Refutation of the Allegations Levelled by R.V.C.

Bodley About the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)

Syed Toqeer Abbas*
Muhammad Sultan Shah**

Abstract: R.V.C. Bodley is one of the European writers who

not only studied Islam but also observed it practically. He
spent his seven years in Arabia, especially in the Sahara
Desert, and accounted his observations in about six writings.
He is considered the hero of nineteenth century travellers. He
was born in France and studied at Eton College England. He
had soft behaviour towards Islam in comparison with other
European authors. He fell a prey to bigotry like other
orientalists. In this paper, an effort has been made to refute
the allegations levelled by Bodley against the Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). His views have been
analysed and repudiated in the light of basic sources of Sirah
literature.

Key Words: Holy Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), R.V.C. Bodley,

Allegations, Sirah literature

Biographical Sketch of Bodley

There are a number of Western scholars who have written on the biography
of the Prophet of Islam (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). Among them
Henry Stubbe, Aloys Sprenger, William Muir, Samuel Margoliouth, Alfred
Guillaume, Annmarie Schimmel, Canon Sell, William Montgomery Watt,
Maxime Rodinson, Karen Armstrong, Clinton Bennett are noteworthy.
R.V.C Bodley was also an orientalist who wrote biography of the Prophet
Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). He was born on 3rd
March 1892 in France.1 He himself states about his birth:

M.Phil scholar, Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies, GC University
Lahore: [email protected]

Chairperson, Department of Arabic & Islamic Studies, GC University
Lahore: [email protected]

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 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
“I was born on a raw March afternoon in Paris, the city of the glorious
unforeseen, the center of beautiful nonsense and of the grimmest
reality.”2

It was the time when various political changes were happening in the world
especially in France. After French Revolution3 (1789-93) the conditions
were still unstable and after Paris Revolution 4(4th September 1870) third
Republic, Paris Commune, took charge of the country and on the 2nd of
April declared the separation of Church and State.5 Bodley was born to
John Edward Courtenay (J.E.C) Bodley, the historian, barrister and the
author of “France”, (1898).6He had the honour of being the descendent of
Miles Bodley, the brother of Sir Thomas Bodley (1545-1613), an English
diplomat, scholar, minister and particularly founder of Bodleian library.7

After leaving Eton College, England, Bodley’s vocational career

commenced from military. He joined Royal Military Academy in
Sandhurst, United Kingdom, where he was commissioned into Kings
Royal Rifle Corps as Second Lieutenant in 1911.8 He was included in a
Regiment in India before the start of World War I, where he passed six
years and perhaps during his stay there he started to write.9When the World
War1 began, he had to join Western Front consisting of Luxemburg and
Belgium due to the attack of German army on France and there he had been
busy for four years.10 After four years, in 1918, he succeeded to have the
rank of Lieutenant Colonel and commanded a Battalion.11

David Lloyd George advised him to join politics but he preferred to work
with Thomas Edward (T.E) Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia)who stopped
him to join politics and advised him to visit Arabia.12 During his job as
Military Assistant Attaché in British Embassy in Paris at the age of 26 in
1918, he got opportunity to participate in Paris Peace Conference (1919)13
about which he expresses his views,

“But no one thought of this, and we danced on, as it were, on a floor

supported by corpses, but without hearing the crunching of bones.”.14

He also got a chance during his stay at Japan to teach English at Keio
University15 for five months and there was nothing special with him in this
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 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

matter. He could not prove himself as a qualified teacher due to lack of

teaching skills as Mark Peattie has stated.16

He was awarded the title of “Ronnie Bodley” because of his magistral

scriptwriting while staying at Hollywood.17 During this period he
succeeded to work with Charles Chaplin, also known as Charlie Chaplin
(1889-1977), the legendary, noteworthy and the mega star of Hollywood.18
As far as his domestic life is concerned he was not much different from
European people. He married three times but divorced, so he was
unsuccessful to gain a quiescent life. Behind this failure there were some
Bodley’s own mistakes and some were the effects of European society.19

Few people in every nation are endowed with such intellect that they can
express their thought in black and white. Due to his broad study and deep
observation, Bodley excelled him as a distinguished writer. His famous
works are as under:

Algeria from Within ( London, The Bobbs-Merrill Company 1927) ;

Yasmina (1927) ; Opal Fire (London, 1928) ; Indiscretions of a Young Man
(London, Harold Shaylor, 1931) ; The Lilac Troll (London, A Rivers,
1932) ; Round the Red Lamp (written by Canon Doyle with notes by
Bodley, Tokyo, Arai Shoten, 1934) ; Indiscreet Travels East (London,
Jarrolds, 1934) ; The Drama of the Pacific (Tokyo, Hokuseido Press, 1934)
; Admiral Togo (London, Jarrolds, 1935) ; Gertrude Bell (London,
Macmillan, 1940) ; Flight into Portugal (London, Jarrolds 1941) ; The Gay
Deserters (Creative Age Press, 1945) ; The Messenger, The Life of
Muhammad ( New York, Greenwood Press, 1946) ; The Quest (London,
Robert Hale, Doubleday, 1947) ; In Search of Serenity (Boston, Little,
Brown, 1955) ; The Soundless Sahara (London, Rober Hale, 1968) ; A
Japanese Omelette (Tokyo, The Hokuseido Press, 1933) ; Wind in the
Sahara ( Coward-MacCann, Creative Age Press, 1944) ; The Warrior Saint
( Boston, Little, Brown, 1953) ; I Lived in the Garden of Allah ( The
Chaucer Press, 1948).

Bodley died at the age of 78 on 26th May 1970. He spent the final days of
his life in a nursing home, Birtley House, situated in Bramley, Surrey, a
hill area of south east England.20
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 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
An Overview of Sīrah Literature of the West before Bodley
The Jewish enmity commenced during the age of the Holy Prophet (Peace
and Blessings be Upon Him) when the Madinan Jews opposed his
prophethood, in spite of the fact that earlier scriptures foretold about arrival
of the Arabian Prophet. So, they made conspiracies along with the
Makkans against Islam. The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon
Him) expatriated them from Khaibar to save Islamic society from their
intrigues and ‘Umar, the second caliph, deported them out of Arabia in his
caliphate.

