MUHAMMAD AND THE DEMONS
by Silas
PART
1 MUHAMMAD'S EXPERIENCES WITH
SPIRITS
[NOTE:
My comments in the source material are in [ ] type brackets. Source
author's / translator's quotes are in (
) type brackets.]
1) An experience Muhammad had as a child.
When Muhammad was a child he was
nursed by a Bedouin woman. During this
time he had an experience with "two men in white raiment". Here is W. M. Watt's translation of Ibn
Ishaq's biography of Muhammad, page 36:
"...two men in white clothes
came to me with a golden basin full of snow.
They took me and split open my body, then they took my heart and split
it open and took out from it a black clot which they flung away. Then they washed my heart and my body with
that snow until they made them pure."
[1]
This event deeply disturbed the
Bedouins and they returned Muhammad to his mother. Here is the story told by Muhammad's wet-nurse, related in
Guillaume's translation of Ibn Ishaq, page 72:
"His [Muhammad's friend's]
father said to me, "I am afraid that this child has had a stroke, so take
him back to his family before the result appears. ..... She [Muhammad's mother] asked me what
happened and gave me no peace until I told her. When she asked if I feared a demon had
possessed him, I replied that I did."
[2]
Note that Muhammad's wet-nurse
believed he had been possessed by a demon.
One would expect some degree of attachment between the two, since she
nursed him, so it is extraordinary that she would return him in those circumstances: something very troubling actually occurred.
2) Muhammad's experience in the cave - his
call to "prophethood".
Quoting from
the Hadith of Bukhari, 9.111:
Narrated
'Aisha:
The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was
in the form of good
righteous (true) dreams in his sleep. He never had a dream but that it came true
like bright day light. He used to go in seclusion (the cave of) Hira where he
used to worship(Allah Alone) continuously for many (days) nights. He used to take
with him the journey food for that (stay) and then come back to (his wife) Khadija
to take his food like-wise again for another period to stay, till suddenly the
Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to
him in it and asked him to read. The Prophet replied, "I do not know how
to read." (The Prophet added), "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed
me so hard that I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and again
asked me to read, and I replied, "I do not know how to read,"
whereupon he caught me
again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it anymore. He then released me and asked me again to
read, but again I replied, "I do not know how to read (or, what shall I read?)."
Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me and then released me
and said, "Read: In the Name of your Lord, Who has created (all that
exists). Has created man from a clot. Read and Your Lord is Most Generous...up
to..... ..that which he knew not." (96.15)
Then Allah's
Apostle returned with the Inspiration, his neck muscles twitching with terror
till he entered upon Khadija and said, "Cover me! Cover me!" They covered
him till his fear was over and then he said, "O Khadija, what is wrong with
me?" Then he told her everything that had happened and said, 'I fear that something
may happen to me." Khadija said, 'Never! But have the glad tidings, for by
Allah, Allah will never disgrace you as you keep good relations with your Kith
and kin, speak the truth, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guest generously
and assist the deserving, calamity-afflicted ones."
... But
after a few days Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused for a
while and the Prophet became so sad as we have heard
that he intended several times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains
and every time he went up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself down,
Gabriel would appear before him and say, "O Muhammad! You are indeed
Allah's Apostle in truth" whereupon his heart would become quiet and he
would calm down and would return home.
And whenever the period of the coming of the inspiration used to become
long, he would do as before, but when he used to reach the top of a mountain,
Gabriel would appear before him and say to him what he had said before.
(Ibn 'Abbas said regarding the meaning of: 'He it is that Cleaves the daybreak
(from the darkness)' (6.96) that Al-Asbah means the light of the sun during
the day and the light of the moon at night).
There are a number of slight
variations to this story, related by different people, describing Muhammad's
visitation by a spirit identifying himself as the angel Gabriel. These stories do not always agree with each
other in perfect detail, but on the whole a composite picture can be drawn of
Muhammad's initial experience with the spirit and his subsequent reactions.
