Talk:Muhammad

Frequently asked questions, please read before posting

Please read Talk:Muhammad/FAQ for answers to these frequently-asked questions (you need to tap "Read as wiki page" to see the relevant text):

1. Shouldn't all the images of Muhammad be removed because they might offend Muslims?
2. Aren't the images of Muhammad false?
3. How can I hide the images using my personal Wikipedia settings?
4. Why does the infobox at the top of the article contain a stylized logo and not a picture of Muhammad?
5. Why is Muhammad's name not followed by (pbuh) or (saw) in the article?
6. Why does the article say that Muhammad is the "founder" of Islam?
7. Why does it look like the article is biased towards secular or "Western" references?
8. Why can't I edit this article as a new or anonymous user?
9. Can censorship be employed on Wikipedia?
10. Because Muhammad married an underage girl, should the article say he was a pedophile?

This section is for mobile-device users who do not see the normal talk page header. This section should not have any comments, so that it stays on this talk page and does not get archived.

Featured article?

Muhammad is one of the most important individuals in history and founded a religion with more than two billion followers today. How can it be that this article hasn't yet been featured? Marginataen (talk) 08:49, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

Checking what's in the "Article milestones" template above, it seems nobody has been willing to try getting this article through the WP:FA process. On the plus-side, it's a relatively stable article, so if you're up to it, try. Will probably be a lot of work, though. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 08:58, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

It is just baffling to me that an article about a 20th century Chinese politician like Li Rui is a featured article but not Muhammad. The Li Rui article is way shorter than this one. Does this article need more content, or has it a change to be featured in its current form? Marginataen (talk) 11:32, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

@Marginataen: You'll see at the top of this page that it is a good article: see WP:GACR for the criteria to be considered "good". Then look at WP:FACR to see what an article needs in order to be considered a featured article. Note that appropriate length is one of the criteria. Bazza (talk) 11:55, 22 June 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 26 June 2023

SALAM, Kindly add (S.A.W)(ﷺ) or PBUH with the name/title. kind regards, Rahirules (talk) 09:55, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

See Talk:Muhammad#Frequently_asked_questions,_please_read_before_posting #5. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:02, 26 June 2023 (UTC)

The policy is detailed at Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Islam-related articles, specifically Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Islam-related articles#Islamic honorifics. --𝕁𝕄𝔽 (talk) 09:41, 11 July 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 13 July 2023

Muhammad was a killer he killed 700 jews in 1 day ,he has 12 wives and 25 slaves he also marry a 9 years old girl — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2A02:85F:E841:E45B:A0CB:164B:FDE5:1098 (talk) 10:30, 13 July 2023 (UTC)

Not done. Please state exactly what you want to change first and provide a reliable source. NM 08:42, 10 August 2023 (UTC)

Why suddenly the article was changed to be attacking the person of Muhammad rather than relate his life in a neutral manner as it used to be for years?

For long years, I've been a constant reader of Wikipedia articles, and I have great interest in some specific articles that I continuously read due to how much I learn from them and refresh my memory through the information provided therein. One of these articles is that of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muhammad

As I always expect from a secular encyclopedia like yourselves when it comes to a religious figure to not relate his life from the perspective of either an admirer nor a critic, but rather will show the facts in a neutral manner regardless of personal beliefs which might result different interpretations based on how the reader may approach such tales.

Until few days ago, this aforementioned article was exactly as I'm describing, and had been so for years with very few and limited changes that might have occurred over those years that doesn't really ruin the methodology which this article had been written accordingly!

I have been shocked when I opened it recently to find about 90% of it being changed, information are provided in a very biased manner that is clearly intending to criticize the person of Muhammad and to not merely relate his life to the public readers, and at many times, the references provided in this newly edited article are written by a well-known critics of Islam, while labelling most Muslim beliefs as ''propaganda'' or ''criterion of embarrassment'', while praising any activity against Islam and defending it it throughout the article as its clear in every incident there's a conflict in the life of Muhammad.

I recommend that the original article which had been there for years to replace this newly edited one to preserve the honesty and neutral intent of this website, especially when it comes to a figure that left a great impact in this world and captivated the hearts of billions of human beings throughout history. Jopharocen (talk) 21:33, 21 July 2023 (UTC)

Well, Jopharocen, it's certainly the case that User:Kaalakaa has made a significant number of changes to the article since 12 June; in fact, the vast majority, but not all, of the changes in in that time in this diff are atributable to that user. There are a lot of changes to consider. Can you give examples of what you are complaining about? DeCausa (talk) 22:37, 21 July 2023 (UTC)

Certainly,

I'll need to write down another article to refute many of the claims made by that user, as its clear that most changes were made by certain individual or group of individuals solely to defame Muhammad and not to merely relate facts regardless of personal interpretations.

Lets start with the Satanic verses recorded in the newly-edited article, it was already there long before the changes while affirming that Muslim scholars reject it due to being weakly transmitted, after the new edition, its related as if the rejection a later belief among Muslims due to "criterion of embarrassment". Lets quote it:

This satanic verses incident was reported en masse and recorded by virtually every compiler of a major biography of Muhammad in the first two centuries of Islam, which according to them corresponds to Quran 22:52. But since the rise of the hadith movement and systematic theology with its new doctrines, including the isma, which claimed that Muhammad was infallible and thus could not be fooled by Satan, the historical memory of the early community has been reevaluated. And as of the 20th century AD, Muslim scholars unanimously rejected this incident.

This part, although funny, cannot even be described as criticism, its nothing but defamation as it contains an obvious false information for no reason other than defaming the person of Muhammad.

The part which says that the Satanic verses "recorded by virtually every compiler of a major biography of Muhammad in the first two centuries of Islam" is untrue as Ibn Hisham, who is the main source for the Prophet's biography didn't include it due to how bogus is it. Also Quran 22:52 was revealed - by consensus of Muslim scholars - in Medina, and the alleged incident of Satanic verses took place in Mecca. Its ridiculous to believe that Muslims continued for years to believe in pagan idols as intercessors, even after migrating to Medina! Why would Quraysh continue to persecute them anyway?

Also in this part it shows the concept of ismah, that is infallibility, as if its a later belief developed among Muslims which led to the rejection of the Satanic verses tale, not due to how weakly transmitted is it! The concept of ismah and infallibility was always there from the 1st century of Islam as it corresponds to Quran 5:67. The funniest part is when it claims the story is rejected unanimously by 20th century! How futile this claim is to believe that for 14 centuries Muslims believed that their prophet having sought intercession from idols!

In short, the Satanic verses was never recounted in any canonical book of hadith, and was only recounted by historians who never made genuinity a condition in their methodology. Tabari for example made it clear that he is not responsible for anything he relates as he relates it the way he heard it without verification of the authenticity.

Lets use another example how clearly the editor intended to belittle the Prophet, and not to merely relate facts, take a look at this when it spoke of Isra and Mi'raj miracle believed by all Muslims worldwide:

There is considered no substantial basis for the Mi'raj in the Quran, as the Quran does not address it directly and emphasizes that Muhammad was not given any miracles other than the Quran.

This claim is only made by non-Muslim critics of Islam, especially Christian missionaries, as both Sunni and Shia Muslims believe that Muhammad performed many miracles! The uniqueness of the Quran is in being the only living miracle witnessed by everyone at every time, but not as the only miracle, so the editor is using his own personal interpretation of the Quran, because he is unaware that the Quran itself mentioned several miracles by Muhammad in in verses like 8:9, 30:1-4, 53:14-1, and others. I'll not mention another ridiculous claim by the editor regarding al-Masjid al-Aqsa not being in Jerusalem.

