EP69: Muhammad: The Man. The Message. The Mystery.

There are some things we know about Muhammad—but what's more interesting is what we don't know. The earliest surviving biography of Muhammad, by ibn Hisham, is from over 200 years after his death. That biography is based on an earlier biography by Ibn Ishaq which did not survive to the present day except in fragments, but itself was written over 100 years after Muhammad's death. Almost everything we know about Muhammad aside from the scant details in the Quran, almost every story we hear, is from these early biographies. The first time Muhammad's name ever appeared on any official state document was on a coin, over 50 years after he died. There is no mention of him in any other state documents, including those of the Umayyad caliphate. All six of the "authentic" hadith compilations began a full 200 years after his death, based on oral traditions passed from generation to generation. The only reliable indicator from his lifetime is the Quran, which mentions him only four times by name, but is also remarkably cryptic about this time in history. Although Muhammad almost certainly existed, the details of his biography are vague. We dug into all of this and more in our continued conversation with Abdullah Gondal. Don't miss this. Watch the video version of this conversation (for patrons): https://www.patreon.com/posts/muhammad-man-21503156  Listen to this podcast on iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite podcast app: http://secularjihadists.com  The Secular Jihadists has been made possible thanks to the gracious support of the Illuminati and the great state of Israel. That's what we have been told, but we haven't received our checks yet. In the meantime, we greatly appreciate the support of our current donors. Please consider supporting by sharing the podcast with your fellow heathens or by donating at https://www.patreon.com/SJME  Subscribe to The Secular Jihadists on iTunes, Stitcher or your favourite podcast app. And please leave us a review 😀 Pakistani Ex-Muslim Abdullah Gondal (with Abdullah Sameer): https://youtu.be/x4u5nPO4XY8  Dan Gibson’s documentary “The Sacred City”: https://youtu.be/qOnGvzVceVo  Tom Holland’s documentary “Islam: The Untold Story”: https://youtu.be/LNihITTZ5HE  Abdullah Gondal with Veedu Vidz: https://youtu.be/wuy2Kt7rlbs