Here are additional details from
Guillaume's "The Life of Muhammad", page 106.
So I [Muhammad] read it, and he
[Gabriel] departed from me. And I awoke
from my sleep, and it was though these words were written on my heart. (Tabari:
Now none of God's creatures was more hateful to me than an (ecstatic)
poet or a man possessed: I could not even
look at them. I thought, Woe is me poet
or possessed - Never shall Quraysh say this of me! I will go to the top of the mountain
and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to do so and then) when I
was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven saying "O
Muhammad! thou are the apostle of God and I am Gabriel."
The visitations from the spirit
continued. Then they stopped for a time
believed to have been 6 months to 3 years.
When this happened, Tabari, volume 6 page 76, records:
"The inspiration ceased to come
to the messenger of God for a while, and he was deeply grieved. He began to go to the tops of mountain
crags, in order to fling himself from them; but every time he reached the summit
of a mountain, Gabriel appeared to him and said to him, "You are the
Prophet of God." Thereupon his
anxiety would subside and he would come back to himself. [4]
Also,
from Tabari Vol. 9, page 167, note 1151 says:
"The
pre-Islamic Arabs believed in the demon of poetry, and they thought that a
great poet was directly inspired by demons...."
This
explains why Muhammad thought he was demon possessed, or influenced by demons;
the Quran in many places reads like poetry.
In "Muhammad at Mecca",
page 40, 41, there are also references that document Muhammad's suicidal
thoughts. Watt quotes from az-Zuhri's
material.
"He (Muhammad) said, I had been
meditating throwing myself from a mountain crag, but while I was so meditating,
he appeared to me and said, "O Muhammad, I am Gabriel, and thou are the
Messenger of God."....
Az-Zuhri said: "There was a gap for a time in the
revelation to the Messenger of God and he was very sorrowful. He started going early to the tops of the
mountains to throw himself down from them.
But whenever he reached the summit of a mountain, Gabriel would appear
to him and say, "Thou are the Prophet of God."
However you view this event, it is
undeniable that something extraordinary happened to Muhammad in the cave, and
he was deeply distressed by it.
OTHER
REFERENCES TO MUHAMMAD AND THE DEMONS
Even in the Quran, there are
references that people believed that Muhammad was possessed or influenced by
demons.
Sura
81:22-25 says, "No, your compatriot [Muhammad] is not mad. He saw him [Gabriel] on the clear
horizon. He does not grudge the secrets
of the unseen, nor is this the utterance of an accursed devil."
Sura 69:41,
42 say, "It [the Quran] is no poet's speech: scant is your faith! It
is no soothsayer's divination: how
little you reflect! It is revelation
from the Lord of the Universe.
Here Muhammad is saying to his
critics that he really saw an angel, and his words are not from a devil, or
from his own imagination. No doubt the people living at that time thought he was
inspired by a devil, so Muhammad spoke these words, in the Quran, in self
defense.
What are the possibilities of who
and what these experiences can be attributed?
The things that come to mind are that:
1) Muhammad did indeed have a visit from
the angel Gabriel - thus validating his prophethood.
2) Muhammad was visited by a demon, or
Satan himself.
3) Muhammad experienced some type of
delusion.
4) Muhammad suffered from some type of
epilepsy or other mental problem.
5) A combination of #s 2, 3, and / or 4.
Let's
recap.
From his youth, some people thought
he was demon possessed. Muhammad's
encounter with "Gabriel" deeply disturbs him, and he thinks he is
demon possessed. He decides to commit
suicide, but is stopped when the spirit appears and says he is an apostle. Later, when these visitations become
infrequent, he again goes and tries to commit suicide. Each time the spirit intervenes. As time went on, people continued to think
Muhammad was demon inspired.
SOME
COMMENTS AND CONCERNS
Isn't it bizarre that following this
experience Muhammad became suicidal?
