#flippin-fatwa-friday — Public Fediverse posts

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Speed Running Surah 2:203-237

Back with speed running Surah al-Baqarah, we’re speed running verses 203-237.

We start off where we left off on verse 203. Until we get to verse 213, it pretty much the usual stuff, where we’re told that Allah doesn’t like mischief or anyone who makes mischief, and that if he’s provided a bunch of signs to prove his existence. However, once we hit 213, we find that the Quran finally gives us some lore. According to the Quran, mankind was once one people under one religion until they started having disagreements, which led to division. To ramify this and make the truth known, Allah sent a bunch of prophets (starting with Noah) to reveal the truth about where they differed, but they wouldn’t listen and continued to split.

But here’s where it gets interesting since according to the tafsir on this verse, Islam is the ultimate truth that clarifies where things are disputed. The issue with that though, is that if we look at the Quran and the Bible, even things that aren’t disagreed on by Jews and Christians get changed randomly by the Quran, for absolutely no reason. If it was sent to smooth over the theological and doctrinal rifts between the two, it just made things worse.

Moving on from that, verse 214 tells Muslims to expect adversity, 215 tells them to give alms, and 216 tells them that not only is jihad (as in fighting unbelievers) necessary, but obligatory. There is absolutely no room for being a peaceful Muslim. You are required to fight according to the Quran. And to further instill fear in Muslims of what will happen if they don’t fight are verses 217-218, which says that if they turn back and reject the faith, they will never get into Heaven. Essentially all their good deeds will be deleted by Allah, similar to how you lose all your XP if you cancel a course on Duolingo.

But don’t worry, the Quran doesn’t linger long on that warning since verses 219-221 hop back to commanding Muslims to give alms, not to gamble or drink, to help orphans, and not to marry unbelievers.

Then we have verses 222-223, which are ridiculously misogynistic. Verse 222 says that women who are menstruating are unclean and are to be treated as such. Now, I wouldn’t totally have a problem with this if it were just taking from the similar command in the Bible, which was meant for a certain time and place, but the Quran’s version of this is universal. Additionally, is the fact that in both 222-223, the Quran tells men that their wives are like a “tilth” (a piece of fertile ground) that they can take when, where, and however they want, as long as they do some good deed for Allah, first.

Handmaid’s Tale much? In today’s vernacular, that would be like calling your wife an oven for making babies (or something worse).

Verses 224-225 warns Muslims not to make oaths in Allah’s name against doing good, acting rightly, or making peace. Then 226-227 hops into what to do if you’ve taken an oath of abstention. Naturally, this only applies to men, and the Quran only says that if a man takes an oath of abstention, he only needs to abstain for 4 months…unless he’s getting divorced. In that case, he can abstain from his wife for as long as he wants.

Speaking of divorce, according to verses 228-233, divorce is completely permissible and you’re allowed to divorce the same woman up to two times. You’re also allowed to remarry, and, if both parties don’t want the kids, you can give them away to a foster-mother until they finish suckling. After that, who knows what will happen since Muhammad abolished adoption. I assume they’d be going back to one of their parents (probably the father), though that would be an awkward conversation.

Finally, verse 234 jumps to what to do if you die and leave behind a widow. After death, they are to wait four months and ten days before moving on. Then it jumps back into divorce, including divorcing someone before the marriage is consummated in 235-237.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Screw It. We’re Gonna Speed Run Surah 2:159-202.

It’s been at least three months since I last wrote a Flippin’ Fatwa Friday post criticizing the Quran. We’ve gotten 158 verses into this thing, though I hoped to be in Surah 3 by now. So, I’m going to switch tactics and instead of going chunk by chunk, I’m just going to speed run a massive chunk of it, picking out the ridiculous stuff so we can finally be done with it sooner.

Starting with Surah 2:159-171, we get a bunch of stuff about Allah’s clear guidance, both as revealed in the Quran and in nature. It talks about how wrong non-Muslims are for not worshipping Allah despite those things, how they’re cursed by Allah and the angels, and how Muslims are to stay faithful to Allah. Real fun stuff.

Moving on from that into Surah 2:172-173, we get some food laws. One would think that the section on food laws would be longer, similar to what we get in the Torah, but no. Instead, we just get two measly verses, which say:

172.O ye who believe! Eat of the good things that We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him ye worship. 173. He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood, and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah. But if one is forced by necessity, without willful disobedience, nor transgressing due limits,- then is he guiltless. For Allah is Oft-forgiving Most Merciful.

Interestingly, the only reason I can think of why these food laws are here is because the Quran is the really bad fanfic of the Bible that tries to be like it but fails miserably. Other than that, I’m not sure why it’s here.

Then we have Surah 2: 174-176, which talks about people concealing Allah’s revelations for profit. These verses aren’t talking about the Quran, but, according to the Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir, are talking about the Jews allegedly hiding verses in the Torah that showed Muhammad to be a prophet. Some Muslims may try to use these verses to show how the Bible has somehow been corrupted, but in the context, it seems that the Quran is talking about them hiding these supposed verses in their oral recitations. It says nothing of the actual text itself.

Verse 177 illustrates how Islam offers a works-based salvation, giving readers a laundry-list of things to do to get in Allah’s good graces. Verses 178-179 talks about equal retribution, but not in the sense that we would think of it. The way we Westerners who have grown up in a world built on Christianity would see equality and justice would be in the sense that all men are made equal in the eyes of God. There is neither slave nor free, man or woman. However, when the Quran talks about it, it’s only referring to equal retribution for your specific group, saying:

178.O ye who believe! the law of equality is prescribed to you in cases of murder: the free for the free, the slave for the slave, the woman for the woman. But if any remission is made by the brother of the slain, then grant any reasonable demand, and compensate him with handsome gratitude, this is a concession and a Mercy from your Lord. After this whoever exceeds the limits shall be in grave penalty.

Surah 2:180-182 talks about what to do with your possessions after you die, and 183-187 talk about Ramadan. I’ve already written a post, on this, which you can check out here.

After that, verse 188 seems to be randomly thrown in, telling people essentially not to usurp other people’s wealth or possessions through various means, before jumping into the topic of times to worship Allah in verse 189 and how to enter a house.

Because how you enter a house is as important to Allah as how you pee. I wish I were joking, but that’s Islam for you.

Surah 2:190-194, however, isn’t so funny, as it commands Muslims to wage jihad. While Muslims will argue that the fighting mentioned here only refers to self-defense in cases of persecution, we need to ask what counts as persecution? Is persecution something that happens when you’re actually being attacked and your life and community is at risk just for existing? Or is it anything that you don’t like, such as mockery, and self-defense on their part? The reason I bring this up is because Islam has had a long history of its followers whining about being persecuted, even though they instigated the attack by mocking or attacking the other side.

As though that wasn’t bad enough, verse 195 then tells Muslims to spend money in the cause of jihad. The Quran literally tells them to finance wars against the infidels.

Finally, verses 196-202 talk about the Hajj, which I’ve also done a post on which you can read here.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Muhammad was the Gayest Guy in Arabia – Part 3: Momo the Crossdresser.

As we wrap up this month’s series on how Muhammad’s gay tendencies, we need to take a look at one of the weirdest tendencies Muhammad had: crossdressing.

According to Jami` at-Tirmidhi 2813 and Sunan Abi Dawud 4032, Muhammad would wear a mirt made of goat hair. Why is this important? Well, a mirt is a garment that could be made of various things, that was worn by primarily women as a covering.

Already, this is weird. Why is Muhammad wearing clothing that was typically worn by women? But don’t worry, it gets weirder.

According to Sahih Muslim, Hadith Number 4415, Muhammad wouldn’t wear any old mirt. He would often wear his child bride, Aisha’s, mirt. It says:

Narrated by Abdel Malik ibn Shu’aib ibn Laith Ibn Sa’ad, narrated by his father, narrated by his grandfather, narrated by Ukail ibn Khalid, narrated by ibn Shihab, narrated by Yahya ibn Sa’id ibn al-Aas who narrated that Aisha, the wife of the prophet, and Uthman related to him that Abu Bakr requested permission from the prophet to enter when the prophet was lying down on Aisha’s bed WEARING HER GARMENT (mirt). So the prophet gave permission to Abu Bakr to enter while he (Muhammad) was in that state and Abu Bakr finished what he needed and left. Later, Umar came and requested permission to enter and the prophet gave him permission to enter while he (Muhammad) was in that state. So Umar finished what he needed and left. Later, Uthman requested permission to enter to the prophet, so Muhammad sat up and told Aisha, “TAKE ALL THE CLOTHING THAT BELONGS TO YOU.”

So Aisha did as the prophet requested and left. Afterwards, Aisha asked the prophet, “O prophet! Why is it that I didn’t see you anxious when Abu Bakr or Umar came like you were when Uthman came in?”

The prophet replied, “Uthman is a bashful man, and I feared that if I gave him permission to enter in the state that I was in, he would not have finished what he came for.”

Additionally, other hadiths say that Muhammad would receive revelations when he was in Aisha’s mirt. While on most hadith websites like Sunnah.com, the English translation says “blanket” or “covering,” the word used in the Arabic is mirt and in the context of the hadith above, it makes no sense for it to be referring to anything but Muhammad wearing some sort of clothing. Why would Muhammad tell Aisha to take all the clothing that belonged to her when the very bashful Uthman walked in if he was only wearing her blanket? After all, a blanket doesn’t count as clothing. That’s also not mentioning the fact that mirts were never used as blankets.

Now, some people might be wondering how Muhammad could have possibly fit into Aisha’s mirt given the fact that she was a child when she was married to him. The answer is pretty simple: a mirt was a single, large piece of fabric, as shown below. It would have been easy for Muhammad to wear it, especially as Aisha got older (she was 18 when he died).

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin Fatwa Friday – Muhammad was the Gayest Guy in Arabia – Part 3: Miscellaneous Creepy Accounts.

From the last two posts on this, we know that Muhammad had a very strange relationship with the angel Gabriel – who just happened – to look like a dude Muhammad knew who was known for his beauty; and that Muhammad had a midnight rendezvous with not one, not two, but thirty men in the desert. This should be enough evidence that Muhammad was bi, but those weren’t the only accounts that point to him having strange homosexual tendencies. There are loads of accounts of him being creepy towards men and boys scattered throughout numerous authentic hadiths.

#1: Muhammad’s Questionable Stains

It is hard to deny that Muhammad was a nasty person. From telling his followers to drink camel urine to having other people lick his hands clean, he was gross. However, one of the most well-attested reports in the hadith is the report that Aisha – Muhammad’s child bride – had the disgusting job of washing semen off his clothes.

This report appears in numerous hadiths, most notably Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim, where several of the accounts are from Aisha herself. She even went in-depth on how she would get it off, saying that if it was still wet, she would wash it off with water, but if it was dry, she would rub, scratch, or pick it off the fabric.

Muslims claim that this hadith is educational, recording what to do if your clothes get stained with any sexual fluid, but the question has to be asked: Where was all this stuff coming from? To answer this, Muslim teachers say that it came from Muhammad sleeping with his wives or other normal causes. However, while this seems like a reasonable explanation at first glance, it doesn’t totally explain how much semen was on his clothes, since Aisha reported that even after washing his clothes, there was still stuff on it.

Though this isn’t totally damning evidence that Muhammad was gay, it does raise a lot of questions that point in that direction.

#2: Sucking on Boy’s Tongues

If you Google this, the main thing that will come up is a hadith about Muhammad allowing his grandkids to suck on his tongue because they were extremely thirsty and there was no water anywhere. Due to this, one would think that, while a strange way of dealing with things, it was at least somewhat justifiable. However, what calls even this into question is the fact that that’s not the only hadith about Muhammad sucking on boy’s tongues. In Mu’awiya Ibn Abu Sufyan 16245 it says:

I saw the prophet – pbuh – sucking on the tongue or the lips of Al-Hassan son of Ali, may the
prayers of Allah be upon him. For no tongue or lips that the prophet sucked on will be tormented (by hell fire).

Al-Hassan was Muhammad’s grandson. This isn’t just gay and pedophilic, it’s insanely creepy on the level of the Dali Lama telling a kid to suck his tongue a few years ago. And for the hadith to go on to say that anyone who sucked on his lips or tongue will be saved from Hell…it sounds like the type of thing someone would say to get some action in the name of salvation, like these creepy cult leaders who demand the women sleep with them to be saved.

That also not mentioning the hadith in which Muhammad puts his tongue in al-Hassan’s mouth for no reason, or the Syrian biography written by Al-Amin Al-Ma’moun that mentions that Muhammad had allowed a kid named Ali to suck on his tongue.

#3: Muhammad Allowed a Guy to Kiss His Chest

In Sunan Abi Dawud 5224, we get a very strange narration in which this happens:

AbdurRahman ibn AbuLayla, quoting Usayd ibn Hudayr, a man of the Ansar, said that while he was given to jesting and was talking to the people and making them laugh, the Prophet (ﷺ) poked him under the ribs with a stick. He said: Let me take retaliation. He said: Take retaliation. He said: You are wearing a shirt but I am not. The Prophet (ﷺ) then raised his shirt and the man embraced him and began to kiss his side. Then he said: This is what I wanted, Messenger of Allah!

I don’t think this is something any straight dude would ever allow.

#4: Muhammad Going to the Bathroom

According to Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 4, Number 152, whenever Muhammad went to the bathroom, he would bring some young boys with him to carry the tumblers of water needed to wash himself. Why would he need to do this? Why did he need the boys to come with him when he could have done it himself? It’s all extremely creepy.

#5: Muhammad and Zahir

In Al Seera Al Halabya by Al Halabya, we read that Muhammad hugged a slave boy from behind:

One day, Muhammad went to the market, there he found Zahir, whom he liked, so he hugged him from behind. Zahir said: let go of me, who are you? Muhammad told him: I’m the slave trader (literally, I’m the one who buys the slaves), and refused to let go of him so when Zahir knew it was Muhammad, he drew (stuck) his back closer to Muhammad’s chest.

Muslims argue that this was all an innocent prank being played by Muhammad, but this seems like a weird thing for a guy to do. To the dudes reading, is this something that straight guys do to prank each other or to express affection? From my knowledge, this is the type of thing that no truly straight guy would ever do.

#6: Muhammad and Young Boys

According to Majma al-Zawa’id, Ali ibn Abu Bakr al-Haythami, 299/9, Muhammad kissed the genitals of a kid named Husein. Need I say more.

#7: The Boys of Paradise

There are numerous verses and passages in the Quran that speak of the various pleasures to be had in Paradise. Several of them pay special attention to the young boys that will work as servers in Paradise. Surahs 52:24, 56:17-18, and 76:19 describe them as “scattered” or “hidden” pearls that will never alter in age. Already, this description is odd, since why would the servers be little boys when they could be anything else entirely, but it gets worse. New York Times columnist Judith Miller writes:

About two weeks before his murder, he mocked what passed for intellectual discourse among Islamists by citing a recent sermon by Egypt’s most popular preacher, Abdel Hamid Kishk, a blind sheikh who constantly attacked both the government and its official religious establishment. Kishk had been telling his audience that Muslims who entered paradise would enjoy ETERNAL ERECTIONS and the company of young boys draped in earrings and necklaces. Some of the ulema, the religious scholars at al-Azhar, the government’s seat of Islamic learning had disagreed. Yes, they said, men in paradise would have erections, BUT MERELY PROTRACTED, NOT PERPETUAL. Other experts disputed the possibility of pederasty in paradise.

That also doesn’t mention Islam’s long history of raping little boys, as well as women and girls that continues to this day in various forms.

It is clear from all of this that Muhammad had homosexual tendencies and even made it something to long for in eternity. Such sexual immorality should make one wonder if Allah truly is God, or if he’s the devil in disguise.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – Muhammad was the Gayest Guy in Arabia Part 2: Muhammad and the Men of Al-Zutt

If any of you lovely readers are at all familiar with David Wood or the polemics scene against Islam in general, you know about this story, as it provides the most damning evidence that Muhammad was bi.

