No God but One: Allah or Jesus?: A Former Muslim Investigates the Evidence for Islam and Christianity

by Nabeel Qureshi

  Again, there is absolutely no record of a disciple who preached anything other than the death and resurrection of Jesus. Why did Allah not adequately communicate to them that Jesus had not died on the cross and had not risen from the dead? Allah could easily have stopped them from preaching the death and resurrection of Jesus. But the history is incontrovertible: The foundation of the disciples’ preaching was the proclamation of Jesus’ resurrection. Therefore, if it is true that Allah saved Jesus from the cross, the deception of Allah is responsible for the establishment of the Christian church and billions of people committing shirk, the unforgivable sin.

  Could I really conclude that Allah committed such a massive blunder? Of course not, but that is what Islam requires us to believe if we are to take the historical evidence seriously. The records of the early Christian proclamation are not just slightly mismatched with Islamic teachings; the records of the early Christian proclamation are categorically incompatible with Islam. If Allah saved Jesus from the cross and did not inform the disciples, he is a deceptive God who is responsible for the damnation of billions.

  For these reasons, if we are Muslim and we take the historical evidence of Christian origins seriously, we have to conclude that Jesus was an incompetent Messiah and Allah is a deceptive God.

  ISLAM’S REJECTION OF HISTORY

  Of course, Muslims do not believe that, and neither did I. I took the only remaining alternative: Reject all of the historical evidence of Christian origins, regardless of how much there is, how widespread it is, and how firmly grounded it is. The historical records are incredibly vast, including dozens of sources from dozens of authors—Christian, Jewish, and Graeco-Roman alike. Could I really just dismiss everything, turning a blind eye to all the evidence, to maintain my Islamic beliefs?

  I also knew something I could no longer overlook: Scholars are virtually unanimous that Jesus died on the cross, that the early church believed he rose from the dead, and that the earliest Christians believed he was superhuman, even divine. Not just Christian scholars but even skeptical scholars are virtually all on the same side on these issues, against the teachings of Islam. As a Muslim, I had a great deal of respect for scholars, but now I knew their conclusions were against my faith. The people who spend their lives studying these matters disagree with Islam.

  While pondering all this, my mind continually returned to that question I forced myself to ask: “Would an objective investigator throw out all the evidence? Would an objective investigator side with Islam on these issues?” The answer was obvious: of course not. To believe Islam on the history of Christian origins is to dismiss all evidence ad hoc, and no objective investigator would do that.

  A TENTATIVE CONCLUSION

  After spending three years investigating the case for Christianity as a Muslim, I tentatively concluded that Christians had good historical reason to believe in their faith. This was a paradigm shift in my mind, utterly incompatible with what I had been taught as a Muslim, but it was unavoidably true.

  And because the evidence also challenged my Islamic beliefs, I had to either ignore it all (which my mind could not do), become a Christian (which I could not even imagine), or believe that, despite how strong the evidence for Christianity was, the evidence for Islam must be stronger.

  The last option was the only viable option for me, so I found myself assuming that the case for Islam must be stronger than the case for Christianity. But my friend David would not allow me to operate on such an assumption without providing evidence.

  That is why I delved into our investigation of Islam: to prove that the case for Islam is stronger than the case for Christianity. My first step was to corral the evidence that Muhammad was a prophet of God. After spending some time preparing, David invited me to argue my case at a discussion group of people from many religious backgrounds that met monthly at Mike Licona’s house. It was there that I presented my positive case that Muhammad was a prophet of God.

  PART 9

  IS MUHAMMAD A PROPHET OF GOD?

  CHAPTER 33

  THE POSITIVE CASE

  THE FORETOLD PARAGON

  I bear witness that Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” This is the proclamation of a devout Muslim, announced multiple times a day from every minaret before the daily prayers and recited in the heart of every Muslim during the prayers. The proclamation that “there is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger” is enough to welcome a person into the fold of Islam. There really can be no doubt that Muhammad’s status as a messenger of God, his prophethood, is a central pillar of Islamic faith.