I can mention tons of false information in this article after being edited, but I'll end my reply with this, which shows the use of language to be purely intending to defame, not to relate a fact by any means, lets take a look how the author related the marriage of the Prophet from Safiyyah:

Muhammad claimed Safiyya bint Huyayy, a beautiful 17-year-old girl, from among the captives. Following the battle, her husband, Kinana ibn al-Rabi, was put through torture by Muhammad's decree for declining to reveal his tribe’s hidden wealth, and subsequently beheaded. Her father and brother had been executed during the massacre of the Banu Qurayza. Overwhelmed by her beauty, Muhammad had sex with her the very night, contradicting his own mandate that his followers should wait for the captives' next menstrual cycle to begin before having intercourse.

I'll not mention that the torture of Kinanah cannot be authenticated, but the use of word Muhammad had sex with her the very night, as if he did that by force, not mentioning that he married her after he offered 2 choices for her: either to remain Jewess and manumit her and return to her people, or to embrace Islam and become his wife. She chose the latter, as related by Ibn Sa'd and many other early authors! Of course all of this is ignored so that the reader get the impression of that she was forced into this. Also the lie that he consummated the marriage with her without waiting the next menstrual cycle is refuted by a hadith recounted by al-Bukhari in his Sahih, as the tradition said: "Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) selected her for himself and he set out in her company till he reached Sadd-ar-Rawha' where her menses were over and he married her." (Sahih al-Bukhari 2235 Book 34, Hadith 181)

I can continue to refute all of those claims, but it will take a very long time as they're so many, and those are just few examples. Analogically, the rest are edited in the same biased manner as it became more like an article on WikiIslam and not Wikipedia. I urge anyone who is responsible to go back to the archive of this article to see how fairly written it used to be and to go back to how it was.

Thanks a lot. Jopharocen (talk) 21:26, 22 July 2023 (UTC)

“Virtually" means "almost" or "nearly", not "all". Ibn Ishaq included this incident in his biography of Muhammad (p. 165-167), while his student Ibn Hisham did not, because:

God willing I shall begin this book ... (of) the prophet's biography and omitting some of the things which I.I. (Ibn Ishaq) has recorded in this book ... things which it is disgraceful to discuss; matters which would distress certain people …
— "Ibn Hisham’s Notes" in Ibn Ishaq, The Life of Muhammad, Oxford University Press (1998), ISBN: 0196360331, p. 691

Furthermore, please refer to WP:NOR and WP:NOTCENSORED – Kaalakaa (talk) 03:28, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Please bear in mind the way its written, its not just about this part. Ibn Hisham did modify it and removed parts that cannot be authenticated and that the people are rejecting at his time. Actually Ibn Ishaq's own biography is lost and we only know it through Ibn Hisham and Tabari.

I'll not repeat the rest of what I said regarding this part specifically, as I already mentioned that the Satanic verses tale was already there long before the changes and had no problem with it as mentioned that despite it being mentioned in some earliest sources its rejected due to how weakly transmitted is it, and not due to being a later belief among Muslims due to "criterion of embarrassment" as the editor later added. There's a huge difference between the word of a historian and the word of a scholar whose methodology to relate what is genuine only.

My question also is that why an unprofessional is allowed to edit this whole article and make such significant changes while the rest of the readers cannot do that? Why can't we edit it and provide tons of references for every word? Jopharocen (talk) 06:38, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Also, that's the full part of what Ibn Hisham said in the introduction of the Prophet's biography:

God willing I shall begin this book with Isma'il son of Ibrahim and mention those of his offspring who were the ancestors of God's apostle one by one with what is known about them, taking no account of Isma'il's other children, omitting some of the things which I.I. has recorded in this book in which there is no mention of the apostle and about which the Quran says nothing and which are not relevant to anything in this book or an explanation of it or evidence for it; poems which he quotes that no authority on poetry whom I have met knows of; things which it is disgraceful to discuss; matters which would distress certain people; and such reports as al-Bakka'i told me he could not accept as trustworthy - all these things I have omitted. But God willing I shall give a full account of everything else so far as it is known and trustworthy tradition is available.

And also to bear in mind that both Ibn Hisham and Ibn Ishaq are great historians, but they were not experts in analyzing the authenticity of reports they relate, as they will need to return to scholars specialists in this for that matter, such as how Ibn Hisham did in some tales reported by Ibn Ishaq. Therefore when mentioning something rejected by Muslims from the very moment narrations got started to be authenticated, this must be taken into consideration and to not be regarded as a later invention by Muslims due to embarrassment. Jopharocen (talk) 06:43, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Sorry, but your original research doesn’t matter here on Wikipedia. Post it on a blog or debate forum instead. This is not the place for it. Kaalakaa (talk) 06:47, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Its clear and obvious that you have nothing to reply by, since that's all what you have to say.

One of the rules in this "secular" encyclopedia is to relate facts in a neutral manner and not as a criticism let alone defamation. Your edition is nothing but biased information where you included your own personal interpretations. 196.132.36.47 (talk) 10:15, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

Then present your case as you see fit. This could do with some more input. --SinoDevonian (talk) 10:20, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

I'm not sure what do you mean.

Its obvious that this article is no longer neutral (as per Wikipedia's guidelines) and clearly defaming the figure its talking about since June 12, as an unprofessional user suddenly decided to change almost all of it to suit his whims.

Its not an editable article due to how important the main character of it, and therefore only professional editor must be selected for it.

I'm willing to provide more evidence how clearly this article is subjective even beyond the parts I mentioned, whom the editor couldn't address any of them and simply told me to go somewhere else, why he doesn't go to WikiIslam instead since he failed to be neutral and professional and preferred his personal thoughts over the guidelines?

Please all I'm seeking is to be fair and neutral as those are the guidelines of this website for any article. Review the article, take a look at how it used to be for years since 2006 and how suddenly it was completely changed since June 12. I believe such comparison is enough. Jopharocen (talk) 19:10, 23 July 2023 (UTC)

So no response or action taken against this obvious defamation? Based on what the editors are selected for the protected articles that are non-editable? Jopharocen (talk) 13:09, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

@Jopharocen: There are no deadlines on Wikipedia. It may take a while for people to respond.

As far as I can tell from reading this discussion, your objections are grounded in original research (your interpretations of primary sources), and that isn't permitted in articles. Please see Wikipedia:No original research. That is one of the policies (non-negotiable foundational rules) that govern content here. Content must be based on what reliable secondary sources say about a topic.

While I feel that some of Kaalakaa's changes were unnecessary, they are at least cited to reliable sources. If Kaalakaa cited any unreliable sources, it would be helpful to point them out for discussion. ~Anachronist (talk) 14:51, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Seriously? Can you show me where exactly I used my own interpretations of primary sources? You're merely using my own argument against Kaalaaka, who was clearly using his own interpretation of primary sources which is the focus of my criticism if you but read the discussion as you said.

I'll not keep repeating myself again, I already showed how there are false claims and misuse of words, none of you responded to them nor he could, as you can see he merely responded to a line and ignored the rest and ignored even my response to it, as clearly there's no response as the intention was just defamation, even Hitler's article is not written that way.

So if you think that such an attitude isn't permitted then that's why this article must be re-edited or return to how it used to be for years, not to counter-attack me with my very same argument against the editor. At least I proved how biased and subjective is it with no response in return, can you or Kaalaaka do the same to me and prove that I'm using my own personal interpretation instead of facts?

