Muslims frequently boast of their "pure" monotheism, in contrast to Trinitarianism, which they consider to be polytheism in disguise as monotheism. However, when one digs deeper into the history of Islamic theological debate, especially when it comes to the issues of Allah's attributes, one can see the discrepancies beginning to become clearer. Just as the church's main battle in the first few centuries of church history was over the Trinity and the deity of Christ, so also, the main battle within Islamic history has been over the issue of Allah's attributes, in particular the anthropomorphic passages in the Qur'an.
In this series, I want to examine just one example which shows that Islamic monotheism is not pure, but actually quite inconsistent with itself. I will be focusing on how Muhammad is portrayed throughout the Qur'an, Hadith, and other Islamic literature in history.
Muhammad as a Mediator for Divine Forgiveness
Consider Surah 4:64, which says "We sent not a messenger, but to be obeyed, in accordance with the will of Allah. If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah's forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful." (Yusuf Ali translation)
(Note: Surah 3:164 also speaks of Muhammad "purifying" the people, which Surah 24:21 speaks of as a divine prerogative)
The well-known Islamic exegete Ibn Kathir says the following concerning this passage:
"<If they (hypocrites), when they had been unjust to themselves,> directs the sinners and evildoers, when they commit errors and mistakes, to come to the Messenger, so that they ask Allah for forgiveness in his presence and ask him to supplicate to Allah to forgive them. If they do this, Allah will forgive them and award them His mercy and pardon. This is why Allah said…<they would have found Allah All-Forgiving (One Who forgives and accepts repentance), Most Merciful>. " (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)
Here, we can see that Muhammad functions as a divine mediator between Allah and Muslims.
This is played out in a narration of an Arab going to the grave of Muhammad and asking him to plead forgiveness of his sins to Allah:
"As I was sitting by the grave of the Prophet, a Bedouin Arab came and said: ‘Peace be upon you, O Messenger of Allah! I have heard Allah saying: "If they had only, when they were unjust to themselves, come unto thee and asked Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger had asked forgiveness for them, they would have found Allah indeed Oft-returning, Most Merciful" (S. 4:64), so I have come to you asking forgiveness for my sin, seeking your intercession with my Lord.’ Then he began to recite poetry: O best of those whose bones are buried in the deep earth, And from whose fragrance the depth and the height have become sweet, May I be the ransom for a grave which thou inhabit, And in which are found purity, bounty and munificence! Then he left, and I slept and saw the prophet in my sleep. He said to me: ‘O `Utbi, run after the Bedouin and give him glad tidings that Allah has forgiven him.’" (Imam an-Nawawi, Kitab al-Adhkar, [al-Maktaba al-Tijariyya, Mecca, 1992], pgs. 253-254)
The chain apparently is as follows: Shafi’i Shaykh Sufyan ibn `Uyayna - Abu Sa`id al-Sam`ani - Ali.
Here are some other Muslim scholars who have narrated this hadith in their books:
[1]. Ibn Qudamah al-Maqdisi in Al-Mughni, vol. 3, pgs. 556-557.
[2]. Ibn al-Jawzi in Muthir al-gharam al-sakin ila ashraf al-amakin, pg. 490
[3]. Taqi al-Din al-Subki in Shifa' al-Siqam, pg. 52
This is even more problematic when we see that the Qur'an teaches that those who are dead cannot hear those who are trying to communicate with them:
"Nor are alike those that are living and those that are dead. Allah can make any that He wills to hear; but thou canst not make those to hear who are (buried) in graves." (Surah 35:22)
Allah Praises Muhammad
"Al-Bukhari said: “Abu Al-`Aliyah said: ‘Allah’s Salah is his praising him before the angels, and the Salah of the angels is their supplication.’” Ibn `Abbas said: “They send blessings.” Abu `Isa At-Tirmidhi said: “This was narrated from Sufyan Ath-Thawri and other scholars, who said: ‘The Salah of the Lord is mercy, and the Salah of the angels is their seeking forgiveness.’” There are Mutawatir Hadiths narrated from the Messenger of Allah commanding us to send blessings on him and how we should say Salah upon him. We will mention as many of them as we can, if Allah wills, and Allah is the One Whose help we seek…" (Tafsir Ibn Kathir on Surah 33:56)
The Islamic scholar Qadi Iyad also had a section where he spoke about Allah honoring Muhammad with his own names:
"He has preferred our Prophet Muhammad since He has adorned him with a wealth of His names in His Mighty Book and on the tongues of His Prophets… One of His names is the Praiseworthy (al-Hamid). This means the One who is praised because He praises Himself and His slaves praise him. It also means the One who praises Himself and praises acts of obedience. The Prophet is called Muhammad and Ahmad. Muhammad means praised, and that is how his name occurs in the Zabur of David. Ahmad means the greatest of those who give praise and the most sublime of those who are praised. Hassan ibn Thabit indicated this when he said: It is taken for him from His own name in order to exalt him. The One with the Throne is praised (Mahmud) and he is Muhammad. Two of Allah’s names are the Compassionate, the Merciful (ar-Ra’uf, ar-Rahim). They are similar in meaning. He calls him by them in His Book when He says, “Compassionate, merciful to the believers.” (Qadi Iyad Ibn Musa al-Yahsubi, Kitab Ash-shifa bi ta'rif huquq al-Mustafa (Healing by the recognition of the Rights of the Chosen One) [Madinah Press, 1991], pgs. 126-127)
This is a violation of one of the main principles of Tawheed, namely Tawheed al-Asma was-Sifat (the unity of Allah's names and attributes). Islamic scholar Bilal Philips says the following:
"Maintaining the unity of Allah's names also means that Allah's names in the definite form cannot be given to His creation unless preceded by the prefix 'Abd meaning 'slave of' or 'servant of'." (Abu Ameenah Bilal Philips, The Fundamentals of Tawheed (Islamic Monotheism), pg. 30)
Muhammad Sitting on Allah's Throne
The issue of whether or not Muhammad would be seated on the throne of Allah on the Day of Judgment was debated amongst Muslims in the medieval period of their history.