  Growing up Muslim, Muhammad’s prophethood was a given, an integral part of our world, and sharing Islam meant compelling hearts toward him. It is for that reason, when my friend David asked me to share Islam with a room full of non-Muslims, I chose to present and defend the prophethood of Muhammad.

  Seated in Mike Licona’s living room and speaking to Christians, Buddhists, atheists, and agnostics, I made my case for Muhammad’s prophethood. I presented three arguments: that Muhammad’s life and character testified that he was a prophet; that Muhammad was prophesied in the Bible; and that Muhammad had God-given insight into science.

  MUHAMMAD’S LIFE AND CHARACTER

  Providing a portrait of Muhammad’s life that had passed down to me through generations, I started by telling everyone that Muhammad lived a very meek and humble childhood. His father died before he was born, his mother died shortly thereafter, and he lived most of his childhood as an orphan. He grew to become a trusted and respected young merchant, ultimately marrying a widow fifteen years his elder instead of a youthful maiden. Muhammad was thus a very noble young man uninterested in worldly attractions even before receiving his prophetic call.

  It was only with reluctance that he accepted the mantle of prophethood. Within the pagan environment of Mecca, Muhammad boldly proclaimed monotheism with no concern for his personal well-being. Understanding the plight of widows, orphans, and the poor, he fought for their rights.

  Despite his peaceful message, the hatred of the Meccans against the message of monotheism led to persecutions. Although Muhammad was protected by his uncle, he faced ridicule and threats, even having camel entrails placed on him while he was prostrate in prayer. His followers, who had no protectors, fared worse, some even being martyred. The persecutions increased over the years, and the Meccans ultimately boycotted the Muslims, resulting in such harsh conditions that Muhammad’s uncle and wife died. When a plot was underway to assassinate Muhammad, he fled to Medina, and it was there that he finally had enough support to defend the fledgling Muslim people.

  From that point on, Muhammad invited the tribes of Arabia to accept Islam, and many became allies of the Muslims on account of the beauty of the message. All the while, the Meccans kept coming to Medina to destroy the Muslims, but Allah miraculously defended them. After ten years of having to fight such defensive wars, Muhammad made a treaty with the Meccans that allowed him to travel to Mecca and perform a pilgrimage to the sacred mosque, the Kaaba. Unfortunately, the Meccans broke their treaty, so Muhammad marched on Mecca with ten thousand followers. The Meccans could not withstand the might of the Muslim armies, so they surrendered.

  Although these were the very people who had persecuted and killed Muslims—the ones who caused the death of Muhammad’s beloved uncle and first wife, and the very ones who dragged the Muslims into war time and again at the cost of many lives—Muhammad granted them clemency by forgiving all of them. The fame of Muhammad’s message spread throughout Arabia, and by the time Muhammad died two years later, the whole Arabian Peninsula had embraced Islam.

  Such was the character of Muhammad: In addition to being a champion for women and orphans, he was a resilient proclaimer of monotheism, a great leader, and a merciful conqueror. His life and character are proof that he is a prophet of God.

  MUHAMMAD IN THE BIBLE

  An even more common argument among Muslims than the compelling character of Muhammad is the case
that Muhammad is prophesied in the Bible.

  The Quran teaches that Muhammad was prophesied in the Torah and the gospel: “The messenger, the unlettered prophet whom they will find with them written in the Torah and the Gospel” (7.157).1 For this reason, Muslims are willing to use Bible verses to defend the prophethood of Muhammad. There were two such biblical passages that we used more than any other, usually quoting the King James Version: Deuteronomy 18:18–19 and John 16:12–14.

  Deuteronomy 18

  In Deuteronomy 18:18–19, God says, “I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee, and will put my words in his mouth; and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pass, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him” (KJV). In this passage, God is addressing Moses, saying a prophet like Moses will come, one who will come from among the brethren of the Jews and speak in the name of God.

