Analyzing the Deification of Muhammad Within Muslim Tradition (continued)
We resume our discussion of the Muslim deification of Muhammad.
The Quran identifies Muhammad as a light giving lamp:
O Prophet! Truly We have sent you as a Witness, a Bearer of glad tidings, and a Warner, and as one who invites to Allah by His leave, and as a Lamp spreading Light. S. 33:45-46
Muslim tradition took this assertion and ran with it, going so far as to suggest that Muhammad's light was one of the first things created and that he also literally emitted light:
The Mother of the Book is the source of all knowledge, including the Divine Scriptures. It is the essential knowledge of Allah before He created creation. This is why it is said to have been written fifty thousand years before the creation of the cosmos, a symbolic number, since without stars and planets there cannot be days and years as we understand them. Allah conceived His creation in the darkness of non-existence, then with the light of His creative act brought them out into existence. Thus the First Light was created, a being appearing against the dark background of non-existence. "The first thing that Allah created was the Intellect," said the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him. He also said, "The first thing that Allah created was the Pen," which amounts to the same thing, since the first intellect is the primordial light in its passive aspect as recipient of the knowledge of what is to be, while the Pen is the primordial light in its active aspect of writing this knowledge on the Guarded Tablet at Allah's command. "The first thing that Allah created was the Pen and He said to it: Write! So it wrote what is to be forever." From this First light all of creation, with all its varied forms and meanings till the end of time unfolds.
This primordial light is what is called the Light of the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, since he is the created being who received the major share of it.
This light was also the origin of the lights of all other Divine Messengers, of the angels, then of all other beings. This is how the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, could say, "I was a Prophet when Adam was still between spirit and body." The power of this light made the Prophet's radiation so powerful, once he appeared on earth, that Allah calls him in the Qur'ân "an illuminating lamp." Allah describes the sun and the moon in the Qur'ân in like manner explaining what He means when He says that He made the Prophet "an illuminating lamp" ...
Some of the Prophet's Companions were given to see this light as even brighter than both the sun and moon, for when they walked with him they noticed that he cast no shadow on the ground. Those who saw him in the full moon noticed that his blessed face was brighter than the moon, and one of his Companions, the Lady Rubayyi', when asked to describe him, said, "My son, had you seen him, you would have seen the sun shining." ...
The light of the
Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, manifested itself in his
parents before and during his birth. His biographers have recorded that his
father's forehead shone with a light that a certain women from Quraysh noticed. She knew that the appearance of the
Prophet of the End of Time was imminent and felt that 'Abdallah's
forehead signalled his being the father. She offered
herself to him, but he refused. Soon `Abdallah
married Amina and, once she became pregnant with the
Prophet, the light vanished from his forehead. He met the same woman again and,
noticing she no longer wanted him, asked her why. She replied that he no longer
carried that light on his forehead. As for the Lady Amina,
when she became pregnant, she saw in a dream-vision that a light came out of
her that lit the land as far north as Syria. She was also told in her dream
that she was pregnant with the master of this nation and the sign of that would
be that when she gave birth to him she would see a light coming out with him
that would shine over Bosra in Syria. "When this
happens", she was told, "call him Muhammad!" "I
conceived him, " she said, "and suffered no
pain until delivery. When he came out of me, a light came out with him that
illuminated everything from East to West." She also said, "I saw
the night I gave birth to him a light that illuminated the palaces of
You, when you were born, the earth was lit
And with your light so was the sky
When his wet-nurse, Halima al-Sa'dia, first saw him, she laid her hand on him and he smiled. "When he smiled," she said, "a light appeared from his mouth that rose to the sky."
The light of the Prophet shone at all levels, it filled the material, intermediary, and spiritual worlds, dispelled the darkness of ignorance and disbelief, and is destined to shine across the ages till the end of time. (Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, The Light of the Prophet: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/nuremuhammadi.htm)
In an English biography of Muhammad we find this passage:
The "Noor" (Light) is created
When Allah intended to create the creatures, He first created the "Noor" (Light) of Muhammad. Al-Qastalani (in Al Mawahibu'l-Ladunniyah, vol. 1, pp. 5, 9, 10) has quoted the Prophet's traditions to this effect as transmitted through Jabir ibn 'Abdullah al-Ansari and 'Ali (a.s.). The well-known historian al-Mas'udi (in his Maruju 'dh-dhahab) quotes a lengthy tradition from 'Ali (a.s.) to the effect that when Allah created, first of all, the Light of Muhammad, He said to it: "You are My chosen one and the Trustee of My Light and Guidance. It is because of you that I am going to create the earth and the skies, lay down reward and punishment, and bring into being the Garden and the Fire." Then the tradition goes on to speak about the Family of the Prophet, about creation of the angels, of the souls, of the world, of the covenant taken from the souls which combined the belief in the One God with acceptance of Muhammad's Prophethood.
This is why Ibn 'Abbas narrates saying that the Prophet said: "I was Prophet when Adam was between soul and body (i.e. when Adam's creation was in its preliminary stages)" (at-Tabarani, Al-Mu'jjam al-Kabir; Al Khasa'is al-Kubra, vol.1, p.4).