When the Muslims conquered Jerusalem, the Christian world stood up

against Islam to overthrow the Muslim rule. So, the adherents to Judaism
and Christianity joined each other and made their attempts to uproot Islam
from the world. They tried to torture the Muslims psychologically and it
continued till the crusades. This antagonistic behaviour of Christianity
influenced Islamic world adversely.

In the early centuries Islam was considered as an idolatrous religion in

which a god Mahomet was worshipped and the Westerns used to twist the
name of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) which is
explained also by Bodley in his writing.21Ordericus in his work describe
the invocations of Palestinian women in which they call their god
Mahomet.22 Moreover, these were the days when the Muslims were
pointed out as the infidels in the West.23 The main purpose behind the
Orientalistic intellectual activities was to search out the weaknesses of
Islam so that they could prevent the Christian world to convert in Islam to
it. To get these aims they raised questions about the authenticity of the
Qur’ān, Hadīth, Fiqh and particularly the Sīrah literature.

At the end of the 19th century there were hundreds of books in Europe
written in various Western languages in which the trend was mostly
negative but during the 20th century such orientalists appeared on the scene
who nailed the plank of their former writers. They, studying Islam deeply,
informed their people of Islamic realities of which they were still
uninformed. The Qur’ān, Hadīth and other branches of Islamic knowledge
were analyzed in detail and then, on these solid foundations, literature on
Islam was published. In case of Sīrah literature a lot of data was collected
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 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

and published on every dimension of the Holy Prophet’s life. Now, before
the Europeans, the image of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be
Upon Him) changed to a certain extent. He was considered a respectable
and successful religious leader. That’s why the bigoted Margoliouth had to
confess:

“The biographers of the Prophet Mohammed form a long series which it is

impossible to end, but in which it would be honourable to find a place.”24

Refutation of Bodley’s Allegations

“The Messenger: The Life of Muhammad” published in 1946 is a complete
biography of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) written
by Bodley. It is a considerable English biography of the Prophet of Islam.
The book consists of the author’s direct observations during his stay at the
Sahara Desert and the high mountains of Kashmir.25 He has tried his best
to write the biography of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon
Him) in a better way. Being a Christian, he could not save himself to be
imbued with Christian bigotry. That is why, he has raised some objections
against Islam, the holy Qur’ān and the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings
be Upon Him). These allegations are the obvious result of his orientalistic
environment. His indictments are as follows:

1. The Western writers have always tried to malign the sacred personality
of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). They
endeavoured to twist the name of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings
be Upon Him). Mahomet, Mammetry, Maumets, Mahomerie and
Mummery are the words used by the Europeans in place of Prophet’s real
name.26 Some orientalists have mentioned wrong name of the Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). According to Dermingham his name
was Qatham while Guelbert of Nogent has recorded Mathomas.27Bodley is
also the victim of such ignorance that is why, describing the birth of the
Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him), he mentions his name
as Quthan.28There is no proof in history about such name as Bodley has
recorded.Washington Irving, AlfredGuilluame, Sir William Muir, Canon
Sell, George Bush and many Muslim writers have mentioned his real name,
“Muhammad”(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him), in their writings.29
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 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
2. Bodley has visualized the relation between Hazrat Khadījah and the Holy
Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) in such a way that it seems to
be an indelicate effort to distort the character of the Holy Prophet (Peace
and Blessings be Upon Him). He, making his writing colorful, states a love
story between Khadījah and the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be
Upon Him) before marriage and tries to ascertain that their marriage was
the result of love affair. He describes:

“Gradually she found herself becoming less interested in business and

more interested in her charming and viril manager……..For the first time
in her life , Khadija was falling in love. But how could she convey these
disturbing feelings to the object of her affection…….Today the talk took
place in Khadija’s own apartments. Mohammad was shy, and Khadija had
to do all the explaining. When she had finished, Mohammad gratefully
accepted the proposal.”30

The reality is totally opposite to this description. According to Ṭabarī, Ibn

Kathīr and Ibn HishāmHazrat Hamzah, the uncle of the Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) met with Khuwailad b. Asad, father
of Hazrat Khadījah, and demanded her hand for his nephew which
Khuwailad accepted.31 Moreover, Bodley records that the marriage
ceremony was full with imported wines and during the banquet dancers
danced and musicians played from dawn to dusk and from dusk to dawn.32
He tries to prove that all these activities were happening in the presence of
the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). While this marriage
was very simple as it is stated in Islamic history.33

3. The Westerns have attacked the status of the Prophet’s parents and tried
to prove them as Jews or pagans.34Bodley has misjudged the doctrinal
status of the Holy Prophet’s mother and downgraded her dignity. His
statement, “Today he wished that his mother had lived to find salvation in
the new faith”35generates some misgivings in the reader’s mind,
particularly the Muslims that the Prophet’s parents were idolaters or
pagans. It is stated in the Islamic writings that all the forefathers of the
Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) were inerrant,
monotheists and depurated from every kind of polytheism. There is

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 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

sufficient evidence and vindication of their faith, in Islamic history, as a

Muslim. ’Allāmah Jalāl al Dīn Suyūṭī states:
ٰ
‫"وقد مال الی هذه السبیل االمام فخر الدین الرازی فقال ان اباءه صلی هللا علیه وسلم کلهم الی‬
ٰ ‫ادم علیه الصلوة والسالم کانوا‬
36‫علی التوحید"۔‬

Which means that all forefathers of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings
be Upon Him) up to Adam were monotheists and true believers.
Furthermore ’Allāmah Muhammad bin Yoūsaf Shāmī, ’Allāmah
Muhammad bin ‘Abd al Bāqī Zarqānī,Yoūsaf bin Ismā’īl Nabhānī,‘Alī Ibn
Burhān al-Dīn Ḥalbī and many other Muslim scholars have presented
strong arguments in this matter.37

4. After the death of Abu Tālib, the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be
Upon Him) visited Tā’if for preaching Islam there. Some orientalists have
criticized this visit and attempted to prove that the visit was only to rescue
himself from increasing persecutions of the Makkans38and Bodley seems
to be the supporter of this false accusation. He writes that the Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) tried to take refuge from these
persecutions and went to Tā’if two years before Hijrah.39The Sīrah
literature affirms that the chiefs of Tā’if sent young boys to the Holy
Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) who threw stones at him and
insulted him on the way.40 Why they did so? The answer is very simple.
The Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) offered a new
religion which infuriated them.41 So their reaction is a clear evidence that
the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) visited the
neighbouring town to convey the message of Islam not for his personal
safety.

