PART IV: The Messenger/Prophet Muhammad Was a Mortal Human Being Subjected to Harm, Disease, and Death (3/2)

Published in January 25, 2020

Translated by: Ahmed Fathy

The Belief Is Not In Muhammad But In What Has Descended Upon Muhammad: Those Who Believe In Muhammad Are Disbelievers: PART IV

The problematic issue for polytheists regarding the fact that the messenger/prophet Muhammad was a mortal human being subjected to harm, disease, and death (3/2)

Firstly: about harm:

 Any human beings are liable to suffer any harms anytime. We provide these Quranic facts about harm.

1- The fashioned false, imaginary gods (e.g., the deities Muhammad, Christ, and Hussein) can never bring to themselves harm or benefit; the Lord God says the following in the Quran.

1/1: "Say, “Who is the Lord of the heavens and the earth?” Say, “God.” Say, “Have you taken allies besides Him, who have no power to profit or harm even themselves?” Say, “Are the blind and the seeing equal? Or are darkness and Light equal? Or have they assigned to God associates, who created the likes of His creation, so that the creations seemed to them alike? Say, “God is the Creator of all things, and He is the One, the Dominant.”" (13:16).

1/2: "And yet, instead of Him, they produce for themselves gods that create nothing, but are themselves created; that have no power to harm or benefit themselves; and no power over life, death, or resurrection." (25:3).

 Of course, this divine discourse is addressed to all those polytheists who deify mortal, living or dead, human beings; such polytheists include the Shiites who worship and deify Hussein, the Christians who worship and deify Jesus, and the Muhammadans who worship and deify Muhammad.

2- The fashioned false, imaginary gods (e.g., the deities Muhammad, Christ, and Hussein) can never bring any harm or benefit to any people; the Lord God says the following in the Quran.

2/1: "Say, “Do you worship, besides God, what has no power to harm or benefit you?” But God: He is the Hearer, the Knower." (5:76).

2/2: This is about the calf statue of gold carved by Al-Samiri for the misguided Israelites during their exodus: "So he produced for them a calf...And they said, “This is your god, and the god of Moses...” Did they not see that it cannot return a word to them, and has no power to harm them or benefit them?" (20:88-89).

 Of course, this divine discourse is addressed to all those polytheists who deify mortal, living or dead, human beings; such polytheists include the Shiites who worship and deify Hussein, the Christians who worship and deify Jesus, and the Muhammadans who worship and deify Muhammad.

3- If the Lord God wants to inflict harm/adversity/ordeal on any human beings as a test, no one among the fashioned false, imaginary gods (e.g., the deities Muhammad, Christ, and Hussein) can stop or remove this harm. Likewise, if the Lord God wants to test any human beings with prosperity/mercy/bounty, no one among the fashioned false, imaginary gods (e.g., the deities Muhammad, Christ, and Hussein) can stop or remove this mercy; the Lord God says the following in the Quran.   

3/1: "And if you asked them, “Who created the heavens and the earth?” they would say, “God.” Say, “Have you seen those you pray to instead of God? If God willed any harm for me, can they lift His harm? And if He willed mercy for me, can they hold back His mercy?” Say, “God suffices for me. On Him the reliant rely.”" (39:38).

3/2: This is what the believing man had said to his disbelieving people: "Shall I take other gods instead of Him? If the Dominant Lord desires harm for me, their intercession will not avail me at all, nor will they save me." (36:23).

3/3: This is about the Desert-Arabs who were too unwilling and reluctant to participate in the military self-defense endeavors within the Yathreb city-state: "The Desert-Arabs who remained behind will say to you, “Our belongings and our families have preoccupied us, so ask forgiveness for us.” They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts. Say, “Who can avail you anything against God, if He desires loss for you, or desires gain for you?” In fact, God is Informed of what you do." (48:11).

 Of course, this divine discourse is addressed to all those polytheists who deify mortal, living or dead, human beings; such polytheists include the Shiites who worship and deify Hussein, the Christians who worship and deify Jesus, and the Muhammadans who worship and deify Muhammad.

4- Regardless of the degree of disbelief/polytheism of any people, once harm or disease is inflicted on them, they supplicate and seek the aid of the Dominant Lord God within monotheism; yet, once the harm is removed, they return to their former disbelief/polytheism; this applies to the Muhammadans, Christians, and their likes: "When some adversity touches the human being, he prays to his Lord, repenting to Him. But then, when He confers on him a grace of His, he forgets what he was praying for before, and he attributes rivals to God, in order to lead astray from His way. Say, “Enjoy your disbelief for a little while; you will be among the inmates of the Fire.”" (39:8); "When adversity touches the human being, he calls on Us. But then, when We favor him with a blessing from Us, he says, “I have attained this by virtue of my knowledge.” However, it is a test, but most of them do not know." (39:49).

