THE DEATH OF MUHAMMAD
Muhammad died in 632 A.D. as a result of being poisoned
following his attack upon, and conquest of, the Jewish settlement of
Khaibar. About 2 months before his attack on Khaibar, Muhammad failed in
an attempt to go to Mecca. This failure resulted in the Treaty of
Hudaybiyya with the Meccans. He returned humiliated in the eyes of the
Meccans and in the minds of his people. To lift their defeated spirit,
Muhammad told his followers that the events at Hudaybiyya were really a
victory. In fact, another convenient "revelation" was given to Muhammad as
proof that it really was a victory (Sura 48:1). However, Allah was not
able to deliver the Meccan's goods as booty, so Muhammad told his
followers that they were going to attack and plunder the weaker Jewish
settlement of Khaibar.
About six weeks later Muhammad led his army and attacked
the Jews while they were on their way to work on their date palms. Khaibar
was a settlement defended by a number of forts spread apart from each
other. One by one Muhammad's army took the forts. Finally, the last few
surrendered to him. Muhammad had several of the leaders of the Jewish
settlement beheaded, one leader (Kinana) was tortured to reveal where
buried treasure was hidden. Then when Kinana was near death, Muhammad
commanded that he be beheaded. Many of the women and children were
enslaved. Muhammad even took the most beautiful woman for himself and
married her (Safiyah).
Some of Khaibar's residents made a deal with Muhammad.
Instead of enslaving them, which would leave the rich orchards of Khaibar
to go untended and unproductive, the Jews would give Muhammad and the
Muslims 1/2 of all of what they produced. Muhammad accepted the deal, with
the stipulation that they could be expelled at his slightest whim. Years
later, Umar expelled the last remaining Jews from Khaibar.
Immediately following the conquest of Khaibar, a Jewish
woman prepared a dinner for Muhammad and some of his men. Unknown to the
Muslims was that she had put a poison into the lamb (some say goat) that
was served at dinner. Muhammad ate some of the poisoned lamb and died as a
result three years later.
PRESENTATION OF ISLAMIC SOURCES
PART A - THE POISONING OF MUHAMMAD
PART B - PREMONITIONS OF HIS DEATH
PART C - MUHAMMAD AND GABRIEL PRAY FOR HEALING
PART D - THE ADVENT OF MUHAMMAD'S DEATH
I will use quotes from four highly respected Islamic
writings:
1) "Sahih Bukhari”. This Hadith is considered to be the
most important Islamic book, after the Quran.
2) Ibn Ishaq's biography, the "Sirat Rasul Allah", (THE
LIFE OF THE PROPHET), translated by A. Guillaume as "The Life of
Muhammad", is the most authentic Sirat (biographical) literature
recognized in Islam.
3) Ibn Sa'd biography, the "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir"
(Book of the Major Classes), Volume 2. Of the three, Ibn Sa'd's Sirat
contains the most information relative to Muhammad's death. I will not
attempt to cover the spectrum of subjects Ibn Sa'd addresses in his.
However, I will cover and present his relevant material.
4) Tabari's "History". Tabari is one of the most highly
respected authors in Islamic writings. His "History" is 39 volumes.
5) “Sahih Muslim”. This collection of Hadith is considered
to be equal to, or slightly below Bukhari’s collection of Hadith.
NOTE: I have quoted quite a bit of material. Some of it is
redundant, but I feel that each quote I present provides an important
detail concerning Muhammad's poisoning and death. Please forgive the
tedious nature of the quotes; it is essential that I present the source
material as accurately as possible.
NOTE: My comments appear in [ ] type brackets. Frequently
the authors themselves enclose comments in ( ) type brackets. I will copy
them as they appear in the text.
NOTE: In some cases I will leave out the chain of narators
because they are quite long, and not necessary for the context of the
story.
Also, I will present quotes from the sources in as much of
a chronological sequence as possible.
PART A - THE POISONING OF MUHAMMAD
A1
From Bukhari's Hadith 3.786:
Narrated Anas bin Malik: A Jewess brought a poisoned
(cooked) sheep for the Prophet who ate from it. She was brought to the
Prophet and he was asked, "Shall we kill her?" He said, "No." I continued
to see the effect of the poison on the palate of the mouth of Allah's
Apostle.
