Exceptions and Special Permissions - only for the Prophet, of course

A person would have to be blind not to notice that the Quran is full of special cases and exceptions -- for Mohammad. I find it rather stange. Why don't Muslims consider it suspicious that a book that was supposed to exist from all eternity has so many little rules to benefit the messenger?

Among the special exceptions granted by Allah to Mohammad through Mohammad are the following:

to cut, burn and destroy orchards and fields (59:5. Here is a quote: Whether ye cut down (O ye Muslim!) The tender palm-trees, or ye left them standing on their roots, it was by leave of Allah, and in order that He might cover with shame the rebellious transgresses.
to attack and burn mosques and kill Muslims (9:107, 110). Quote: "They built a Masjid out of mischief and to promote disbelief, and sectarianism among the believers, and as an outpost for those who warred against Allah and His Messenger."
permission to marry for than 4 women "this only for thee, and not for the believers" (33:50). Not only does the Quran have special rules for Islam's prophet, it has a bunch of special rules for his wives (see below).
to violate the sanctity of the sacred month Rajan (which from immemorial antiquity in Arabia had been consecrated to peace) and attack infidels (Sura 2). It gets worse: by special permission captives were executed (Sura 47, 48). In another verse (8:67) Mohhammad says he must kill captives (make slaughter in the land) to prove he is a prophet. He also has permission (8:12) to inflict barbaric torture and kill his enemies ("execution, or crucifixion, or the cutting off of hands and feet from opposite sides, or exile from the land") according to what is convenient to him.
Not to keep his word of honor, if it interferes with anything bringing pleasure. From Surah 66: O Prophet! Why holdest thou to be forbidden that which Allah has made lawful to thee? Allah has already ordained for you, the dissolution of your oaths." Consider the implications of this!

If one reads the traditions (hadeth), one finds explanations for many of the revelations in the Quran as told by the Prophets companhions. Some of these are banal and inconsequential (On page 265 of Asbab al-Nuzul, the Suyuti says that whenever the Muslims saw a man coming to sit among them in the assembly of the apostle, they kept back their places and refused to make room for him, thus the verse 58:11 was sent down: "O, ye who believe! When it is said make room in assemblies, then make room"). Some are just silly (When someone accused Mohammad of stealing a piece of red velvet cloth after the War of Badr, verse 3:161 was revealed: "No prophet could ever be false to his trust. Some people said, 'Maybe the apostle of God took it.' Thus, God revealed this verse to acquit the apostle... ibn Abbas said so.")

Lies and misconceptions.. I have a page about the many lies that Muslims tell about Islam and Mohammud. Most of us, when making a broad statement and knowing that there are contrary facts, would qualify the statement or acknowledge that there are circumstances which may be interpreted otherwise. Not Muslims. This page has information about the many falsehoods that Muslims say when talking about Islam. Many of these are about their Prophet. Many of them are about the special privileges that were granted by Allah to Mohammad only, through Mohammad only, to benefit Mohammad only, of course.

And there are other special favors that are for Mohammad only... He also had Allah post a "Do not disturb" sign on Mohammad's door (33:53) or forbid people shouting at him (49:4, 5). Allah made sure that Mohammad got his cut of alms and loot (9:103), in fact Allah told the faithful to bring an offering before meeting with the prophet "to make it better and purer" for the believers (58:12), of course.

I know that this will surprise you, but when one wife got fat (Sauda was her name) Allah came through with another revelation (found in Quran 33:51) to save his prophet from a whale. I quote: "Then when Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, revealed this (relating to his wives): 'You may defer any one of them you wish, and take to yourself any you wish; and if you desire any you have set aside (no sin is chargeable to you)'". Sauda was designated official housekeeper and relieved of certain marital duties.

Not only does the Quran confer special permission for Mohammad to do things, it also has special rules applicable only to his wives: authorization to marry his daughter-in-law (33:37), to replace all his wives if they complain, as in the case when he was found with his concubine Maria the Copt in the bed of his wife Hafsa (66:3-5), or to prevent his wives from using adornments and receiving a greater allowance (33:28), to cover themselves (33:32, 59), to receive double punishment if they did wrong (33:30), and not marry again (33:53) and even to acquit his favorite wife (Aisha) of slander (24:1-22). Would a Muslim please explain to me why a woman should receive double punishment for her 'sins' because she is married to a certain man?

