Is Muhammad Eternally Secure?

Muslims are commanded to pour praise and blessings on Muhammad.  The mere mention of the prophet’s name Muhammad is meant to be followed by “peace be upon him”. Blessings are promised for Muslims who pour blessings on his name.  It even says in the Hadith that, "Whoever does Salah upon me [Muhammad] once, Allah will Salah upon him ten (times)"!  But what actually is the benefit to Muhammad for doing this, when he is already in the grave?  Isn’t Muhammad going to heaven?  Why would Muslims need to bless Muhammad?  Is Muhammad’s fate not certain? 

 The truth is that Muhammad wasn't sure of his fate.  It is written:

Say (O Muhammad SAW):"I am not a new thing among the Messengers (of Allah) (i.e. I am not the first Messenger) nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am but a plain warner." Quran 46:9, Hilali-Khan

 Muhammad was to say he “didn’t know what would be done with him”.  What does this mean?

 According to Ibn Kathir’s Tafsir on Quran 46:9, this verse relates to a story regarding what would happen to Muhammad when he dies.  The verse was revealed because an Ansari woman was confident about the eternal destiny of a dying man.   She thought this man was very pious.  She was confident that he would be honored by Allah in the afterlife.  Muhammad corrected her.  Muhammad says regarding the dead man:

 “(As for him, certainly (death) has reached him from his Lord, and surely I wish well for him.  But by Allah, even though I am Allah’s Messenger, “I do not know what will happen to me (after death).)  I then said, `Never will I claim a person to be pious after this.' ”  Ibn Kathir's commentary on Quran 46:9

 This story is taught in the Hadith:

Narrated Kharija bin Zaid bin Thabit: 

Um Al-`Ala an Ansari woman who had given the Pledge of allegiance to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "`Uthman bin Maz'un came in our share when the Ansars drew lots to distribute the emigrants (to dwell) among themselves, He became sick and we looked after (nursed) him till he died. Then we shrouded him in his clothes. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) came to us, I (addressing the dead body) said, "May Allah's Mercy be on you, O Aba As-Sa'ib! I testify that Allah has honored you." The Prophet (ﷺ) said, 'How do you know that?' I replied, 'I do not know, by Allah.' He said, 'As for him, death has come to him and I wish him all good from Allah. By Allah, though I am Allah's Messenger (ﷺ), I NEITHER KNOW WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO ME, NOR TO YOU.'" Um Al-`Ala said, "By Allah, I will never attest the righteousness of anybody after that." She added, "Later I saw in a dream, a flowing spring for `Uthman. So I went to Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) and mentioned that to him. He said, 'That is (the symbol of) his good deeds (the reward for) which is going on for him.' "  Sahih al-Bukhari 7018, Book 91, Hadith 35

Muhammad didn't know exactly what would happen to himself after he dies.  Muslim friends, do you really want to entrust your eternal security with the teachings of this man?  Jesus promised to provide a way you can be sure of making peace with God.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.  John 5:24, ESV

Allah Prays for Muhammad

In a debate between Muhammad Hijab and David Wood, Hijab admitted, "Allah prays for Muhammad".

Prayer is defined as the act of communication with a higher power.  We pray to God, for worship, praise, confession, and supplication.  Muslims pray to Allah for similar such things.  Question, does it make sense for God to pray?

The word for prayers in Islam in Islam is “salat”.  Prayer is important for the Muslim.  Ritual prayer is one of the five pillars of Islam.  

Apparently, Allah sends prayers upon Muhammad:

“He it is Who sends salat (His blessings) on you, and His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive you)…"  Quran 33:43a, Hilali-Khan

The “He” in this verse is Allah.  The Arabic here is not actually “sends blessings” “yuṣallī” (يُصَلِّي) but it means “he prays”. 

He does it again later in the same surah.  Allah sends his salat on Muhammad, just as Muslims do their salat on him.  Allah prays:

“Allah sends his salat (Graces, Honours, Blessings, Mercy, etc.) on the Prophet (Muhammad SAW) and also His angels too (ask Allah to bless and forgive him). O you who believe! send your salat on (ask Allah to bless) him (Muhammad SAW), and (you should) greet (salute) him with the Islamic way of greeting (salutation i.e. AsSalamu 'Alaikum).” Quran 33:56, Hilali-Khan

Again, the Arabic word for the salat that Allah sends here is “yuṣallūna” (يُصَلُّونَ) means “they pray”.  The Arabic word for the “salat” that the Muslim sends, “ṣallū” (صَلُّوا) translates the same way.  So, the Muslim is asked to send salat on Muhammad, just as Allah sends salat on Muhammad.  The same root word is used for both acts.  Allah and His angels send their prayers of blessings on Muhammad.  

