The Heart's Witness against Muhammad: Introduction

By Andrew M. Greenwell, Esq.
10/18/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

Muhammad's moral life is all there is with which to assess him.

Since the natural law, albeit natural, is God's own law, that is, of his design, it follows that God's revealed law cannot contradict the natural law. It necessarily follows that the law which God has writ in man and his nature ought not to conflict or contradict, though it may be supplemented with and supported by, revealed or divine law. The life and message of one who claims to be a purveyor of God's revelation, whether it be Moses, or Jesus, or Muhammad, or anyone else, can be tested through the compatibility of that claimed revelation with natural law.

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CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - Muhammad is a man who must be taken seriously. He is, after all, touted by over a billion Muslims to be the mouthpiece of the most-high-God. He is the only witness that God talked to him and recited through him his Qur'an. Muhammad claimed to be, and his followers hold him to be, the prophet of prophets, the seal of the prophets, khatim al-nabiyin. This means no one can improve on or change his message.

But there is more, Muhammad claimed to be, and his followers hold him out to be, the most perfect human, what the Muslims call al-insan al-kamil. The Qur'an--in the view of Muslims the uncreated word of God himself--says that Muhammad is a good example to imitate, uswa hasana. Repeatedly, the Qur'an holds Muhammad out to be an exemplary man. E.g., Qur'an, 33:21, 3:32, 3:132, 4:13, 4:59, 4:69, 4:80, 5:92, 8:1, 8:20, 8:46, 9:71, 24:47, 24:51, 24:52, 24:54, 24:56, 33:33, 47:33, 49:14, 64:12, 68:4. For this reason, Muhammad is sometimes referred to as the "living Qur'an."

That is why Muslims are so hostile when it comes to criticism of their supposed prophet. That is also why Muslims object to any depiction of Muhammad: he is simply too perfect to portrait. That also explains why particularly pious Muslims slavishly imitate him, from the most mundane matters--his toilette habits, his likes for food, his beard growing and dyeing--to more transcendent matters--his prayer habits, his pilgrimage habits, to more troublesome matters--his dislike of critics, his penchant for violence, his sexual and marital habits.

Now the claims of the Muslim cry for scrutiny to see if they are true. If they are true, it seems Muhammad as the self-professed prophet of the Creator God must be followed. If they are false, he and his message must be rejected. Tertium non datur. Given the claim by Muhammad and his followers, there is no third option between yeah or nay.

The only means we have to determine whether Muhammad was the prophet of all prophets and the perfect example of human living is to invoke the judgment of reason. Is it a reasonable claim on the part of Muhammad and his followers to claim that this man Muhammad is the prophet of all prophets and the perfect human?

In the realm of morals, the reason we use is called practical reason. It is what helps us determine the good. The product of reason in the realm of morals yields us what we call the natural law.

The natural moral law provides us with sure guidance in both our personal life and our life in common. The natural moral law, a law resident in our hearts, is a law placed there by God the Creator of men and women. It reflects His ordered reason, His ratio ordinis, and it informs us, through self-evident principles, through conscience, through inclinations, and finally, through the application of practical reason in further determinations to know the good and discover legitimate means to pursue that good.

The existence of the natural moral law exists before we come upon the question of God revealing Himself through supernatural means, through Revelation. Accordingly, the natural law ought to be the common language, the lingua franca, by which and through which all men of good will can speak. It is the law universal and shared by all men, a law superior and precedent of, all claimed positive revelation and all moral convention.

Since the natural law, albeit natural, is God's own law, that is, of his design, it follows that God's revealed law cannot contradict the natural law. It necessarily follows that the law which God has writ in man and his nature ought not to conflict or contradict, though it may be supplemented with and supported by, revealed or divine law.

Similarly, the life and message of one who claims to be a purveyor of God's revelation, whether it be Moses, or Jesus, or Muhammad, or anyone else, can be tested through the compatibility of that claimed revelation with natural law.