To sum up this story, according to Jami at-Tirmidhi 2861, Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 3778, and Musnad Ahmad ibn Hanbal 3688, Muhammad went to a valley in or near Mecca with his buddy, Abdullah ibn Masud. He then drew a line around Masud and sat him down in it, telling him not to cross the line and that some men would come and speak to him, but he was not to talk to them. Then Muhammad walked away.

Ibn Masud was probably very confused by this order, but his confusion was only going to become sheer disturbance and terror. Sometime after receiving the order to stay in the circle of safety, a bunch of naked dudes from the tribe of al-Zutt appeared and surrounded Masud for a bit before turning their attention to Muhammad and quote-unquote “riding” him. Some of them would approach Masud, which made him so scared that he sat down in the circle of safety. At the end of the night, Muhammad came back, saying he was in pain, and passed out in Masud’s lap.

Already, there is so much in this story that is disturbing, but other hadiths and Arabic customs make this even weirder. The six points to consider are:

1. Several Islamic authors mention the al-Zutt, and it was a common description that they were extremely virile.
2. It was a common practice amongst Arabs at the time to sleep with young boys in the belief that their being inseminated would make them stronger men.
3. The word used for ride, “yarkaboun” meant exactly what it means in English. It could be used both in the context of actually riding something or in reference to intercourse. In fact, al-Qurtubi confirms this, when he writes in a tafsir that “A woman may be compared to a cow, horse, or camel—for all are ridden.”
4. According to Sahih Bukhari 268, Muhammad had the strength of 30 men.
5. There is strong evidence throughout Muhammad’s many biographies that he was…tiny. Let’s just leave it at that.
6. Muhammad had a tendency of taking customs and practices done in childhood and applying them to adults (i.e. breastfeeding).

From this, we can begin putting together the pieces of the puzzle that make this story so disturbing and ironic. These six details put together show us that this most likely wasn’t just a random homosexual encounter (though that may have added to it) but may have been a sort of remedy to some of Muhammad’s insecurities.

As mentioned in point #2, it was a common belief in the Arab world that in order for a young boy to grow up to be a strong man, he had to be inseminated. Thus, a sort of pederasty was common in Arabia as boys were raped by older men believing that it would make them more manly and virile later in life.

Combine that with points #5 and #6, and we can begin to understand a possible motivation for Muhammad’s encounter with the men of al-Zutt. It’s possible that he was insecure about himself, knew of the custom of inseminating boys to make them more virile in adulthood, and thought, “Why wouldn’t it work on an adult?” Thus, he sought out the al-Zutt, the most virile guys in the region, and, probably not wanting to be just like any other guy, decided to find as many as possible, hence why he had the strength of 30 men.

Ew. Just…ew.

The Muslim response to this, of course, is one that tries to adamantly deny that this ever happened. They say that this story is Islamophobic propaganda that misrepresents the actual text, which they claim to have been referring to the night of the Jinn, when Muhammad recited the Quran to a bunch of jinn. According to them, these jinn just happened to look like the men of al-Zutt.

As for why the text says that the jinn, men, or whatever they were were riding Muhammad, Muslims claim that it’s a mistranslation. While “yarkaboun” can mean “to ride,” they argue that it can also mean “to crowd around.” The latter translation, according to them, is the way it was intended to be read.

The issue with this is that regardless of if this was the night of the jinn or not, the argument that “yarkaboun” in this context means “to crowd around” runs into a few problems.

First, it can’t explain why they appeared naked. Maybe the jinn don’t have clothes but taken in conjunction with the fact that Muhammad reportedly came stumbling back to ibn Masud telling him that he was in pain, and it seems that the al-Zutt did a lot more than crowd around him. This alone makes the translation of “yarkaboun” that Muslims suggest unlikely, but it gets worse.

The second reason why this translation is unlikely is because of ibn Masud’s response to the al-Zutt when they started trying to get at him. It’s clear from the text that he was absolutely terrified of whatever was “riding” Muhammad. However, instead of fighting back, standing his ground, or running away, he sits down, an incredibly strange reaction for someone who is scared. From this, it’s safe to infer that by sitting down, he was probably trying to protect a certain part of himself after seeing what was going on with Muhammad.

The third and final reason why the al-Zutt were actually “riding” Muhammad and not just crowding around him is the fact that “yarkaboun” is apparently rarely used by Arabic speakers to mean anything but “to ride” or “to mount,” both in a sexual and non-sexual capacity. To suggest that it does mean “to crowd around” is quite a stretch.

Then there’s the suggestion that the al-Zutt story was fabricated and isn’t an authentic hadith. However, this runs into the problem that it’s not only attested two several times, but it doesn’t really make sense that someone would make up such a story about Muhammad. Historically speaking, both of those factors make it more likely that this actually happened.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – The Bible vs. The Quran: Surah al-Baqarah Verses 156-158.

Last time on Flippin’ Fatwa Friday, we covered three issues, talking about good works, the Ka’ba, and jihad. Today, we’re sort-of back to talking about the Ka’ba, though we’ll more specifically be looking at another big part of the Hajj. Let’s take a look at this:

156. Who, when a calamity befalls them, say, ‘Surely, we belong to Allah and to him, of course, we return (and in his will is our peace).’ 157. It is they upon whom descend the benedictions from their Lord and his mercy, and it is they who are guided aright. 158. The Safa and Marwah (- the two eminences near Ka’ba) are certainly (two) of the symbols of Allah, so he who is on Pilgrimage to the house or performs ‘Umrah (- a visit to Ka’ba), there is no blame on him to perform Tawaf (- to run between) the two (eminences), and he who remains thoroughly dutiful and chooses to do good deeds spontaneously, the surely (he will find) Allah is Appreciative and rewards ever good deed done. Surely, Allah is All-Knowing.

I’ve already talked about the pagan origins of the Ka’ba and the Black Stone, but one of the things I sadly forgot to mention was how the Hajj also includes running between two small hills, the Safa and Marwa, seven times. This verse is the only time where this practice is mentioned, and it isn’t really elaborated on in the Quran.

The pagan origins of this practice aren’t something that can only be found through spending hours flipping through history books or scrolling on Google. It’s readily admitted in the hadiths that this practice stems from Arabian pagans. For example, Sahih Bukhari 4496 says:

Narrated `Asim bin Sulaiman:
I asked Anas bin Malik about Safa and Marwa. Anas replied, “We used to consider (i.e. going around) them a custom of the Pre-islamic period of Ignorance, so when Islam came, we gave up going around them. Then Allah revealed: “Verily, Safa and Marwa (i.e. two mountains at Mecca) are among the Symbols of Allah. So it is not harmful of those who perform the Hajj of the House (of Allah) or perform the Umra to ambulate (Tawaf) between them.” 

Stange how pagan customs were never absorbed into Judaism or Christianity by God. Why would Allah make a pagan custom something that is mandatory in Islam?

The reason for this has much to do with what I’ve mentioned in previous posts about the Hajj. It was all to gain a following. Muhammad knew that these customs were important to the people groups he knew. It wasn’t something they would give up easily. Thus, he simply absorbed them into Islam to make it more palatable for them.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – A Comparison of Claims About the Insanity of Jesus and the Insanity of Muhammad. (Part 3)

Over the last two Flippin’ Fatwa Friday posts, I’ve discussed the possibility that Muhammad and Jesus were either epileptic or insane. Jesus repeatedly proved Himself to be of sound mind and didn’t show any sign of epilepsy. Muhammad didn’t pass so cleanly, with the theory that he had epilepsy or a personality disorder still standing. However, if neither man were epileptic or insane, this leaves what’s possibly the oldest and most serious accusation against either of them: demon possession. 

Demonic possession manifests itself in different ways and can look like psychological dysfunction. (15) According to the instances of demon possession recorded in the Bible, demon possessed people can’t control themselves, exhibit new personalities and abilities, (Matt 8:29, 9:33, 12:22, Mark 1:23-24) speak in a different voice or make them mute, (Mark 5:9, Luke 11:14) have supernatural knowledge (Acts 16:16-18), and tend to be suicidal. (Matthew 17:14-21, Mark 9:14-29, Luke 9:37-43, 17:6) (3, 15)  

In the Bible, Jesus was accused of being demon possessed numerous times. In Luke 11:15, after Jesus had driven out a demon that made a person mute, some of the members of the crowd said, “By Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” Similar accusations are found in Matthew 12:24, Mark 3:21-22, John 7:20, 8:48, 8:52, and 10:20. (3) 

 However, Jesus’ responses consistently disproved these claims. (Matthew 12:22-32, Mark 2:12, 3:22-30, 5:1-20, Luke 4:33-37, 11:14-23, and John 10:21) (3) At one point, he said, “Every kingdom divided against itself is ruined. And every city or household divided against itself will not last. If Satan forces Satan out, he is divided against himself. How, then, can his kingdom last? If I force demons out of people with the help of Beelzebul, who helps your followers force them out? That’s why they will be your judges. But if I force demons out with the help of God’s Spirit, then the kingdom of God has come to you.” (Matthew 12:25-28) (3) 

In Muhammad’s case, he cannot effectively fend off this accusation. In fact, the charge that he was possessed has perhaps the best evidence to support it. Throughout Muhammad’s life, he experienced periods of great spiritual oppression or delusion. (22) Ibn Saad records that during Muhammad’s childhood, Halima would see a cloud shadowing him during severe heat. (10) This so greatly scared her that it prompted her to send him back to Aaminah. (7, 10) In Guillaume’s translation of Ibn Ishaw, page 72: “His [Muhammad’s friends] father said to me, ‘I am afraid that this child has had a stroke, so take him back to his family before the result appears. … She [Muhammad’s mother] asked me what happened and gave me no peace until I told her. When she asked if I feared a demon had possessed him, I replied that I did.” (paragraph 5) (13) 

Various accounts of Muhammad’s first revelation are also damning. According to Karen Armstrong, ““Muhammad was torn from his sleep in his mountain cave and felt himself overwhelmed by a devastating divine presence. Later he explained this ineffable experience by saying that an angel had enveloped him in a terrifying embrace so that it felt as though the breath was being forced from his body.” (paragraph 5, sentence 1-2) (22) Sahih Muslim 160a writes, ““Then the Prophet returned therewith, his heart was trembling, and he went to Khadija and said: Wrap me up, wrap me up! So, they wrapped him till the fear had left him. He then said to Khadija: O Khadija! What has happened to me? And he informed her of the happening, saying: I fear for myself.” (1) Sahih Bukhari 4951 also says, “Then Allah’s Messenger returned with that experience; and the muscles between his neck and shoulders were trembling till he came upon Khadija (his wife) and said, ‘Cover me!’ They covered him, and when the state of fear was over, he said to Khadija, ‘O Khadija! What is wrong with me? I was afraid that something bad might happen to me.” (1)  

Ibn Ishaq and many of Muhammad’s contemporaries also agreed that he believed himself to be possessed and became suicidal afterwards. (22)  Islamic scholar al-Tabari, records that when the revelations ceased for a period of six months to three years, Muhammad became depressed and repeatedly attempted to jump off cliffs and mountain crags. (13) Guillaume’s The Life of Muhammad, page 106 contains Tabari’s record of what Muhammad said: “Now none of God’s creatures was more hateful to me than an (ecstatic) poet or a man possessed: I could not even look at them. I thought, Woe is me poet or possessed – Never shall Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest.” (Paragraph 13-paragraph 14, sentence 1-5) (13)  

When compared to the accounts of angelic encounters in the Bible, Muhammad’s initial encounter with Gabriel sounds more akin to the cases of demon possession found in the Bible. Whenever people in the Bible meet an angel, the angel always comforts them with the phrase, “Do not be afraid.” (Gen 15:1, 26:24, 46: 3; Dan 8:15-29, 10:12, 19; Matt 28:5, 10; Luke 1:13, 26-31, 2:10; Rev. 1:17) (3, 22) Then, after the visit from the angel or God Himself, while the people are understandably shaken and filled with reverent fear, they never experienced depression, much less suicidality. (13) In fact, many who were visited by God in the Bible were blessed with the opportunity to fellowship with Him. (Gen 3-4, 6, 12-18, Exodus 3-34, Isaiah 6, Luke 2, Acts 9) (13) With Muhammad’s encounter with Gabriel, none of that is present. 

Interestingly, the accusations from Muhammad’s contemporaries that he was possessed aren’t just found in the hadiths. Record of these accusations can also be found in the Quran in verses and passages such as surah 15:6, (2) 44:14, and 37:36, (2, 22), 81:22-25, 69:41-42. (2, 13) The reason for these accusations, according to Tabari, could be rooted in a superstition from the pre-Islamic Arabs who believed in the demon of poetry. (13) The pre-Islamic Arabs believed that great poets were directly inspired by demons, which, combined with the fact that early Quranic revelations were poetic in nature, may explain why Muhammad’s contemporaries and Muhammad himself believed him to be demon possessed. (13, 22) So great was this belief that Muhammad was possessed that there are numerous verses dedicated to rebutting these claims, such as surah 7:184, 23:70, 34:36 52:29, 68:2, 81:22. (2) Further evidence that Muhammad had strange experiences with spiritual entities is found in Sahih Bukhari 3421, which records that he was attacked by jinn during prayer. (1) 

Other accounts that support the claim that Muhammad was possessed is the infamous story of the Satanic Verses, which make up surah 53:19-23. (2, 11) According to accounts from Ibn Sa’d and al-Tabari in The Life of Muhammad, when Muhammad’s following was still small in Mecca, he revealed verses that pleased the Meccan leaders because it declared the existence of and endorsed the worship of three goddesses who were worshipped there. (11) When later questioned about it, Muhammad retracted it, (11) and claimed that Satan put those verses in his mouth. (13)  

Additionally, various hadiths (i.e. Sahih Bukhari 4.490, 7.660, 7.661, 7.658, 8.89, 8.400) record an incident in which Muhammad was bewitched for a year, believing that he was having sexual relations with his wives when he wasn’t (13, 22) and was also referenced by Ibn Hisham in The Life of Muhammad. (13) Aisha narrates in Sahih Bukhari 3175, “Once the Prophet was bewitched so that he began to imagine that he had done a thing which in fact he had not done.” (1) Sahih Bukhari 6391, also records this and said, “[…] Allah’s Messenger was affected by magic, so much that he used to think that he had done something which in fact, he did not do, and he invoke his Lord (for a remedy). Then (one day) he said, ‘O Aisha! Do you know that Allah has advised me as to the problem I consulted him about?’ Aisha said, ‘O Allah’s Messenger! What’s that?’ He said, ‘Two mean came to me and one of them sat at my head and the other at my feet, and one of them asked his companion, ‘What is wrong with this man?’ The later replied, ‘He is under the effect of magic.’” (1)  It continues, saying, “Allah’s Messenger went to that well and returned to Aisha, saying, ‘By Allah, the water (of the well) was as red as the infusion of Hinna, and the date-palm trees look like the heads of devils.’” (1)  

People’s reaction to Gabriel were also telling, with as non-Muslims called Gabriel “Satan.” (Sahih Bukhari 2.225) (13) Aisha also couldn’t see Gabriel, (Sahih Bukhari 4.440) Muslims and non-Muslims thought Gabriel was a man named Dihya al-Kalbi (Sahih Bukhari 4.827), and Khadija couldn’t see him. (Life of Muhammad) (13) Gabriel also exhibited behavior that was inconsistent with a real angel of God, such as refusing to go into a house with a dog or picture, (Sahih Bukhari 4.450) didn’t understand genetics, (Sahih Bukhari 4.546), was unable to heal Muhammad when he prayed for him, and was responsible for the massacre of a Jewish tribe of Bani Qurayza. (Sahih Bukhari 5.448) (13) 

Finally, as compared to biblical prophets – specifically those who the Apostle Peter describes – Muhammad’s revelations were closer to those of a spiritist or channeler. (22) John Gilchrist, a South African Christian author and well-known authority on Islam compares Muhammad’s revelations to the epileptic boy in Matthew 17, Mark 9, and Luke 9 who was demon possessed. (22) His conclusion was that it’s possible that Muhammad could’ve been such a case, with occultic influences causing epilepsy-like symptoms without amnesia, which has been recorded as happening to oriental ecstatics and mystics by missionaries and others. (22) Even more damning that Muhammad was a false prophet who may have been demon possessed is that not only did Muhammad die of poisoning at the hands of a Jewish woman after the conquest of Khaybar, (11, 13) but all of his male children died when they were very young. (13) Why this is important is because in Jeremiah 23:15, 34, God says that He will punish false prophets via “bitter food” and “poisoned water,” and that He would “punish that man and his household.” (13)  

Overall, while it’s almost impossible to give a concrete diagnosis of the mental, spiritual, or neurological state of Jesus or Muhammad, from what we know of their lives, we can see if there is at least the potential that they suffered from some sort of disorder or spiritual oppression. While Jesus Christ has been repeatedly accused of having epilepsy, various personality disorders, or being demon possessed, He has repeatedly proved Himself to be completely sane. He denied being possessed, never acted as one demon possessed, and showed no symptoms of epilepsy or any personality disorders.  Muhammad, however, when faced with similar accusations, is unable to give a satisfying rebuttal. From the accounts given by the hadiths and various Islamic scholars, the belief that Muhammad had epilepsy, a personality disorder, or was demonically possessed finds ground. There are strange accounts that support each theory, leading some to even speculate that he had a combination of all three. Either way, it’s clear that while Jesus was perfectly sane and was who He said He was, Muhammad was most likely a madman. 

