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MUHAMMAD A CHRISTIAN CRITIQUE

MUHAMMAD A CHRISTIAN CRITIQUE. 2011 Jay Smith. Muhammad’s Biographies. 1,548 biographies have been listed ( Hamadeh 1965:112-283; taken from Royster 1972:49)

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MUHAMMAD A CHRISTIAN CRITIQUE

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  1. MUHAMMADA CHRISTIAN CRITIQUE 2011 Jay Smith

  2. Muhammad’s Biographies • 1,548 biographies have been listed (Hamadeh 1965:112-283; taken from Royster 1972:49) • Karen Armstrong: Muhammad was the man “who gave birth to a literary masterpiece, created a major religion and founded a world power, whose descendants are viewed as a profound threat to Western civilization” (Armstrong 1992:back cover) • W.Montgomery Watt: Muhammad was a “seer..a statesman, and an administrator” (Watt 1961:237) • Maxine Rodinson: Muhammad was an ideal, “the utopia that has never been achieved [which] is always before us” • Michael Cook: Muhammad was a historical figure whose historicity yet leaves us much in doubt (Cook 1983:61) • Alfred Guillaume: Gives us the closest and best translation of IbnHisham’s biography.

  3. I The Classical Account • 570 Muhammad was born • 610 Met ‘Jibril’ in the Hira Cave • 610-622 Received ‘Meccan Revelations’ • 622 ‘Hijra’ from Mecca to Medina • 622-632 Received ‘Medinan Revelations’ • 624 ‘Mi’raj’ to the 7 heavens (5 prayers) • 630 Conquered Mecca peacefully • 632 Died (poisoning?)…no written Qur’an

  4. 20th-21st Century Revisionists • The Revisionist’s Prime Concern: • To Reassess the Classical Model • Their principle Conclusions: • Islam, as we know it, did not exist in the 7th century, but evolved over a period of 200-300 years. (Humphreys 1991:71,83-89) • The Qur’an probably was not revealed to one man in 22 years, but likely evolved over a period of 100-200 years (Rippin 1985:155;1990:3,25,60; Lester 99:44-45; Wansbrough 1977:160-163) • The Prophet Muhammad’s Life as we know it is was probably created two centuries later... • How do we know? Consider:

  5. Problem with His biography • The Late Dates:

  6. Late Dates: Nothing before 800 AD: • Sira(Hisham=833AD), • Hadith (Bukhari=870AD,Mishkat al-Masabih14th C.), • Tafsir, Tarikh • (Tabari=923AD, • al-Baladhuri=892, • az-Zamakshari=1144, • al-Baydawi=1282, • as-Suyuti=1502) • Thus, not Primary but Secondary revelation

  7. Problem with the Late Dates: • Since almost all the material available to us concerning the life of Muhammad, and the emergence of Islam from the 7th c. (i.e. that of the Sira, Hadith, Tafsir, Ta’rikh), is not compiled until the 9th - 10th c., Orientalists (from the Revisionist’s School) believe it cannot be trusted.

  8. Thus, “if knowledge of the life of Muhammad was transmitted orally for a century before it was reduced to writing, then the chances are that the material will have undergone considerable alteration in the process”(Cook 1983:65) So, Cook & Crönewent to Greek, Syriac, and Armenian sources from the 7th-8th c. & found a contrasting picture to the later Islamic Traditions. Theysought to step outside the Islamic Traditions and start again, piecing together an original account from non-Islamic sources of Muhammad’s time. The two together wrote “Hagarism”…a sort of “What if” in 26 pages, supported by 226 notes in a further 27 pages (Robinson 1996:47) Conclusion:They suggested that the history of Islam, including the life of Muhammad, upto at least the time of the caliph Abd al-Malikis fraudulent!!!! Further Problems ↓

  9. Uri Rubin • Rubin examines how the image of the Prophet was perceived by believers throughout the various evolving versions of his life. The contents of the texts are a reflection of the state of mind of the believers among whom the texts were created, preserved, and circulated over the ages. • Medieval Islam was preoccupied with portraying its prophet in a manner comparable to the biblical prophets. Biblical themes were adopted from the stories of the prophets, adapted to fit an Arabian situation, and applied to the biography of Muhammad. • Take the example of the battle of Badr: Al-Miqdad provides the same response regarding the Children of Israel, contrasting their inferiority against the superiority of the Arabs. “The entire Arabian umma as one collective group constitutes here the new chosen community that replaces the Children of Israel.”