Not only that, but as time goes on, he continues to be suicidal. All the while he wonders, deep down, if he
is demon possessed. Does this follow
from a real experience with God?
PART
2) PEOPLE IN THE BIBLE WHO HAD
EXPERIENCES WITH GOD
Let's compare Muhammad's experience
with Biblical stories of men who had experiences with God.
Adam - Gen. 3 & 4, Noah - Gen. 6.
Abraham - Gen. 12 - 18. Moses - Ex. 3 - 34
David Isaiah - Isaiah 6
Mary - Luke 2. Paul - Acts 9
As I read the stories about people
in the bible who have an experience with God I do not find anything that
resembles Muhammad's experience. These
people were filled with a reverent fear, but never became depressed as a result
of their experience. These people
fellowshipped with God. Some walked
with Him, to other's He revealed Himself.
None of them ever contemplated suicide.
But several times Muhammad tried to commit suicide, and each time this
"spirit" stopped him. What
plans did this spirit have in store for him?
PART
3 - MUHAMMAD'S OTHER EXPERIENCES WITH EVIL SPIRITUAL POWERS
3.1 Muhammad being bewitched by magic and
it's effects.
From the Hadith of Bukhari, Volume
7, # 660.
Narrated
Aisha:
Magic
was worked on Allah's Apostle so that he used to think that he had sexual
relations with his wives while he actually had not (Sufyan said: That is the hardest kind of magic as it has such an effect). Then one day he said, "O 'Aisha do you
know that Allah has instructed me concerning the matter I asked Him about? Two men came to me and one of them sat near
my head and the other sat near my feet.
The one near my head asked the other, "What is wrong with this
man?" The latter replied the is
under the effect of magic. The first
one asked, "Who has worked magic on him?" The other replied, "Labid bin Al-A'sam, a man from Bani
Zuraiq who was an ally of the Jews and was a hypocrite." The first one asked, "What material did
he use)?" The other replied, 'A
comb and the hair stuck to it.' The
first one asked, 'Where (is that)?' The
other replied, 'In a skin of pollen of a male date palm tree kept under a stone
in the well of Dharwan''' So the
Prophet went to that well and took out those things and said, "That was
the well which was shown to me (in a dream).
Its water looked like the infusion of Henna leaves and its date-palm
trees looked like the heads of devils."
The Prophet added, "Then that thing was taken out' I said (to the
Prophet ), "Why do you not treat yourself with Nashra?" He said, "Allah has cured me; I dislike
to let evil spread among my people."
This
Tradition is also found in Bukhari 4.490, 7.658, 7.660, 7.661, 8.89, 8.400.
While the complete story is not
found in Ibn Hisham, a reference is made to it. Citing from "The Life of Muhammad", page 240:
"From B. Zurayq: Labib b. A'sam, who bewitched the apostle of
God so that he could not come at his wives."
Guillaume notes that a Muslim scholar says that the
spell lasted for a year! In other
words, for one year, Muhammad thought that he was having sexual relations with
his wives when he wasn't. Obviously he
was really lost.
Pause and think for a minute. Muhammad is supposed to be God’s greatest and last prophet. Muhammad is supposed to be receiving
revelations from Allah. Yet Muhammad
was so bewitched and befuddled that for one year he thought he was having
sexual relations with his wives, when he actually was not! Imagine what were his wives thinking? Do you really think he was a prophet?
Additional details on this event are
provided in Ibn Sa'd's "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir" (Book of the Major
Classes), volume 2, pages 244 to 248. Here
is a relevant quote.
"The apostle of Allah fell
ill. He was bewitched about women and
food. ...There were eleven knots [in the hair from the comb]. The two Surahs no. 113, and 114 were revealed
to him. No sooner did the apostle of
Allah recited a verse than a knot loosened.
When all of them were loosened, he regained his urge for food and
women."