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – A Comparison of Claims About the Insanity of Jesus and the Insanity of Muhammad. (Part 2)

While epilepsy is a plausible explanation for Muhammad’s behavior, and an impossible one for Jesus’, another theory must be considered. The existence of personality disorders in both men has been suggested and it’s also worthwhile to examine the symptoms of them to see if they fit. Personality disorders exist when the patient’s way of thinking, perceiving, reacting, and relating to others becomes so pronounced, rigid, and maladaptive that they negatively affect work or interpersonal functioning. (9) Childhood trauma, verbal abuse, and cultural factors have also been linked to the development of personality disorders. (8) They can be identified by the lack of a clear, stable image of self, unrealistically high or low self-esteem, and an unawareness of how their thoughts or actions are problematic. (8) Patients may exhibit bad beliefs or actions, lack empathy or respect, and be emotionally detached or overly needy attention or care. (8) Their behavior may be inconsistent, frustrating, or confusing to others, and they may have issues understanding realistic and acceptable ways to treat others. (8) With the exception of anti-social personality disorder (which can appear as early as 11), personality disorders are identifiable by 18. (8) Left untreated, their disorders may result in poor relationships, occupational issues and impaired social functioning. (8) The ten different types of personality disorders are categorized by the DSM-5 into three main categories or “clusters.” (8) 

The first category is known as Cluster A. (8) Cluster A personality disorders involve unusual or eccentric thinking or behavior. (8) Paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders fall into this category. (8) Paranoid personality disorder gives people a relentless, unmerited suspicion or distrust of others, with the belief that others are trying to demean, harm, or threaten them. (8) Schizoid personality disorder is less intense and is marked by a consistent pattern of detachment from or a general disinterest in personal relationships. (8) Patients with schizoid personality disorder usually have a limited range of emotions when with others. (8) Patients with schizotypal personality disorder experience a consistent pattern of discomfort and have a limited need for close relationships. Any relationships they have may be hindered by their distorted view of reality, superstitions, or strange behaviors. (8)  

Meanwhile, Cluster B personality disorders involve dramatic or erratic and impulsive behavior and intense, unstable emotions. (8) The specific disorders that fall into Cluster B are antisocial, borderline, narcissistic, and histrionic personality disorders. (8) 

Starting with the symptoms of antisocial personality disorder (ASPD), antisocial personality disorder is displayed by a lack of respect towards others and a rejection of social norms and rules. (8) people with ASPD may break the law, cause harm to others, and refuse to take responsibility or display regard for the negative consequences of their actions. (8) They may be deceitful, exploitative, and reckless, all for personal profit or pleasure with no remorse, usually justifying or rationalizing their behavior in some way. (8) They may steal, harass others, manipulate, con, or destroy property. (9) They do not think about the consequences for or safety of themselves or others, and may suddenly change jobs, homes, or relationships, consume excessive amounts of alcohol or take illicit drugs, are socially and financially irresponsible, irritable, physically aggressive, abusive towards their spouse or partner, or polyamorous. (9) They’re extremely opinionated, self-assured, and arrogant, but can act charming, voluble, and verbally facile to get what they want. (9) ASPD can also be comorbid with impulse control, mood, anxiety, gambling, and bipolar disorder, as well as ADHD. (9) 

The cause of anti-social personality disorder is unknown, though scientists believe that genetic and environmental influences may contribute to the development of ASPD. (9) It’s more often found among 1st degree relatives of patients who also have it than in the general population. (9) Children who have been abused or neglected, or who had parents with inconsistent disciplining or parenting styles, are at increased risk of developing it. (9) 

To be diagnosed with ASPD, one must have a persistent disregard for the rights of others and the law, deceitfulness indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, and conning for personal gain. (9) There must also be impulsivity, irritability and aggression (constantly getting into physical fights and assaulting others), recklessly disregarding the safety of self or others, constant irresponsibility, and a lack of remorse. (9) These symptoms must be present before the patient is 15 years old. (9) 

Meanwhile, borderline disorder is marked with difficulty regulating emotions, low self-esteem, mood swings, impulsivity, and relationship difficulties. (8) Symptoms of borderline disorder can also overlap with those presented in histrionic or narcissistic personality disorder and is commonly misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder. (9) Patients with borderline personality disorder often feel furious or panicky when they feel abandoned, even if it’s for something small (like being slightly late.) (9) They may change their view of a person abruptly after a period of idealization, suddenly demeaning the other person. (9) Another trait of borderline personality disorder is that they have difficulty controlling their anger, becoming disproportionately angry, for which they will feel ashamed. (9) They may often self-sabotage, dramatically change their self-image, feel empty inside, self-mutilate or attempt suicide, and may have dissociative episodes, paranoid thoughts, or psychotic symptoms (such as hallucinations.) (9) The cause of this is most linked to childhood separation from caregivers, the death of a parent, and physical or sexual abuse. (9) 

Histrionic personality disorder can be identified if the patient has intense, unstable emotions, a distorted self-image, dramatic, inappropriate, and attention-seeking behaviors, and self-esteem that’s dependent upon the approval of others. (8) They may use their physical appearance and act inappropriately in seductive or provocative ways. (8) Their emotions are persistently excessive, and rapidly shifting or shallow. (9) They are uncomfortable when they’re not the center of attention, are highly suggestible, theatrical and self-dramatizing, and interpret relationships as more intimate than they are. (9) 

Narcissistic personality disorder is like histrionic personality disorder and involves a consistent pattern of perceived superiority or grandiosity, need for praise or admiration, and a lack of empathy. (8) Narcissists have difficulty regulating their self-esteem, needing praise and affiliations with special people or institutions to maintaining their self-esteem and is more common in men than women. (9) Narcissists overestimate their abilities and exaggerate their achievements, thinking they’re superior, unique or special. (9) They are preoccupied with fantasies of great achievements and feel they should only associate with others as special as themselves to support or enhance their self-esteem. (9) Narcissistic people may respond with rage or contempt or vicious counterattacks to criticism or avoid situations where they may fail. (9) To be a diagnosed narcissist, you must have a persistent pattern of grandiosity (exaggerated, unfounded sense of their own importance), preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited achievements, belief that they are special or unique, need to be unconditionally admired, exploit others, lack empathy, envy others, and are arrogant or haughty. (9) 

Cluster C personality disorders involve severe fear and anxiety, with avoidant, obsessive-compulsive, and dependent personality disorder. (8) Avoidant personality disorder is marked by chronic feelings of inadequacy, and patients are highly sensitive to being negatively judged, avoiding social interaction for fear of rejection. (8) Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) is marked by an extreme, consistent need for orderliness, perfectionism, and control, (8, 9) with a severe focus on rules, minute details, procedures, schedules, and lists to maintain a sense of control. (9) They repeatedly check for mistakes and pay extraordinary attention to detail, so much so that they may neglect other aspects of life. (9) They tend to be solitary in their endeavors; mistrusting others’ help and are rigid and stubborn in their activities. (9) They’re overly dedicated to work and productivity so much that leisure and relationships are neglected. (9) Time spent with friends tends to be formally organized activities and hobbies or recreational activities are viewed as important tasks requiring organization and hard work. (9) Affection is expressed in informal, stiff, or serious ways, and OCPD patients are intolerant of emotional or expressive behavior, overzealous, picky, and rigid on issues of morality, ethics, and values, applying rigid moral principles to themselves and others. (9) It’s different from OCD because OCPD patients don’t recognize the need to change. (8) 

Dependent personality disorder involves a constant excessive need to be cared for by someone, submissiveness, constant reassurance, and inability to make decisions. They people-please, and display passive or clinging behavior. (8) 

From even a cursory overview of Cluster A personality disorder, one can conclude that neither man exhibited a Cluster A personality disorder. Jesus had deep, stable relationships with many people. (3, 21) His predictions about His death, though critics have interpreted it as paranoia, were completely justified. (3) Likewise, Muhammad also had close relationships with many people and showed no pervasive paranoia. Thus, the analysis must shift to Cluster B and C disorders. 

An analysis of the symptoms of Cluster B and C disorders shows Jesus’ life does not reflect any disorder from these categories either. Though Jesus was accused of being insane by his contemporaries, (Mark 3:21-22, John 10:20) (3) His responses to these accusations in passages such as Mark 3:31-35 and Matthew 12:46-50 are rational and calm. (3) Additionally, no mentally ill or evil person would have been able to speak or behave the way Jesus did. (21) All the evidence points to Him being a well-adjusted, mature person, with His words and deed never being in conflict with each other. (21) He was faultless in conduct, and all His virtues were perfectly in line with divine perfection. (14) He was always in control of Himself, even after betrayal; (Matthew 26:53-56) (3, 18) His teachings were not that of a lunatic; (i.e. “The Sermon on the Mount”) (3, 18) and He always demonstrated a concrete understanding of His identity and mission. (John 8:23) (3, 18)  

So strong is the evidence that Jesus was not insane that even Bart Ehrman, one of the most prominent agnostic atheists in recent memory, said, “The reality is that a lot of people today who are predicting the imminent end of the world may have a few screws loose. But the kinds of expectations that Jesus held about the coming kingdom of God in a cataclysmic display of divine force were not ‘weird’ or ‘way out there’ or ‘psycho’ in his day. They were fairly common. Unless you want to say that all apocalyptic Jews were clinically crazy, I don’t think you can say Jesus was.” (Paragraph 18) (20) He continues in the next paragraph, “And he may well have thought (I think he did think) that he would be made the messiah in a future kingdom. That may have been a rather exalted view of himself, but I don’t think it makes Jesus crazy. It makes him an unusually confident apocalyptic prophet. There were others with visions of grandeur at the time. I don’t think that makes him mentally ill. It makes him a first-century apocalyptic Jew.” (Paragraph 19, sentence 7-12) (20) Christian apologist, Don Stewart, also writes “A pathology of Jesus is possible only upon the basis of a lack of acquaintance with the course and conclusions of New Testament criticism and an amateur application of the principles of the science of psychiatry.” (19) (Paragraph 25) 

Further supporting that Jesus was not insane is that Romans didn’t execute people for insanity. (19) This theory was posed by Justin Meggit, a lecturer from the University of Cambridge, in his book The Madness of King Jesus: Why was Jesus Put to Death by His Followers Were Not? that Pilate and other Romans thought Jesus was insane and was executed as a royal pretender. (19) However, this explanation is insufficient as the Romans’ standard procedure was also to execute any would-be insurgents with their leaders. (19) 

However, as with the accusations of epilepsy, Muhammad has a much harder time standing against the accusations of having some sort of personality disorder. Though the Muslim world views him as the greatest prophet in history, the universal messenger to all mankind, a perfect example of human behavior beyond reproach, sinless, but not without human failings, sent to present and confirm the monotheistic teaching preached in previous Abrahamic religions, (11, 14) history paints a different story. When one looks at the historical accounts of Muhammad’s life, we see a man whose behavior was flawed at best and utterly reprehensible at worst. 

Muhammad was born in Mecca to a man named Abdullah (who died before he was born) and Aaminah on the 12th of Rabi-al-Awwal (around the 20th or 22nd of April 571.) (10) His grandfather, Abdul Muttalib, was the one who named him and took Muhammad to the Ka’ba where he performed Aqeeqah, praying to Allah for Muhammad’s health and long life, and giving thanks for his birth. (10) Aaminah, after suckling him for the first 7-9 days of his life, sent him to be brought up in the desert to become stronger and healthier. (10) He was given to a wet nurse named Halima, who was part of the Banu Saad branch of the Hawazin tribe. (10) His childhood was eventful, as numerous people attempted to kidnap or kill him, with some saying that he would become a king otherwise. (10) He stayed with Halima for an extended time by her request, (10) but Muhammad was eventually returned to his mother around the time he was five or six years old. (10) This time with his mother would be sadly short lived, as Aamina died on the return journey from Medina at Abwa, a village near Al-Juhfa, though some believe she died at Mecca when Muhammad was about 6-8 years old. (10) 

After this, he lived happily with Abdul Muttalib and his aunts Hamzah and Safiyah, who were about his age. (10) This lasted for two years, and after Muttalib died, Muhammad was sent to live with his uncle, Abu Talib, the leader of the Hashim tribe, and his wife, Fatimah bint Asad. (11)  

From there, Muhammad became a shepherd, then a merchant, working for a wealthy woman named Khadija, who was a third cousin of Muhammad’s mother and had three children from previous marriages. (11) He married her in 595 AD at the age of 25. (11) It was during his marriage to Khadija that he would be visited by Gabriel and commanded to recite verses from Allah. (11) In response, he believed he was possessed by a demon, became suicidal and repeatedly tried to jump off a cliff according to Sahih Bukhari. (11) More suicide attempts were made when the revelations stopped. (11) 

Muhammad soon began sharing his revelations and initially gained a few followers. (11) After Abu Talib died, he fled Mecca to Medina to escape persecution from the polytheists in Mecca, who were accusing him of plagiarizing the stories of the ancients, also stealing from those of Abrahamic faiths, and claimed that he was illiterate. (11) During this time, his revelations read poetry, but alterations in the content of the verses followed Muhammad’s rising place in society. (11) The gradually became more straight forward and violent as he gained power, with these later revelations abrogating the earlier ones. (11) Once in Medina, he united the tribes there under the constitution of Medina and ordered his followers to not contact their relatives in Mecca and cut ties with non-Muslim relatives. (11)  

While going to Medina, in March 624 AD, Muhammad and about 300 converts raided a Meccan merchant caravan, which led to the Battle of Badr when the Meccans retaliated. (11) The Muslims were victorious, killing 70 Meccans and taking 70 more as prisoners for ransom. (11) Surah 33:26 celebrates this victory, saying that Allah cast terror in their hearts so the Muslims could win. (14) In 629 AD, Muhammad invaded Mecca with ten-thousand men and won the city. (11) Three years later, in 632 AD, he became infirm with severe head pain and weakness, which may have been caused by an earlier event in which he was poisoned by a Jewess after the conquest of Khaybar. (11) 

After Khadija died, Muhammad became known for being a womanizer, (11, 14) having at least nine wives by the end of his life (14) (though some say he had fifteen wives (11) and numerous concubines, including a Coptic slave named Mariyah. (11)  He was 50 when he married who was possibly his first new wife, Sauda bint Zam’ah, and married Aisha around this time, though there’s evidence that he may have married Aisha first after Khadija died. (Sahih Muslim volume 2, page 748) (14) Aisha was his favorite wife, and she was soon disturbed by Muhammad’s growing number of wives after he married his fourth wife. (14) Inevitably, his many marriages and favoritism between them caused great jealousy and dissention amongst his wives. (14)  