5. Bodley has mentioned, at some places, the Holy Prophet (Peace and
Blessings be Upon Him) as warrior, the dictator and imposter.42 Being a
Christian he has no cognition the high status of the Prophets of God
because The Bible in its present form treats the Prophets at some occasions
in a way which is not appropriate for them. Jethro (The Holy Prophet of
God Ḥaḍrat Shu’aib) has been declared as priest.43About Lot (The Holy
Prophet Ḥaḍrat Lūt) the Bible states that his daughters laid with him
making him drink wine and both were conceived by him. 44How can a
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 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
religion,that does not differentiate between a priest and the prophet of God
and has no sense of discrimination of the most sacred blood relation
between a father and daughter, teach ethics to the world. Similarly, in The
Book of Samuel 2, David has been degraded by describing his love affair
with “Bath-sheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the
Hittite”.45Furthermore, Jesus and Moses are also considered impostors in
European writings.46 M.N. Roy accounts:
Christian arrogance called the Arabian Prophet an "Imposter". But it has
been forgotten that he was given that name together with Moses and Jesus.
The authorship of the famous book, anonymously published, "Three
Imposters" which created sensation in Europe towards the close of the
middle-ages, was attributed to the Christian King Frederic Barbarossa as
well as to the Muslim philosopher Averroes.47
So, Bodley’s such statements are the obvious result of his European
upbringing.
6. The majority of the orientalists is insistent that Islam are derived from
Judaism and Christianity.48 They don’t try to understand that Islam is the
culmination of Divine Faith and its some ideas and practices are the same
that Abraham, Isaac and the Old Testament Prophets had delivered to their
people like oneness of God revelation, angels, prophethood, Day of
Resurrection, Paradise and Hell etc. So when the Westerns study some
common concepts in the Qur’ān, they consider Islam to be based upon
Christianity and Judaism whereas it is far from reality.
Bodley also seems to be the victim of such counterfeit ideas. According to
him the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) selected some
ideas what he thought good from Judaism and Christianity and started a
new religion on these conceptions named as Islam

Actually, considering some common teachings, the Christian bamboozlers

kept away their readers from the true light of Islam. They never understood
this logic that the comparative study of a religion is based upon its
fundamental dogmas and, as far as practical life is concerned, we find some
common teachings almost in all religions. So, in respect to basic beliefs,
Islam is inordinately different from Judaism and Christianity. For example
Islam leads the concept of monotheism49 whereas Christianity is the victim
of Trinity (concept of three Gods), a baseless theory. The meaning of this
dogma is that God has revealed Himself as three persons, God the Father,

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 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

God the Son and God the Spirit.50 Some Christians do not include the Spirit
in the Trinity but they include Mary in it. They embrace the Trinity as God
the Father, Mary the Mother and Jesus the Son.

The Holy Qur’ān completely repudiates this false theology in these words:

‫اَّلل‬
‫ول ه‬ ُ ‫يسى ابْ ُن ام ْراَيا ار ُس‬ ‫يح ع ا‬ ُ ‫اْلا هق ۚ إهَّناا الْ امس‬
ْ ‫اَّلل إهَل‬
‫اَي أ ْاه ال الْكتااب اَل تا ْغلُوا ِف دين ُك ْم اواَل تا ُقولُوا اعلاى ه‬
ٰ ‫واكلمتُه أالْ اقاها إ ا َٰل مراَي وروح مْنه ۖ فاآمنُوا ِب هَّلل ورسله ۖ واَل تا ُقولُوا ثااَلثاةٌ ۚ انتا هوا خي را له ُكم ۚ إهَّناا ه‬
ٌ‫اَّللُ إلاه‬ ْ ًْ‫ُ ا‬ ‫اُ ُ ا‬ ُ ٌ ُ‫اْ ا ا‬ ‫ا اُ ا‬
51
- ‫اواح ٌد ُسْب احاناهُ أان يا ُكو ان لاهُ اولا ٌد ۘ لههُ اما ِف ال هس ام ااوات اواما ِف ْاْل ْارض ۗ اواك اف ٰى ِب هَّلل اوك ًيَل‬

“O People of the Book! Commit no excesses in your religion: Nor say of

Allah aught but the truth. Christ Jesus the son of Mary was (no more than)
a messenger of Allah, and His Word, which he bestowed on Mary, and a
spirit proceeding from Him: so believe in Allah and His messengers. Say
not “Trinity”: desist: it will be better for you: for Allah is one Allah: Glory
be to Him: (Far exalted is He) above having a son.”52

So, why the Christians accept only Jesus as the son of God being a lot of
sons.

Similarly, Islam rejects the concept of Atonement, the basic dogma and the
particular novelty in the teaching of Christianity,53 according to which
Jesus sacrificed himself not only for original sin but also for all the sins of
the whole world to satisfy God as it is stated in The Encyclopedia
Britannica.54According to Islamic point of view the pardon of one’s sins is
attached with his own repentance and good deeds not with any other’s
sacrifice. The Holy Qur’ān says:
55
- ‫س اشْي ئًا او ْاْل ْامُر يا ْوامئ ٍذ هَّلل‬
ٍ ‫ك نا ْفس لنا ْف‬
ٌ ُ ‫يا ْوام اَل تاْل‬
“(It will be) the Day when no soul shall have power (to do) aught for
another: For the command, that day, will be (wholly) with Allah.”56

A sacrificer for others has no fear of death but The Bible clarifies that Jesus
never wished to die as it is stated:

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 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye
here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and
prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said,
Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; takeaway this cup from me:
nevertheless, not what I will, but whatthou wilt.57
Mostly in the Old Testament we find several verses that make the concept
of God vague. According to these verses God created the universe in seven
days and exhausted, so He rested at seventh day after the creation. 58 It is
also described that God repents of creating the man watching his bad
deeds,59 and after this repentance He makes the Covenant that He will not
do this again, the killing of His creation.60Islamic commandments are
opposite to such ideas. The Holy Qur’ān states:

ٍ ُ‫ض وما ب ْي نا هما ِف ستهة أ هاَيٍم وما م هسناا من لُّغ‬

- ‫وب‬ ‫اولا اق ْد اخلا ْقناا ال هس ام ااوات او ْاْل ْار ا ا ا ا ُ ا‬
61
‫اا ا‬
“We created the heavens and the earth and all between them in Six Days,
nor did any sense of weariness touch Us.”62

So, keeping these short comparative comments from both sides in view a
person can understand comprehensively that Islam totally refuses bogus
ideas of Christianity and Judaism and has its own theological views,
doctrines and traditions which are quite opposite to these fabricated
concepts. Thus Bodley’s thinking is wrong that Islam is the result of
borrowing concepts of ancient religions.63

7. Bodley is a victim of great misunderstanding in the matter of education

of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him). He declares that
the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) not only learnt from
others, during his trade visits out of Makkah, but also acquired education
from school.64The author has not the sense that a prophet is not bound to
adopt worldly sources in the matter of education. His statement,
“Nevertheless he had acquired another experience more maturing than
years at school”,65 is a clear evidence of the lack of detailed study of basic
Islamic sources. Moreover he records that some say that he was illiterate,
others say that he was not and there is no evidence to prove or disprove
either contention.66

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 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

All the prophets sent by God were unlettered and not a single apostle was
educated by a non-apostle sitting in a school. They are educated by God
before they were raised to the world as it is stated in the Qur’ān.67
68
- ‫ْم ٍة‬ ٍ
‫ني لا اما آتاْي تُ ُكم من كتااب اوحك ا‬
‫اق النهبي ا‬
‫اَّللُ ميثا ا‬
‫اخ اذ ه‬
‫وإ ْذ أ ا‬
“Behold! Allah took the covenant of the Prophets, saying: I give you a Book
and wisdom.”69

This is the clear certificate that God is the instructor and teacher of prophets
and He tells everything to His messengers before sending them to their
nations. He sent His messenger Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be Upon
Him) towards the people to teach them the book and wisdom.70

On the contrary to Qur’ān, the Bible quotes nothing in the matter of

prophet’s education. Furthermore, the time when the Holy Prophet (Peace
and Blessings be Upon Him) started his preaching in Makkah, it was the
era of ignorance. There was no concept of school education that time.
Religiously, politically, socially, ethically and educationally Arabia was in
darkness and no person was there to lead them71.

8. Mostly, the orientalists try to ascertain this baseless concept that the
Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) was the patient of
epilepsy and often fell down in a fit, and some have tried to prove that he
was possessed by a Jin or an evil spirit.72 During such fits he declared his
personal views as the revelation from God. This is merely an unsuccessful
effort to dodge the people. Bodley also seems, to an extent, advocating this
idle thought, that’s why, he writes at a place in this regard:

Sometimes he lost consciousness and lay on the ground like one dead.
Sometimes he went into convulsions. It is from reports of these attacks that
have sprung the story that Mohammad was epileptic. This is still a matter
of controversy. A majority asserts that Mohammad suffered from
epilepsy.73

This is not a matter of controversy. This is only Western mentality whose

main purpose is to convey wrong message to their European readers.

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 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
Actually such imaginations occur through the study of prospect and
situation of divine revelation when the angel comes to the Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) with the Message of God. The Holy
Qur’ān and Hadith both have stated divine revelation. Imām Bukhārī
narrates:

‫ان الحارث بن ھشام رض ی هللا عنیہ سال رسول هللا صلی هللا علیہ وسلم فقال یا رسول هللا کیف‬
‫یاتیک الوحی؟ فقال رسول هللا صلی هللا علیہ وسلم احیانا یاتینی مثل صلصلۃ الجرس و ھو اشدہ‬
74 ‫ل‬
‫ وقد وعیت عنہ ما قال و احیانا یتمثل لی امللک رجال فیکلمنی فاعی ما یقو ۔‬، ‫علی فیفصم عنی‬

Harith bin Hishãm asked Allah's Messenger "0 Allah's Messenger! How is
the Divine Revelation revealed to you?" Allah's Messenger replied,
"Sometimes it is (revealed) like the ringing of a bell, this form of
Revelation is the hardest of all and then this state passes off after I have
grasped what is revealed. Sometimes the angel comes in the form of a man
and talks to me and I grasp whatever he says.
'Aishah added: Verily I saw the Prophet being inspired (Divinely) and
(noticed) the sweat dropping from his forehead on a very cold day as the
Revelation was over.75

According to the Holy Qur’ān the former prophets were also in the same
manner received divine revelation as the Holy Prophet (Peace and
Blessings be Upon Him). God Almighty says:

‫اق‬
‫يل اوإ ْس اح ا‬
‫ني من با ْعده ۚ اوأ ْاو احْي ناا إ ا َٰل إبْ اراهي ام اوإ ْْسااع ا‬
‫وح اوالنهبي ا‬ ‫إ هَّن أ ْاو احْي ناا إلاْي ا‬
ٍ ُ‫ك اك اما أ ْاو احْي ناا إ ا َٰل ن‬
76
- ‫ود ازبُ ًورا‬
‫س اواه ُارو ان او ُسلاْي اما ان ۚ اوآتاْي ناا اد ُاو ا‬
‫وب اويُونُ ا‬
‫يس ٰى اوأايُّ ا‬
‫اسبااط اوع ا‬
ْ ‫وب او ْاْل‬
‫اويا ْع ُق ا‬
“We sent thee inspiration, as we sent it to Noah and the Messengers after
him: We sent inspiration to Abraham, Ismā‘īl, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes,
to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron and Solomon, and to David We gave the
Psalms.”77

According to Encyclopedia Britannica epilepsy is a nervous and mental

disorder and an epileptic person loses his consciousness due to the seizures
of this disease. Such person doesn’t remember what happened during the
fit.78 But it is not so with the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon
Him). After the revelation he recalled everything and delivered divine

12
 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

message to his companions verse by verse. The Western scholars have

baselessly targeted the Prophet’s sacred personality in this matter.