3.2 Muhammad and the Satanic Verses.
At one point in time, Muhammad
admitted that Satan put words in his mouth to compromise with idol worship. Later Muhammad said that God showed him he
was wrong, and the Quranic recital was changed. Here is the quote from "The Life of Muhammad".
Tabari. Now the apostle was anxious for the welfare of his people,
wishing to attract them as far as he could.
It has been mentioned that he longed for a way to attract them and the
method he adopted is ..... "When the apostle saw that his people turned
their backs on him and he was pained by their estrangement from what he brought
them from God he longed that there should come to him from God a message that
would reconcile his people to him.
Because of his love for his people and his anxiety over them it would
delight him if the obstacle that made his task to difficult could be removed;
so that he meditated on the project and longed for it and it was dear to
him. The God sent down, "By the
star when it sets your comrade errs not and is not deceived, he speaks not from
his own desire, " and when he reached His words, "Have you thought of al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat the
third, the other", Satan, when he was meditating upon it, and desiring to
bring it (reconciliation) to his people put upon his tongue, "these are
the exalted Gharaniq whose intercession is approved." [Gharaniq is a bird that flies very high].
When Quraysh heard that they were
delighted and greatly pleased at the way in which he spoke of their gods and
they listened to him; while the believers were holding that what their prophet
brought them from their Lord was true, not suspecting a mistake or a vain
desire or a slip, and when he reached the prostration and the end of the Sura
in which he prostrated himself the Muslims prostrated themselves when their
prophet prostrated confirming what he brought and obeying his command, and the
polytheists of Quraysh and other who were in the mosque prostrated when they
heard the mention of their gods, so that everyone in the mosque believer and
unbeliever prostrated.... Then the people dispersed and Quraysh went out,
delighted at what had been said about their gods, saying "Muhammad has
spoken of our gods in splendid fashion.
He alleged in what he read that they are the exalted Gharaniq who's
intercession is approved."
...Then Gabriel came to the apostle
and said, "What have you done, Muhammad? You have read to these people something I
did not bring you from God and you have said what He did not say to you. The apostle was bitterly grieved and was
greatly in fear of God. So
God sent down (a revelation), for He
was merciful to him, comforting him and making light of the affair and telling
him that every prophet and apostle before him desired as he desired and wanted
what he wanted and Satan interjected something into his desires as he had on
his tongue.
Also, Ibn Sa'd also records the
compromise. The quote is in volume 1,
page 237.
The point
is this, Muhammad admitted to being deceived by Satan to engage in idol
worship. Although Muhammad later
realized the ramifications of what he had done, and changed his mind, this does
not mitigate the fact that he was indeed tricked by Satan, and could not
distinguish between words from God and words from Satan.
PART
4 RELEVANT REFERENCES FROM
THE BIBLE
An interesting Biblical reference
that bares on Muhammad is Jeremiah 23:15, and 23:34. In these verses God reveals His judgment upon false
prophets. Here is the quote:
23:15 Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty
says concerning the prophets: "I
will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the
prophets of Jerusalem un-godliness has spread throughout the land."
23:34 If a prophet or a priest or anyone else
claims, "This is the oracle of the Lord", I will punish that man and
his household"
These verses reflect upon events
in Muhammad's life. Muhammad died from
poisoning, and all of his male children died when they were very young.
2
Corinthians 11:14: And no wonder, for
Satan himself masquerades an angel of light.
Galatian
1:8: But even if we or an angel from
heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!
Note here that an angel appeared to
the false prophet of Mormonism - Joseph Smith, and gave him a different
gospel. I find the parallel between
Smith and Muhammad strong. Just as
Smith was directed by an angel, with a different message, so too Muhammad was
directed by an angel with a different message.
PART
5 WHO WAS THIS SPIRIT THAT CALLED
HIMSELF "GABRIEL"?
