Why we cannot trust Muhammad according to Islam’s most trusted sources (Part 2)
In the earlier instalment of this article, we established that the prophet of Islam was unsure about who he got his revelation from, was in doubt about his prophethood to the point of contemplating self termination, delivered Satanic verses as revelation which he mistook for the words of Allah and received uncannily convenient revelations which ensured he remained sexually satisfied.
We will move to yet another reason we cannot trust Muhammad. And it is this; His revelation fails the very test it lays down for its authenticity. The Quran states,
“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’ān? If it had been from [any] other than Allāh, they would have found within it much contradiction.”
(Surah 4:82)
Muhammad here lays down the acid test for his revelation. If there is any contradiction in this book, it cannot be from God. Ironically, the fallacious reasoning of this very acid test calls into question the origin of the revelation for this simple reason; I have at this point written almost 100 articles on Medium. I challenge anybody on the planet to show me any contradiction between them. Does this mean my Medium articles are from God? Is A.B. Melchizedek now a prophet? There is no contradiction in Macbeth or Othello or 1984 or Animal farm, does this mean Shakespeare and George Orwell were inspired by God? In the words of Bart Ehrman when confronted with this airtight argument from Muhammad Hijab,
“I have had phonebooks without contradictions in it, I certainly do not think God gave them to me”
But notwithstanding the logical shortcomings of this acid test, we will flow with it for purposes of this discourse.
Our Muslim friends tell us that the Quran is a book revealed for guidance of all of mankind and that the book is very clear. The Quran itself says,
“[This is] a Book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from [one who is] Wise and Aware”
(Surah 11:1)
And again,
“[Say], “Then is it other than Allāh I should seek as judge while it is He who has revealed to you the Book [i.e., the Qur’ān] explained in detail?”
(Surah 6:114)
However this same book that says its verses are perfected and presented in detail says,
“It is He who has sent down to you, [O Muḥammad], the Book; in it are verses [that are] precise — they are the foundation of the Book — and others unspecific. As for those in whose hearts is deviation [from truth], they will follow that of it which is unspecific, seeking discord and seeking an interpretation [suitable to them]. And no one knows its [true] interpretation except Allāh…”
(Surah 3:7)
So on the one hand, the book is very clear, its verses are detailed but on the other hand there are verses whose meanings are known only to Allah. Now the Quran is supposed to be a book of guidance,
“This is the Book about which there is no doubt, a guidance for those conscious of Allāh”
(Surah 2:2)
Why in the world would Allah within it reveal verses only him can understand? What exactly would the point of this revelation be? Who would it guide? What is the point of revealing them if nobody knows what in the world he is talking about? And I thought the verses of this book were clear? How come all of a sudden some parts of it are unclear and nobody knows the meaning except Allah?
There is yet another problem with this, the Quran states,
“We do not abrogate a verse or cause it to be forgotten except that We bring forth [one] better than it or similar to it…”
(Surah 2:106)
This book is perfected, yet there could be something better than it? How can the perfect and eternal word of Allah be bettered by the perfect and eternal word of Allah? If a verse was going to be overruled, why reveal it in the first place? Hold on! I hear somebody saying the same question can be asked about the Bible with its Old and New Testaments. This is a totally different thing because the Old Testament was revealed exclusively to the Jews at a certain time and for a certain place, Muhammad’s religion however is supposed to be for all time and for all of mankind. The New Testament is where the rest of the world gets grafted into the family of God alongside the Jews through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The New Testament is thus the final revelation of God, something the Old Testament never purported to be. Islam on the other hand says its verses have been perfected yet still says something better can be produced. This reminds me of the catchphrase of Boxer in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, “I will work harder!”, it seems Allah here is saying “I will do better!” but how can a perfect God better Himself?
