How Muhammad broke all ten of the commandments God gave Moses
- You shall have no other gods before Me.
Muhammad delivered what he thought were Quranic verses in praise of the pagan deities Allat, Al-Uzza and Manat which made it acceptable to pray to them saying their intercession is required. He later revoked those verses saying that Satan, not Allah, inspired them.
The Quran itself alludes to this incident,
“And We did not send before you any messenger or prophet except that when he spoke [or recited], Satan threw into it [some misunderstanding]. But Allah abolishes that which Satan throws in; then Allah makes precise His verses. And Allah is Knowing and Wise.”
(Surah 22:52)
Tafsir Al-Jalalayn explains the verse,
“The Prophet (s) had, during an assembly of the [men of] Quraysh, after reciting the [following verses from] sūrat al-Najm, Have you considered Lāt and ‘Uzzā? And Manāt, the third one? [53:19–20] added, as a result of Satan casting them onto his tongue without his [the Prophet’s] being aware of it, [the following words]: ‘those are the high-flying cranes (al-gharānīq al-‘ulā) and indeed their intercession is to be hoped for’, and so they [the men of Quraysh] were thereby delighted. Gabriel, however, later informed him [the Prophet] of this that Satan had cast onto his tongue and he was grieved by it; but was [subsequently] comforted with this following verse that he might be reassured [of God’s pleasure]:”
Muhammad thus gave his listeners gods other than the true God.
2. You shall not make for yourself a carved image — any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them.
Muhammad instituted, for his followers, pagan rituals involving the Ka’aba. The Ka’aba (Literally cube) was originally set up, not by Abraham as the Muslim historians claim, but by pagans and it played a role in the worship of Arab pagan gods prior to Islam.
But ignoring the pagan history and thinking logically for a minute, what role exactly does this Ka’aba serve? Why do Muslims have to go around it and kiss the black stone in it? How does this help to serve Allah?
The second commandment to Moses is directly against rituals like those that go on in the Ka’aba. The idea of a carved image has to do with “sacred stones or objects” used to invoke a deity (For a more elegant phrasing of this idea, see Benjamin Sommer’s book, “The Bodies of God”). The pagan presumption was that the deity came into these objects once invoked and God makes it clear to Israel, He is not like pagan gods to be invoked into these objects.
Muhammad, however, so exalted the Ka’aba rituals that he said kissing the black stone on one of its corners forgives sin and the said black stone will testify for those who touched it on the day of judgment. He also said walking around the Ka’aba seven times atones for sins thus making these stones and the Ka’aba itself absolutely essential to his religion.
“Ibn Ubaid bin Umair narrated from his father:
“Ibn Umar was clinging on the two corners (in a manner that I had not seen any of the Companions of the Prophet doing) so I said: ‘O Abu Abdur-Rahman! You are clinging on the two corners in a manner that I have not seen any of the Companions of the Prophet clinging.’ So he said: ‘I do it because I heard the Messenger of Allah saying: “Touching them atones for sins.” And I heard him saying: “Whoever performs Tawaf around this House seven times and he keeps track of it, then it is as if he freed a slave.” And I heard him saying: “One foot is not put down, nor another raised except that Allah removes a sin from him and records a good merit for him.”
(Jami’ At-Tirmidhi Book 9 Hadith 153)
And for the black stone testifying,
“Ibn Abbas narrated that:
The Messenger of Allah said about the (Black) Stone: “By Allah! Allah will raise it on the Day of Resurrection with two eyes by which it sees and a tongue that it speaks with, testifying to whoever touched it in truth.”
(Jami’ At-Tirmidhi Book 9 Hadith 155)
Now the rest of us would call this idolatry and I do not know how our Muslim friends feel about two inanimate things (Ka’aba and the black stone) totally outside Allah being able to forgive sins but such is the teaching of Muhammad. Even Umar, the prophet’s companion, did not completely get the point of the stone but followed it anyway,
“Narrated `Abis bin Rabi`a:
`Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said “No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) kissing you I would not have kissed you.”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 25 Hadith 83)
Thus Muhammad broke the second commandment by giving his followers other objects of worship and veneration besides God.
3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.