A2
From Bukhari's Hadith 4.394: Narrated Abu Huraira: When
Khaibar was conquered, a roasted poisoned sheep was presented to the
Prophet as a gift (by the Jews). The Prophet ordered, "Let all the Jews
who have been here, be assembled before me." The Jews were collected and
the Prophet said (to them), "I am going to ask you a question. Will you
tell the truth?" They said, "Yes." The Prophet asked, "Who is your
father?" They replied, "So-and-so." He said, "You have told a lie; your
father is so-and-so." They said, "You are right." He said, "Will you now
tell me the truth, if I ask you about something?" They replied, "Yes, O
Abu Al-Qasim; and if we should tell a lie, you can realize our lie as you
have done regarding our father." On that he asked, "Who are the people of
the (Hell) Fire?" They said, "We shall remain in the (Hell) Fire for a
short period, and after that you will replace us." The Prophet said, "You
may be cursed and humiliated in it! By Allah, we shall never replace you
in it." Then he asked, "Will you now tell me the truth if I ask you a
question?" They said, "Yes, O Abu Al-Qasim." He asked, "Have you poisoned
this sheep?" They said, "Yes." He asked, "What made you do so?" They said,
"We wanted to know if you were a liar in which case we would get rid of
you, and if you are a prophet then the poison would not harm you."
A3
From Ibn Sa'd page 249:
Verily a Jewish woman presented poisoned (meat of) a she
goat to the apostle of Allah. He took a piece form it, put it into his
mouth, chewed it and threw it away. Then he said to the Companions: "Halt!
Verily, its leg tells me that it is poisoned." Then he sent for the Jewish
woman and asked her; "What induced you to do what you have done?" She
replied, "I wanted to know if you are true; in that case Allah will surely
inform you, and if you are a liar I shall relieve the people of you."
A4
From Ibn Sa'd page 249: [different narrator]
The apostle of Allah and his companions ate from it. It
(goat) said: "I am poisoned." He [Muhammad] said to his Companions, "Hold
you hands! because it has informed me that it is poisoned!" They withdrew
their hands, but Bishr Ibn al-Bara expired. The apostle of Allah sent for
her (Jewess) and asked her, "What induced you to do what you have done?"
She replied, "I wanted to know if you are a prophet, in that case it will
not harm you and if you are a king, I shall relieve the people of you. He
gave orders and she was put to death. [SEE NOTE 1]
A5
From Ibn Sa'd page 250: [different narrator]
Verily a woman of the Jews of Khaibar presented poisoned
(meat of) goat to the apostle of Allah. The he recognized that it was
poisoned, so he sent for her and asked her, "What induced you to do what
you have done?" She replied, "I thought if you are a prophet, Allah will
inform you, and if you are a pretender, I shall relieve people of you.
When the apostle of Allah felt sick, he got himself "cupped". [SEE NOTE 2]
A6
From Ibn Sa'd pages 251, 252: [different narrator]
....When the apostle of Allah conquered Khaibar and he had
peace of mind, Zaynab Bint al-Harith the brother of Marhab, who was the
spouse of Sallam Ibn Mishkam, inquired, "Which part of the goat is liked
by Muhammad?" They said, "The foreleg." Then she slaughtered one from her
goats and roasted it (the meat). Then she wanted a poison which could not
fail. .... The apostle of Allah took the foreleg, a piece of which he put
into his mouth. Bishr took another bone and put it into his mouth. When
the apostle of Allah ate one morsel of it Bishr ate his and other people
also ate from it. Then the apostle of Allah said, "Hold back your hands!
because this foreleg; ...informed me that it is poisoned. Thereupon Bishr
said, "By Him who has made you great! I discovered it from the morsel I
took. Nothing prevented me from emitting it out, but the idea that I did
not like to make your food unrelishing. When you had eaten what was in
your mouth I did not like to save my life after yours, and I also thought
you would not have eaten it if there was something wrong.
Bishr did not rise form his seat but his color changed to
that of "taylsan" (a green cloth)..........The apostle of Allah sent for
Zaynab and said to her, "What induced you to do what you have done?" She
replied, "You have done to my people what you have done. You have killed
my father, my uncle and my husband, so I said to myself, "If you are a
prophet, the foreleg will inform you; and others have said, "If you are a
king we will get rid of you.""......
The apostle of Allah lived after this three years till in
consequence of his pain he passed away. During his illness he used to say,
"I did not cease to find the effect of the (poisoned) morsel, I took at
Khaibar and I suffered several times (from its effect) but now I feel the
hour has come of the cutting of my jugular vein."
A7
From Tabari Volume 8, page 123, 124:
When the messenger of God rested from his labor, Zaynab
bt. al-Harith, the wife of Sallam b. Mishkam, served him a roast sheep.