Some of these instructions are very specific. Sura 33:50 make it clear what women the Prophet can have:

"O Prophet! We have made lawful to thee (1) thy wives to whom thou hast paid their dowers, and (2) those whom thy right hand possesses out of the prisoners of war (Captives or slaves) whom Allah has assigned to thee; and (3) daughters of thy paternal uncles and aunts, and daughters of thy maternal uncles and aunts, who migrated (from Mecca) with thee; and (4) any believing woman, who dedicates her soul to the Prophet, and if the Prophet wishes to wed her-this only for thee, and not for the believers (at large)."

Well, that really narrows it down! Notice the "escape clause" at the end inserted in case a fat old hag showed up at Mohammad's door in a white dress announcing that she had "dedicated her soul to the Prophet." You must admit, the man was smart!

Mohammad explained to his followers that he would often receive special instructions during the night from Allah, and as Allah himslef says in Surah 2:106,108 "We substitute one revelation for another..." (We? Plural? Allah is plural? Oh yes, it was just formal language of the day). These divine interventions to satisfy Muhammad's sexual and marital issues were so blatant that Aisha even snickered that "It seems to me that your Lord hastens to satisfy your desire"

Most people would have been suspicious about the obvious fact that Allah made so many exceptions just for Mohammad, or why he whispered them into Mohammad's ear only. I think what is need is a cluemeter, an instrument that detects suspicious behavior.

"Blank Check" Rather than have an infinite number of exceptions for Muhammad, announced by Mohammud to benefit Mohammad, Allah finally resolved this issue by declaring: "There is no fault in the Prophet in what Allāh has decreed for him" (Quran 33:37). So, whatever the Prophet does is OK because he is special and the rules of conduct demanded of others don't apply to him.

And let us not forget the issue of plunder. The Quran (8.41) says: And know that out of all the booty that ye may acquire (in war), a fifth share is assigned to Allah, and to the Messenger. So Mohammad gets 20% of all plunder from jihad (yes, which means 'Holy war' to kill and conquer infidels). It is doubtful that Allah ever showed up at Mohammad's door to claim his share of the booty, so we can assume that the Prophet got 20% of the loot. This is, of course, the ancient 'Royal Fifth' that kings and ancient rulers have demanded since time immortal.

"Allah and his Messenger"

The Quran is full of references such as these:

Obey Allah and His Messenger; believe in Allah and His Messenger; show your faith in Allah and His Messenger; an announcement from Allah and His Messenger; We believe in Allah and in the messenger, and we obey; they fear that Allah and His Messenger will act wrongfully towards them; Whoso opposeth Allah and His messenger, (for him) lo! Allah is severe in punishment, etc...

Time after time we find the "Allah and Muhammud" formula in the Koran, so much that Mohammud is elevated to a position above that of a mere man. Verse 48:10 of the Quran summarizes the concept as follows: "Verily those who swear allegiance to you (Muhammad), indeed swear their allegiance to Allah." Verse 4.80 says 'He who obeys the Messenger, obeys Allah" and verse 33.36 states "When Allah and his Apostle decide a matter..." Think about what these verses say! There is no way to look at this except that Mohammad has assumed the powers and position understood to pertain to a deity. These references to "Allah and his Prophet" are so prevalent in the Quran that Mohammad can almost be understood to be a junior partner to Allah.

This literary construction leaves no other simple interpretation. Had the Quran said "Obey Allah, as does the Messenger" or "an announcement from Allah through the Messenger" or even "believe in Allah and follow the words of the messenger" it would have made a clear distinction between Mohammad and Allah, and the roles of each. As it is, the relationship is fuzzy, at best, or the Quran is poorly written, or the Quran was a tool used by a man to serve his political and physical interests, or all three. The question is why don't Muslims ask the obvious questions about Mohammad and the favored status given to him by him for him?

Perhaps somebody did ask about these things, about the many exceptions and special privileges for Mohammad, and about the many references that put him next to Allah.... and perhaps this verse in the Quran was given to explain everything: "O ye who believe! Ask not questions about things which if made plain to you, may cause you trouble... Some people before you did ask such questions, and on that account lost their faith." (5:101-102)

Question: How can a man be considered
a great moral example if he has special
privileges and rights? If the average
Muslim cannot do what the Prophet did,
he (the prophet) cannot be an example.