Muhammad had many encounters with a
spirit that identified himself as "Gabriel". In some of these encounters odd things came
out about its nature. Here are a number
of references that show the circumstances surrounding him are indeed
bizarre. Most of these are from the
Hadith of Bukhari which is the 2nd most important book in Sunni Islam. I will not provide the quotes in full
because some are too long. However,
anyone on AOL can download Bukhari's Hadith for free, from the Islamic Resource
Library, if they want to verify my quotes and the context of the Hadith.
1) Non-Muslims called "Gabriel"
Satan.
Bukhari
2.225:
...Gabriel
did not come to the Prophet (for some time) and so one of the Quraish women
said, "His Satan has deserted him." ...
2) "Gabriel" is the "Holy
Spirit" ?
Bukhari
8.173
Narrated Abu
Salama bin 'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf:
... "O
Abu- Huraira! I beseech you by Allah (to tell me). Did you hear Allah's Apostle
saying' 'O Hassan ! Reply on behalf of Allah's Apostle. O Allah ! Support him
(Hassan) with the Holy Spirit (Gabriel).'?" Abu Huraira said,
"Yes."
3) Aisha could not see Gabriel.
Bukhari
4.440
'Aisha said
that the Prophet said to her "O 'Aisha' This is Gabriel and he sends his
(greetings) salutations to you." 'Aisha said, "Salutations ... and
addressing the Prophet she said, "You see what I don't see."
4) "Gabriel" won't go into a
house with a dog or a picture.
Bukhari
4.450
Once Gabriel
promised the Prophet (that he would visit him, but Gabriel did not come) and
later on he said, "We, angels, do not enter a house which contains a
picture or a dog."
5) "Gabriel" doesn't know
genetics.
Bukhari
4.546
When
'Abdullah bin Salam heard the arrival of the Prophet at Medina, he came to him
and said, "I am going to ask you about three things which nobody knows
except a prophet: What is the first portent of the Hour? What will be the first
meal taken by the people of Paradise? Why does a child resemble its father, and
why does it resemble its maternal uncle" Allah's Apostle said,
"Gabriel has just now told me of their answers."
......As for
the resemblance of the child to its parents: If a man has sexual intercourse
with his wife and gets discharge first, the child will resemble the father, and
if the woman gets discharge first, the child will resemble her. ...."
6) Other people recognize
"Gabriel" as a person they knew.
Bukhari
4.827
....Gabriel
started talking (to the Prophet and then left. The Prophet said to Um Salama,
"(Do you know) who it was?" (or a similar question). She said,
"It was Dihya (a handsome person amongst the companions of the Prophet
)." Later on Um Salama said, "By Allah! I thought he was none but
Dihya, till I heard the Prophet talking about Gabriel in his sermon." .....
7) "Gabriel" was responsible for
the massacre and enslavement of a Jewish tribe.
Gabriel
urges Muhammad to go and attack the Jews of Bani Quraiza. This action ended with about 800 prisoners
of war being massacred, and thousands of Jewish women and children being
enslaved by Muhammad.
Bukhari
5.448
... When the
Prophet returned from the (battle) of Al-Khandaq (i.e. Trench) and laid down
his arms and took a bath Gabriel came to him while he (i.e. Gabriel) was
shaking the dust off his head, and said, "You have laid down the
arms?" By Allah, I have not laid
them down. Go out to them (to attack
them)." The Prophet said,
"Where?" Gabriel pointed
towards Bani Quraiza. So Allah's
Apostle went to them (i.e. Banu Quraiza) (i.e. besieged them). They then surrendered to the Prophet's
judgment but he directed them to Sad to give his verdict concerning them. Sad said, "I give my judgment that
their warriors should be killed, their women and children should be taken as
captives, and their properties distributed."
8) Other Muslims also failed to recognize
Gabriel.
Regarding
the massacre of the Jews, here is the quote from "The Life of
Muhammad", page 461. Note here
that these men also recognized this "Gabriel" as the same person Um
Salama saw him as - "Dihya"!