Even in the Sunnah does it say the same:

“The Prophet (ﷺ) said: "Whoever sends salah upon me once, Allah (SWT) will send salah upon him tenfold." “  Sunan an-Nasa'i 1296, Book 13, Hadith 118

In this hadith the same word “salah” (صَلَّى) is used twice, once for us, once for Allah.  Allah sends salah in the same way as the Muslim sends salah.

If salah means "pray", then Allah prays for Muhammad.  In the Patton 2009 book chapter, the literal translation “God prays for the Prophet” is the phrase's most obvious meaning. 

The big question is who is Allah praying to?  Is it another God?  Allah is asking another being of equal or greater authority, presumably another God, to bless Muhammad.  Either Allah is then blessing Muhammad through partners.  I.e. Allah commits shirk.  

Now in Surah 33:56 the Arabic is rendered "Allah and his angels" (literally "l-laha wamalāikatahu").  If one really insists that the phrase means "send blessings", then Allah and his angels work together to send blessings.  This puts Allah and his angels on the same level.  The angels then are partners with Allah.  

In either case, Allah is seen committing shirk.  Allah should not be praying blessings on someone.  Humans do this, God doesn't.  Allah should not be working together with angels to send blessings.  Is not Allah meant to be greater than the angels?  There should be no greater authority than God: 

...For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Romans 13:1b

Allah cannot be God, and the Quran cannot be the word of God.  Come back to the Torah, Zabur (Psalms) and Injeel (gospel).  To find God, come back to the Bible.

Isaiah 9 shows us that Jesus is God

As Christians, we lavish titles on Jesus.  Jesus is Wonderful Counsellor, Mighty God, Prince of Peace.  Why do we do this?  Where do these titles come from?  In Isaiah it says:

For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

 Isaiah 9:6 ESV 

Some may say that these names are not used in the New Testament.  How do we know that these titles apply to Jesus?

When Jews would read Isaiah 9:6, they read it as part of a greater passage, Isaiah 9:1-7.  Its last verse says:

Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

 Isaiah 9:7 ESV 

The passage is prophetic, telling of something great to occur.  A throne of justice and righteousness is to be established.  This throne is to be established forever; the passage is Messianic.  The last verse of the passage says the one to accomplish it is God (or more specifically "The Lord of Hosts").

In the book of Matthew, this passage is applied to Jesus.  Matthew quotes Isaiah 9:1-2, claiming that Jesus, who resided in Naphtali, fulfilled the prophecy in the Isaiah verses:

5 “The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali,
    the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles—
16 the people dwelling in darkness
    have seen a great light,
and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death,
    on them a light has dawned.”

  Matthew 4:15-16 ESV

Here, Jesus is identified as this great light.  But from Isaiah 9:7, the one who is the Great Light is the same person who is identified as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace.  It then follows that these titles directly apply to Jesus.

The titles Mighty God and Everlasting Father especially can apply only to the Lord of Hosts (God) himself.   Therefore Matthew says here not only that Jesus is the promised Messiah, but identifies Jesus as God.  

Have you spent time to get to know the Prince of Peace?  

Solomon, his army of birds and a hoopoe

Solomon, the wise son of David, according to Islam was also a prophet of Allah:

"Surely We gave knowledge to Dāwūd and Sulaimān, and they said, “Praise belongs to Allah who made us excel many of His believing servants." Quran 27:15, Usmani

According to the Bible, Solomon was blessed with unimaginable wisdom.   According to the Quran, Solomon was apparently also given another gift, understanding of the speech of birds and animals:

'And Sulaimān inherited (the traits of) Dāwūd and said, “O people we have been taught the speech of birds, and all sorts of things are given to us. Indeed, this is the evident grace (of Allah).” ' Quran 27:16, Usmani

Now Solomon had an army with a mixture of humans, jinns (genies) and birds:

"And mustered for Sulaimān were his forces from among the Jinns and the humans and the birds. So all of them were kept under (his) control," Quran 27:17, Usmani

In Surah 27:18-19, Solomon then encountered "the valley of the ants":

"until when they reached the valley of the ants, one of the ants said, “O ants, enter your dwelling places, lest Sulaimān and his armies crush you unknowingly.” " Quran 27:18, Usmani

Solomon, hearing the ant speak, talks with her:

So he (Sulaimān) smiled, laughing on her speech and said, “My Lord, enable me to become grateful to Your favor that you have bestowed on me and on my parents, and to do good deeds that You like, and admit me, with Your mercy, among Your righteous servants.” Quran 27:19, Usmani

Solomon could apparently understand the language of ants.  This is very funny.

