Mohammad, prophet or cult leader ?

[Dan]

Bismillah

How does the title of your thread reflect upon your question?

You ask how we know what Muhammad said was divinely revealed but your title eludes to whether or not Muhammad is a cult leader. Why just not have the title be "how do you know that anything Mohammad said was in fact divine?"

You claim to be here to learn about Islam yet I constantly see you phrase questions and answers in atagonistic ways. Is that just part of your personality? From what I have read it should not be because you have talked about how you just like to relax and go with the flow. "Chill out with a beer" is what I remember you saying. I could be wrong.

Have you noticed the number of people who have viewed your post but do not answer?

If I came to you and wanted to know about Scotland, how do you think my best approach would be?

1. What are the major political concerns of the average Scot?

or

2. Are all Scottish people just wanting to get drunk and laid all the time?

Each question is asking about the lives of Scottish people but one is said with tact and the other is just being an atagonistic jerk. You would wonder if I am really curious about Scottish life or just trying to push your buttons. I am all for trying to help you along on any intellectual path you are trying to take but I am requiring that you and I discuss matters in a civil manner. Basically, I want to hear the things you allude to about Islam as you would want to hear me say about Scotland or soccer (my American is showing), or anything else that you hold dear or respect.

The Arabs at the time that the Qur'an was revealed treasured language above all things. Poets would safeguard the honor of a tribe just as much as the warriors. The more I learn about the Arabic language the more I find this to be true. There are many, many words in the Arabic language that are impossible to translate to any other language. When the Qur'an was revealed, it was like nothing ever written or said before. In the Qur'an it challeges people to come up with just three verses that resemble it. That has never ever been done. It has been tried. Some people claim to have lost verses of the Book but due to the language of the Qur'an, they are seen clearly as false. I know you are not going to go learn classical Arabic to see if I am correct. I do not expect you to do that. That is how the Arabs at the time though respected the message of the prophet.

Now, how did I come to beleive that the Qur'an was divinely revealed? It was not from the poetry of the english translation that I read. There was none in the way that I see it. It was more prose in fashion. What was said was more important to me than how it was said.

I studied many religions before becoming a muslim. I actually saw myself more as a Bhuddist. I get to pursue nirvana by however I see fit, following lose guidelines. Sounded good to me. After the rigidity of catholicism, that seemed right up my alley. I looked into it and other religions as well in my pursuit for spiritual fulfillment. Each religion I put myself into the practices that they observed. None really fit. I was curious about Islam but five prayers a day was hard to swallow let alone fasting. I had come to the understanding that I believed in God. I just did not know what next. I mean in my mind saying that the order of creation is an accident is like saying that when a tornado hits a Home Depot a house will be built. All the materials are there. I digress though. That's another topic. Focus

I prayed to God in the way that I knew how. "God let me come to a religion that will please You. Every time that I have tried it my way, I have only ended up unhappy or unfulfilled." Days after that a muslim couple came to my religions class in college. People from other faiths came as well so it was not surprising. I had never read the Qur'an and had an itching to do so. I had already read (excuse the spelling) the Dhamapada, the Bhagaga Vita, the Pol Puh Vuh, and of course the Bible along with oral tradtions from other religions that were put in print but did not have a title, like Native American lore.

I asked the couple where I could get a Qur'an and they said they would send me one. About a week later, I got it and started reading.

There were many things in the book that amazed me. One, I felt like it was addressing me personally. Another is that it had things in it that Muhammad could not have known during his time, like the stages of birth ("discovered" in the 1940s), that all life originated from water (evolution), and other stuff. The biggest thing that struck me was that it actually challenged me to find fault with it.

To me that is shocking. No matter how good of a paper I thought I wrote in college, I would not turn it in to my professor saying, "I dare you to find any faults with this!"

Bring it on! You want to challenge me then great. We will see. I did see, alhamdulillah. I am now a muslim.

If you want to find out if the Qur'an is divinely inspired then go read one, front to back. If you find any faults then we can discuss them once you have finished. No one wants a book review about half a book.

I am not trying to convert you though you might feel as such. It does not make any difference to me whether or not you read it. I mean, what's there to be scared of? It's just a book. I say this because many friends and family have not read it just because they saw the profound change in my life and are not ready for it. I asked one friend why didn't they read it and their answer was they are afraid that I am right. (I am not right. It is not a matter of whose right or wrong. Those were just their words.) If it comes down to laziness, then you really are not in search of any answers. For knowledge, you must strive in life for it. You did not graduate school by sleeping and eating. You had to try.

I could go into more details but I have already started a book so I will stop for now. I sincerely hope you find the answers you are looking for, as long as you are asking the right questions.

Alhamdulillah. Astaghfirullah. All errors are due to myself and all truth if from Allah. Astaghfirullah.