Note: I did post a major part of this in another thread, but posted it here for a greater visibility. The alleged sins of Muhammad that were answered are now marked with + and include a brief explanation.
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Muslims don't hold Muhammad in the same reverance as the Christians hold Jesus (i.e. as the Son of God and even God himself), but they revere Muhammad as a moral ideal and a role model of virtue as much as Christians see Jesus this way. Most non-Muslim people who are acquainted with the details of Muhammad's life (both from Muslim scriptures and historical sources) can't help but wonder what the Muslims see in their prophet. As I stated in another thread, it still seems to me that most Muslims live lives much better than their prophet. My standard of evaluation is the Golden Rule which I see as the starting point of any inter-faith dialogue and appears in some Muslim writings, as well as writings of many other religions.
"None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." (Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths.")
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
If we ask ourselves did Muhammad practice the Golden Rule, I think the answer is an obvious no. Would Muslims disagree? Conversely, would Muslims deny that Jesus practiced the Golden Rule? How do we explain the disagreement between Muslims and Christians in their views of Muhammad? Is it that we have different moral standards? Is it that Muslims don't believe in universal brotherhood of all people, and therefore interpret the Golden Rule to apply only to those who believe the same as they? Is it that most Muslims don't know much about their prophet whom they idealize?
If any Muslims care to answer, I'd appreciate it.
Here's a list the the alleged sins of Muhammad with verses from Muslim scriptures and other writings.
+Qur'an itself refers to Muhammad's sins: these verses may refer not to Muhammad but to people in general.
-The sahih ahadith refers to Muhammad as a sinner:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet used to invoke Allah at night, saying, "O Allah: All the Praises are for You: You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Maintainer of the Heaven and the Earth and whatever is in them. All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. Your Word is the Truth, and Your Promise is the Truth, and the Meeting with You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth, and the (Hell) Fire is the Truth, and the Hour is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender myself to You, and I believe in You and I depend upon You, and I repent to You and with You (Your evidences) I stand against my opponents, and to you I leave the judgment (for those who refuse my message). O Allah! Forgive me my sins that I did in the past or will do in the future, and also the sins I did in secret or in public. You are my only God (Whom I worship) and there is no other God for me." Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 9, Book 93, Number 482
-Muhammad believed in an eternal hell of physical torture:
Quran 4:55 Sufficient for them is Hell and the Flaming Fire! Those [Jews] who disbelieve Our Revelations shall be cast into Hell. When their skin is burnt up and singed, We shall give them a new coat that they may go on tasting the agony of punishment.
-Muhammad practised terrorism (excessive violence towards the defeated enemies): in the first verse Allah commands his angels to terrorize the infidels. However, the other verses are commands to Muslims.
Quran 8:12 I shall terrorize the infidels. So wound their bodies and incapacitate them because they oppose Allah and His Apostle.
Quran 8:57 If you gain mastery over them in battle, inflict such a defeat as would terrorize them, so that they would learn a lesson and be warned.
Ishaq:326 If you come upon them, deal so forcibly as to terrify those who would follow, that they may be warned. Make a severe example of them by terrorizing Allahs enemies.
-Muhammad encouraged warfare (even for no other reason than the difference in religion):
Qu'ran 2:216: 'Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you knew not.'
Qu'ran 2:217: 'They question you (O Mohammed) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great transgression but to turn men from the way of Allah and to disbelieve in Him and the inviolable place of worship and to expel its people thence is a greater transgression, for persecution is worse than killing'
Qu'ran 8:65: 'O Prophet exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you 20 steadfast, they will overcome 200 and if there be of you a 100, they shall overcome a 1000, because the disbelievers are a folk without intelligence'.
Qu'ran 8:67-68: 'It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land. You desire the lure of this world and Allah desires for you the hereafter and Allah is Mighty, Wise.. Now enjoy what you have won as lawful and good and keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is forgiving, merciful.'
-Muhammad encouraged torture: Bookofknowledge vbmenu_register("postmenu_13985648", true); answered this one in a manner, stating that this is a just punishment for those who break treaties with Muslims. However, I'm not convinced that there's ever an excuse for torture, in the times past or present.
Quran 9:5 When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, torture them, and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.
Quran 5:33 The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and make mischief in the land, is to murder them, crucify them, or cut off a hand and foot on opposite sides...their doom is dreadful. They will not escape the fire, suffering constantly.
+Muhammad commanded the killing of Jews: these verses from Sunan of Abu Dawud are considered fabricated by Muslim scholars.