Why did Gabriel take this merchant's form twice?
"According to what al-Zuhri
told me, at the time of the noon prayers Gabriel came to the apostle wearing an
embroidered turban and riding on a mule with a saddle covered with a piece of
brocade. ..... The apostle passed by a
number of his companions in al-Saurayn before he got to the B. Qurayza and
asked if anyone had passed them. They
replied that Dihya b. Khalifa al-Kalbi had passed upon a white mule with a
saddle covered with a piece of brocade.
He said, "That was Gabriel who has been sent to B. Qurayza to shake
their castles and strike terror to their hearts."
9) Khadija couldn't see Gabriel, but
Muhammad could.
Ref. page
107 of "The Life of Muhammad".
10) Gabriel prayed for Muhammad to be healed,
but Muhammad wasn't healed.
From the
Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir, vol. 1, page 265
The apostle of Allah fell ill and he
i.e. Gabriel, chanted on him, saying, "In the name of Allah I chant on to
ward off from you every thing that harms you and (to ward off you) against
every envier and from every evil eye and Allah will heal you."
Let's review. Non-Muslims identified Gabriel as a
"Satan". Muhammad can see
Gabriel, but others can't. Gabriel
makes scientific mistakes about genetics.
Gabriel is responsible for the massacre of 800 Jewish men and the
enslavement of their women and children.
Gabriel prays to God for Muhammad to be healed, and Muhammad isn't
healed. When people do see Gabriel, he
appears as a person they know, or so they're told, but not as an angel.
PART
6 SATAN AND THE PERSECUTION OF
CHRISTIANS.
All quotes
are from the NIV.
Revelation 12:7, 8, 17
And
there was war in heaven. Michael and
his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought
back. But he was not strong enough and
they lost their place in heaven . Then
the dragon was enraged at the woman and
went off to make war against the rest of her offspring - those who obey God's
commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
John
8:44 You
belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's
desire. He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language,
for he is a liar and the father of lies.
Matt
24:11 and many false prophets will
appear and deceive many people.
John
16:2 in fact, a time is coming when
anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have
not known the Father or me.
From the
above we see that Satan is currently making war upon the saints. He will use false prophets to mislead
people. Some of these false prophets
will have doctrines to allow their followers to kill Christians.
PART
7 THE QURAN ON CHRISTIANITY
There are many references in the
Quran and Hadith that address Christianity.
What I want to focus on are the latest statements on Christianity made
by Muhammad. Initially, Muhammad had some
good things to say about the Christians, but as time wore on, his attitude towards
Christianity darkened. Note that Suras
9 and 5 were some of the last Suras to be spoken by Muhammad. Quotes are from Dawood's translation of the
Quran.
Quran
5:51
"Believers take neither the
Jews nor the Christians for your friends."
Quran
9:28 - 30
"Fight
against such of those to whom the Scriptures were given as believe neither in
God nor the last days, who do not forbid what God and His apostle have
forbidden, and do not embrace the true Faith, until they pay tribute out of
hand and are utterly subdued. The Jews
say Ezra is the son of God, while the Christians say the Messiah is the Son of
God. Such are their assertions by which
they imitate the infidels of old. God
confound them! How perverse they are!
THE
HADITH ON CHRISTIANITY AND CONVERSION
Muhammad
commanded that Muslims kill apostates from Islam.
Bukhari
volume 9, #64
Narrated Ali, "Whenever I tell
you a narration from Allah's messenger, by Allah, I would rather fall down from
the sky, then ascribe a false statement to him, but if I tell you something
between me and you, (not a Hadith), then it was indeed a trick (i.e., I may say things just to cheat my
enemy). No doubt I heard Allah's
messenger saying, "During the last days there will appear some young foolish
people, who will say the best words, but their faith will not go beyond their
throats (i.e. they will leave the faith) and will go out from their religion as
an arrow goes out of the game. So,
wherever you find them, kill them, for whoever kills them shall have reward on
the Day of Resurrection."
