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The late William Montgomery Watt was considered one of the greatest scholars of Islam of the 20th century. Watt wasn’t only a professor but a prolific author who wrote some outstanding books on Muhammad and Islam. Moreover, Watt wasn’t a polemicist that sought to discredit Muhammad, but was a sympathetic writer who adopted an irenic approach to his analysis of the Islamic faith. This is what makes his assessment of the so-called ‘Satanic Verses’ all the more credible. In this

According to the hadith, Muhammad believed that Gabriel and the Holy Spirit inspired Hassan bin Thabit’s poetry: (91) Chapter: Lampooning Al-Mushrikin Narrated `Aisha: Hassan bin Thabit asked the permission of Allah’s Messenger to lampoon the pagans (in verse). Allah’s Apostle said, “What about my fore-fathers (ancestry)?’ Hassan said (to the Prophet) “I will take you out of them as a hair is taken out of dough.” Narrated Hisham bin `Urwa that his father said, “I called Hassa

In the following articles and rebuttals, Muhammad and the Demons (https://answeringislam.net/Silas/demons.htm) Muhammad’s Suicide Attempts (https://answeringislam.net/Silas/suicide.htm) Comments on a Response to “Muhammad’s Suicide Attempts” (https://answeringislam.net/Silas/fatrah.htm) Source of Muhammad’s Inspiration – Divine or Demonic? (/2019/03/20/source-of-muhammads-inspiration-divine-or-demonic/) Evidence Muhammad was Demon Possessed (/2019/03/20/evidence-muhammad-was-

We continue from where we left off: “Satanic Verses” Expose Muhammad as a False Prophet Pt. 1. The Implications There are several crucial points to glean from this particular narration. First, Muhammad’s characterization of his error is astonishing to say the least. Notice his words once again: “I have obeyed Satan, and spoken his words, and he has become a partner in God’s matter with me (wa sharika-ni fi amr Allah).” Muhammad’s use of the verb sharika means that he committe

According to Islam’s earliest and most reliable sources the following Quranic passage, Have ye seen Lat and ‘Uzza, And another, the third (goddess), Manat? What! for you the male sex, and for Him, the female? Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair! These are nothing but names which ye have devised, – ye and your fathers, – for which God has sent down no authority (whatever). They follow nothing but conjecture and what their own souls desire! – Even though there h

The following is taken from Al-Jalal Al-Suyuti, The book "Al-Durr Al-Manthur fi Al-Tafsir bi Al-Ma'thur" (https://shamela.ws/book/12884/4650#p7). Al-Suyuti quotes narrations with sound chains of transmitters, which testify that Satan inspired Muhammad to praise the three pagan goddesses of the Arabs. He also mentions a missing sentence that was once a part of Q. 22:52: Abd Ibn Hamid and Ibn Al-Anbari narrated in Al-Masahif on the authority of Amr Ibn Dinar who said: Ibn A

The late renowned Islamic scholar Alfred Guillaume wrote a booklet on a manuscript find, which was kept in the Qarawiyun library at Fez and numbered 727. This manuscript (ms.) contains a report of a person who had heard the lecture of Ibn Ishaq on the life of Muhammad. Ibn Ishaq is the Muslim who had written a biography on Muhammad in the eighth century AD titled Sirat Rasulullah, which Guillaume has translated into English. This biography was subsequently edited and purged

In this post I will be citing a slew of reports from al-Kafi, considered one of the premiere Shia hadith collections, which refer to the Quran, its various chapters and verses all appearing and talking on the day of judgment to Allah and those that used to recite them. All emphasis will be mine. Al-Kāfi – Volume 2 Book 3, Chapter 2 The Excellence of the Carriers of the Holy Quran Ḥadīth #3: 2031 3 ـ وَبِإِسْنَادِهِ عَنْ أَبِي عَبْدِ الله (عَلَيهِ السَّلام) قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ

In this article I will cite particular hadiths from the collection titled Al-Kafi in respect to Allah’s body-parts and the Quran’s relationship to him. Unlike Salafis who affirm that references to Allah’s hands, eyes, shin etc., are to be affirmed to really exist as Allah’s attributes without allegorizing, Shia Muslim vehemently oppose such anthropomorphizing of the Muslim deity. I will be referencing the narrations found in the section titled Al-Tawḥīd (The Book of Divine U