+Muhammad reviled the gods of the pagan Arabs, but approved the killing of people who criticized him: Muslim scholars consider this also forged.
+Moreover, by the Shari'a law, the modern Muslims are commanded to do the same: Islam approves the freedom of speech according to understanding of some Muslims (although I must say I don't see if this freedom is much practiced in Muslim countries).
-Muhammad attacked caravans and robbed them:
"Hamza went out to intercept the caravan of the Quraish which had come from Syria making for Makka." (Ibn Sa'd: The Wars of the Prophet)
Quran 8:69: So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good.
"The Muslims had succeeded to ally themselves with several tribes on the trade routes that lay to the north of Medina. As a result the Koraysh caravans were now forced to journey northwards through the practically waterless and desolate desert known as the Najd, and so, it was for this reason the Koraysh caravans had all but ceased to travel northwards during the hot summer months. As the cooler months of early autumn approached the Koraysh made plans for a northward bound caravan to Iraq. They were anxious on account of their delayed trading to sell their silver ornaments, ingots and utensils so it was decided that Safwan should lead the richly laden caravan through the Najd onto Iraq to trade their wares. One day, an Ansar happened to overhear some Jews mentioning Safwan's caravan and went straight to the Prophet (sa) to report the matter. When the Prophet (sa) heard the news he appointed Zayd, with a hundred horsemen under his command, to ride onto the water hole of Karadah and lay in wait for the caravan. At Karadah, Zayd put Safwan and his men to flight and returned in triumph to Medina with not only the silver merchandise but camels and several captives." (Grand Shaykh, Professor Hasan Qaribullah: THE MILLENNIUM BIOGRAPHY OF MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF ALLAH)
"News reached Medina that a richly laden Koraysh caravan was homeward bound from Syria. When the Prophet (sa) learned of the news he placed Zayd in command of a cavalry of one hundred and seventy and sent them after it. The expedition was successful and the Koraysh merchandise confiscated, including silver that belonged to Safwan." (Grand Shaykh, Professor Hasan Qaribullah: THE MILLENNIUM BIOGRAPHY OF MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF ALLAH)
+Muhammad was a kidnapper: Ishaq is not a haddith book.
+Muhammad justified the breaking of oaths: if oaths are bad, they are ok to be broken. I.e. if I make an oath to do something bad to someone, I will do better if I break an oath and repent, than if I keep my oath. (I leave the verse for clarity).
Bukhari:V7B67N427 The Prophet said, If I take an oath and later find something else better than that, then I do what is better and expiate my oath.
-Muhammad justified the breaking of oaths to non-Muslims:
Quran 9:3 Allah is not bound by any contract or treaty with non-Muslims, nor is His Apostle.
-Muhammad approved and practiced slavery:
Qu-ran 33:50: "Prophet, We have made lawful to you the wives to whom you have granted dowries and the slave girls whom God has given you as booty."
Sahih Bukhari Vol. 3-#765: Narrated Kuraib: the freed slave of Ibn 'Abbas, that Maimuna bint Al-Harith told him that she manumitted a slave-girl without taking the permission of the Prophet. On the day when it was her turn to be with the Prophet, she said, "Do you know, O Allah's Apostle, that I have manumitted my slave-girl?" He said, "Have you really?" She replied in the affirmative. He said, "You would have got more reward if you had given her (i.e. the slave-girl) to one of your maternal uncles."
-Muhammad approved the rape of female prisoners:
Sahih Bukhari Vol. 7-#137 Narrated Abu al-Khudri: "We got female captives in the war booty and we used to do coitus interruptus with them. So we asked Allah's messenger about it and he said, "Do you really do that?" repeating the question thrice, "There is no soul that is destined to exist but will come into existence, till the Day of Resurrection.""
+Muhammad preached that a man should have up to 4 wives and should treat them fairly, although he himself had more than 4 wives and didn't treat them fairly: Muhammad was a special case: he had several wives as a man, several more wives as a prophet, several more wives as a leader of Arabia.
+Muhammad had sexual relations with a girl only 9 years old: some think Aisha was 18 years old when married, while others say it was normal at that time (Aisha's parents gave her to Muhammad), and that it even happens in the modern day.
+It seems that Aisha herself noticed how Muhammad seemed to be controlling Allah and not the other way around. Aisha may had a wrong perception of how the things were.
