WEEK 4 SURVEY OF MUHAMMAD

Transcription

1 WEEK 4 SURVEY OF MUHAMMAD Muhammad We will examine critically the life f Muhammad. This examinatin is nt intended t shw disrespect r t pke fun at the prphet f Islam. Hwever, if his claim t be a prphet f Gd is t be believed, then his life and his example are wrthy f examinatin. If Muhammad s life and his actins demnstrate that he is indeed a prphet f Gd then we we it t urselves t listen t what he had t say. On the ther hand, if his life and actins demnstrate him t be smething else, and indeed pssibly a false prphet, then we must nt heed his wrds; indeed, we must warn thers abut this false prphet. The questin t be answered: Des Muhammad bear the signs f prphethd? D his wrds and actins line up with previus prphets? Wh is Muhammad? His name cmes frm the rt Ahmed, meaning praised ne Significance: Muslims argue that the Jesus prphesied abut the cming f the praised ne in Jhn 14, based n Sura 61:6; t be cvered in a few weeks Said t be the last and final messenger frm Gd t bring the final wrd f Gd t mankind in the Qur an. Called the seal f the prphets and cnsidered the last and final prphet Nte: Jseph Smith made the same claim Sunan Nasa i: The messenger f Allah cmbines in his persn the virtues f all the prphets wh came befre him. He is the perfect mdel and his teachings are the ideal nes. In his wn right, he deserves t be fllwed. It is a matter f histry that within the shrt span f 23 hears f his prphethd, he changed the wrst int the best. The benefits f the splendid revlutin brught abut by him cntinued t be in evidence in full splendr fr s lng as his teachings and example cntinued t be fllwed. Mecca Muhammad brn in 570 AD; his father Abdullah died befre he was brn, his mther Amina died when he was six years ld. He was raised by his grandfather and later his uncle and traveled with him n mercantile trips by camel as far as Syria. Lineage: Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad s earliest bigrapher, traces the lineage f Muhammad back t Adam thrugh Abraham and ther great prphets. The lineage given in Ibn Ishaq is thus: 1

2 Muhammad s Pure Descent frm Adam: Muhammad was the sn f Abdullah, b. Abdu l-muttalib (whse name was Shayba), b. Hashim (whse name was Amr), b. Abdu Manaf (whse name was al-mughira), b. Qusayy (whse name was Zayd), b. Kilab, b. Murra, b. Ka b, b. Lu ayy, b. Ghalib, b. Fihr, b. Malik, b. al-nadr, b. Kinana, b. Khuzayma, b. Mudrika (whse name was Amir), b. Ilyas, b. Mudar, b. Nizar, b. Ma add, b. Adnan, b. Udd (r Udad), b. Muqawwam, b. Nahur, b. Tayrah, b. Ya rub, b. Yashjub, b. Nabitr, b. Isma il [Ishamael], b. Ibrahim [Abraham], the friend f the Cmpassinate, b. Tarih (wh is Azar), b. Nahur, b. Sarugh, b. Ra u, b. Falikh, b. Aybar, b. Shalikh, b. Arfakhshadh, b. Sam, b. Nuh [Nah}, b. Lamk, b. Mattushalakh, b. Akhnukh, wh is the prphet Idris accrding t what they allege, but Gd knws best )he was the first f the sns f Adam t whm prphecy and writing with a pen were given), b. Yard, b. Mahlil, b. Qaynan, b. Yanish, b. Shith [Seth], b. Adam. Varius miracle stries in the Arabic traditins surrunding Muhammad s birth and childhd: As his pregnant mther went t the well t draw water, the water wuld rise in hnr f Muhammad (Zamzam well). Brn circumcised and with his umbilical crd detached (ibn Kathir, Al-Sira al-nabawiyya, vl.1 p. 149) During his birth, a great light culd be seen as far away as Syria (ibn Kathir, Al-Sira al-nabawiyya, vl.1 p. 147) One accunt has Amina, his mther, explaining, When he was separated frm me a light emerged alng with him that lit all between the east and west. Then he drpped t the grund, resting upn his hands, and tk up a handful f earth which he gripped, raising his head twards heaven. (ibn Kathir, Al-Sira al-nabawiyya, vl.1 p. 148) Trees wuld bend ver and prvide him shade as he rested As he passed stnes while walking, the stnes wuld say t him, Peace be upn yu, Messenger f Gd. (al-tabari, vl VI, p. 63) Visited by tw angels wh cut ut his heart and washed it with water befre putting it back in his chest. T prepare him fr his ministry as a prphet. Read narratin in al-tabari, vl VI, pg 75 Died in 632 AD frm cmplicatins f being pisned by a Jewess a few years earlier (see Ibn Ishaq, p. 516). Married his wife Khadijah at age 25 (she was 40 and a widw) and remained married t her fr 25 years until she died. He remained faithful t Khadijah until her death, but after that married as many as 11 wives at a time, and als had a number f cncubines. His yungest wife was Aisha, whm he married when she was six years ld and he was fifty years ld. Aisha was his favrite wife and is quted prminently in the hadith. 2

3 Became a merchant tradesman with his uncle. Traveled arund Arabia, Palestine, and Syria trading gds. In 610 began withdrawing t a cave n Mt. Hira fr meditatin and allegedly began receiving revelatins frm the angel Gabriel. Cntinued t receive revelatins fr the next 10 years befre migrating t Medina. Revelatins remembered by cmpanins, written dwn n sticks, bnes, skin, etc. Night flight t Jerusalem (miraj) Sura 17:1 One night while in Mecca, he was awaken by the angel Gabriel, munted n a beast named Buraq (crss between a mule and dnkey, with wings) and flwn t the temple munt in Jerusalem. Frm there, he was taken up t heaven where he met many f the prphets: Mses, Abraham, Jesus, etc. While in heaven, he had a discussin with Allah abut the number f times t pray daily. Allah had required 50 prayers daily, Muhammad bargained Allah dwn t five daily prayers, which Muslims bserve tday (al-tabari vl 6, p ). The Dme f the Rck is significant as a mnument fr where Muhammad ascended int heaven n the back f Buraq. A parallel frm Muhammad s recllectin f the ascensin accunt f Christ in the Injil? There were eyewitnesses t Jesus being taken up int heaven N eyewitnesses f Muhammad s ascensin; nly legendary stries t supprt this accunt. Mve t Medina Mecca had becme a haven f pagan wrship. The Ka ba had been defiled with multiple pagan altars whm the Meccan peple wrshipped. Muhammad criticized the pagan idlatry that Mecca had becme, and the Quraysh peple began persecuting the Muslims and putting them in prisn. One accunt has it that Muhammad s uncle was apprached and asked t make an exchange: the mst handsme and intelligent yung man amng the Quraysh in exchange fr Muhammad, s that they culd kill him (Ibn Ishaq, p. 119) Muhammad and his fllwers fled t Medina in 622 AD, which is the fficial year f the beginning f Islam. This flight t Medina, called the hijra, marks the beginning f the Islamic calendar. All dates frm 622 are abbreviated AH, fr After Hijra. Thus, 632 AD is equal t 10 AH. Islam fllws a lunar calendar, 12 mnths f days each. Cnquests f Islam Over the next 11 years, frm 622 t 632 and his death, Muhammad versaw several dzen cnflicts where Islam was spread and the neighbring infidel pagans were crushed. Muhammad persnally tk part in 27 campaigns. 3