This causes problems for Muhammad since in Sahih Muslim volume 4, page 1260, Muhammad said he was the most like Jesus out of “the whole of mankind.” (14) He even tried to outdo Jesus in Sahih Muslim volume 4, page 1230, says that he would be “preeminent among the descendants of Adam on the Day of Resurrection” and would serve as an intercessor for mankind. (14) While polygamy and caravan raiding were common facts of life in 7th-century Arabia, Muhammad was posited as a universal prophet and guide of mankind, making him subject to absolute standards. (14) However, he never condemned those practices, which stands in contrast to his claim to be like or outdo Jesus in morality. (14) 

Furthermore, Muhammad’s wives Aisha and Zaynab bint Jahsh provide huge issues for Muhammad’s claim to be like Jesus. To start with Aisha, she was six when Muhammad married her according to the Hadiths after Muhammad allegedly had a dream about her twice in which she was drawn on a piece of silk. (1, 12) Thus, after Muhammad managed to convince her father, Abu Bakr, to go along with it, he married her and consummated the marriage when she was 9. (1, 12) She became his favorite wife, so much so that Muhammad’s other wives had to beg for equal treatment, causing dissention. (1, 12) 

This is particularly startling as by all accounts; Muhammad was a pedophile. The practice of marrying girls young, especially once they hit puberty was common in pre-Islamic Arabia, but Muslims hold that Muhammad condemned their immorality. (12) If true, this also makes him a hypocrite. To get out of this, Muslims argue that he married Aisha as a part of Allah’s plan so Aisha could help girls her age with questions about sexual ethics and morals, and so her personality and life could be shaped by Muhammad so she could serve Allah well. (12) However, on this front, Muhammad didn’t have sufficient reason for Allah to ordain the marriage since he could have simply outlawed sex with young girls so girls Aisha’s age wouldn’t have to worry about it. (12) He also could have decreed that one had to wait until puberty to marry a girl. (12) Muslims have also argued that Muhammad married her because she was a precocious girl, but hadiths do not support this, as she seemed like a normal girl and Surah 65:4 of the Quran already allows pre-pubescent marriage. (12) There are also a few hadiths that say that Muhammad had a liking for young girls. (12) One of them says, “When I took the permission of Allah’s Apostle (the blessing and peace of Allah be upon him), he asked me whether I had married a matron. He said: ‘Why hadn’t you married a virgin that would play with you, and you would play with her?’” (Paragraph 22, sentence 1-2) (12) This not only terrible for Aisha because of the effects on her health, but because Muhammad was already old, marrying Aisha doomed her to a life of widowhood since Surah 33:53 prohibits marrying his widows. (12) 

Moving on to Muhammad’s marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh, this marriage was in direct opposition to Jesus’ teaching in Luke 16:18 and Mark 10:9 which both condemn divorce. (3, 14) Zaynab was originally the wife of Muhammad’s adopted son, Zaid. (14) Muhammad lusted after her and told his son, who divorced her, and after Zaynab’s waiting period between divorce and remarriage, Muhammad married her as recorded in Sahih Muslim 1428b. (1, 14) 

The way that Muhammad reacted to criticism and resistance is also extremely telling. Most of the individuals assassinated by Muhammad were killed for their satire against him or their challenges to his claim to be the prophet of Allah. (14) An-Nadr ibn al-Harith was assassinated by Muhammad for ridiculing the Quran and reciting Persian legends that were more beautiful than Muhammad’s recitations after the Battle of Badr. (14) 

 Ka’b ibn Ashraf was another victim of Muhammad’s. (14) He was a Jewish resident of Medina who composed satirical verses against Muhammad, using his talent in Mecca to get the Quraysh tribe to rise against Muhammad in response to the Battle of Badr. (14) Sahih Bukhari volume 4, page 168, Sahih Bukhari volume 5, page 248, Ibn Ishaq’s Sirat Rasulullah page 367, and Ibn Sa’d in Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir volume 2, pages 36-37 all record Muhammad’s order for Ashraf’s death and the subsequent assassination. (14) Muhammad ordered his followers to kill Ashraf using any method necessary, including through lying and trickery. (14) Sahih Muslim volume 3, page 99 and Ibn Sa’d in Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir volume 2, pages 36-37 record that Muhammad’s followers did lie to lure Ashraf into the trap that led to his murder. (14) 

Abu Rafi, the leader of the Banu Nadhir tribe was killed in Khaybar in a similar manner to Ashraf according to Sahih Bukhari volume 5, pages 253-254 and Ibn Ishaq in Sirat Rasulullah page 483. (14) Al-Harith ibn Suwayd ibn Samit and ‘Asma bint Marwan both died for satire, too. (Sirat Rasulullah pages 675-676) (14) Muhammad also allowed a follower of his named al-Zubayr, to torture a man to find out where a large sum of money was hidden. (14) When it was clear that there was nothing to be gained, Muhammad had him decapitated. (14) 

Additionally, not only did Muhammad curse the Jews, but he also cursed the Christians (Surah 9:30), the opposite of what Jesus did in Luke 6:27-28, 9:55, 23:34. (3, 14) Muhammad’s initial contact with Christians were less frequent compared to his interactions with the Jews. (14)  From his experience with the Negus of Abyssinia, he originally treated Christians more favorably, regarding them as potential friends and allies, as shown in Surah 5:85, 22:40, and 30:4. (2, 14) This soon turned into antagonism as the Christians began challenging his claims to prophethood, specifically having issues with the Quran ignores the doctrine of Jesus’ atonement on the cross, (Surah 5:54, 60) and the ubiquitousness of the name “Maryam,” which is used both for the name of Moses’ sister and Jesus’ mother. (Sahih Muslim volume 3, page 1169) (14)  

Later, during the clash with the Byzantines in Muhammad’s final years, Muhammad reviled the Christians for kufr (Surah 5:75-76) and in Sahih Muslim volume 3, page 965 and Muwatta Imam Malik 371, he so greatly hated the Jews and Christian that he commanded their expulsions. (14) As he was dying, he gave instruction to his follower, ‘Umar, to ensure the Jews would be driven out of the Arabian Peninsula. (14) 

Perhaps the bloodiest example of Muhammad’s evil is what he did to the Medinan Jews (11) after the Battle of the Ditch, (14) also known as the Battle of the Trench, which took place in 627 AD. (11) After this battle and the ensuing siege, Muhammad led a wholesale massacre of the prisoners. (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasulullah page 464 and Ibn Sa’d Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir volume 2 page 93) (14) Muhammad ordered the men and boys to be beheaded, and the women and young children were sold into slavery. (11) According to al-Tabari, many of the heads were personally severed by Mehammed, filling a trench as they were brought to him. (11) Wiki Islam writes: “One of the explanations given by some Arab historians and biographers for Muhammad’s treatment of the Jews of Medina is that ‘the punishment of the Medina Jews who were invited to convert and refused, perfectly exemplify the Qur’an’s tales of what happened to those who rejected the prophets of old.’” (Paragraph 24) (11)  

Muslims try to argue that this was standard procedure for military leaders, but it hardly fits into the standard of conduct that Jesus laid out. (14) Though many Old Testament prophets acted callously, Muhammad was expressly comparing himself to Jesus, who never behaved callously, much less beheaded hundreds of people. (14) From this we can see that Muhammad and his companions’ actions line up closer to the words of Jesus in John 3:19-20, 8:44, and Ephesians 5:12. (3, 14)  

By even these few events in Muhammad’s life, it’s easy to believe that he may have had a personality disorder that falls into Cluster B. Certainly, Cluster A can be ruled out since, while Sahih Bukhari 3562 describes him as being “shier than a virgin girl,” (1, 11) he did not seem to exhibit paranoia or have issues with his relationships of the type experience by those with Cluster A personality disorders. Cluster C can also be largely ruled out, with the exception of obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. Thus, it’s possible that Muhammad could have had narcissistic, borderline, anti-social, or histrionic personality disorder, with the most plausible one being borderline. From historical accounts of his life, he was constantly abandoned as a child, he was callous, didn’t respond well to criticism, was self-seeking, controlling, a womanizer, a pedophile, was suicidal, etc.  

Another theory as to why Jesus and Muhammad said the things they did is that they may have had dissociative identity disorder (DID). Dissociative identity disorder was formerly known as multiple or split personality disorder and is extremely rare, with a small U.S. study finding that it only affects 1.5% of people. (16) Typically, it’s caused by severe trauma, stressful experiences, or abuse during childhood which forces the patient to develop two or more separate personalities as a coping mechanism. (16) These personalities – known as “alters” – may have different behaviors, memories, thought patterns, expressions, ethnicities, and ways of interacting with things. (16) These alters control the patient’s behavior at different times. (16) Memories may not transfer from one personality to another, leaving gaps in the patient’s memory as personalities switch in response to different triggers. (16) Symptoms of DID begin to appear between five to ten years old and are commonly overlooked by parents, guardians, and family members, and often mistaken for other disorders such as ADHD. (16) Symptoms include feeling detached from reality, confused by what others say about your behavior, stress from not being in control, feeling like you’re watching yourself from the outside, and amnesia. (16) 

There are two forms of dissociative identity disorder, called possession and non-possession. (16) During possession, the alters or identities present as though an outside entity took control of the body, with the patient speaking or acting differently in a way that’s obvious to others. (16) In non-possession, the identities are less known to others, with patients feeling like they are having an out-of-body experience, unable to control their speech, emotions, or behaviors. (16) In both cases, the switch is unwanted or involuntary. (16) Because of this, DID is often accompanied by anxiety, delusions, depression, self-harm, suicidal ideation, and substance abuse disorder, with more than 70% of DID patients attempting suicide or self-mutilating. (16) 

Like with the other accusations of epilepsy or the existence of various personality disorders, there is no evidence from Jesus’ life, actions, or words to support His having dissociative identity disorder. From the Gospels, we know that He likely had a stable family life, had a solid understanding of who He was, understood His mission, and never seemed to switch from one identity to another. (3)  

On the other hand, Muhammad has more to support the possibly of having dissociative identity disorder. He was given away as a baby, had people trying to kidnap or kill him, was sent back to his mom, soon orphaned, raised by his grandfather until he passed, then was sent to his uncle. This could have set up the foundation for developing DID, but because of how well-timed some of his revelations were and the involuntary nature of DID, doubt can be reasonably cast on this diagnosis. For example, in Sahih Bukhari 4788, Aisha comments, “I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires,” (1) in response to Muhammad’s revelation of Surah 33:51 (2) which helped justify his marriage to Zaynab bint Jahsh. 

Additionally, the very existence of dissociative identity disorder is widely disputed amongst doctors, with many saying that it’s not a real disorder. Thus, further doubt can be put on this diagnosis for both Jesus and Muhammad. 

However, if neither man were epileptic or insane, this leaves what’s possibly the oldest and most serious accusation against either of them: demon possession, which will be discussed in the next post.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – A Comparison of Claims About the Insanity of Jesus and the Insanity of Muhammad. (Part 1)

One of the many questions critics of various religions ask when evaluating the validity of the religion’s claims is the question of its founder’s mental health. If it can be proven that the founder’s claims came from delusions, then the religion risks being dismissed as the ramblings of a madman. As C.S. Lewis put it in his famous trilemma regarding Jesus, “A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic – on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. […] Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.” (Paragraph 1, sentences 3-4, 6) (17) A similar framework can be applied to Muhammad, as – like Jesus – he was accused of lunacy both by contemporaries and modern critics. Either Jesus and Muhammad were delusional but sincerely believed what they said, were charlatans, or one of them was telling the truth about who they were. Thus, this paper seeks to examine their lives to see if the accusations of insanity hold historical or psychological weight. 

To begin our investigation into if Jesus and Muhammad were insane, we must understand the various disorders that Muhammad and Jesus are believed to have had. Critics of both men have alleged based on various accounts of their lives that they could have had various mental or neurological disorders. (19) In fact, in 2012, a team of psychiatrists, behavioral psychologists, neurologists, and neuropsychiatrists from Harvard Medical School published research that suggested the development of a new diagnostic category of psychiatric disorders related to religious delusions and hyper-religiosity. (19) They claimed that Jesus, Muhammad, and others may have had anything ranging from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, delusional disorder, delusions of grandeur, auditory-visual hallucinations, paranoia, Geschwind syndrome, or temporal lobe epilepsy. (19) Thus, we need to understand the symptoms of some of these disorders to compare them to what accounts of Jesus and Muhammad’s life may suggest. 

Because critics have long alleged that Jesus and Muhammad had epilepsy, we must understand what it is and understand its key manifestations before comparing them to the historical record. Epilepsy isn’t a mental illness, (4) but is a neurological condition that causes recurring seizures, (5) potentially leading to cognitive or psychological problems depending on its severity or if it’s left untreated. (4) It cannot be caused by volition, suggestion or hypnosis, (7) but is likely caused by genetic influences, head trauma, underlying factors in the brain, infections, injury before birth, or developmental issues. (5) Some potential triggers of epileptic fits include alcohol, flashing lights, drug use, lack of sleep, stress, dehydration, skipped meals, and illness. (5) Due to the unpredictability of epileptic seizures and the disorder’s stigmatized condition, epilepsy patients often experience poor self-esteem, discrimination, social withdrawal, and depression. (6) This was especially true in the ancient world, as Hasan Aziz writes, “The general perceptions then of those affected with epilepsy was of a tainted, incurable victim possessed by an evil spirit or devil, and the claim to Muhammad’s epilepsy was probably in response to this situation to slander him as a false prophet. Men of letters from the subsequent eras picked up these early narrations and quoted them per se without any verification, further substantiating these nonscientific works as the truth.” (Paragraph 9, sentence 3-4) (7) 

Epilepsy is diagnosed if the patient has had at least two seizures without a clear cause at least 24 hours apart. (5) In general, epileptic attacks last for a few seconds or a few minutes. (7) Symptoms vary depending on the type of seizure and how it affects different brain processes. (5) Epilepsy patients can experience staring spells, loss of awareness or consciousness, convulsions, muscle stiffness, fear and anxiety, behavioral changes, psychosis, or deja vu. (5) Seizures that cause deja vu or hallucinations usually last for a split second and lack verbal content. (7) Those that cause auditory hallucinations produce a machine-like buzzing or whistling sound. (7) Seizures can also cause repeated movements such as hand rubbing, chewing, swallowing, or walking in circles. (5) Patients usually have the same type of seizure every time they experience an epileptic fit. (5) 

On that note, there are different types of epilepsy diagnosed by what types of seizures the patient experiences and which part of the brain they affect. (5) Seizures are split into two groups with various subgroups, based on how they affect the brain. (5) Seizures that involve all areas of the brain are called generalized seizures and are further divided into absence, tonic, atonic, clonic, myclonic, and tonic-clonic seizures. (5) 

The second group of seizures are known as focal seizures and result from activity in one part of the brain, such as the temporal, frontal, or occipital lobe. (5) These seizures can be mistaken for migraines, narcolepsy, or mental illness. (5) Like with generalized seizures, these are split into two subcategories based on seizure symptoms. (5) These categories are called preserved or impaired consciousness. (5) During seizures with preserved consciousness, patients may have warning signs known as “auras.” (5) These auras may include a strange feeling in the stomach, fear, deja vu, a taste or smell, a visual effect such as steady or flashing light, color, or shape, dizziness, loss of balance, emotional changes, convulsions, tingling, dizziness, or hallucinations. (5) Seizures that impair consciousness, however, involve a change or loss of consciousness in the patient, sometimes leading to a dreamy state. (5) 

From looking at the accounts of Muhammad and Jesus’ lives; it doesn’t appear that they suffered from generalized seizures. If one is to say that either person suffered from epilepsy, they likely would have experienced focal seizures, pointing to a form of epilepsy, either affecting the frontal, occipital, or temporal lobe. Thus, symptoms from those specific seizures must be examined as well. 

