Introduction
In this article, I introduce certain stories about Prophet Muhammad. More than a billion human beings today claim that he was a merciful prophet of God. According to them, he was al-Insan al-Kamel, i.e. the perfect human being. Whatever Muslims may believe about Muhammad, the stories of his life as recorded in sacred Islamic texts serve as a 'reality check' of the “true persona” that he was. In this article, I will mostly quote the stories from the most trusted Islamic sources and let the reader judge. I believe that at the end of this essay, the reader would judge Muhammad as a cruel beast, not a saintly prophet of God.
The Making of an Orphan
We read in Sahih Muslim the following hadith:
Imran b. Husain reported that a woman from Juhaina came to Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) and she had become pregnant because of adultery. She said: Allah's Apostle, I have done something for which (prescribed punishment) must be imposed upon me, so impose that. Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) called her master and said: Treat her well, and when she delivers bring her to me. He did accordingly. Then Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) pronounced judgment about her and her clothes were tied around her and then he commanded and she was stoned to death. He then prayed over her (dead body). Thereupon Umar said to him: Allah's Apostle, you offer prayer for her, whereas she had committed adultery! Thereupon he said: She has made such a repentance that if it were to be divided among seventy men of Medina, it would be enough. Have you found any repentance better than this that she sacrificed her life for Allah, the Majestic? (Book #017, Hadith #4207)
The Medina visitors
We read in Sahih Bukhari the following hadith:
Narrated Abu Qilaba: Anas said, "Some people of 'Ukl or 'Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them. So the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (milch) camels and to drink their milk and urine (as a medicine). So they went as directed and after they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of the Prophet and drove away all the camels. The news reached the Prophet early in the morning and he sent (men) in their pursuit and they were captured and brought at noon. He then ordered to cut their hands and feet (and it was done), and their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron, They were put in 'Al-Harra' and when they asked for water, no water was given to them." Abu Qilaba said, "Those people committed theft and murder, became infidels after embracing Islam and fought against Allah and His Apostle." (Book #4, Hadith #234)
Asma bint Marwan
Asma was a mother of five children. The youngest was still nursing. Muhammad had just assassinated a very old man called Abu Afak. Asma heard of the event and said some poetry not very complementing of those who listen to Muhammad and go again their own kin. Muhammad heard of that and said "Who will rid me of Marwan's daughter?" 'Umayr b. 'Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him heard him, and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and told him what he had done and he [Muhammad] said, "You have helped God and His apostle, O 'Umayr!" When he asked if he would have to bear any evil consequences the apostle said, "Two goats won't butt their heads about her", so 'Umayr went back to his people. (Sirat, p. 676)
The blind man story
We read in Sunan Abu Dawud the following hadith:
Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas: A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the Prophet (peace be upon him) and disparage him. He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet (peace be upon him) and abuse him. So he took a dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet (peace be upon him) was informed about it. He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the people and trembling the man stood up. He sat before the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her belly and pressed it till I killed her. Thereupon the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Oh be witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood. (Book #38, Hadith #4348)
Amr bin Ummayya and the one-eyed shephard
Muhammad sent Amr bin Umayya and an Ansari man to go to Mecca and assassinate Abu Sufyan. The mission failed. But out of it, we have an interesting story that can be found on page 673 of the Sirat. On his way back to Medina, Umayya met a one-eyed shepherd. The shepherd and the Muslim man both identified themselves as members of the same Arab clan. Prior to going asleep, the shepherd said that he would never become a Muslim. Umayya waited for the shepherd to fall asleep, and when the one-eyed shepherd was asleep, Umayya got up and killed him in a more horrible way than any man has been killed. Umayya put the end of his bow in his sound eye, then bore down on it until I forced it out at the back of his neck.”
Umayya returned to Medina and saw Muhammad, who asked him about what had happened. Umayya told him of what happened, and Muhammad blessed him.
Genocide of a whole tribe (nation)
Bani Qurayza was a rich Medinan tribe. Muhammad annihilated them in one day. That tribe ceased to exist after that day:
During the night, trenches sufficient to contain the dead bodies of the men were dug across the market place of the city. In the morning, Mahomet, himself a spectator of the tragedy, commanded that male captives to be brought forth in companies of five or six at a time. Each company as it came up was made to sit down in a row on the brink of the trench destined for its grave, there beheaded, and the bodies cast therein. …The butchery, begun in the morning, lasted all day, and continued by torchlight till the evening. Having thus drenched the market place with the blood of seven or eight hundred victims, and having given command for the earth to be smoothed over their remains, Mahomet returned from the horrid spectacle to solace himself with the charms of Rihana, whose husband and all her male relatives had just perished in the massacre. [Source: W. Muir, The Life of Mahomet, Edinburg 1923, p. 307-8].
Conclusion
There are many more such stories of hear-rending cruelties in Islamic sources that were committed by Muhammad. But probably the above few will suffice to make a call on the question set out in the title of this essay.
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