4 In cntrast t Sura 2:256 which says Let there be n cmpulsin in religin Muhammad s campaigns were specifically intended t frce nn-believers int Islam r perish by the swrd. Nte Yusuf Ali s (cmmnly accepted Islamic schlar) cmments n this verse: Cmpulsin is incmpatible with religin, because religin depends upn faith and will, and these wuld be meaningless if induced by frce. Given this verse and the explanatry cmmentary by Yusuf Ali, let s see if Muhammad s life was in harmny r in cnflict with the Qur an: Raid n the bin Al-Harith: Abu Bakr cmpsed the fllwing regarding this raid (Ibn Ishaq, p. 282): I swear, and I am n perjurer, if they d nt quickly repent f their errr, a valiant band will descend upn them, which will leave their wmen husbandless. It will leave dead men, with vultures wheeling arund, it will nt spare the infidels Battle f Badr: Ibn Ishaq recrds (p. 301), While the flk were laying hands n the prisners the apstle, as I have been tld, saw displeasure n the face f Sa d at what they were ding. He said t him, Yu seem t dislike what the peple are ding. Yes, by Gd he replied, it is the first defeat that Gd has brught n the infidel and I wuld rather see them slaughtered than left alive. Muhammad cndnes cmpulsin in religin: Ibn Ishaq (p. 319) recrds cncerning ne f Muhammad s warrirs by the name f Umayr, wh said, I shuld like yu t give me permissin t g t Mecca and t summn them t Gd and His apstle and t Islam that perhaps Gd may guide them; and if nt, I will persecute them in their religin as I used t persecute yur cmpanins. The apstle agreed and he went t Mecca. When Umayr came t Mecca he stayed there summning peple t Islam and treating thse wh ppsed him vilently s that thrugh him many became Muslins. Muhammad sent his men t the peple f bin al-harith (ibn Ishaq, p. 645) t accept Islam within three days r be prepared t fight. They were tld if yu accept Islam yu will be safe, s the men accepted Islam. In the final sectin f his bigraphy f Muhammad, Ibn Ishaq summarizes Muhammad s missin with these wrds: Gd sent Muhammad with this religin and he strve fr it until men accepted it vluntarily r by frce. Once they had entered it they were Gd s prtégés and neighbrs under his prtectin. (p. 669) I culd g n, but yu get the picture. Hw d these actins f Muhammad measure up t the Qur an s insistence that there be n cmpulsin in religin?? Significance f sunna t Muslims Sunna: traditins r example set by Muhammad; what Muhammad did and what Muslims are expected t emulate frm Muhammad. 4

5 Andrew Rippin, a secular schlar f Islamic studies, ntes that the sunna is the practice f Muhammad as embdied in the Hadith and transmitted faithfully by Muhammad s fllwers thrugh successive generatins t the present. It represents the picture f the perfect way f life, in imitatin f the precedent f Muhammad wh was the perfect embdiment f the will f Gd. The sunna, then, in Sunni Islam, is the fcal pint f all law. All legal issues are based n the sunna and traced back thrugh the isnad t Muhammad s wrds and actins. Read Sahih Muslim, cmment 2077 (vl. 3, p. 1050). Intr t Sunan Nasa i describes the imprtance f sunna Jabir reprted that the messenger f Allah said in his farewell pilgrimage, I am leaving tw things amngst yu after my death. If yu hld them fast, yu will never g astray frm the right path. The ne is the Hly Qur an and the ther is my Sunnah r hadith. Fllwing hadith, therefre, is as imprtant as fllwing the injunctins f the Qur an, withut which the religin f Islam wuld be incmplete and wuld create dissensins amng the believers. Prphet f Gd? There are many things that can be said abut Muhammad. He had strng leadership skills and knew hw t get things dne. He was cmpassinate at times; several events are recrded in his life where he cried in respnse t smene else s hardship, he sympathized with them. He was a generus man wh tk care f the pr and needy. These are all nble character traits. Hwever, the aspect that we need t fcus n is this: Was Muhammad a prphet f Gd? Did he pssess the traits that we see in all the ther Biblical prphets? If he was a prphet, then we need t listen t what he said, because he brings a message frm Gd. If he was nt a prphet, while claiming t be, he was a liar and nthing he said can be trusted. Which is it? The Muslim psitin fr prphethd - fur criterin; a supernatural witness, Muhammad s illiteracy, prphecy fulfilled, and miracle accunts. Supernatural witness: His first revelatin with Gabriel is narrated: "The first revelatin which began t be revealed t the Apstle f Allah was a crrect dream in sleep. He did nt see a dream but it came like the mrning dawn. Thereafter lneliness became dear t him and he used t seclude himself t the cave f Hira and engaged therein in deep devtin (and it is divine service) fr many nights befre he went t his huse and prvided himself with fd therefre. Then he wuld return t Khadija and take prvisin fr the like f them (nights) until the truth came unt him while he was in the cave f Hira. The angel appeared befre him and said, 'Read.' He said, 'I cannt read.' He narrated: Then he tk me and pressed me hard till there came great exhaustin n me; thereafter he let me ff and said, 'Read.' I replied, 'I cannt read.' Then he tk me and pressed me hard fr the secnd time until there appeared a great exhaustin n me; thereafter he let me ff. He said, 'Read.' I said, 'I cannt read.' Then he tk me and pressed me a third time till there appeared a great exhaustin n me; thereafter he let me ff. He said, 5