Muhammad's Light adorned the 'Arsh (Throne) of God. When eons later, Adam was created, that Light was put in his forehead. It continued its journey, generation after generation, through numerous prophets and their successors till it came to Prophet Ibrahim (a.s.). From Ibrahim (a.s.), it came to his eldest son, Prophet Isma'il (a.s.). (The Life of Muhammad The Prophet by Syed Saeed Akhtar Rizvi [Published by Darul Tabligh North America Under the Patronage of World Federation of KSI Muslim Communities Stanmore, Middlesex, HA 7 4JB: ISBN 0-9702125-0-X], Chapter 1, "Creation": http://www.al-islam.org/lifeprophet/3.htm)
Dr. Al-Badawi, an author we already cited above, wrote an article on the hand of Muhammad. In it he provides some examples where certain people, including Jews and Christians, kissed Muhammad's hands and feet. He begins his piece by saying:
The impulse for writing this article came from a conversation with a colleague who told me that while sitting with other colleagues, he had heard one of them repeat the statement that the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, was an ordinary human being like the rest of us, except that Allah had given him the Qur'ān. My friend knew very well that this kind of statement had been deliberately circulated among Muslims to detach them from their Prophet, thus cutting them off from the mercy of Allah that descends upon them through their love for him and close adherence to his teachings. This is part of an overall plan to destroy Islam from within, a plan that, we regret to say, is carried out by ignorant Muslims, misled by crude suggestions of the Devil that to love the Prophet and revere him is to worship him beside Allah. My friend told me he became quite angry and challenged our colleagues to take anything of the Prophet at random and compare it with themselves. He found himself saying, "Take his hand for instance!" Then he started discoursing about the special distinctions of the Prophet's hand, talking for about twenty minutes, all the time aware that he had never spoken like that before. His colleagues listened silently, then when he was finished, begged him to carry on. These were educated people who already had much of this knowledge in their minds, but who had been too busy with worldly things to assemble and envisage their knowledge from that angle before, or to make the necessary effort in understanding how and why they had previously been misinformed.
The Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, used his right hand for his ritual purification, food, and beverage, and his left hand for less clean things. "He never touched the hand of a woman," said the lady 'Ā'isha, "when he accepted their allegiance, he accepted it verbally."[8- Bukhari 2:967, Muslim 3:1489] ...
The Companions knew well the baraka in the hand of the Prophet; they also knew about its being the symbol of Divine generosity and power. They loved to touch and kiss it, they competed for the water he had dipped it in, and, after his death, those who never saw him were eager to touch and kiss those hands that had touched him.
Both the Jews and the Christians who recognized the Prophet as a Divine envoy also showed their love and respect for him by kissing both his hands and his feet.
Once, after the Prophet's emigration to Madina, a Jew said to a friend of his, "Let us go to this Prophet!" his friend said, "Say not Prophet! Were he to hear you he would have four eyes!" They came to the Prophet and asked him about nine things which he answered. They kissed his hands and feet, saying, "We testify that you are a Prophet!" "What prevents you from following me?" he asked. "David prayed that there should always be a Prophet from his progeny. We fear, were we to follow you, that the Jews would kill us!"[79- Tirmidhi 5/72 Nisa'i 7:111] ...
said that whenever the Prophet entered
Once when Ibn 'Umar was in a raiding party they retreated before the enemy. They said to each other, "What shall we do now that we have run away from the fight and come under [Allah's] wrath?" "Let us go to Madina and spend the night," they said, then, "Let us show ourselves to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, it may be that our repentance will be accepted, or else we shall depart." They came to him before the morning prayer. "Who are the people?" he asked, "We are the deserters!" they replied. "No!" he said, "But you are the fighters, and I am your host and every Muslim's host." Then they approached him and kissed his hand. Then the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, recited this verse: "or withdrawing to a host," [8:16][91- Abu Dawud 3:107 Tirmidhi, ibn Maja, Ahmad]
When the delegation of 'Abdal Qays reached Madina, [they had such longing for the Prophet that] they jumped off their camels and rushed to him, kissing his hands and feet.[92- Majma'al- Zawa'id 9:389]
Ibn 'Umar used to kiss the Prophet's hand.[93- Abu Dawud 5:393 Majma' al-Zawa'id 8:42]
Ka'b ibn Mālik, one of the three Companions that failed to join the Tabuk expedition, kissed the Prophet's hand when Allah relented towards the three.[94- Ibn 'Asakir , Tabarani, Majma'al-Zawa'id, 8/42]
Once Salama ibn al-Akwa' said to his companions, "I gave allegiance to the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, with this hand of mine!" They kissed it and he never objected to this.[95- Majma'al-Zawa'id 8:42]
The famous Follower, Thābit al-Bunānī, Anas ibn Mālik's student, said, "Whenever I visited Anas, they told him I was there, he came to me, and I took both his hands and kissed them saying, "My father be the ransom of these hands that have touched the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him!" and I kissed his eyes saying, "My father be the ransom of these eyes which have seen the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him!"[96- Majma'al-Zawa'id 9:325]
And whenever Thābit came to visit him, Anas called his servant saying, "Bring me some perfume that I may perfume my hands, for Thābit will not rest content until he has kissed my hand!"[97- Majma'al-Zawa'id 9:325]
Burayda said, "A Bedouin came to the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, saying, 'O Messenger of Allah, I have accepted Islam, so show me something that will increase me in certitude!' He asked him, 'What do you want?' He replied, 'Call this tree, let it come to you!' 'Go to her and call her!' He told him. The Bedouin went to the tree saying, 'Answer the Messenger of Allah!' The tree leaned to one side, pulling her roots out, then to the other, pulling her roots out then she went to the Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, saying, 'Peace be upon you O Messenger of Allah!' The Bedouin exclaimed, 'This is sufficient for me! This is sufficient for me!' The Prophet, may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him, said, 'Go back!' so it returned to its place and struck its roots again. The Bedouin said, 'Permit me, O Messenger of Allah, to kiss your hands and feet!' He did [kiss his hands and feet], then said, 'Permit me to prostate myself before you!' 'No man should prostate himself before another man!' he replied."[98- Suyuti, al-Khasa'is al-Kubra, 2:200, Bazzar, and Abu Nu'aym] (Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi, The Hand of the Prophet: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/ThehandoftheProphet.htm)
It is truly strange that Muhammad refused to allow the man to prostrate before him after having allowed him to kiss his very hands and feet. After all, isn't kissing the feet of a mere man just as much an act of worship as bowing before him? In fact, from a biblical perspective bowing down before someone isn't always considered an act of worship. But to kiss a person's feet is definitely taking it a little too far.