9. There were 360 sculptures in Ka‘ba among which Lāt, Manāt and
‘Uzzah were the most well-known gods of the Arabs. After declaration of
his Prophethood the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him)
strictly criticized these images and invited the Makkens to only one God.
Bodley has stated that the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon
Him) once became ready to adopt Lāt, Manāt and ‘Uzzah as second gods
with Allah Almighty, but he quickly retracted this concession.79According
to the Holy Qur’ān he was ordered to announce umbrage to the idols and
to declare the faith of monotheism.80 God commands:

“Say: O ye that reject faith! I worship not that which ye worship, Nor will
ye worship that which I worship. And I will not worship that which ye wont
to warship, Nor will ye worship that which I worship. To you be your way,
and to be mine.”81

Actually Bodley’s statement points to the incident of Gharānīq. Once The

Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him), nearby Ka‘ba sitting
among the people, was reciting these Qur’ānic verses related to Lāt, Manāt
and ‘Uzzah:
82
- ‫ُخار ٰى‬
ْ ‫ت اوالْعُهز ٰى ۔ اوامنااةا الثهالثاةا ْاْل‬ ‫آَيت اربه الْ ُكْب ار ٰى۔ أافا ارأايْتُ ُم ه‬
‫الَل ا‬ ‫اى م ْن ا‬
ٰ ‫لا اق ْد ارأ‬

“For truly did he see, of the Signs of his Lord, the greatest! Have ye seen
Lat and ’Uzza, And another, the third (goddess), Manat.”83

And at the same time Satan made someone call aloud these words among
the verses:
84 َ ‫غران ْیق ْالع ٰلی َوان َش َف‬
ٰ‫اعتھن لت ْرجی‬ َ ‫ت ٌلک ْال‬

Which means that these are the high goddesses and their intercession is
approved. So listening this voice the Makkens considered that Muhammad
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) had accepted their gods with his own
God. The Orientalists mention this incident in their writings and try to

13
 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
prove that the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) agreed to
worship these idols,85wheveas he neither worshipled any kind of image nor
he had inclination towards it and this is only Western wrong accusation put
against his sacred personality. God Himself has refuted this blame in these
words:

Never did We send a Messenger or a Prophet before thee, but, when he

framed a desire, Satan threw some (vanity) into his desire: but Allah will
cancel anything (vain) that Satan throws in, and Allah will confirm (and
establish) His Signs, for Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.86

Bodley himself, at a place, explains that the Holy Prophet (Peace and
Blessings be Upon Him) hated images.87

10. The Western world persistently holds that the Holy Prophet (Peace
and Blessings be Upon Him) had meetings with Bahīrah, Nestorian monk,
Warqah bin Nofal who was Khadījah’s cousin, and Quss b. Sā‘idah, and
all his religious efforts were based upon their teachings.88 Bodley has tried
to prove this baseless theory. He describes:

“The fact that the germinating forces in the two older religions are
apparent in every phase of the younger are the outcome of what
Mohammad had heard during his travels. They belong to the teachings of
Bahira and of Warqa, to Quss ibn Saida, the bishop of Nejran.89

Decribing the meetings of the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon
Him) with Bahīrah and Quss b. Sā‘idah he accounts that he listened their
sermons and then, on this groundwork, he prepared his own religion.90
Such statements of Bodley and other Orientalists are totally against the
reality. Bahīrah had recognized the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be
Upon Him) as the final Messenger of God, whom was predicted in the early
scriptures, and observing his prophet-ship signs. He advised Abū Tālib to
send him back to his native land so that the Jews or Christians could not
vitiate him.91 Similarly, Warqa b. Nofal also foretold Khadījah that this was
the same angel who came to Moses, and her husband would be the Prophet
of Arabia but his nation would compel him to leave the city. 92In the Bible
also we may study the predictions of the advent of the Holy Prophet (Peace
and Blessings be Upon Him).93The Gospel of Barnabas has very clearly

14
 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

stated the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be
Upon Him). Barnabas describes:

“Jesus answered: Believe me, Barnabas, that every sin, however small it
be, God punisheth with great punishment, seeing that God is offended at
sin………And though I have been innocent in the world, since men have
called me; “God”, and “Son of God”, God, in order that I be not mocked
of the men on the day of judgement, hath willed that I be mocked of men in
this world by the death of Judas, making all men to believe that I died upon
the cross. And this mocking shall continue until the advent of Mohammed,
the messenger of God, who, when he shall come, shall reveal this deception
to those who believe in God’s law.”94

On the other hand, the character of Quss b. Sā‘idah is based upon

contradictory traditions. According to Islamic narrations he was from Banī
Ayād, an Arabian famous tribe. Ibn Kathīr declared the traditions related
to him as incorrect.95 Ibn Hishām described some individuals before the
advent of Islam who were not idolatrous but he did not mention him among
them.96 So, the orientalists unduly assert in their writings that the Holy
Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) derived his teachings from the
scholars of Judaism and Christianity.

