Was He Insane?
Someone who has dealt with mentally ill knows
people can be identified by their symptoms. Muhammad displayed no symptom of
insanity at any time in his life No friend, wife, or family member suspected
or abandoned him due to insanity. As for the effects of revelations on the
Prophet, such as perspiration and the likes, it was due to the intensity of the
Message which he had to bear and not due to any epileptic fit or instance of
insanity...
Quite to the contrary, Muhammad preached for a long
time and brought a Law unknown in its completeness and sophistication to
ancient Arabs. If the prophet was insane, it would have been obvious to those
around him at one point in a period of twenty three years. When in history did
an insane man preach his message to worship One God for ten years, three of
which he and his followers spent in exile, and eventually became the ruler of
his lands? Which insane man has ever won the hearts and minds of people who
met him and earned the respect of his adversaries?
More so, his closest companions, Abu Bakr and
Umar were recognized for their abilities, nobility, skills, and finesse. They
were willing to sacrifice anything for the religion he brought. On one
occasion, Abu Bakr, brought all his material possessions to Muhammad, may the
mercy and blessings of God be upon him, and when asked what he left for his
family, responded, ‘I left for them God and His Messenger!’
Abu Bakr, a merchant by profession, after being
elected the ruler of all of Arabs after Muhammad, spent a mere two dirham on
himself and his family!
Umar became the ruler of Arabia after Abu Bakr
and conquered Syria, Egypt, and subdued the Persian and Roman Empires. He was
a man known for his scrupulous justice. How can someone suggest these people
were following a mentally deranged individual?
God suggests: stand before God without bias or
pre-conceived beliefs, and discuss it with another person or think about it
yourself, this prophet has no madness, he is as stable today as you had known
him for forty years.
“Say: ‘I counsel you one thing only: Be (ever
conscious of) standing before God, whether you are in the company of others or
alone; and then bethink yourselves (that) there is no madness in (this prophet,)
your fellow-man: he is only a warner to you of suffering severe to come.’” (Quran
34:46)
The Meccans of old rejected his call out of
tribal partisanship, and they were not truthful in their accusations of his insanity.
Even today, many people refuse to accept Muhammad as a prophet simply because
he was an Arab and self-gratify themselves by saying he must have been insane
or worked for the devil. Their hatred for Arabs translates into their
rejection of Muhammad, even though God says:
“Nay, but he (whom you call a mad poet) has brought
the truth; and he confirms the truth of (what the earlier of God’s)
message-bearers (have taught).” (Quran 37:37)
Although the pagan Arabs knew Muhammad all too
well, but they still through accusations of insanity at him, for they considered
his religion a sacrilege against the tradition of their forefathers.
“And when our verses are recited to them as clear
evidences, they say, ‘This is not but a man who wishes to avert you from that
which your fathers were worshipping.’ And they say, ‘This is not except a lie
invented.’ And those who disbelieve say of the truth when it has come to them,
‘This is not but obvious magic.’ And We had not given them any scriptures
which they could study, and We had not sent to them before you, (O Muhammad),
any warner. And those before them denied, and they (the people of Mecca) have not attained a tenth of what We had given them. But they (i.e., the former
peoples) denied My messengers, so how (terrible) was My reproach.” (Quran
34:43-45)
Was He A Poet?
God mentions their accusation in the Quran and
responds to it:
“Or do they say (of you), ‘A poet for whom we await a
misfortune of time?’ Say, ‘Wait, for indeed I am, with you, among the
waiters.’ Or do their minds command them to (say) this, or are they a
transgressing people? Or do they say, ‘He has made it up?’ Rather, they do
not believe.” (Quran 52:30-32)
God describes the poets of that time so the
Prophet can be compared with them:
“And as for the poets - (they, too, are prone to
deceive themselves: and so, only) those who are lost in grievous error would
follow them. Art thou not aware that they roam confusedly through all the
valleys (of words and thoughts),
and that they (so often) say what they do not do (or feel)? (Most of them are
of this kind -) save those who have attained to faith, and do righteous deeds,
and remember God unceasingly, and defend themselves (only) after having been
wronged, and (trust in God’s promise that) those who are bent on wrongdoing
will in time come to know how evil a turn their destinies are bound to take!”
(Quran 26:224-227)
Arabian poets were the furthest from the truth,
speaking of wine, womanizing, war, and leisure, unlike the Prophet who invites
to good manners, serving God, and helping the poor.Muhammad followed his own
teachings before anyone else unlike the poets of old or philosophers of today.
The Quran which the Prophet recited was unlike
any poetry in its style. The Arabs of the time has strict rules in regards to rhythm,
rhyme, syllables and endings to each verse of poetry. The Quran did not
conform to any of the rules which were known in the time, but at the same time,
it surpasses any type of text which the Arabs had ever heard. Some of them
actually became Muslims after hearing only a few verses of the Quran, due to
their certain knowledge that the source of something so beautiful as it could
not be any created being.
Muhammad was never known to have composed a poem
before Islam or after prophethood. Rather, the Prophet had a sever dislike for
it. Compilations of his statements, called Sunna, have been diligently
preserved and are completely different in its literary content than the Quran.
The store-house of Arabic poetry do not contain any couplets by Muhammad.
Was He A Sorcerer?
Prophet Muhammad never learned or practiced
sorcery. On the contrary, he condemned the practice of sorcery and taught his
followers how to seek protection against it.
Sorcerers have a strong relationship with the
devil. Their partnership allows them to deceive people. Devils propagate
lies, sins, obscenities, immorality, evil, and they destroy familys. The Quran
clarifies those upon whom the devils descend:
“Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? They
descend upon every sinful liar. They pass on what is heard, and most of them
are liars.” (Quran 26:221-223)
Prophet Muhammad was known and recognized to be
a man of integrity true to his word who was not known to have ever lied. He
commanded good morals and fine manners. No sorcerer in world history has
brought a scripture like the Quran or a Law like his.
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