=========================================
Muslims don't hold Muhammad in the same reverance as the Christians hold Jesus (i.e. as the Son of God and even God himself), but they revere Muhammad as a moral ideal and a role model of virtue as much as Christians see Jesus this way. Most non-Muslim people who are acquainted with the details of Muhammad's life (both from Muslim scriptures and historical sources) can't help but wonder what the Muslims see in their prophet. As I stated in another thread, it still seems to me that most Muslims live lives much better than their prophet. My standard of evaluation is the Golden Rule which I see as the starting point of any inter-faith dialogue and appears in some Muslim writings, as well as writings of many other religions.
"None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself." (Number 13 of Imam "Al-Nawawi's Forty Hadiths.")
"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the law and the prophets." (Matthew 7:12)
If we ask ourselves did Muhammad practice the Golden Rule, I think the answer is an obvious no. Would Muslims disagree? Conversely, would Muslims deny that Jesus practiced the Golden Rule? How do we explain the disagreement between Muslims and Christians in their views of Muhammad? Is it that we have different moral standards? Is it that Muslims don't believe in universal brotherhood of all people, and therefore interpret the Golden Rule to apply only to those who believe the same as they? Is it that most Muslims don't know much about their prophet whom they idealize?
If any Muslims care to answer, I'd appreciate it.
Here's a list the the alleged sins of Muhammad with verses from Muslim scriptures and other writings.
+Qur'an itself refers to Muhammad's sins: these verses may refer not to Muhammad but to people in general.
-The sahih ahadith refers to Muhammad as a sinner:
Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: The Prophet used to invoke Allah at night, saying, "O Allah: All the Praises are for You: You are the Lord of the Heavens and the Earth. All the Praises are for You; You are the Maintainer of the Heaven and the Earth and whatever is in them. All the Praises are for You; You are the Light of the Heavens and the Earth. Your Word is the Truth, and Your Promise is the Truth, and the Meeting with You is the Truth, and Paradise is the Truth, and the (Hell) Fire is the Truth, and the Hour is the Truth. O Allah! I surrender myself to You, and I believe in You and I depend upon You, and I repent to You and with You (Your evidences) I stand against my opponents, and to you I leave the judgment (for those who refuse my message). O Allah! Forgive me my sins that I did in the past or will do in the future, and also the sins I did in secret or in public. You are my only God (Whom I worship) and there is no other God for me." Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 9, Book 93, Number 482
-Muhammad believed in an eternal hell of physical torture:
Quran 4:55 Sufficient for them is Hell and the Flaming Fire! Those [Jews] who disbelieve Our Revelations shall be cast into Hell. When their skin is burnt up and singed, We shall give them a new coat that they may go on tasting the agony of punishment.
-Muhammad practised terrorism (excessive violence towards the defeated enemies): in the first verse Allah commands his angels to terrorize the infidels. However, the other verses are commands to Muslims.
Quran 8:12 I shall terrorize the infidels. So wound their bodies and incapacitate them because they oppose Allah and His Apostle.
Quran 8:57 If you gain mastery over them in battle, inflict such a defeat as would terrorize them, so that they would learn a lesson and be warned.
Ishaq:326 If you come upon them, deal so forcibly as to terrify those who would follow, that they may be warned. Make a severe example of them by terrorizing Allahs enemies.
-Muhammad encouraged warfare (even for no other reason than the difference in religion):
Qu'ran 2:216: 'Warfare is ordained for you, though it is hateful unto you; but it may happen that you hate a thing which is good for you and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. Allah knoweth, you knew not.'
Qu'ran 2:217: 'They question you (O Mohammed) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great transgression but to turn men from the way of Allah and to disbelieve in Him and the inviolable place of worship and to expel its people thence is a greater transgression, for persecution is worse than killing'
Qu'ran 8:65: 'O Prophet exhort the believers to fight. If there be of you 20 steadfast, they will overcome 200 and if there be of you a 100, they shall overcome a 1000, because the disbelievers are a folk without intelligence'.
Qu'ran 8:67-68: 'It is not for any Prophet to have captives until he hath made slaughter in the land. You desire the lure of this world and Allah desires for you the hereafter and Allah is Mighty, Wise.. Now enjoy what you have won as lawful and good and keep your duty to Allah. Lo! Allah is forgiving, merciful.'
-Muhammad encouraged torture: Bookofknowledge vbmenu_register("postmenu_13985648", true); answered this one in a manner, stating that this is a just punishment for those who break treaties with Muslims. However, I'm not convinced that there's ever an excuse for torture, in the times past or present.
Quran 9:5 When the sacred forbidden months for fighting are past, fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find them, take them captive, torture them, and lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem of war.
Quran 5:33 The punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His Prophet and make mischief in the land, is to murder them, crucify them, or cut off a hand and foot on opposite sides...their doom is dreadful. They will not escape the fire, suffering constantly.