Starting with occipital and frontal lobe seizures, seizures in the occipital lobe affect patients’ vision, sometimes causing hallucination or loss of some or all their vision. (5) Frontal lobe seizures, on the other hand, begin in the front of the brain and mainly affects motion. (5) Those experiencing a frontal lobe seizure may move their heads or eyes to one side, won’t respond when spoken to, may scream or laugh, extend one arm while flexing the other, or make repeated movements. (5)  

Temporal lobe seizures, however, occur in the lobes that process emotions and short-term memory. (5) They may cause a patient to lose awareness of their surroundings. (5) Temporal lobe epilepsy also brings with it a higher risk of developing psychiatric problems than in patients who have more generalized symptoms. (6) Short-term memory loss can come with it, too, potentially since these seizures impair the areas of the brain that process emotion. (4) 

Moreover, epilepsy and psychiatric disorders may have shared pathogenic mechanisms. (6) This could mean that, in some cases, the presence of psychiatric disorders may represent the premorbid phase of some epileptic syndromes due to shared neurobiological mechanisms. (6) Studies have found that epileptics have a 2-5 times increased risk of developing any psychiatric disorder with a third of patients having a lifetime psychiatric diagnosis. (6) Epilepsy can cause depression, anxiety, and suicidal thoughts and behaviors, (5) potentially from forcing specific behaviors such as maintaining regular sleep cycles, limited alcohol use, and other lifestyle changes, combined with preexisting stress, frustration, fear, and embarrassment from having seizures. (4) Data from prospective observational studies show that the relationship between epilepsy and psychiatric disorders goes both ways. (6) One study from the United Kingdom involving over 10 million subjects found that depression caused a 2.5-fold increased risk of developing epilepsy and suicide risk increased 2.9-fold even before diagnosis. (6) A meta-analysis of adults in 14 population-based studies that included over a million subjects also showed an overall prevalence of active depression in epilepsy patients of 23.1% with an increased risk of developing depression of 2.7 as compared to the general population. (6) As PubMed writes: “From a neurobiological perspective, neuroimaging studies in people with primary psychiatric conditions such as depression or schizophrenia have shown abnormalities in brain networks overlapping with those involved, for example, in temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), particularly in the amygdala and the hippocampi.” (Paragraph 4, sentence 3) (6) 

Generalized anxiety disorder is another psychiatric issue that’s often present in epilepsy patients, with causes varying from the diagnosis, a symptom of seizures, fear stemming from the first seizure, and social isolation or rejection. (4) However, just like depression, causes of epilepsy can also contribute to anxiety symptoms. (4) One meta-analysis of 27 studies in over three thousand adults with epilepsy showed a pooled prevalence of anxiety disorders of 20.2%, with generalized anxiety disorder being the most common. (6) 

Epilepsy can also cause slowness, memory impairment, attention problems, and dementia. (4) Cognitive and intellectual problems caused by epilepsy are often related to it beginning at an early age, the number or frequency of seizures, poor seizure control, the length of the seizure, low oxygen levels, injury, infection at birth, or underlying brain lesions. (4) For young children, development can be delayed due to uncontrolled seizures, and in those with underlying cognitive problems, there are higher rates of brain abnormalities, which can result in different kinds of seizures. (4) 

Most concerningly, however, is epilepsy’s effect on psychosis. Psychiatric comorbidities are associated with premature mortality for a variety of reasons, such as an increased risk of substance or alcohol abuse, increased risk of injury, and suicidality. (6) A meta-analysis of 57 studies of psychosis and related disorders including over 40 thousand individuals showed a pooled prevalence of 5.6% in unselected individuals increasing to 7% and in those with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy having a greater risk of 7.8% compared to the general population. (6) These psychiatric symptoms are categorized as preictal, ictal, postictal, paraictal, and interictal according to their relationship with seizures. (6) 

Preictal symptoms precede a seizure and mostly occur during tonic-clonic seizures or temporal lobe epilepsy. (6) Preictal psychosis can include irritability, insomnia, and dysphoria that can last anywhere from a few hours to two days. (6) 

Ictal symptoms are manifestations of a seizure and may present as focal aware seizures. (6) These can cause nonmotor, emotional dysfunction (ictal fear or depression), and nonconvulsive status epilepticus (ictal psychosis). (6) 4% of epilepsy patients who experience complex partial seizures have religious experiences during psychosis called religious ictal seizures. (7) The symptoms of this vary, but those who experience this describe intense emotions of God’s presence, hearing his voice, feeling connected to the infinite, clairvoyance telepathy, repetition, or a visual hallucination of a religious figure. (7) Emotions felt during these events are generally indescribable. (7) There is also near total amnesia of all ictal events, and memory varies, with those events being followed by periods of sleep or blunted meditations, which distort memory, making it unreliable. (7) 

Postictal symptoms typically follow a bilateral tonic-clonic seizure but are also associated with temporal lobe epilepsy. (6) The resulting psychosis only affects about 2% of people. (6) Despite this, postictal psychosis is the most described and investigated form of psychosis and is also associated with temporal lobe epilepsy. (6) Postictal psychosis involves having florid, but brief psychotic episodes lasting hours or weeks, often described as worsening comorbid mood or anxiety disorders. (6) The onset of this psychosis is subtle, coming after 48 hours of lucid interval from the seizure and has a high mortality risk due to high suicidal ideation and violent behavior. (6)  

Paraictal symptoms involve forced normalization and behavior disturbance of acute or subacute onset. (6) This involves significant mood changes, anxiety, depersonalization or derealization, and psychogenic, nonepileptic attacks, as well as a reduction in the total number of spikes. (6) After paraictal symptoms have run their course, there can be a complete cessation of seizures for at least one week. (6) 

Finally, interictal symptoms can cause personality disorders like Geschwind syndrome characterized by obsessionality, increased philosophical or religious interests, hyposexuality, and hypergraphia. (6) Interictal symptoms – like ictal and postictal symptoms – are usually found in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. (6) It also involves schizophrenia-like, chronic psychosis with preserved affect and without progressive cognitive deterioration. (6) Interictal symptoms can also come with interictal dysphoric disorder with chronic affective somatoform syndrome, characterized by mood swings with irritability with multiple somatic symptoms. (6) 

Now that the symptoms of epilepsy have been laid out, one can move to determining if Jesus or Muhammad had symptoms resembling epilepsy. Starting with Jesus, if it could be proven that He had epilepsy that caused Him to believe that He was hearing from God, then it would cause a massive fracture in the validity of the Christian faith. (21) However, while psychiatrists and religious scholars and writers agree that Jesus was regarded as insane, delusional, or even demon possessed by family, friends, followers, and contemporaries (Mark 3:21, John 7:20, 10:19-21) (3, 19) there is no reference of Jesus ever having epilepsy or anything resembling it. The beliefs of critics such as Jean Meslier, David Straus, Lemuel K. Washburn, Oskar Holtzmann, Henry Leffmann, Georg Lomer, Oskar Panizza, Y.V. Mints, William Hirsh, and others that Jesus had epilepsy (19) are thus woefully unfounded. 

The same cannot be said about Muhammad, however. Muhammad was considered epileptic during the Byzantine period, about 200 years after his death. (7) Since then, this diagnosis has become a great theological and philosophical debate, raising questions about the validity of his prophethood, suggesting that he pretended his fits were revelation from Allah passed on through the angel Gabriel. (7, 13, 22) This was first brought up by Byzantine monk and early Greek chronicler, Theophanes, in the 8th century who suggested that Muhammad’s revelations were epileptic episodes. (7) Western historians, theologians, orientalists and physicians such as Humphrey Prideaux, Hottinger (a Swiss philologist and theologian), John Zonaras, Gustav Weil, (who was perhaps the first to probe into the oldest traditional biographies of Muhammad) Sir William Muir, and others believed this theory. (7)  

Modern-day, eminent neurologists have also agreed with this assessment, suggesting based on the writings of these orientalists, historians, and chronologists that Muhammad had temporal lobe epilepsy. (7) Prominent American neurologists such as William Gordon Lennox and Roy Freemon made significant contributions to this debate. (7) Lennox wrote in his book Epilepsy and Related Disorders that Muhammad had temporal lobe epilepsy based on hallucinatory auras recorded by Muir, including two losses of consciousness at age 2. (7) Freemon wrote what was possibly the first article on Muhammad’s epilepsy to be published in a scientific journal. (7) He concluded that Muhammad likely had psychomotor seizures from temporal lobe epilepsy, though historical knowledge of his brain function during altered states of consciousness doesn’t allow for an unequivocal diagnosis. (7) 

Furthermore, though some incorrect or erroneous translations have been found, reliable hadiths are available to provide evidence that Muhammad was potentially epileptic. (7) Starting with possible accounts of Muhammad having epilepsy from childhood, according to Sahih al-Bukhari 7571, Muhammad had a dream that Gabriel cut open his chest, took out his organs, veins, etc., washed them, put them back, and took him to visit heaven. (1) This hadith may be related to a similar account in Sahih Muslim, which says: “It is narrated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that the Messenger of Allah said: the angels came to me and took me to the Zamzam and my heart was opened and washed with the water of Zamzam and then I was left (at my place).” (Sahih Muslim 162b) (1) This account continues in Sahih Muslim 162c in more detail, saying, “Anas b. Malik reported that Gabriel came to the Messenger of Allah while he was playing with his playmates. He took hold of him and lay him prostrate on the ground and tore open his breast and took out the heart from it and said: That was the part of Satan in thee. And then he washed it with the water of Zamzam in a golden basin and then it was joined together and restored to its place. The boys came running to his mother, i.e. his nurse, and said: Verily Muhammad has been murdered. They all rushed toward him (and found him all right) his color was changed, Anas said. I myself saw the marks of needle on his breast.” (1) 

This event, known as Shaq al-Sadar (The Opening of the Chest), happened when Muhammad was a young child, out grazing cattle with his foster brother Abdullah ibn Harith. (10) Muhammad reportedly remembered the incident, as did Abdullah, Muhammad’s other foster siblings, and the other boys present. (10) One report also alleged that Halima, Muhammad’s wet-nurse and foster mother, had a dream about Shaq al-Sadar before it happened and had tried to stop Muhammad from going out. (10)   

As one author who calls himself Silas writes regarding Shaq al-Sadar, “Here is the story told by Muhammad’s wet-nurse, related in Guillaume’s translation of Ibn Ishaw, page 72: ‘His [Muhammad’s friends] father said to me, ‘I am afraid that this child has had a stroke, so take him back to his family before the result appears. … She [Muhammad’s mother] asked me what happened and gave me no peace until I told her. When she asked if I feared a demon had possessed him, I replied that I did.” (paragraph 4, sentence 2 – paragraph 5) (13) 

Interestingly, Islamic scholars such as al-Tabari and Ibn Sa’d used “fits,” “epilepsy,” “epileptic,” “falling sickness,” or “sara’a” in their chapters about Muhammad’s life, referring to the Shaq al-Sadar. (7) Tabari specifically called it a malady; Ibn Ishaw called it a stroke, and later writers such as Hisham and Sprenger called it an epileptic fit or hysteria respectively. (7) This is significant, as epilepsy was a condition known to Arab physicians at the time, and one hadith even mentions a person with epilepsy going to Muhammad for help, as recorded by Ibn Abbas. (7) William Muir, in his book, Life of Mahomet, similarly interpreted the story of 4-year-old Muhammad having his heart cut out by two angels (as told in Katib al Wackedi) as epilepsy. (7) He also added a comment from Halima’s husband that Muhammad “had a fit (omeeb) and advised his wife to return Muhammad to his mother.” (7) 

This is not the only instance where Muhammad had an experience that appears to be like epilepsy. Accounts of Muhammad’s initial revelation and later revelation from authoritative hadiths like Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim sound similar to epileptic symptoms. As written in Sahih Bukhari 4951, “Then Allah’s Messenger returned with that experience; and the muscles between his neck and shoulders were trembling till he came upon Khadija (his wife) and said, ‘Cover me!’ They covered him, and when the state of fear was over, he said to Khadija, ‘O Khadija! What is wrong with me? I was afraid that something bad might happen to me.” (1)  Sahih Bukhari 6982 also continues the story of the initial revelation, saying, ““But after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a while and the Prophet became so sad as we have heard that he intended several times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains and every time he went to throw himself down, Gabriel would appear before him and say, “O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah’s messenger in truth” whereupon his heart would do as before, but when he used to reach the top of a mountain, Gabriel would appear before him and say to him what he had said before.” (1) From this account, Theophanes writes: “He had an epileptic seizure, and when his wife noticed this, she became very distressed, for she was noble and had now been joined to a man who was not only helpless but epileptic as well. He turned to conciliating her, saying, ‘I see a vision of the angel known as Gabriel, and faint and fall because I cannot bear up under the sight of him.” (paragraph 10, sentence 4-5) (7) 

Though the trembling could be explained as being caused by fear and the suicidality from depression about Waraqa’s death, that does not adequately explain other strange symptoms that came before later revelations. Muhammad’s wife, Aisha, is recorded asking Muhammad what it was like receiving revelation from Allah. (1) His response, recorded in Sahih Muslim 2333b was, ““[…] at times it comes to me like the ringing of a bell…” (1) This is statement is corroborated by Sahih Bukhari 2, which says, “Narrated Aisha: […] Al-Harith bin Hisham asked Allah’s Messenger ‘O Allah’s Messenger! How is the Divine Inspiration revealed to you?’ Allah’s Messenger replied, ‘Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of Inspiration is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have grasped what is inspired.’” (1) Sunan an-Nasa’i 933 also records this event. (1) 

Already, this is strange, but other pre-revelation symptoms include phobic states such as anxiety, sweating, palpitations, trembling, visual and auditory hallucinations, and fainting. (7) As one hadith records: “At the moment of inspiration, anxiety pressed upon the Prophet and his countenance was troubled. He fell to the ground like an inebriate, or one overcome by sleep. On the coldest day his forehead would be bedewed with large drops of perspiration…To outward appearance inspiration descended unexpectedly, without any previous warning to the Prophet.” (paragraph 18, sentence 3-5) (7) Once again, Sahih Bukhari 2 also corroborates this, with Aisha saying, “Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired divinely on a very cold day and noticed that sweat dropping from his forehead (as the Inspiration was over).” (1) 

Muslim apologists argue that these pre-revelation symptoms are simply general discomfort that is to be expected during divine-to-human transfer. (7) However, despite the evidence so closely mirrors temporal-lobe epileptic auras that it’s no surprise that Ibn Sa’d devoted an entire chapter in Tabqat-al-Kabir to the symptoms associated with revelations, from which Freemon based his conclusions that Muhammad had temporal lobe epilepsy. (7) From this, Prideaux’s theory that Muhammad had epileptic fits that he used to compile chapters (surahs) of the Quran becomes plausible. (7)  

In response to this, Muslims have several arguments to the contrary. On the Shaq al-Sadar, Hasan Aziz says, “From neurological or any other perspective, this episode extraordinaire of a child surviving splitting open of his chest or belly to be closed within minutes and later relating the details himself or witnessed by his foster [sibling] is probably paranormal and cannot be accepted as epilepsy or any human happening.” (Paragraph 14, sentence 6) (7) Aziz also writes concerning the physical accompaniments of Muhammad’s revelations, quote, “On some occasions at least, there were some physical accompaniments. He would be gripped by a feeling of pain, and in his ears, there would be a noise like the reverberation of a bell. Even on a very cold day the bystanders would see great pearls of sweat on his forehead as the revelation descended upon him. Such accounts led some Western critics to suggest that he had epilepsy, but there are no real grounds for such a view. Epilepsy leads to physical and mental degeneration, and there are no signs of that in Muhammad; on the contrary, he was in full possession of his faculties to the very end of life.” (paragraph 21, sentence 3-7) (7)  

Another point that Aziz makes is that after every pre-revelation event, there was a Quranic revelation. (7) He argues that had it been a result of an epileptic attack, the revelations should not have been remembered as epileptic attacks are commonly followed by stupor, confusion, and amnesia. (7) It’s also reported in some hadiths that a buzzing could be heard by others before Muhammad went into one of his revelatory swoons, further refuting the idea that he was simply experiencing epileptic hallucinations. (7) 

Further arguments against the idea that Muhammad had epilepsy are that some of the translations of the hadiths are flawed. Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, a scholar of the Arabic language, worked on validating translations of the hadiths, finding inaccuracies and mistranslations. (7) When reviewing Muir’s translation of the Shaq al-Sadar, he pointed out that Muir’s translation of “omeeb” was incorrect, as it’s a word found in no Arabic lexicon and had no meaning. (7) The actual word was oseeb, which has many connotations that express dismay or affliction. (7)  Khan also commented on the per se translation of Abilfeda’s work into English by Dr. Edward Pococke, saying that his work was flawed as he added “hypochondriacal” to make the sentence flow more logically and grammatically in Latin, but changed the meaning of the entire sentence. (7) From there, since Prideaux had based his conclusions on Pococke’s work, Khan believed that Prideaux had reached a faulty conclusion from a faulty translation. (7) English historian Edward Gibbon also rejected Theophanes’ statements about Muhammad having epilepsy, calling them “an absurd calumny of the Greeks.” (7) Thomas Carlyle and William Montgomery Watts similarly rejected it, with Carlyle going so far as to paint Muhammad as a hero. (7)  

However, though epilepsy could be, at best a plausible explanation for Muhammad’s behavior, there are other explanations to take into account, such as his mental health, which will be discussed in part two.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa Friday – An Interesting Conversation Chain with a Muslim: Is Christianity Blind Faith?

