Page 19 - MY GREAT LOVE FOR JESUS LED ME TO TROUTH

following His commands, and avoiding what He has forbidden. The Qur'an (3/144) refers to
Muhammad as a messenger of God, like all the other messengers who preceded him: "Muhammad
is only a messenger. Messengers passed away before him. If he should die or be killed,
will you turn back on your heels? Those who turn on their heels will not harm Allah in the
least. Allah will reward the grateful."
It also describes him as being unable to benefit anyone, including himself, without the permission of
God: "Say, 'I myself have no power to benefit or do harm, save as Allah pleases. If I had
knowledge of the unseen, I would have availed myself of an abundance of good, and no
harm would have touched me. I am but a warner and a bearer of good tidings to those
who believe.'" (Qur'an 7/188)
In fact, there are even some verses that reproach the Prophet for certain actions. There is an incident
where a blind man interrupted him as he was calling a group of influential pagans to Islam, pleading
with the Prophet to give him some religious knowledge. In his eagerness to guide others, the Prophet
frowned and ignored him, for he knew that the blind man was of strong faith and that there would be
no harm if he waited until he finished his meeting. However, the Prophet was reproached by God in
the Qur'an (80/1-11): "He frowned and turned away because the blind man came to him.
But how do you know [O Muhammad]? Perhaps he wanted to purify himself? Or receive
some [Qura'nic] advice which would benefit him? As for him who thinks himself self-
sufficient, to him you attend, though it is not your concern if he does not purify
himself. But as for him who comes to you eagerly and he fears [Allah], you pay no heed
to him. No indeed! Truly it is a reminder."
The Qur'an also contains verses that warn Prophet Muhammad in strong terms and even threaten him
with death if he were to fabricate any saying in the name of God. Verses 69/44-47 read, "Had he
(i.e., Muhammad) falsely attributed some statements to Us, We would have seized him
by the right hand; then We would have cut off his aorta; and not one of you could have
protected him."
The pagan Arabs at the time of the Prophet accused him of forging the Qur'an, so God revealed to
him various verses in which He challenged them to produce a book similar to it. In17/88, we
read, "Say, 'If men and jinn combined to produce a book akin to this Qur'an, they would
surely fail to produce its like, even if they helped one another as best they could.'" We also
read in 52/33-34, "Or do they say, 'He has forged it (i.e. the Qur'an)?' No, the truth is they
have no faith. Let them then produce a discourse like it if they are telling the truth." They
were not able do so. The challenge was later reduced to producing ten chapters, as is clear in
11/13: "Or do they say, 'He has forged it?' Say, 'Then produce ten invented chapters like