Alhassanain(p) Network for Heritage and Islamic Thought

The Divine Wisdom of Prophet Muhammad

Debates of Prophet Muhammad with scholars and representatives of other religions

Translator(s):Fizza Hyderi

Publisher(s): Islamic Research FoundationAstan -eQuds Razavi

www.alhassanain.org/english

Thebook which is translated byIhtijaj al-Tabarsi presents a compilation of debates of Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) with scholars and representatives of other religions including Judaism, Christianity, atheism, dualism and polytheism. The dire need for this work becomes essential due to the ceaseless false,baseless and viciousIslamophobia propaganda that is being carried out against the Holy Prophet (S) and Islam across the world. The debates of the Prophet Muhammad (S) with scholars of other religions prove that the dynamic universal message of Islam was preached through peace andbrotherhood .

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Table of Contents

Preface 5

Translator’s Note 8

Chapter 1: Debates of Prophet Muhammad (S) with scholars and representatives of five different religions 9

Part 1: Debate with Jews 9

Part 2: Debate with Christians 10

Part 3: Debate with Atheists 13

Part 4: Debate with Dualists [Sanaviyas] 14

Part 5: Debate with Polytheists 15

Notes 18

Chapter 2: Debate of Prophet (S) with a group of Polytheists 19

Note 27

Chapter 3: Prophet’s (S) debate with Jews 28

Notes 30

Glossary of key terms 31

Preface

The present book entitled “The Divine Wisdom of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S), Debates of Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) with scholars and representatives of other religions”, translated fromIhtajaj al-Tabarsi byFizza Hyderi , edited and annotated by AbuYahya al-Hosseini is being published by the Islamic Research Foundation of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (as), Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran.

This work includes debates of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) with scholars and representatives of the Judaism, Christianity, atheism,dualism and polytheism in three chapters and the Chapter One is divided into five parts. The glossary of key termsis also provided for the readers of this book.

Publication of the present work can be considered as the dire need of the time because ceaseless false,baseless and vicious propaganda is being carried out against the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) by the Zionist controlled Western mass media to createIslamophobia in the world.But the debates of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) with scholars and representatives of other religions prove that the dynamic universal message of Islam was preached through peace and brotherhood.

As the Almighty Allah's Final, Last and Greatest Messenger, entrusted with the universal message of Islam, the Prophet Muhammad (S) preached Islam by dialogue, reasoning and rational approach.

Thesewere the factors that led to the rapid spread of the message ofTawhid (monotheism) and virtue in his lifetime in the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. In accordance with the commandments of God revealed through the ayahs of the Holy Qur'an, the Final and Last Testament from Almighty Allah, he invited the Arab polytheists, Jews and Christians, as well as the Zoroastrians to contemplate on the rationality of Islam and acknowledge it as the final and universal creed ofmankind.

The Holy Prophet’s politeness had a great impact on all those whocame into contact with him. He used to sayI have been raised to complete the best morals. His courteous behavior and his modesty, in addition to his already famous reputation asSadeq (Truthful) andAmin (Trustworthy) had an electrifying impact on the people ofMakkah and Medina, inmoulding their life as per the directives of the Holy Qur'an.

Despite persecution by the oligarch rich pagans inMakkah that saw its vested interests in exploiting fellow human beings in danger, the message of Islam spread, through the patience, endurance, and rational teachings of Holy Prophet Muhammad (S), who invited people to ponder. In the face of divine logic and reasoning, the pressures, tortures and even killing of early Muslims by the pagan Arabs were useless.Even the three year economic and social boycott imposed by the pagan Arabs on the Holy Prophet (S) and the new Muslim community was useless, thanks to the devotion and loyalty of the Holy Prophet's uncle and guardian, AbuTaleb (as), who took his nephew and all Muslims under his care and protection in the gorge outsideMakkah , known till this day asShe'b Abi Taleb .

Soon God ordered the Holy Prophet (S) to migrate to Medina, and this heralded the start of a new phase in the history of Islam. Earlier several groups of people from this city, whichwas then called Yathreb had visitedMakkah , and on being impressed by the rational teachings of the Holy Prophet (S) had given their allegiance to him. They now welcomed him and through dialogue with other Arabs, as well as with the Jews and Christians, the message of Islam began to spread.

Many of the pagans, the Jews, and the Christians, embraced the truth of Islam. Of those who did not, and were neither hostile, the Holy Prophet (S) made pacts of neutrality with them and gave them time to contemplate and decide. Many embraced Islam and become Muslims, while the evil ones that plotted against him after sealing the agreement, he permitted them to leaveMadinah by the command of God.

This is how the Holy Prophet (S) won the hearts and minds. It was his routine during the season migrations of nomadic tribes toMakkah , to speak with the chieftains and others about the message that God had entrusted to his for the guidance of humanity. His equal treatment of all and his convincing discourse that all Prophets [pbut ] have been sent by God in lands, but with the same universal message of monotheism and virtue, made lasting impression on the minds of all those who came into contact with him, and thus many embraced the truth of Islam.

Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) was indeed the most courteous person ever. He was polite with the followers of other religions, and held dialogues with them to convince them of the truth of Islam. He did not force anybody to become Muslim, because such a conversion is useless, since real faith is from heart and with conviction. This is how Islam spread, through dialogue and discussion, and not through force, violence and the sword.

He said, if even a single personis guided towards the truth of Islam, this entails greater rewards than having red-hair camels. As the mercy to the entire creation, he never forced the Christians and Jews living under the protection of the Islamic state to change their faith, until they were convinced of the truth from the depths of their hearts. He allowed them to practice their religious rituals.

As part of his policy of peace, Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) sent letters to the rulers of the then powerful empires inviting them to study Islam and come under its shade. All letters of the Holy Prophet (S) started with the phraseBismillah-hir-Rahman-nir-Rahim , which means ‘In the Name of God, the All-Compassionate,the All-Merciful’. He used to say that reciting this dynamic phrase before embarking on any task would bring success.

The content of the Holy Prophet’s letters also indicates that the Holy Prophet (S) called for dialogue at the international level. In other words, enjoining good and forbidding evil was among the main messages of the Holy Prophet’s epistles. The Holy Prophet’s letters showed their positive effects within a short period. In this way, through dialogue and reasoning the message of Islam spread.

The Islamic Research Foundation of the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (as) hopes that the present book titled “The Divine Wisdom of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (S), Debates of Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) with scholars and representatives of other religions” will pave the way for better understanding of the great divine personality of Holy Prophet Muhammad (S) and the dynamic universal message of Islam.

The Islamic Research Foundation

Astan Quds Razavi [the Holy Shrine of Imam Reza (as)]

Mashhad, Islamic Republic of Iran

Translator’s Note

The translation of Prophet’s (S) debates was inspired when we felt the need to present to the world another divine image of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (S) after continuous insults to this great personality by the Western-Zionist media, the most diabolical one being the production of a movie in the early September 2012. This divine image of Prophet Muhammad (S) was that of an enlightened divine scholar and an expert in extempore discussions who proved his superiority over scholars and leaders of other religions at that time.

While doing translations, effortis made to keep language as simple as possible. Footnotesare added and websites are mentioned if reader wishes to have further information. Important Arabic words are in italics. Key Arabic words explained in round brackets ( ) are described further in glossary. Difficult or less commonly used Arabic words or translated text are explained for the first time in square brackets [ ]. Prophet Muhammad’s (S) words are kept in double quotations“ ” , while all others are in single quotation marks ‘ ’. The verses of Qur’an are in italics.