Muslims will often bring up the objection that Islam is not named after the man or prophet that brought the message, unlike Christianity and Buddhism which are named after their founders. They will further boast that they do not serve a man but submit to the one true God, supposedly Allah, nor do they need a human being to stand between them and their lord like Christians do.
In this post I will refute this canard and prove from both the Quran and ahadith that Muslims are in fact Muhammadans and that their deen is Muhammadanism.
I star off by citing the definition of Muhammadan given by Wikipedia:
Mohammedan (also spelled Muhammadan, Mahommedan, Mahomedan or Mahometan) is a term for a follower of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet.[2] It is used as both a noun and an adjective, meaning belonging or relating to, either Muhammad or the religion, doctrines, institutions and practices that he established.[3][4] The word was formerly common in usage, but the terms Muslim and Islamic are more common today. Though sometimes used stylistically by some Muslims, a vast majority consider the term either archaic or offensive. (Mohammedan
; emphasis mine)
Since a Muhammadan is a follower of Muhammad I now turn to the alleged sound reports attributed to the Islamic “prophet” and/or his companions to see if both he and his disciples described Muslims as such:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
Once the Prophet ascended the pulpit and it was the last gathering in which he took part. He was covering his shoulder with a big cloak and binding his head with an oily bandage. He glorified and praised Allah and said, “O people! Come to me.” So the people came and gathered around him and he then said, “Amma ba’du.” “From now onward the Ansar will decrease and other people will increase. So anybody who becomes a ruler of the followers of Muhammad and has the power to harm or benefit people then he should accept the good from the benevolent amongst them (Ansar) and overlook the faults of their wrong-doers.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 13, Number 49 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:927)
Narrated ‘Aisha… The Prophet then said, “O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! There is none who has more ghaira (self-respect) than Allah as He has forbidden that His slaves, male or female commit adultery (illegal sexual intercourse). O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! If you knew that which I know you would laugh little and weep much. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 2, Book 18, Number 154 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:1044)
Narrated ‘Aisha:
Allah’s Apostle said, “O followers of Muhammad! There is none, who has a greater sense of Ghira (self-respect) than Allah, so He has forbidden that His slave commits illegal sexual intercourse or His slave girl commits illegal sexual intercourse. O followers of Muhammad! If you but knew what I know, you would laugh less and weep more!” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 148)
Narrated ‘Aisha:
The Prophet said, “O followers of Muhammad! By Allah, if you knew what I know, you would weep much and laugh little.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 78, Number 627 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6631)
Narrated Salim:
I heard Um Ad-Darda’ saying, “Abu Ad-Darda’ entered the house in an angry mood. I said to him. ‘What makes you angry?’ He replied, ‘By Allah! I do not find the followers of Muhammad doing those good things (which they used to do before) except the offering of congregational prayer.” (This happened in the last days of Abu Ad-Darda’ during the rule of ‘Uthman). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 11, Number 622 https://sunnah.com/bukhari:650)
Seeing that Muhammad and his pupils described Muslims as followers of Muhammad, which is precisely what Muhammadan means, we have therefore established that Islam is in reality nothing other than Muhammadanism.
The Quran corroborates this by emphatically that a person must follow and obey Muhammad as they obey Allah, otherwise they are not true believers and the Muslim deity will not love them:
Say (O Muhammad to mankind): “If you (really) love Allah then follow me (i.e. accept Islamic Monotheism, follow the Qur’an and the Sunnah), Allah will love you and forgive you of your sins. And Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” Say (O Muhammad): “Obey Allah AND the Messenger (Muhammad).” But if they turn away, then Allah does not like the disbelievers. S. 3:31-32
It is interesting to note that Muhammad’s contemporaries soon realized that Muhammad was basically demanding that his followers love and obey him the same way that Christians love and surrender to the risen Christ:
(Say) O Muhammad!: (If ye love Allah) and His religion, (follow me) follow my Religion; (Allah will love you) He will increase your love (and forgive you your sins) which were committed when you followed Judaism. (Allah is Forgiving) of whoever repents, (Merciful) towards whoever dies in a state of repentance. This verse was revealed about the Jews who claimed they were the children of Allah and His beloved ones. When this verse was revealed ‘Abdullah Ibn Ubayy said: “Muhammad is commanding us to love him as the Christians loved Jesus”, and the Jews said: “Muhammad wants us to take him as a compassionate Lord, just as the Christians took Jesus as a compassionate Lord”. (Tanwîr al-Miqbâs min Tafsîr Ibn ‘Abbâs https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=73&tSoraNo=3&tAyahNo=31&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; emphasis mine)
(Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah…) [3:31]. Said al-Hasan ibn Jurayj: “Some people had claimed at the time of the Messenger of Allah that they loved Allah. They said: ‘O Muhammad! Verily, we love our Lord’, and so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. Juwaybir also reported that al-Dahhak related that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “The Prophet saw the Quraysh in the Sacred Mosque prostrating to their idols which they erected therein, with eggs of ostriches hanging from them and earrings dangling from their ears. And so he said to them: ‘O Quraysh! You have contravened the religion of your fathers Abraham and Ishmael, both of whom were Muslims’. They responded: ‘O Muhammad! We worship them out of love for Allah and so that they bring us closer to Him’. Upon which Allah revealed (Say, (O Muhammad, to mankind): If ye love Allah) and you worship your idols to bring you closer to Him, as you claim, then (follow me; Allah will love you…) for I am His Messenger to you, His proof against you, and I am more worthy of reverence than your idols”. Al-Kalbi also related from Abu Salih that Ibn ‘Abbas said: “When the Jews said: ‘We are the children of Allah and His beloved’, Allah revealed this verse. Then the Messenger of Allah read it to the Jews but they refused to accept it”. Muhammad ibn Ishaq reported that Muhammad ibn Ja’far ibn al-Zubayr said: “This was revealed about the Christians of Najran, for they had said: ‘We venerate and worship Christ out of love and veneration for Allah’. And so Allah revealed this verse as a response”. (‘Alī ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul https://www.altafsir.com/Tafasir.asp?tMadhNo=0&tTafsirNo=86&tSoraNo=3&tAyahNo=31&tDisplay=yes&UserProfile=0&LanguageId=2; emphasis mine)
Hence, the people clearly saw that Muhammad was making himself into a Christ-like figure in order to supplant the true Christ from the hearts of those whom he deceived into following him.
The Quran has a lot more to say about the necessity of following and obeying for the express purpose of receiving forgiveness and obtaining salvation:
We sent no Messenger, but to be obeyed by Allah’s Leave. If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves, had come to you (Muhammad) and begged Allah’s Forgiveness, and the Messenger had begged forgiveness for them: indeed, they would have found Allah All-Forgiving (One Who accepts repentance), Most Merciful. S. 4:64
Take Sadaqah (alms) from their wealth in order to purify them and sanctify them with it, and invoke Allah for them. Verily! Your invocations are a source of security for them, and Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. S. 9:103
Note how in the aforementioned texts Allah makes it incumbent for Muslims to go to Muhammad to procure his intercession as the necessary condition to obtain forgiveness from the Islamic deity.
Continuing further:
These are the limits (set by) Allah (or ordainments as regards laws of inheritance), and whosoever obeys Allah AND His Messenger (Muhammad) will be admitted to Gardens under which rivers flow (in Paradise), to abide therein, and that will be the great success. And whosoever disobeys Allah AND His Messenger (Muhammad), and transgresses His limits, He will cast him into the Fire, to abide therein; and he shall have a disgraceful torment. S. 4:13-14
And when it is said to them: “Come to what Allah has sent down and to the Messenger (Muhammad),” you (Muhammad) see the hypocrites turn away from you (Muhammad) with aversion. S. 4:61
And whoso obeys Allah AND the Messenger (Muhammad), then they will be in the company of those on whom Allah has bestowed His Grace, of the Prophets, the Siddiqun (those followers of the Prophets who were first and foremost to believe in them, like Abu Bakr As-Siddiq), the martyrs, and the righteous. And how excellent these companions are! S. 4:69
He who emigrates (from his home) in the Cause of Allah, will find on earth many dwelling places and plenty to live by. And whosoever leaves his home as an emigrant unto Allah AND His Messenger, and death overtakes him, his reward is then surely incumbent upon Allah. And Allah is Ever Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. S. 4:100
Isn’t it intriguing that the above verse equates migrating to another land for the sake of Muhammad as the exact same thing as doing it for Allah’s sake?
Muslims are further exhorted to refer all things back to Muhammad if they wish to procure the favor of their deity:
When there comes to them some matter touching (public) safety or fear, they make it known (among the people), if only they had referred it to the Messenger or to those charged with authority among them, the proper investigators would have understood it from them (directly). Had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allah upon you, you would have followed Shaitan (Satan), save a few of you. S. 4:83
O you who believe! Obey Allah AND OBEY the Messenger (Muhammad), and those of you (Muslims) who are in authority. (And) if you differ in anything amongst yourselves, refer it to Allah AND His Messenger, if you believe in Allah and in the Last Day. That is better and more suitable for final determination. S. 4:59
Pay specific attention to the fact that even though Muslims are exhorted to obey those in charge these verses still make it clear that Muhammad’s decisions are final, and take precedence over what any other authority may say.
In the following citation,
It is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah AND His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in a plain error. S. 33:36
We see that Muhammad’s decisions are Allah’s decisions, i.e., Allah decrees what Muhammad decrees, which is why no true believer can ever go against Muhammad’s commandments.
