but upon closer examination, we can see that it can only refer to Prophet Muhammad . We can parse this verse down into three statements: 1) he will be like Moses; 2) He will come from the brethren of the people of Moses; and 3) God will put His words into the mouth of this Prophet. Lets begin with the first statement, and compare and contrast the Prophets Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad . For starters, both Moses and Muhammad had natural births. Muhammad was born to his parents Abdullah and Amina, and Moses was born to his parents Amran and Jochebed. However, Jesus received a miraculous, virgin birth from his mother, Mary. Looking at their family life, both Muhammad and Moses were married and had children, whereas Jesus never married. When examining their lives as Prophets, we also see that Muhammad and Moses (peace be upon them) had the most in common. It is recorded that Muhammad began his mission as a Prophet when he was 40 years Wannamaker 7
oldthe same age as Moses . According to the Gospel of Luke, as well as Islamic sources, Jesus was about 30 years old when he began preaching. Furthermore, both Muhammad and Moses are regarded as Prophets of God by their followers, the Muslims and the Jews respectively; Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God, and not a Prophet, as Muslims believe. Finally, in death we also see the similarities between Muhammad and Moses . Both men died naturally, while Jesus was crucified and resurrected, according to Christians, or ascended to heaven to await his return, according to Muslims. Therefore, Prophet Muhammad actually has more in common with Moses than Jesus does. The second statement is that the prophet mentioned in Deuteronomy will be from among the brethren of the people of Moses, who were the Israelites. The Israelites were descended from Issac, the son of Abraham, while their brethren, the Ishmaelites, descended from Issacs brother, Ishmael. The Ishmaelites were the ancestors of the Arabian people, and Prophet Muhammad was an Arab. So, based on lineage, this can only be referring to Prophet Muhammad . The final statement says that God will put His words into the mouth of this Prophet. This attribute could only apply to Prophet Muhammad because he transmitted his revelations through oration, and his companions wrote them down. As weve seen, there is evidence that testifies to Muhammads Prophethood even outside of Islam. Abdul- Ahad Dawud, formerly Reverend David Keldani, states in his book Muhammad in the Wannamaker 8
Bible that if these words do not apply to Muhammad, they still remain unfulfilled. Jesus himself never claimed to be the prophet alluded to. As with all Prophets before him, Muhammad was supported with various miracles. One of the greatest miracles performed by Prophet Muhammad was the splitting of the moon. This is one miracle that even baffled me when I first started learning about Islam. However, even though it was a miracle, there is still reasoning behind it. It was actually issued as a challenge by the Quraysh, the pagan Meccans, who asked Prophet Muhammad to show them a miracle and split the moon in half. Prophet Muhammad supplicated and then drew a line down the moon with his index finger. The moon was split apart and then rejoined. One may rightfully ask that if this event actually occurred, wouldnt everyone have seen it? The answer is two-fold. First, the event occurred at night. Older civilizations did not have a thriving night-life like we do in our modern times. When the sun was down, it was time to stay inside. This explanation is also compounded by our knowledge of time-zones. We know the event occurred at night, so lets say it was 9:00 p.m. when the moon was split. That means that it would be daylight in the entire western hemisphere of the earth obviously, a period in the day when the moon is not easily visible. Many East Asian cities, like Hong Kong or Tokyo, would have been in the very early hours of the morning, when most people slept. The majority of places that would have been able to see it clearly would have been in roughly the same time zone as Mecca. Now, obviously, someone somewhere in the Wannamaker 9
world would have seen this miraculous event. King Chakrawati Farmas of Malabar was a Chera king who ruled the Indian state of Kerala. The King once overheard Muslim merchants on their way to China speaking about the splitting of the moon. The King admitted to seeing this event as well, and embarked on a journey to meet Prophet Muhammad . The incident is documented on a manuscript that is kept in the India Office Library in London. Now, are there traces of this event on the moon? This has led to some scholarly debate. Some argue that because it was a miracle, which are by their very nature outside the realm of natural law, the splitting of the moon left no traces. Other argue that the fault lines on the moons surface are evidence that the moon was once split. For the sake of this argument it doesnt matter; what matters is that it was a miracle performed by Prophet Muhammad and only Prophets are sanctioned by God to perform miracles. However, the greatest claim to Prophet Muhammads legitimacy is the Quran itself. The Quran is the direct word of God, revealed to Prophet Muhammad over 23 years. The Quran attests to Muhammads Prophethood several times, for instance when God says Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but is Gods Apostle and the Seal of all Prophets. (33:40). The Quran has been miraculously preserved. For over 1400 years, not a single letter of its original Arabic text has been altered. Furthermore, there are numerous passages relating to modern-day scientific facts that could not have been understood during 6 th century Arabia. Such verses deal with topics Wannamaker 10