MUHAMMAD AND OMNIPRESENCE
Another way in which Muslims have deified Muhammad is their belief that Muhammad actually hears prayers and knows the condition of the Muslims even though he is dead:
Abu Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah said, "Whenever anyone greets me with peace, Allah will return my soul to me so that I can return the greeting."
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shayba mentions that Abu Hurayra said that the Messenger of Allah said, "I will hear whoever blesses me at my grave. If someone is far away and blesses me, that is also conveyed to me." ...
Ibn 'Umar said, "Do a lot of prayer on your Prophet every Jumu'a. It is brought to him from you every Jumu'a." One version has, "None of you blesses me but that his prayer is shown to me when he finishes it."
Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali said that the Prophet said, "Bless me wherever you are. Your prayer will reach me."
One of them mentioned that the name of someone who blesses the Prophet is shown to the Prophet when he does it.
Al-Hasan ibn 'Ali said, "When you enter the mosque, greet the Prophet. The Messenger of Allah said, 'Do not make my house a place of 'Id and do not make your houses graves. Bless me wherever you are. Your prayer will reach me wherever you are.'" ...
Sulayman ibn Suhyam said that he saw the Prophet in a dream and asked him, "Messenger of Allah, do you recognise the greeting of those who come to you?" He replied, "YES, AND I ANSWER THEM." (pp. 262-263)
Furthermore, Muhammad must be prayed on if one's supplications are to be accepted by Allah:
Umar ibn al-Khattab said, "Supplication and prayer are suspended between the heaven and the earth and none of it rises to Allah until you pray on the Prophet." Ali related something similar and added, "and on the family of Muhammad."
Ibn Mas'ud said, "When one of you wants to ask Allah for something, he should begin by praising and extolling Him as He deserves and then bless the Prophet. Then his supplication is more likely to be successful." ...
The hadith says, "The supplication between the two prayers is not rejected." Another hadith says, "Every supplication is veiled below heaven and when the prayer on me is made, then it ascends." (pp. 253-254)
Ubayy ibn Ka'b said, "Once, when the first quarter of the night had gone, the Messenger of Allah got up and said, 'O people, remember Allah! The quake has come which will be followed by its sequel. Death will come with all that accompanies it.'" Ubayy asked, "Messenger of Allah, I do a lot of the prayer on you, so how much of my prayer should I devote to you?" He said, "Whatever you like." Ubayy asked, "A quarter?" and was told "Whatever you like, and if you do more it is better." He asked, "A third?" He replied, "Whatever you like, and if you do more it is better." He asked, "A half?" He replied, "Whatever you like, and if you do more it is better." He asked, "Two-thirds?" He replied, "Whatever you like, and if you do more it is better." He said, "Messenger of Allah, I WILL DEVOTE ALL MY PRAYER TO YOU." He said, "THEN YOU WILL HAVE ENOUGH AND YOUR WRONG ACTIONS WILL BE FORGIVEN." (p. 260)
Thus, Muhammad becomes the focus and object of prayer alongside Allah!
Compare this to the Lord Jesus who is said to be omniscient and omnipresent, as well as the object of all true believers' prayers:
"But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts?'" Matthew 9:4
"For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them." Matthew 18:20
"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20
"Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask ME anything in my name, I will do it. John 14:13-14
"In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." John 14:20-21,
"Jesus answered him, 'If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and WE will come to him and make OUR home with him.'" John 14:23
"'Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.' Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe?'" John 16:30-31
"He said to him the third time, 'Simon, son of John, do you love me?' Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, 'Do you love me?' and he said to him, 'Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you.' Jesus said to him, 'Feed my sheep.'" John 21:17
"And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sang a new song, saying, 'Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.' Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, 'Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!' And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, 'To him who sits on the throne AND TO THE LAMB be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!' And the four living creatures said, "Amen!' and the elders fell down and worshiped." Revelation 5:8-14
G.F. Haddad, in an article seeking to defend Muhammad's omnipresence, provides some additional quotes from Muslim scholars:
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Hadi Kharsa told us:
The Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, possesses knowledge of all that is and knows the created universes in the same way that one knows a room in which one sits. Nothing is hidden from him. There are two verses of the Holy Qur’an that affirm this, [But how (will it be with them) when we bring of every people a witness, and We bring you (O Muhammad) a witness against these] (4:41) and [Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that you may be witnesses against mankind and that the messenger may be a witness against you] (2:143) nor can the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, be called to witness over what he does not know nor see…
Ibn Hajar in his commentary of the above narration in Fath al-Bari said that another same-chained, similar narration in Ahmad and Ibn Majah shows that such witnessing applies to all the Communities and not just that of Nuh, `alayhis salaam:
The Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: "One Prophet shall come on the Day of Resurrection with a single man [as his Community]; another Prophet shall come with two men; others, with more. The nation of each Prophet shall be summoned and asked, ‘Did this Prophet convey [the Message] to you?’ They shall reply, no. Then he shall be asked, ‘Did you convey [the Message] to your people?’ and he shall reply, yes. Then he shall be asked, ‘Who is your witness?’ and he shall reply, ‘Muhammad and his Community.’ Whereupon Muhammad and his Community shall be summoned and asked, ‘Did this man convey [the Message] to his people?’ They shall reply, yes. They shall be asked, ‘How do you know?’ They shall reply, ‘Our Prophet came to us and told us that the Messengers have indeed conveyed [the Message].’ This is [the meaning of] His saying, [Thus We have appointed you a middle nation] – He means upright (yaqűlu ‘adlan) – [that you may be witnesses against mankind and that the messenger may be a witness against you] (2:143)."…
Al-Qari said in commentary of the narration of Nuh, `alayhis salaam, cited in Mishkat al-Masabih:
"And he shall reply, ‘Muhammad and his Community’" means that his Community are witnesses while he vouches for them, but his mention came first out of reverence (li-t-ta‘zîm). It is possible that he, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, too witnesses for Nuh, since it is a context of help and Allah Most High said [When Allah made (His) covenant with the Prophets] until He said [you shall believe in him and you shall help him] (3:81). In this there is a remarkable warning that the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is present and witnessing in that Greatest Inspection (wafîhi tanbîhun nabîhun annahu sallallâhu ‘alayhi wa sallama hâdirun nâzirun fî dhâlika al-‘ardi al-akbar), when the Prophets are brought, Nuh being the first, and the latter’s witnesses are brought, namely, this Community.