She had asked what part of the sheep the messenger of God liked best and
was told that it was the foreleg. So she loaded that part with poison, and
she poisoned the rest of the sheep too. Then she brought it. When she set
it before the messenger of God, he took the foreleg and chewed a bit of
it, but he did not swallow it. With him was Bishr b. al-Bara b. Marur,
who, like the messenger of God, took some of it; Bishr, however, swallowed
it, while the messenger of God spat it out saying, "This bone informs me
that it has been poisoned." He asked, "What led you to do this?" She said:
"How you have afflicted my people is not hidden from you. So I said, "If
he is a prophet, he will be informed; but if he is a king, I shall be rid
of him"". The prophet forgave her. Bishr died of the food he had eaten.
A8
From Tabari Volume 8, page 124: [different narrator]
The messenger of God said during the illness from which he
died - the mother of Bishr had come in to visit him - "Umm Bishr, at this
very moment I feel my aorta being severed because of the food I ate with
your son at Khaybar." [See NOTE 3]
NOTE 1: There is disagreement over whether of not Muhammad
had the women who poisoned him put to death. In short, he had her put to
death for the death of the other Muslim - Bishr, who quickly died from the
poisoning. See the reports by Ibn Sa'd, p. 250.
NOTE 2: Cupping is essentially drawing a small amount of
blood from your body. Muhammad believed that bleeding oneself was "the
best of medicines".
NOTE 3: The note on quote A8 states that the expression,
"it severed his aorta" need not be taken literally; it is used
metaphorically for extreme pain.
PART B - PREMONITIONS OF HIS DEATH
B1
From Bukhari's Hadith 5.713:
Narrated Ibn Abbas:
'Umar bin Al-Khattab used to let Ibn Abbas sit beside him,
so 'AbdurRahman bin 'Auf said to 'Umar, "We have sons similar to him."
'Umar replied, "(I respect him) because of his status that you know."
'Umar then asked Ibn 'Abbas about the meaning of this Holy Verse:-- "When
comes the help of Allah and the conquest of Mecca . . ." (110.1)
Ibn 'Abbas replied, "That indicated the death of Allah's
Apostle which Allah informed him of." 'Umar said, "I do not understand of
it except what you understand."
Narrated 'Aisha: The Prophet in his ailment in which he
died, used to say, "O
'Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at
Khaibar, and at this
time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that
poison."
B2
From Ibn Sa'd page 244:
... and there has been no prophet but he has lived half
the life of the prophet preceding him. Jesus the son of Mary lived for one
hundred and twenty five years, and this is the sixty second year of my
life. He (prophet) died half the year after this.
B3
From Ibn Sa'd page 239:
The appointed hour (of death) of the apostle of Allah came
near and he was ordered to recite repeatedly "tasbih" (lit. glorification)
and ask for His forgiveness.
B4
From Ibn Sa'd page 240:
When (the Surah) Allah's succor and the triumph comes; was
revealed he (prophet) said: (It signifies) call from Allah and departure
from the world.
B5
From Tabari Volume 9 page 108:
When the prophet returned to Medina after performing the
Pilgrimage of Completion, he began to have a complaint of illness. As
travel was allowed (after the pilgrimage), the news of the prophet's
illness spread......Then in Muharram the prophet complained of the pain
from which he died.
PART C - MUHAMMAD AND GABRIEL PRAY FOR HEALING
NOTE: It was already quoted from Ibn Sa'd above (page 250
that Muhammad tried to get himself healed of the poisoning.
C1
From Ibn Sa'd page 263
Verily during his illness the prophet recited
"al-Mu'awwadhatayn" [Sura 113, and 114], and blow his breath upon his body
while rubbing his face. [This was done in an effort to be healed].
C2
From Sahih Muslim volume 3, # 5440
Aisha reported that when Allah’s Messenger fell ill, he
recited over his body Mu’awwidhatan and blew over him and when his
sickness was aggravated I used to recite over him and rub him with his
hand with the hope that it was more blessed. Also ref. Hadith # 5441.
C2
From Ibn Sa'd page 265
The apostle of Allah fell ill and he i.e. Gabriel, chanted
on him, saying, "In the name of Allah I chant on to ward off from you
every thing that harms you and (to ward off you) against every envier and
from every evil eye and Allah will heal you."
C3
From Ibn Sa'd page 265 [Different narrator]
Aisha, the wife of the prophet used to say, "When the
apostle of Allah fell ill, Gabriel chanted on him saying, "In the name of
Allah Who will cure you and Who will heal you from every malady (and will
ward off) the evil of envier who envies and from smite of the evil eye.""