like the separation between salt and fresh water (25:53); embryonic development (23:12-14); the orbit of the sun around the Milky Way (36:38); and the expansion of the universe (51:47). Now, when Prophet Muhammad came to the Meccans with his message, many of them did not believe in him. In fact, his primary opposition were his own kinsmen, the Quraysh, who were a large, powerful, and influential merchant tribe in Mecca. Despite his evidence, they remained stubborn. The three most common arguments laid against Prophet Muhammad were that he was a poet, a liar, and a madman. The problem with these claims is that the Meccans never pinpointed their accusations on anything concrete. They did not target specific verses or back up their claims with any concrete evidence. Simply put, people were very biased against him. The message he came with was the complete opposite of their way of life. To them, tribal lineage and idol worship were at the forefront of status. What Prophet Muhammad said was that none of those things mattered; we are judged on our actions and piety alone, not of our ancestors or descendents or even the wealth we acquire. Many Meccans wouldnt accept Islam because it was monotheistic. They found it strange that there could only be one God. Others, like Prophet Muhammads uncle, did not want to accept Islam based on their social status and fear of how people would perceive them. The Meccans Wannamaker 11
found that they were unable to attack the message, so they instead attacked the messenger. The first accusation, that he was a poet, is easy to dispel. For starters, it is well known that Prophet Muhammad was illiterate; he could neither read nor write. All of his revelations he transmitted to his companions, who then memorized it and copied it down. He also disliked the poetry that was common at his time, which often spoke about licentious deeds, excessive wealth, and lustful desires. Now, its important to understand that the Quran was revealed in a society that prized itself on masterful poetry. Arabic poetry relied on strict grammatical, rhythmic, and syntax rules, and was used throughout a persons daily life, to both praise and blame. When the Quran was revealed in its original Arabic form, it surpassed anything the Arab people had ever encountered before. God even challenged the people to bring a single chapter like it (2:23). For over 1400 years, no one has been able to meet this challenge. One could say that its possible someone did, but it was suppressed. However, this claim is erroneous because the number of people opposed to Prophet Muhammad vastly outnumbered his supporters when this verse was revealed; if anyone could have met that challenge, it would have been easy to rally the entire population of eloquent poets behind it and quash Prophet Muhammads message. So how could a man who was illiterate and disliked poetry compose a message that surpassed the combined works of an entire society of poets? Simply put, only if he was being supported by a divine entity. Wannamaker 12
The most common accusation against Prophet Muhammad is that he was a liar. The irony of this accusation is that before Prophet Muhammad became a prophet, he was known in Mecca as Al-Sadiq Al-Amin which translates to The Truthful, Trustworthy One. When he announced his prophethood, he still retained this title among the people of Mecca. Many people thought he was just guessing or fabricating the revelations he was receiving. If we look at this in a modern light, we see that this is not possible. Dr. Zakir Naik, an Islamic scholar, explains this using the mathematical theory known as the Theory of Probability. This theory basically states that if you have two options, one right and one wrong, the chances that you choose the right one is half. The chances that you will continuously choose the correct option decrease exponentially each time you have to choose between them. As I mentioned earlier, the Quran speaks about many things that were unknown to people at the time of its revelation, and have recently just been confirmed. For a more concrete number, Ill choose the four mentioned earlier, plus four more: every creature being composed primarily of water (21:30), the process of cloud formation (24:43), internal waves in the ocean (24:40), and the Big Bang as being the origin of the universe (21:30). Using the theory of probability, the chances that Prophet Muhammad could have guessed each of these things correctly every single time is (0.5) 8 or 0.2%. The eight examples I mentioned are just a fraction of the number of Quranic verses that deal with scientific Wannamaker 13