11. The European writers, like Noldeke, Philip k. Hitti, H.A.R Gibb and
George Bush, have recorded that the Qur’ān is based upon the teachings of
the Old and New Testaments and they have tried to throw dust in people’s
eyes to prove their viewpoint.97 In this context Bodley’s statements are
different. On one hand he accepts the dignity and authenticity of the Qur’ān
as a divine message98 but on the other hand we find some ambiguous and
dubious descriptions because of which the reader fails to decide his clear
concept about it. At one place admiring the Qur’ān he accounts:

What is important in that Qur’an is the only work which has survived for
over twelve hundred years with an unadulterated text. Neither in the Jewish
religion nor in the Christian is there anything which faintly compares to
this.99

Now study the following statement and imagine his mentality:

15
 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
While there is only one direct quotation from the Bible in the Qur’an: “My
servants, the righteous, shall inherit the earth (Psalms).100

About retaliation Allah commands:

“We ordained therein for them: "Life for life, eye for eye, nose for nose,
ear for ear, tooth for tooth,”101

Bodley has tried to prove that this verse is also derived from the Bible.102
The next problem with the writer is of the compilation of the Holy Qur’ān.
At some places he states that the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be
Upon Him) wrote the Holy Qur’ān and this statement may put a great
suspicion in the minds that the Holy Qur’ān was not revealed to the Holy
Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) but he himself wrote it. He
states:

“A great many people helped to write the Bible. It took them many
centuries. Mohammad wrote the Qur’an alone. It took him barely twenty
years.”103

Describing the status of Jesus Bodley writes:

“Mohammad believed in Jesus and his claim to being the Messiah in the
Qur’an he wrote……”104

At another place Bodley repeats this wording:

“He recognized the unpardonable weakness of self-confidence. In the

nineteenth sura, he wrote…..”105

At some other places Bodley has repeated this misunderstanding. 106 It is

quite clear that the Qur’ān has been revealed by God to the Holy Prophet
(Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) and he just collected it through the
sources of that time and Bodley himself has mentioned this reality.107Thus
the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be Upon Him) did not write the
Qur’ān by himself as Bodley has tried to prove.

12. Paradise is an unseen vantage place prepared by God for the

believers where they would enjoy its bounties forever after the enquiry on

16
 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

the Day of Resurrection while the Hell is a place that is made for
wrongdoers and unbelievers.

Describing Islamic concept of paradise, Bodley has misrepresented the

reality and tried to ascertain that the Holy Prophet (Peace and Blessings be
Upon Him) has derived this idea from Christianity. He observes:

“Paradise was, thus, an exaggeration of what Mohammad had glimpsed

during his travels outside Arabia, with a few ideas possibly borrowed from
Father Ephraim.”108

Bodley’s viewpoint of paradise that the Holy prophet (Peace and Blessings
be Upon Him) has derived it from Christianity is based upon falsification
and having no reality in it. Islamic point of view of paradise is wholly
different from Christianity. According to Islamic teachings paradise has
been completed as it is stated in the Qur’ān:

ٍ
‫ين ف ايها ۚ ٰاذل ا‬
- ‫ك الْ اف ْوُز الْ اعظ ُيم‬ ‫أ ااع هد ه‬
‫اَّللُ اَلُْم اجنهات اَْتري من اَْتت اها ْاْلانْ اه ُار اخالد ا‬
109

“Allah hath prepared for them gardens under which rivers flow, to dwell
therein: that is the supreme felicity.”110

In Christianity there is the concept of two paradises. One is Intermediate

Heaven and the second is Eternal Heaven which is known as New Earth.111
The Old Testament portrays heaven as the throne of God and earth as God’s
footstool.112 According to Randy Alcorn Intermediate Heaven is such a
location outside of this earth where one will enjoy a spiritual life in spite
of physical, whereas the Eternal Heaven will be established in this very
world and God will remain with the people (Christians in other words).113
So in accordance with this Christian dogma the real paradise, New Earth,
is still under process while in Islamic doctrines it has been completed by
God.

Conclusion
As far Sīrah literature is concerned, the orientalists distorted the historical
record and fabricated a number of traditions. They endeavored to falsify
and misinterpret the facts related to the Holy Prophet (peace and bessings
17
 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)
be upon him) and for this purpose all available sources of communication
were utilized like prose, poetry, stage dramas and public lectures. They
ignored authentic Islamic sources completely and presented the biography
of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) on the basis of
hypotheses adopted by them. As the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings be
upon him) has a pivotal position in Islam, that’s why the Europeans try to
present his fake picture.

Before Bodley, a number of orientalists had worked on the biography of

the Prophet of Islam. Some of them worked honestly and collected Sīrah
literature from authentic Arabic sources and translated it into Western of
languages but most them were biased and had negative agenda in this
endeavor. Bodley had an opportunity to work on Sirah but he depended
mostly on Western authors, whose work is a mixture of doubt and faith.
Some of his lacunae have been pointed out in the previous pages and
repudiated with authentic Islamic literature.

References &Endnotes
1
Snell, William, “ R.V.C. Bodley (Bodley of Arabia) at Keio University, 1933” p.18
2
Bodley, Ronald Victor Courtenay, Indiscretions of a Young Man (London, H, Shaylor
, 1931) p.251
3
The cause of the revolution was political and social disturbance in France that began from
1789 during which awell-known military and political leader, Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-
1821) rose and led several successful campaigns.
4
Marx, Karl, The Paris Commune, (New York, Socialist Labor Party, 2005) p.7
5
Ibid, p.9
6
Snell, William, p.17
7
Patrick, David, Chambers’s Biographical Dictionary (Edinburgh,W&R Chambers
Limited, 1898) pp.108-109 ; Snell, William, p.17
8
The Hiyoshi Review of English Studies, p.18 ; The London Gazette, Issue 28532, 19
September 1911, p.6882 ; “Englishman In The Garden Of Allah” The Sydney Morning
Herald. 9 August 1947.
9
McCollough, Trudy, "Writer Bodley Loves His Quietude". (Abilene Reporter-News,
Texas, US, 23 July 1944) p.50 ; Carnegie, Dale, I Lived in the Garden of Allah, How to
Stop Worrying and Start living (Libraryof Congress, 1948) p.193
10
Hamilton, Richard F; Herwig, Holger H. The Origins of World War I. (UK, Cambridge
University Press, 2003) p.159 ; Snell, William. p.18
11
Bodley, The Soundless Sahara, (London, Robert Hale Limited, 1968) Back cover
12
Flanner, Janet; Maloney, Russell,"Bodley of Arabia". (The New Yorker.27 February
1943); Dale, Carnegie, I Lived in the Garden of Allah, How to Stop Worrying and Start
living (Library Of Congress, 1948) p.193
13
Dutton, David, Paris 1918: The War Diary of the British Ambassador, the 17th Earl of
Derby. (Liverpool University Press, 2001) p.163