C4
From Ibn Sa'd page 322
Verily, whenever the apostle of Allah fell ill, he asked
for recovery, from Allah. But in the illness as a result of which he died,
he did not pray for recovery; he used to say, "O soul! What has happened
to thee that thou are seeking refuge in every place of refuge?"
PART D - THE ADVENT OF MUHAMMAD'S DEATH
D1 [again quoting from Bukhari's Hadith 5.713:]
Narrated 'Aisha:
The Prophet in his ailment in which he died, used to say,
"O 'Aisha! I still feel the pain caused by the food I ate at Khaibar, and
at this time, I feel as if my aorta is being cut from that poison."
D2
From Ibn Hisham page 678:
While matters were thus the apostle began to suffer from
the illness by which God took him to what honor and compassion He intended
for him shortly before the end of Safar or in the beginning of
Rabi'ul-awwal. It began, so I have been told, when he went to
Baqi'u'l-Gharqad in the middle of the night and prayed for the dead. Then
he returned to his family and in the morning his sufferings began.
D3
From Ibn Hisham page 679:
Then the apostle's illness worsened and he suffered much
pain. He said, "Pour seven skins of water from different wells over me so
that I may go out to the men and instruct them." We made him sit down in a
tub belonging to Hafsa d. Umar and we poured water over him until he
cried, "Enough, enough!"
....then he [Muhammad] said, "God has given one of his
servants the choice between this world and that which is with God and he
has chosen the latter."
D4
From Ibn Hisham page 680:
Then some of his wives gathered to him.... while his uncle
Abbas was with him, and they agreed to force him to take medicine. Abbas
said, "Let me force him," but they did it. When he recovered he asked who
had treated him thus. When they told him it was his uncle he said, "This
is a medicine which women have brought from that country," and he pointed
in the direction of Abyssinia [Ethiopia]. When he asked why they had done
that his uncle said, "We were afraid that you would get pleurisy;" he
replied, "That is a disease which God would not afflict me with. Let no
one stop in the house until they have been forced to take this medicine,
except my uncle." Maymuna [one of Muhammad's wives] was forced to take it
although she was fasting because of the apostle's oath, as a punishment
for what they had done to him.
D5
From Ibn Sa'd page 294
Umm Bishr [the mother of the Muslim man who also died
eating poison], came to the prophet during his illness and said, "O
apostle of Allah! I never saw fever like it in any one." The prophet said
to her, "Our trial is double and so our reward [in heaven], is double.
What do the people say about it [his illness]?" She said, "They say it is
pleurisy." Thereupon the apostle said, "Allah will not like to make His
apostle suffer from it (pleurisy) because it indicates the possession of
Satan, but (my disease is the result of) the morsel that I had taken along
your son. It has cut my jugular vein."
SEE NOTE 3
D6
From Ibn Hisham page 682:
....that he heard Aisha [one of Muhammad's wives] say:
"The apostle died in my bosom during my turn: [the night Muhammad was to
spend sleeping with her] I had wronged none in regard to him. It was due
to my ignorance and extreme youth that the apostle died in my arms."
D7
From Ibn Sa'd page 322:
When the last moment of the prophet was near, he used to
draw a sheet over his face; but when he felt uneasy, he removed it from
his face and said: "Allah's damnation be on the Jews and the Christians
who made the graves of their prophets objects of worship."
NOTE 3: Pleurisy is an infection of a lung membrane. It is
painful. I don't know why Muhammad considered this infection to be from
Satan, but poisoning would not be from Satan.
SUMMARY OF THE SOURCES
Muhammad attacked Khaibar. He destroyed, tortured,
murdered, plundered, and enslaved many people (ref Kitab al-Tabaqat
al-Kabir, volume 2, page 134, 136, 137). They were not preparing to attack
him. A Jewish woman, whose family had been wiped out by Muhammad, put
poison into a lamb and fed it to Muhammad and the other Muslims. Muhammad
ingested some of the poisoned lamb and began to feel it's effects. He died
three years later as a result of the poisoning.
DISCUSSION
What needs to be investigated here are the circumstances
of Muhammad's death. The Jews were planning to murder him. The Jews
believed that a real prophet would be forewarned of their deed but an
impostor wouldn't be warned by God. The Muslims also believed this; the
other Muslim who died said that he didn't think Muhammad would eat of
something that was poisoned (see quote in A6).