I know that there are no deadline on Wikipedia, but there's clearly guideline, and part of it is that any article must be neutral as its a secular encyclopedia with no political or religious orientation

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Neutral_point_of_view

Muhammad's article after edition since June 12 is no different from an article written on WikiIslam where obvious defamation is clearly intended as aforementioned with several examples you can go back to them, especially with the misuse of words. Concerning non-reliable sources, you can take a look at this, sometimes there are no sources even:

Nowadays, Isra' is believed by Muslims to be the journey of Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem, while Mi'raj is from Jerusalem to the heavens

There's not even a reference or source to such a false information regarding that this belief is related to nowadays Muslims, no source provided, as its a personal interpretation by the editor. And this:

there is disagreement among Islamic traditions as to the identity of the "furthest place of prayer.

No source or reference provided for this claim either as there's no disagreement among Islamic tradition regarding that the further place of prayer is in Jerusalem, but the editor merely put his own views in such writings to simply say almost all Muslim beliefs are propaganda, or criterion of embarrassment as clearly those two terms were used in other parts of the article. Is this really a neutral article?

That's an example of a non-sourced information, and concerning non-reliable sources is when you base your writings on books written by well-known critics of Islam like Tom Holland or Nabeel Qureshi, who are not even scholars, or David Bukay. Unless your definition of reliable sources is any book written by anyone! And surely that's not how a respectable research is written, which mean that not even any book written by western academics can be considered reliable if not examined with other books connected to the earliest era. Previous article was written in the normal neutral way, but not this one.

Again, just do the comparison between the old one and the newly-edited one to see the difference, and how the editor solely intended to defame as the old article didn't suit his wishes. Jopharocen (talk) 16:17, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Lets use a 4th example apart from the 3 examples I aforementioned in my longest reply in this thread.

When narrating the assassination of Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, a Nadirite clansman whose tribe pledged allegiance to Muhammad upon his arrival, who after the victory of the Muslims at the battle of Badr - according to the article - went to the Quraysh enemies and aroused them to retaliate, which is an obvious act of treason as it came from someone who is politically an ally, the editor mentioned it as an act of murder for a personal matter, rather than a punishment for treason:

Having dealt with the Qaynuqa, Muhammad moved on to another personal matter. His staunch critic, Ka'b ibn Ashraf, a wealthy half-Jewish man from Banu Nadir, had just come back from Mecca after producing poetry that mourned the death of the Quraysh at Badr and aroused them to retaliate. Muhammad asked his followers, "Who is ready to murder Ka'b, who has hurt God and His apostle?" Ibn Maslama offered his services, explaining that the task would require deception. Muhammad did not contest this. He then gathered accomplices, including Ka'b's foster brother, Abu Naila. They pretended to complain about their post-conversion hardships, persuading Ka'b to lend them food. On the night of their meeting with Ka'b, they murdered him when he was caught off-guard.

Thank goodness, a Muslim source is one of the few to be mentioned here, but when going back to it, we cannot find the word murder anywhere, as Muhammad's quote was mistranslated as it was taken directly from David Bukay's Islam and the Infidels: The Politics of Jihad, Da'wah, and Hijrah in chapter List of Muhammad’s Orders to Murder People., a clear biased source which maintain to depict Muhammad as an anti-Semitic, another problem must be dealt with in the newly-edited article, as, although the conflict of Muhammad with some Jewish tribes or individuals has been always in the article, but to make it seems like it was due to anti-Semitic motivation is only made after the new edition.

If Wikipedia suddenly decided to maintain a specific point of view on the prophet of Islam due to being anti-Islamic, I'll be fine, as I'm fine with WikiIslam as its their objective. But you can't describe Wikipedia as neutral and present this as a guideline and at the same time present a subjective and biased view on the prophet of Islam! You have to be fair and avoid personal orientation when relating facts to public readers if your guideline dictate that you must present a neutral point of view. Jopharocen (talk) 18:49, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Here is from Sahih Bukhari no. 4037

Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Who is willing to kill Ka`b bin Al-Ashraf who has hurt Allah and His Apostle?"

or should we include this as well? Sahih Muslim 1767a

Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) say: I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.

NPOV here does not mean that the article has to be ‘neutral’, but rather means neutrally reflecting what the sources say. For example, if someone commits rape, we include that fact without sugarcoating it. Not covering it up or having to look for positive stories about him to offset the negative fact. Kaalakaa (talk) 19:43, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

As an editor of such a protected article you need to be more professional than that!

In nowhere I denied the incident to quote a hadith for me! My objection was clear that it was regarding putting your personal interpretation for the incident as you described it as a murder for a personal matter, which is solely your interpretation, contradicted by what you yourself said as that Ka'b - who is politically an ally to the Islamic state - provoked the enemy who were just defeated by the Muslims and aroused them to retaliate, which is an obvious act of treason punished by death.

Thank you anyway for quoting the hadith to prove that you have lied in mistranslating the word kill to murder in the hadith mentioned in the article.

So you didn't respond to my objection but rather quoted a hadith to prove the incident which I never denied - a strawman fallacy - simply because you have nothing to say as you did in your previous futile reply, and I expect you to do the same in every time.

In nowhere I demanded you to cover anything up, I merely demanded you to remove your subjective motivation and to relate the facts as they are without fabricating them through your personal interpretation and mistranslation, which you just proved it against yourself by quoting this hadith.

The latter hadith you mentioned is unrelated to this discussion anyway. Jopharocen (talk) 21:56, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Anyone who is responsible shall really take a look at this to see the motivation of the editor who changed almost all the article since June 12 and explain to me the criteria in this website for the editor who is allowed to edit a protected article related to a man who is followed by 25% of humanity, and to justify why the rest of us cannot do the same? Why this article is protected anyway if any passerby can be allowed to change and put his whims in it? Jopharocen (talk) 22:04, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

Ka'b - who is politically an ally to the Islamic state

Once again, we don’t give a damn about your theories. And we’re under no obligation to satisfy you.

you have lied in mistranslating the word kill to murder

And a similar case with “virtually” before. If you look for synonyms of kill, you’ll find murder among them. But whatever, I'll change this one to "kill", not that big of a deal.

a man who is followed by 25% of humanity

We don’t care. Adam, Eve, even Noah’s flood story are considered myths here. Kaalakaa (talk) 01:09, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Ka'b being a political ally to the Islamic state is not my own theory, its part of the covenant made between Muhammad and the Jews - which included Bani Nadir - in the constitution of Medina:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_Medina

Why shall we give a damn to your ignorance of history, and later to your own personal interpretation regarding that it was a personal matter when you yourself contradicted that as I aforementioned when you said he aroused the Meccans to wage war against the Muslims?

Murder is the same as killing? Are you really a researcher or know anything about definition of word? So when a man is killed by the government because of treason or because of murder will this action be called murder as well? A simple search in any dictionary will laugh at you. Take a look at this: https://www.dictionary.com/browse/murder

https://www.dictionary.com/browse/kill

Any murder is a killing, but not any killing is a murder, a killing taken place in war combat is not a murder. What a wonderful linguist you are, and got the credibility to edit a non-editable article? Lol

As for Adam & Eve, Noah's flood, or Exodus being considered myths from a secular perspective is not an issue, as its not an issue to consider Isra' and Mi'raj as myths. But the issue is to lie about Muslim beliefs regarding them and claim that Muhammad was not given any miracles other than the Quran, which is your own personal interpretation of the Quran and Islamic tradition which clearly no one give a damn to it, let alone to say that there's a disagreement regarding Jerusalem being an essential part of the journey.

