muhammad

Muhammad

Muhammad

(Peace be upon him)

Is he a true prophet?

Muslims revere Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the last prophet sent by God to humanity. But others raise questions about the authenticity of this claim. How could one decide whether Muhammad was a true prophet or an imposter? Did he make a claim to prophethood for any personal gain, benefit or self-interest? Or was he genuine, simply delivering a divine message to humankind? Whichever way one looks at it, one thing is certain – it is quite difficult to recognize the truth if one is already sternly consumed with preconceived prejudice. One has to be sincere enough to distinguish truth from falsehood or error, and be willing to consider the evidence.

As Allah says in the Qur’aan, (the meaning of which is):

“Truth stands clear from error.” (Quran 2:256)

One of the ways to look at Prophet Muhammad’s credibility would be to see what message he actually shared, and whether any of it could be even minutely refuted. The message that he brought was of course the Qur’aan. We have addressed the authenticity of the Qur’aan in previous posts. It provides irrefutable evidence about the credibility of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the Prophet of God since the Qur’aan was revealed to him.

Another way to establish the credibility of Muhammad (peace be upon him) as the Prophet of God would be to look at his prophecies. One of the many things he prophesied was the following one about the signs of the end of time.

“…And you will see barefoot naked poor shepherds/Bedouins competing with one another in the construction of tall buildings…”

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith: 1)

One may ask, so what is so special about this prophecy?

  1. 1400 years ago, during the time of the Prophet, the average Arab Bedouin would have hardly known about anything beyond his livestock and his primitive lifestyle.
  2. He would have mostly likely lived in a tent or house made of mud or fur.
  3. He would have been fairly disconnected from other societies, even in cities like Makkah and Madinah.
  4. Most importantly, the civilizations that were well known for their armoury, high buildings and mighty strength were the Romans and the Persians, not the Arabs.

Despite all the odds against them, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) prophesied that it would be the Arabs who will fulfil this prophecy.

Look at the world today. Who are the people who are the most competitive in building the tallest buildings? The architectural structures that have arisen in the Arab world today are testament to how the Arab Bedouins have indeed succeeded in building some of the tallest structures in the world today.

This is just one prophecy that Muhammad (peace be upon him) made. His message is irrefutable. The more you look, the more convincing they are.

While we acknowledge that this prophecy has been fulfilled, we must remember that it was made as a sign of the impending end of time. Isn’t it obvious enough where we are heading?

Submit to Allah while there is still time.


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