There are other verses that affirm that the Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, hears and sees the deeds of human beings. Allah Most High said: [And know that the Messenger of Allah is among you] (49:7). In the verses [Allah and His Messenger will see your conduct] (9:94) and [Act! Allah will behold your actions, and (so will) His Messenger and the believers] (9:105), the Prophet’s, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, perception IS PUT ON A PAR WITH THAT OF THE LORD OF THE WORLDS Who sees and encompasses all on the one hand and, on the other, that of all the living believers.
Al-Qadi ‘Iyad in al-Shifa, in the section titled "Concerning the places where it is desirable to invoke blessings and peace upon him" cited from ‘Amr ibn Dinar al-Athram (d. 126) the explanation of the verse [when you enter houses salute one another] (24:61): "If there is no-one in the house then say: ‘as-salâmu ‘alâ al-Nabiyyi wa rahmatullâhi wa barakâtuh.’"
Al-Qari said in his commentary on al-Shifa’: "Meaning, because his soul, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, is present in the house of the Muslims (ay li’anna rűhahu ‘alayhi al-salâmu hâdirun fî buyűti al-muslimîn)."
What ‘Iyad cited from al-Athram is only narrated by al-Tabari in his Tafsir from Ibn Jurayj, from ‘Ata’ al-Khurasani (d. 135):
Hajjaj narrated to me from Ibn Jurayj: I said to ‘Ata’: "What if there is no-one in the house?" He said: "Give salâm! Say, al-salâmu ‘alâ al-Nabiyyi wa rahmatullâhi wa barakâtuh, al-salâmu ‘alaynâ wa ‘alâ ‘ibâdillah al-sâlihîn, al-salâmu ‘alâ ahli al-bayti wa rahmatullâh." I said: "This statement you just said about my entering the house in which there is no-one, from whom did you receive it?" He replied: "I heard it without receiving it from anyone in particular."
The above evidence establishes beyond doubt that there is no impediment to the possibility of hâdir nâzir to be Attributes shared by Allah Most High with some of His servants if such two Names should be established to be His. In fact, it is known that the two angel-scribes, the qarîn, the angel of death, and Shaytan, are also present, seeing, hearing, and fully witnessing the deeds of human beings at any given time. (The Omnipresence of the Prophet: http://www.masud.co.uk/ISLAM/misc/hazarnazar.htm; bold underline and capital emphasis ours)
Justifying Muhammad's so-called omniscience, that Muhammad knows and sees all things, on the basis that he is in a different dimension, i.e. existing in the spiritual realm, doesn’t resolve the issue for many reasons. First, one of the narrations cited by G.F. Haddad says that Muhammad was given the knowledge of all things while on earth, prior to his death:
The Prophet, sall-Allahu `alayhi wa sallam, said: "My Lord came to me in the best form" – the narrator said: "I think he said: ‘in my sleep’" – "and asked me over what did the Higher Assembly (al-mala’ al-a‘lâ) vie; I said I did not know, so He put His hand between my shoulders, and I felt its coolness in my innermost, and knowledge of all things between the East and the West came to me." (Underline emphasis ours)
This means that Muhammad was omniscient even while alive on earth!
Second, entering within the spiritual realm doesn’t change the fact that Muhammad is still a human creature with finite capabilities. A human being isn’t finite simply because he exists within the material, earthly realm, but because he is a creature by nature. Man’s creaturely nature doesn’t change, nor do the limitations of one’s creaturely makeup suddenly disappear solely because he/she exists in a different dimension of reality.
Here is a helpful illustration: God is present everywhere, but angels or demons, who are also spiritual beings are not able to be at several places at the same time. Similarly, our human soul without the material body is still limited to one location at a time.
This leads us to the third reason why the Muslim arguments are invalid. There are certain, defining, essential attributes that separate God from his creation, attributes that cannot possibly be given to creatures without this blurring the Creator/creature distinction. God alone is omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, whereas man is the opposite of these things. The reason why God has all these qualities is because he is by nature non-corporeal, immaterial and infinite. Being non-corporeal and immaterial, God isn’t bound by time and space, which means that he is present everywhere and, therefore, sees and knows all things. Furthermore, being non-corporeal also implies that he is not limited by size, space or time, but transcends all these things.