This is one commandment that Muhammad did not break technically speaking because he never mentions the name of the God of Israel. The name YHVH, God’s sacred name with which He revealed himself to Israel and which He says is His name for all generations NEVER appears in the teachings of Muhammad (Exodus 3:15).
This is likely because the Jews, in obedience to this fourth commandment, never mentioned the name of God. Remember Matthew’s gospel to the Jews tends to say “Kingdom of heaven” rather than “Kingdom of God” as the other gospels do. This is a testament to that Jewish inclination. If the Jews never mentioned the name and Muhammad’s revelation were all based on stories he heard shared around him (E.g. The seven sleepers of Ephesus, the Alexander romances which both appear in Surah 18 and the various apocryphal gospels of Jesus’ infancy which appear in the Quranic corpus about Jesus to mention a few, even his own listeners accuse him repeatedly of sharing fables and tales of ancients), it makes sense he never heard of this name! And if He never knew the name of God, he could not take it in vain.
But side-stepping all that, we will pretend “Allah” is the name of Muhammad’s god and examine how his name was used in vain.
Muhammad used the name of Allah to satisfy his own desires. He claimed Allah gave a six year old Aisha to him as a wife, He swore an oath to his wives and then in the name of Allah broke the oath (Surah 66:1), in the name of Allah, he was allowed to sleep with a wider array of women and to have an unlimited number of wives (Surah 33:50). This is what prompted Aisha to say the highlighted portion of the below hadith,
“Narrated Aisha:
I used to look down upon those ladies who had given themselves to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and I used to say, “Can a lady give herself (to a man)?” But when Allah revealed: “You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives), and you may receive any of them whom you will; and there is no blame on you if you invite one whose turn you have set aside (temporarily).’ (33.51) I said (to the Prophet), “I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires.”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 60 Hadith 311)
4. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Muhammad sanctioned the waging of war during his own holy days. He first justified those who waged wars on a holy day in the sight of those who criticized them for doing so. He said the fact they waged wars on a holy day was sinful but those criticizing them for doing so were persecuting them and thus committing a greater sin!
This is the rationale behind the verse,
“They ask you about the sacred month — about fighting therein. Say, “Fighting therein is great [sin], but averting [people] from the way of Allah and disbelief in Him and [preventing access to] al-Masjid al-haram and the expulsion of its people therefrom are greater [evil] in the sight of Allah. And fitnah is greater than killing.”
(Surah 2:217)
“Thus the Prophet (s) sent forth the first of his raiding parties under the command of ‘Abd Allāh b. Jahsh. They fought against the idolaters and killed [‘Amr b. ‘Abd Allāh] Ibn al-Hadramī in [the sacred month of] Rajab, thinking that it was the last day of Jumādā II. The disbelievers reviled them for making fighting lawful in a sacred month, and so God revealed the following: They ask you about the sacred, the forbidden, month, and fighting in it (qitālin fīhi, ‘fighting in it’, is an inclusive substitution [for al-shahri l-harāmi, ‘the sacred month’]). Say, to them: ‘Fighting (qitālun is the subject) in it is a grave thing (kabīr, ‘grave’, is the predicate), that is, heinous in terms of sin; but to bar (saddun is the subject), people, from God’s way, His religion, and disbelief in Him, in God, and, to bar from, the Sacred Mosque, that is, Mecca, and to expel its people, the Prophet (s) and the believers, from it — that is graver (the predicate of the [last] subject), [that is] more heinous in terms of sin than fighting in it, in God’s sight; and sedition, your idolatry, is graver than, your, slaying’, in it.”
(Tafsir Al-Jalalayn on Surah 2:217)
Not only that, Muhammad himself would go on to wage one of the most celebrated battles of Islam, the battle of Badr, during Ramadan. This definitely was not resting on the Sabbath day or keeping it holy according to the paradigm of the Law of Moses.
It is worth noting though that Jihad is a very holy act in Islam, so those battles would have been the prophet keeping those days holy from an Islamic perspective.
Muhammad broke this covenant not just by failing to rest, but by actively waging war and committing murder on this day.
5. Honor your father and your mother
Muhammad taught his followers not to honour their father and mother if they do not believe in Islam.