On Wednesday, I posted my response to a Muslim’s claims for the veracity of Islam, so today, I’ll be posting my response to his critique of Christianity. If you haven’t already, I highly suggest you read Wednesday’s article so you have more context.

MUSLIM:

Now we can go to Christianity. Please don’t say “It is inspired by Holy Spirit.” I am only doing internal critique.

Blind Faith 1: Bible is a word of God. No manuscript [until the] 4th [century].

[This] manuscript is in [Kione] Greek, which is not [the] language of Jesus. We have someone who translated it, but we don’t even know who he is and we cannot verify his reliability, because Aramaic is [a] dead [language].

500,000 textual [variants] among the manuscripts.

[Hundreds] of internal contradiction.

[Hundreds] of scientific errors, numerical errors and historical inaccuracies.

We don’t know the authors of [the] Bible.

Each [of the] gospels contradict each other.

We don’t know who [wrote] the New Testament, only [what they] claim is their name, which cannot be proven. Even if it is proven, [it’s] no use. We don’t know anything about them. They are anonymous.

There is a claim Paul wrote 14 books. [The disciples] who lived with Jesus all together did not write this [many books], but Paul who did not even met Jesus in life, wrote 14 books and disciples [disagree] with him. And Paul [was] a bounty hunter and [claimed] he [saw] Jesus [on the] way to Damascus which is not even logical. Why [was] Jesus going to visit Paul and not the disciples?

You can claim scribal errors, but it proves my point. Why do you believe in book of errors while you have perfect one?

We can see the corruption of texts. At end of Mark [chapter] 12 verses were not present in codex Sinaiticus and the story of adulterer is not mentioned in early scriptures. And we can see many verses [are] present in [the] Bible which [are] not in earlier scriptures and every secular textual [scholar] agrees [the] Bible is corrupted and Bible has more [updates] than [the] iPhone. Who updates the Book of God?

There are [hundreds] of [Bibles] which [do] not agree with each other.

Every [sect] agrees in different [number] of canonical books. Who decides which [are] canonical based on what?? Millions of people follow the canonical books decided by Greek pagans based on blind faith.

Blind Faith 2: [The] Trinity [-] We can’t understand God.

[The] Trinity is not logically possible. Everyone [is] different and everyone [is] God, but they are not three, but one, i.e., 1+1+1=1.

Trinity is not present even in the corrupted bible. There is no trinity [or] its definition mentioned in [the] corrupted bible.

[The] early [followers] of Jesus never followed [the] trinity, until the 4th century council [of Nicaea?] They did not believe [in] the Trinty. They worshipped One God and people who believed in [the] trinity believed in subordinate trinity which father is greater than Jesus.

[The] Bible says God is not Author of confusion, [but the] trinity is the most unsolvable riddle from 4th century. You can claim We can’t understand God. If you can’t understand God, why do you understand in this way, which is logically impossible and blind faith of 4th century pagans?

No one knows [the] Trinity from Adam to 4th century people. They only worshipped one God. Why [is there] no mention of [the] trinity explicitly in [the] Old Testament. And this [is] the reason why Jews and Muslims consider Christianity as paganism.

Blind faith 3: God died for your sins.

Why are you limiting God? God passes sin for people because of sin of Adam, and he [sends] himself as an innocent and he dies himself by creation of himself to forgive the sin of people from himself. Who in a right mind will believe this? Even corrupted Indian court is more just than your God. Where did Jesus [say] that he is going to die for your sins in bible? There is none.

Jesus is asking God, “Why are you forsaking me?” and “Take this cup away from [me]”, which means Jesus himself was not interested in dying.

It goes against your bible. Jesus says he will be […] God will save him by quoting psalms, and he says his sign and sign of Jonah are same. […] Jonah died in belly of the fish […] how can [do?] you claim Jesus died?

Early followers did not [believe] Jesus died for peoples’ sin, and Paul came and [taught that] Jesus died for sins and the pagans believed. It is easy to sin and to believe Jesus died for my sins [and] can give salvation where Jesus himself said he came to fulfill the old laws and [the] least in the people of heaven is one who changes even a dot in law.

Where is the justice here? If [a] Christian man rapes Hindu girl, [the] rapist will go to heaven and victim goes to hell.

Blind Faith 4: Jesus and holy spirit [are] divine.

There is no verse in [the] corrupted Bible [in] which Jesus himself says he is God worship me and you can claim gospel of john, but when I see context, it is clear He just claimed to prophet. Churches take verses from [the] bible without context and brainwash the people, even corrupted bible points more towards lenient belief to worship god alone.

Jesus did not know the hour.

Jesus will is father’s will.

Jesus performed miracles with help of God same as other prophets.

Jesus says only true god is father.

Jesus prayed to the father.

Blind Faith 5: Hypostatical union

Jesus never claimed he is 100% man and 100% God.

No one know this till the council in 5th century.

How can someone be both powerful and [weak], both knowledgeable and ignorant, both God at the same time?

This [is] impossible existence. Even God cannot do [it], and it is belief of Hindu and Greek pagans

I have every right to say Christianity is blind faith and people introduced pagan belief in the religion of one true God who sent Adam, Moses, Noah, Abraham, Jesus and Mohammad and created a whole religion and people like you follow it blindly. Alhamdulilah for Islam! It is the only religion of God.

And you can ask me why you don’t get salvation.

Because first command of God is to worship him alone. But you are associating a prophet and spirit with him which is the unforgivable sin by the true God of reality, and you believe in 3 gods and [claim] it [is] one with zero evidence.

ME:

So now that I’ve addressed your points for why Islam is true (or, rather, completely untrue), I will get to showing you how your view of Christianity as blind faith is built on major misconceptions and outright lies:

1). The idea that there are no Biblical manuscripts until the 4th century is demonstrably false. We have fragments of the Old Testament that go back as far as the 6th or 7th century BC, and the oldest complete collection of the Old Testament is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, with some of the scrolls going back to the 3rd century.

As for the New Testament, while it’s true that the oldest complete manuscript is the Codex Sinaiticus from the 4th century, we have thousands of other fragments of the Bible that go back as early as the 2nd century. Over 5K manuscripts exist in Kione Greek alone. 9.3K exist in various other ancient languages, including Syriac, Coptic, Aramaic, and Latin. The reason why we haven’t found any original writings from the 1st century is because they likely fell apart over time from constant use. Further, from the fragments and manuscripts that we have, we can translate and compare them to the other complete manuscripts like the Codex Sinaiticus to see how well they line up. And surprise, surprise, they line up perfectly.

Further, even if the earliest example of the Bible went back to the 4th century, Muhammad affirmed in Surah 5:47-48 that the Injil was in the hands of the Christians. Thus, he clearly believed that the version they had was legit, as the Codex Sinaiticus precedes Muhammad by roughly 300 years. So, if the Quran is saying that it affirms that when, if you read the Bible, it contradicts the Quran, then the Quran is false. Thus, you’re just as guilty of blind faith as you accuse Christians of being.

On your argument that Jesus didn’t speak Kione Greek, this flies in the face of a historical reality. Thanks to Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Middle East and much of the ancient world, Kione Greek was like English is today. While Hebrew, Aramaic, and Latin were regional languages, Kione Greek was the common language. Everybody (including Jesus) would have spoken it to some extent for trade or teaching. In much of the world, this is still the case, where many people speak English to some extent because it’s a trade language. Additionally, your argument that we can’t reliably know who translated for Jesus (like He even needed a translator) because Aramaic is a dead language is purely laughable. By that logic, we should throw out most historical accounts as many languages spoken throughout history are now dead.

On your point about the textual variants in the different manuscripts, that’s to be expected when you have tens thousands of copies copied by humans. The majority of these variants are typos. Now, I understand that you have made the point that the defeats the idea of God perfectly preserving the Bible, but it simply doesn’t. Unlike the teaching of the Quran, God worked through people instead of micromanaging them.

On that note, with the story of the adulterous woman and other differences, while it’s true that some manuscripts don’t contain them, it’s in the Bible because it agrees with the theology and teachings of Jesus everywhere else. Unlike the teaching of the Quran, God worked through people instead of micromanaging them. The differences ultimately mean nothing, not changing the message or theology in any meaningful way.

Moreover, at least we have the manuscripts that differ in certain ways so we can compare and contrast! The same cannot be said of the Quran, which, during its compilation, competing Qurans were burned by Uthman, entire verses and surahs were lost, destroyed, or forgotten, and today, there are several Qurans that differ from each other, such as the Warsh and Hafs Qurans which differ in some drastic ways. Even between existing Quranic manuscripts from the time of Muhammad, there are major differences (refer back to my previous comment about the Sanaa Palimpsest.)

As for internal contradictions and other errors, much of that can be chalked up to a lack of understanding or bad hermeneutics. Things like genre, history, and context need to be taken into account when examining these supposed errors. Alleged contradictions in the Gospels can also be explained away with the larger context and historical background. The Gospels also do not contradict each other on the overall theology and story of Jesus life, death, and resurrection.

On your point about Paul, you forget that the books written by Paul were letters to various churches. That’s why there are so many of them. Further, you ask why Jesus appeared to Paul on the road to Damascus and not to the disciples. I’m sure they wondered the same thing, too. The reason is because Paul was a very unique man. He was a scholar and was greatly familiar with the Old Testament as he was originally a Pharisee. He was also a Roman citizen, which got him out of some major scrapes. Last, he was a great orator, and his testimony won many to Christ. He had privileges that the disciples had that made him the most effective to reaching the Gentiles.

As for the alleged hundreds of Bibles that don’t agree with each other, and the idea that no one can agree what’s cannon, this is untrue. All Bibles, be it Protestant, Catholic, or Ethiopian, contain the same 66 books of the Bible that are considered the unequivocal Word of God, which all agree on the same theology. The other books in there are apocryphal and added in for various reasons but generally are not considered to be inspired by the Holy Spirit, or even to be reliable by scholars.

Further, what was considered reliable was also largely influenced by what the Jews considered to be cannon. And, once again, as much as you want to claim that the Bible was put together by “Greek Pagans” at I’m supposing the Council of Nicaea, I will remind you that that same Bible was considered by Muhammad himself to be Scripture in Surah 5:47-48.

2). You argue that the Trinity is illogical and use the common argument that the Trinity is like saying “1+1+1=1” However, you forget something crucial to this discussion: the concept of units. Let me explain.

With the Trinity, one way you could explain it is to think about the three members of the Trinity as units that make a whole. Each member of the Trinity – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – is co-equal, co-eternal, shares the same essence, and is divine. Put together and you get God. Each one has a different role. God the Father is the ultimate source/cause of things; the Son is the one who acts as His agent, doing the Father’s will; and the Holy Spirit the means by which the Father works. It’s not a perfect description, but we’re comparing the finite to the infinite. No description is going to be perfect.

Because of that, I will agree with you that it can be confusing and hard to explain, and that God is not the author of confusion, but to say that this means that the Christian idea of God can’t possibly be true is a faulty argument. It’s basically like saying, “God as a Trinity is confusing and hard to explain…anything that’s confusing and hard to explain can’t be true…so therefore, God as a Trinity can’t be true.” By that logic, I should write off math since I find it extremely confusing and hard to explain as false.

And as for where this is in the Bible, it’s everywhere. One example is God will refer to Himself in the plural in several verses in the Bible, and uses the name Elohim (which is plural but God uses it to refer to Himself)(Genesis 1:1, 26; 3:22; 11:7; Isaiah 6:8, 48:16, 61:1; Matthew 3:16–17, 28:19.) It can also be found heavily implied in Isaiah 48:16 and 61:1. It’s also found throughout Psalms and Proverbs. And, of course, Matthew 3:13-17 best shows the Trinity, as the Holy Spirit and God the Father make an appearance:

“13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to deter him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?’15 Jesus replied, ‘Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.’ Then John consented.16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.’”

But why isn’t it actually called the Trinity in the Bible? Why is that word never actually used in the Bible?

Well, the word Trinity comes from the Latin word “trius” meaning “threefold.” The reason why it started being used was to more easily articulate the oneness of God in three persons as found throughout the Bible. It wasn’t something arbitrarily invented at the First Council of Nicaea (which, by the way, was convened to defeat the heresy of Arianism.) It was only given a formal name there.

3). You ask why God would die to save us humans from sin and say that not only is it nonsensical, but limits God. Let me explain with this analogy:

Imagine that you’re in court for a major crime, such as murder. You have broken the law, and the price of your crime is the death penalty. You stand in court, ashamed by what you’ve done and listen to the verdict. Nothing you can do, now, will be able to save you from receiving the death penalty. But then, the judge does something you don’t expect. He steps down from his bench, takes off his robe, and says that he’ll take your place, and you get to go free if you accept him taking your place.

This is the essence of the Gospel. When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden, they had a choice. They could continue to follow God and remain in perfection, or they could follow the serpent’s temptation of eating of the Tree of Good and Evil in the belief that they would become like God. They went with the latter choice, and in doing so, set the precedent for the rest of humanity. Ever since them, we have been trying to find ways to make ourselves like God, following our desires instead of His, trying to define and redefine our destinies. This tendency is ingrained in us from day one.

In so doing, we disobey God’s law and for all the good deeds we try to do, we still fail. We’re still bound for Hell. If you don’t believe me, think about the 10 Commandments, which, as they were the words of God given to Moses at Sinai, you should believe to be true as a Muslim. Ask yourself, honestly, if you have kept every one of them perfectly. You most likely haven’t, and all the good things you have done or think you’re doing as a Muslim will do nothing to atone for your sins. Why? Because like the criminal in the analogy, you’ve still broken the law, and the law demands justice that no amount of good works can save you from.

But God who loves us, provided us mercy by being that judge in the analogy from earlier. He offered Himself up as the eternal atonement, taking the punishment of death, giving us a choice between if we want to follow Him and accept his offering of atonement or continue trying to forge our own path and go to Hell (as C.S. Lewis said in his book The Great Divorce, “There are two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.”) He accomplished this act of unmerited grace through sending the second person of the Trinity, Jesus, to die for the sins of mankind. Jesus, then, was born of the virgin Mary, fulfilling prophecies about His birth, lived as a carpenter, and began his ministry around the age of 30, during which time, he accurately predicted his death. (Matt. 16:21-23, 17:22-23; Mark 8:31-33; Luke 9:21-22; John 12:7-8) In fact, in Matthew 20:28, Jesus explicitly says that He came “as a ransom for many,” which is also corroborated by Mark 10:45 and predicted by Isaiah 53.