6 'Read in the name f yur Lrd wh created, created man frm a clt. Read and yur Lrd is the Mst Generus, wh taught with the pen, taught man what he knew nt.' Then the prphet returned therewith, his heart was trembling and he went t Khadijah and said, 'Wrap me up, wrap me up.' Then they wrapped him until the dread went away frm him. When he became frightened he ran hme t his wife, wh had her wn rather interesting means f delineating whether he was telling the truth r nt. She put him n each f her hips and asked him if he still saw the angel, t which he said yes. Then she disrbed in frnt f him and asked him again, and when he said n, she then believed he was receiving authentic revelatins. Cmpare Muhammad's visitatin by Gabriel t appearances by Gabriel in the Bible. Muhammad became frightened, and ran hme trembling frm being nearly crushed t death by Gabriel when tld t read. Daniel 8: When I, Daniel, had seen the visin, I sught t understand it. And behld, there std befre me ne having the appearance f a man. And I heard a man s vice between the banks f the Ulai, and it called, Gabriel, make this man understand the visin. S he came near where I std. And when he came, I was frightened and fell n my face. But he said t me, Understand, O sn f man, that the visin is fr the time f the end. Luke 1:13 But the angel said t him, D nt be afraid, Zechariah, fr yur prayer has been heard, and yur wife Elizabeth will bear yu a sn, and yu shall call his name Jhn. Luke 1: In the sixth mnth the angel Gabriel was sent frm Gd t a city f Galilee named Nazareth, t a virgin betrthed t a man whse name was Jseph, f the huse f David. And the virgin s name was Mary. And he came t her and said, Greetings, O favred ne, the Lrd is with yu! But she was greatly trubled at the saying, and tried t discern what srt f greeting this might be. And the angel said t her, D nt be afraid, Mary, fr yu have fund favr with Gd." Muhammad himself had dubts abut the surce f his revelatins early n. Muhammad, accrding t `Amr ibn Sharhabil, mentined t his wife Khadijah that he feared he was pssessed by demns and wndered whether thers might cnsider him pssessed by jinn. Cnsider the fllwing descriptins f varius times when he received his revelatins: While the Wahy (inspiratin) lasted, accrding t his wife Aisha, there were the sunds f bells ringing as he sweated prfusely. He wuld becme greatly perturbed and his face wuld change (Sahih Muslim). Muslim Traditin tells us that smetimes he wuld shiver and swn, his muth wuld fam, and he wuld rar like a camel (Mishkat IV p.359). At ther times when the inspiratin descended there was the sund near his face like the buzzing f bees (frm `Umar ibnu'l Khattab), while at ther times he felt a tremendus headache (frm Abu Hurairah). Many times it seemed t his friends that he swned and lked 6

7 like smene intxicated. Ibn Ishaq (p. 106) recrds Muhammad prclaiming after ne visit by Gabriel: We is me pet r pssessed; never shall the quraysh say this f me! I will g t the tp f the muntain and thrw myself dwn that I may kill myself and gain rest. Satanic Verses Salman Rushdie wrte a bk called The Satanic Verses in Immediately a fatwa, r religius ruling, was issued calling fr the death f Rushdie, and a bunty f $2.5 millin was placed n his head by the Ayatllah Khmeini, which remains in effect t this day. What exactly are the Satanic Verses? Islam strngly ppses idlatry, plytheism, assciating anything r anyne with Gd. In fact, Islam's creed in Arabic begins with a negative: Nt is there a gd except Gd. It cntrasts sharply with the cntentin f Muhammad's Arab cntempraries that Gd had assciates. Sme f these assciates are even mentined in the Qur'an, amng them three female deities: al-lat, al-uzza and Manat. Each had a shrine in separate places nt far frm Mecca in Arabia, where Muhammad was brn and began his missin. The Qur'an, as it nw reads, bviusly rejects these deities. But and here cmes the issue did the Qur'an and Muhammad always reject them? While Muhammad was in Mecca, his fllwers were few, his mvement grew painfully slwly and he, t, felt the pain f estrangement frm his tribe. Accrding t early and treasured bigraphical and histrical accunts f Muhammad, authred by cmpetent Muslim schlars (such as writings f at- Tabari and Ibn Sa d), Muhammad lnged fr better relatins and recnciliatin with his cmmunity. Thereafter, the accunts cntinue, Gd revealed Surah 53 t Muhammad up t and including vss. 19, 20. These tw verses read: Have ye thught upn al-lat and al-uzza And Manat, the third, the ther? (53:19,20) Then, riginally, the verses (knwn tday as the satanic verses) fllwed: These are the exalted cranes (intermediaries) Whse intercessin is t be hped fr. The cranes whse intercessin was recgnized were, f curse, the three deities. The same accunts tell us that after this revelatin was cmpleted, Muhammad, his fllwers and the pagan Arabs all prstrated. Tensins eased, recnciliatin was at hand, and all were delighted. But Muhammad sn retracted the recnciliatin hw sn is nt clear. Fr the accunt cntinues that Jibril (Gabriel), the angel f revelatin, infrmed Muhammad that Satan had used Muhammad's desire fr recnciliatin with the pagan leaders t insert int the revelatin f Gd the verses abut the interceding cranes, therwise called "the satanic verses". The verses which fllw, nt the satanic verses, serve as the prper sequence t 53:19,20 (abve): 7

8 Are yurs the males and His the females? That indeed is an unfair divisin! (53:21,22) In ther wrds: When yu Arabs have sns (whm yu prefer t daughters!), hw unfair f yu t say that Gd has daughters! The idea f a plurality f gds r gddesses r sns r daughters f Gd is ridiculus. Gd alne is Gd. The three gddesses are false. Prblem: Muhammad admitted (by the guidance f Gabriel) t being deceived int inserting these verses int the Qur an. In ther wrds, Muhammad was unable t discern revelatin frm Allah with revelatin frm Satan. Is this pssible fr ne wh is truly Gd s chsen prphet? Furthermre, if Satan was able t deceive Muhammad int inserting these verses, hw many ther verses als have been inserted due t satanic influence? Muslims are aware f these verses, but have a respnse t the prblem. Muhammad receives anther just-in-time revelatin abslving him f this small indiscretin: Sura 22:52 - And We did nt send befre yu any messenger r prphet, but when he desired, the Shaitan [Satan] made a suggestin respecting his desire; but Allah annuls that which the Shaitan casts, then des Allah establish His cmmunicatins, and Allah is Knwing, Wise. In ther wrds, dn t wrry Muhammad, all ther prphets befre yu said things attributed t Satan frm time t time, but Allah always crrected them. Illiterate: Muslims claim that because Muhammad was illiterate, he culd nt have written the Qur an. This is supprted in the Qur an: In Sura 7:157 we find: "Thse wh fllw the apstle, the unlettered Prphet, whm they find mentined in their wn (scriptures), - in the law and the Gspel; - fr he cmmands them what is just and frbids them what is evil; Sura 7:158 Say: "O men! I am sent unt yu all, as the Apstle f Gd, t Whm belngeth the dminin f the heavens and the earth: there is n gd but He: it is He That giveth bth life and death. S believe in Gd and His Apstle, the Unlettered Prphet, wh believeth in Gd and His wrds: fllw him that (s) ye may be guided." Thus, the Qur an s very existence is testimny t Muhammad s status as a prphet. There are a cuple f prblems with this psitin. First, it is dubtful that Muhammad was illiterate. Recall that when he was being raised by his uncle, he traveled as a merchant, delivering supplies t varius cmmunities. He als traveled extensively with his first wife Khadijah, wh hired him t help her with her trade business. Surely there must have been sme srt f written recrd kept t dcument these transactins. The merchant trade 8