As usual, you never address any of my points and address something else in return which you later regret having addressed it. If you became brave to admit that the use of the word murder is wrong, why don't you become brave as well regarding the other topics you refused to discuss? How about having sex with Safiyyah without saying that it was a marriage? Don't you see how clearly dishonest you are? Jopharocen (talk) 02:55, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

@DeCausa @Anachronist @Trans-Neptunian object

Is this person "Kaalakaa" with his attitude toward a criticism really represent Wikipedia? I'm sure if anyone can look with a fair eyes at his words will see how dishonest he is, especially that when he failed, he started to be subjective toward me as he does in his edition of the article, without addressing my point, as we don't give a damn to you is not a professional way of talking, as the discussion was turned to be against me and not to my point, let alone being credible to edit such an article.

I still ask the same question, if such person is allowed to change almost the entire article with such poor knowledge and misuse of words all over, why the rest of us cannot do the same, what are the criteria which allowed him to do that? Jopharocen (talk) 03:05, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Why should we bother refuting each of your original research? Like I already told you multiple times, if you want to debate about your understandings of the hadith, sira, and so on, this is not the place for it. Go to FaithFreedom or other similar websites instead, as this is not a forum. Also, the three major Jewish tribes, including the Banu Nadir, are not included in that so-called constitution of medina, and some scholars argue that it was merely a unilateral proclamation by Muhammad. Kaalakaa (talk) 04:48, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

I never included my understanding of anything, I merely showed facts regardless of interpretation, something which you never did in your research.

I'm not here to debate, but to show how facts got fabricated and distorted on a website that is supposed to be neutral, and to not include personal interpretation of the editor, as you failed to defend them or prove them, and all you have to say is "go away". I never even requested to speak to you.

As for Bani Nadir whether included in the constitution or not, I think if you have a clue about the article you have edited, you would have known that Muhammad became the head of state in Medina after the Hijrah, which included all of that tribes that were living there. And when, as mentioned in the article, Bani Nadir attempted to assassinate him, he sent them the letter: By your purposing to slay me, ye have broken the pact I made with you. (Lings p. 203) Which mean there was a pact already established, but due to your poor knowledge, you were unaware of that. And after the assassination of Ka'b, in the words of Lings, according to al-Waqidi - Muhammad invited them - that is Bani Nadir - to make a special treaty with him in addition to the covenant, and this they did. (Lings p. 171)

So do you think seeing an obvious misinterpretation, mistranslation, and intended defamation, anyone must pass by that silently and greet you for it and has no right to clarify that and the response to be "go away"?

You must take the responsibility for every letter you write, and if you don't have the courage to do that, then you shouldn't have written it from the beginning. Jopharocen (talk) 12:10, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Do you understand what unilateral means? In which part of the constitution of Medina lists Banu Nadir? And being in a pact with another tribe in a city doesn’t automatically make someone a head of the city or a state. Kaalakaa (talk) 14:14, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

I understand what unilateral means, but this is merely the opinion of Bernard Lewis, which is not based on a comprehensive reading, and this must be taken into consideration.

The constitution referred to the Jews in general in Medina, and later specified specific matters for certain clans. And I have already provided references to that there was a formal pact between Muhammad and the Bani Nadir, but you have ignored it as usual.

As for how Muhammad became the head of state in Medina, according to the article you've been editing:

In 620, his uncle al-Abbas, who had not yet converted to Islam, introduced him to political elite of the Banu Khazraj and Banu Aws in Medina and coordinated a meeting at Aqaba. The two clans had been in conflict against one another for years, with each trying to court the support of the Jewish tribes in the area. In order to readjust their political relationship, they sought a political leader from outside, and considered Muhammad, with his authority based on religious claims, would be in a better position to act as an impartial arbiter than any resident of Medina.

How in 7th century Arabia a political leader will be elected if not through the pledge of the chiefs of the leading tribes of the town? And that's exactly what happened! Not sure if you'll go to fabricate this part after this discussion. I can provide you those information from early sources as well, or secondary sources other than the ones provided in the article, whatever you like. Jopharocen (talk) 14:59, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

So no response until now nor any action taken, despite the editor failing to respond nor being able to explain his point and is allowed to change the entire article right now as nothing of the original article is left anymore.

The editor who is clearly unqualified as proven in this discussion of being unaware of many facts related to the topic he was allowed to change it, and after personally attacking me and telling me we don't give a damn to you - using the word we all the time, as of speaking in Wikipedia's name - and running away from discussing his un-neutral and biased content, and the result after those many days which had passed is just silence, with more biased changes taking place in the article.

I'm going to request a dispute and shall share this throughout social media as Wikipedia suddenly betrayed its own guidelines and is allowing an editor, who is ignorant of history and is clearly backed by motivations to defame the character of the article after opening the way for him to edit and change a protected article that is non-editable, without explaining what are the standards for the editors, as clearly there are no standards. Jopharocen (talk) 13:58, 3 August 2023 (UTC)

Extended-confirmed-protected edit request on 30 July 2023

 Note: I have set the status of this request to "answered" while editors seek consensus on what edit to make. Xan747 (talk) 18:54, 3 August 2023 (UTC)

add this in "in other religion" section: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar claimed in his book "Hinduism and Islam: The Common Thread" that Muhammad is explicitly prophesied in Bhavishya Purana. 116.58.200.170 (talk) 09:55, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

References

Is there an online version of this Vedic text in English that can be used to verify this claim directly? ~Anachronist (talk) 13:25, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

@Anachronist: it appears to be in the cited source (page 20). M.Bitton (talk) 14:11, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

@M.Bitton: Yes, I know it's in that cited source. I am asking for a look at the primary source, to make sure that the author of the cited source didn't engage in some creative interpretive license in that quotation. Christian history is rife with "scholars" who take liberties interpreting prophecies to justify certain points, especially when trying to align opposing worldviews such as Christianity and science, or in this case Hinduism and Islam. We can indeed state that Ravi Shankar claims this, but it would be even better to see an actual translation rather than a cherrypicked quotation. ~Anachronist (talk) 16:17, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Hmm, googling around, it seems that this prophetic claim is more prevalent than simply being promoted by Ravi Shankar and the translation I found bears little resemblance to Shankar's quotation. There also this and this - the second of which offers some context, particularly the view that the prediction isn't about the prophet Muhammad because "there is no mention of Muhammad being a prophet. Bhavishya Purana clearly says that the land has been infested by evildoers with demonic nature whose leader is propagating them. The evildoers name is Muhammad." ~Anachronist (talk) 16:29, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

@Anachronist: my bad (I misread your comment). While there are plenty of sources mentioning this claim, I couldn't find any that I would describe as reliable. According to this questionable source (similar to the ones that you cited), "Mleccha" means foreigner. Whether Ravi Shankar's claims belong in the article is another issue. M.Bitton (talk) 17:10, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

As the book was published by Ravi Shankar (spiritual leader)'s own publishing house (Art of Living) I think it comes under WP:SELFPUB. Seems to me including the guru's theory would be WP:UNDUE in this article - I can't find any WP:RS picking up on it. DeCausa (talk) 17:22, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Agreed. The source you found, although original research, is a more thorough analysis than Ravi Shankar's, and does a good job debunking the assertion that there is any sort of prediction about the prophet Muhammad. While it would be factual to mention that Ravi Shankar claims this, I also agree it would be WP:UNDUE for Wikipedia to link Hinduism with Islam in this way, particularly in light of the fact that the appearance of the prophet Muhammad in history had no effect on Hinduism. Therefore I'm comfortable declining this edit request. ~Anachronist (talk) 18:45, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