5- During his lifetime in Arabia, Muhammad has been told the following by the Lord God in the Quran.

5/1: "If God touches you with adversity, none can remove it except He. And if He touches you with good - He is Capable of everything." (6:17).

5/2: "If God afflicts you with harm, none can remove it except He. And if He wants good for you, none can repel His grace. He makes it reach whomever He wills of His servants. He is the Forgiver, the Merciful." (10:107).

 This means that during his lifetime, Muhammad could never remove harm inflicted upon him because the Lord God Who imposed on him this fate of harm as a test is the Only One Who can remove this harm and can bring benefit or mercy to Muhammad; no mortal creatures can stop or remove any mercy imposed by the Divine Will. This Quranic Discourse by the Lord God is addressing now millions of Muhammadans who perform pilgrims to the Yathreb-mosque mausoleum/abomination attributed to their imaginary deity/god named Muhammad and other mausoleums/abominations of Hussein and other saints/allies or deified mortals.

6- During his lifetime in Arabia, Muhammad has been commanded by the Lord God to announce the fact that he could not bring himself any benefits or remove any harms except by the Divine Will of the Dominant Lord; the same applies to all human beings, of course.

6/1: "Say, “I have no control over any benefit or harm to myself, except as God wills. Had I known the future, I would have acquired much good, and no harm would have touched me. I am only a warner, and a herald of good news to a people who believe.”" (7:188).

6/2: "Say, “I have no power to harm or benefit myself, except as God wills..." (10:49).

 This Quranic Discourse by the Lord God is addressing now millions of Muhammadans who perform pilgrims to the Yathreb-mosque mausoleum/abomination attributed to their imaginary deity/god named Muhammad and other mausoleums/abominations of Hussein and other saints/allies or deified mortals.

Secondly: about disease:

  To be afflicted with disease, or sickness/illness/ailment, is the time when human beings show very much, even unwillingly, their human frailty. Abraham said the following about the Lord God: "He who created me and guides me. He who feeds me and waters me. And when I get sick, He heals me." (26:78-80). These words should be pronounced by all monotheists who believe in the Lord God without any deities/gods, partners/associates, or lords/allies besides Him. The Quran contains no indication at all about Muhammad's experiencing any sort of ailment. Yet, it is assumed that like all human beings, Muhammad must have fallen ill and he died as a result. The idea of human beings suffering diseases or illnesses is mentioned in the Quranic context of legislations which include Muhammad and the believer in Arabia and all believers in all later eras. Let us exemplify this in the points below.

1- This is about bodily purification.

1/1: "O you who believe! When you rise to pray, wash your faces and your hands and arms to the elbows, and wipe your heads, and your feet to the ankles. If you had intercourse, then purify yourselves. If you are ill, or travelling, or one of you returns from the toilet, or you had contact with women, and could not find water, then use some clean sand and wipe your faces and hands with it. God does not intend to burden you, but He intends to purify you, and to complete His blessing upon you, that you may be thankful." (5:6).

1/2: "O you who believe! Do not approach prayers while you are absentminded, so that you know what you say; nor after sexual orgasm - unless you are travelling - until you have bathed. If you are sick, or traveling, or one of you comes from the toilet, or you have had intercourse with women, and cannot find water, find clean sand and wipe your faces and your hands with it. God is Pardoning and Forgiving." (4:43).

2- This is about performing prayers in times of fear: "When you are among them, and you stand to lead them in prayers, let a group of them stand with you, and let them hold their weapons. Then, when they have done their prostrations, let them withdraw to the rear, and let another group, that have not prayed yet, come forward and pray with you; and let them take their precautions and their weapons. Those who disbelieve would like you to neglect your weapons and your equipment, so they can attack you in a single assault. You commit no error, if you are hampered by rain or are sick, by putting down your weapons..." (4:102).

3- This is about prolonged extra nightly prayers: "Your Lord knows that you stay up nearly two-thirds of the night, or half of it, or one-third of it, along with a group of those with you. God designed the night and the day. He knows that you are unable to sustain it, so He has pardoned you. So read of the Quran what is possible for you. He knows that some of you may be ill..." (73:20).