These attributes are incommunicable, or non-transferable, qualities that cannot be conferred upon finite beings, whether angels, humans, animals etc. The only way for man to be omnipresent or omniscient is if he/she is, or becomes, a non-corporeal, immaterial being. But the problem is that man by design is bound to time, space and matter, making it impossible for him to have these omni-attributes of God. Even when a person’s body dies, this doesn’t man that he/she no longer retains the dimensions of space and time, but that his existence becomes spiritual without this implying that he ceases to have the creaturely limitations in which he was made. In fact, Muslims themselves believe this to be so since they believe that a person’s soul is bound up in the grave where his/her body lay:
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "When (Allah's) slave is put in his grave and his companions return and he even hears their footsteps, two angels come to him and make him sit and ask, 'What did you use to say about this man (i.e. Muhammad)?' The faithful Believer will say, 'I testify that he is Allah's slave and His Apostle.' Then they will say to him, 'Look at your place in the Hell Fire; Allah has given you a place in
Two old ladies from among the Jewish ladies entered upon me and said, "The dead are punished in their graves," but I thought they were telling a lie and did not believe them in the beginning. When they went away and the Prophet entered upon me, I said, "O Allah's Apostle! Two old ladies, …" and told him the whole story. He said, "They told the truth; the dead are really punished, to the extent that all the animals hear (the sound resulting from) their punishment." Since then I always saw him seeking refuge with Allah from the punishment of the grave in his prayers. (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 75, Number 377: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/075.sbt.html#008.075.377)
The Prophet used to say, 'O Allah! I seek refuge with You from the affliction of the Fire, the punishment of the Fire, the affliction of the grave, the punishment of the grave, and the evil of the affliction of poverty. O Allah! I seek refuge with You from the evil of the affliction of Al-Masih Ad-Dajjal, O Allah! Cleanse my heart with the water of snow and hail, and cleanse my heart from all sins as a white garment is cleansed from filth, and let there be a far away distance between me and my sins as You made the East and West far away from each other. O Allah! I seek refuge with You from laziness, sins, and from being in debt." (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 75, Number 388: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/075.sbt.html#008.075.388)
The only way one’s soul could be confined to the grave is if the human soul still retains the limitations of space and time.
The Muslim argument that God can do anything is also no defence of their deification of Muhammad. Muslims would agree that there are certain things that God cannot do, i.e. God cannot cease to exist, God cannot cease to be all-powerful, all knowing, God cannot lust etc. Likewise, God cannot turn finite, limited creatures into infinite, unlimited beings since to do so means that he is basically creating other gods. Yet, God by definition is One who has no beginning and is not finite. For God to create or make another infinite, timeless being is equivalent to saying that God can create a rock big enough that he cannot lift. In fact, Muslims even use similar reasoning to deny the Christian belief that God can, and did, become man. (Despite there being no contradiction with God uniting to himself a creaturely nature while retaining all of his divine attributes at the same time. God can do this, man cannot). Yet, they quickly abandon this line of thinking when seeking to justify Muhammad's ability to transcend creaturely limitations, essentially turning a finite being into a deity that has God's essential attributes!
Finally, praying to Muhammad and seeking his help now that he is dead violates the express commands of the Quran which exhorts Muslims to seek the help of none but Allah:
And when My servants question thee concerning Me -- I am near to answer the call of the caller, when he calls to Me; so let them respond to Me, and let them believe in Me; haply so they will go aright. S. 2:186 Arberry
Say: 'Shall we call, apart from God, on that which neither profits nor hurts us, and shall we be turned back on our heels after that God has guided us? -- Like one lured to bewilderment in the earth by Satans, though he has friends who call him to guidance, "Come to us!" Say: 'God's guidance is the true guidance, and we are commanded to surrender to the Lord of all Being, S. 6:71 Arberry
And, (O Muhammad) set thy purpose resolutely for religion, as a man by nature upright, and be not of those who ascribe partners (to Allah). And cry not, beside Allah, unto that which cannot profit thee nor hurt thee, for if thou didst so then wert thou of the wrong-doers. S. 10:105-106 Pickthall
And your Lord hath said: Pray unto Me and I will hear your prayer. Lo! those who scorn My service, they will enter hell, disgraced. S. 40:60 Pickthall
And who is further astray than he who calls, apart from God, upon such a one as shall not answer him till the Day of Resurrection? Such as are heedless of their calling, S. 46:5 Arberry
In light of the foregoing, does it surprise Muslims that Christians and other non-Muslim groups accuse them of worshiping Muhammad? Is it any surprise that the West has labelled them Muhammadans/Mohammedans? Recall the words of Muslim Robert Squires regarding the use of this term:
… Christians came to the mistaken assumption that Muslims worship Muhammad by formulating an incorrect analogy - they worship Jesus so they assumed Muslims worship Muhammad. This is one of the reasons that they called Muslims by the incorrect name "Mohammedans" for so many years! … (Misconceptions About Islam: http://www.muslim-answers.org/Introducing-Islam/miscons.htm)
Since this Muslim argues that one of the reasons why Muslims were labelled Muhammadans was because of the accusation that they worshiped Muhammad, can there be any doubt left that this is in fact an appropriate description in light of the clear worship that many Muslims have shown to Muhammad?
MUHAMMAD AND OATHS
In the Quran, Allah swears by the life of Muhammad:
By thy life (O Muhammad) they moved blindly in the frenzy of approaching death. S. 15:72 Pickthall
By your life! they were blindly wandering on in their intoxication. Shakir
Regarding this passage, Qadi 'Iyad writes:
Allah says: "By your life, are they wandering about in their drunkenness." (15:72) The commentators agree that this is an oath from Allah sworn on the length of Muhammad’s life. It means, "By your continuing, O Muhammad." It is also said that it means, "By your life." And also, "By your living." This indicates the greatest respect and extreme honour.
Ibn ‘Abbas said, "Allah did not create, originate or make any soul that He honoured more than Muhammad. I have not heard that Allah made an oath by the life of any other person." Abu’l-Jawza’ said, "Allah did not make an oath by the life of anyone except Muhammad because he is the noblest of creation in His eyes."