Now, not only that, the verse says something similar to what was abrogated or forgotten could also be revealed. Again, if something similar is going to be revealed why repeal what was revealed in the first place? What is the logic in that? I will tell you. The prophet Muhammad himself forgot portions of the Quran,
“Narrated Aisha:
The Prophet (ﷺ) heard a man reciting the Qur’an in the mosque and said, “May Allah bestow His Mercy on him, as he has reminded me of such-and-such Verses of such a Surah.”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 66 Hadith 60)
And again,
“‘A’isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) heard a person reciting the Qur’an at night. Upon this he said:
May Allah show mercy to him; he has reminded me of such and such a verse which I had missed in such and such a surah.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 6 Hadith 265)
And again,
“A’isha reported that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) listened to the recitation of the Qur’an by a man in the mosque. Thereupon he said:
May Allah have mercy upon him; he reminded me of the verse which I had been made to forget.”
(Sahih Muslim Book 6 Hadith 266)
Notice the pattern here. Muhammad forgot a Surah, he forgot part of a Surah, then he says he had been made to forget the Surah. Now the Tafsir (explanation according to Muslim scholars) of Surah 2:106 reads,
“When the disbelievers began to deride the matter of abrogation, saying that one day Muhammad enjoins his Companions to one thing and then the next day he forbids it, God revealed…”
(Tafsir Al-Jalalayn)
The long and short of the story here seems to be that Muhammad could not even remember his own revelations. There is another hadith that seems to bear this out as well,
“Narrated `Umar bin Al-Khattab:
I heard Hisham bin Hakim bin Hizam reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to that of mine. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) had taught it to me (in a different way). So, I was about to quarrel with him (during the prayer) but I waited till he finished, then I tied his garment round his neck and seized him by it and brought him to Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) and said, “I have heard him reciting Surat-al-Furqan in a way different to the way you taught it to me.” The Prophet (ﷺ) ordered me to release him and asked Hisham to recite it. When he recited it, Allah’s Apostle said, “It was revealed in this way.” He then asked me to recite it. When I recited it, he said, “It was revealed in this way. The Qur’an has been revealed in seven different ways, so recite it in the way that is easier for you.”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 44, Hadith 9)
Two people were fighting, literally fighting, about Quran recitations. This would mean the recitations of the same Surah (chapter) were not the same at all. Yet Muhammad somehow says the very same verses they were both reciting very differently were revealed to him in those different ways they were reciting. Yet our Muslim friends tell us their book is perfectly preserved? Where are the seven recitations? Even scholars like Yasir Qadhi have been forced to admit that the standard narrative trying to reconcile the preservation of the Quran in light of Islamic sources has holes in it. But I digress…
Going back to the main point, this book claims to be both perfected and clear yet at the same time it says it has unclear verses while at the same time saying that it could be abrogated and something better could be revealed. Muhammad was reminded of some Quranic verses he forgot, Muhammad was giving contradictory instructions and revelations according to Tafsir Al-Jalalayn. How can we trust his revelations then?
Another point of contradiction is this. In how many days did Allah create the earth?
Surah 7:54 reads,
“Indeed, your Lord is Allāh, who created the heavens and earth in six days and then established Himself above the Throne”
Another Surah reads,
“And it is He who created the heavens and the earth in six days — and His Throne had been upon water”
(Surah 11:3)
However, another Surah reads,
“Say, “Do you indeed disbelieve in He who created the earth in two days and attribute to Him equals? That is the Lord of the worlds.”
And He placed on it [i.e., the earth] firmly set mountains over its surface, and He blessed it and determined therein its [creatures’] sustenance in four days without distinction — for [the information of] those who ask.
Then He directed Himself to the heaven while it was smoke and said to it and to the earth, “Come [into being], willingly or by compulsion.” They said, “We have come willingly.”
And He completed them as seven heavens within two days and inspired [i.e., made known] in each heaven its command. And We adorned the nearest heaven with lamps [i.e., stars, for beauty] and as protection. That is the determination of the Exalted in Might, the Knowing.”