The perfect man, an "example" for Muslims.

Muslims believe that Muhammad was the most perfect man that ever lived, declaring that he was a "mercy for all mankind". May I quote from the Koran: "Indeed in the Messenger of Allah you have a good example to follow" (33:21). If one has read the Islamic traditions (the Sunnah or hadiths) about the life of this man, this may explain the hate, violence and terror caused by Muslims today.
The question is this: If he is an example, why are there so many things that you cannot do that he did? How do you explain these?

Women didn't need to cover up for him. "One of his unique characteristic that he was permitted to be alone with them (non-mahram / uncovered women) and to let them ride behind him on his mount," because "he was protected by his infallibility". So, Muslims women must cover themselves so as not to be seen by other men - except if that man is Mohammad. He can even ride with them or search women's bodies for lice and fleas. No comment!.

Four wives for thee, a bunch more for Mohammud. Not to mention he married his daughter in law, some of his slaves, and even his cousins - just like in Arkansas. Of course, this privilege was granted only to Mohammud. Isn't it kind of suspicious that it was Muhammud that announced all these special privileges granted to Mohammad to benefit Mohammad? In modern terms, wouldn't this be a "conflict of interest"? Oh yes, you can marry a women so that she can take care of your children, and be your housekeeper.

He was a merry man, a marrying man. He married high and low, he married young and old, he married his friends and enemies, he married captives and free women, he married Muslims, Jews and Christians, he even married women to take care of his children. All this just to serve as a good example for his followers! What a man of virtue! Oh yes, by the way, wasn't Safiyah (Safiyaah) the woman he took to his bed the day after killing her husband? Oh yes, he also had her father killed. Did I mention her brother was also murdered by Mohammed at the same time, the day before the happy honeymoon? Are these considered an 'example' of how to resolve 'in-law' problems? PS: Strangely, almost all of the Prophet's wives are described by different as beautiful women. Imagine that!

Even if it seems that Mohammad
did bad, evil things, that is
not true because the Quran says
"There is no fault in the Prophet in
what Allāh has decreed for him" (33:37)
Not his fault! Allah made him do it

What ever he did, it was right! If it had been the way it is related in the hadīth of Qatādā, where it talks of what happened in the heart of the Prophet(P) when he admired her and wanted Zayd to divorce her, there would have been a great fault in it and which would not befit him. That would rather have been the action of someone who extends his eyes to what has been forbidden to him of the fruits of the life of this world. Allāh made Zayd divorce Zaynāb and marry the Prophet(P) to remove the barrier set up by ties of adoption and invalidating its customs.
Just to make sure that Muslims understand that Muhammad is blameless in everything, even if Muhammad does things that appear to be bad, Muhammad announced a special revelation directly from Allah to confirm that Allah says that Muhammad can do anything and there is no evil in anything Muhammad does because Allah make him do it, and so Muhammad had to do it because Allah told him to: "There is no fault in the Prophet in what Allāh has decreed for him" (Quran 33:37). So if, as it is written in Islam's own traditions, Islam's prophet attacks people, kills, tortures, loots, enslaves and beats his wife, it is not bad because Allah told him to do it.

The virtues of the prophet. As stated many times in the Quran, Mohammud is a 'great example' that Muslims should follow. I have put a few screens here from authentic Islamic texts that show some of the great virtues of this man. You must admit that Muslim do follow his example. They murder, beat their wives, torture, attack, plunder, rape, enslave and so on. Note also that the texts are from MSA - The Muslim Student Association and the University of California. There are hundreds of vile events like these in the life of this man - yet he is considered a great moral example.

About the virtues of drinking
the prophet's urine...
Other bodily discharges also
bestow blessings...
Once again, I swear am not
making these things up!

Even the Prophet's Urine was perfect! The Grand Mufti of Egypt, Ali Gamaa, having declared that women like to be beaten, now has come up with another revelation: "A thimble of the Prophet's urine did bestow blessings on those who drank it". He says that other bodily discharges of the prophet also bestow blessings as well. This makes Catholic 'holy water' look pathetic! I could add a few more sarcastic comments, but I can't make this any 'stupider' than it is.

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Page updated: March 2008