Allah says: "Yasin. By the Wise Qur’an." (36:1-2) The commentators disagree about the meaning of Yasin, saying different things about it. Abu Muhammad Makki related that the Prophet said, "I have ten names with my Lord." He mentioned Ta Ha and Yasin as two of these names. Abu ‘Abdu’r-Rahman as-Sulami related that Ja‘far as-Sadiq said that the meaning of Yasin is, "O master!" (Ya Sayyid) addressing the Prophet. Ibn ‘Abbas said that Yasin means "O man" (Ya insan), i.e. Muhammad. He also said that it is an oath and one of the names of Allah. Az-Zajjaj said that it means, "O man" or "O human."
Ibn al-Hanafiyya said that Yasin means "O Muhammad." Ka’b said that Yasin is an oath by which Allah swore a thousand years before He created heaven and earth, meaning: "O Muhammad, you are one of the Messengers." …
An-Naqqash said, "In His book, Allah did not swear by any of His Prophets that they were Messengers except for Muhammad."
In the case of those who interpret it as meaning, "O master," the use of Yasin definitely shows Allah’s high esteem for him. And indeed the Prophet himself said, "I am the master of the children of Adam, and it is no boast." (pp. 14-15)
According to the Holy Bible, the true God dos not swear by anyone except himself, since there is nothing greater for him to swear by:
For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself. Hebrews 6:13
For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. Hebrews 6:16
"I have sworn by Myself; the word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that to Me every knee shall bow..." Isaiah 45:23
"I swear by Myself, says the LORD." Jeremiah 22:5
Since Allah swears by Muhammad, as well as a host of other things, then he definitely cannot be the true God of the Holy Bible. This swearing implies, from a biblical perspective, that Muhammad is being placed on equal footing with God which also means that Allah is guilty of committing idolatry for exalting a creature to the level of deity! Even Muslims see that swearing by creatures is nothing short of idolatry:
Question #1074: Ruling on swearing by the Prophet peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him)
I hear many people, when they want to affirm something, saying “by the Prophet”. Is this permissible?
Praise be to Allaah.
This swearing by the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) is haraam, and is a kind of Shirk, because swearing by something implies veneration of it, and a created being cannot venerate another created being. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears by anything other than Allaah is guilty of kufr or shirk.” (Saheeh, narrated by Ahmad, 2/125; Abu Dawood, 3251; al-Tirmidhi, 1535). This applies to swearing by the Prophets, angels, righteous people and all other created beings. And the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever swears an oath, let him swear by Allaah or else remain silent.” (Narrated by al-Bukhaari,4860 – al-Fath 8/611 and 6107 – al-Fath 10/516; Muslim, 1647; Ahmad, 2/309; Abu Dawood, 3247; al-Nasaa’i, 3775; al-Tirmidhi, 1545; Ibn Maajah, 2096).
With regard to the verses in the Qur’aan which contain oaths sworn by “those sent forth” (al-mursalaat), the winds that scatter (al-dhaariyaat), those who pull out (al-naazi’aat), the break of day (al-fajr), the Time (al-‘asr), the forenoon (al-duhaa) and the mansions of the stars (mawaaqi’ al-nujoom – see al-Waaqi’ah 56:75), etc., these are oaths sworn by Allaah, and Allaah has the right to swear oaths by whatever He wills, but the created being can swear only be his Lord, may he be exalted.
From al-Lu’lu’ al-Makeen min Fataawaa ibn Jibreen, p. 32 (www.islam-qa.com) (http://islamqa.com/index.php?ref=1074&ln=eng)
The Muslim reasoning here is seriously flawed and rather inconsistent. If Allah can swear by other things then why can't his creatures do likewise, especially when the Quran nowhere says they can't? Biblically speaking, not only is it wrong for creatures to swear by anything other than God, it is also beneath the honor and dignity of the true God to swear by someone or something other than himself. We, therefore, need to repeat this point: From a purely biblical perspective, the fact that Allah swears by Muhammad and a host of other things is an act of idolatry, is inconsistent with his nature, and clearly proves that Allah is not the true God of the Holy Bible.
One thing is for certain from the above response: even these Muslims realize that to swear by any one other than God is idolatry, even though they try to acquit Allah of idolatry with the flimsiest reasoning.
The foregoing data shows how Muslims deified Muhammad throughout the centuries. Muslims attributed qualities and characteristics to Muhammad that are outright blasphemous, turning a mere, fallible human being into a demi-god. Muslims have done with Muhammad what other groups have done with the Gautama Buddha and Confucius. The Bible warns that man is idolatrous by nature, seeking to deify and worship the creature as opposed to worshiping the Creator alone:
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." Romans 1:18-25
One cannot help but recall the words of the late Iranian Muslim scholar, Ali Dashti, who sadly wrote:
Moslems, as well as others, have disregarded the historical facts. They have continually striven to turn this man into an imaginary superhuman being, a sort of God in human clothes, and have generally ignored the ample evidence of his humanity. They have been ready to set aside the laws of cause and effect, which governs real life, and to present these fantasies as miracles. (Dashti, 23 Years: A Prophetic Career of Muhammad [Mazda Publishers, Costa Mesa, CA 1994], p 1; underline emphasis ours)
Dashti also wrote about how this process of deification began and how it directly contradicts the teachings of the Quran:
Many Iranians have been raised on a diet of myth and are ready to believe that any emamzada, of however ancestry, can at any moment perform a miracle. But if they were to read the Qor'an, they would be surprised to find no report of a miracle in it at all. They would learn from twenty or more Qor'anic passages that whenever the Prophet Mohammed was asked by doubters to perform a miracle, he either stayed silent or said that he would not do so because he was a human being like any other, with no function except to communicate, to be a "bringer of good news and a warner." (Ibid., 38)
The Qor’anic verses on this subject are explicit and clear, and the Hadith and the contents of the reliable biographies confirm that the Prophet Mohammed never laid claim to either sinlessness or knowledge of unseen things. He was well aware of his human frailties, and he openly and frankly admitted them. According to a well attested Hadith, he had this to say about an attempt by some polytheists to fluster him with irrelevant questions: "What do these folks expect from me? I am one of God’s servants. I only know what God has taught me." (p. 60)
Taken together, these explicit and incontrovertible Qor’anic passages prove that the Prophet Mohammed, far from claiming the infallibility and superhuman rank later attributed to him by others, knew himself to be prone to sin. For anyone willing to study and to think, this greatly enhances Mohammed’s spiritual stature.