 Declined based on the discussion above, but we can revisit this if more reliable sources are found. ~Anachronist (talk) 18:45, 30 July 2023 (UTC)

Can it be okay? 103.67.157.45 (talk) 06:53, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

References

I'm not sure it can be used. Per the author's words "there are specific references and prophecies about the Prophet himself in the Hindu scriptures", it seems to me this is written from a religious perspective, assuming these scriptures are supposed to pre-date Muhammad. Publisher's about page [1] didn't help me, and I have no idea who KHAN, A. D. is. I do think this is an interesting POV, reminds me of Muhammad in the Bible. If it is to be mentioned in a WP-article, it would be good if we could nail down who it is who believe this text refers to the prophet Muhammad, and if there is objection to the idea. If it's a very small group, it may not be interesting enough to mention. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 12:24, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

That book seems to be self-published. The publisher website is defunct, and the copyright is held by the author rather than the publisher. Also, I can find other sources that say these texts are inconclusive. Muhammad isn't explicitly named (a name that sounds similar is used) and nowhere do the texts say it refers to a prophet. Bhavishya Purana, Parv 3, khand 3, Adhyay 3 is referenced, but the translation I found does not say what these authors claim it says. ~Anachronist (talk) 14:25, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

You mean the "Then he started his journey of conquest and reached near a place where a man named Mahaamada (Mohammad) dwelling in that place, who is residing there as a teacher, teaching his student." translation, right? Doesn't sound much like what Sri Sri Ravi Shankar said. But if people have read this and concluded that this is about the prophet, I'm less than astounded, it's what people do. Christ = Krishna, it's just common sense. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 14:39, 2 August 2023 (UTC)

Just stumbled on Kalki Avatar and Muhammad, perhaps there is potential for a Muhammad in Hinduism article. Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 07:27, 4 August 2023 (UTC)

Recent editing

@kaalakaa has taken the Prophet Muhammad's action out of context to promote an Anti-Islamic bias. His edit in the "Onset of frictions with the Quraysh" section, says this "Around 613, Muhammad began to preach to the public. Initially, he had no serious opposition from the inhabitants of Mecca, who were indifferent to his proselytizing activities, but when he started to attack their beliefs, tensions arose." this is false, as the teachings of Muhammad has been prosecuted when he began teaching it.

Next in the "Beginning of armed conflict" section, the user Kaalakaa, had put that he had received divine revelation to attack the Meccans while in a time of peace, however, before the revelation of Surah At Tawbah Meccans had confiscated the property and had violated the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which gave a 10 year truce between the Muslims and Non Muslims. One of his sources is Islamic Imperialism: A History by Efraim Karsh, a pro-Israeli, anti-Muslim, anti-Palestinian author.

Also, in the Battle of Badr, the false claim that Umar desired for all the enemies to be slain, which is cited by Muhammad by Maxime Rodinson, a book which came under controversy.

As well, the user had changed the "Battle of Uhud" section, originally was "The Meccans were eager to avenge their defeat. To maintain economic prosperity, the Meccans needed to restore their prestige, which had been reduced at Badr". The user changed it to "In 625, the Quraysh, wearied by Muhammad's continuous attacks on their caravans, decided to take decisive action. Led by Abu Sufyan, they assembled an army to oppose Muhammad."

As well, the user falsely claimed that "according to Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad disclosed that he had received a divine revelation of a planned assassination attempt on him by the Banu Nadir, which involved dropping a boulder from a rooftop. Muhammad then initiated a siege on the tribe", this claim can not be found in any of Ibn Ishaq works, in English or in Arabic.

As well, the user sites numerous other anti-Islamic sources besides the two above:

Islam and the Infidels: The Politics of Jihad, Da'wah, and Hijrah by David Bukay, another pro-Israeli.

Religion in Politics by Arun Shourie, a Hindu nationalist who has who has voiced support for the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a militant Hindu nationalist group

Muhammad and Jesus: A Comparison of the Prophets and Their Teachings by William E. Phipps, this book has been criticized for its poor scholarship on the Prophet Muhammad.

The user has done this with numerous of other articles including the Battle of Badr, the Battle of the Trench, the Battle of Uhud, the Raid on Nakhla, the Quraysh tribe, and and other Wikipedia articles.

I request that any edits done by this user should be undone. It is likely that these edits were to reflect on the user's personal or ideological agenda.

I left a note on his talk page but failed to respond. I am in need of third party to resolve this, as the user seems to lack communication with me.

- Chxeese (talk) 00:25, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

You allege false claims, but we go by what reliable sources say. Of the sources cited, are any of them misprepresented or taken out of context? Is there any sentence that is not backed up by citations? A source that is biased may not necessarily be unreliable. If you believe those sources you mention are unreliable, have you started a discussion about them at WP:RSN?

@Kaalakaa: the comments above deserve a response from you. Honestly, you haven't been engaging much about your numerous edits, and the article was fine before you started making substantive changes. If I reverted it back to June before your edits, would you discuss then? ~Anachronist (talk) 06:25, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Biased sources are not intrinsically a problem, but if an editor is selectively utilizing content from sources with the same bias intent on effecting a more critical tone, that could be concerning. This is also a GA-class page, the underlying assumption of which being that sweeping changes should not really be required. However, I think I've checked in a few times to see what's going on on this page, and haven't really seen evidence of such a problem, so it may be best simply to assess the content in question to ensure that the relevant passages are still balanced. Iskandar323 (talk) 06:59, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Thank you, @Anachronist, for notifying me about this matter. It has come to my attention that the user @Chxeese is currently on a mission to revert all of my edits, based on accusations of Islamophobia. However, these accusations are insufficient to justify such actions and can be considered personal attacks. Regarding his message to my talk page, it was actually posted merely 10 hours ago, which I was inactive for that entire time, because, you know, people have real lives and need to sleep. All my edits are grounded in reliable sources, including this one that the user @chxeese has accused of being false.

"Around 613, Muhammad began to preach to the public. Initially, he had no serious opposition from the inhabitants of Mecca, who were indifferent to his proselytizing activities, but when he started to attack their beliefs, tensions arose."

The original text from the source:

At first Muhammad met with no serious opposition and in not a few cases his preaching fell on fruitful soil. In the words addressed to Salih in sura XI, 62 we may find a hint that Muhammad had at first aroused considerable expectations among the Meccans. In addition to Khadidja, who is consistently said to have been the first believer, and several men including Abu Bakr, the manumitted slave Zayd b. Haritha, Zubayr b. al-Awwam, Talha b. Ubayd Allah, Abd al Rahman b. Awf, Sacd b. Abi Wakkas, and Muhammad's cousin AH [q.vv.], who are also said to have been among the early followers of Muhammad, the sources mention a number of other converts in Mecca, the majority of whom appear to have been young or of no great social standing, while the well-todo and influential held back (XIX, 73; XXXIV, 31 ff; LXXIII, 11; LXXX, 1 ff; for a detailed analysis of the social standing and the tribal affiliations of the Meccan converts, see Watt, Mecca, 88-96). This became still more the case when the full consequences of Muhammad's preaching became clear, that is, when he openly attacked the polytheism of his native town. Up until this point most Meccans appear to have had little interest in devotional meetings, and thus had been rather indifferent to Muhammad's activities.