In one hadith, he says to tell anybody bragging about their lineage before the advent of Islam to “bite their father’s penis”.
“‘Utayy ibn Damura said, “I saw with Ubay a man who was attributing himself (in lineage) with an attribution of Jahiliyyah, so Ubay told him to bite his father’s male organ and did not speak figuratively (i.e. was explicit). So his companions looked at him. He said, ‘It appears that you disapprove of it.’ Then he said, ‘I will never show apprehension to anyone with regards to this. Verily, I heard the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, “Whomever attributes himself (in lineage) with an attribution of Jahiliyyah, then tell him to bite his father’s male organ and do not speak figuratively (i.e. be explicit).”
(Al-adab Al-Mufrad Book 41 Hadith 12)
In the Quran itself, Allah says,
“ O ye who believe! Choose not your fathers nor your brethren for friends if they take pleasure in disbelief rather than faith…”
(Surah 9:23)
And the example of Abraham in the Quran, is of hating his people, including his own parents because they refused to be Muslim,
“There is for you an excellent example (to follow) in Abraham and those with him, when they said to their people: “We are clear of you and of whatever ye worship besides Allah: we have rejected you, and there has arisen, between us and you, enmity and hatred for ever,- unless ye believe in Allah and Him alone”
(Surah 60:4)
And again,
“And Abraham prayed for his father’s forgiveness only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became clear to him that he was an enemy to Allah, he dissociated himself from him: for Abraham was most tender-hearted, forbearing.”
(Surah 9:114)
Mohammed broke this commandment by adding the condition that your parents have to be Muslims in order for you to honour them.
6. You shall not murder.
Muhammad and Allah directly called for murder of Jews, Christians and Polytheists. This is embodied in the famous verse,
“And when the sacred months have passed, then kill the polytheists wherever you find them and capture them and besiege them and sit in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they should repent, establish prayer, and give zakah, let them [go] on their way. Indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.”
(Surah 9:5)
Now, I am aware this verse has a specific context but in Islamic jurisprudence it is a general command for all time and that is how it has been interpreted from the beginning of Islam till today even if our more western minded Muslims would take issue with their interpretation.
Ibn Kathir comments on the verse thus,
“Abu Bakr As-Siddiq used this and other honorable Ayat as proof for fighting those who refrained from paying the Zakah. These Ayat allowed fighting people unless, and until, they embrace Islam and implement its rulings and obligations. Allah mentioned the most important aspects of Islam here, including what is less important. Surely, the highest elements of Islam after the Two Testimonials, are the prayer, which is the right of Allah, the Exalted and Ever High, then the Zakah, which benefits the poor and needy. These are the most honorable acts that creatures perform, and this is why Allah often mentions the prayer and Zakah together. In the Two Sahihs, it is recorded that Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said “I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establish the prayer and pay the Zakah.””
Abubakar, Muhammad’s companion interpreted Surah 9:5 as a general command and used it to wage war on apostates after Muhammad’s death.
Christians and Jews are to be fought and given the option to pay the Jizyah but if they refuse then they too are to be killed. This is according to Surah 9:29.
The Quran also endorses killing in the name of Allah,
“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah , so they kill and are killed…”
(Surah 9:111)
Muhammad himself personally orderd the assassination of those who criticized him,
“Narrated Jabir:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Who is ready to kill Ka`b bin Ashraf (i.e. a Jew).” Muhammad bin Maslama replied, “Do you like me to kill him?” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied in the affirmative. Muhammad bin Maslama said, “Then allow me to say what I like.” The Prophet (ﷺ) replied, “I do (i.e. allow you).”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 56 Hadith 239)
And again,
“Narrated Jabir bin `Abdullah:
The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Who is ready to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has really hurt Allah and His Apostle?” Muhammad bin Maslama said, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! Do you like me to kill him?” He replied in the affirmative. So, Muhammad bin Maslama went to him (i.e. Ka`b) and said, “This person (i.e. the Prophet) has put us to task and asked us for charity.” Ka`b replied, “By Allah, you will get tired of him.” Muhammad said to him, “We have followed him, so we dislike to leave him till we see the end of his affair.” Muhammad bin Maslama went on talking to him in this way till he got the chance to kill him.”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 56 Hadith 238)
And again,
“Narrated ‘Abd Allah b. Unais:
The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) sent me to Khalid b. Sufyan al-Hudhail. This was towards ‘Uranah and ‘Arafat. He (the Prophet) said: Go and kill him. I saw him when the time of the afternoon prayer had come. I said: I am afraid if a fight takes place between me and him (Khalid b. Sufyan), that might delay the prayer. I proceeded walking towards him while I was praying by making a sign. When I reached near him, he said to me: Who are you ? I replied: A man from the Arabs; it came to me that you were gathering (any army) for this man (i.e. Prophet). Hence I came to you in connection with this matter. He said: I am (engaged) in this (work). I then walked along with him for a while ; when it became convenient for me, I dominated him with my sword until he became cold (dead).”