Then, the time came for Jesus to be tried and crucified. Of course, He didn’t wish to die, and asked God the Father find a different way. After all, He knew what would happen. Google the effects of Roman flogging and crucifixion on the human body. It makes the electric chair look humane.

But it was God’s will for Him to be crucified, so He was arrested and hung on the cross before everyone. The Romans cast lots for his clothes (which was predicted in Psalm 22:14-18) and later, Jesus cried, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!”

This is an important point as Hell isn’t just fire and brimstone. When Christians say that death is the price for sin in the context of Hell, we mean that the person in Hell experiences total separation from God, the ultimate giver of life. It is God turning His face away from you. So, when Jesus said, “Why have you forsaken me?!” He was experiencing that separation that’s meant for us.

Then, once He died, He was taken down and put in the tomb for three days (fulfilling even more prophecies.) This was the sign of Jonah. As Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days before being spit out, (which symbolized death and rebirth) Jesus was in the tomb for three days before being resurrected, proving Himself as God, as only God can raise people from the dead.

From this, we get the doctrine that if you believe that Jesus has died on the cross to cover the price of your sin, and you profess that He is Lord and have faith in that, then you are saved from going to Hell.

This view of God also doesn’t limit Him. I would argue that believing that God can’t or won’t step in for His creation is more limiting than believing that He, as our Sovereign Lord and Judge, could find a way to save us.

Now you ask how that works since sinning is easy. That’s a fair question. Basically, when you believe in Christ and are saved, you’re indwelt by the Holy Spirit and go through a process called “sanctification.” It’s not something that will be fully completed this side of eternity, as none of us will be perfected in life, but it does make you recognize sin in your life and convicts you of it.

At this point in your original comment, you asked how it’s fair that if a Christian man rapes a Hindu girl that he goes to Heaven and she still goes to Hell. Once again, this is a fair question, and the answer is that he will still be held to account for that sin. We all will be held to account for our sins, even if we have been saved.

And before you say, “But that’s not fair,” Islam hardly offers a better option. In fact, in Sahih Muslim, Sunan ibn Majah, and Sahih Bukhari, it says that Muslims who have “mountains of sin” will have that sin transferred to Christians and Jews in Hell, so they get to go to Heaven without giving an account for themselves solely based on being Muslim. Further, if you’re a Muslim waging jihad and you’re murdering, raping, pillaging, etc. and get killed, you still get the Disneyland fast pass to Heaven.

How is any of that fair? Not only does it contradict the Quran, but it also means that you’re dependent on other people who may have been better in life than you to carry your sins so you can go to Heaven. At least God paid for the sins of mankind voluntarily. According to those hadiths, I will be forced to carry your sin and be punished for it. Where is the justice in that?!

4-5). Most of your bonus points about how Christianity is reliant on blind faith I feel I’ve mostly answered already with my explanations of the Trinity and what the Gospel teaches. But for the bonus challenges, I’ll answer with some bullet points.

• This is done because while Jesus was fully God, also being fully man, He voluntarily restricted the use of His divine attributes, including total omniscience. In the times where He demonstrated His divinity, it was with God the Father’s permission.

• Jesus performed God’s will because He – as the second person of the Trinity – is God’s agent. This also addresses your other points about Him praying to God the Father (who’s the head of the Trinity) and doing miracles by His power.

• Jesus’ claim to 100% divinity and 100% humanity can be found in His claims to be God, and the descriptions of His life; His childhood, adulthood, and death. It was from this and doctrines reflected in the Epistles of Paul and other disciples that the Council of Chalcedon, in the 5th century, came up with the doctrine of the hypostatic union.

• Finally, you ask how someone can be powerful/weak, knowledgeable/ignorant, and man/God at the same time. This paradox has puzzled many people for millennia, and simply put, Jesus, as God, is not limited to human understanding. He never rejected His divinity, rather willingly restricting Himself to a human state, still divine, yet still man.

As in my response your points for why Islam is true, I apologize for the extremely long read. If you don’t get through this entire thing, I honestly can’t blame you. I just hope that what you do read of it and the other response has made you think more critically and ask more questions about your faith and the Christian faith. I also want to leave off by commending you for taking the time to write out an apologetic for what you believe and why you believe that Christianity is false. I may believe that you’re wrong and don’t have the facts straight, but it’s good to see you’re at least willing to take the time to explain why you believe the way you do.

Until next time,

M.J.

Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa…Wednesday – An Interesting Conversation Chain with a Muslim: The Proof for Islam.

I recently posted a video about how the Quran absolutely gets wrecked by its own claims about embryology, and a disgruntled Muslim responded and tried to defend it. It started small, with him saying that a dude named Professor Keith Moore (an embryologist) agreed with the Quran’s claims. I responded, and the conversation quickly changed from a debate about scientific miracles, to one about which religion has a better foundation to rely on: Christianity or Islam. So, since I spent too much time responding to this guy, I figure as a change of pace from dissecting the Quran, I’ll just copy-and-paste my conversation with him. This will be a two-parter at the very least, as his comments for Islam and against Christianity were both pretty long and I ended up writing a novel in response. The first part will be the evidence for and against Islam, and the second the argument for and against Christianity being purely blind faith.

As always with these types of posts, this post is not meant to bash the original commentor. Besides the fact that I spent a long time responding to him, I’m also posting this because the arguments he used are ones that you’ll commonly hear being brought up by Muslims. That means that you’ll need to know how to respond to those arguments. So, hopefully, this helps some of y’all understand how to debate these types of people and helps you rebut their claims.

[Authors Note: Because the original comment was so full of grammatical errors, I’ve tried to fix as much as possible, though there will still be some things that I’ve missed. Anything in brackets are words that I’ve had to insert to try to clarify what the person was trying to say or make the sentence easier to read or are spelling errors that I’ve fixed.

Also, when writing the original draft of this blog post, I said in the introduction that I would leave a link to the video where this guy showed up in my comments so you guys could get the full context. Unfortunately, however, as of the time that I’m editing this, I’ve found out that the original comment the guy left which led to this back-and-forth has since been deleted by him. That means that all the responses are gone as well, since it was one big chain. And since I didn’t think he would do that as no one else that I’ve debated on the internet has done that, I unfortunately didn’t screenshot it, so you guys are going to have to take my word for it that that’s what happened.

In lieu of this, to provide you guys with some context, as I said in the intro, the original comment that led to our discussion about the proof for Islam vs. Christianity was him saying that some embryologist named Professor Keith Moore agreed with the Quran’s idea of embryology. I responded and showed him all the issues with Dr. Moore’s claim and how he later seemed to denounce ever endorsing that view. The response to my reply is found below and is the one that led to this week’s series of Flippin’ Fatwa Friday posts. Enjoy.]

MUSLIM:

Nope, you are wrong again

Your source is from wiki Islam, which is Islamophobic site, and you use science to judge God’s word. Science is [a] developing field, which is not objective which always changes. [The] Quran is always right; science is not always right. The problem is you don’t know Arabic. The embryology in [the] Quran and the embryology in oxford universities are exactly the same. It aligns with modern science:

1. Semen.

2 . Clot.

3 . Leech like structure.

4 . Muscles and flesh.

It is [the] exact [description of (?)] embryology. I am a biology student, and I know more about embryology [than you], and I don’t base my religion on science. There are many [evidences] for Islam, while Christianity is based on only blind faith. Your bible has [thousands] of versions and [is the] most corrupted book in history by textual criticism.

OK, categories of [the] evidences [for] Islam:

1. [It is] Pure monotheism, which aligns with [the] Old Testament and other prophets, and [is] logically consistent [with] no confusion in terms of belief.

2. [The] Quran is inimitable, [the] Quran challenges to produce a chapter similar to [one found in it], but [in] 1,450 years, no one can do that.

In terms of linguistics, when compared with other classical Arabic texts, [the] Quran was revealed in Arabic, but it was not same Arabic [as today (?)]. It came with [a] framework of new genre, while they had only two genres at that time (prose and poem.) It came up with new tajwid rules which was known before to Arabs. The grammatical structure is completely new, [with] uses of new words which were not used before. Old words [were] used [with] new [meanings] and new expressions which were known not to [the Arabs] and still the people understand the language. It is highly eloquent and different in its style, the verse in Quran cannot be rephrased better than that. It is revealed in 7 dialects, but the prophet only knew Quraish dialect. [It’s a] Book with zero contradiction. Fun fact is Arabic is one of the toughest languages in the world. But the grammar of Arabic is derived from Quran, which is produced by illiterate man which proves Quran is divine. Each chapters has unique miracles and structure than other chapters, even though it was not arranged in chronological order. For example, 1st chapter of [the] Quran had 51 new features of Arabic in just 7 verses There are 100+ books written to describe the excellence of Linguistic of Quran. Even the disbelievers [said] it is Magic.

3. 300+ Scientific facts which no one could no at that time, because of lack of technologies like microscope and telescope and everything matches exactly with modern Science. […] It deals with Various field like Botany, Zoology, Geology, Oceanography, Physics, Cosmology, Astrology, etc. like universe expansion, [the] big bang, [and] Embryology.

4. 100 + Historic facts which no one could know at that time, because [hieroglyphics (?)] is [dead] and [archaeological] evidence were under the soil and does not present in any scriptures before. Now By the Modern Evidences, It is proved Quran is Divine,

Example: God names [places in (?)] ancient Babylon, Place of Iram, king at the time of Old Testament tells it is Pharoah at time of joseph), mention of Haman in period of Moses, etc.

5. 200+ fulfilled prophecies in quran were fulfilled which were specific, time bound, individual bound and probability of the prophecy is very less to happen, prophecy like Roman prophecy, Mongol invasion, Treasure in Arabia, etc.

6 . 100+ Mathematical miracles align with Quran, even though Quran is orally revealed in time period of 23 Years. […] Same No of mentions foe same words and opposite words, equation of land and sea, miracle of 19, etc.

7. After examining the entire prophet life there is no way he could be not a prophet

8. Perfect judiciary system,53 countries use [the] Quran as law booj at has successful judiciary system with less crime rate and rape rates.

9. Preservation of Quran, both orally and by manuscripts. Quran was memorized by millions of people around the world and the Quran we have is [the] same in [the] Birmingham manuscript carbon dated to [the Prophet’s] time. [The] Sanaa manuscript 945 Qur’anic manuscript which aligns with each other and todays Quran and Topkapi manuscripts.

10. Miracles performed by prophet attested by eyewitnesses and [mass] transmitted and collected by many individuals and we know exactly all people who they [were], their memory power, their character and we have their biographies and we know what people thought about them at that time and which secular history agrees and we have non Islamic evidences for miracle.

11 . Mention of prophet Mohammad in previous scriptures many times, e.g. Daniel 7, Isaiah 42, etc.

12. Early Christology like Q gospels and James’ gospel points to the belief of Islam.

13. Will you believe if small group of eskimos defeated two powerful nation America and Russia at the same time? But [that] was [what] happened in 7th century small groups of Arabs who don’t have proper military training [or] proper [weapons] [have] defeated [the] most powerful two empires: Roman and Persian at the same time. Historians were still amazed how it happened Islam bought 53 nations to pure monotheism from polytheism and paganism with the help of God and fun fact is they were gentiles and submitted to Islam in 23 years entirely to God as mentioned in Old Testament prophecies. Only religion with pure monotheism which people enter Islam in millions every year by the grace of Allah.

[These] are just categories of evidence of Islam, and we can go more deeper in each category and we have many categories like this. Unfortunately, I can’t type all, because I am becoming tired. If someone refutes Islam after knowing this evidence just get ready to face God.

ME:

I apologize for the very long read, but as the conversation seems to have moved away from debating the original point and more towards a debate about which religion has more to back it up, let’s focus on that, starting with a rebuttal of your proofs for Islam:

1). The Quran does not align with the Old Testament prophets nor is it logically consistent. To start with the Old Testament prophets, there are many ways that the Quran differs from the Bible. I can think of three examples of this off the top of my head:

First is the story of Abraham about to sacrifice his son. The Quran has him almost sacrifice Ishmael, the father of the Arab people, (who had been kicked out of the family at that point by request of Abraham’s wife) while the Bible has him almost sacrifice Issac, his heir and preferred child, a change that has major theological implications.

Second, the Quran also skips over the story of the Passover, which is seen as a major theological and historical event by Jews and Christians. For Jews, the Passover is a story reflecting God’s provision for the people of Israel, while for Christians, it’s a reflection of Christ’s blood saving us from eternal damnation. For the Quran to skip over this is beyond just being a major oversight. It’s yet another issue that has major doctrinal implications. That’s also not mentioning how other plagues mentioned in the Bible in the Exodus story are skipped over, which is an issue as the 10 plagues were also a judgement from God on the gods of Egypt.

Third, the Quran says that Satan was cast out by God for not bowing to Adam, while in the Bible, it’s made clear that Satan was cast out for not bowing to God (as reflected in the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel.) Like with the other two, there are major theological implications that come with this change. After all, why should creation by punished for not bowing down to other created beings by God when God is the only one whom all creatures should bow to?

As for the Quran not being logically consistent, we have the Clear Quran Dilemma. The Quran consistently claims to be the clearest book ever written that explains everything, yet there are many parts of it that are obscure or difficult to understand. In Tafsir al-Tabari about Surah 3:7, it says: “It is He Who has sent down to you (Muhammad) the Book (this Qur’an). In it are Verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book [and those are the Verses of Al-Ahkam (commandments, etc.), Al-Fara’id (obligatory duties) and Al-Hudud (legal laws for the punishment of thieves, adulterers, etc.)]; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking Al-Fitnah (polytheism and trials, etc.), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none knows its hidden meanings save Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in it; the whole of it (clear and unclear Verses) are from our Lord.” And none receive admonition except men of understanding.”

How is this logically consistent? How can something be a perfect, clear guidance, yet have things in it that are completely unclear?

This is only one dilemma in Islam. Philosopher David Suarez wrote a book in which he examines 100 dilemmas that draw from the Quran, classical kalām, Sunni, Shi‘i, Salafi, Ashʿarī, Māturīdī, and Sufi schools.

2). You claim the Quran in inimitable, yet thanks to AI, I can and already have imitated the Quran to produce satirical verses. (Apologetics: Flippin’ Fatwa… Wednesday? AI Quran. – The Tanuki Corner) And as someone who has read the Quran, this is very similar to how it sounds in my copy. The only way Muslims have been able to say that it’s inimitable for so long is because they keep moving the goalposts for what counts as a good imitation of the Quran.

Additionally, inimitability is not a quality of something that’s good for judging its veracity. For instance, many people have tried to imitate the work of J.R.R. Tolkien and have failed. Does that mean that Middle Earth is real? Absolutely not! This is an incredibly weak argument to support something’s truth.

3). The scientific miracles have all been so thoroughly debunked by critics of Islam over the past 30 years or so that even prominent Islamic figures such as Ali Dawah have admitted that they are simply ineffective ways of winning converts. Going back to embryology for a second, and as much as you want to argue that the Quranic description of it is the same as what’s taught in medical schools, it’s simply not. It’s clearly referring to the embryo being a blood clot, which is not true. Even if you want to say that “alaq” means “suspended thing,” that’s quite a stretch. Then with other descriptions about an embryo or fetus looking like a leech-like thing, that’s subjective, especially since there are different types of leeches. Further, this was described long before the Quran by Aristotle, Galen, Hippocrates, and others. You can keep covering your ears and trying to refute that, but that’s the fact of the matter.

Some other “miracles” that have been debunked are the ideas that:

– The Quran contains reference to atomic theory even though the word they translate as “atom” is better translated “small ant.”

– The idea that the Earth was created first, then the universe which is not only contradicted by other verses, but is also contradicted by the fact that the universe is expanding and stars were created first.

– That the Quran was the first book to have the discovery that the moon reflects light from the sun when Aristotle figured that out long before Muhammad.

– The idea that salt water and fresh water don’t mix, even though fresh water/saltwater mix all the time to create brackish water and the barrier referred to is also translated as dry land.