  Muslims commonly argue that, even though Christians believe this passage refers to Jesus, it speaks of Muhammad. Who is more “like unto” Moses: Jesus or Muhammad? Moses was born naturally, came with a law, led his people for many years, was a statesman as well as a prophet, had to lead his people out of oppression, married and had children, and ultimately died a natural death; none of this is true of Jesus, yet all of it is true of Muhammad. Undoubtedly, Moses is more like Muhammad than Jesus.

  In addition, the prophecy says that the prophet will be “from among their brethren,” that is, the brethren of the Jews. The Jews are Israelites, and their brethren are the Ishmaelites. Therefore, the prophecy speaks of a prophet like Moses from the lineage of Ishmael. That must be Muhammad.

  Finally, the passage says that the prophet will reveal “words which he shall speak in my name.” In the Quran, every chapter begins with, “In the name of Allah.” Thus, more than anyone else, Muhammad spoke in the name of God, and every chapter of the Quran testifies to this.

  Thus I presented the common argument that, through Moses in the Old Testament, God prophesied the coming of Muhammad.

  John 16

  In John’s gospel, the sixteenth chapter also speaks of a prophet who will come, I argued. The text reads, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (vv. 12–14 KJV).

  Here, Jesus speaks of a prophet, the Spirit of truth (v. 13), who will come and finish Jesus’ message. Who else could this be but Muhammad, the only prophet of a major religion to come after Jesus? As in the Deuteronomy prophecy, this text describes one who will not speak of himself, but only what he hears. The Quran is revelation that was given to Muhammad, not composed by him whatsoever, so he spoke only what he heard, just as the prophecy says.

  In addition, John 16 says the Spirit of truth will glorify Jesus. Unlike the Jews who said Jesus was an illegitimate child, Muhammad proclaimed that Jesus truly was born of a virgin, thereby glorifying him when others were not and fulfilling the prophecy.

  To top off the argument, the Greek of John 16:7 uses the word parakletos to describe this “Spirit of truth.” This word is very similar to the Greek word periklutos, which means “the praised one.” In Arabic, the word Muhammad means “the praised one.” Thus, Jesus used the Greek word for Muhammad when prophesying the coming Spirit of truth.

  For all these reasons, we could be confident that, through Jesus, God prophesied the coming of Muhammad in the New Testament. These were just two prophecies I chose to present that night out of over a dozen such prophesies that Muslims commonly argue establish Muhammad’s authority and prophethood.

  MIRACULOUS SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE

  The final argument I presented to the attendees of our meeting was Muhammad’s miraculous scientific knowledge. This argument was usually provided in defense of the Quran, but I and many other Muslims presented it to defend the prophethood of Muhammad as well. While delivering the Quran and while answering questions recorded in hadith, Muhammad showed insight into science that he could not have possibly known as a man living in the seventh century. This could mean only that God was giving Muhammad supernatural wisdom, and therefore that he was a prophet of God.

  For example, in 23.12–14, the Quran describes the development of an embryo in stages. Describing zygotic development from fertilization to differentiation, the Quran shows familiarity with a scientific field that was unknown in Muhammad’s day. It was not until the development of modern medicine that we find mankind discovering what was already revealed in the Quran.

  Another common argument we used was that the Quran relayed miraculous geological truth about mountains. In 78.6–7, the Quran describes mountains as “pegs,” indicating that they have roots which go beneath the surface of the earth. Only in modern times has science uncovered the existence of such roots. In addition, the Quran teaches that these mountain roots stabilize the earth, which the science of plate tectonics has only recently established.

  Since Muhammad was the one who received these miraculous scientific teachings, he must be a prophet of God.

  CONCLUDING THE POSITIVE CASE FOR MUHAMMAD’S PROPHETHOOD

  After presenting my argument to the discussion group for forty-five minutes, I felt confident that I had argued the case for Muhammad’s prophethood strongly. His life and message are inherent proof that he is a prophet of God; his coming was prophesied by the messengers before him like Moses and Jesus; and the advanced scientific knowledge that was revealed through him proves that he is a prophet of God. Together, these are compelling reasons to believe that Muhammad is a prophet and that Islam is the truth sent by God.

