robert spencer-did muhammad exist__ an inquiry into islams obscure origins-intercollegiate studies institute (2012) (1)

The Man Who Wasn't There
The Sources
One may assume that the first and foremost source for information about Muhammad's life is the Qur'an,
the holy book of Islam. Yet that book actually reveals little about the life of Islam's central figure. In it,
Allah frequently addresses his prophet and tells him what to say to the believers and unbelievers.
Commentators and readers generally assume that Muhammad is the one addressed in these cases, but that
—like so much else in this field—is not certain.
The name Muhammad actually appears in the Qur'an only four times, and in three of those instances it
could be used as a title—the “praised one” or “chosen one”—rather than as a proper name. By contrast,
Moses is mentioned by name 136 times, and Abraham, 79 times. Even Pharaoh is mentioned 74 times.
Meanwhile, “messenger of Allah” (rasul Allah) appears in various forms 300 times, and “prophet”
(nabi), 43 times. 1 Are those all references to Muhammad, the seventh-century prophet of Arabia?
Perhaps. Certainly they have been taken as such by readers of the Qur'an through the ages. But even if they
are, they tell us little to nothing about the events and circumstances of his life.
Indeed, throughout the Qur'an there is essentially nothing about this messenger beyond insistent
assertions of his status as an emissary of Allah and calls for the believers to obey him. Three of the four
times that the name Muhammad is mentioned, nothing at all is disclosed about his life.
The first of the four mentions of Muhammad by name appears in the third chapter, or sura, of the Qur'an:
“Muhammad is nothing but a messenger; messengers have passed away before him” (3:144). The Qur'an
later says that “the Messiah, the son of Mary, is nothing but a messenger; messengers have passed away
before him” (5:75). 2 The identical language may indicate that in 3:144, Jesus is the figure being referred
to as the “praised one”—that is, the muhammad.
In sura 33 we read that “Muhammad is not the father of any one of your men, but the Messenger of God,
and the Seal of the Prophets; God has knowledge of everything” (33:40). 3 This is almost certainly a
specific reference to the prophet of Islam and not simply to a prophetic figure being accorded the epithet
the “praised one.” It is also an extremely important verse for Islamic theology: Muslim scholars have
interpreted Muhammad's status as “Seal of the Prophets” to mean that Muhammad is the last of the
prophets of Allah and that anyone who pretends to the status of prophet after Muhammad is of necessity a
false prophet. This doctrine accounts for the deep antipathy, often expressed in violence, that traditional
Islam harbors toward later prophetic movements that arose within an Islamic milieu, such as the Baha'is
and Qadiani Ahmadis.
Less specific is Qur'an 47:2: “But those who believe and do righteous deeds and believe in what is
sent down to Muhammad—and it is the truth from their Lord—He will acquit them of their evil deeds, and
dispose their minds aright.” In this verse, “Muhammad” is someone to whom Allah has given revelations,