In this post, I cite specific narrations from the Al-Kafi collection, considered by Shia to be one of their most authoritative sources on ahadith, in respect to the corruption of the Quran. According to this Shiah work, the Quran initially contained 17,000 verses and was “revealed” in one way, not in seven ahruf as the sunni sources contend. This means that a great bulk of the Quran has been lost, never to be recovered. These reports also reject the Quran of ibn Masud, prefer

Luke quotes Jesus’ reply to a woman’s praise of the woman who birthed him: “Now it happened that while Jesus was saying these things, one of the women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.’ But He said, “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.’” Luke 11:27-28 Interestingly, we find Luke’s recording of our Lord’s statements quoted in the following Muslim work:

In this post I will be quoting from The Enactments of Justinian the Emperor, The Code (529-534 AD), Book 1, 1. Concerning the most exalted Trinity and the Catholic faith (..). All emphasis will be mine. Keep in mind that Emperor Justinian was an Eastern Catholic. 4. John, Bishop of the City of Rome, to his most Illustrious and Merciful Son Justinian. Among the conspicuous reasons for praising your wisdom and gentleness, Most Christian of Emperors, and one which radiates light

In the Gospel of John, Jesus emphatically testifies to the Father being the only God and the only true God: “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the only God (tou monou theou)?” John 5:44 Legacy Standard Bible (LSB) “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God (ton monon alethinon theon), and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.” John 17:3 LSB At the same time, the inspired writer

In this post I quote a different source for the statements of one of Ibn Taymiyyah’s premiere students, Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah, on the Muslim scholarly views concerning the preservation of the Torah. Chapter Thirteen: On the Devil’s Schemes Against the Son of Adam Chapter: People have differed in their opinions regarding the Torah in their possession, whether it has been altered or interpreted. There are three opinions on this matter. The first and the last messengers

In this third part of my discussion (Bart Ehrman & the Trinity Pt. 2), I am going to end the series by providing the scriptural data supporting the divine Personhood of the Holy Spirit. This in turn will highlight the biblical foundation for the doctrine of the Trinity, demonstrating why the early church was forced to come up with the language that it did in order to articulate the explicit witness of the God-breathed Scriptures that within the one Godhead there exists three

I resume my discussion of Ehrman’s statements concerning the text of 1 John 5:7: Bart Ehrman & the Trinity Pt. 1. The other point that I want to make is that Ehrman’s argument actually ends up proving that John’s Gospel has the Lord Jesus confirming that there are at least two coeternal and coequal Persons within the Godhead, namely the Father and the Son! Keep in mind that Ehrman assumes that 1 John 5:7 is affirming the essential unity of the three divine Persons due to its

Bart D. Ehrman is in my estimation one of the leading and most influential scholars of the Greek New Testament living today. Even though he is an agnostic/atheist who does not believe in the truth of the Christian faith, I have personally benefited from his writings, lectures and debates. More importantly, despite his rejection of the Christian religion (or any religion for that matter), Ehrman has made claims that actually confirm the historical veracity and cherished belief

The Catholic Church teaches that Christians have always believed and affirmed the Filioque, e.g., the Father spiritually breathes/spirates the Holy Spirit through the Son timelessly, eternally. This in turn makes the Holy Spirit the Spirit of both the Father and the Son, which is precisely what the inspired Scriptures proclaim (cf. Acts 16:6-7; Rom. 8:9-17; Gal. 4:4-6; Phil. 1:19; 1 Pet. 1:10-12). Note what the 2nd council of Lyons in 1274 AD stated: II 1. On the sup

In this article I will be quoting from two Catholic sources, highlighting the roles and titles ascribed to the blessed and holy Mother of our risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In a follow up post, I will provide the biblical substantiation for one of the titles attributed to the Holy Virgin Mother, namely, Advocate. All emphasis will be mine. ADVOCATE From medieval times the word Advocata signifies Mary's special power of intercession. It is first found in the Latin (la

I quote from St. Irenaeus’ Adversus haereses (Against Heresies), Book III, Chapter 22 Christ assumed actual flesh, conceived and born of the Virgin, where he contrasts the Holy Virgin with Eve, showing that she is the new and greater Eve. All emphasis will be mine. 1. Those, therefore, who allege that He took nothing from the Virgin do greatly err, [since,] in order that they may cast away the inheritance of the flesh, they also reject the analogy [between Him and Adam]. Fo