Solomon also supposedly had been taught by Allah the language of birds.  In this story, Solomon inspects his army of birds.  He could not find one of his birds, the hoopoe:

"And (once) he (Sulaimān) checked the birds and said, “How is it with me that I do not see the hudhud (hoopoe)? Rather he has disappeared."  Quran 27:20, Usmani

This picture shows a hoopoe.

In the next verse, Solomon promises to punish the absent bird, with a "severe torment", and to execute the poor hoopoe unless the bird gives Solomon a good reason for his absence.

Soon after this, the hoopoe appears with a spy report from the land of Sheba.  Solomon listens to the bird's report but does not fully believe the hoopoe:

"He (Sulaimān) said, “We shall see whether you have told the truth or you are one of the liars."  Quran 27:27, Usmani

Poor hoopoe.

One problem in the above story is that ants can't speak.  It is physically impossible for them to generate speech.  Ants communicate by transmitting vibration and leaving chemical scent (pheromones).  Biologists have found they also at times generate sounds by rubbing together their hind legs, but this is far from speaking.

The obvious problem, who honesty believes that anyone can communicate in the language of the ants and birds?  This is Islam.  Many myths like this have found their way into the Islamic literature.  The Bible has no such obvious fabrications in its account of the life of Solomon.

Are we born good?

Islam teaches that every person is born Muslim.  In the Islamic doctrine of "original disposition" or fitra, it is thought that a person naturally inclines to their creator Allah and is born with a mind that naturally follows Islam.  It is the people around us--our family, friends and society--that overpower our innate tendency to follow Allah and cause us to sin.  Muslims are born sinless or into a state of "fitra" (c.f. Wikipedia).  This Islamic doctrine denies the Christian doctrine of Original Sin, the idea that we received sin from our parents at birth.

Let us look at the concept of fitra in context of the Islamic creation story.  In the Quran, the first man Adam was not created on earth but created in heaven, and then fell down to earth:

"Then, Satan caused them to slip from it, and brought them out of where they had been. And We said, “Go down, all of you, some of you the enemies of others; and on the earth there will be for you a dwelling place and enjoyment for a time.” " Quran 2:36, Usmani

Adam had sinned and this verse says that he was kicked out of God's sight.  But Adam learned some words through which he repented:

"Then ’Ādam learned certain words (to pray with) from his Lord; so, Allah accepted his repentance. No doubt, He is the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful."  Quran 2:37, Usmani

Even though Adam prayed and was forgiven, he still wasn't allowed back into Allah's abode.  Allah did send guidance to Adam:

We said, “Go down from here, all of you. Then, should some guidance come to you from Me, those who follow My guidance shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve."  Quran 2:38, Usmani

This verse says we need guidance to the righteous path to find the way back to Allah.  There are problems with this idea.  If we are born into a state of "fitra", why do we need a guide in order to bring us back to heaven?  Shouldn't every newborn start out in heaven?  Instead, every day in their daily prayers, Muslims recite Surah al Fatihah where they ask for guidance (see Quran 1:6).  

Even the prophet Muhammed prayed this surah.  So even Muhammad needed guidance.  How can this prophet be expected to guide us when he himself needs guidance?  Is Muhammed qualified to do this?

In the bigger picture, if man is born sinless, then why does the Hadith say that all men are sinners?:

Anas (RAA) narrated that Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said:  “All the sons of Adam are sinners, but the best of sinners are those who repent often.”  Related by At·Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah with a strong chain of narrators.  Book 16, Hadith 41

Why does the Quran ascribe sinlessness only to Jesus (Quran 19:19-20)?

Is it that our family, friends and society really change our predisposition toward Allah?   Are people more powerful than God, that they can change our basic nature?  