(Surah 41:9–12)
So we have the earth created in TWO DAYS. Sustenance of the earth in FOUR DAYS then seven heavens completed in TWO DAYS. Now Mathematics is not my strongest point but if I was to make a wild guess, I would say 2+2+4 would be equal to EIGHT. So how many days did it take Allah to create? six or eight?
As if this was not enough of a disaster, the hadith weighs in on creation thus,
“Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) took hold of my hands and said:
Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, created the clay on Saturday and He created the mountains on Sunday and He created the trees on Monday and He created the things entailing labour on Tuesday and created light on Wednesday and He caused the animals to spread on Thursday and created Adam (peace be upon him) after ‘Asr on Friday; the last creation at the last hour of the hours of Friday, i. e. between afternoon and night. This hadith is narrated through another chain of transmitters.”
(Sahih Muslim, Book 52 Hadith 10)
So clay was made on Saturday, DAY ONE. Mountains on Sunday, DAY TWO, trees on Monday, DAY THREE, things entailing labour on Tuesday, DAY FOUR, light on Wednesday, DAY FIVE, animals to spread on Thursday, DAY SIX, Adam on Friday as the last thing, DAY SEVEN. So seven days of creation. So one Muhammad here but three accounts of how long it took to create the earth. Three explanations yet one Allah. Our Muslim friends have this calamity to grapple with yet they are the first to mock the doctrine of the Trinity.
There are other contradictions as to whether Allah created the heaven first or the earth first, what man is created out of (clay? water? Allah saying be? Blood clot?) , how Jesus was created in Islam (By blowing into Mary’s “Sleeve”? or by saying Be? or is Jesus uncreated as he is the word of Allah and a Spirit proceeding from him as the Quran says?), Muhammad and Allah affirming the gospels which completely and utterly contradict the Quran, to mention a few, but this would suffice to make our point here on how the Quran fails its own very fallacious acid test.
Now for all of this inconsistency and incoherence, there is one respect where there is some degree of congruence between the Quran and the hadith. The Quran says concerning Muhammad,
“And if he [i.e., Muḥammad] had made up about Us some [false] sayings,
We would have seized him by the right hand;
Then We would have cut from him the aorta.
And there is no one of you who could prevent [Us] from him.”
(Surah 69:44–47)
How does Muhammad die according to the Hadith? He dies after being poisoned by a Jewish woman whose family he had just recently slaughtered and in a very sloppy exercise of judgment, he had this same Jewish woman cook for himself and his companions. Muhammad’s favourite wife Aisha, who he married when she she was nine years old, reports his utterances on his death bed,
“Narrated `Aisha:
The Prophet (ﷺ) in his ailment in which he died, used to say, “O `Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison.”
(Sahih Bukhari Book 64 Hadith 450)
And again,
“On the authority of his father: Umm Mubashshir said to the Prophet (ﷺ) during the sickness of which he died: What do you think about your illness, Messenger of Allah (ﷺ)? I do not think about the illness of my son except the poisoned sheep of which he had eaten with you at Khaybar. The Prophet (ﷺ) said: And I do not think about my illness except that. This is the time when it cut off my aorta.”
(Sunan Abi Dawud Book 41 Hadith 20)
So the Quran says if Muhammad fabricated revelation in the name of Allah, his aorta would be severed then Muhammad actually cried on his death bed, “I feel like my aorta is being severed!”. Even if we are to take Muhammad’s book seriously, he still falls within the criteria of a false prophet and a fabricator of revelation according to the very revelations he brought!
So what have we learned? Muhammad cannot be trusted because his book fails its own test. It is rife with contradictions, which if the book were really from God, going with the fallacious reasoning, would not be present. Muhammad cannot be trusted because he was known to give contradictory commands to his followers and forgot his own revelations.
Finally, we cannot trust Muhammad because he died exactly how the Quran said he would die if he were fabricating revelations in the name of Allah.
How can we trust this man?
To be continued…