discoveries. These verses, as well as Prophet Muhammads character, demonstrate that he was not a liar. Their next accusation is that he was a madman. They believed that he received these revelations either from his own mind or from his own dreams. As we mentioned earlier, Prophet Muhammad was a man of character and was well known for his truthfulness. The Quran attests to both his noble character and sanity in Chapter 68, where God says Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed... And though (standest) on an exalted standard of character. (68:2,4). There was once a man named Dimad who specialized in mental illnesses. While he was visiting Mecca, he heard people tell him that a man named Muhammad was insane. Dimad met Prophet Muhammad and told him that he could cure him of his illness. Prophet Muhammad responded with the same introduction he gave in his sermons: Indeed, praise and gratitude is for God. We praise Him and ask for His help. He who God guides, none can lead astray, and he who is led astray cannot be guided. I bear witness no one deserves worship but God, He is One, has no partners, and Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger. Dimad was struck by the eloquence of his speech, and said to him I have heard the words of diviners, sorcerers, and poets, but I have never heard such words, they reach the depth of the oceans. Give me your hand so I may pledge my allegiance to you on Islam. When we look at Prophet Muhammads characteristics, actionshis entire life evenwe can see that they are far removed from that of a madman. Prophet Wannamaker 14
Muhammad didnt achieve luxury and wealth in his life, nor did he desire it. Once, an envoy of the pagan leaders, named Otba, came to visit Prophet Muhammad . They offered him riches, wealth, land, and the ability to rule any of their lands he wished in return for him to stop preaching. Prophet Muhammad refused; obviously, riches were not his goal. And near the end of his life, when he achieved political power and was the leader of the entire nation of Muslims, his character and reason never faltered despite his position. He remained humble, and continued to live a simple, modest life, even though he had the entire Muslim treasury at his disposal. Most insane rulers have a tendency to make bizarre demands, and they let power get to their head: Caligula nominated his horse to the senate; Justin II, the Byzantine Emperor, was pulled through the palace on a wheeled throne, biting servants as he passed by; Ivan the Terrible fed the previous head of the government to a pack of dogs. Meanwhile, a humble, frugal merchant in Mecca merely told people to believe in one God, uphold ties of kinship, and act dutifully toward their common men. Judging by his character and his actions, Prophet Muhammad was not a poet, a liar, or insane. On the contrary, he was very wise, thoughtful, and humble. Many of the people of Mecca would not accept the message as divine, but had no proof to refute it, so they attacked Prophet Muhammad personally. This is a classical example of an ad hominem fallacy, where an opposing party has no evidence to refute a claim and result to personal attacks, thereby destroying the validity of their argument. Wannamaker 15
This attitude is pure hypocrisy, even when viewed today. They regarded Prophet Muhammad as a man with noble integrity and character up until the moment he began preaching Islam. They turned on their heels, calling him a poet, a liar, and a madman for no other reason than they had no proof to refute his claim, and didnt like his message. In light of the proofs above, one can only come to the conclusion that the claims of the Meccans were false. There are so many leaps of logic and false assumptions in their argument that their claims cannot be taken seriously. On March 7, 632 CE, Muhammad addressed his followers for the last time. He knew that this would be his last sermon, and so he once again confirmed his legitimacy as a Prophet from God, saying O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunnah, and if you follow these you will never go astray. Since his death, there have been many who claim to be new prophets or apostles, but all of their claims have been lacked validity. There has been no legitimate successor to the lineage of monotheistic faiths, from Judaism, to Christianity, to Islam. By examining the claims that Prophet Muhammad made and the claims of those who refuted him, its only logical to conclude that Prophet Muhammad had the much stronger argument. His proofs were based on tangible events and occurrences, and were backed up with proofs that, in our age of scientific enlightenment, we are only now recognizing. His deniers, on the Wannamaker 16
other hand, had no valid evidence against him. Looking at his life, his examples, and his legacy, we can conclude that Prophet Muhammad is, indeed, the final messenger of God.
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Sources Used
Muhammad Asad, The Message of the Quran Yusuf Ali, The Quran I.A. Ibrahim, A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam Will Durant, The Story Of Civilization Charles Freeman, Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean Michael J. Hart, The 100, a Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in History Safi-ur-Rehman Mubarakpuri , The Sealed Nectar Ibn Kathir, Stories of the Prophets http://listverse.com/2010/10/14/top-10-truly-insane-rulers/ http://www.news.com.au/technology/nasa-scientists-say-fault-lines-prove-our-moon- is-shrinking/story-e6frfro0-1225907515399 http://bible.org/article/textual-problem-1-john-57-8 https://docs.google.com/file/d/1ePekqFAKvd2UU__yZo82cGhXDCHa4AqniJDYEYQE_lfc HNLN6Nu_5kG32N9I/edit?pli=1 www.islamreligion.com www.onislam.net www.islamtoday.net/english