9 cannt exist withut written recrds f what and hw much was shipped t whm. Secnd, Muhammad s illiteracy is irrelevant t the questin f the existence f the Qur an. As we have seen, Muhammad did nt write the Qur an; he recited it. Others wrte dwn what Muhammad recited, as the Qur an was cmplied ver the years. The Qur an wuld have been written whether Muhammad culd r culd nt read and write, s the argument is irrelevant. Third, recent schlars have shwn that the Arabic wrd ummi, translated as illiterate, des nt mean illiterate, but rather means ne wh has n bk, r thse wh did nt have a bk revealed by Gd (sura 62:2) Thus, the Qur an was revealed, nt t an illiterate prphet, but t a prphet and peple wh did nt have their wn bk revealed by Gd. Sura 62:2 It is He Wh has sent amngst the Unlettered an apstle frm amng themselves, t rehearse t them His Signs, t sanctify them, and t instruct them in Scripture and Wisdm, - althugh they had been, befre, in manifest errr Furth, the hadith includes numerus accunts f Muhammad writing. Narrated Anas bin Malik: Once the Prphet wrte a letter r had an idea f writing a letter. The Prphet was tld that they (rulers) wuld nt read letters unless they were sealed. S the Prphet gt a silver ring made with "Muhammad Allah's Apstle" engraved n it. As if I were just bserving its white glitter in the hand f the Prphet (Sahih al-bukhari, Vlume 1, Bk 3, Number 65) Narrated 'Ursa: The Prphet wrte the (marriage cntract) with 'Aisha while she was six years ld and cnsummated his marriage with her while she was nine years ld and she remained with him fr nine years (i.e. till his death). (Sahih al-bukhari, Vlume 7, Bk 62, Number 88) Narrated 'Ubaidullah bin 'Abdullah: Ibn 'Abbas said, "When the ailment f the Prphet became wrse, he said, 'Bring fr me (writing) paper and I will write fr yu a statement after which yu will nt g astray.' But 'Umar said, 'The Prphet is seriusly ill, and we have gt Allah's Bk with us and that is sufficient fr us.' But the cmpanins f the Prphet differed abut this and there was a hue and cry. On that the Prphet said t them, 'G away (and leave me alne). It is nt right that yu shuld quarrel in frnt f me." Ibn 'Abbas came ut saying, ""It was mst unfrtunate (a great disaster) that Allah's Apstle was prevented frm writing that statement fr them because f their disagreement and nise. (Sahih al-bukhari, Vlume 1, Bk 3, Number 114) Prphecy: Unlike the specific prphecies we find in the Bible by varius prphets, prphecies which can be tested and verified, n such prphecies exist in the Qur an by 9

10 Muhammad. The clsest example t a prphecy in the Qur an is Sura 30:1-4, which reads: A. L. M., The Rman Empire has been defeated- In a land clse by; but they, (even) after (this) defeat f theirs, will sn be victrius-within a few years. With Allah is the Decisin, in the past and in the Future: n that Day shall the Believers rejice. Nte tw things abut this suppsed prphecy. First, it is nn-specific (within a few years ); it is a general statement abut what might happen at sme pint in histry. Secnd, it speaks f the defeat f the victry in a war campaign; a guess that Muhammad had a 50/50 chance f getting right. In a nutshell, the verses refer t the Byzantines wh had been defeated by the Persians arund 615AD. The Byzantines eventually verturned their defeat and were victrius against the Persians a few years later, in AD. This prphecy was suppsedly a predictin f the Byzantine defeat f the Persians in 628. Frm Gerhard Nehls: "This passage refers t the defeat f the Byzantines in Syria by the Persians under Khusran Parvis. (A.D years befre the Hijra). Hwever, the defeat f the Persians shuld take place sn 'in a small number f years'. In the light f this predictin, Abu-Bakr undertk a bet with Ubai-ibn-Khalaf that this predictin wuld be fulfilled within three years, but he was crrected by Mhammed wh stated that the 'small number' is between three and nine years (Al-Baizawi). Muslims tell us that the Byzantines vercame their enemies within seven years. The fact, hwever, is that the Byzantines defeated Persia in A.D. 628 (Al-Baizawi cmmentary). That was twelve years after the predictin f Mhammed. Cnsequently this passage des nt qualify as a prphecy, particularly as the time between prphecy and fulfilment was far t shrt, and in additin the event was easily predictable." (Gerhard Nehls, Christians Ask Muslims [Life Challenge, SIM Internatinal; Africa, 1992], pp ) This is a far cry frm specific prphecies in the Bible: Isaiah 44:28 where it is prphesied that Cyrus wuld authrize the rebuilding f the temple, a fact that happened 150 years later. Interestingly, Cyrus was named as the ne wh wuld fulfill this prphecy, 150 years befre he was brn when the name Cyrus was unknwn at that time. Jer. 29:10 Fr thus says the LORD: When seventy years are cmpleted fr Babyln, I will visit yu, and I will fulfill t yu my prmise and bring yu back t this place. 11 Fr I knw the plans I have fr yu, declares the LORD, plans fr welfare and nt fr evil, t give yu a future and a hpe. 12 Then yu will call upn me and cme and pray t me, and I will hear yu. 13 Yu will seek me and find me, when yu seek me with all yur heart. 14 I will be fund by yu, declares the LORD, and I will restre yur frtunes and gather yu frm all the natins and all the places where 10