This explains why the Quran states that to obey Muhammad is the same thing as obeying Allah, and to disobey him is equivalent to disobeying the Islamic deity:
How (will it be) then, when We bring from each nation a witness and We bring you (O Muhammad) as a witness against these people? On that day those who disbelieved and disobeyed the Messenger (Muhammad) will wish that they were buried in the earth, but they will never be able to hide a single fact from Allah. S. 4:41-42
And whoever contradicts and opposes the Messenger (Muhammad) after the right path has been shown clearly to him, and follows other than the believers’ way. We shall keep him in the path he has chosen, and burn him in Hell – what an evil destination. S. 4:115
He who obeys the Messenger (Muhammad), has indeed obeyed Allah, but he who turns away, then we have not sent you (O Muhammad) as a watcher over them. S. 4:80
The next citation makes it explicitly clear that true Islam or submission only takes place when a person fully and completely submits his mind and actions to the desires and whims of Muhammad:
But no, by your Lord, they can have no Faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them, and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission. S. 4:65
Here’s what a modern Sufi scholar stated in respect to this passage:
When the best generation of humankind ever to walk the earth realized that the Lord of the Heaven was addressing them directly with His timeless Speech in the language which they had mastered better than any human nation ever mastered a language, they realized that not only had Allah Almighty deputized the worthiest of them as the carrier of the final Message to humanity, but He had also made belief in that most honorable, most distinguished, and most accomplished Messenger – our liege-lord Muhammad – an integral condition of belief in Allah Himself by saying repeatedly “Believe in Allah AND the Messenger.”
They also heard Allah again and again command them to “Obey Allah AND the Messenger.” They also realized that Allah Almighty stressed to them that this Messenger was their paramount model of behavior and of belief in Allah and the Last Day. They also heard and understood it meant they had to follow him and love him before they could claim to follow and love Allah.
They further understood the required levels of following the Prophet properly and truly on which one’s actual belief in Allah Most High depended: {But nay, by your Lord! they will not believe (in truth) until they make you judge of what is in dispute between them}. But to make the Prophet judge is not enough, this must be done without any mental reservation toward the Prophet and his decision: {and find within themselves no dislike of that which you decide}. Even this unalloyed acceptance of the Prophet’s judgment is not enough, there must be full embrace of the heart, mind and soul for the Prophet: {and submit with full submission} (4:65)! (Gibril Fouad Haddad, The Story of Hadith – On Obeying, Following, Imitating, And Loving Prophet Muhammad https://muslimanswersfiles.wordpress.com/2013/04/30/the-story-of-hadith-on-obeying-following-imitating-and-loving-prophet-muhammad/; emphasis mine)
Renowned sunni scholar and Quranic commentator Ibn Kathir illustrates what happens to any Muslim who refuses to fully submit to Muhammad:
One Does not Become a Believer Unless He Refers to the Messenger for Judgment AND SUBMITS TO HIS DECISIONS
Allah said…
<But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you judge in all disputes between them,> Allah swears by His Glorious, Most Honorable Self, that no one shall attain faith until he refers to the Messenger for judgment IN ALL MATTERS. Thereafter, whatever the Messenger commands, is the plain truth that must be submitted to inwardly and outwardly. Allah said…
<and find in themselves no resistance against your decisions, and accept (them) with full submission.> meaning: they adhere to your judgment, and thus do not feel any hesitation over your decision, and they submit to it inwardly and outwardly. They submit to the Prophet’s decision with total submission without any rejection, denial or dispute. Al-Bukhari recorded that `Urwah said, “Az-Zubayr quarreled with a man about a stream which both of them used for irrigation. Allah’s Messenger said to Az-Zubayr…
<<O Zubayr! Irrigate (your garden) first, and then let the water flow to your neighbor.>> The Ansari became angry and said, `O Allah’s Messenger! Is it because he is your cousin?’ On that, the face of Allah’s Messenger changed color (because of anger) and said…
<<Irrigate (your garden), O Zubayr, and then withhold the water until it reaches the walls (surrounding the palms). Then, release the water to your neighbor.>> So, Allah’s Messenger gave Az-Zubayr his full right when the Ansari made him angry. Before that, Allah’s Messenger had given a generous judgment, beneficial for Az-Zubayr and the Ansari. Az-Zubayr said, `I think the following verse was revealed concerning that case…
<But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith, until they make you (O Muhammad) judge in all disputes between them.>’” Another reason in his Tafsir, Al-Hafiz Abu Ishaq Ibrahim bin `Abdur-Rahman bin Ibrahim bin Duhaym recorded that Damrah narrated that two men took their dispute to the Prophet, and he gave a judgment to the benefit of whoever among them had the right. The person who lost the dispute said, “I do not agree.” The other person asked him, “What do you want then?” He said, “Let us go to Abu Bakr As-Siddiq.” They went to Abu Bakr and the person who won the dispute said, “We went to the Prophet with our dispute and he issued a decision in my favor.” Abu Bakr said, “Then the decision is that which the Messenger of Allah issued.” The person who lost the dispute still rejected the decision and said, “Let us go to `Umar bin Al-Khattab.” When they went to `Umar, the person who won the dispute said, “We took our dispute to the Prophet and he decided in my favor, but this man refused to submit to the decision.” `Umar bin Al-Khattab asked the second man and he concurred. `Umar went to his house and emerged from it holding aloft his sword. He struck the head of the man who rejected the Prophet’s decision with the sword and killed him. Consequently, Allah revealed…
<But no, by your Lord, they can have no faith>. (Tafsir Ibn Kathir https://www.alim.org/quran/tafsir/ibn-kathir/surah/4/64; emphasis mine)
Umar brutally beheads a companion of Muhammad for refusing to accept the judgment of Allah’s “prophet,” without the Muslim deity rebuking him for this cold-blooded murderous act!