4). The alleged “historical facts” in the Quran have also been thoroughly debunked. What there are in the Quran are a ton of hilariously obvious historical anachronisms and myths, some of which I’ve done videos on. For instance, the Quran alleges that King David invented chainmail, something that was only invented by the Celts and wouldn’t make it to the Middle East until long after the time of David. It also says that:

– Joseph was sold using dinar, which are coins and weren’t invented yet (the shekels in the parallel narrative in the Bible were a unit of weight.)

– Alexander the Great was a monotheist and lived a long life when he was, in fact, a staunch polytheist, even believing himself to be the son of Zeus, and died at 32.

– Has Haman in Ancient Egypt, as well as the tower of Bable during the time of Moses, though those were separated by centuries.

– The Ancient Egyptians practiced crucifixion when that didn’t come around until the Persians; etc.

Once again, this is something I could go on and on about.

5). The Quran’s prophecies are a bit more complex to debunk but let me quickly set a standard. In the Mosaic law, in Deuteronomy 18:20-22, it says that if a prophet gets even one prophecy wrong and it doesn’t come to pass, then he is a false prophet, not from God, and must be stoned to death.

With that in mind, if Muhammad even got one prophecy wrong, he is a false prophet. So, let’s look at some prophecies to see how he holds up to the test:

In Surahs 9:33, 61:9, and 48:28, the Quran predicts that Islam will prevail over all religion. Yet 1,400 years later, and the world is still religiously plural, Christianity is still king, and Islam is current facing such a dramatic rise in apostasy rates (26%) that leaders of the Ummah are panicking, describing it as “an avalanche.” And if you want to say that “prevail” means “to stay true” or that it will only prevail over everyone else, that’s 1). not how traditional scholars ever read it and 2). the last one is shifting the goalpost so as to make it unfalsifiable.

Surah 5:67 says that Allah would protect Muhammad from people, something he clearly took literally as Tafsir writers say that shortly after this revelation, he dismissed his bodyguards. Later he was severely wounded at Uhud and was later poisoned by a Jewess at Khaybar. If that wasn’t bad enough, according Sahih tradition, as Muhammad was dying, he reportedly said that it felt as though his aorta was being cut. This feeling is also said to be tied to his poisoning at Khaybar. This is damning by Islamic standards, as in Surah 69:44-46, it says that Allah will cut the aorta of a false prophet. Allah not only made it feel that his aorta was being cut but did not protect him from the people who wished him harm, as Muhammad had revealed Allah to have promised.

Already, there is good reason to doubt Muhammad’s veracity on these points, but let’s keep going.

Surah 3:111-112 says that Allah will protect Jews and Christians except from annoyances as long as they submit to Muslims and if they turn their backs, they will be slaughtered. Only…history shows us that Jews and Christians have defeated Muslims numerous times, with Crusaders massacring Muslims during their takeover of Jerusalem in 1099, Iberian Christians expelling Muslims in 1492, the fact that European colonizers ruled Muslim lands for centuries, the Jews have been able to keep Muslims from destroying Israel for decades (i.e. the 1948 Arab-Israeli War), etc. There are a ton of examples of Christians and Jews defeating Muslims. If this verse only applies to the Medinan Jews, then it should not be used universally. If it is universal, then history points to it being false.

Surah 30:2-4 predicts that Rome (more specifically, the Byzantines) would defeat Persia, but according to the Quran it would happen in “a few years.” The hadiths make this time frame clear: 3-9 years. Rome’s defeat of Persia happened about 13-14 years after the prophecy was given. It was close, but not quite, and frankly, it’s weak example of a prophecy, since it’s something I can come up with. Just a few years ago, back in 2024, on a phone call with a friend who was planning on going into the military, I predicted that if he went in, he would probably end up having to fight in a war or be serving during wartime. The length of mandatory service once you enlist in the military here in the U.S. is four years, so I was predicting that the U.S. would end up in some sort of conflict between the time of his graduation to 2029. It’s been two years since I made that prediction and would you look at that, and there’s a war in Iran. I guess I’m a prophet to Gen Z Americans now.

Then there’s the fact that according to multiple authentic hadiths (such as Bukhari and Muslim), Muhammad predicted that the end of the world would come after the fall of Constantinople. Sure enough, Constantinople fell (hence why it’s called Istanbul) and… we’re still here.

God does not lie about what will happen in the future, much less pass the lies on to a prophet. Based on the failure of these predictions, promises, and prophecies alone, Muhammad was a false prophet. By the standard of Deuteronomy, even if Muhammad got a prophecy right here and there, he was a false prophet because of the “prophecies” that did not come to pass or were not accurate.

6). It’s certainly odd that there are *supposed* numerical miracles in the Quran, however, other religions have also claimed this of their holy books or attributed significant religious meaning to numbers, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Mormonism, Judaism, and some mystical sects Christianity. Pagan spiritual practices also commonly use numbers and as someone who is familiar with New Age practices, it’s very common in the New Age beliefs, especially for fortune telling. It’s easy to come up with pseudoscience to make the claim that such and such book has some sort of numerical miracle. If someone really wanted to, I’m sure they could find some numerical miracle in how many branches are on a tree or how many times a word is used in a book. It’s a weak claim.

7). See point 5. From my studies of Muhammad’s life, due to his traumatic childhood, his actions, and pre-revelatory symptoms, he likely had a cluster B personality disorder, epilepsy, was demon possessed, or had a mix. I wrote a massive paper on this which will be on my blog soon if you’re interested. I’ve concluded that Muhammad was an evil, but pitiable human being.

8). Sharia law is not a perfect law system. In fact, it’s possibly the worst I’ve ever seen because of how oppressive it is, often specifically oppressing women and free speech. And if we want to talk about crime rates and rape rates, Muslim countries like Nigeria and Lebanon have some of the highest crime rates. Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Somalia, Malaysia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, also have high to moderate criminality scores. There are, of course, other factors that can contribute to this (after all, population size and economic status can affect things dramatically), but sharia doesn’t seem to have much to do with keeping overall crime rates low. We also must not forget the fact that many atrocities, such as rape, go unreported under Sharia law, as according to the Quran, a woman needs 4 male witnesses to testify on her behalf in a rape case. This, then, would naturally give the appearance of a low-rape society, when the reality is much darker.

9). You bring up the Sanaa palimpsest, but this actually helps prove my point that the Quran has not been perfectly preserved. According to Wikipedia, this manuscript holds a dark secret:

“The upper text entirely conforms to the standard Uthmanic Quran in text and in the standard order of surahs (chapters). The lower text, which was erased and written over by the upper text but can still be read with the help of ultraviolet light and computer processing, contains many variations from the standard text. The sequence of its chapters corresponds to no known Quranic order.”

In the upper text of the palimpsest (the one you can see without UV light), are 17 non-orthographic variants, where readings differ from those found in the standard Quran. 5 of the 17 variants correspond known Qira’at readings. The lower text of the palimpsest, meanwhile, has a whopping 61 variants from the standard text. These variants are more substantial than the ones in the upper text because they often include the addition of whole words or phrases.

According to Gabriel Said Reynolds, professor of Islamic Studies and Theology, the lower text of the Sanaa palimpsest, not only “does not agree with the standard text read around the world today”, but its variants “do not match the variants reported in medieval literature for those codices kept by companions” of Muhammad, and “has so many variants that one might imagine it is a vestige of an ancient version that somehow survived Uthman’s burning of all versions of the Qur’an except his own.”

That’s really not good news for the perfect preservation of the Quran.

“But wait!” you say, “Those differences are just from different dialects from the time!”

Well then, if the variants are from different dialects, then why does Surah 2:196 contain the word “Sadaq” as an option to fulfill the compensation in the standard text, while the lower text completely omits it? The lower text, in the same verse also omits “your heads” not specifying what needs to be shaved as in the standard text. Or how in Surah 2:222, there are major structural deviations in the sentences, and the Sanaa text exchanges or omits some words for synonyms.

But one of the most striking of the differences between the Sanaa’s lower text and the standard Uthmanic text is found in Surah 9:18. In the standard Uthmanic text, it says to “establish prayer and give Zakat,” but in the lower text of the Sanaa, it says to “do jihad in the name of Allah.” Jihad is not synonymous with prayer and Zakat.

Once more, I could go on and on with the differences between the Sanna Palimpsest and the standard Quran that we have today. But my last point to your inevitable objection that it’s just the result of different dialects is: If so, why did Allah go through all that trouble to make sure other Arab tribes understood it, but not the Persians or the Greeks who would be taken over by the Ummah? And ultimately, was it really worth it for Allah to reveal the Quran in such a way that would cause controversy leading to 14 centuries of infighting and unnecessary bloodshed?

10). The Quran denies that Muhammad performed miracles numerous times, and then goes on to say that he did miracles; and the Hadiths agree, it opens up a massive contradiction in Islam. Look up Surah 2:118, 2:145, 6:37, 6:109, 10:20, 13:7, 11:12, 13:27, 17:90-93, etc. To refute your claim that secular historians attest to Muhammad’s miracle-working abilities, I need to you provide me with some examples.

11). Muhammad is never mentioned anywhere in the Bible. Deuteronomy 18:15-19 doesn’t talk about him; it talks about someone coming who would be like Moses, which points to later prophets and finally, Jesus. Jesus met all the criteria, being from among the Israelites (which Muhammad was not), a mediator between God and humanity, a deliverer from bondage, and establisher of the covenant. (Who is the Prophet in Deuteronomy 18:15–19? | GotQuestions.org, If Deuteronomy 18:15 refers to a “prophet like Moses,” why did subsequent prophets have different messages and methods?)

Daniel 7:13 is also not talking about Muhammad and the Night Journey in context. Let’s read Daniel 7:13-14, shall we:

“13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man,[a] coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

Now, you’re not supposed to worship Muhammad, are you? The answer, as far as I know, is “NO!” That would be shirk. So, you’re not supposed to worship Muhammad, and it can’t be said that Muhammad will rule in eternity as, once again, that’s shirk. This clearly is not talking about Muhammad but rather speaks of Jesus coming as the Messiah. In fact, this passage is why He commonly called Himself “The Son of Man.”

Similarly, Daniel 9:24-27 is not speaking of Muhammad. Is Muhammad ever called the Messiah as Daniel calls the ruler in verse 25 of this passage? No.

Further, the weeks referred to are sets of seven years. The seventy seven-year periods equal 490 years. This period started from the rebuilding of Jerusalem (verse 24) and ends with the death of the Messiah (the Prince, the Anointed One.) That lands the culmination of the events described in 33 AD or so, which lines up to the time when Jesus died. (What are the seventy sevens in Daniel 9:24-27? | GotQuestions.org) There is no conceivable way in which one can say this is referring to Muhammad as nothing points in that direction.

The claim that Isaiah 42:1-11points to Muhammad is an example of isogesis (reading something into the text that’s not there.) Further, it’s an example of bad hermeneutics. For one thing, Isaiah 42 is one of the four Servant Songs that all point to Jesus. Second, it’s split into three parts. First is the announcement of salvation, then the song of praise, then the completion of the announcement. In these three parts, along with the larger context of the Bible, we see that Jesus is the better fit, as he fits the descriptions throughout the Servant Songs (particularly Isaiah 53), rules over all as God, brought a new covenant, and will prevail on the last day.

I can go on, but ultimately the only place in the Bible where it predicts the coming of Muhammad is in the numerous places where it predicts the coming of false teachers and prophets. Sorry.

12). The existence of the Q gospels, while it’s an interesting hypothesis, is woefully unfounded, as there are no physical copies of it, nor was it ever referenced by early church fathers. (What is the Q Gospel or Q Source?) As for the Gospel of James, it’s a mid-2nd-century prequel to the birth narratives found in Matthew and Luke and is rejected from the Biblical cannon in part for that reason. It wasn’t written by people who knew Jesus, but rather an unknown author whose reliability is dubious. Further, it’s rejected as it differs theologically, contains elements that don’t line up with mainstream beliefs, and lacks apostolic authority.

13). The fact that the Muslims were able to defeat the Romans and Persians over the years is not at all miraculous. After all, many of the people in the American Revolution were not soldiers. Many went into it without much military experience. And what happened next? Well, the Americans beat the British Empire – the most powerful empire in the world at the time – and founded America.

An even better example are the Mongols, a bunch of uneducated herdsmen led by Ghengis Khan who managed to take over the majority of Asia, almost all of the Middle East, and about a quarter of Europe by 1279. Had the Mongols been forcing their religion on people, you would probably be a polytheist right now. In fact, when they reached Baghdad in 1258, they completely destroyed the Islamic Empire.

Moreover, the Muslim takeover of the Middle East happened gradually, first peacefully, then more violently. As Muhammad gained power in Medina, he began attempting to gain allies amongst the Christians and Jews, hence the Quran verses that are friendly towards them. He managed to win a few converts, but overall, the Christian and Jewish community thoroughly rejected because, upon examination of the Scriptures, they agreed that he was a false prophet. Thus, Muhammad turned violent against them and began bringing more people into the fold, not though peace, but through forcible subjugation – the convert-or-die method. He later took over Mecca and by his death, the entire Arabian Peninsula had been Islamized. After his death, the Muslims continued to grow in number, mainly through the convert-or-die method, eventually growing big enough to defeat the Persians and Byzantines.

And if it wasn’t solely through the convert-or-die method, think about what Islam promises men. If you survive jihad under Muhammad, you get booty, which includes money and plenty of beautiful women to rape. In fact, in Tafsir al-Tabari about Surah 9:49, Muhammad said this to encourage his followers to invade Byzantium:

““Among them is (many) a man who says: Grant me exemption and draw me not into trial,” it was mentioned that this verse came down regarding a man named Al-Jadd b. Qais. The Exalted mentioned in this verse, “Among them,” referring to the hypocrites. Regarding the verse, “a man who says: Grant me…” this was in reference to a man who said to the prophet, “Give command that I do not accompany you.” Regarding the verse, “draw me not into trial,” this means, “do not trouble me with the sight of the women of Al-Asfar (“The Yellow,” i.e. blonds) and their daughters, for I am tempted by women, (for I fear) that I might go out and commit a sin with them…” It was narrated by Muhammad Ibn Amru, narrated by Asim, narrated by Issa, narrated by Ibn Abi Najih, narrated by Mujahid regarding Allah’s saying, “Grant me exemption and draw me not into trial,” that the prophet of Allah said, “Invade Tabuk and your spoils will be the daughters of al-Asfar and the women of the Romans (byzantines).” Al-Jadd replied, “Grant us exemption and draw us not into trial with women.” It was narrated by Al-Qasim, narrated by Al-Hussain, narrated by Hajjaj, narrated by Ibn Jurayj, narrated by Mujahid who stated that the prophet said, “Invade and you will have the spoils of the daughters of al-Asfar” meaning the Roman women and this narration was repeated by others.”

[Author’s Note: Before you say that this isn’t authentic and shouldn’t be trusted, just note that this belief about white women from Muslim men has been recorded in historical texts from the Medieval Era, with white women being painted as nymphomaniacs. One example of this was written by al-Isfahani, a scholar and poet, who described a ship filled with 300 captive Frankish women, and went on to describe them in pornographic fashion. We also see this type of thing today, with how many white English women have reported being the particular victims of sexual degradation at the hands of Muslim men. The belief of the promiscuity of white women is one that has thrived in Muslim culture for 14 centuries.]

And that’s just in life. He also promised that if you die in jihad, you basically get the fast pass to the Playboy Mansion where you get to eat, drink, and constantly rape your 72 virgins (who are described as looking like – at best – 11-year-old girls in terms of development) with the strength of 100 men. Oh, did I also mention that you’ll be served by a bunch of little boys as well in Islamic Paradise? Yeah, that’s mentioned in the Quran too.

With those worldly and “heavenly” rewards, it’s easy to see how Muhammad could grow an army of formerly polytheistic men with promises of multiple wives, sex slaves, money, and generally the same stuff later in eternity. This isn’t a miracle; it’s simply an appeal to humanity’s base desires.

To be continued….

Until next time,

M.J.