In matters such as religious and political beliefs and social concerns, which lack the certainty of mathematics and the relative demonstrability of the natural sciences, human beings are always disinclined to use their rational faculty. Instead, they first acquire a belief and then rack their brains for arguments with which to support it. The ‘olama of Islam were no exception to this rule. In their zealous devotion, they began with belief in the Prophet’s infallibility and then, in the hope of proving it, tried to explain away clear Qor’anic statements.
The eager sophistry of the Qor’an-commentators in this matter brings to mind a story about Sahl Tustari (a renowned early Sufi preacher in Khuzestan, d. 273/886). One of his disciples came and told him, "The people say that you can walk on water." Sahl answered, "Go and ask the muezzin! He is an honest man." The disciple went and asked the muezzin, who answered, "I do not know whether or not Sahl can walk on water. But I do know that when he walked up to the pool one day to perform ritual ablutions, he fell in and would have drowned if I had not pulled him out." …
Notwithstanding the testimonies of the Qor’an, the Hadith, and the biographies, Mohammed was quickly dehumanized. The process began as soon as he passed from the scene. On the day after his death, ‘Omar (or perhaps another leading companion) threatened with drawn sword in hand to cut the throat of anyone who said that Mohammed was dead, and Abu Bakr protested, quoting the Qor’anic words, "You are mortal and they are mortal" (sura 39, ox-Zomar, verse 31). How right Abu Bakr was!
The greater the distance in time and space from the Prophet’s death in 11/632 and from Madina, the more the Moslems let their imaginations run loose. They exaggerated and rhapsodized so much that they forgot two premisses [sic] which are stated in the five daily prayers as well as in many Qor’anic verses, namely that Mohammed was God’s servant and God’s messenger. Instead, they turned him into the ultimate cause of the creation, saying "But for you, the universe would not have been created." One zealous writer, Shaykh Najm od-Din Daya (d. 654/1256), went so far as to assert in his book Mersad ol-‘Ebad that the omnipotent Creator, who could make all things exist by uttering the single word "be", first had to bring the light of Mohammed into existence and then, after casting a glance at the light and thereby causing the light to sweat with embarrassment, was able to create the souls of the prophets and angels from the sweat beads. (Ibid., pp. 61-63)
Dashti’s assessment is only partially correct, in that the Quran itself provided the basis for later Muslim deification of Muhammad. As we saw in the second part, despite the Qur’an going out of its way to present Muhammad as a fallible, mortal sinner, it also manages to elevate Muhammad to a comparable level of authority with Allah. Obviously, the Quran presents two conflicting pictures of Muhammad simultaneously. Hence, Dashti saw only one part clearly, but overlooked the other part of the Quranic data.
Again, in light of all of what Muslims have said about Muhammad can anyone blame the observation made by the following Arab Christian writer:
Muhammad positioned himself as a counselor with Allah, when he forced Zainab, daughter of Gahsh, to marry Zaid, Muhammad’s adopted son. When Zainab refused Muhammad’s proposal, the Quran declares that this proposal was the decision of Allah and Muhammad.
It is not fitting
for a believer, man or woman, when a matter has been decided by Allah and His
Messenger, to have any option about their decision. If anyone disobeys Allah
and His Messenger, he is indeed on a clearly wrong path (
The Bible declares that God does not accept any human counseling:
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments, and His ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been His counselor? (Romans 11:33, 34 NKJ).
For Muhammad to associate himself as a counselor with Allah is clearly polytheism.
The Quran Positioned Mohammed As The
Lo! Allah and His
angels shower blessings on the prophet. O ye who believe? Ask blessings on him and
salute him with a worth salutation (
The literal translation of this verse is:
Allah and His angels pray on the prophet. O ye who believe pray on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.
... More importantly, if Allah and his angels in heaven are praying on the prophet, and on earth Muslims are praying on the prophet, then Mohammed is the center of worship in heaven and on earth. This is also the conclusion arrived at by some intellectual Muslims.
The daily Egyptian
Newspaper, Alwafd, (September 9, 1992), recorded the
following question sent to Sheik Hassan Mamoun, one
of the prominent clerics in
What is your judgment concerning prayer on Mohammed, the messenger of Allah, doesn't that mean worshipping him?
Muslims never mention the name of Mohammed without saying peace be upon him or in Arabic Salla Allaho Alihe Wasalaam or Alihe Alsalaato Wasalaam which means "Allah's prayer and salutation on him."
Look at any Islamic inscribed sign, and you will read the name "Allah" at the same level of the name "Mohammed."
Muhmoud Al-Saadani, the well known Egyptian journalist, wrote a critical article in the August 9, 1996 issue of Almussawar, Egyptian weekly magazine, in which he said:
On the memorial birthday of the Messenger [Mohammed] I listened to the Friday message on an Arabic television. The speaker was a young man.. he said while shedding tears over the decline of Muslims in this age... the only cause for the Muslims’ demise in this age is that they do not glorify the master of creatures, Mohammed Ibn Abdullah, as they should glorify this glorious Messenger, who is the beginning and the last of all creation... the early Muslims used to glorify the Prophet to the point of drinking his urine... (Dr. Labib Mikhail, Islam, Muhammad and the Koran: A Documented Analysis, first edition, pp. 95-98)
Now, Muslims will obviously deny this charge and will vehemently oppose the claim that they have turned Muhammad into a god. In order to show that this is precisely what they have done we will provide an example that Muslims often bring up to refute Christian teaching.