  10. Credibility: • John Wansbrough (1977-1978): (Qur’anic Studies: Sources and Methods of Scriptural Interpretation 1977) (The Sectarian Milieu: Content and Composition of Islamic Salvation History 1978) • The compilers took their material from collections compiled within the decades around 800 A.D., and not from any documents which were written in the seventh century, and certainly not from the person of Muhammad or his companions (Humphreys 1991:73, 83; Schacht 1949:143 1949:143-145; 145; GoldziherGoldziher 1889 1889-90:72). • The Maghazi, which are stories of the prophet's battles and campaigns, are the earliest Muslim documents which we possess. They should have given us the best snapshot of that time, yet they tell us little concerning the prophet's life or teachings. In fact, oddly enough nowhere in these documents is there a veneration of Muhammad as a prophet!

  11. Yehuda D. Nevo (1994) “Towards a Prehistory of Islam,” Jerusalem Studies in Arabic and Islam, vol.17, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 1994 • Arabic Inscriptions found in the Arabian Desert form the mid to late 7th century, say nothing about a people called ‘Muslim’, nor a religion known as ‘Islam’, nor of a revelation called the ‘Qur’an’, yet they should! • CaliphalProtocals(Sufyani and earlyMarwanid Periods, upto ‘Abd al-Malik – 691) = no reference to ‘Muhammad as a prophet’, or a reference to the ‘Shahada’ • ”Muhammad Formula” is created ‘almost overnight’

  12. Contradictions: Al-Tabari’s conflicting accounts - i.e.15 different accounts of child Muhammad meeting a religious man (Crone 1987:219-220) • during his infancy (IbnHisham ed.1860:107) • when he was 9 (IbnHisham ed.1860:107) • or 12 years old (IbnSa’d 1960:120) • Or when he was 25 (IbnHisham ed.1860:119) • seen by Ethiopian Christians (IbnHisham ed.1860:107) • or by Jews (‘Abd al-Razzaq 1972: 318) • Or by a seer (‘Abd al-Razzaq 1972: 318) • or a Kahin (IbnSa’d 1960:166) • at either Mecca, (‘Abd al-Razzaq 1972:317) • or Ukaz (Abu Nu’aym 1950:116f). • or Dhu’l-Majaz (Abu Nu’aym 1950:95). Cröne concludes that what we have here is nothing more than “fifteen equally fictitious versions of an event that never took place.” (Crone 1987:220)

  13. Proliferation: • Ishaq (765 AD): ‘Abdallah had died early enough to leave Muhammad an orphan; but as to the specific details of his death, “God knew best” (Cook 1983:63). • Waqidi: (50 yrs. Later)when ‘Abdallah died, how he died, where he died, what his age was, and the exact place of his burial. • According to Michael Cook, “this evolution in the course of half a century from uncertainty to a profusion of precise detail suggests that a fair amount of what Waqidi knew was not knowledge.” (Cook 1983:63-65) • Bukhari: from 600,000 down to 7,397 =1.2% (or 2,762 non-repetitive Hadith)

  14. Isnad • Names of transmitters • No documentation before 9th century • Prophetic authority begins with Sha’fi (820AD) • Based on Oral Tradition… -Embellishment -No need for Oral Tradition after 4th c. -Conquest of Literate metropolises

  15. Storytellers • Kussas: “As storyteller followed upon storyteller, the recollection of the past was reduced to a common stock of stories, themes, and motifs that could be combined and recombined in a profusion of apparently factual accounts. Each combination and recombination would generate new details, and as spurious information accumulated, genuine information would be lost. In the absence of an alternative tradition, early scholars were forced to rely on the tales of storytellers, as did IbnIshaq, Waqidi, and other historians. It is because they relied on the same repertoire of tales that they all said such similar things”. (Crone 1987:225)

  16. Historical Anachronisms 1) i.e. Mecca -“Mecca is the center of Islam, and the center of history.” -“The first sanctuary appointed for mankind was that at Bakkah (Mecca)” Sura 3:96 -Mecca is the “mother of all settlements.” Sura 6:92 & 42:5 -Mecca is where Muhammad was born and lived until 622 -Mecca became the centre for the Qibla in 624 (Sura 2:145-149)……Consider:

  17. Earliest reference to Mecca’s existence: Apocalypse of pseudo-Methodius ContinuatioByzantia ArabicaEarly reign of caliph Hisham(724-743 AD) • Cröne in her work points out that the Greek trading documents refer to the towns of Ta’if (which is close to present-day Mecca), and to Yathrib (later Medina), as well as Kaybar in the north, but no mention of Mecca!