18
 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

14
Bodley, Flight into Portugal, (London, Jarrolds, 1941) p.14
15
This University was founded by YukichiFukuzawa (1835-1901), one of the first
Japanese to advocate the teaching of foreign Languages, in 1858.
16
Bodley, A Japanese Omelette, (Japan , The Hokuseido press, ,1933) p.157 ; Mark R,
Peattie, Nan’yō, The Rise and Fall of the Japanese in Micronesia,1885-1945, (Honolulu
,University of Hawaii Press,1988) p.245
17
Snell, William, p.37,39
18
Ibid, p.38
19
Ibid pp.20-21 ; Portland Press Herald, November 20, 1949, p.46
20
Snell, William, p.41
21
Bodley, The Messenger, (Lahore Orientalia, 1954) pp.6-7
22
Vitalis, Ordericus, The Ecclesiastical History of England and Normandy, edit by,
Thomas Forester, (London) vol.3, pp.175-76
23
White, Joseph, A Comparison of Mahometism and Christianity (Oxford, 1811) p.9 ;
Mills, Charles, History of the Crusades, (London, Longman Hurst Press, 1821, 2 nd edi)
vols.1, p.23 ; Curtis, Michael, Orientalism and Islam, (UK, Cambridge University Press,
2009) p.31
24
Margoliouth, David Samuel, Mohammed and the Rise of Islam, (G.P. Putnam’s Sons,
1905) p.iii
25
Bodley, The Messenger, p.v
26
Ibid, p.6
27
’Abd al-ghaffār, Hāfiz, Sīrat al-Nabīa or Mustashriqīn, (Lahore, Shafīq Press, 2015)
pp.45,475
28
Bodley, The Messenger, p.24
29
Irving, Washington Mahomet and His Successors, (New York, The Co-Operative
Publication Society, 1849) p.31 ; Guilluame, Alfred, The Life of Muhammad, (Karachi,
Mass Printers, 1967) p.69 ; Muir, Sir William, The Life of Mohammad, (Edinburgh, John
Grant, 1923) p.5 ; Sell, Canon, The Life of Muhammad, (India, The Christian Literature
Society, 1913) p.7 ; Bush, George, The Life of Mohammed, (New York, A.L. Fowle,
1900) p.32 ; Ibn Kathīr, Abu al Fidā ‘Imād al Dīn, Al Badayah wa al Nihayah, edit by,
Prof. Kaokab Shādānī, (Karachi, Nafīs Academy, 1987) vol.2,p.164 ; Muhammad b. Sa‘d,
Ṭabaqāt Ibn Sa‘d, edit by, al ‘Imādī, ‘Allāmah ‘Abdullah, (Karachi , Nafīs Academy)
vol.1,p.123
30
Boley,The Messenger, pp.38-40
31
Ṭabarī, Abī J’afar Muhammad bin Jurair, Tarīkh al Umam wal Malūk, edit by, Dr.
Muhammad Ṣiddīq Hashmī, (Karachi, Nafīs Academy, 2004) vol.2, p.50 ; Ibn Kathīr,
vol.2, p.185 ; Ibn Hishām, ’Abd al-Malik, Tahdhīb Sīrat Ibn Hishām, edit by, ’Abd al-
Salām Hārūn, Mua’sisa al-Risālah, (Bairūt, 1985) p.44
32
Boley,The Messenger, pp.38-40, 42
33
Ṭabaqāt, vol.4, Part. 8, p.28 ; Ḥalbī, ‘Alī Ibn Burhān al-Dīn, Insān al ’Uyūn fī Sīrat al
Amīn al Māmūn, edit by, Maolanā Muhammad Aslam Qāsim, (Karachi, Dār al Ishā’at,
2009) vol.1, pp.433-34 ; Ibn Khaldūn, Abd al Rahmān, Al Tawarīkh, Trnslated by Hakeem
Ahmad Hussain Ala Abadi (Karachi , Nafīs Academy)vol.2, pp.36-37
34
Taylor, William Cooke, A History of Muhammedanism and its Sects, (London, Savill
& Edard Printers, 1887) p.73 ; Hammer, Joseph Von, History of the Assassins, from
original sources, edit by, Wood, Oswald Charles (Cornhill, Smith & Elder, 1835) p.7
35
Bodley, The Messenger, p.262
36
Suyūṭī, ’Allamah Jalāl al Dīn, Al Rasāil al Tis’ah (Bairut, Dār-al Ahya al ’Ulūm) p.92
19
 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)

