Was Mohammed a False Prophet

[SolomonVII]

Feel free to back up your opinions with relevant facts.

 

[Chesterton]

I don't see how any Christian could say anything other than that he was a false prophet.

Feel free to back up your opinions with relevant facts.

Where to start? We could fill volumes.

 

[SolomonVII]

One Christian on my first thread (that needs to be deleted because of a typo) hand no opinion.

It might not be a slam dunk. I expect low voter turnout actually. with people avoiding the politically incorrect avenue of actually putting their names up in lights for all to see.

I am just as interested as hearing one or two major reasons behind the reason why people believe as they do as well.

 

[Targaryen]

No opinion, Mohmammed's ministry really means nothing to me personally.. I'm a Christian.

 

[GoingByzantine]

He is clearly not a prophet from a Christian perspective. However, few can deny that the Quran (at least the bits I have heard) is highly poetic. It's an interesting study into Arabic culture in the Period.

 

[Chesterton]

It might not be a slam dunk.

A lot of people haven't done their homework.

 

[SolomonVII]

My own opinion is that Mohammed is more of a mythic figure than an actual historic figure.

Going by the story presented to us about him though, the first difficulty would the compulsion that God (through the Angel Gabriel) forced the revelation upon him. Choice was not an important factor in coming to the faith.

Even before comparing the actual message with what had come before to other prophets, the depiction of the encounter with the Divine is all wrong.

 

[Gottservant]

Mohammed pointed to the Holy Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit to whom even the Arabs must turn.

 

[Chesterton]

My own opinion is that Mohammed is more of a mythic figure than an actual historic figure.

Going by the story presented to us about him though, the first difficulty would the compulsion that God (through the Angel Gabriel) forced the revelation upon him. Choice was not an important factor in coming to the faith.

Even before comparing the actual message with what had come before to other prophets, the depiction of the encounter with the Divine is all wrong.

I think he's an actual historical figure, and a good talker, good military general and good motivator. The compulsion by the angel doesn't bother me as much as the fact that he initially thought the encounter was with a demon, and that he was possessed. (And throughout his life the subsequent revelations were accompanied by physical effects of what seem like illness.) It was only his Christian cousin (Waraka?) who supposedly convinced him that it was an angel.

Which brings up the illiteracy question, which Muslims claim makes the koran miraculous. We know he could read and write, although he could have learned later in life, but it doesn't matter, because of the extensive knowledge of Hebrew and Christian scripture possessed by his cousin who helped raise him. For those who don't know, it is claimed that Muhammad is the paraclete (the helper that Jesus promised to send).

 

[Wordkeeper]

Mohammed was very religious. After becoming financially secure through marriage, he spent much time exploring different faiths. He often visited the Jewish section of the town to enquire about their faith. It's clear that he was given heretical material to study:

Quote
IBN ISHAQ CONTINUED page 267

"Then He said: "They change words from their places, saying, If this be given to you receive it, and if it is not given to you, i.e. the stoning, beware of it. "

We see from the above that this verse in the Quran is related to a specific group of Jews playing tricks on the Muslims. It clearly does not say that the Torah was corrupted.

There are other instances of deception by the rabbis recorded. Islam has been a thorn in Israel's side since.

Matthew 12:36But I tell you that for every careless word that men shall speak they will be held accountable on the day of Judgement.

Not all the deviations were from outside sources. Muslim scholars took liberties with the text on their own as well:

Quote
Let's start with two simple cases: Muhammad borrowing from the Jewish Mishnah concerning 1) Cain and Abel, and 2) Abraham. [27]

1) The Quran's story is found in Sura 5:27-32. Initially, the O.T. and Quran basically agree on the narrative. In verse 31, the two diverge.

"That is why we laid it down for the Israelites that whoever killed a human being, except as punishment for murder or other villainy in the land, shall be deemed as though he had killed all mankind; and that whoever saved a human life shall be deemed as though he had saved all mankind.".

Initially, there appears to be no connection between verses 31 and 32. Why the life or death of one should be as the salvation or destruction of all mankind in not made clear in the Quran. When we turn to another Jewish record - the Mishnah Sanhedrin, we find the link between the story and what follows:

"We find it said in the case of Cain who murdered his brother, 'The voice of thy brother's bloods crieth' (Gen. 4:10). It is not said here blood in the singular, but bloods in the plural, that is, his own blood and the blood of his seed. Man was created single in order to show that to him who kills a single individual it shall be reckoned that he has slain the whole race, but to him who preserves the life of a single individual it is counted that he hath preserved the whole race." Mishnah Sanhedrin, 4:5
Here in the Quran is a passage from the Mishnah! The Mishnah is a Jewish commentary on the Torah. How did a Rabbi's commentary on the Torah make its way into the Quran? Simple, Muhammad had heard these teachings from the Jews, and repeated them later as he recited "revelation".