  But then came the questions, issues I had not seen that challenged the prophethood of Muhammad.

  CHAPTER 34

  THE RESPONSE

  DON’T FORGET THE COUNTEREVIDENCE

  When I finished my presentation on the historical Muhammad, the very first question was from Mike. Since he had studied Islam for his debate with Shabir Ally, he knew that there were holes in my presentation, evidence I had not provided before concluding that Muhammad’s character is peaceful. “Nabeel,” he asked, “there are other verses in the Quran, like, ‘Slay the infidel wherever you find him.’ How do we know that what you quoted takes precedence?”

  Although I was very often offended when people questioned Muhammad’s character, it was fair to ask. If I am presenting Muhammad’s excellent character as evidence that he is a prophet of God, that means I have to allow counterevidence that might lead us to conclude Muhammad’s character was not that of a prophet of God. The same holds true for the prophecies pertaining to Muhammad and Muhammad’s scientific knowledge; we must weigh potential counterexamples. When we consider the full body of evidence, is the prophethood of Muhammad still the best conclusion?

  CRITICALLY CONSIDERING MUHAMMAD’S CHARACTER

  When we read about the life of Muhammad, there is no doubt that Muhammad taught many good things. This goes beyond the simple proclamation of monotheism and submission to God. Muhammad taught people to feed the poor;1 to love others for God’s sake;2 to abstain from theft, fornication, and infanticide;3 to release slaves, help the weak, and serve those who cannot work for themselves;4 and much more. When considering the historical record of Muhammad’s life, one has to conclude that he taught many things that were very moral and noble.

  But before concluding that he is a prophet of God, one has to consider the counterevidence, and we will consider only that evidence which is found in the sources most Muslims consider most trustworthy: the Quran and the hadith of Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim.

  The best place to start is at the beginning. When he received his very first revelation, Muhammad reacted very strangely: He became suicidal. “He intended several times to throw himse
lf from the tops of high mountains and every time he went up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself down,” an angel would appear to him and urge him not to kill himself.5 Is this the behavior of a prophet? No prophet in the Old Testament or New Testament ever became suicidal after seeing an angel.

  Muhammad’s initial encounter with a spiritual being sounds little like an angelic encounter at all. According to the same hadith, this spiritual being was called Namus.6 Namus grabbed hold of Muhammad and squeezed him so vehemently that he could not bear it.7 Three times Namus squeezed Muhammad unbearably hard until Muhammad ultimately complied with his command. To the objective observer, this sounds like a violent episode, not at all like an angelic encounter. The beginning of Muhammad’s ministerial career sounds little like that of a prophet.

  When we consider whether he was a man of peace, we must recognize that though Muhammad’s ministry was fraught with battles, that in itself is not evidence against his divine commission. Joshua and others in the Old Testament had been commanded to fight.

  What is striking, though, is how enthusiastically Muhammad embraced warfare. He said that fighting is literally the best thing in the world.8 Nothing earns a Muslim more reward than fighting in jihad, and it is better than praying without ceasing and fasting perpetually.9 Muhammad taught that dying in battle is so great that it is the only thing that would make a man want to leave heaven.10

  As far as his conduct with enemies, at times Muhammad would invoke curses upon them11 and encourage his men to compose insults and abusive poetry.12 On one occasion, he asked Allah to fill peoples’ homes with flames simply because they delayed the Muslims in their daily prayers.13 At other times, Muhammad sent assassins to kill his enemies in their sleep,14 and even to deceive and abuse trust in order to assassinate.15 He punished some enemies by cutting off their hands and feet, branding their eyes with a heated iron, and causing them to lick the dust until they died.16 He led battles against unarmed cities.17 He allowed even women and children to be killed during nighttime raids.18 On more than one occasion, Muhammad decimated tribes by killing all their men and teenage boys while distributing their women and children as slaves.19 This is quite contrary to the image of a Muhammad who reluctantly fought only defensive battles.