11 I have driven yu, declares the LORD, and I will bring yu back t the place frm which I sent yu int exile. Israel was taken captive by the Babylnians beginning in 605 B.C. They were captive fr 70 years until Cyrus (circa 535 B.C.) annunced (Ezra 1:1-2) that Gd stirred his t rebuild the temple at Jerusalem, which was cmpleted and dedicated in 516 B.C. Over 300 prphecies f Jesus frm the Old Testament predicting when he wuld be brn, what city he wuld be brn in, hw he wuld die (between tw thieves, nt a bne wuld be brken, thse arund wuld cast lts fr his clthes, etc.), that his cming wuld be fretld by anther prphet crying in the wilderness, and s n. Every ne f the 300+ prphecies were fulfilled by Jesus in his lifetime. Miracles: The Qur an explicitly denies that Muhammad can perfrm miracles. This denial is fund in Sura 2:118; 6:37; 6:109; 6:124; 10:20; 13:7; 17:59. Muhammad claims time and again that he is simply a messenger, as in Sura 17:90-93, which reads: They say: "We shall nt believe in thee, until thu cause a spring t gush frth fr us frm the earth, Or (until) thu have a garden f date trees and vines, and cause rivers t gush frth in their midst, carrying abundant water; Or thu cause the sky t fall in pieces, as thu sayest (will happen), against us; r thu bring Allah and the angels befre (us) face t face: Or thu have a huse adrned with gld, r thu munt a ladder right int the skies. N, we shall nt even believe in thy munting until thu send dwn t us a bk that we culd read." Say: "Glry t my Lrd! Am I aught but a man,- a messenger?" Interestingly, Yusuf Ali cmments in his translatin f the Qur an, in cmment 5439: Our Hly Prphet was fretld in many ways; and when he came, he shwed frth many clear signs, fr his whle life frm beginning t end was ne vast miracle. In his cmmentary, Yusuf Ali tries t assert the very thing Muhammad denied he was capable f ding perfrming miracles! Hwever, in sme traditins, miracle stries, likely legendary, d exist. Fr example, the mst ppular is fund in the hadith f Sahih Muslim: Sahih Muslim 6725: We were alng with Allah s messenger at Mina that the mn was split int tw. One f its parts was behind the muntain and the ther part was n this side f the muntain. Allah s messenger said t us: Bear witness t this. Other hadith als recrd this suppsed miracle. Prblem: We nw knw smething f the mn that was unknwn in the 7 th century: the mn is enrmusly large physically. The mn has a diameter f 2,159 miles, r abut 1/3 that f earth. It is physically impssible t place part f the mn n ne side f a muntain and part n the far side, while being able 11

12 t bserve such a phenmena! Yet, this scientific peculiarity is used tday as prf f Muhammad s prphethd. Test f a True Prphet BORN IN THE PROPHETIC LINE. The prphetic line in the Bible has always been frm the descendants f Abraham, Isaac, and Jacb. We find Gd s prmise t Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3 where Gd makes a cvenant with Abraham. In Genesis 25 and 26 the prphetic line is passed n t Isaac, and then t Jacb (Israel). In Genesis 49 it is passed n t Judah. Never is the prphetic line frm Abraham thrugh Ishmael. The Qur an even verifies that the prphetic line is thrugh Abraham, Isaac, and Jacb: Sura 29:27 And We gave (Abraham) Isaac and Jacb, and rdained amng his prgeny Prphethd and Revelatin, and We granted him his reward in this life; and he was in the Hereafter (f the cmpany) f the Righteus. Als, Sura 45:16 We did afretime grant t the Children f Israel the Bk the Pwer f Cmmand, and Prphethd; We gave them, fr Sustenance, things gd and pure; and We favred them abve the natins. Thus, since he was nt frm the line f Abraham, Isaac, and Jacb, Muhammad fails the first test f prphethd. MUST SPEAK IN THE NAME OF GOD. In Exdus 3 (which Muslims als recgnize as scripture) we find the stry f Mses and the burning bush. When Gd calls Mses t lead the children f Israel ut f Egypt, Mses asks Gd wh shall I say sent me? Gd tells Mses, say I AM sent yu. Gd s name I AM in Hebrew is YHWH, which we call Yahweh in English. I AM is significant, because it signifies cmplete self-existence and self-sufficiency. Nbdy else can lay claim t being self-existent but Gd alne, and I AM is uniquely His name. All the ancient Biblical prphets speak in this name when making a prphecy frm Gd (YHWH): Thus says the LORD. But, this wrd never appears in the Qur an, and is never attributed t Muhammad. In fact, there is n equivalent wrd in Arabic, the language that Muslims claim is the language f Gd. Muhammad did nt speak in the name f YHWH. Thus, Muhammad fails the secnd test fr a prphet. MESSAGE MUST CONFORM TO THE MESSAGE WHICH HAS GONE BEFORE. The cntinual message f the OT prphets was t call a rebellius peple back int a cvenant relatinship with Gd, a call t wrship YHWH as Gd and creatr. Muhammad des nt call peple t wrship YHWH. Rather, he replaces the law f the cvenant with his wn revelatin, which is altgether different than that which YHWH established with the Israelites. As schlar Dallas Rark ntes, The earlier revelatin is seen as imprtant nly as far as it can serve t supprt r authenticate his wn by the claim that it is in agreement with what came befre. Further, there are many cntradictins between the Bible and the Qur an. The Qur an is nt in agreement with many accunts f the Bible, but actually says 12

