Understanding Muhammad Doubts Cleared:

If you want to know why Dr. Zakir Naik runs away from debating with Ali Sina, you only need to read Sina’s latest book Understanding Muhammad: A Psychobiography. Notes from Sakshi Research Team.

Ali Sina, one of the foremost and outspoken critics of Islam has a written a scholarly and insightful book on the founder of Islam- Muhammad. For those who are uninitiated: Ali Sina was born in Iran. Some of his relatives were Ayatollahs. He, now an ex-Muslim and an atheist, is the founder of www.faithfreedom.org. He is now one of the most popular atheist critics of Islam.

He, like our Bro. Sam Shamoun, has invited Dr. Zakir Naik to debate with him. Those of us who have read Bro. Sam Shamoun know why Dr. Zakir will never be able to debate with Bro. Shamoun. Dr. Zakir will loose his ‘reputation’ forever.  

If you want to know why Dr. Zakir runs away from debating with Ali Sina, you only need to read his latest book Understanding Muhammad: A Psychobiography. (This despite the fact that Ali Sina has offered $50,000 to anyone who can disprove Sina's charge that Islam's prophet was "a narcissist, a misogynist, a rapist, a pedophile, a lecher, a torturer, a mass murderer, a cult leader, an assassin, a terrorist, a mad man and a looter." All these, as everyone would agree, are very serious charges which a Dawwah preacher like Dr. Zakir should have debated and proved Sina wrong, if it is wrong.)  

Ali Sina’s case against Muhammad is strong even if we reject many of his other interpretations.  This book is divided into seven chapters with each chapter examining some facets of Muhammad’s life and teaching. One of the best chapters is the first chapter itself. So we briefly present Sina’s argument from the first chapter – Who was Muhammad?  

Muhammad’s Message:  

One of the main propositions of the book is that Muhammad and Allah are the same and everything else was a result of a sick body and mind. The book begins with Muhammad’s childhood. Muhammad, Sina notes, was given away to a Bedouin woman. Sina observes that this would have would have left a deep psychological impact on Muhammad. But things changed after he married a wealthy woman, Khadijah. After a few years Muhammad received ‘revelation’. We quote Ali Sina here: “After his encounter with the ghostly figure, identified by his wife as Gabriel, Muhammad was convinced of his prophetic rank. This suited him well and fulfilled his desire for grandiosity. He began preaching his message. What was his message? The message was that he had become a messenger and people had to believe in him.” Sina argues that monotheism was not the main message of Islam initially. Sina continues that Islam’s main message was and is that Muhammad is a messenger and people must obey him.   

Sina cites Ibn Said (Tabaqat Volume 1, page 191) “One day the prophet was in a gathering around the Ka’ba and was reading to them the sura an-Najm (Sura 53). When he came to the verses 19-20 that read ‘Have you then considered the Lat and the Uzza and Manat, the third, the last? Satan placed the following two verses in the mouth of the Prophet ‘They are pretty and there is hope in their intercession”. Sina makes a poignant observation here: “After a while, Muhammad realized that by acknowledging the daughters of Allah as deities he had undermined his own position as the sole intermediary between Allah and people, making his new religion indistinguishable from pagan beliefs and therefore redundant.”

Later when a few followers understoody the trickery of Muhammad and left Islam, Muhammad justified this by accusing that all prophets before him too have received Satanic revelation (Q 22:52-53). What an insult to the previous prophets. 

In fact, when we read Ali Sina’s second chapter, this concept – Islam’s main message is that Muhammad is the messenger (and not monotheism) is further explained.

Sina writes: “Allah was for Muhammad a convenient tool by which to manipulate people. Through him, he could wield unlimited authority over his followers”. Or in other words, according to Ali Sina Allah and Muhammad is the same person.  

There could be a few objections when one proposes this theory. (1) Why would Muhammad suffer to propagate a lie? (b) How would one explain passages where Allah scolds Muhammad for example while mistreating a blind man? (c) How would one explain camels reeling and kneeling down under the pressure if Muhammad received revelation while riding a camel (d) Of course a Muslim can ask- why would Muhammad marry so many widows if he was not merciful? Interestingly Ali Sina produces evidences to answer such and more doubts that one may have.  

Did Muhammad Suffer to Spread Islam?  

According to Ali Sina, there is no evidence of persecution against Muhammad except Muhammad’s own words such as Quran 8:30.  

Ali Sina further argues that Muhammad enticed the followers to leave Mecca with goodly homes and rewards hereafter (Quran 16:41). When someone tried to defect he threatened them (Quran 4:89).  If the followers were persecuted, they themselves would have left Mecca. Why should one entice them to leave and threaten them if they defect?

According to Ali Sina this is how every cultic leader, like Jim Jones, tried to separate their followers from their respective families and relatives to have more control over them.  After enticing with goodly homes to leave Mecca, Muhammad had to start raids to fulfill the promise of giving goodly homes to followers. Allah did not give it. 

Was Muhammad Scolded by Allah?  

Ali Sina makes an interesting observation regarding Allah’s scolding of Muhammad for mistreating a blind man. One day, Muhammad was speaking to the chiefs in Mecca and a beggar approached him. Muhammad disregarded the beggar and spoke rudely with him. Meccan chiefs saw that and doubted whether any prophet can ill-treat others like this and Muhammad was exposed. When Muhammad understood that he was exposed, he came with a revelation of Allah’s scolding but was followed by a curse to the chiefs for rejecting Muhammad.  

In fact, as Ali Sina well-documents in his book why did the same Allah divinely sanction and never scolded when Muhammad did rape, raid and murder of many?  Muslims might object and say Muhammad never conducted a raid or war without provocation. Ali Sina’s observation is further illuminating here also. Ali Sina cites many examples such as the invasion of Banu Nadir where Muhammad invented stories to create an offense from the enemy.

For example, the “provocation” for attacking Banu Nadir was a ‘revelation’ that Muhammad received. Muhammad supposedly in his vision saw Jews dropping a rock from atop of a wall. None of Muhammad’s companion saw a Jew climbing a wall and not even Muhammad saw it. Based on one “revelation” of Muhammad which Islamic preachers consider as the offense of Jews, Muhammad and his group attacked Jews.   

Camels Reeling Under the Power of Revelation 

Ali Sina points out that domestic animals can sense epilepsy before the seizure and much of the ‘revelations’ of Muhammad had all the symptoms of epilepsy.  

Why did Muhammad Marry Widows? 

Ali Sina makes a poignant observation here- it was Muhammad who made many of them widows in the first place, for example Juwairiya. Further many of them did not have options except to marry him- where else will they be allowed to live if they refuse to marry Muhammad?  Further, Ali Sina points out that all of the widows, except Sauda who was in her thirties, were below 20 years of age. In fact by quoting Tabari, Ali Sina points out that Muhammad did not marry woman who had children or were not young and beautiful.  

This can hardly be called as charity.  

All these charges and many more, as anyone would agree, is a serious challenge to Islam. What we have summarized here is the tip of an iceberg. In fact, these notes may not at all do justice to Ali Sina’s work.  Further, Ali Sina who raises these charges is a world famous critic of Islam. Why is Dr. Zakir Naik afraid to debate with Ali Sina? Why is he running away from a debate? As mentioned initially read this book and you will know the answer.

 

Further Readings:

 

1. Jerusalem Post Interview with Ali Sina

2. http://www.faithfreedom.org/book.htm

 

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