As Christians, we believe we can do no such thing.  People are innately sinful.  People do not have the power to remove our faith, just as they don't have to power to give us faith.  The Holy Spirit can change someone's heart and take someone from the hellfire into the kingdom of God.  Jesus takes our sin and then we become righteous:

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

This is not because of anything I or another human does to us, but it is God's work.

(Argument is from Al Fadi "Only Jesus is Sinless Islamic Original Win Dilemma")

Two Contradictions in Allah's Creation Story

The literary perfection of the Qur'an is a widely-held tenet of Muslims.  The Qur'an is written with “clear proofs” or “clear signs”; the Qur’an is meant to be clear.  But it is easy to show the Qur'an often uses imprecise language historical inaccuracies and, in places, flatly contradicts itself.  This makes the Qur’an anything but clear. 

Below I point out two contradictions in the Qur’an on the topic of Allah’s creation.

Was Satan Created from Water or Fire?: The Qur'an claims that Allah created every living creature from water (Qur'an 24:45).  Some versions of Qur'an state this verse with not "every living creature" but "every animal".  Clarifying the language, the Arabic is actually "every daaba" which means that every living creature is created of water.

But notably, this verse forgets about Satan.  Satan was created from fire.   In the following verse, Satan thought he was better than man so he refused to prostrate himself before Adam.  This is Satan’s response:

He said, “I am better than him. You created me from fire, and created him from clay.” Qur'an 38:76, Usmani

In surah 18:50, Satan (Iblis) is described as a jinn.  Jinns are living creatures (Qur’an 51:56).  According to this hadith, Jinn are said to have lived on the earth, and can actually become Muslims.   

The jinn are even known to have sex with women:

In them there will be maidens restraining (their) glances, whom neither a man might have touched before them, nor a Jinn. Qur'an 55:56, Usmani

(Aside: Al Tabari’s commentary on this verse says that, “When a man has intercourse with his wife and does not name [Allah], the jinn coils around his urethra and has intercourse along with him.”  This is a disgusting thought, and shows Muslims can be a very superstitious lot.  Reference is here. )

So the Qur'an has an apparent contradiction here.  Either the language of the Qur'an is imprecise or Mohammed somehow forgot that Satan was created from fire.

More information on the contradiction on Satan’s creation is here.

Do All Living Creatures have Two Legs or Four Legs?: Muhammad seems to exclude insects and spiders as not being part of his creation in surah 24:45.  

Allah has created every moving creature from water. So, some of them move on their bellies; and some of them move on two legs, and some of them move on four. Allah creates what He wills.  Surely, Allah is powerful over everything. Qur'an 24:45, Usmani

The context in this verse at the start is "every living creature".  The verse mentions creatures that "walk on their bellies", creatures with two legs and with four legs, but no mention of creatures with six or eight legs.  There is no mention of the centipede.  These too are Allah's creation.  The context of the verse is all living creatures. This leads to an apparent contradiction.  The omissions impact the literal quality of the verse.

Another point, the English versions of the Qur'an say that "some of them MOVE on their bellies".  However, the language issue is that the Arabic actually uses the word “yamshi” for "walk".  This is a problem because snakes don't walk.

Do you think these examples are consistent with literary perfection of the Qur'an? 

Does Islam reject the Trinity?

One of the biggest criticisms of Christianity by Muslims is the trinity.  Islam will claim that Jesus, as a mere human. could not have been God.  In Islam, the Holy Spirit is not God's Spirit but is actually argued to be a messenger of God like Muhammad. or angel Gabriel. What are some key Qur'anic criticisms to the concept of the Trinity?  Below I explain three such criticisms and show that they suffer logical and internal consistencies.


In "Say not three", Is Mary God?

The Qur'an says not to believe in the trinity, by asserting "say not three":

"O people of the Book, be not excessive in your Faith, and do not say about Allah anything but the truth.The MasīH ‘Īsā, the son of Maryam, is only a Messenger of Allah, and His Word that He had delivered to Maryam, and a spirit from Him. So, believe in Allah and His Messengers. Do not say “Three”. Stop it. That is good for you. Allah is the only One God. He is far too pure to have a son. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And Allah is enough to trust in." Qur'an 4:171, Usmani

But which three is the Qur'an talking about?  The Qur'an does not explicitly deny the Holy Spirit as God.  Many Muslims instead reinterpret it as the angel Gabriel. The following verse accuses Christians of taking Mary as a god:

"And when Allah said, “O ‘Īsā, son of Maryam, did you say to the people: ‘Take me and my mother as gods beside Allah?” He said, “Pure are You, it does not behoove me to say what is not right for me. Had I said it, You would have known it. You know what is in my heart, and I do not know what is in Your’s. You alone have full knowledge of all that is unseen." Qur'an 5:116, Usmani

The "three" mentioned in this verse are not Father, Son and Holy Spirit, but Allah, Isa (Jesus) and Mary.  Regarding Jesus and Mary on equal par with Allah was regarded not right.  This line of argument of criticizing association of Mary with God is also found in 5:72-75.