Kaalakaa (talk) 07:49, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

@Iskandar323 Well, actually, a number of the sources I used can also be found in the revision before mine, including the aforementioned Encyclopaedia of Islam. However, it appears that certain information from those sources has intentionally been excluded and misrepresented in that revision, seemingly to prevent the subject from being seen negatively. So, it's clear when talking about cherry-picking, who are the ones who actually did it. As for the remaining sources, I relied on more recent works such as Russ Rodgers' Generalship of Muhammad and Richard A. Gabriel's Muhammad Islam's First General, both of which are extremely reliable. And, because you know, age matters. Kaalakaa (talk) 08:49, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

As I said, it was an "if", and I haven't noticed any problems so far. Iskandar323 (talk) 08:51, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

• I have to say I have been somewhat concerned by what's happened to the article over the last three months. It's not that I have a particular concern over any individual edit. I've been watching this article for over a decade and Kaalakaa has carried out the only substantial re-write I've seen in that time. There's been very little discussion about what's been done - I haven't had the time to look into such voluminous changes. I'm hoping that other experienced and knowledgeable editors have been looking at them, but I don't know if that's the case. I note and agree with Anachronist's comment that the article was basically fine before the changes, so that adds to the concern. Such big changes by one person with hardly any discussion is an unusual thing to see in such an important, prominent, already substantial and sensitive article and makes me a little anxious. I'm inclined to agree with Anachronist's suggestion above of reverting the article back to June and examining the changes step by step. DeCausa (talk) 09:11, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  The article was also heavily edited in June by a different, now-blocked user, so if this were to be the approach (I'm not really advocating it) then reverting to a May version would be better. Iskandar323 (talk) 09:25, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  Hi, @DeCausa. I appreciate your opinion, but WP article content doesn't always have to be the same. As per one of wikipedia's content guidelines: WP: AGE MATTERS. Several sources used previously are really old, like W.M. Watt's Muhammad at Mecca and Muhammad at Medina, published in the 1950s. These two sources were heavily relied upon in the previous revision. Furthermore, that revision had several issues, including misrepresentation of sources and the inclusion of original research, as evident in the following passage:

  He also feared that others would dismiss his claims as being possessed. Shi'a tradition states Muhammad was not surprised or frightened at Gabriel's appearance; rather he welcomed the angel, as if he was expected.

  The sources used were

  • Emory C. Bogle (1998), p. 7.
  • Rodinson (2002), p. 71.

  However, upon checking the two sources, I discovered that they don't align with the passage at all, instead I came accross something interesting. Consecutively:

  The spirit ordered Muhammad to "Recite!" three times before he composed himself well enough to receive his first revelation, which became the first part of sura 96 or the Qur'an. He decided to throw himself off the mountain to end the insanity or curse, but the spirit moved closer and repeated, "Oh Muhammad, you are the Messenger of God."

  Muhammad was deeply distressed. 'I considered throwing myself from the top of a mountain scar,' he said.

  Also, not to mention the many important details that were omitted, such as the fact that the Quraysh initially didn't show much concern or resistance towards Muhammad's proselytizing until he attacked their faith, which eventually led to tensions. And how, since the aftermath of the battle of Badr against the Quraysh, he had already expressed his intention to expel all the Jews from Arabia. This occurred before he accused them of treason one by one and launched attacks against them. It's like omitting the part where Hitler was the first to start invading other countries and putting more emphasis on his accusations against the Jews, thus making it seem like he was the victim, thereby justifying his actions. Kaalakaa (talk) 11:19, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  Hmm ... the out-of-the-blue comparison to Hitler really does not inspire confidence that you have been going about your editing here in a neutral, grounded and source-led manner. Iskandar323 (talk) 11:30, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  No matter what, it's what the sources say. If you find it incorrect, feel free to raise your objections. They are important to explain the origins of Muhammad's conflict with the non-believers. Should we leave them out in order to be more neutral? No, I don't think so. Neutral here is not neutral content, but neutral editorializing on what the sources say. If the sources say so, say so. Kaalakaa (talk) 11:54, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  Kaalakaa, that's not the question. As you would appreciate, the choice of sources and the choice of how to use and represent those sources in a complex subject such as this is not straight forward and not black-and-white. That's why most major articles will have extensive debate and (mostly) a WP:CONSENSUS reached on how to treat what the sources say in order to comply with WP:NPOV and WP:DUE. That hasn't happened in the case of your edits. I'm not saying that's your fault - that's just how it is. Part of the reason for that is the volume of what you have done over a relatively short period time. That's an exposure for this article. WP:AGF, I'm not alleging you have a POV to push - although Iskandar's point is that the analogy you made with Hitler undermines confidence that that is not the case - but there may be a lack of visibility for other editors of the judgments you have made. Having that is always the best guarantor of an article's NPOV. I'm not sure what the answer is, but I would be interest in others' views. DeCausa (talk) 12:18, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  I agree with Anachronist's suggestion of "reverting the article back to June and examining the changes step by step". --Kansas Bear (talk) 16:13, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  I think it would be much better if you examine the current version. Because when I edited I also made several revisions to my own edits. Kaalakaa (talk) 16:20, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  Per the above and below, I would also have to agree with Anachronist. It looks like the page has been taken in an unconstructive direction in recent months. Iskandar323 (talk) 17:40, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  Checking the sources for the result of Battle of the Trench, has brought up some intriguing questions. --Kansas Bear (talk) 18:36, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

  Hi, @Kansas Bear. Thanks for letting me know. I mistakenly reverted to @Aura G666's version, thinking that the article was the Battle of Uhud. In my revision that I made myself, I wrote the result as stalemate. Also here I added more source, and here too. Your current revision of the article is correct. Thank you. Kaalakaa (talk) 18:44, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hello, @Anachronist. could you please clarify? DeCausa mentioned that you suggested "reverting the article back to June and examining the changes step by step," but in your post, I see you simply saying, "If I reverted it back to June before your edits, would you discuss it then?"

Your comment doesn't seem to me to be a suggestion, as DeCausa indicates, but rather a warning that if I don't discuss this, you will revert the edits back to June. However, I am currently discussing it.

But in case my interpretation is wrong and DeCausa's is correct, then this could pose a problem. I've spent almost three months researching books and writing this article. How much more time would be required if this edit is reverted to June and examined edit by edit? It would be very unconstructive. Additionally, I have made several revisions to my edits. What if the changes that people perceive as problematic are actually the ones that I revised later? Kaalakaa (talk) 18:17, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

References

Buhl, F.; Welch, A.T. (1993). "Muḥammad". Encyclopaedia of Islam. Vol. 7 (2nd ed.). Brill. pp. 360–376. ISBN 978-90-04-09419-2.

Karsh

Efraim Karsh's work Islamic Imperialism seems like a particularly problematic work to reference. Karsh is generally known for his polemical stances and this book has been singled-out by many reviewers for that exact problem, with Richard Bulliet pointing to it as "selling ideology, not historical acumen" and having "myriad problems", while Jonathan Berkey remarked that it "misconstrues its history in some important ways". The weight of these statements strongly suggests that we should not treat this book as a particularly reliable source, or use it without attribution. Iskandar323 (talk) 11:10, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

I haven't looked into those criticisms. However, the book was published by Yale University Press, which I think is enough to make it very reliable. Secondly, the passage it supports, regarding the Muslims' attack on the Quraysh caravan at Nakhla during the month in which the Quraysh forbade themselves to shed blood, can also be found in other sources. I can search for and provide those additional sources later if you'd like. Kaalakaa (talk) 11:40, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

So, our article, based on Karsh, presents Muhammad as effectively pretending that the raid wasn't with his approval because there had been criticism of it. Our Raid on Nakhla article presents it in the traditional Muslim view that Muhammad was angry because he hadn't actually authorised it. It would be interesting to know whether the Karsh interpretation is the generally held one in the RS - or is this an WP:UNDUE presentation of Muhammad in a negative light, specific to Karsh. I don't know the answer. What I can see is that our statement that and he postponed the allocation of the spoils until a verse was ultimately revealed, legitimizing the attack isn't supported by what Karsh says. The timing of the distribution of the booty and the appearance of the Quranic verse aren't, as far as I can see, linked. DeCausa (talk) 13:14, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

It seems that my edit in the article on the Raid on Nakhla was also reverted by @Chxeese, with the reason given as 'cleaned up.' Haha.

