The Seed · Messengers
Muhammad
Muhammad was a messenger of God and the final prophet. He was a human being like us, and God revealed the Quran through him.
Muhammad was not the father of any man among you. He was a messenger of GOD and the final prophet. GOD is fully aware of all things.
[33:40]Muslims love Muhammad deeply, and the Quran honours him as well.
The Quran also does something that we may not expect. While it honours him, it also keeps reminding us that he was a human being.
If you have loved Muhammad all your life, we kindly ask you to read this page with an open heart, and then see for yourself what the Quran says about him.
Let's go through his life together, the way the Quran tells it. We will look at who he was and what God sent him to do, and then at how God told us to follow him. As you will see, the page ends where his own message ends, with the message to worship God alone.
Who Muhammad Was
Let's begin with who he was. The Quran tells us very plainly: “He was a messenger of GOD and the final prophet.” [33:40] So Muhammad was both a messenger and a prophet, and he was the last of the prophets.
He was sent to everyone. God told him to say: “O people, I am GOD's messenger to all of you.” [7:158] God also says to him: “We have sent you out of mercy from us towards the whole world.” [21:107] Please notice that the “We” in this verse is God speaking.
He was a human being, and he said this himself: “I am no more than a human like you, being inspired that your god is one god.” [18:110]
He also followed the religion of Abraham. God told him: “follow the religion of Abraham, the monotheist” [16:123].
His Life Before the Revelation
So far, we have looked at who Muhammad was. From here, let's go back to the time before the Quran came to him. God reminds Muhammad of where he started: “Did He not find you orphaned and He gave you a home?” [93:6]
God goes on: “He found you astray, and guided you.” [93:7] “He found you poor, and made you rich.” [93:8] Please notice how God reminds him of each of these blessings, one after the other.
His people knew him well. He told them: “I have lived among you a whole life before this” [10:16]. In all those years, he had never claimed to bring a scripture, until God sent it to him.
How the Quran Was Revealed to Him
Now that we have seen his life before the revelation, let's look at how the Quran came to him. The first words revealed to him were these: “Read, in the name of your Lord, who created.” [96:1]
From then on, the Quran came to him piece by piece, over a long period of time [17:106]. God calls it “what was sent down to Muhammad—which is the truth from their Lord” [47:2]. Muhammad was also told to say: “this Quran has been inspired to me, to preach it to you and whomever it reaches” [6:19].
The Quran was not his own words. When people asked him to change it, he answered: “I cannot possibly change it on my own. I simply follow what is revealed to me.” [10:15]
God even told him not to rush it: “Do not move your tongue to hasten it.” [75:16] God would put it together [75:17], and God would also explain it: “Then it is we who will explain it.” [75:19] Please notice that the “we” in this verse is God speaking.
What God Sent Him to Do
We have seen how the Quran came to him. Next, let's look at what God sent him to do with it. God tells us very clearly what a messenger's job is: “The sole duty of the messenger is to deliver the message” [5:99].
God describes him in this way: “O prophet, we have sent you as a witness, a bearer of good news, as well as a warner.” [33:45]
He did not have any special powers of his own. God told him to say: “I have no power to benefit myself, or harm myself.” [7:188] God also told him to say: “I do not say to you that I possess the treasures of GOD. Nor do I know the future.” [6:50]
In this, he was just like the messengers who came before him: “I am not different from other messengers. I have no idea what will happen to me or to you. I only follow what is revealed to me.” [46:9]
His Character and His Example
Now let's look at the kind of man he was. God praises his character: “You are blessed with a great moral character.” [68:4]
His gentleness with people was itself a gift from God: “It was mercy from GOD that you became compassionate towards them. Had you been harsh and mean-hearted, they would have abandoned you.” [3:159]
God also sets him up as an example for us. If you read the verse all the way to the end, you will notice that it tells us what kind of example he is: “The messenger of GOD has set up a good example for those among you who seek GOD and the Last Day, and constantly think about GOD.” [33:21] So his example is a life that is turned toward God.
A Human Being Who Made Mistakes
So far, we have looked at his great character. The Quran is also honest with us about something else. It does not tell us that Muhammad was perfect, and it records some of his mistakes. We kindly ask you to read them with love, because they show us that he was a human being, and not a god.
Once, a blind man came to him eagerly, while Muhammad was giving his attention to a rich man [80:5]. God tells us: “He (Muhammad) frowned and turned away.” [80:1] God corrected him. The blind man had come to him eagerly [80:8], and he was really reverent [80:9]. God told him: “You ignored him.” [80:10]
Another time, he kept something hidden because he was worried about what people might say. God told him: “you feared the people, when you were supposed to fear only GOD” [33:37].
Another time, he made something unlawful for himself in order to please his wives. God asked him: “O you prophet, why do you prohibit what GOD has made lawful for you, just to please your wives?” [66:1]
And once, his opponents almost turned him away from the revelation [17:73]. God tells him: “If it were not that we strengthened you, you almost leaned towards them just a little bit.” [17:74] Please notice that it was God who kept him firm.