Muslim scholar Al-Tabari says the following about this issue:
“Even though the traditions we have mentioned on the authority of the Prophet and his Companions and the Followers indicate the correct interpretation of maqaman mahmudan in Qur. 17:79 (as referring to Muhammad’s role as intercessor on the Day of Resurrection), Mujahid’s statement that God will seat Muhammad on His Throne remains one whose soundness cannot be rejected either on the basis of traditions (khabar) or on the basis of speculation (nazar). This is so because there is no tradition from the Messenger of God or anyone of his Companions or the Followers that declares it to be impossible… From what we have said, it has become clear that, it is not impossible for an adherent of Islam to say what Mujahid had said, namely, that God will seat Muhammad on His Throne. If someone says: We do not disapprove of God’s seating Muhammad on His Throne (in view of the following tradition transmitted by) ‘Abbas b. ‘Abd al-‘Azim – Yahya b. Kathir – al-Jurayri – Sayf al-Sadusi – ‘Abdallah b. Salam: ‘On the Day of Resurrection, Muhammad will be on the Lord’s footstool (kursi),’ but we disapprove of God’s seating him together with Him, it should be said: Is it then permissible in your opinion that He seat him on it but not together with him? If he permits this, he is led to affirming that either he is together with Him, or God seats him (on the Throne) while being Himself either separate from it or neither contiguous with nor separate from it. Whatever alternative he chooses, he thereby enters into something that he disapproves. If he says that it is not permissible, he deviates from the statements of all the groups we have reported. This means diverging from the views of all adherents of Islam, since there is no other possible statement than those three, according to each of which Mujahid’s statement in this sense is not impossible.” (The History of Al-Tabari, vol. 1, pgs. 149, 151)
Even Ibn Taymiyyah, one of the greatest scholars in Islamic history (hence his title "Shaikh al-Islam"), said "Muhammad the Messenger of Allah (s) will be seated by His Lord on the Throne next to Him." (Majmu al-Fatawa, Vol. 4, pg. 374)
Here is another, more in-depth, Islamic source:
"Mu‘adh ibn al-Muthanna told us: Khallad ibn Aslam said: Muhammad ibn Fadl told us, From Layth, From Mujahid: Concerning the verse: “It may be that thy Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station”: “He will seat him with Him on the Throne” (yujlisuhu ma‘ahu ‘alâ al-‘arsh).Al-Najjad said: “I also asked [about it] Abu Yahya al-Naqid, Ya‘qub al-Mutawwa‘i,[126] ‘Abd Allah ibn Ahmad ibn Hanbal, and a group of our shaykhs, and they narrated to me the hadith of Muhammad ibn Fudayl from Layth from Mujahid. “I also asked Abu al-Hasan al-‘Attar about it, and he narrated to me the hadith of Mujahid. Then he said: ‘I heard Muhammad ibn Mus‘ab al-‘Abid say: “[The Prophet’s seating on the Throne will take place] in order for all creation to see his station before his Lord, and his Lord’s generosity towards him. Then the Prophet (s) shall retire to his apartments and gardens and wives, and alone shall remain Allah in His Lordship (yanfaridu ‘azza wa jalla bi rubûbiyyatihi).”’ “I also looked into the book of Ahmad ibn al-Hajjaj al-Marwazi, who is our imam and guide and proof in this. In that book I found what he mentioned concerning the rejection of the hadiths of ‘Abd Allah ibn Salam and Mujahid, and he listed the names of the shaykhs who criticised those who rejected these hadiths or objected to them. Therefore, what we declare and believe before Allah Almighty is what we have just described and made clear concerning the meanings of the hadiths quoted from the Prophet with an uninterrupted chain (al-ahadith al-musnada ‘an rasul Allah),- and what was said by ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas—and the scholars after him, which was handed down from elder to elder and from age to age until our shaykhs’ time concerning the saying of Allah: [It may be that your Lord will raise you to an Exalted Station]: the Exalted Station consists in the seating of the prophet with his lord on the Throne. Whoever denies this or contradicts it is only attempting to promote the sayings of the Jahmis. He should be avoided, exposed, and warned against." (Ibn Abi Ya'la, Tabaqat al-Hanabila (History of the Hanbalites), Vol. 2, pg. 43)
Now the expected objection from our Muslim friends (which they make against tons of their own respected scholars throughout history) would be that the narration of Ibn Mujahid is not authentic or reliable. I would direct them to the narration of Abdullah ibn Salam (a Jewish rabbi who converted to Islam during Muhammad's lifetime), who said “A seat (kursî) will be placed for the Prophet (s) on the right of Allah (swt).” (Al-Hakim, Al-Mustadrak 'ala al-Sahihayn, Vol. 4, pgs. 568-569)
It should be noted that while many scholars grant that this hadith is sound, they do not grant it the status of marfu (going back directly to Muhammad), but rather marquf (going back to the companions of Muhammad).
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