13 smething entirely different. The Qur an, then, because it disagrees with the Bible, des nt cnfrm t the prir message frm Gd. Thus, Muhammad fails the third test f a prphet. VERIFIABLE ACCOMPLISHMENTS TO THE PROPHET S PREDICTIONS. Prphets in the Bible predicted bth shrt-term and lng-term events, and bth establish the credibility f the prphet. Time after time in the OT, we see shrt-term prphecies fulfilled (Gd prtecting Mses and the Israelites as they crssed the Red Sea, fulfilled almst immediately) and lng term (Gd will guide Israel by day and night until they enter the prmised land, 40 years later). Every prphet fllws this pattern f bth shrt-term fulfilled prphecies and lng term prphecies. Except fr a few battle victries predicted in a general, nn-specific way, and which were almst a certainty anyway, and which at wrst had nly a 50/50 chance f being crrect, n ther predictins f Muhammad are made available fr scrutiny. Muhammad did nt fllw in the line f making precise and verifiable shrt-term and lng-term prphecies. In fact, as we have seen, he admits t nt being able t shw a sign t substantiate his authrity, since he was nly a messenger. Thus, Muhammad fails the furth test f a prphet. (see Tafsir ibn Kathir, vl. 2, p. 164) Made false prphecies The Bible says cncerning a prphet: Deut. 18:17 And the LORD said t me: What they have spken is gd. 18 I will raise up fr them a Prphet like yu frm amng their brethren, and will put My wrds in His muth, and He shall speak t them all that I cmmand Him. [accrding t Islamic traditin, this is a prphecy f Muhammad. We will explre this in a cuple weeks ] 19 And it shall be that whever will nt hear My wrds, which He speaks in My name, I will require it f him. 20 But the prphet wh presumes t speak a wrd in My name, which I have nt cmmanded him t speak, r wh speaks in the name f ther gds, that prphet shall die. 21 And if yu say in yur heart, Hw shall we knw the wrd which the LORD has nt spken? 22 when a prphet speaks in the name f the LORD, if the thing des nt happen r cme t pass, that is the thing which the LORD has nt spken; the prphet has spken it presumptuusly; yu shall nt be afraid f him. Tw arguments can be made here t shw Muhammad as a false prphet. Premise 1: If a persn speaks in the name f false gds, that persn is a false prphet Premise 2: Muhammad spke in the name f false gds. Cnclusin: Muhammad is a false prphet 13

14 Premise 1: If a persn delivers a revelatin that des nt cme frm Gd, that persn is a false prphet. Premise 2: Muhammad delivered a revelatin that did nt cme frm Gd. Cnclusin: Muhammad is a false prphet Muhammad spke in the name f false gds when he allwed the wrship f al-lat, al-uzza, and Manat (Sura 53) Muhammad later admitted that Satan had deceived him int speaking the wrds, s by his wn admissin delivered a revelatin nt frm Gd. Muhammad admitted, "I have fabricated things against Gd and have imputed t Him wrds which He has nt spken." Al-Tabari 6:111 Further, the hadith recrds an incident where Muhammad is given a chance t prve his abilities as a prphet. In Al-Bukhari (vl. 4, 3329), we read the fllwing: When Abdullah bin Salama heard f the arrival f the Prphet (the blessing and peace f Allah be upn him) at Madina, he came t him and said: I am asking yu abut three things which nbdy knws but a prphet: What is the first prtent f the Hur? What will be the first meal taken by the peple f Paradise? Why des a child resemble its father, and why des it resemble its maternal uncle? Allah s Apstle (the blessing and peace f Allah be upn him) said: Gabriel has just nw tld me f their answers.... The first prtent f the Hur will be a fire that will bring tgether the peple frm the east t the west; the first meal f the peple f Paradise will be extra-lbe f fish-liver. As fr the resemblance f the child t its parents: If a man has sexual intercurse with his wife and gets discharge first, the child will resemble the father, and if the wman gets discharge first, the child will resemble her. On that Abdullah bin Salam said: I testify that yu are the Apstle f Allah. Nte the first tw questins and Muhammad s answers. The first prtent f the hur (the cming f the end f time) will be a fire. The first meal in paradise will be fish liver. Neither answer is verifiable; in ther wrds, we cannt knw if the answers are true r false. Muhammad culd have said the first meal in Paradise wuld be macarni and cheese, and hw wuld we knw therwise? Hwever, the third answer can be knwn thrugh medical science, and this is a medical absurdity. Wmen t nt prduce a discharge in sexual intercurse t prduce an ffspring; wmen prduce an vum, an egg. And the lks f an ffspring are determined by genetic characteristics passed dwn thrugh bth parents, in the frm f dminant and recessive genes, nt which partner in the sexual act has the first discharge. Muhammad was wrng, yet these questins were psed t him as a measure f his claim as a prphet, answers that nbdy knws but a prphet. Is Muhammad an Histrical Figure in the Islamic Traditin? Yehuda Nev, Prfessr at Jerusalem University, archelgist, histrian 14

15 "Tward a Prehistry f Islam," in What the Kran Really Says, Ibn Warraq, editr, Prmetheus Bks, Scured the Negev Desert lking fr archelgical artifacts that supprt the existence f a man named Muhammad as a prphet f Gd in the seventh century r later. Fund interesting Arabic inscriptins n rcks "In the Arab religius dcuments during the Sufyani perid [ ] there is a cmplete absence f any reference t Muhammad. Neither the name Muhammad nr any Muhammadan frmulae (that he is the prphet f Allah) appears in any inscriptin dated befre the Dme f the Rck" (Abd al-malik, 691). The Muhammadan frmulae nly began t be used n rck inscriptins f the Negev arund 740 AD. And even these, thugh they are Muhammadan, are nt Muslim. The Muslim texts nly begin t appear at the beginning f the ninth century, arund 820 AD, cinciding with the first written Qur'ans, as well as the first written Sunnah cmpilatins." - Nev Muhammad's name is absent frm all seventh century inscriptins, even religius nes. Since the Sira, Ta'rikh, and Hadith, which cmprise the Sunah, are made up almst entirely f narratives n the prphet's life, making him the example all Muslims must fllw, why dn't we find this same emphasis in earlier Arabic inscriptins which are clser t the time he lived? His name is nt fund n any Arabic inscriptins until the eighth century. (Winn, Prphet f Dm: Islam's Dark Past) Cnclusin Muhammad was nt brn in the prphetic line Muhammad did nt speak in the name f YHWH Muhammad s message did nt cnfrm t the message that came befre it Muhammad s message was nt accmpanied by verifiable predictins: prphecy. Nr was it attested t by way f miracles. Muhammad fails the biblical test f prphetic authrity: He spke in the name f ther gds and he delivered a revelatin which was nt frm Gd. Muhammad s nly authrity as a prphet f Gd cmes frm the Qur an. Cnversely, the nly authrity fr the Qur an being the wrd f Gd cmes frm Muhammad. This is circular reasning, and absent any ther criteria by which these can be measured, they must be rejected. There is inadequate archelgical evidence t supprt the ntin that Muhammad was a significant religius figure f seventh century Saudi Arabia r up int the fertile crescent which Islam cnquered. Finally, cnsider this questin: What d yu think f Muhammad? D yu believe Jesus was a prphet? D yu believe Muhammad was a prphet? Did Muhammad say Jesus was a prphet? 15

16 Can a prphet f Gd lie? Jesus claimed t be the nly way t gd. Did he lie? If Jesus was right, then Muhammad was wrng If Jesus was wrng, Muhammad was still wrng because he said Jesus was right. 16