None of this makes him any less in our eyes. When we read these verses, we see an honest human messenger, and we see how God guided him step by step.
What It Means to Follow the Messenger
Now that we have seen Muhammad as a human being, let's look at what it means to follow him. God commands us to obey the messenger: “Whoever obeys the messenger is obeying GOD.” [4:80]
This leads us to look at what the messenger brought to us. He brought the Quran, and only the Quran. God tells us that if he had uttered any other teachings, God would have stopped the revelations to him [69:44] [69:46]. Muhammad himself asked: “Shall I seek other than GOD as a source of law, when He has revealed to you this book fully detailed?” [6:114]
So it is clear to us that following Muhammad means following the Quran he delivered. This is also what he followed himself.
The Quran records the messenger's complaint about his own people: “My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran.” [25:30] Later on, many other books were put beside the Quran in his name. We look at this more closely at Hadith & Sunnah.
Why We Do Not Raise Muhammad Beside God
We have seen that following Muhammad means following the Quran. In the same way, our love for him should never turn into worshiping him, because if we worshiped a messenger, we would be doing him a great wrong. The believers say: “We make no distinction among any of His messengers.” [2:285]
God reminds us that Muhammad would die like everyone else: “You (Muhammad) will surely die, just like they will die.” [39:30] God also says: “Muhammad was no more than a messenger like the messengers before him.” [3:144]
The testimony of faith that God gives us has one part: “There is no other god beside GOD” [47:19]. Please notice that this testimony is in sura 47, the sura that carries Muhammad's own name. God Himself also bears witness: “there is no god but He” [3:18].
Muhammad's own words leave no doubt about this: “I worship only my Lord; I never set up any idols besides Him.” [72:20] He also said: “I possess no power to harm you, nor to guide you.” [72:21]
So we love Muhammad, and we follow the message he brought. But we call on God alone, as God tells us: “do not call on anyone else beside GOD” [72:18].
Muhammad and the Messengers Before Him
Now let's look at how Muhammad connects to the messengers who came before him. He did not bring a new religion. God says: “He decreed for you the same religion decreed for Noah, and what we inspired to you, and what we decreed for Abraham, Moses, and Jesus” [42:13].
The Quran tells us that the earlier scriptures spoke about him: “the gentile prophet (Muhammad), whom they find written in their Torah and Gospel” [7:157].
The believers he taught were to honour every messenger in the same way: “We make no distinction among any of them. To Him alone we are submitters.” [2:136]
His Story, and Where to Read It
The Quran does not tell Muhammad's life as one story in one place. In some verses God speaks to him, and in others God speaks about him. Below are the main parts, with the verses where you can read each part for yourself.
| What the Quran says | Where to read it |
|---|---|
| A messenger of God and the final prophet | [33:40] |
| Orphaned, astray and poor, then guided | [93:6] to [93:8] |
| The first revelation | [96:1] to [96:5] |
| Sent to all people, out of mercy | [7:158] and [21:107] |
| A human being like us | [18:110] and [41:6] |
| His only duty is to deliver the message | [5:99] and [42:48] |
| His great character | [68:4] and [3:159] |
| The blind man who came to him | [80:1] to [80:10] |
| No other teachings beside the Quran | [69:44] to [69:47] |
| His complaint that his people deserted the Quran | [25:30] |
One Message: God Alone
We have now gone through what the Quran tells us about Muhammad. Through all of it, his whole mission came down to one truth, which is that God is one [18:110].
He was told to say this about his own life: “My Contact Prayers (Salat), my worship practices, my life and my death, are all devoted absolutely to GOD alone, the Lord of the universe.” [6:162]
He was also told to say: “I have been commanded to worship GOD, devoting the religion absolutely to Him alone.” [39:11]
So the way we honour Muhammad is by doing what he did. We follow the Quran he delivered, and like him, we keep up the Contact Prayers (Salat) and worship God alone.
Muhammad in Four Verses
Here are four verses about Muhammad that are good to keep close to us and to come back to often.
You are blessed with a great moral character.[68:4]
Say, “I am no more than a human being like you, who has been inspired that your god is one god. You shall be devoted to Him, and ask His forgiveness. Woe to the idol worshipers.”[41:6]
If they turn away, we did not send you as their guardian. Your sole mission is delivering the message. When we shower the human beings with mercy, they become proud, and when adversity afflicts them, as a consequence of their own deeds, the human beings turn into disbelievers.[42:48]
“And I was commanded to be the utmost submitter.”[39:12]
What the Messenger Said About His People
The Quran records these words of the messenger about his own people: “My Lord, my people have deserted this Quran.” [25:30]
It is worth asking ourselves whether he would say the same thing about us if he looked at our lives. Please think about how much of each week we spend with the Quran he brought.
Growth Prompt
Please read sura 93 slowly. It is only eleven verses, and in it God speaks to Muhammad. Then please write down the times when God found you lost, poor or alone, and how He brought you through them.
Do I follow Muhammad by following the Quran he delivered, or by following what others later said in his name?
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