@DeCausa, in response to your question, whether the information you are referring to is due, of course it is due. This raid marked the first successful Muslim raid on the Quraysh caravan after several failures, and this information is well-supported by multiple sources, as I have just provided. Regarding the phrasing, it appears that the distribution of the booty did occur before the revelation of the verse, but Muhammad did not take his share, which was one-fifth, until the verse was revealed. As mentioned here, here, and here. Thank you, I've just modified the passage. Kaalakaa (talk) 16:00, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Yes, I would agree with the assessment that this part has been taken in a direction that does not even reflect Karsh. The other source now introduced and being quoted for this material is Nabeel Qureshi, a former Muslim turned Christian apologist, from the book Answering Jihad: A Better Way Forward from the US evangelical publisher Zondervan, so a non-academic, in an off-topic book, from a religious publisher. If this is the sort of sourcing that has been used to replace W. Montgomery Watt, well that is simply fairly inexplicable. A new polemical and not particularly neutrally titled subsection has also been introduced in "Inception of animosity against the Jews", expanded from a short paragraph previously. Overall, the signs of a tendentious direction of travel are adding up. Iskandar323 (talk) 17:38, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Hi @Iskandar323, have you even read the current revision? I have added 4 more sources. If you want, I can remove that Zondervan one, and replace it with better sources as well. I used that one simply because it states that it was Muhammad's 7th raid. Kaalakaa (talk) 17:54, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Update: Done removing the Zondervan book as a source. Kaalakaa (talk) 21:13, 20 August 2023 (UTC)

Late update: I have also added two sources as a replacement for the previous Zondervan source. Let me know if you still want more. Kaalakaa (talk) 07:14, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

The problem remains that the section now presented an imbalanced and one-sided set of views on the episode with little respect for the full breadth of scholarship. Iskandar323 (talk) 08:55, 28 August 2023 (UTC)

References

• Rodgers, Russ (2017). The Generalship of Muhammad: Battles and Campaigns of the Prophet of Allah. University Press of Florida. ISBN 978-0-8130-5459-9.
• Gabriel, Richard A. (2014-10-22). Muhammad: Islam’s First Great General. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 978-0-8061-8250-6.
• Rodinson, Maxime (2021-03-02). Muhammad. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1-68137-493-2.

Regarding the part in the lede that states Muhammad united Arabia

This part in the lede

Muhammad united Arabia into a single Muslim polity

Is not sourced at all. So I thought it was probably based on the body text. But the body only says:

Muhammad united several of the tribes of Arabia into a single Arab Muslim religious polity in the last years of his life.

Uniting several of the tribes of Arabia is not the same as uniting Arabia. And after I checked the sources given. It turns out that none of them state either the former or the latter or anything along those lines. And in Richard A. Gabriel's Muhammad: Islam's First Great General p. 208, it is noted that it was only after the conquests during the caliphate of Abu Bakr that Islam came to rule over the entire Arabian Peninsula.

Abu Bakr’s military operations were carried out simultaneously and in four different directions over almost eighteen months with the result that all Arabia fell to the Muslim armies and accepted Islam.

So it's clear that this is another case of original research, and should be removed. Kaalakaa (talk) 00:05, 22 August 2023 (UTC)

Update: I've removed it. But if anyone has any objections, feel free to raise them here. Kaalakaa (talk) 00:08, 22 August 2023 (UTC)

No evidence for the age of a particular wife at consummation of marriage

The use of expressions like "دخل بي" (dakhala bi) and "وبني بها" (wabanaa bihaa) do not mean having sex. It is said by people including a person having scholarship in Islam there is not a single reference which says at what age this wife had consummated marriage with with Islamic prophet Muhammad. Mistranslation of expressions like dakhala alaiha, dakhala bi as "consummation" maybe for ease of use or for perhaps non-availability of a single word for "living together after marriage" appears to have caused all the misunderstanding. Moreover the Qur'anic verse 3:37 contains the phrase دَخَلَ عَلَيْهَا (dakhala alaiha). Any of the interpreters we know have not said it refers to intercourse, says M. P. Musthafawal Faizy, an Islamic scholar (Vedam Yukthi Vadam : page 354, M. P. Musthafawal Faizy, publication date : 2 July 2022) where he says expression like "dakhala alaiha" is seen to have to used both in the hadith and (Islamic) history to refer to the meeting with this wife and Islamic prophet Muhammad. He also says this linguistically means only "met", "lived together at night", "Nabi (Islamic prophet Muhammad) entered one's aramana -- which could mean a palace as per https://ml.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E0%B4%85%E0%B4%B0%E0%B4%AE%E0%B4%A8 ". M. P. Musthafawal Faizy states that there is no evidence which says what happened at that night. The book's publication program can be seen here : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3lQeXk-JIg

whose 25 August 2023 archived version can be seen here :
https://web.archive.org/web/20230825042631/https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=Q3lQeXk-JIg

M. P. Musthafa Faizy conclude that the expression like "dakhala biha" and "dakhala alaiha" does not firstly mean intercourse and ascertaining any meaning for such expression could be done only after knowing what happened afterwards.

Neutralhappy (talk) 04:53, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

I haven't touched this part. But we base our articles on reliable sources. If reliable sources state that Muhammad began having sexual relations with Aisha when she was 9 years old, then write it as such. Not based merely on what we consider to be true, as it falls under original research, and Wikipedia prohibits content based on original research (see: WP:OR). Now, do the sources you have brought forward qualify as reliable as per WP:RS? In my opinion, they do not. Kaalakaa (talk) 07:04, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

Sorry for your misunderstanding. The source I brought was for questioning the realiabilty itself of the sources cited in the article, not to cite in the Wikipedia. I say the cited sources are misrepresentation or mistranslation of the sources they relied on, at least for this part.

Moreover even understanding of the Arabic language would be sufficient for this.

Anyway the paragraph I edited contained three mistakes.

As for the history, it contains tradition, DNA test, archeological findings etc.

I suggest youself to suggest any other editors to invite to this debate. Neutralhappy (talk) 08:14, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

No. As far as I know, we don't dismiss reliable sources based on unreliable ones. Actually, I would love to refute that argument of yours because the word "dakhala" is also employed in Quran 4:23, and numerous translators and commentators of the Quran interpret it as "consummated the marriage" or "gone in unto them," which is a euphemism for "having sexual intercourse." However, I don't think we can engage in such a debate here as per Wikipedia's policy that the talk page is not a forum. Kaalakaa (talk) 10:34, 25 August 2023 (UTC)

@Neutralhappy, Do you understand what original research is? Kaalakaa (talk) 02:02, 26 August 2023 (UTC)

Thanks for good and kind answer.

However we would be able to discuss the realiability of the cited sources for this purpose.

It seems things are getting more clear. So is how far the translation and interpretation of the term is related to it.