Muslims quickly accuse and condemn Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox devotion and veneration of Mary and the saints, specifically the devotion shown to Mary. They say that prayers to Mary or the saints, and titles such as Queen of Heaven or Mother of God, are nothing more than idolatry. Here are a few examples:
These Catholic congregates who venerate Lord Jesus as their God and call Virgin Mary as the "Mother of God", do form the bulk of the Christians community. It has been so since the inception of the Roman Catholic Church. The Protestants, who separated from the Roman Catholics, nearly ten centuries after the advent of Islam, do not have the statues of Mother Mary in their Churches, although at one time Mary did play a pivotal role.
As for the Holy Ghost, the third person of the Holy Trinity, no Christian Church has so far instituted its venerating representation, image or semblance for their Churchgoers.
Under the heading MARY, we find the following information that supports the above argument.
Mary's exalted position also earned her the titles Mother of God and Coredemptrix, suggesting that she played an active role in the redemption of mankind along with her son. The Mother of God title was applied early in church history, based on the notion that Jesus was fully God as well as human. This was established as a doctrine in the 4th century. In the Eastern churches this doctrine played a major devotional role and became a favorite subject for icon painters. During the Reformation era it was accepted by both Catholic and Protestant scholars, though Mary's role in Protestant theology has declined markedly since then.
It is clear that for all practical purpose and in reality, when the issue is of worshipping, venerating, deifying and/or idolizing is concerned, it is Mary - the theotokos (Mother of God), and not the Holy Ghost, which has that kind of rank and status. Briefly, in terms of veneration, the idols of Jesus and Mary are treated as deities. The Holy Ghost is not venerated as a deity in the manner that Jesus' and Mary's idols were treated. The quoted verse from the Holy Qur’an questions such Divine Rank and Status that have been assigned by the followers of Jesus to him and his mother. (Does the Qur’an Say that Mary Was Worshipped As Part of The Trinity?: http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/does-the-quran-say-that-mary-was-worshipped-as-part-of-the-trinity/; underline emphasis ours)
Some Christians do worship Mary
I have had Christians question WHY the Quran 5:116 criticizes them for worshipping Mary as a god, ...
Ok, well read the official rosary of the Catholic Church!
"Hail, Holy Queen, Mother of Mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve! To thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this vale of tears. Turn then, most gracious advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this, our exile, show us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary!" ...
Sorry, this is not use of icons or statutes to "assist" worship - it is pagan prayer to OTHER THAN ALLAH!
ACTUAL POSITION of
"Mary is Mother of God
"495 ... In fact, the One whom she conceived as man by the Holy Spirit, who truly became her son according to the flesh, was none other than the Father's eternal Son, the second person of the Holy Trinity. Hence the Church confesses that Mary is truly "Mother of God" (Theotokos). [Catechism of the Catholic Church,] (p. 125)"
The Roman and
Now despite the express denial of Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox that their veneration and devotion of Mary and the saints are violations of pure monotheism, emphatically denying that they worship them and therefore cannot be accused of idolatry, the Muslims refuse to accept such explanations since they see such practices for what they truly are. The Holy Bible does not support these practices, and such veneration is in clear violation of sound biblical teaching.
But when Muslims do the same thing for Muhammad, they are only too quick to adopt the same type of arguments and explanations that these other groups use, but which are vehemently contested by these same Muslims! In other words, Muslims are using a double standard since when the veneration they give to Muhammad is given by other groups to other religious figures, the Muslims see it as clear idolatry. Yet they excuse themselves from being idolaters despite their doing the very same thing that these other religious groups are doing!
At this point, the reader maybe saying to himself/herself that Christians have done the same thing to Jesus, that they have taken Jesus and turned him into God. The main problem and major difference with this comparison is that the New Testament clearly teaches that Jesus is God's eternal Word, his eternal Son, who is fully God in nature. Christians are worshiping Jesus precisely because the earliest records on his life claim that he is God and is worthy to be praised. The Quran, however, explicitly denies that Muhammad is God or a god, and must not be worshiped. Therefore, when Christians worship Jesus they do so because their Holy Scriptures command them to do this. But when Muslims deify and worship Muhammad, they are not just violating the plain teachings of the Holy Bible, but are also going against the commands and teachings of their own book, the Quran, which they claim is God's revelation to them.
Since Muslims apparently feel the need to deify a human and worship him, they should turn instead to the One who truly is divine, being the eternal Word and Son of God who became man in order to perfectly reveal God to mankind. Unlike Muhammad, Jesus isn't a mere man whom some turned into a god or God; Jesus is truly and actually God in essence who became a perfect man for our redemption. After all, to worship or deify fallible human individuals is blatant idolatry. But to refuse to worship God's beloved Son who became a real human being is blasphemy and a grievous sin.
The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him." John 5:22-23
"And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, 'Let all God's angels worship him.'" Hebrews 1:6
"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life." 1 John 5:11-13
To read another perspective, namely from Muslims who deny that these traditions regarding Muhammad's name being written on Allah's throne, that creation exists because of Muhammad, Muhammad's omnipresence etc. represent true Islam, we recommend the following articles and responses written entirely from a Salafi perspective, which is a very strict sect of Sunni Islam:
Acknowledgment: I have gleaned many of the ideas presented in this series from the lectures given by a dear brother. I want to acknowledge my indebtedness to his teachings, even though he wants to remain unidentified.