4- This is about the fasting of the lunar month of Ramadan: "For a specified number of days. But whoever among you is sick, or on a journey, then a number of other days..." (2:184); "Ramadan is the month in which the Quran was revealed...Whoever of you witnesses the month, shall fast it. But whoever is sick, or on a journey, then a number of other days..." (2:185).

5- This is about pilgrimage to the Kaaba in Mecca: "And carry out the Hajj and the Umrah for God. But if you are prevented, then whatever is feasible of offerings. And do not shave your heads until the offering has reached its destination. Whoever of you is sick, or has an injury of the head, then redemption of fasting, or charity, or worship..." (2:196).

6- This is about excuses and removing hardship/blame from certain categories of people: "There is no blame on the blind, nor any blame on the lame, nor any blame on the sick..." (24:61 + 48:17)

Thirdly: about perishing:

 It is synonymous with death, annihilation, and nonexistence. We provide these Quranic facts about perishing.

1- Perishing is ordained for mortal (non-)human creatures, but it never applies to the Living, Dominant Lord God. 

1/1: "Everyone upon it is perishing. But will remain the Presence of your Lord, Full of Majesty and Splendor." (55:26-27).

1/2: "And do not invoke with God any other god. There is no god but He. All things perish, except His presence. His is the judgment, and to Him you will be returned." (28:88).

2- The idea of perishing ordained upon all human beings is mentioned in the Quranic context of inheritance legislations: "They ask you for a ruling. Say, “God gives you a ruling concerning the person who has neither parents nor children.” If a man perishes, and leaves no children, and he had a sister, she receives one-half of what he leaves. And he inherits from her if she leaves no children. But if there are two sisters, they receive two-thirds of what he leaves. If the siblings are men and women, the male receives the share of two females.” God makes things clear for you, lest you err. God is Aware of everything." (4:176).

3- The idea of perishing is mentioned several times within the context of Quranic stories about destroying/annihilating the ancient nations of disbelieving sinners. Let us exemplify this by quoting the following Quranic verses.

3/1: "Have they not considered how many generations We destroyed before them? We had established them on earth more firmly than We established you, and We sent the clouds pouring down abundant rain on them, and We made rivers flow beneath them. But We destroyed them for their sins, and established other generations after them." (6:6).

3/2: "That is because your Lord would not destroy towns for injustice while their inhabitants are unaware." (6:131).

3/3: "Say, “Have you considered? if God's torment descended on you suddenly or gradually, would any be destroyed except the unjust people?”" (6:47).

4- All prophets/messengers of the Lord God died like any human beings. The Lord God says the following in the Quran.

4/1: This is about Christians who deify and worship Jesus and Mary: "They disbelieve those who say, “God is the Christ, the son of Mary.” Say, “Who can prevent God, if He willed, from annihilating the Christ son of Mary, and his mother, and everyone on earth?” To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. He creates whatever He wills, and God has power over everything." (5:17). Of course, the meaning of 5:17 applies to the Muhammadans who deify and worship Muhammad.

4/2: The Lord God has commanded Muhammad to announce the following: "Say, “Have you considered? Should God make me perish, and those with me; or else He bestows His mercy on us; who will protect the disbelievers from a painful torment?”" (67:28).

4/3: Within the Quranic story of Joseph the sons of Jacob told him the following: "They said, “By God, you will not stop remembering Joseph, until you have ruined your health, or you would perish.”" (12:85).

4/4: We quote the following from the Quranic story of Moses.

4/4/1: "And Moses chose from his people seventy men for Our appointment. When the tremor shook them, he said, “My Lord, had You willed, You could have destroyed them before, and me too. Will you destroy us for what the fools among us have done?..." (7:155).

4/4/2: The believing man who preached his people inside the palace of Moses' Pharaoh said the following about Joseph: "Joseph had come to you with clear revelations, but you continued to doubt what he came to you with. Until, when he perished, you said, “God will never send a messenger after him.” Thus God leads astray the outrageous skeptic." (40:34).

Fourthly: about death:

 Death means to be gone or being no longer there; it is nonexistence in the physical world since the body decomposes into dust and the soul returns to the its original place: i.e., the metaphysical Barsakh realm. We provide these Quranic facts about death.

1- The Lord God is the Only One Who is the Living Who never dies: "And put your trust in the Living, the One who never dies; and celebrate His praise. He suffices as the All-Informed Knower of the faults of His servants." (25:58); the Lord Allah has addressed the following to Muhammad: "We did not grant immortality to any human being before you. Should you die, are they then the immortal?" (21:34).

