Book Title | Muhammad Prophethood |
Book Author | JAMAL BADAWI |
Total Pages | 29 |
Book Views |
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Language | English |
Book Download | PDF Direct Download Link |
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Muhammad prophethood an analytical view
MUHAMMAD PROPHETHOOD
Introduction
A great deal has been said about the prophet of Islam by Muslims and non-Muslims alike.
What has been said, how ever, has been largely coloured by the writer’s preconditioning; whether he is a believer in or a critic of Islam.
For Muslims, the question of Muhammad’s true prophet hood is indisputable.
They firmly believe that he is a true prophet and Messenger of God, through whom God’s divine revelations throughout history were culminated and perfected, thus forming the universal divine message to mankind.
For critics of Islam, generally, it is Muhammad (P), rather than God, who is the founder of Islam, the author of its teachings, and the composer of its holy book, the Qur’an.
How could a sincere and “neutral” researcher examine both claims and arrive at his own conclusions?
It is suggested that the search for an answer to this question may be facilitated if one simple rule of objective research is observed.
The researcher should try to rid him self of the predominance of emotions, prejudices and pre conceptions.
This is a demanding requirement of the believer, the critic, and the neutral researcher as well. It is demanding because no man can free himself completely of emotions, prejudices, and preconceptions.
Yet, an honest researcher could still try his best before any objective and fair assessment of any issue can be reached.
This paper is a humble attempt in this direction. It brings into focus some of the main issues which relate to the question of Muhammad’s Prophethood, analyse them, and explore the conclusions to which such analysis may lead.
The approach which is followed throughout the paper is hopefully, a rational one; one that does not start off with either an unquestioned acceptance of Muhammad’s Prophethood, or with a prejudicial rejection of the same.
Since it was the critics of Muhammad (P) who took the lead in raising questions and doubts about his prophethood, a brief word about the changing nature of their critique may be enlighteningin this text means peace be upon him.
II. CHANGING ATTITUDES OF MUHAMMAD’S CRITICS.
One simplified way of classifying their critique is to divide it into three slightly overlapping stages:
- The Polemic Era. Writers in this group seem to have been motivated by religious prejudices. Their approach did not reflect an honest spirit of enquiry, perhaps because their writings were intended, at least partially, to arouse the feeling of hatred and fury against Muslims.
This feeling succeeded in generating a poisonous atmosphere which was exploited to satisfy the needs and aspirations of the secular and/or religious establishments. The crusades against Muslims were perhaps one implication of this attitude.
With these mud slinging tendencies, there was hardly any indecent character that was not attributed to Islam and the Prophet of Islam. With feverish and fanatical hatred, no room was left for fact finding, open-mindedness, or even logic. As such, the ends
justified the means; distortions, misrepresentations, half truths, and at times sheer fabrications were freely \.lsed.1
- Disguised Polemic: As the polemic era lost its momen tum, a more careful and disguised Polemic was introduced. Writers in this group criticized their predecessors as extremists, refrained from indecent and open attacks on Islam and Muhammad {P).
Yet, their motives were not significantly different from their predecessors’. Most of them apparently realized that due to the forces of history, the masses became more educated, at least to the extent of ruling out sheer fabrications as effective offensive weapons against Islam
Their approach, however, still reflected an earnest endeavour to develop more effective weapons to destroy Islam or at least to belittle it. It is not a coincidence that such motives were often connected with the writers’ colonial and/or missionary affiliation and orientation.
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