The English language has a problem with wide use of "consummation" which is used to refer to "complete marriage having sex" which is not apparently seen in other languages including maybe Arabic. So in such languages the usage would "veed kooduka"  in Malayalam which means to meet and begin to stay together in a house after marriage; the similar pattern appears to be seen in the Arabic language also. Hence such usage in such other non-English languages has no  meaning of completing marriage having sex. But use of that expression to negate would likely mean that the process of having sex has not happened.

In short English translation sources could not used for this purpose and sources that relied on such English translations could not be used for this purpose. Instead Arabic original source or orginal Arabic source supported  by the secondary source thus the really secondary source is needed to be used instead.

Here the above source -- the book by M. P. Musthafal Faizy is reliable enough for this purpose because the book is authored by an Islamic scholar who is well known and a member of 40-member body of Samastha Kerala Jem-iyyathul Ulama of EK Sunnis : https://samastha.info/326/ .  Moreover this part relating to it which is a kind of fact-ckecking with his scholarship. Moreover the book itself is for refuting or contradicting such things.

Furthermore, if you or others are still unsatisfied, a person showing "Adani"; a term which is used apparently by the Islamic scholars studied in Ma'din Saqafathi Sunniya; as part of their name also seen to be asserting that similar statement that  in a debate in Clubhouse where other people who apparently have deep knowledge in both  Islam and the Arabic language were present. Hear this Clubhouse debate in Malayalam from the 4:37:00 hour time.

All this support authenticity of the claim of the book. A famous scholar as attested by his YouTube channel : https://m.youtube.com/c/HarisMadani/videos?view=0  was also present there

whose this Clubhouse ID : https://www.clubhouse.com/@harismadani is attested by his YouTube video link given under his this YouTube video similar to other videos : https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=QcxK46MUNPE

This is said to show the discussion was not done by any random uneducated people or in an inappropriate way; more importantly to support the book.

Whatever is the reason the book by M. P. Musthafal Faizy is far more reliable for Islamic matters than such cited sources for several reasons because he is a learnt person from authoritative and foremost sources, especially for this purpose.

In the 4:23 Qur'anic verse while it appears that it would have been possible to say "stay/meet together" (which appears to be translated as relation), it seems that other evidence compelled to interpret that way while the Qur'anic verse 3:37 in a different way. Hence these appear to be the interpretion while the primary meaning has no meaning of having sex. So it appears to be a matter of interpretation. Hence is the different translations/interpretation for the Qur'anic 4:23 verse.  See it here : https://www.islamawakened.com/quran/4/st64.htm

Also : https://qurano.com/en/4-an-nisa/verse-23/

Here in the English literal we "..... your custody from your women (wives) whom you entered with them (F), are forbidden on you, so if you were not entered with them (F), so no offense/sin on you...." :

https://qurano.com/en/4-an-nisa/verse-23/

Here "entering with someone" could mean entering into same place/room/building similar to seen in Qur'an 3:37, both of which has no primarily any meaning of having sex. If there was the Qur'an 3:37 the similar expression in Qur'an 3:37 would mean having sex which is not the case at all.

All this are said to check the realiability of the cited sources.

M. P. Musthafal Faizy has categorically said there is no evidence to show "what happened at that night". Hence the basic  or primary or first meaning has to be relied on.

Moreover misrepresentation of any of the source of chain of sources by the latter source has to be rejected for the simple logic that if A says a person's colour is black, B can quote only as such, B cannot  quote it as "A says a person's colour is black with white spots". What the latter source is only allowed to conclude which is otherwise called analysis, possible prediction, categorisation, labelling, giving legitimacy, showing different narratives, giving strength to a view over the other etc. with due evidence.

[[Wikipedia:REPUTABLE]] All reliable sources would not be reliable for all purposes.

"Source reliability falls on a spectrum: No source is 'always reliable' or 'always unreliable' for everything. However, some sources provide stronger or weaker support for a given statement. Editors must use their judgment to draw the line between usable and inappropriate sources for each statement."

Moreover the certainty that the finding will not change is near zero.

All these are said to check the realiability of the cited sources, particularly for this purpose.

I know what original research is. I have considered that part too. To solve that problem if you think it is necessary to cite this M. P. Musthafal Faizy's book, I would be happy to cite this book with page number and quotations. Neutralhappy (talk) 08:13, 26 August 2023 (UTC)

I'm assuming this is the part of the article you want to rewrite per your 2022 book:

According to traditional sources, Aisha was six or seven years old when betrothed to Muhammad, with the marriage not being consummated until she reached the age of nine or ten years old. She was therefore a virgin at marriage. Modern Muslim authors who calculate Aisha's age based on other sources of information, such as a hadith about the age difference between Aisha and her sister Asma, estimate that she was over thirteen and perhaps in her late teens at the time of her marriage.

Is that correct? Note (in the article) that this text is very well cited, and the Aisha article goes into more detail. For the interested, there's also discussions about Aisha's age at Talk:Aisha.

So, what are you suggesting instead of the current writing, per WP:DUE etc? Gråbergs Gråa Sång (talk) 10:29, 26 August 2023 (UTC)

NeutralHappy, M. P. Musthafal Faizy is religious leader in Kerala - and from what I can see is affiliated to one of several Sunni factions in dispute in that Indian state. Clearly he's an advocate of a particular religious point of view. He also has no prominence outside of Kerala. Given the large number of citations supporting the existing text, even if he was a reliable source which may be unlikely it would certainly be WP:UNDUE to insert his views into the article. DeCausa (talk) 10:37, 26 August 2023 (UTC)

Removal of "good article" status

This article has gone through extensive changes since it underwent a GA review last time. The changes have been so substantive, with wholesale replacement of prose and sources, that it's hardly the same article anymore.

It may still be a good article, but it isn't the same article that was previously assessed as "good".

On this talk page, there have also been disputes raised about the changed content.

Therefore, I think it's time for a reassessment. ~Anachronist (talk) 21:54, 27 August 2023 (UTC)

Agreed. timely idea. DeCausa (talk) 21:57, 27 August 2023 (UTC)

There are still some parts in this article that come from the version before my edits that I think are problematic. However, I have no issue with reassessment as long as the article presents the subject accurately without leaving out important details that some people might think could have a bad impact on the subject's image, which leads to overall disinformation. In accordance with WP:OM and WP:NOTCENSORED. Kaalakaa (talk) 01:01, 28 August 2023 (UTC)

Yes, since the language has deteriorated through editorialization and the page populated with numerous undiscussed sources, the page is a very different creature from whatever it was before. Iskandar323 (talk) 08:44, 28 August 2023 (UTC)

Suspect sources

There are at least a few sources with pretty suspect scholarly credentials being used unattributed and without buttressing by more academic works. Two works in particular that have drawn my eye are the 1961 book Muhammad by Maxime Rodinson, a Marxist historian with strong political leanings. Aside from being dated, the work was written with a expressly sociological slant, which is fine as an analytical viewpoint, but makes a poor recipe for unbiased statements. Then we have the 1970 book The Life and Times of Muhammad by John Bagot Glubb, another dated and even less scholarly work by a British military officer with a hobbyist interest in Arab military history. A more recent source example with quality issues of the same vein is the 2017 The Generalship of Muhammad: Battles and Campaigns of the Prophet of Allah by Russ Rodgers, this time an American former military man and public speaker who has dabbled in academia as a side-gig, but who falls well short of subject-matter expert. I have no doubt that there are plenty of other sources of this ilk that have found their way onto the page, but if this page is to restore any semblance of quality, it is going to need to return to mainstream subject-matter experts and biographies. Iskandar323 (talk) 09:55, 28 August 2023 (UTC)