17 Muhammad vs. Jesus Islam and Christianity are said t have many beliefs in cmmn. Amng these cmmn beliefs, bth have a central figurehead wh represents the epitme f each respective belief system. Christians are s called because they submit t the teachings f Jesus Christ, wh serves as the supreme mdel fr the beliefs and practices f Christianity. Likewise, Islam has a supreme rle mdel in Muhammad, whse wrds and deeds, called the sunna, faithful Muslims are t emulate. Jesus and Muhammad, as the supreme example f each religin, are said t prvide the standard f ethical and mral cnduct ascribed t by each system s adherents. This being the case, it is wrth cnsidering which religius leader Jesus r Muhammad prvides a system f ethics and mrality that we shuld cnsider nrmative fr sciety at large. Let us then cmpare the ethical and mral example set by bth Muhammad and Jesus. Nte cmments by Harun Yahya, Muslim aplgist, cncerning the mrality f Muhammad: ( ANGER Peple tday, and the yung in particular, take many individuals as rle mdels, imitate the way they behave, speak and dress, and try t be like them. Yet, since the great majrity f these peple are nt n the right rad themselves, they lack prper mrality and attitudes. A Muslim needs t try t emulate the behavir and the mrality f the Prphet Muhammad (saas), wh was sent t mankind as the last prphet. He was a living example f the sublime mrality f Allah s last revelatin. He was a friend f Allah and inspired humanity by his nearness t Him. Allah cnfirms that in a verse: Yu have an excellent mdel in the Messenger f Allah, fr all wh put their hpe in Allah and the Last Day and remember Allah much. (Surat al-ahzab: 21) Althugh we have never seen the Prphet (saas), we can still d ur very best t cme t knw his exemplary behavir, his sayings and the pleasing mrality he displayed, by means f the verses f the Qur an and the hadiths. We can try t be like him, in rder t be clse t him in the hereafter. The aim in writing this bk is t intrduce varius characteristics f the Prphet Muhammad (saas), by revealing his devtin, superir mrality and nble character. We find the fllwing wrds f Jesus recrded in Matthew 5:22, I say t yu that whever is angry with his brther withut a cause shall be in danger f the judgment. By his example, Jesus clarified what cnstituted the exceptin fr anger, and what he meant when he allwed anger fr cause. This exceptin is dcumented in Matthew 21:12-13 and Luke 19:45-46, where Jesus encuntered thse wh sld sacrificial animals used fr temple wrship at a huge prfit. These 17

18 had essentially turned the huse f wrship int a prfit center. In righteus indignatin and anger, Jesus chased these prfiteers ut f the temple. Yet at ther times, faced with mckery, ridicule, and derisin, Jesus shwed cmpassin and lve tward thse wh scrned him (Luke 23:34). Jesus reacted with kindness and gentleness t thse wh demnstrated hate tward him and ridiculed him, and at times simply escaped frm their presence t avid further cnfrntatin (Jhn 8:59, 10:39). In cntrast, we find in the life f Muhammad numerus instances f anger, many f which resulted in physical vilent actins carried ut by the prphet f Islam. Fr a small sample f the many accunts f vilent angry utbursts by Muhammad, cnsider the fllwing: A grup f Jewish rabbis laughed and scffed at Islam and the Muslims. Muhammad rdered them ejected frm the msque, whereupn sme were dragged frm the msque by the hair n their heads and given a severe beating. Muhammad rdered the killing f tw girls, Fartana and her friend, fr singing sngs f a satirical nature abut him. Anther yung girl named Sara was mercilessly trampled t her death by a munted sldier dispatched by Muhammad after she insulted him. A wman named Asma bint Marwan was brutally murdered with Muhammad s full knwledge, again fr writing petry deriding Muhammad. Muhammad slicited frm amng his men fr smene t kill her, and ne f his men vlunteered. When tld f the murder the fllwing mrning, Muhammad said tw gats will nt butt their heads ver her death. This wman left five sns as rphans. Accrding t ther accunts f this same incident, the sldier wh killed Asma first remved a suckling infant frm her breast befre plunging his swrd int her. S while Jesus shwed cmpassin even n thse wh mcked him, and even n thse wh nailed him t the crss, Muhammad persnally rdered the cld-blded murder f anyne wh mcked r insulted him. Jesus sets the standard fr humanity n hw t deal with anger. The mral example f Jesus is superir t that f Muhammad. STEALING/THEFT Jesus taught his disciples nt nly nt t steal, which is prescribed by the Ten Cmmandments, but tk the idea even further. He said, If anyne wants t sue yu and take yur tunic, let him have yur clak als. Give t him wh asks yu, and frm him wh wants t brrw frm yu d nt turn away (Matt. 5:40, 42). Additinally, he taught the disciples, D nt lay up fr yurselves treasures n earth, where mth and rust destry and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up fr yurselves treasures in heaven fr where yur treasure is, there yur heart will be als (Matt. 6:19-21). Jesus did nt seek earthly treasures r creature cmfrts. Indeed, while thers had a place t call hme, Jesus had nwhere t lay his head (Luke 9:58). 18

19 By way f cntrast, cnsider the fllwing actins by Muhammad. Muhammad caught wrd f a trade caravan frm Syria cming t Mecca. He dispatched sme f his fllwers t intercept the caravan t plunder its mney and merchandise, saying perhaps Gd will give it as a prey. The sle purpse f raiding the caravan was t steal prperty which was nt his and distribute it t his fllwers t earn their lyalty. Muhammad admitted t a certain wman that the material wealth, which we can assume was the result f similar caravan raids and the plundering f nearby tribes in war, was used t attract unbelievers t Islam. In shrt, while Jesus taught his disciples nt t steal, and indeed encuraged them t give thse wh ask even mre than what they ask fr, Muhammad endrsed unprvked theft and plunder, encuraged his fllwers t d likewise, and used the stlen gds t gain plitical strength and influence. Surely we recgnize that unbridled theft f ne man against anther s prperty cannt make fr a stable scial rder. Thus, Jesus again prvides a superir example f the kind f mral and ethical behavir cnducive t maintaining a stable scial rder. Muhammad s example is just the ppsite. MURDER Jesus taught his disciples, Yu have heard that it was said t thse f ld Yu shall nt murder, and whever murders will be in danger f judgment. But I say t yu that whever is angry with his brther withut a cause shall be in danger f the judgment (Matt. 5:21-22). Jesus equated unrighteus anger against anther as being equal t murder. Jesus never prmtes unrighteus anger, and certainly des nt endrse utright murder f anther. In fact, in cntrast, he states, Blessed are the merciful fr they shall btain mercy (Matt. 5:7). Muhammad, by way f cntrast, taught his fllwers by example. His bigraphy recrds many instances f him either participating directly in the murder f his adversaries r the explicit endrsement f such, at times fr deeds as insignificant as writing insulting petry. Cnsider the fllwing: Muhammad gave thanks t Allah when the head f ne Abu Jahl was delivered t him. Abu Jahl s crime was making a mckery f Ibn Mas ud, ne f Muhammad s fllwers. Ka b bin Al-Ashraf cmpsed petry f an insulting nature against Muslim wmen. Fr this deed, Muhammad slicited frm amng his men vlunteers t kill Ka b. They lured Ka b int the night fr a friendly discussin, and at a suitable place killed him. Ibn Warraq adds that Ka b s head was delivered t Muhammad wh praised their gd wrks in the cause f Gd. After the death f Ka b, Muhammad rdered the indiscriminate murder, fr any reasn r n reasn at all, f any Jew. 19