The natural law, then, serves as a litmus test that may be applied to any claimed revelation and any man who claims to be a messenger of God. A man who claims to be a prophet but who lives a life that contradicts the natural law may be confidently rejected for he is an inauthentic prophet, a false prophet. We may accept here the admonitory words of Jesus which are eminently reasonable.

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. By their fruits you shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit, and the evil tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither ...

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1 - 10 of 10 Comments

Judy Claar
6 months ago
Andrew Greenwell: I am looking forward to the following articles on this topic. God Be With You.
Mathew Thankachen O.Praem
6 months ago
The moral incoherence in Koran and in the historical life of Muhammad is well brought out by Andrew which could be a point of introspection not to fight and kill in the name of Prophet Muhammad and Koran. It is hence, high time to annihilate ' theocracy" and ' law of blasphemy' among the Islamic nations which existed once upon a time in the Jewish and Christian religions. As the author points out there cannot be a contradiction between natural and Divine Law in orthodoxy and pr-axis, in my opinion, there cannot be a contradiction between theocracy and Democracy too. The will of God must be " good for all", no matter revealed through a Religious head/ Ruler or by a collective will of the individuals. when Koran could be questioned on " moral basis", they questions Christ on theological basis. Could the " son of God" bear the " symbol of shame and cross", undergo suffering?? And so, they take pride in proclaiming and shouting " God(Allah) is Almighty, powerful, Great ( Allah hu Akbar), a victorious God. So, the followers are never ready to accept defeat unlike Christians for whom " cross, death and suffering, humility, love of enemy" is the path to salvation. So, the chasm of cultural dichotomy between Christianity and Islam both on moral and theological ground is deep and wide.surely an awareness among both the religion will help tolerance and there are many modern scholars among the Islam who stands for true human values. only contradiction I find is our unworthiness to demand of them to correct their way of life as our concept of " human dignity, values of liberty, equality and fraternity" and the " moral integrity of Christ" and his teachings has not truly liberated us and the Church as the Community of believers in Europe / America and the rest of the world too , to bear witness to what is truly to be " human" which could have been the " most Divine".
Mathew Thankachen O.Praem.
Innocent I. Ugbor
6 months ago
I'm very grateful to you for this wonderful article. It is a clear evidence of what Islam is all about. It is also an insight of what Christianity is all about, and other religions alike.
Any religion that is violent and leading to death, both spiritual and mortal is evil.What is happening in the Middle East today is very disappointing, where people kill each other in the name of religion.
We must say the truth always, Islamic religion is evil. Nobody should ever think of apologizing to any one for saying the truth. May the good lord continue to show us his mercy,amen.
Mrs. Rene O'Riordan
6 months ago
Thank you so much Andrew. I have been waiting for good Catholic guidance on islam for ages - Looking forward to the next installment - Blessings - Rene
Bernard Larson
6 months ago
It was needed refresher of what I studied some 60 years ago. It was solid then and still is.
Jose
6 months ago
Great do not be afraid , your pen is mightier than a million men put together, and to make it work in the west, where for the most, money and power makes empowerment, in the confusion, the satanic words become the angle's thus the truth of Christ is kept away by the greedy.

through your powerful article may heart's be enlightened

Jose
Agnes gurney
6 months ago
Lets hope that interest in truth is shared by ALL man. Regardless of race creed and colour.
Bruce Eckhoff
6 months ago
Write-on Andrew! I will pray for your safety. Looking forward to the articles.
Bisong sam.
7 months ago
This article is good,you see so many people getting confused by the day because of what they get from following what they does.God sent sun and rain,some times the both could be calamitious! why God allows this religion of the knife,bow and arrow is better understood while earthquarkes and other natural disasters befalls man in their naturaliness.
Terri
7 months ago
I've read this book. I highly recommend it to anybody who thinks that Islam is a "religion of peace" or that all world religions are basically the same or equally legitimate. Islam, from its very origin, is dripping with hatred and vice. I highly recommend the book to anybody who cares about the truth.

I'm really excited to see a series of articles based on the book.

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