Muhammad Fact Check

Myth

Myth #1: Prophet Muhammad murdered 700 innocent Jews

Did Prophet Muhammad kill 700 Jews?

During his lifetime, Muhammad is not known to have murdered anyone. Neither did Prophet Muhammad give any order to kill Jews. The story, though not proven to be authentic by some scholars, tells us that Jews were given the sentence of death for their treason according to the Jewish Law by the arbiter who was chosen by the said Jews themselves. Their arbiter made this decision with their willing appointment of him, per Biblical law (not Qur’anic law), and for the crime of high treason. Prophet Muhammad had no say in this matter, and gave no such order.  more info…

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Myth #2: Prophet Muhammad permitted Muslims to lie (Taqiyya) to spread Islam

Did Prophet Muhammad teach Muslims to lie to spread Islam?

No. Prophet Muhammad forbade lying and treachery, and instead commanded Muslims to adhere to truth even if condemned themselves. Islam offers no refuge to those who lie, and instead holds truth as an uncompromising virtue.  more info…

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Myth #3: Prophet Muhammad married Ayesha when she was underage

Did Muhammad marry A’isha when she was only six years old?

Narratives related to the time of the Prophet Muhammad show that A’isha for sure was not six years old at the time of her marriage but rather was 12-13 years of age, an age legally acceptable for marriage in this modern age even in the developed countries.  more info…

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Myth #4: Prophet Muhammad taught terrorism and Jihad to conquer the world for Islam

Did Prophet Muhammad teach Muslims to use terrorism and Jihad to spread Islam?

Muhammad lived 23 years after his claim to prophethood. He lived in Mecca for the first 13 years of his prophecy and bore severe persecution along with his followers but did not take the law in his own hands. After migration to Medina, he was attacked and forced to defend himself against annihilation. All his wars were defensive. He neither used sword to convert anyone to Islam himself nor did his followers.  more info…

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Myth #5: Prophet Muhammad taught death for apostasy and blasphemy

Did Prophet Muhammad teach death for apostasy and blasphemy?

All through his life, Muhammad taught and practiced complete freedom of religion. Neither the Holy Qur’an nor the sayings of practice of Muhammad support death penalty for apostasy or blasphemy.  more info…

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Myth #6: Prophet Muhammad Launched Raids on Innocent Merchants

Did Prophet Muhammad attack innocent trade caravans to loot them?

No. Prophet Muhammad forbade offensive attacks of all forms. He only permitted fighting in self-defense, and specifically forbade attacking innocent trade caravans.  more info…

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Myth #7: Muhammad initially permitted idol worship

Did Prophet Muhammad initially permit idol worship?

New-age critics of Islam incessantly repeat these allegations despite clear evidence to the contrary. The allegation that Prophet Muhammad initially permitted idolatry is one such example.  more info…

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Myth #8: Muhammad demanded slaughter of the pluralistic Meccans

Did Muhammad demand slaughter of the Pluralistic Meccans?

Prophet Muhammad was anything but a persecutor. Rather, he was a model of compassion on such a profound level that even his most hardened enemies could not help but swear by God that he was not a violent man.  more info…

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Myth #9: Muhammad Rejected Meccan Efforts to Establish Peace

Did Muhammad reject Meccan efforts to establish peace?

Prophet Muhammad relentlessly strove for peace while Meccans attempted to thwart every such effort.  more info…

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Myth #10: Muhammad Left Mecca Because He Lost Abu Talib’s Protection

Did Muhammad leave Mecca because he lost Abu Talib’s protection?

Prophet Muhammad did not migrate due to a lack of protection from other men. His migration, in fact, was based upon Divine guidance to escape assassination.  more info…

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Myth #11: Muhammad Connived Zainab and Zaid To Divorce

Did Muhammad connive Zainab and Zaid to divorce?

Had Prophet Muhammad engaged in any unbecoming behavior, no shortage of critics existed during his lifetime. Likewise, Zainab was Prophet Muhammad's cousin and he had ample opportunity to marry her before her marriage to Zaid was even a nascent possibility.  more info…

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Myth #12: Muhammad Terrorized People to Accept Islam

Did Muhammad terrorize people to accept Islam?

Prophet Muhammad's scribe renounced Islam and was allowed to travel all the way back to Mecca without being harmed or hindered. This incident illustrates that people were not terrorized into accepting Islam by Muhammad.  more info…

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Myth #13: Muhammad Violated The Chivalrous Arab War Code

Did Muhammad Violate The Chivalrous Arab War Code?