20 Al-Harith b. Sawayd was cnsidered a hypcrite after initially embracing Islam and later rejecting it. Fr this Muhammad rdered Umar t kill him if he fund an pprtunity t d s. Muhammad sanctined the murder f Amr b. Jihash, wh had pltted t kill Muhammad by thrwing a rck frm a rftp. But even mre disturbing is that an unnamed man was given mney t kill b. Jihash a paid murder alng the line f tday s paid mafia hits. Even if ne agrees that b. Jihash deserved what he gt fr his invlvement in pltting t kill Muhammad, this is the ppsite f what Jesus taught when he tld his disciples t lve their enemies. Muhammad persnally apprved the murder f Sallam ibn Abu l-huqayq whm it was said had enmity tward Muhammad. Muhammad viewed Abdullah bin Sa d as an apstate after initially embracing Islam but later abandning it. Muhammad wanted Sa d murdered, but did nt want t take respnsibility fr his murder, hping that ne f his helpers wuld vlunteer fr the deed. S whereas Jesus taught nt nly that we are nt t murder, but that hatefulness against anther is equivalent t murder, Muhammad sanctined, cndned, and even persnally rdered the murder f thers, at times fr even the mst miniscule f insults against either Muhammad himself r Islam in general. Clearly, the example set by Muhammad shuld nt becme nrmative fr sciety, lest we find urselves in cnstant fear f ur lives with n guarantee fr life, liberty, r the pursuit f happiness. VENGEANCE Matthew 5:43-47 recrds the fllwing wrds f Jesus: Yu have heard that it was said Yu shall lve yur neighbr and hate yur enemy. But I say t yu, lve yur enemies, bless thse wh curse yu, d gd t thse wh hate yu, and pray fr thse wh spitefully use yu and persecute yu Fr if yu lve thse wh lve yu, what reward have yu? And if yu greet yur brethren nly, what d yu d mre than thers? Clearly, Jesus did nt advcate returning evil with evil, but instead taught his fllwers t pray fr their enemies and return their hate with lve. Never is there an incident recrded in the Bible r any ther histrical writings abut Jesus where he is seen becming vilent tward thse wh mcked him. The example f Muhammad is just the ppsite in this regard. His actins speak fr themselves. Here are just a few examples frm his bigraphy. During the battle f Uhud, ne f many battles during which Islam was spread by the swrd, Muhammad s uncle Hamza was killed. A wman named Hind d. Utba mutilated the bdy f Hamza, cutting ff his nse and ears, and cutting ut his liver t exact vengeance fr the lss f her father, brther, and her first-brn sn in the battle f Badr. In respnse, Muhammad expressed an verwhelming desire t persnally mutilate 30 men f the Quraysh tribe. His expressed desire incited his wn men t 20

21 state that in future battles, we will mutilate them as n Arab has ever mutilated anyne. While this srt f a respnse by Muhammad may seem justified in terms f human reasning, it seems quite ut f character fr the prphet whm is said t be guided by a gd wh is mst gracius, mst merciful. In a fit f extreme anger and retributin at the end f the Battle f the Ditch, Muhammad persnally beheaded up t 900 Jews in ne night, tssing their headless bdies in a ditch dug arund Medina. The wmen, children, and persnal pssessins f these 900 men were divided up between Muhammad and his fllwers. Muhammad pltted t attack the peple f Lihyan t avenge the death f sme f his men at wh were killed at al-raji, thugh the surprise attack failed when the peple f Lihyan heard abut Muhammad s plans and made preparatins. But the fact that Muhammad tk vengeance upn himself speaks t his character. Muhammad rdered the flgging f sme f his men wh were accused f spreading rumrs abut his wife Aisha having an illicit relatinship with a man wh fund her lst in the desert after her caravan left her behind. It is clear frm these few examples that Muhammad was a very vengeful man wh demnstrated t his enemies nt patience, r lve, r cmpassin, but anger and hstility which led in sme cases t extreme vilence frm Muhammad. I believe that, if given a chice between Jesus r Muhammad as an example t fllw regarding hw ne shuld respnd t ne s enemies, mst wuld pint t the example f Jesus as the mre nble and the ne t which sciety shuld aspire. UNIVERSAL KINDNESS Jesus was apprached by the Pharisees and asked which f the cmmandments is the greatest. Jesus respnse was tw-fld: first, t lve Gd with all yur heart, and next t lve yur neighbr as yurself (Matt. 22:34-40). It is said that frm Jesus secnd exhrtatin, t lve ne s neighbr as neself, the Glden Rule was develped as a mdel fr mankind s interactin with ne anther: D unt thers as yu wuld have them d unt yu. Thugh these wrds were nt spken by Jesus, they are implied in his teaching f hw we ught t treat ne anther. A cuple f examples frm The Life f Muhammad will serve t shw that Muhammad did nt live by these wrds f wisdm frm Jesus, and thus chse t ignre the understanding that each human deserves t be treated with dignity and respect. A man by the name f Kinana b. al-rabi had been put in custdy f the treasure frm the raid n b. al-nadir. Apparently he had hidden the treasure, and when Muhammad questined him regarding the whereabuts f the treasure, Kinana denied knwing where it was. Muhammad then threatened t kill Kinana if his men search fr and fund the treasure where it was rumred t be. After further denials by Kinana, Muhammad rdered him t be trtured until he cnfessed t the lcatin 21