A little below in this passage, belief in this "trinity" is shown to attract divine judgment:

"If You punish them, they are Your slaves after all, but if You forgive them, You are the Mighty, the Wise.” Qur'an 5:118, Usmani

This passage is about the judgment day, as surah 5:119 shows:

"Allah will say, "This is a day on which the truth of the truthful shall benefit for them. For them there are gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will live forever. Allah is well-pleased with them and they are well-pleased with Him. That is the great achievement." " Qur'an 5:119, Usmani

Muhammad obviously thought that Christians were taking Mary as god. Furthermore, Qur'an says that this is what will be judged on the judgment day, not revering the Holy Spirit.  No Christian denomination believes that Mary is God today.  Muhammad appears to be attacking a straw man.


Was Jesus Raised or Did He Die?

Surah 4:157 is a well-known verse used to deny Jesus' death on the cross, but in context of the rest of the Qur'an, does this claim really make sense?  Death was expected of the messengers of Allah:

"Christ the son of Mary was no more than a messenger; many were the messengers that passed away before him. His mother was a woman of truth. They had both to eat their (daily) food. See how Allah doth make His signs clear to them; yet see in what ways they are deluded away from the truth!" Surah 5:75, Yusuf Ali

This verse talk of many who, like Jesus, were according to the Qur'an messengers but "who had passed away before him". This is a peculiar comparison with Jesus, for in the Qur'an Jesus never passed away. According to surah 3:55, he was raised straight to heaven instead of dying on the cross:

"When Allah said: “O ‘Īsā , I am to take you in full and to raise you towards Myself, and to cleanse you of those who disbelieve, and to place those who follow you above those who disbelieve up to the Day of Doom. Then to Me is your return, whereupon I shall judge between you in that over which you have differed." Qur'an 3:55, Usmani

Actually many of the English translations are not accurate. In the Arabic, it doesn't just say "raise you towards Myself" but first uses an Arabic word مُتَوَفِّيكَ (mutawaffi-ka) which, though metaphorical in nature, does not mean "take you" but "cause you to die".  You can find the word translated as "die" in several translations of the Qur'an (Muhammad Asad, Wahiduddin Khan, Safi Kaskas and Shabbir Ahmed).

This is devastating for anyone who believes that Jesus didn't die. 

Some more in-depth analysis of this issue is here.


One Who Eats Cannot Be God?

Some claim that Jesus was not God, because Jesus ate food. The objection is that Jesus had a human need, but God being omnipotent, had no needs that he cannot himself fulfill. If Jesus then needs foods, he could not be God. Is this solid logic?

According to the Qur'an, Allah too had needs. He needed to preserve his words into a tablet:

"The reality is that it is the glorious Qur’ān, (recorded) in the Preserved Tablet (LauH MaHfūZ)." Surah 85:21-22, Usmani

The preserved tablet was not given to Muhammad, so it must have been in Allah's possession.

Why does Allah even need to preserve his work in a tablet? Doesn't an omniscient Allah have a perfect memory? He doesn't NEED the tablet, although he was in possession of it. In the same way, Jesus didn't NEED food.

Allah also has other needs. He apparently needed worshipers. In Qur'an 55:56, Allah created jinn and man for them to worship him.  Allah also needs people to sin.  In Sahih Muslim, Allah is said to need people to commit sins and to ask for forgiveness:

"Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) having said:

By Him in Whose Hand is my life, if you were not to commit sin, Allah would sweep you out of existence and He would replace (you by) those people who would commit sin and seek forgiveness from Allah, and He would have pardoned them."  Sahih Muslim 2749

(Link to this and similar hadith here.)  If people were not to sin, Allah would destroy them and create another people.  This need is completely unnecessary for an all powerful God.

So Allah has needs. If needs prove one is not God, then Allah cannot possibly be God.


(The above argument is based on the Christian Prince video "What is the Islamic logic to reject the trinity".)