(Sunan Abi Dawud Book 4 Hadith 22)
You can find the full list of the people Muhammad himself personally ordered dead (excluding casualties from the wars he fought) here:
https://wikiislam.net/wiki/List_of_Killings_Ordered_or_Supported_by_Muhammad#List_of_Killings
7. You shall not commit adultery
The teaching of Muhammad is adulterous in many ways.
First, it allows Muslim men to marry more than one wife,
“…marry of the women, who seem good to you, two or three or four…”
(Surah 4:3)
The God of Moses stated that the original design is one man and one wife (Genesis 2:24). Again, Mohammed came after Jesus and claims to confirm the gospel as well (Surah 3:3). Jesus in that gospel clearly states that marriage is between a man and a woman and anyone who divorces for any reason other than adultery and remarries commits adultery. Muhammad’s teaching is inconsistent with this.
Secondly, Muhammad’s teaching allows a man to share a bed with a person who is not his wife.
“And those who guard their private parts
Except with their wives and the (captives) whom their right hands possess,- for (then) they are not to be blamed”
(Surah 70:29–30, Surah 23:5–6)
Muhammad teaches that it is acceptable to have sex with slave girls despite not being married to them.
Third, Muhammad himself had sex with his slaves outside of wedlock, we have one such incident recorded in the hadith,
“It was narrated from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah had a female slave with whom he had intercourse, but ‘Aishah and Hafsah would not leave him alone until he said that she was forbidden for him. Then Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, revealed:
“O Prophet! Why do you forbid (for yourself) that which Allah has allowed to you.’ until the end of the Verse.”
(Book 36 Hadith 21)
Muhammad was clearly an adulterer and preached that adultery is acceptable.
8. You shall not steal
Muhammad raided caravans. This was the direct reason for the battle of Badr. He raided caravans from Quraish, his own tribe and in retaliation they came out to fight against him.
One such raid is recorded in the hadith,
“Ibn ‘Umar reported that Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) sent an expedition to Najd and Ibn Umar was also among the troops, and their share (of the spoils) came to twelve camels and they were given one camel over and above that. and Allah’s Messenger (may peace be upon him) did not make any change in it.”
(Sahih Bukhari Volume 5 Book 59 Number 627)
In fact, the prophet did not care about the casualties during the raids,
“It is reported on the authority of Sa’b b. Jaththama that the Prophet of Allah (ﷺ), when asked about the women and children of the polytheists being killed during the night raid, said:
They are from them.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 32 Hadith 30)
Muhammad stole from the caravan merchants. Not to mention his stealing theology from diverse religious beliefs around him (e.g. Zoroastrian theology on the stars being weapons to shoot evil spirits with, Jesus from Christianity, Talmudic quotes from Judaism)
9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
Muhammad bore false witness of literally every Bible character he mentions in the Quran and the hadith. He bears false witness of Jesus that He never claimed to be the divine Son of God or died on the cross, he bears false witness of Abraham that he hated his father because his father did not believe in Allah.