  18. 2) Qibla(Archaeological Evidence) • Creswell & Fehervari on ancient mosques in the Middle East Umayyad mosques in Iraq (670- early 8th c.) vWassit mosque v‘Kufa’ mosque vFustat(outside Cairo) (Creswell 1969:37,137ff,150 & 1989:40; Fehervari 1961:89; Crone-Cook 1977:23,173; al-Baladhuri'sFutuh, ed. by de Goeje 1866:276; Crone 1980:1)

  19. Middle East Asia Minor Baghdad .Wassit Jerusalem Kufa Fustat Egypt Medina Arabia Mecca

  20. Qibla (Documentary Evidence) Christian writer: Jacob of Edessa (705 AD)He refers to the ‘Mahgraye,’ saying, “So from all this it is clear that it is not to the south that the Jews and the Mahgraye here in the regions of Syria pray, but towards Jerusalem or the Ka’ba, the patriarchal places of their races.” (Crone-Cook 1977:24)

  21. Dome of the Rock • Built by ‘Abd al-Malik in 691 AD, and rebuilt by al Zaher Li-L’zaz in 1022 after an earthquake • Third most holy site after Mecca & Medina • Built to commemorate the night when Muhammad went up to heaven to speak with Moses and Allah concerning the number of prayers required of the believers (known as the Mi’raj)

  22. But, no Qibla(Suras 17:1 & 2:145-149) • Inner Ambulatories have Qur’anic inscriptions which do not parallel the Qur’an

  23. REVISIONIST’S CONCLUSIONS: Humphreys: Islam, and the prophet’s life, as we know it, was not derived from the 7th century, but evolved over a period of 200-300 years, and then redacted back on to the prophets life, and compiled in the 9th century (Humphreys 1991:71,83-89)

  24. Schacht: • Joseph Schacht “Every legal tradition from the Prophet, until the contrary is proved, must be taken not as an authentic or essentially authentic, even if slightly obscured, statement valid for his time or the time of the Companions, but as the fictitious expression of a legal document formulated at a later date” (Schacht, The Origins of Muhammadan Jurisprudence, 149)

  25. Crone and Cook: • Patricia Crone & Michael Cook in Hagarism (1977): “The [earliest] ‘maghazi-sira’ works should be treated as sources for religious ideas current in the 8th century, when they were circulated, not for the life of Muhammad”

  26. II CHRISTIAN ASSESSMENT • Christians (and Jews) have a separate responsibility from that of the historians. They have to make an assessment concerning the validity of any prophet. The Bible has clear conditions of who can carry the ‘office’ of prophethood. • Did Muhammad fulfil those conditions?

  27. The Muslim Position: • Supernatural witness points to Muhammad's Prophethood (angels & heart, protective cloud) • Prophesying points to his Prophethood (Sura 30:1-4 ‘defeat in a few years’…615 vs. 628). • Miracles point to his Prophethood (Challenge in Sura 17:90-93; Response in Suras 2:118-119; 6:37, 124; 13:7; 17:59 = warner; & Sura 54:1 = Splitting of the moon). • Illiterate Creator of the Qur'an points to his Prophethood (Sura 7:157 & 62:2 = ‘unlettered’).

  28. The Christian Position: 1.Who Qualifies as a true Prophet of God? u A Prophet must be born in the Prophetic Race (Genesis 17 & 22) u A Prophet's Message must Conform to previous Revelation u A Prophet's Predictions must be Verifiable, or he must perform a miracle to verify his authority u A Prophet must Speak in the Name of God (=YAHWEH or JEHOVAH)

  29. Questions Concerning Muhammad’s Prophethood: • Was Muhammad a Specific Prophet to the Arabs? (Sura 2:119, Sura 14:4, Sura 17:93, Sura 26:195,196, Sura 27:91, Sura 42:7, Sura 43:3, Sura 46:12) • Or a Universal Prophet? (Sura 33:40, Sura 34:28) • Was Muhammad a prophet of the Jews? (i.e. the 3 Jewish tribes in Medina = Banu Qaynuka, Banu al-Nadir, Banu Quraiza) • Was Muhammad a prophet to the Christians? Sura 2:120, Sura 3:28, Sura 5:54= "O ye who believe! Take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors; they are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.“

