How Did Muhammad Become A Prophet?

For those who do not know how Muhammad and Islam came to be:

Muhammad was praying in a cave when he encountered ‘Gabriel.’  According to Muhammad, the first several times, ‘Gabriel’ nearly crushed him, physically, to the point where he could not breath and panicked.  Muhammad said that ‘Gabriel’ told him to ‘recite,’ but Muhammad protested that he could not because he was illiterate (note: this is vaguely reminiscent of Moses encounter and reaction to God and the Burning Bush).

After his first encounter with ‘Gabriel,’ which he initially referred to as a jinn (a spirit being that can poses humans), Muhammad thought he had been possessed.  Sine he was now ‘reciting,’ and because Arabs believe that poets are possessed, Muhammad concluded he had been possessed.  Consequently, he became depressed and contemplated suicide by throwing himself off a mountain.

It was his first wife, Khadija, who convinced Muhammad that he was not possessed, but had been chosen to be a prophet of god.  One of Khadija’s relatives, a Gnostic Christian priest, ‘confirmed’ that Muhammad was a prophet.  This started the religion of Islam with Khadija being Muhammad’s first convert.  Coincidentally, when Muhammad first started to try to preach to the locals, they ridiculed and disputed with him.  Muhammad would come home dejected and Khadija would comfort and console him.

For the first few years, this was the extent of Muhammad’s mission, during which time he only won some two to three hundred converts.  It is from these first few years that we find most of Muhammad’s ‘peaceful’ passages in the Qur’an.  At this time, Muhammad was buying Scripture passages from the local Jews and using them in his own preaching.  Sadly, Khadija’s death and Muhammad’s exile changed all this.  It was shortly after his exile that Muhammad discovered he could win tens of thousands of converts by making fighting and theft of property legal for his followers, as well as authorizing the taking and selling of slaves, especially sex slaves.  From this point on, Islam turned violent and Muhammad’s megalomania grew.

Much of this is recorded in the Qur’an and Hadith (sayings and customs of Muhammad).  However, you have to know Muhammad’s biography before you can make sense of these passage.  However, once you know about the back-story, these passage suddenly make sense.  They show the progression from believing he is possessed to commanding war with all humanity until all submit to Islam and offering booty and sex slaves as a reward:

[Note: passages in red are from the Qur’an; those in black are from the Sunnah (customs and sayings of Muhammad), the second holiest book in Islam and absolutely necessary to make a religion out of the Qur’an.]

Ishaq:106

“None of Allah’s creatures was more hateful to me than an ecstatic poet or a man possessed. I thought, ‘Woe is me, I’m a possessed poet.'” Ishaq:106 “I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and be at rest.”

Ishaq:106

“I stood gazing at him and that distracted me from committing suicide. I couldn’t move. Khadija sent her messengers in search of me and they gained the high ground above Mecca so I came to her and sat by her thigh. She said, ‘O Abu’l-Qasim [Muhammad’s actual name], where have you been?’ I said, ‘Woe is me. I am possessed.'”

Tabari VI:70

“He went to Khadija and said, ‘I think that I have gone mad.'”

Ishaq:132-3

“If this demonic spirit which has possession of you is such that you cannot get rid of him, we will find a physician for you, and exhaust our means trying to cure you. For often a demonic spirit gets possession of a man, but he can be rid of it.’ The Apostle listened patiently.”

Ishaq:155

“Khadija was the first to believe in Allah and His Apostle. By her Allah lightened the burden on His Prophet. He never met with contradiction and charges of falsehood but he was comforted by her when he went home. She strengthened him and belittled the opposition.”

Qur’an 2:174

“Those who conceal Allah’s revelations in the Scripture Book [Bible] and thus make a miserable profit thereby [selling it to Muhammad], swallow Fire into themselves; Allah will not address them. Grievous will be their doom.”

Qur’an:8:67

“It is not fitting for any prophet to have prisoners until he has made a great slaughter in the land.”

Bukhari:V4B52N220

“Allah’s Apostle said, ‘I have been made victorious with terror.'”

Qur’an 8:69

“So enjoy what you took as booty; the spoils are lawful and good.”

Ishaq:327

“Allah made booty lawful and good. He used it to incite the Muslims to unity of purpose. So enjoy what you have captured.”

Bukhari:V4B53N373

“Allah’s Apostle got property and war prisoners and gave them to some people to the exclusion of others. The latter seemed to be displeased by that. The Prophet said, ‘I give to some people, lest they should deviate from Islam or lose patience.'”

Tabari IX:37
Ishaq:596

“Do you hold a grudge against me and are you mentally disturbed because of the worldly things by which I conciliate a people and win them over so that they will embrace Islam and become Muslims?”

Ishaq:315

“It was so criminal, men could hardly imagine it. Muhammad was ennobled because of the bloody fighting. I swear we shall never lack soldiers, nor army leaders. Driving before us infidels until we subdue them with a halter above their noses and a branding iron. We will drive them to the ends of the earth. We will pursue them on horse and on foot. We will never deviate from fighting in our cause. We will bring upon the infidels the fate of the Ad and Jurhum. Any people that disobey Muhammad will pay for it. If you do not surrender to Islam, then you will live to regret it. You will be shamed in Hell, forced to wear a garment of molten pitch forever!”

Now, I have had many people tell me that I am ‘cherry picking’ parts of Islam to paint a false picture.  To those people, I would ask how it is I can ‘cherry pick’ such a consistent story, and how it is that everyone else trying to warn people about Islam are telling the same story?  If there is so much good in Islam, why can’t people show me and others like me where and how we are wrong?  When people falsely accuse God’s Word in the Bible, I and others can immediately explain the mistake(s).  Where are the Muslim apologists?  Or don’t people ever consider that the reason I can make such a consistent story, and that no one ever contradicts it is because it is an accurate portrayal of Islam — as MUHAMMAD defined it?