Muhammad’s First Revelation
Divine Encounter — or Something Else?
There’s a part of Islamic history that most people don’t really talk about — not in Friday sermons, not in classrooms, not even in casual conversation.
And yet, it’s right there in the earliest Islamic sources.
We’re talking about Muhammad’s very first experience with what he claimed was divine revelation — the moment everything in Islam is built on.
And here’s the strange part: it wasn’t calm. It wasn’t comforting. It wasn’t divine sounding at all.
It was terrifying.
Let’s walk through what actually happened — according to Islam’s own historical records — and ask the honest question:
Was this really from God?
😨 It Didn’t Start Peacefully — It Started in Panic
The story begins in a cave outside Mecca. Muhammad would often retreat there, meditating and reflecting.
But then one day, something happened.
According to Sahih Bukhari (Vol. 9, Hadith 111), Muhammad was suddenly seized by a mysterious being. It grabbed him, squeezed him, and demanded:
“Read!”
Problem? Muhammad was illiterate. He panicked.
The being squeezed him again. And again. Until, finally, it spoke some lines — later said to be the first verses of the Qur’an.
Muhammad ran home, shaking, terrified, convinced something was wrong. He didn’t feel enlightened or blessed. He thought he might be possessed or losing his mind.
He told his wife Khadija to wrap him up in blankets. He was trembling — in fear, not awe.
That’s how it all started.
📖 Compare That to Biblical Prophets
Let’s take a moment and compare that with other encounters with the divine in religious history:
-
Moses at the burning bush: He was told to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground. God spoke clearly. No wrestling, no trauma.
-
Mary was startled when Gabriel appeared — but he calmed her. “Do not be afraid,” he said. The moment brought reassurance.
-
Paul was blinded by a light on the road to Damascus — but came out transformed and convinced, not suicidal.
Muhammad?
He thought it might have been a jinn — a spirit or demon from Arab folklore.
He didn’t feel chosen. He felt attacked.
🧠 He Became Suicidal — And It’s in the Early Sources
Here’s a part many Muslims never hear — even though it’s recorded by respected early historians like Ibn Ishaq and al-Tabari.
After that initial experience, there was a long pause — known as the fatrah — where Muhammad didn’t receive any more revelations.
During this time, he fell into despair. He was so disturbed and uncertain that he tried to kill himself — more than once.
He would climb a mountain with the intent to throw himself off. Each time, he was only stopped at the last second by a vision — which he would later say was Gabriel again.
Does that sound like someone who’s just been comforted by God?
Or does it sound like a man in spiritual and psychological crisis?
👻 Even Muhammad Thought It Might Be a Demon
Let’s be clear: Muhammad didn’t think this was Gabriel at first.
That interpretation came later, after his wife Khadija and her cousin — Waraqa, a Christian — tried to convince him that this wasn’t a jinn or demon, but a true angel of God.
But think about what happened:
-
He was violently pressed by an unseen being.
-
He heard voices.
-
He lost consciousness.
-
He hallucinated visions.
-
He became suicidal.
That’s not the classic pattern of peaceful divine revelation. Honestly, those symptoms line up more with what mental health professionals recognize today as signs of trauma, psychosis, or even temporal lobe epilepsy.
That might sound harsh — but it’s a fair question to ask if we’re searching for truth.
⚔️ From Fearful to Forceful — A Sudden Shift in Tone
Now fast forward a few years.
The man who once fled from the cave, shaken and terrified, is now calling himself the final prophet of God.
And his tone has changed.
Now he’s giving orders. Leading raids. Waging war. Authorizing assassinations. Taking women captured in battle as concubines. Receiving "revelations" that — conveniently — confirm his desires and expand his power.
Where once there was fear and confusion, now there’s control.
The revelations evolve too: from personal fear and reflection… to political power, military commands, and divine justification for anything Muhammad needed to do.
You have to wonder:
Was this spiritual growth — or a shift in strategy and psychology?
✝️ Prophets in Other Traditions Look Very Different
Let’s compare, once again, to others who claimed to speak for God:
-
Jesus taught forgiveness and love of enemies — and never led a war.
-
Moses delivered a nation from slavery — but didn’t demand people worship him.
-
Paul was persecuted, beaten, jailed — but never retaliated. He never ruled.
Muhammad?
-
Led military campaigns
-
Ordered executions
-
Took war captives as concubines
-
Demanded total obedience
At some point, it stops looking like revelation and starts looking like consolidation of power.
❗Bottom Line: Something Feels Off
Let’s just be honest here:
-
Why did Muhammad’s first experience look more like trauma than inspiration?
-
Why did he think it was a demon?
-
Why did he want to kill himself?
-
Why did the “revelations” change so drastically once he had power?
These aren’t disrespectful questions. They’re logical ones — especially when Islam claims to be the final, universal truth.
If the foundation of that truth is a man who feared he was possessed, tried to die by suicide, and later gained power through violence and control...
Then it’s absolutely fair to ask:
Was this really from God?
🔍 Why This Even Matters
Islam isn’t just another religion. It claims to be the last revelation, the final correction to all previous messages.
And it all hinges on one man.
If Muhammad’s revelations weren’t divine from the beginning — if they were the result of spiritual confusion or psychological trauma — then everything built on top of them starts to crumble.
This isn’t about hate. It’s about being willing to look directly at the sources and ask what they actually tell us.
Because if truth matters — and it does — we can’t ignore the warning signs at the very foundation.
No comments:
Post a Comment