Not only that, Muhammad sanctioned the death of people without giving any due consideration as to whether the evidence brought against them was genuine. One such case in point is this,
“Ibn ‘Abbas narrated that :
There was a blind man during the time of the Messenger of Allah [SAW] who had an Umm Walad by whom he had two sons. She used to slander and defame the Messenger of Allah [SAW] a great deal, and he would rebuke her, but she would not pay heed, and he would forbid her to do that, but she ignored him. (The blind man said) One night I mentioned the Prophet [SAW], and she slandered him. I could not bear it so I went and got a dagger which I thrust into her stomach and leaned upon it, and killed her. In the morning she was found slain. Mention of that was made to the Prophet [SAW] and he gathered the people and said: “I adjure by Allah; a man over whom I have the right, that he should obey me, and he did what he did, to stand up.” The blind man started to tremble and said: “O Messenger of Allah [SAW], I am the one who killed her. She was my Umm Walad and she was kind and gentle toward me, and I have two sons like pearls from her, but she used to slander and defame you a great deal. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not pay heed. Finally, I mentioned your name and she slandered you, so I went and got a dagger which I thrust into her stomach, and leaned on it until I killed her. The Messenger of Allah [SAW] said: “I bear witness that her blood is permissible.”
(Sunan An-Nasai Book 37 hadith 105)
Notice this! Muhammad did not investigate the evidence provided by the blind man, he just accepted this woman’s death as permitted so if the blind man’s witness was false, so was Muhammad’s!
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor’s.
Muhammad coveted the wife of Zaid, his own adopted son!
The Quran alludes to this as well,
“And [remember, O Muhammad], when you said to the one on whom Allah bestowed favor and you bestowed favor, “Keep your wife and fear Allah ,” while you concealed within yourself that which Allah is to disclose. And you feared the people, while Allah has more right that you fear Him. So when Zayd had no longer any need for her, We married her to you in order that there not be upon the believers any discomfort concerning the wives of their adopted sons when they no longer have need of them. And ever is the command of Allah accomplished.”
(Surah 33:37)
The background to the story is recorded for us by Tabari,
“The Messenger of God came to the house of Zayd b. Harithah. (Zayd was always called Zayd b. Muhammad.) Perhaps the Messenger of God missed him at that moment, so as to ask, “Where is Zayd?” He came to his residence to look for him but did not find him. Zaynab bt. Jash, Zayd’s wife, rose to meet him. Because she was dressed only in a shift, the Messenger of God turned away from her. She said: “He is not here, Messenger of God. Come in, you who are as dear to me as my father and mother!” The Messenger of God refused to enter. Zaynab had dressed in haste when she was told “the Messenger of God is at the door.” She jumped up in haste and excited the admiration of the Messenger of God, so that he turned away murmuring something that could scarcely be understood. However, he did say overtly: “Glory be to God the Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes the hearts to turn!”
When Zayd came home, his wife told him that the Messenger of God had come to his house. Zayd said, “Why didn’t you ask him to come in?” He replied, “I asked him, but he refused.” “Did you hear him say anything?” he asked. She replied, “As he turned away, I heard him say: ‘Glory be to God the Almighty! Glory be to God, who causes hearts to turn!’”
So Zayd left, and having come to the Messenger of God, he said: “Messenger of God, I have heard that you came to my house. Why didn’t you go in, you who are as dear to me as my father and mother? Messenger of God, perhaps Zaynab has excited your admiration, and so I will separate myself from her.” Zayd could find no possible way to [approach] her after that day. He would come to the Messenger of God and tell him so, but the Messenger of God would say to him, “Keep your wife.” Zayd separated from her and left her, and she became free.
While the Messenger of God was talking with ‘A’isha, a fainting overcame him. When he was released from it, he smiled and said, “Who will go to Zaynab to tell her the good news, saying that God has married her to me?” Then the Messenger of God recited: “And when you said unto him on whom God has conferred favor and you have conferred favor, ‘Keep your wife to yourself .’”- and the entire passage.
According to ‘A’isha, who said: “I became very uneasy because of what we heard about her beauty and another thing, the greatest and loftiest of matters — what God had done for her by giving her in marriage. I said she would boast of it over us.”
(The History of Al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam, translated by Michael Fishbein [State University of New York Press, Albany, 1997], Volume VIII, pp. 2–3)
Muhammad ended up marrying Zaid. If this is not a breach of the 10th commandment against covetousness, I do not know what is.
Food for thought
Now after all of this, can our Muslim friends really tell us Muhammad worshipped the same God as Moses and Jesus Christ?
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