Pre-Islamic Arabs had no rules of war—women, children, elderly, livestock, the dead, clergy, homes, and greenery were all fair game. Prophet Muhammad set rules of engagement for his people and demanded strict compliance whether enemy observed any rules or not.  more info…

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Myth #14: Muhammad Actively Massacred the Quraishi Army POW’s at Badr

Did Muhammad actively massacre the Quraishi Army POW’s at Badr?

At a time in Arabia when POWs were either put to death or enslaved, the captives at Badr were allowed to purchase their freedom. Those who could not purchase their freedom “suffered” the responsibility of teaching ten children how to read. Education was their ransom. No example in history can even compare to this high standard Prophet Muhammad demanded of the Muslims.  more info…

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Myth #15: Muhammad Ordered Murder of Eight Men for Apostasy

Did Muhammad order the murder of eight men for apostasy?

Islam does not allow any worldly punishment, let alone death, for apostasy.  more info…

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Myth #16: Muhammad broke a truce to mercilessly conquer Mecca

Did Muhammad break a truce to mercilessly conquer Mecca?

The truce was broken by a partner of the Meccans. Meccans knew in advance of the pending Muslim advance but did not come out to fight. Muhammad did not attack Mecca rather entered peacefully and forgave their transgressions against him and his followers.  more info…

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Myth #17: Muhammad Promised Women in Heaven for Martyrs

Did Muhammad promise women in heaven for martyrs?

Both Prophet Muhammad and the Qur’an reject the concept of heavenly reward via, “sex with beautiful women for eternity.” Prophet Muhammad clarified that such an interpretation could not be an applicable interpretation of the relevant verses from the Holy Quran.   more info…

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Myth #18: Muhammad violated his own rules of fasting

Did Muhammad violate his own rules of fasting?

This myth results from not grasping the meaning and extent of the rules governing fasting in Islam. Critics try to take advantage of any possible situation they can get hold of however incredible that may be.   more info…

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Myth #19: Muhammad Endorsed Female Genital Mutilation

Did Muhammad endorse female genital mutilation?

The reports mentioning female genital mutilation (infibulations) are widely regarded as weak traditions amongst Islamic scholars, not to mention unsupported by any Qur’anic verse. It is practiced only by a minuscule minority among Muslims. If it were a part of Islamic faith, it would have been practiced widely by Muslims everywhere which in not the case.   more info…

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Myth #20: Muhammad Taught that the Qur’an Sanctions Violence

Does the Quran sanction violence?

The Quran repeatedly condemns those who create violence and disorder.   more info…

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Myth #21: Muhammad Taught Death for Apostasy

Did Muhammad teach death for apostasy?

Not only does Islam not prescribe death for apostates, the Qur’an was the first religious scripture to categorically declare, “There shall be no compulsion in religion.” [1]   more info…

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Myth #22: Muhammad Taught that Islam Forbids Protection to non-Muslim Dwellings

Does Islam Forbid Protection to Non- Muslim Dwellings?

Prophet Muhammad established a unified sovereign nation based on religious freedom and mutual respect and trust. As Medina’s ruler, he ensured the Charter included Article 39—a requirement to seek mutual advice and consultation from the Jews—lest any party accuse the other of unjust or unilateral actions. Finally, Articles 44 and 49 hold both the Muslims and the Jews accountable for not fulfilling their obligation of loyalty to one another.   more info…

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Myth #23: Muhammad Forbade Privacy to Non-Muslims

Did Muhammad Forbid Privacy to Non- Muslims?

Islam places great emphasis on privacy rights for all people. Not only did the Qur’an champion privacy rights centuries before any modern constitution, but also perhaps no law in history preserves the right to privacy as thoroughly and emphatically as does the Qur’an.  more info…

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Myth #24: Islam as taught by Muhammad is Anti-Semitic

Is the Islam that Muhammad taught Anti- Semitic?

Prophet Muhammad's treatment of Jews in Medina, demonstrates the benevolent treatment Muslims afforded Jews. Had Islam endorsed the destruction of Jews, why did Jews flourish in parts of North Africa, Jerusalem, Persia and Spain under Muslim rule? [1]   more info…

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Myth #25: Muhammad rejects the Golden Rule and his teachings forbid befriending non-Muslims

Does Muhammad reject the Golden Rule and do his teachings forbid befriending non- Muslims?