2- During the 1990s, when we lived in Cairo, Egypt, we published an article (in Arabic) in the Cairo-based, independent newspaper Al-Ahrar about pondering this Quranic verse addressed to Muhammad: "You will die, and they will die." (39:30). Here is an excerpt from this article: (... When Muhammad was in Mecca and striving with the Quranic call against the polytheistic Qorayish leaders, the Lord God has revealed to him the following: "You will die, and they will die. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will be quarrelling before your Lord." (39:30-31). As we ponder both verses, we see that Muhammad received them when he was in Mecca in his early forties and he lived for some more years in Mecca and then for 10 years in Yathreb, if he really died at the age of 63 as per some historians. Yet, the verses 39:30-31 assert Muhammad's inevitable death, whatever the number of years remaining from his predestined life duration has been at this point in time. Death means that souls leave the human bodies forever and settle in the metaphysical Barsakh level, whereas dead bodies decompose and its elements return to earth from which they were created: "From it We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will bring you out another time." (20:55). The verses 39:30-31 assert the death of his foes, the polytheists who rejected the Quran, and both he and they will argue against one another on the Last Day. Thus, 39:30-31 assert that there is equality in death: both Muhammad and his foes are mortals who have been told in 39:30-31 about their inescapable death. Pondering deeper on this verse: "You will die, and they will die." (39:30), we find that it emphasizes and foregrounds the death of Muhammad more than that of his polytheistic foes. This is not mentioned at random; the Quran, the Lord God's Word, has no room at all for randomness, redundancy, or verbosity. Thus, 39:30 is mentioned by the Omniscient Lord God to refute, in advance, the myths/claims that Muhammad is an immortal deity with divine powers who goes on living inside a mausoleum to 'review' deeds of living human beings and bless and greet them; this is why the Lord God asserts in the Quran the fact that Muhammad was a mortal prophet. This means that the Lord God will never accept the excuses by the polytheists, on the Last Day, who have rejected the Quran, since God informs all people about the Quranic faith tenets to which they should adhere. Those Muhammadans of today would never consider any man among Muhammad's foes as alive in his tomb; yet, they assume that Muhammad is alive underneath their feet within the mausoleum ascribed falsely to him! This is why the verse 39:30 stresses Muhammad's death more than that of his foes, though both died like all mortals who are bound to die eventually. In addition, 39:30 asserts that Muhammad died a natural death; i.e., he was neither murdered/assassinated nor killed in one of the self-defense battles. This verse has predicted to him and to the early believers at the time that he will die in bed. We infer this clearly when we reflect on the Quranic fact that God prevents us from saying that those killed for His sake are dead, because they are alive in the Barsakh Paradise: "And do not say of those who are killed in the cause of God, "Dead." Rather, they are alive, but you do not perceive." (2:154); "Do not consider those killed in the cause of God as dead. In fact, they are alive, at their Lord, well provided for." (3:169). Thus, we are not to describe those killed in the cause of God as dead persons since they are alive at the Barsakh-realm Paradise; we are not to disobey God by contradicting the Quran. At the same time, we are to believe in the Quranic fact that Muhammad is dead; no real believers would contradict the Quran by saying otherwise. We are to hear and obey the Quran wholeheartedly in this point and indeed in all other points. The polytheistic Muhammadans assume in their myths that the earth is not allowed to cause the decomposition of corpses of prophets/messengers and the so-called saints; this contradicts 20:55 which applies to all humanity sans exception. This means that those who deify Muhammad and assume his being alive and imprisoned inside tomb under their feet till the Last Day are insulting him very much; we never approve of such insult addressed by them to Muhammad. Those who cling to such a myth insult Muhammad unawares while assume they honor him; to deify him means to insult him, especially when they claim his corpse is never decomposed. The reason: the Lord God has honored human beings by teaching them to bury the bodies of the dead as decaying corpses are unsightly and one can barely gaze or smell them. This is exemplified in the Quranic story of the two sons of Adam and how the murderer had to bury his brother when taught so by a raven (see 5;30-31). When the Lord God has decided to punish Moses' Pharaoh who went into extremes of disbelief, tyranny, corruption, injustice, and self-deification, He made his corpse remain for onlookers so that people draw lessons from his fate: "Today We will preserve your body, so that you become a sign for those after you. But most people are heedless of Our signs." (10:92). This means earth was not allowed to cause the decomposition of Moses' Pharaoh's corpse; this is not an honor; this is an indication of despise, insult, and humiliation. Hence, those polytheists who assume that Muhammad's corpse never decomposed are making him equal to Pharaoh! This is utter misguidance! We seek refuge in the Lord God against such misguidance! We assert here the fact that when polytheists attribute God-like qualities to the mortal prophet named Muhammad, they insult Muhammad very much unawares, especially that the Quranic Message he conveyed prohibits deifying people as this is sheer polytheism rejected by Islam. Satan deceives the Muhammadans by making them love Muhammad too much; they insult him by deifying him and this rejecting the Quran. Typically, Muhammad has two types of foes/enemies: (1) those in Arabia who hated him during his life time who rejected the Quranic message he delivered and leveled many accusations against him, and (2) those in later eras, after the death of Muhammad who praise and love him too much, to the extend to deifying him; they are polytheists. Both types of enemies share one point; namely, they have abandoned the Quran; this is why Muhammad will disown them on the Resurrection Day:  "And the messenger will say, “My Lord, my people have abandoned this Quran.”  Likewise, to every prophet We assign enemies from among the criminals. But your Lord suffices as a Guide and Supporter." (25:30-31) ...).

3- We add more points regarding our ponderings inferred from the Quranic context: "You will die, and they will die. Then, on the Day of Resurrection, you will be quarrelling before your Lord." (39:30-31). This context indicates clearly that the Lord God has ordained death on both Muhammad and his foes who were his contemporaries in Arabia; they (i.e., Muhammad and his foes) were mortal human beings who died. This means their corpses decomposed and turned eventually into dust and empty bones; this applies to the corpse of Muhammad and the corpses of his disbelieving foes who denied the Quran. The corpse of Muhammad decomposed and turned into dust and empty bones as is the case with all corpses of all human beings after their death. If this fact seems appalling, shocking, or frightening to some of our readers, this means remnants of the sickness of polytheism (by deifying Muhammad) are still found in their hearts. This is why we repeat the word ''corpse(s)'' here; we aim to knock some sense into their minds so that they acknowledge this fact if they desire to be true monotheists.        

4- Human beings who died are perished and annihilated; they no longer exist in the physical realm since their corpses decomposed and turned into dust and empty bones and their souls returned to the metaphysical realm of Barsakh in a state of timelessness and senselessness. This applies to all dead people from Adam's era to the modern era; this applies to all mortal human beings in all eras until the end of days within the last generation of humanity since all of them will surely die; this is inevitable. The Holy Quran tells us clearly and lucidly that the dead ones never return to life in this transient world; the living people cannot feel/sense the dead ones. We would like our readers to ponder deeply on the following Quranic verses.

4/1: "How many a generation have We destroyed before them? Can you feel a single one of them, or hear from them the slightest whisper?" (19:98).

4/2: "There is a ban on the town that We had destroyed - that they will not return." (21:95).

4/3: "Have they not considered how many generations We destroyed before them; and that unto them they will not return?" (36:31).

4/4: "Thamood and Aad denied the Shocker. As for Thamood, they were annihilated by the Overwhelming. And as for Aad; they were annihilated by a furious, roaring wind. He unleashed it upon them for seven nights and eight days, in succession. You could see the people tossed around, as though they were stumps of hollow palm-trees. Can you see any remnant of them?" (69:4-8).

4/5: Living people on earth cannot even sense/feel those who got killed for the sake of Allah; i.e., while serving the cause of the Lord God, who live in the Barsakh Paradise: "And do not say of those who are killed in the cause of God, “Dead.” Rather, they are alive, but you do not perceive." (2:154).

5- Despite these clear Quranic verses, most of the Muhammadans still deify, worship, sanctify, and venerate mausoleums/tombs of the dead and implore them for aid and intercession. This means that the Muhammadans never read or understood these Quranic verses. 

5/1: This is about the disbelieving polytheists: "Those they invoke besides God create nothing, but are themselves created. They are dead, not alive; and they do not know when they will be resurrected. Your God is One God. As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts are in denial, and they are arrogant." (16:20-22).

5/2: This is addressed to Muhammad by the Lord God: "Those you call upon besides God are servants like you. So call upon them, and let them answer you, if you are truthful. Do they have feet with which they walk? Or do they have hands with which they strike? Or do they have eyes with which they see? Or do they have ears with which they hear? Say, “Call upon your partners, then scheme against me, and do not wait.”" (7:194-195).

Lastly:

 The Quranic reminders in the above points are addressed to all living people in our modern era; the Lord God says the following about the Holy Quran itself: "...It is only a reminder, and a Clear Quran. That he may warn whoever is alive, and prove the Word against the disbelievers." (36:69-70).