Instead, Muhammad’s god “sends down” this very text to warn folks of the consequences of not completely submitting to Allah’s “messenger”!
The foregoing data conclusively proves that Islam is nothing other than Muhammadanism, and that Muslims are in fact Muhammadans who follow and submit to a false prophet and antichrist whom Satan raised up to lead people away from their only hope of salvation.
This brings me to my final section.
THE ONE AND ONLY TRUE PATH
God’s inspired Word, the Holy Bible, teaches that true believers are those who fully submit to and love the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s uniquely begotten Son:
“And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James and John, and led them up a high mountain apart by themselves; and he was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening, intensely white, as no fuller on earth could bleach them. And there appeared to them Eli′jah with Moses; and they were talking to Jesus. And Peter said to Jesus, ‘Master, it is well that we are here; let us make three booths, one for you and one for Moses and one for Eli′jah.’ For he did not know what to say, for they were exceedingly afraid. And a cloud overshadowed them, and a voice came out of the cloud, ‘This is my beloved Son; listen to him.’” Mark 9:2-7
“Jesus looked at them and said, ‘With men it is impossible, but not with God; for all things are possible with God.’ Peter began to say to him, ‘Lo, we have left everything and followed you.’ Jesus said, ‘Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel, who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.’” Mark 10:27-30
“He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.” Matthew 10:37-39
“Then Jesus told his disciples, ‘If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life? Or what shall a man give in return for his life? For the Son of man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay every man for what he has done.’” Matthew 16:24-27
Since Jesus is the only Way to eternal life, all who would desire to be saved must seek to obey him with the power supplied by the Holy Spirit whom God gives to all those confess Christ as their Lord and Savior:
“‘Let not your hearts be troubled; believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And when I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him… In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.’” John 14:1-7, 20-24
“On the morrow their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem, with Annas the high priest and Ca′iaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of the high-priestly family. And when they had set them in the midst, they inquired, ‘By what power or by what name did you do this?’ Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, ‘Rulers of the people and elders, if we are being examined today concerning a good deed done to a cripple, by what means this man has been healed, be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the head of the corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.’ Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated, common men, they wondered; and they recognized that they had been with Jesus. But seeing the man that had been healed standing beside them, they had nothing to say in opposition.” Acts 4:5-14
Christ himself spoke of those who would bear his name as a sign of their being his disciples:
“John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he was not following us.’ But Jesus said, ‘Do not forbid him; for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon after to speak evil of me. For he that is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you bear the name of Christ, will by no means lose his reward.’” Mark 9:38-41
The Apostles explained what it means to bear Christ’s name. I.e., a person is to be called a Christian, a title that Jesus’ true followers should be proud of and boast in:
“If you are reproached for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you… yet if one suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but under that name let him glorify God.” 1 Peter 4:14, 16
“And Agrippa said to Paul, ‘In a short time you think to make me a Christian!’ And Paul said, ‘Whether short or long, I would to God that not only you but also all who hear me this day might become such as I am—except for these chains.’” Acts 26:28-29
Hence, the true path and religion before God is not Muhammadanism, but Christianity. Salvation doesn’t come from following Muhammad, who is an antichrist, but rather by loving, confessing and worshiping God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him. He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” John 3:16-18
“because, if you confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For man believes with his heart and so is justified, and he confesses with his lips and so is saved. The scripture says, ‘No one who believes in him will be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; the same Lord is Lord of all and bestows his riches upon all who call upon him. For, ‘every one who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.’” Romans 10:9-13
Quranic citations taken from the Hilali-Khan version.
All scriptural references taken from Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (RSVCE).
FURTHER READING
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