Because the word for blood is in the plural in Gen. 4:10, an ingenious Rabbi invented the supposition that all Abel's offspring had been killed with him which signified that any murder or life-saving act had universal implications. Clearly Muhammad had no knowledge of the source of the theory set out in the Mishnah but, in hearing it related, simply set out the Rabbi's suppositions as the eternal decree of God! Now today, some Jewish Rabbi's thoughts now are quoted in the Quran!

This short piece clearly shows, in one way at least, how Muhammad received "revelations". In this case, verbal stories told by the Jews, and Muhammad's memory served him. Here the Quran fails the test of authenticity; it owes much of its substance to other faiths. For some reason Muhammad decided to quote a Jewish story, feeling it has some important meaning, and placed into the Quran. Little did Muhammad know or really understand from what he was really quoting.

Rebuttals to Islamic Awareness

 

[SolomonVII]

I think he's an actual historical figure, and a good talker, good military general and good motivator.

He may have been all of that, but much of what is said about him is likely based more in legend than in fact.

The compulsion by the angel doesn't bother me as much as the fact that he initially thought the encounter was with a demon, and that he was possessed. (And throughout his life the subsequent revelations were accompanied by physical effects of what seem like illness.) It was only his Christian cousin (Waraka?) who supposedly convinced him that it was an angel.

Yes. His own first impressions was that it was a demon. People who were not there convinced him otherwise.

Which brings up the illiteracy question, which Muslims claim makes the koran miraculous. We know he could read and write, although he could have learned later in life, but it doesn't matter, because of the extensive knowledge of Hebrew and Christian scripture possessed by his cousin who helped raise him. For those who don't know, it is claimed that Muhammad is the paraclete (the helper that Jesus promised to send).

There are passages in the Koran in which the People of the Book are beseeched to look to our own scriptures for confirmation of the truth, and that those same Scriptures foretells Mohammed's coming. Of course, our Scripture do not in any way support his message, and with greater knowledge of what the Bible actually says, the idea comes up in Islam that Scripture has been corrupted. This is inconsistent of course with his original message that Scripture is imperishable.
Mohammed's knowledge of scripture seems to be more with apocryphal works rather than any literary, literate knowledge of the Bible.

 

[SolomonVII]

For everyone who has an opinion, now is a good time to give your good reasons for letting everyone know why Mohammed is not a prophet.

 

[SolomonVII]

Mohammed pointed to the Holy Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit to whom even the Arabs must turn.

If it is your understanding that Mohammed points to the Holy Spirit, and therefore is a true prophet, there is also a poll for you to register that understanding.

Don't forget to register your vote, and give us a reason or two why you think so.

 

[Rubiks]

I think he's a false prophet. His message contradicts Jesus' message. Either one or both has a false message. Honestly, I must conclude, if there is anyone from God, it would be Jesus.

 

[Albion]

For everyone who has an opinion, now is a good time to give your good reasons for letting everyone know why Mohammed is not a prophet.

What qualifies anyone as a prophet, false or not?

 

[yeshuaslavejeff]

why does anyone seek to speak of dogs that have no meat on their ribs , no light in their eyes, no water in their spring but only foul polluted water ?

 

[98cwitr]

I think he's a false prophet. His message contradicts Jesus' message. Either one or both has a false message. Honestly, I must conclude, if there is anyone from God, it would be Jesus.

This

 

[Gary51]

What a silly poll to run on a Christian forum.

You'll get the opposite poll result on an Islamic forum!!!

 

[food4thought]

He denied that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.

1Jn 5:9-12 NASB If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for the testimony of God is this, that He has testified concerning His Son. (10) The one who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; the one who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has given concerning His Son. (11) And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. (12) He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

Pretty obvious and straightforward to me. If he actually did receive a visit from an angel, it was not Gabriel, but a fallen angel.

 

[Chesterton]

It's almost comical how his revelations seem so self-serving and made up on the fly to suit situations. Just some examples:

1. When his army is weak, it is revealed to him he must live peacefully with the Meccans. A few years later when his army is stronger than the Meccans', he gets a new revelation that they should be conquered.

2. One of his wives cheats on him which causes scandal and dishonor. The fix: the angel appears to him and declares "no, it didn't happen". Now nobody can gossip about the affair without contradicting the direct Word of God.

3. The famous Satanic Verses - In order to make nice with Mecca, he announces a revelation that three of their pagan goddesses are real, and are daughters of Allah. I can imagine what my reaction would have been: "You've been preaching hatred of paganism and we've been marauding around Arabia sacking caravans and cities and smashing pagan idols and lopping off the heads of pagans, and now all of a sudden it's revealed that we should venerate pagan goddesses?" The fix: a new revelation from the "real" Gabriel saying that that last Gabriel was really Satan in disguise.

Seems to me as false as a three dollar bill.