The Jews were right, Muhammad did eat of the poison, and
did die from it. They proved, according to their test, that Muhammad was
not a prophet. As they said (quote A2):
"We wanted to know if you were a liar in which case we
would get rid of you, and if you are a prophet then the poison would not
harm you."
These Jews were convinced that a real prophet would know
what was going on. In this case Muhammad didn't know. Only after Muhammad
ate from the lamb did the lamb "talk to him". I don't think that that was
anything miraculous in itself; even the other Muslim knew it was bad
before Muhammad ate from it. Most adults know when they are eating
something that is bad. So for Muhammad to say the sheep "talked" to him is
not prophetic at all. Even a child spits out bad tasting food.
Many times previously, Muhammad claimed to have had
"revelations" that warned him of danger. He even used one of these
convenient "revelations" as grounds to attack the Jewish settlement of
Banu Nadhir. Yet at Khaibar the revelation came too late: too late to save
his own life, too late to save Bishr's life.
As his illness wore on, Muhammad began to pray for healing
– he even rubbed his “healing” hand upon himself. Gabriel also got into
the act and prayed for his healing (see quotes C2 & C3). Muhammad even got
himself "cupped" (the best of all medicines!), (quote A5). Obviously, at
this point in time, Muhammad wanted to be healed.
But it didn't help. As it progressively got worse,
Muhammad realized that he was dying, ceased praying for healing (quote
C4), and claimed that Allah had given him a choice to going to Paradise,
or living on earth. Muhammad said he then wanted to go to Paradise.
Knowing the game was up, he made the best out of a failed situation.
Muhammad's earlier premonitions of his deaths read more
like the cosmic words of a mystic. Nothing definite is ever said about
them until after his approaching death. Perhaps he had seen this type of
death before and knew the outcome. It doesn't take a prophet or a
"revelation" to know that death is near.
My basic point is this: the Jews proved that Muhammad was
not a real prophet. He ingested the poison, so did at least one of his
followers. He attempted to be healed, he tried his medicine, and his form
of “laying on of hands”, his prayer, Aisha’s prayer, and even Gabriel’s
prayer, but in the end, he died from the poison.
QUESTIONS
1) If Muhammad were a real prophet of God, why didn't he
catch the poison before he ate it?
2) If you believe that it was God's will for Muhammad to
have eaten the poison, along with Bishr, why then did Muhammad try to get
well? Even Gabriel prayed for Muhammad to get better, but Allah didn't
answer that prayer either.
3) Why did Gabriel not know the will of Allah? Why would
Gabriel pray if Allah had decided death?
4) Why did Muhammad force the other Muslims to drink the
medicine he was given? One of them was one of his wives, and she was
fasting. He forced her to break her fast and drink the medicine as well.
Doesn't this sound vindictive and petty?
5) Why, when just before his death, did Muhammad have to
utter a curse upon the Christians and the Jews? Wouldn't it have been
better for Muhammad to pray for guidance for them? This also sounds like a
jealous, bitter prayer to Allah. Muhammad prayed for and uttered curses
instead of asking Allah to guide people.
6) Why would pleurisy, which is a normal infection of the
lung membrane, be considered to be from Satan, but being poisoned would
not be from Satan?
CONCLUSION
Muhammad was not a real prophet, he was a false prophet.
He died as a result of eating poison that he didn't know about. The
poisoned lamb "spoke" to him too late. Only when he realized he was dying
did Muhammad "spiritualize" his suffering and coming death. Prior to that
he tried to get well.
Moses knew about his coming death (Deut 34:1-5). Jesus
also knew of His future death (Mark 8:32, 32). Yet Muhammad was in the
dark until he himself realized he was going to die.
Paul the apostle was bitten by a poisonous snake (Acts
28:1-6), but Paul suffered no ill effects from the bite. God had his hand
of protection on Paul, to finish the work laid out for him. Muhammad died
so suddenly that there was confusion as to would be the next ruler of the
Islamic state. To this day, part of that confusion remains. The Islamic
world is divided in part because of this issue (Shia vs. Sunni). Wouldn't
Allah, who abhors division within the Ummah have protected Muhammad long
enough to insure that his state remain unified, and a clearly defined
successor be named?
Jesus predicted false prophets would come into the world
and mislead many (Matthew 24:24). Muhammad was such a false prophet. Both
Jesus and Moses knew God face to face, Muhammad only had a spirit or angel
he called "Gabriel" speaking to him. In the end, even this angel's prayers
were not answered by Allah. Could it be that this "Gabriel" was preaching
a false religion (Galatians 1:8) to Muhammad? Could Gabriel have been a
deceptive demon or Satan himself?