  30. Was Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets? • What about Jesus (Jesus Superiority = Suras 19:19-20; 3:46-49) • What about the Other Prophets? (all sinned) • What about Muhammad’s: -Concessions to People (IbnAbbas, Mutah marriages, Satanic verses S.53:19-20) -Sexuality (Zainab, Mary, Aisha) -Elevation (Sura 33:21, 36) -Sin(Suras 40:55; 47:19; 48:2; 94:1-3)

  31. Were there Prophecies Concerning Muhammad? • Sura 7:157: “Those who can follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write whom they find written with them in the Taurut and the Injeel…” • 61:6: “And when ‘Isa son of Maryam said ‘O Children of Israel! I am the Messenger of Allah unto you, confirming the Taurat [Torah] before me, and giving glad tidings of a Messenger to come after me, whose name shall be Ahmad…”

  32. Deuteronomy 18:15, 18-20 1. Comparison: Who is the prophet like Moses? Is it his life or mission? 2. Contrast: This prophet cannot be Muhammad (“brothers”=Israelite 17:15). 3. Condemnation: See the punishment for a ‘false prophet’…’Must be put to death!’ (Deut. 18:20) 4. Consideration: This prophet must be Jesus (John 1:45; John 5:46; John 6:14;Acts 3:22). 5. Conclusion: Without a prediction where is Muhammad's authority?

  33. Other Predictions in the Old Testament? • sword(Psalm 45:2-5; 149; Isaiah 63). • geographical location (Deuteronomy 33:2; Isaiah 21 & 42 (kedar), 63; Habakkuk 3:3) • Name: (Genesis 49:8-10=Judah; Haggai 2:7=Hemdah)

  34. Song of Solomon 5:16 Song of Solomon 5:16 = "His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. This is my lover, this my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem." ‘Machmad’ (Ahmad) vs. Hemdan Adjectival phrase vs. Proper Noun 1 Kings 20:6 = "Yet I will send my servants to thee tomorrow about this time, and they shall search thy house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, [that] whatever is Muhammad in thy eyes, they shall take [it] in their hand, and carry [it] away” (see also: 2 Chronicles 36:19; Isaiah 64:11; Lamentations 1:10, 11; 2:4; Ezekiel 24:16, 21, 25; Hosea 9:6, 16; Joel 3:5)

  35. Muhammad in the Injil? Parakletos or Periklytos (John 14:16 & 16:7)? • Greek language confirms parakletos. • Greek manuscripts confirm parakletos • Therefore Muhammad could not be the parakletos

  36. So who is the Parakletos? • 14:16="he will be with you for ever" • 14:17="he will be the spirit of truth" • 14:17="the world neither sees him..." • 14:17="...nor knows him" • 14:17="and he will be in you" i.e. = Holy Spirit, who arrived 50 days later (Acts 1:4-5)

  37. THE DANISH CARTOON CONTROVERSY The original 12 Danish Cartoons, printed in Jyllands PostenNewspaper, Denmark, in Sept. 2005

  38. Danish Cartoon reprinted in the Egyptian Al-Fajr Newspaper, on Oct. 17, 2005, yet, resulting in no protests! So why such a contrast?

  39. Imam Ahmad Abu Laban (leader of the Islamic Society of Denmark) & his campaign to anger the Muslim World Imam Ahmad Abu Laban Aug. 15 photo of Jacques Barrot competing at the annual French Pig-Squealing Championships in Trie-sur-Baise

  40. Why is he significant to Muslims? • His role in history • His role as intercessor What are the claims they are making today? • Their relationship with him How can We use this in Evangelism? • The need for a personal relationship with god/man • This is a great bridge to introduce Jesus as God/Man • We have what they all want!!!!

  41. CONCLUSIONS: • All we know of Muhammad comes from the 8th-9th centuries • Much of his biography is suspect • Muhammad does not fulfil any of the four criteria required for prophet-hood in the Bible. • He is not a prophet for the Jews • He is not a prophet for the Christians • He seems only to be a prophet for the Arabs • He is not even the best prophet! • He wasn’t prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:18 • He wasn’t prophesied in Song of Solomon 5:16 • He wasn’t prophesied in John 14 or John 16 • He cannot be critiqued by Muslims…or others • He cannot give what Jesus can… • Salvation from sin and an eternal life!!!

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