Is Muhammad really a Muslim prophet? A former believer who converted to Christianity does not think so, based on a careful study of both religions.
Global speaker and best-selling author Nabeel Qureshi grew up believing in Islam. It was not until his college years when he was exposed to Christianity through one of his friends, David Wood, whom he credits for challenging his faith.
"This friend, instead of just playing dead, like most Christians did, he actually tried to defend Christianity and show me the issues with Islam. It is real easy to do once you try, but no one else had," Qureshi explained in an interview with The Christian Post.
Because of Wood, Qureshi said he "was ultimately opened to a lot of evidence" about Islam and Christianity. He studied the Christian faith for three years, and then Islam for one year.
After scrutinising these religions, Qureshi was convinced that the factual evidence for Christianity was strong. He could not, however, say the same for Islam.
In fact, Qureshi thinks the claims about the Muslim prophet Muhammad are incompatible with historical truths.
"When it comes to Muhammad, there is this whole edifice built on the character of Muhammad — what he taught, what he was like, how he lived his life — and that is the foundation of Islam," Qureshi explained.
"The way an average Muslim lives is all based on the hadiths, the traditions. Muhammad was supposedly born in Mecca and Islam supposedly sprung out of Medina in the seventh century. But the problem is ... there is no reason to think that Muhammad is actually like what the hadiths say," he added.
Qureshi, who finished further studies in religion at Duke University, said Muhammad has long been dead when the hadiths, known as the foundations of Islam, first came out.
He also refuted the belief that Muhammad was born in Mecca, as believed by Muslims, based on archaeological findings.
"There is no trade routes that talk about the existence of Mecca before the eighth century. The early Muslim conquerors never referred to themselves as Muslim. They always had other names," Qureshi explained.
"They never talked about Muhammad. They never talked about the Quran. When you look at the records of history that are contemporary with the seventh century, you don't find much to confirm the Islamic narratives," he added.
