Who was really Muhammad?

An overview and a list of links

There are numerous incidents/episodes from early Islamic sources that seem to cast Muhammad in a negative light:

He was thinking that he may have been demon-possessed [ex Satanic verses], he experienced several suicide attempts that resulted from these concerns, he might have been bewitched by a contemporary Jew, he consummated a marriage to a nine year old baby (‘Aisha) and instigated murders. There are very heavy doubts about the Qur'an's supposed scientific precision and the common claim that it is inimitable; as there are doubts about the discontinuity of his message with prior revelation (including the well-attested crucifixion of Jesus vs. S. 4:157 of the Qur'an where it is said that Jesus only appeared to be crucified).

We will soon analyze (on separate posts) the murders of Asma bint Marwan and Abu Afak, and his suicide attempts. The main sources for these stories are to be found in Muhammad’s biography of Ibn Ishaq. For the murder of Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf, we can rely on ahadith . This demonstrates that Muhammad was willing to have individuals killed that insulted him. This in turn auto-corroborates the historicity of such stories found in the Sirah. These are the types of stories unlikely to have been fabricated and propagated by the early Muslims uncritically since they portray Muhammad in a negative light. In this sense they meet the oft-used "criterion of embarrassment" often utilized.

Muslims often make allusions to violent Biblical passages. Interestingly, Muslims are constantly committing this fallacy when debating this issue. The reason it is a fallacy is because such an approach, if successful, would only serve to condemn the Bible ALONG WITH Muhammad. In other words, attacking the Bible for what is perceived to be morally repugnant verses and commands won't do a thing to exonerate Muhammad.

More links to Muhammad’s critical qualities:

Critical
http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/suicide.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/fatrah.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/fatrah.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/fatrah2.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/bewitched_prophet.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/possessed.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/bewitched1.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/bewitched2.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/bewitched3.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_possessed.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Osama/zawadi_possessed2.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/suicide.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/demons.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Green/satanic.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Saifullah/sverses.ht
http://www.answering-islam.org/Hahn/satanicverses.htm

Defensive
http://islamicperspectives.com/ProphetGettingBewitched.htm
http://www.answering-christianity.com/was_prophet_muhammad_effected_by_magic.htm
http://www.answering-christianity.com/bassam_zawadi/was_muhammad_deceived.htm
http://www.answering-christianity.com/bassam_zawadi/zawadi_possessed_rebuttal.htm
http://www.answering-christianity.com/bassam_zawadi/satanic_verses.htm
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/those-are-the-high-flying-cranes/
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/the-story-of-the-goddesses/
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/story-of-the-cranes-or-satanic-verses/
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Polemics/sverses.html

Muhammad's Brutality?

Critical
http://www.answering-islam.org/Muhammad/Enemies/index.html
http://www.answeringinfidels.com/answering-infidels/answering-muslims/murdered-by-muhammad.html
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/asma_afak1.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Responses/Menj/asma_afak2.htm

Defensive
http://www.voiceforislam.com/DidTheProphetMurderJews.html
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/wood-chopped-down/
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2006/false-allegations-of-atrocities-ii/
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/what-about-the-killing-of-kaab-bin-al-ashraf/
http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/archives/2005/the-killing-of-abu-afak-and-asma-bint-marwan/
http://www.geocities.com/noorullahwebsite/silas-kill.html

Muhammad's Marriage to 'Aisha

Critical
http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/ayesha.htm
http://www.faithfreedom.org/Articles/sina/ayesha_age.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/childbrides.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/prepubescent.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/prepubescent2.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/prepubescent3.htm
http://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Wood/pedophile.htm

Defensive (Note: Some argue against historicity, others against claims of amorality)
http://www.islamic-awareness.org/Polemics/aishah.html
http://www.voiceforislam.com/ProphetsMarriageToAisha.html
http://www.understanding-islam.com/ri/mi-004.htm
http://understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=discussion&did=307
http://understanding-islam.com/related/text.asp?type=discussion&did=311
http://www.answering-christianity.com/sami_zaatri/aisha_and_prophet_muhammad.htm

More general about Muhammad:

• Are there Biblical Prophecies about Muhammad?
• Testing Muhammad's Prophecy
• Muhammad the prophet versus the prophets
• Muhammad's Prophethood
• A Qur’anic Criterion for a True Prophet
• Divinely Inspired Ignorance?
• Muhammad, Satan, and Muhammad’s Prophetic Call
• Reexamining Satan's Influence and Control over Muhammad
• Muhammad's False Prophecies (in Qur'an and Hadith)
• Jesus or Muhammad: Who is God's True Seal of Prophethood?
• Silas presents thorough investigations on various issues touching on Muhammad's Prophethood
• Muhammad's Inconsistency (in making laws binding upon the Muslim community but granting exceptions to himself)
• The Deification of Muhammad

Further Miscellanea:

• Mohammed without Camouflage: Ecce Homo ... Arabicus
• Muhammad and his personal enemies
• Muhammad's excessive cruelty
• Willy Wonka and the Prophet Factory: A Tale of Poor Argumentation and Moral Inconsistency
• Islam and Beheading
• Muhammad's letter to the Julanda Brothers of Oman
• Muhammad and Idolatry
• Muhammad and Poison
• Muhammad and Miracles
• Muhammad and Sauda and Muhammad's Treatment of Sauda Bint Zamah
• Why Did Mohammed Get So Many Wives?
• Was Muhammad a Superman of Sex?
• Muhammad's Low Opinion of Women
• Treaties
• An Examination of Muhammad's Marriage to a Prepubescent Girl and its Moral Implications
• What is the Seal of Prophethood?
• Muslim tradition on Heraclius' response to Muhammad's invitation
• The Satanic Verses
• God's Last Messenger (?)
• Muhammad's Love for the Fantastically Fictional
• Are Pictures of Muhammad Really Forbidden In Islam?
• A short biographical overview is found in the entry on Muhammad in our Index to Islam
• The Life of Mahomet by Sir William Muir is a major biography of Muhammad
• The Quest of the Historical Muhammad and Was Muhammad a Prophet From His Infancy? by Arthur Jeffery

Comparison studies

• Jesus and Muhammad: Fifteen major differences by James Arlandson
• Several more comparisons on specific topics by the same author are found here.
• Mohammed the prophet versus the prophets by Dallas Roark
• A Comparison of Jesus and Muhammad by Silas
• Muhammad or Jesus? (off site)

Sources:
http://answering-islam.org/Muhammad/index.html

http://answering-islam.org/Qur’an/index.html

IHS