Muhammad
asks God to curse the Christians and the Jews.
Bukhari
1.427
Narrated 'Aisha and 'Abdullah bin 'Abbas:
When the
last moment of the life of Allah's Apostle came he started putting his 'Khamisa'
on his face and when he felt hot and short of breath he took it off his face
and said, "May Allah curse the Jews and Christians for they built the
places of worship at the graves of their Prophets." The Prophet was
warning (Muslims) of what those had done.
PART
8 MODERN PERSECUTION OF CHRISTIANS
How does Islam relate to
Christianity today? If one studies the
situation for the Christians living under Islamic governments, we get a picture
of oppression. Here are some facts
concerning Christians in Islamic lands.
PAKISTAN. Pakistan has laws that forbid blaspheming
Muhammad. Recently a Christian was
under the death sentence because of a trumped up charge of
"blasphemy" of Muhammad. Last
year a mob of 30,000 Muslims attacked the only predominately Christian village
in Pakistan, and destroyed churches, robbed and destroyed businesses, kidnapped
and raped Christian girls, and destroyed many people's homes.
EGYPT: Christian churches are frequently
attacked and destroyed by the Muslims in Egypt. Christians are targeted by Muslims and killed. Last year about 70 Christians were murdered
by the Muslims in Egypt. Muslims are
now attacking Christians in their churches and shooting them.
SAUDI ARABIA: Recently, the Saudi's have arrested many
Christians who meet in small house churches.
These people are jailed, tortured, and some are executed. Saudi law dictates the death penalty for
anyone converting to a faith other than Islam
INDONESIA: Muslim mobs have destroyed over 50 churches in
the last few years. Several Christians
have been killed in these attacks.
IRAN: A number of Christians, including Pastors,
have been murdered by Muslims in Iran.
All of
the above can be found documented in the Voice of the Martyrs magazines. A free subscription can be obtained by
calling 800-747-0085. I encourage all
Christians to support this ministry; they aid our brethren living under Islamic
oppression worldwide.
PART
9 EPILOGUE
It has been shown that Satan desires
to make war upon the church. Satan uses
people as his agents. From the earliest
days of Muhammad's life, people thought he was possessed or affected by demons. Muhammad's initial experience with the
"angel" caused him to believe that he was demon possessed. He became suicidal. His inner doubts remained with him for a
long time. Even the Quran contains
replies to people's comments about his demonic affiliation. Further, this "angel's" knowledge
and characteristics are questionable.
Satan used Muhammad as a pawn and
Islam as a tool to attack the people of God.
As Muhammad grew in power, he used violence to subdue those that
disagreed with him. He denied the
Sonship of Jesus, making him an anti-Christ, and denied other key doctrines of
Christianity. Muhammad eventually urged
his followers to oppress Christians and instituted laws that deny people basic
human rights. Today in Muslim
countries, Christians are victimized by those laws. Many of them have murdered, executed, and or oppressed for their
faith. If a Muslim converts to
Christianity, he is under a death sentence for apostatizing. In his last few hours of life, Muhammad
asked Allah to curse the Christians.
Real Islam is a weapon Satan uses to make war upon God and His people.
------------
PART 10 REFERENCES
[1] "Muhammad at Mecca", by W.M. Watt,
Pub. Oxford University Press.
[2] "The Life of Muhammad", by A.
Guillaume, Oxford University Press.
[3] "Sahih al-Bukhari", translated by
M. Khan, pub. by Kitab Bhavan, New Delhi.
[4] "The History of al-Tabari",
translated by W.M. Watt, pub. by SUNY.
[5] "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir", (Book
of the Major Classes), translated by Moinul
Haq, pub. by Pakistan Historical Society.
demons.htm
Rev A: 6/18/98, Rev B: 2/13/99, Rev C: 10/10/01