Muhammad the Prophet of Mercy

1. A sorcerer! A madman! A liar!
Rather, he is a poet!

Malicious attitudes and hateful looks
angrily pursued the Prophet of Islam r, almost influencing his
steps and causing him to slip and lose his balance and firmness on the earth. This
is depicted in the Noble Qur’an, which portrays the inward wrath, enmity, and
spite which was evident in the eyes of his opponents1: (Verily, those who
disbelieve would almost make you slip with their eyes through hatred when they
hear the Reminder (the Qur’an), and they say, “Verily, he (Muhammad r) is a madman!”)2

Their poisonous, feverish looks were accompanied by abusive
cursing, insulting, and mocking: “You are a madman! You are a sorcerer! You
are a liar!”

They reacted with insolent pride and opposition; confused and
wavering, they swayed in their denial of the Message from one pretext to
another:

(Nay,
they say, “(The revelation is but) a mixture of false dreams! Nay, he has
invented it! Nay, he is a poet! Let him then bring us a sign like the ones
(Prophets) that were sent before (with signs)!”)3

- They called the Prophet r,
“A sorcerer, a liar!”

(They
wonder that a warner has come to them from among themselves. And the
disbelievers say, “This is a sorcerer, a liar. Has he made the gods (only) one
God? Verily, this is a curious thing!”)4

- They called him r,
“A poet!”

(“Are
we going to abandon our gods for the sake of a mad poet?”)5

- They called him r,
“A madman!”

(“O
you upon whom the Reminder (the Qur’an) has been sent down, indeed you are
mad.”)6

- They called him r,
“A soothsayer!”

(“Remind
and preach (mankind, O Muhammad). By the Grace of Allah, you are neither a
soothsayer nor a madman.”)7

But not for a moment did
the chiefs of Quraish believe themselves when they said that Muhammad bin
Abdullah r – known among them as the Honest Truth-Speaker – was a sorcerer, a liar, or a
madman. This was just a weapon of provocation and misguidance; a war of
deception that is well mastered by people of power. They used it to protect themselves
and their positions from the danger of the truth embodied in this creed, which
would certainly have shaken the false values and corrupted status quo on which
these high people built themselves.8

Details of an agreement
between the chiefs of Quraish to wage a defamatory propaganda campaign against
Muhammad r
and the truth revealed to him r is reported by Ibn Ishaq. Their aim was to
protect themselves and their authority over the people of Makkah, and to repel
the tribes that visited Makkah annually at the Hajj season from the new
religion and its preacher. Ibn Ishaq said9:

A group of Quraish
convened with Al-Walid bin Al-Mughirah, who was a senior among them, at the
time of the Hajj season.

He said to them, “O
people of Quraish, the Hajj season has arrived. Delegations of Arabs will come
to you. They must have heard about this companion of yours (meaning the Prophet
r),
so agree on one opinion regarding him. Let there be no contradiction or denial
of one another’s statements.”

They said, “O Abu
‘Abd Shams, suggest and give us an opinion which we will say.”

He said, “No, you make the suggestions and I will listen.”

They said, “We will say he is a soothsayer.”

He said, “No, by
Allah, he is not a soothsayer. We have seen soothsayers; his words are not the
murmuring and rhyme of a soothsayer.”

They said, “We will say he is a madman.”

He said, “He is
not a madman. We have seen madness and know it. There is not the choking,
agitation, and anxiety of madness.”

They said, “We will say he is a poet.”

He said, “He is
not a poet. We have known all forms of poetry, its chanting, hymning, lyrics,
rhymed and unrhymed. It is not poetry.”

They said, “We will say he is a sorcerer.”

He said, “He is
not a sorcerer. We have seen sorcerers and their sorcery. This is not their
incantation and conjuration.”

They said, “What should we say, O Abd Shams?”

He said, “By
Allah, his words have sweetness, with numerous roots strongly branching; their
branches richly abounding in growth. Anything you say about them will be known
to be falsehood. The closest thing you can say about him is that he is a
magician, who came with words which are magic that separate man and his father,
man and his brother, man and his wife, man and his clan. This way you will shun
people away from him.”

They began to sit in
the path of people who came at the Hajj season. They warned anyone who passed
by them against him (meaning the Prophet r) and mentioned the
(fabricated) story about him.

This was their way of
resisting and preventing the truth from reaching people, to keep them living on
a fake inherited creed. The chiefs had to make the populace believe that behind
this new Call was a mystery whose secret they were most knowledgeable about and
most capable of handling. They wanted people to leave such a matter to their
gods and return to their inherited beliefs. They wanted people to silently rest
while the chiefs protected their interests, beliefs, and gods!

It is the typical technique
used by tyrants to distract people from concern about public matters and
truth-seeking. People speaking amongst themselves and seeking to know the truth
posed a danger to the chiefs, for they could only maintain their power by
steeping people in lies.10

The Prophet of Mercy r reacted calmly and
nobly to their war of words, as touched on in the story of Dimad t. Ibn ‘Abbas t said:

Dimad, who belonged
to the tribe of Azd Shanu’ah, came to Makkah. He used to recite incantations to
cure people of madness and bedevilment.

He heard some fools
from among the people of Makkah saying that Muhammad r
was mad.

He said, “If only
I can see that man, perhaps
Allah will cure him at my hand.”

It happened that he
met with him and said, “O Muhammad, I recite incantations as a cure for this
madness. Allah cures whom He wills at my hand. Would you like to try it?”

The Messenger of
Allah r
said, “All praises and thanks belong to Allah. We praise Him and seek His
Help. Truly, whoever Allah guides, no one can misguide; and whoever He leaves
astray, no one can guide. And I testify that there is no god but Allah Alone, with
no partners, and that Muhammad is His Servant and His Messenger. Ama Ba‘d (Then
after)…”

Dimad said, “Repeat
these words of yours to me.” The Messenger of Allah r
repeated them to him thrice.

Dimad said, “I
have heard the words of soothsayers, magicians, and poets, but I have never
heard such words as yours. They reach the depth of the sea. Give me your hand
to pledge allegiance to you for Islam.” And he pledged allegiance to him.”11

The truthful words that the Prophet r conveyed speak for
themselves, laying bare any falsehood, and testifying to their Divine Origin. Words
beyond the power of humans to say, unlike those of a soothsayer or a poet, but
words of an honored Messenger: (I swear by whatsoever
you see, and by whatsoever you see not, that this (Qur’an) is verily the word
of an honored Messenger. It is not the word of a poet; little is that you
believe. Nor is it the word of a soothsayer; little is that you remember. This
is the revelation sent down from the Lord of all that exists. And if he (Muhammad)
had forged a false saying concerning Us, We surely would have seized him by his
right hand. Then We certainly would have cut off the aorta from him. And none
of you could have prevented it for him. And verily, this is a Reminder for the
pious. And verily, We know that among you are deniers. And indeed, it will be
(a cause of) regret upon the disbelievers. And verily, it (the Qur’an) is an
absolute truth with certainty. So, glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most
Great.)12