+Muhammad commanded the killing of Jews: these verses from Sunan of Abu Dawud are considered fabricated by Muslim scholars.
+Muhammad reviled the gods of the pagan Arabs, but approved the killing of people who criticized him: Muslim scholars consider this also forged.
+Moreover, by the Shari'a law, the modern Muslims are commanded to do the same: Islam approves the freedom of speech according to understanding of some Muslims (although I must say I don't see if this freedom is much practiced in Muslim countries).
-Muhammad attacked caravans and robbed them:
"Hamza went out to intercept the caravan of the Quraish which had come from Syria making for Makka." (Ibn Sa'd: The Wars of the Prophet)
Quran 8:69: So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good.
"The Muslims had succeeded to ally themselves with several tribes on the trade routes that lay to the north of Medina. As a result the Koraysh caravans were now forced to journey northwards through the practically waterless and desolate desert known as the Najd, and so, it was for this reason the Koraysh caravans had all but ceased to travel northwards during the hot summer months. As the cooler months of early autumn approached the Koraysh made plans for a northward bound caravan to Iraq. They were anxious on account of their delayed trading to sell their silver ornaments, ingots and utensils so it was decided that Safwan should lead the richly laden caravan through the Najd onto Iraq to trade their wares. One day, an Ansar happened to overhear some Jews mentioning Safwan's caravan and went straight to the Prophet (sa) to report the matter. When the Prophet (sa) heard the news he appointed Zayd, with a hundred horsemen under his command, to ride onto the water hole of Karadah and lay in wait for the caravan. At Karadah, Zayd put Safwan and his men to flight and returned in triumph to Medina with not only the silver merchandise but camels and several captives." (Grand Shaykh, Professor Hasan Qaribullah: THE MILLENNIUM BIOGRAPHY OF MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF ALLAH)
"News reached Medina that a richly laden Koraysh caravan was homeward bound from Syria. When the Prophet (sa) learned of the news he placed Zayd in command of a cavalry of one hundred and seventy and sent them after it. The expedition was successful and the Koraysh merchandise confiscated, including silver that belonged to Safwan." (Grand Shaykh, Professor Hasan Qaribullah: THE MILLENNIUM BIOGRAPHY OF MUHAMMAD THE PROPHET OF ALLAH)
+Muhammad was a kidnapper: Ishaq is not a haddith book.
+Muhammad justified the breaking of oaths: if oaths are bad, they are ok to be broken. I.e. if I make an oath to do something bad to someone, I will do better if I break an oath and repent, than if I keep my oath. (I leave the verse for clarity).
Bukhari:V7B67N427 The Prophet said, If I take an oath and later find something else better than that, then I do what is better and expiate my oath.
-Muhammad justified the breaking of oaths to non-Muslims:
Quran 9:3 Allah is not bound by any contract or treaty with non-Muslims, nor is His Apostle.
-Muhammad approved and practiced slavery:
Qu-ran 33:50: "Prophet, We have made lawful to you the wives to whom you have granted dowries and the slave girls whom God has given you as booty."
Sahih Bukhari Vol. 3-#765: Narrated Kuraib: the freed slave of Ibn 'Abbas, that Maimuna bint Al-Harith told him that she manumitted a slave-girl without taking the permission of the Prophet. On the day when it was her turn to be with the Prophet, she said, "Do you know, O Allah's Apostle, that I have manumitted my slave-girl?" He said, "Have you really?" She replied in the affirmative. He said, "You would have got more reward if you had given her (i.e. the slave-girl) to one of your maternal uncles."
-Muhammad approved the rape of female prisoners:
Sahih Bukhari Vol. 7-#137 Narrated Abu al-Khudri: "We got female captives in the war booty and we used to do coitus interruptus with them. So we asked Allah's messenger about it and he said, "Do you really do that?" repeating the question thrice, "There is no soul that is destined to exist but will come into existence, till the Day of Resurrection.""
+Muhammad preached that a man should have up to 4 wives and should treat them fairly, although he himself had more than 4 wives and didn't treat them fairly: Muhammad was a special case: he had several wives as a man, several more wives as a prophet, several more wives as a leader of Arabia.
+Muhammad had sexual relations with a girl only 9 years old: some think Aisha was 18 years old when married, while others say it was normal at that time (Aisha's parents gave her to Muhammad), and that it even happens in the modern day.
+It seems that Aisha herself noticed how Muhammad seemed to be controlling Allah and not the other way around. Aisha may had a wrong perception of how the things were.
According to dictionary.com:
