Militant Islam Monitor > Articles > Ahmadi Muslims Blatantly Distort Islam's Violent Teachings With Fabrications On 'Muhammad Fact Check' Website Ahmadi Muslims Blatantly Distort Islam's Violent Teachings With Fabrications On 'Muhammad Fact Check' WebsiteJanuary 1, 2018
For many years we have heard that the jihadists have "hijacked" Islam by arbitrarily picking and choosing what verses of the Koran and teachings of Muhammad, or portions thereof, to follow, while ignoring those that don't support their actions. In a similar vein, the Ahmadiyyah Muslim Community USA has hijacked Islam with their websiteMuhammad Fact Check. This website purports to address 35 "myths" about Muhammad by showing what the true facts are. However, as we shall see in looking at a sampling of six of those "myths," the Ahmadis have been selective in the information they have presented and have left out crucial information in order to promote their version of the "facts." And it is ironic that this Ahmadi website actually states, "Discover what True Islam is directly from Muslims (not the extremists)." The reality is, as I have pointed out in an earlier article, that most of the Muslim world does not even consider Ahmadis to be Muslims! Myth No. 1: Prophet Muhammad murdered 700 innocent Jews There are three parts to the Ahmadi response to this "myth." We'll examine each one separately.
This incident stemmed from the time in 627 when the Muslims of Medina were confronted by a large non-Muslim force intent on destroying the Muslims (known as the Battle of the Trench). Sa'd bin Mu'adh had converted to Islam well before this time, and was now "a former ally" of the Banu Quraizah.[1] After hearing reports that the Jewish Banu Quraizah had joined with the enemy, Muhammad sent Sa'd with some other prominent Muslims to verify this. When Sa'd confronted the Banu Quraizah about this, the Jews responded by slandering Muhammad and denying any treaty with the Muslims. Sa'd, who was a man of "hasty temper," reviled the Jews and the Jews reviled Sa'd.[2]Sa'd's temper was noted in other sources, e.g.: S'ad "was a man with some fury in him";[3] and Sa'd became "violently angry" during this exchange.[4] Sa'd and the Muslims returned to Muhammad and reported what had happened. During a subsequent battle, S'ad was wounded by an arrow. Sa'd said a prayer to Allah and ended it by "begging Allah not to let him die until he had had full revenge on Banu Quraizah."[5]There were other reports about Sa'd's vengeful attitude toward the Banu Quraizah.[6] It was also reported that Sa'd had prayed to Allah "to stay alive to see the destruction of Banu Quraydha."[7] Muhammad had a tent set up close to him in which Sa'd rested from his wound. Since Muhammad visited Sa'd often, Muhammad was likely already aware of Sa'd's feelings toward the Banu Quraizah before he announced that Sa'd would decide on the fate of that tribe. So when Sa'd announced his decision, he was not an "ally" of the Banu Quraizah, but rather someone who had pleaded with Allah to allow him to live long enough to have "full revenge" on, and to "see the destruction of" that tribe. After Sa'd had announced his decision regarding the Banu Quaraizah, his wound started bleeding again. He once again prayed to Allah, and ended it by saying: "And if the war has subsided, open this wound and place my death in it since I have satisfied myself with the Banu Qurayza for their enmity to You and to Your Prophet and Your loved ones!"[8] Sa'd died soon afterwards. So in reality Muhammad had "graciously agreed" to let the fate of the Banu Quraizah be decided by an ill-tempered former ally of theirs who had earlier asked Allah to let him live long enough to be able to wreak his revenge on that tribe and see it destroyed.
This claim by the Ahmadis flies in the face of numerous authoritative works of Muslim scholars which stated that Muhammad had ordered every adult male captive to be killed, and that he also supervised their beheadings.[9] Muhammad even personally sent captives to specific Muslims who then beheaded those captives.[10] But since it was a hot summer day, eventually Muhammad did feel some compassion for those waiting to be beheaded: "The Messenger of God said, ‘Be good to your captives. Let them rest; quench their thirst until they are cool. Then, kill those who remain. Do not apply both the heat of the sun and the heat of the weapons.' It was a summer's day. They let them rest. They quenched their thirst and fed them. When they were cool the Messenger of God began to kill those who were left.'"[11]
In reality, before Sa'd delivered his decision he asked the Muslims around him, "Do you covenant by Allah that you accept the judgement I pronounce on them?"[12] After Sa'd had announced his decision, Muhammad stated, "You have passed judgement on them with the judgement of God [Allah] and the judgement of His Messenger."[13] Nothing about the Torah here. Myth No. 3: Prophet Muhammad married Ayesha when she was underage The Ahmadis claim that, "Facts indicate that A'isha was no younger than 12-13 at the time of her willing marriage with parental consent." Much of their claim rests on the assertion that "virtually every narration" about this is tied to one Muslim, Hisham ibn ‘Urwah, who was "unreliable due to his old age and extensive memory loss." However, it is incorrect to focus on ibn ‘Urwah as the main source for this narration. Aisha herself said that Muhammad married her when she was six years old and consummated their marriage when she was nine: "Narrated ‘Aishah that the Prophet wrote the marriage contract with her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e. till his death)."[14] The fact that Aisha was six years old when she was married to Muhammad and nine years old when they consummated their marriage was also reported in many works by authoritative Muslim scholars.[15] Aisha herself had this to say about the day her marriage was consummated in Medina: "The Messenger of God came to our house and men and women of the Ansar gathered around him. My mother came to me while I was being swung on a swing between two branches and got me down. Jumaymah, my nurse, took over and wiped my face with some water and started leading me. When I was at the door, she stopped so I could catch my breath. I was then brought [in] while the Messenger of God was sitting on a bed in our house. [My mother] made me sit on his lap and said, "These are your relatives. May God bless you with them and bless them with you!" Then the men and women got up and left. The Messenger of God consummated his marriage with me in my house when I was nine years old."[16] Perhaps the Ahmadis should heed what a modern Muslim scholar said about those who try to deny that Aisha was married at age six and the marriage was consummated at age nine: "Some individuals, who ostensibly claim to be researchers, deny the aforementioned narrations concerning the age of ‘Aishah. These narrations are, however, authentic. It is the statement of ‘Aishah herself, which her various pupils have transmitted from her. A great majority of her pupils cannot make the same mistake."[17] Myths No. 5 and No. 21: Muhammad Taught Death for Apostasy These two "myths" are similar so they will be dealt with together. In addressing these two "myths" the Ahmadis claim that neither the Koran nor the teachings of Muhammad command death for apostates from Islam. It is interesting that when looking at these two "myths," the Ahmadis make reference to a number of Koran verses, except there is no mention of 4:89 of the Koran, the actual verse that commands death for apostasy: "…But if they turn back (from Islam), take (hold of) them and kill them wherever you find them…" And Muhammad himself said it was legal to kill a Muslim who left Islam: "Narrated ‘Abdullah: Allah's Messenger said, ‘The blood of a Muslim who confesses that La ilaha illallah (none has the right to be worshipped but Allah) and that I am the Messenger of Allah, cannot be shed except in three cases:…(3) the one who turns renegade from Islam (apostate) and leaves the group of Muslims (by innovating heresy, new ideas and new things, etc. in the Islamic religion).'"[18] And Muhammad even specified the nature of that death: "If someone changes his religion – then strike off his head!"[19] Can the Ahmadis really be unaware of 4:89 and these teachings of Muhammad? Myth No. 15: Muhammad Ordered Murder of Eight Men for Apostasy There are two parts to the Ahmadi response to this "myth." We'll examine each one separately. 1 …the eight men from ‘Ukil were not killed for apostatizing, but were held accountable for committing a vicious murder and treason. The incident involved men from ‘Ukil (Ukl or the ‘Uraina tribe) who had come to Medina and converted to Islam. But the climate of Medina made them ill, so Muhammad sent them to his camel herd and ordered them to drink camel milk and urine until they recovered. The men became healthy, renounced Islam, killed Muhammad's camel-herder and took off with the camels. Muhammad sent Muslim warriors after them. The men were captured, and Muhammad ordered that their hands and feet were to be cut off and their eyes blinded. In addressing this story, the Ahmadis stated, "Their apostasy had nothing to do with the punishment they incurred." In support of this claim, they used a hadith reported by Anas bin Malik and found in Sahih Al-Bukhari; this hadith ended with a "sub-narrator," Abu Qilaba, listing the crimes of these men: "They committed murder and theft and fought against Allah and His Apostle and spread evil in the land." So there was no mention of apostasy in the hadith used by the Ahmadis. But it is important to note that this hadith from Anas bin Malik is reported a number of times inSahih Al-Bukhari. Some of the reports did not even include the above comments by Abu Qilaba.[20] But Bukhari did report a version of this hadith that included what was an abbreviated version of Abu Qilaba's statement;[21] the Ahmadis appear to have used this particular hadith on their website. However, Bukhari also reported this hadith with Abu Qilaba's complete statement: "Abu Qilaba added, ‘Those people committed theft, murder, became disbelievers after embracing Islam, and fought against Allah and His Messenger.'"[22] So when looking at Abu Qilaba's complete statement, we find that he actually listed apostasy as one of the crimes committed by these eight men.[23] And the Ahmadi claim that the punishment had nothing to do with apostasy completely ignores what Anas himself had to say about this incident: "The Commander of the Believers, ‘Abdul-Malik, said to Anas – when he was narrating this hadith to him – ‘(Were they being punished) for Kufr [disbelief] or for a sin?' He said: ‘For Kufr.'"[24]
This incident occurred around April 624 and involved Muhammad's daughter Zaynab; the man who caused Zaynab to fall was Habbar b. al-Aswad. But contrary to the Ahmadis' claim, Muhammad did not immediately forgive Habbar; instead, for many years Muhammad had a standing order for the live mutilation and then killing of Habbar: "As for Habbar b. al-Aswad, indeed the Messenger of God, whenever he sent out an expedition, commanded it regarding Habbar that if he were found he should be burned in the fire. Then he changed his mind saying: Surely only, the lord of the hell fire should cause such suffering. Cut off his hands and his legs if you have power over him, then kill him…His crime was that he sought out the daughter of the Messenger of God, Zaynab, and struck her back with a spear until she who was pregnant fell and lost her baby. The Prophet permitted his blood."[25] However, after the conquest of Mecca in January 630, Habbar suddenly appeared before Muhammad and quickly announced his conversion to Islam; for this reason alone he was spared by Muhammad. So for almost six years Muhammad did not forgive Habbar and instead wanted Habbar to be mutilated and then killed. Muhammad only forgave Habbar because Habbar converted to Islam before he could be captured. Myth No. 17: Muhammad Promised Women in Heaven for Martyrs The Ahmadis claim that, "Prophet Muhammad and the Qur'an reject the concept of heavenly reward via, ‘sex with beautiful women for eternity'…suffice it to say that the allegation that the reward of martyrdom is hedonistic pleasure is a belief that finds no support in Islam in any capacity." Except for the fact that Muhammad, the Ahmadis' prophet, promised that very thing: "Al-Miqdam bin Ma'diykarib narrated that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘There are six things with Allah for the martyr…he is shown his place in Paradise…he is married to seventy-two wives among Al-Huril-‘Ayn of Paradise…'"[26] Another word for Al-Huril-‘Ayn is Hur. Here is an authoritative definition of the word Hur: "Very fair females created by Allah as such not from the offspring of Adam, with intense black irises of their eyes and intense white scleras."[27] Curiously, on their website the Ahmadis actually make the claim that the word Hur has no gender. And it is incorrect for the Ahmadis to claim there is no support in Islam for "hedonistic pleasure" as a heavenly reward. Again we look to the Ahmadis' prophet Muhammad: "It was narrated from Abu Umamah that the Messenger of Allah said: ‘There is no one whom Allah will admit to Paradise but Allah will marry him to seventy-two wives, two from houris and seventy from his inheritance from the people of Hell, all of whom will have desirable front passages and he will have a male member that never becomes flaccid.'"[28] And "Anas narrated that the Prophet said: ‘The believer shall be given in Paradise such and such strength in intercourse.' It was said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! And will he be able to do that?' He said: ‘He will be given the strength of a hundred.'"[29] There was a similar report from a different narrator: "Abu Al-Qasim At-Tabarani recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah was asked, ‘O Allah's Messenger! Will we have sexual intercourse with our wives in Paradise?' He said, ‘The man will be able to have sexual intercourse with a hundred virgins in one day.'"[30] Contrary to what the Ahmadis claim, it appears that there is plenty of support in Islam for "hedonistic pleasures" in Paradise. Conclusion As I noted at the beginning of this article, most of the Muslim world does not consider Ahmadis to even be Muslims. So the Ahmadis know they can get little, if any support from the Muslim world. As a result, it seems that the Ahmadis are making a special effort to reach out to non-Muslims. And the Ahmadis seem to know that non-Muslims would have a hard time accepting that Muhammad did leave the fate of a Jewish tribe up to an individual that he likely knew wanted to destroy that tribe; did consummate his marriage with a nine year old girl; did say death was the penalty for apostasy from Islam; did seek mutilation and death, instead of forgiveness, for an individual; and did promise "hedonistic pleasures" in Paradise. So the Ahmadis have created a website with their own version of Islam, and they have "hijacked" Islam in a quest for relevance in the only world left open to them: the world of non-Muslims. Dr. Stephen M. Kirby is the author of five books about Islam. His latest book is The Lure of Fantasy Islam: Exposing the Myths and Myth Makers. [1] Safiur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, The Sealed Nectar (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2008), pp. 376-377. [2] Muhammad ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad (Sirat Rasul Allah), trans. Alfred Guillaume (Karachi, Pakistan: Oxford University Press, 2007), p. 453. [3] ‘Imaduddeen Isma'eel ibn Katheer al-Qurashi, In Defence of the True Faith: Battles, Expeditions, Peace Treaties and their Consequences in the life of Prophet Muhammad, trans. Research Department of Darussalam (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2010), p. 182. [4] Muhammad b. ‘Umar al-Waqidi, The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, trans. Rizwi Faizer, Amal Ismail, and AbdulKader Tayob, ed. Rizwi Faizer (London and New York: Routledge, 2013), p. 224. [5] The Sealed Nectar, p. 368. [6] The Life of Muhammad (Sirat Rasul Allah), p. 457; The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, p. 251; and Sa'd Yusuf Abu ‘Aziz, Men and Women Around the Messenger, trans. Suleman Fulani (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2009), p. 253. [7] Safiur Rahman Mubarakpuri, When the Moon Split (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2009), p. 244. [8] The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, p. 258. [9] The Life of Muhammad (Sirat Rasul Allah), pp. 465-466; The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, pp. 252-253; In Defence of the True Faith, p. 206; Abu ‘Abd Allah Muhammad ibn Sa'd ibn Mani' al-Zuhri al-Basri, Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, trans. S. Moinul Haq (New Delhi, India: Kitab Bhavan, 2009), Vol. 2, p. 93; Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari,The History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam, Vol. VIII, trans. and annotated Michael Fishbein (Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1997), pp. 35-36, and 38; and Ahmad ibn Yahya ibn Jabir al-Baladhuri, The Origins of the Islamic State, Being a Translation from the Arabic, Accompanied with Annotations, Geographic and Historic Notes of the Kitab Fituh Al-Buldan of Al-Imam Abu-L Abbas Ahmad Ibn-Jabir Al-Baladhuri, trans. Philip Khuri Hitti (1916; rpt. Lexington, Kentucky: Ulan Press, 2014), p. 41. [10] The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, p. 253. [11] The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, p. 252. [12] The Life of Muhammad (Sirat Rasul Allah), p. 464. [13] The History of al-Tabari: The Victory of Islam, p. 34. [14] Muhammad bin Ismail bin Al-Mughirah al-Bukhari, Sahih Al-Bukhari, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 1997), Vol. 7, Book 67, No. 5133, p. 57. [15] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 5, Book 63, No. 3894, pp. 139-140; The Sealed Nectar, pp. 176-177, and 562; When the Moon Split, p. 129; Abu'l Hussain ‘Asakir-ud-Din Muslim bin Hajjaj al-Qushayri al-Naisaburi, Sahih Muslim, trans. ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi (New Delhi, India: Adam Publishers and Distributors, 2008), Vol. 4, Nos. 1422, 1422R1 and 1422R3, pp. 353-355; Muhammad bin Yazeed ibn Majah al-Qazwini, Sunan Ibn Majah, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Vol. 3, No. 1876, p. 76; Abu Dawud Sulaiman bin al-Ash'ath bin Ishaq, Sunan Abu Dawud, trans. Yaser Qadhi (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2008), Vol. 2, No. 2121, p. 540; and Vol. 5, No. 4933, p. 327; Abu ‘Abdur-Rahman Ahmad bin Shu'aib bin ‘Ali bin Sinan bin Bahr An-Nasa'i, Sunan An-Nasa'i, trans. Nasiruddin al-Khattab (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Vol. 4, No. 3257, p. 118, and Nos. 3380-3381, pp. 181-182; Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari: The Foundation of the Community, Vol. VII, trans. and annotated W. Montgomery Watt and M. V. McDonald (Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1987), pp. 6-7; andThe Honourable Wives of the Prophet, ed. Abdul Ahad (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2004), p. 42. [16] Abu Ja'far Muhammad b. Jarir al-Tabari, The History of al-Tabari: The Last Years of the Prophet, Vol. IX, trans. and annotated Ismail K. Poonawala (Albany, New York: State University of New York Press, 1990), pp. 130-131. [17] Sunan An-Nasa'i, Vol. 4, Comments to Hadith No. 3260, p. 119. [18] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, Book 87, No. 6878, p. 20. [19] Malik ibn Anas ibn Malik ibn Abi ‘Amir al-Asbahi, Al-Muwatta of Imam Malik ibn Anas: The First Formulation of Islamic Law, trans. Aisha Abdurrahman Bewley (Inverness, Scotland: Madinah Press, 2004), 36.18.15, in a section titled "Judgement on Abandonment of Islam." [20] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol. 7, No. 5685-86, pp. 328-329; and No. 5727, pp. 344-345. [21] Ibid., Vol. 4, No. 3018, pp. 160-161. [22] Ibid., Vol. 1, No. 233, pp. 178-179. [23] Abu Qilaba's complete statement was also reported in Sunan Abu Dawud, Vol. 5, No. 4364, pp. 22-23. [24] Sunan An-Nasa'i, Vol. 1, No. 307, p. 189. [25] The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi, p. 422. [26] Abu ‘Eisa Mohammad ibn ‘Eisa at-Tirmidhi, Jami' At-Tirmidhi, trans. Abu Khaliyl (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Vol. 3, No. 1663, p. 410. [27] Interpretation of the Meanings of The Noble Qur'an, trans. Muhammad Muhsin Khan and Muhammad Taqi-ud-Din Al-Hilali (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2007), Glossary, p. 860. [28] Sunan Ibn Majah, Vol. 5, No. 4337, pp. 423-424. [29] Jami' At-Tirmidhi, Vol. 4, No. 2536, p. 523. [30] Abu al-Fida' ‘Imad Ad-Din Isma'il bin ‘Umar bin Kathir al-Qurashi Al-Busrawi, Tafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged), abr. Shaykh Safiur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, trans. Jalal Abualrub, et al. (Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: Darussalam, 2000), Vol. 9, p. 429. |