The Qur’an commands Muslims to treat others as they would like to be treated, even if they must suffer through negative treatment. The amnesty Prophet Muhammad offered to his Meccan persecutors excellently personifies this teaching.   more info…

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Myth #26: Muhammad Ordered Muslims to Fight Jews

Are Muslims ordered by Muhammad to fight Jews?

The tradition which is presented to prove that Muhammad ordered Muslims to kill Jews concerns a future situation of conflict between Muslims and Jews and has nothing to do with day-to-day Muslim-to-Jew relations.  more info…

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Myth #27: Muhammad taught that Islam Endorses Concubines

Does Islam endorse concubines?

Short response: The Holy Qur’an has condemned fornication and adultery [1]. Islam does not permit concubinage, and fornication and adultery trigger the penalty of physical reprimand [2]. Abu Musa al-Ash‘ari recalls that Prophet Muhammad said, “Any man who has a slave-girl whom he teaches good manners so that she has good manners and educates her in the best possible way and then frees her and marries her has two rewards.” [3]   more info…

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Myth #28: The Islamic Civilization that Muhammad established, Is And Always Has Been Archaic

Is the Islamic civilization archaic?

The Qur’an, more than 140 times, highlights knowledge as a distinguishing characteristic of believers. Prophet Muhammad declared, “Seeking knowledge is a duty upon every Muslim.” [1] Archaic means, “obsolete - antiquated - old - ancient - out-of-date,” and Islam stands for the seeking of knowledge - thus it has always promoted advancement and freshness and growth - not the characteristics of an archaic system of thinking at all.   more info…

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Myth #29: Islam, as taught by Muhammad, Requires a Female Rape Victim to Produce Four Witnesses

Does Islam require a female rape victim to produce four witnesses?

If someone accuses a woman of adultery then he or she must produce four witnesses to corroborate the accusation. Failing that, the woman is innocent, and the accuser is a liar. Calling for four witnesses, protects women against calumny.  more info…

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Myth #30: Muhammad taught that Islam Seeks To Establish Caliphate to Conquer the World

Does Islam seek to establish caliphate to conquer the world?

The purpose of the establishment of Khilafat among Muslims is for reformation through love and amity. Only one Islamic organization has already re-established the caliphate. Not a decade or two old, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community’s caliphate was established in 1908. The Community’s membership is in the tens of millions and spans 200 countries—all united under one khalifa. Even when faced with bitter persecution, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Khilafat requires Ahmadi Muslims to be steadfast.  more info…

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Myth #31: The Islam that Muhammad Taught Is Not a Religion But a Theocratic Political Ideology

Is Islam a theocratic political ideology rather than a religion?

Islam meets the general basic requirements envisaged for an acceptable religion forwarded by some anti-Islam forces. It provides freedom of choice, no coercion, and stands by and protects basics human rights of both Muslims and non-Muslims alike.  more info…

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Myth #32: Islam Oppresses Dhimmis and Demands Jizya or Death

Does Islam oppress dhimmis and demand jizya or death?

Dhimmis had a special place in Medina. Prophet Muhammad said, “If anyone wrongs a man with whom a covenant has been made [i.e., a dhimmi], or curtails any right of his, or imposes on him more than he can bear, or takes anything from him without his ready agreement, I shall be his adversary on the Day of Resurrection.” [1]  more info…

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Myth #33: Muhammad taught that only Martyrdom While Making Others Suffer Assures Paradise

Did Muhammad teach that martyrdom while making others suffer assures paradise?

No such teaching in Islam exists that “only assures martyrs [a] straight path to paradise.” Indeed throughout the Qur’an, Allah attributes many other traits to the believers.  more info…

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Myth #34: Muhammad taught Muslims to Act Like An Army

Does Islam require the Muslims to act like an army?

Wherever the Qur’an permits fighting, it does so only for defensive purposes. Muslims are advised to resort to patience, prayer and even emigration to avoid war and bloodshed.  more info…

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Myth #35: Islam, as taught by Muhammad and Democracy are Incompatible

Is Islam and Democracy incompatible?

Islam is flexible, and allows for democracy, monarchy, tribalism and other forms of government as long as they meet the requirements of absolute justice and consultation.[1]  more info…

Myth Index

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