37
Shāmī, Muhammad bin Yoūsaf, Subal al Hudā wa al Rishād fī Sīrat Khair al ‘Ibād,
Darul kutub, (Bairut, Dār al-Kutub al-’Ilmiah) vol.1, pp.229-333 ; vol.2, pp.120-128 :
Zarqānī, Muhammad bin ‘Abd al Bāqī, Zarqānī al Mawāhib, (Egypt) vol.1, p.168 :
Nabhānī, Yoūsaf bin Ismā’īl, Ḥujjatullah al Ālamīn fī Mo’jizāt Syed al Mursalīn, (Bairūt)
p.412-421: Ḥalbī, ‘Alī Ibn Burhān al-Dīn, Insān al ’Uyūn fī Sīrat al Amīn al Māmūn,
(Bairūt, Kitāb Dār al-M’arifah) vol.1, pp.6-177
38
Bush, George, The Life Muhammad, p.87
39
Bodley, The Messenger, p.257
40
Ṭabaqāt, vol.1, p.222 ; Ṭabarī, vol.2, p.86 ; Ibn Kathīr, vol.3, pp.151-152
41
Muir, William, Mohomet and Islam, (The religious Tract Society, 1887) p.52
42
Bodley, The Messenger, pp.94,199
43
The Book of Exodus, 2:16 ; 3:1 ; 18:1
44
The Book of Genesis, 19:30-38
45
The Book of Samuel 2, 11:2-27
46
Beacon, G.Vale, The Three Impostors, an English translation, , (New York, 1846) p.8
47
Roy, M.N, The Historical Role of Islam, (Bombay, Vora & Co. Publishers, 1938) p.57
48
Sell, Canon, The Life of Muhammad, p.6
49
Al-Qur’ān, 112:1-4
50
Elwood, Robert S ; Alles, Gregory D, The Encyclopedia of World Religions, revised
edi, (New York, 2007) p.100 ; Renan, Ernest, The History of the Origins of Christianity,
(London, Mathieson & Co) p.293 ; Mullins, Edgar Young, The Christian Religion In Its
Doctrinal Expression (Philadelphia, Roger Williams Press, 1917) p.30
51
Al-Qur’ān,174:4
52
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān, p.121
53
Christlieb, Theodore, Modern Doubt and Christian Belief, (Edinburgh, T.& T Clark,
1895) p.39
54
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11thedi, (New York, University of Cambridge, 1910-
1911) Vol.II, p.875
55
Al-Qur’ān,91748
56
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān, p.712
57
The Gospel of Mark, 14:34-36
58
The Book of Genesis, 2:1-2
59
The Book of Genesis, 6:7
60
The Book of Genesis, 9:11-16
61
Al-Qur’ān, 50:38
62
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān,p.264
63
Bodley, The Messenger, p.75
64
Ibid, pp.30-31
65
Ibid, p.32
66
Ibid, P.51
67
Al-Qur’ān, 3:81 ; 2:251 ; 3:48-49
68
Al-Qur’ān,1794
69
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān, p.69
70
Al-Qur’ān,62:2
71
Cash, Wilson, Christendom and Islam, (New York, Harper & Brothers Publisher, 1937)
p.13
72
Cash, Wilson, Christendom and Islam, pp.3-4 ; Macdonald, Duncum Black,
Muhammad and His Quran, (New York, Oxford University Press, 1962) p.79
73
Bodley, The Messenger, p.49
74
Bukhārī, Muhammad bin Ismā‘īl, al-Jām‘I al- Ṣaḥiḥ, Book.1, Chapter.2, Hadith.2
20
 Refutation of Allegations Levelled by R.V.C. Bodley……..

75
Khan, Dr. Muhammad Mohsin, Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, (Riyadh, Darussalam Publisher,
1997) vol.1, p.46
76
Al-Qur’ān, 4: 163
77
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān, p.120
78
The Encyclopedia Britannica, 11thedi, Vol.ix, p.691
79
Bodley, The Messenger, p.50
80
Al-Qur’ān, 109:1-6
81
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān, p.731
82
Al-Qur’ān,53:18-20
83
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān, p.630
84
Jārullah, Abī al-Qāsim Mahmūd b.‘Umar Zamakhsharī, Al-Kashhāf, (Riaḍ, Maktaba al
Abīkān, 1998)vol.4, p.204 ; Sayūṭī, Jalā al-Dīn, al-Dur al-Manthūr fi Tafsīr Bil Mathūr,
(Qāhirah al-Dirāsat al-Arabia wal Islamia,2003) vol.10, p.525 ; Rāzī, Imām Fakhar al-
Dīn, Mafātīḥ al-Ghaib, (Bairūt, Dār al-Fikr, 1981) vol.23, pp.53-55 ; Al-Qurṭabī,
Muhammad b. Ahmad, al-Jām‘ al-Qur’ān al-Aḥkām, (Bairūt, Moassis al-Risalah, 2006)
vol.14, p.425 ; Al-Ṭabarī, Tafsīr Ṭabarī, (Qāhirah, al-Dirāsat al-Arabia wal Islamia,
2001)vol.16, p.612 ;
85
Klein, Frederick Augustus, The Religion of Islam, (London, Trubner & Co, 1906) p.19
86
Alī,‘AbdullahYūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān,p.163
87
Bodley, The Messenger, p.79
88
Gibon, Edward, The Life of Mahomet, p.71 ; Davenport, An Apology for Mohammed
and The Koran, (London, J. Davy & Sons, 1882) p.74 ; Draycott, Mahomet Founder of
Islam, (New York, Dodd. Mead & Co. 1916) p.57 ; Phillipps, Ambrose Lisle,
Mahometanism in Its Relation to Prophecy (London, Cox Bros and Wyman, 1855) p.94 ;
Wright, Thomas, Early Christianity in Arabia (London, Bernard Quaritch) p.163
89
Bodley, The Messenger, p.77
90
Ibid, pp.30-31
91
Ibn Sa‘d, Ṭabaqāt, vol.1, p.138 ; Al-Ṭabarī, vol.2, pp.47-48 ; Ibn Kathīr, vol.2, p.146 ;
Al-Mas‘ūdī, Abū al Ḥasan bin Ḥussain, Tārīkh al Mas’ūdī (Karachi,Nafīs Academy,
1985) vol.1, pp.91-92 ; Ibn Isḥāq, pp.123-124 ; Ibn Hishām, vol.1, p.207; Sell, Canon, The
Life of Muhammad, p.24 ; Stubbe, Henry, An Account of the Rise and Progress of
Mahometanism p.74
92
Al-Ṭabarī, vol.2, p.58 ; Ibn Hishām, vol.1, p.270
93
The Gospel of John, 16:7-15 ; The Book of Isaiah, 9:1-7 ; The Book of Psalms, 84:5-6
94
The Gospel of Barnabas, edit & translated by Ragg, Laura, (London, Lonsdale.
Clarendon Press, 1907) ccxxi/230, p.487
95
Ibn Kathīr, vol.2, p.147
96
Ibn Hishām, vol.1, p.251
97
Noldeke, Theodor, The History of the Qur’an, edit by Wolfgang H. Behn, (Leiden.
Boston, Sub Aegide Pallas, 2013) p.5 ; Hitti, Philip Khuri, The Arabs: A Short History,
4thed (London, Macmillan and Co Ltd, 1960) pp.32-33 ; Gibb, Hamilton Alexander
Rosskeen (HAR), Mohammedanism: An Historical Survey. 2nded, (New York, Oxford
University Press, 1962) p.37 ; Bush, George. The Life of Mohammed, pp.41-42
98
Bodley, The Messenger, pp.1,197
99
Ibid, p.199
100
Ibid, p.202
101
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān,p.50
102
Bodley, The Messenger, p.202 ; The Book of Exodus, 21:23-25
103
Bodley, The Messenger, p.207 21
 Abḥāth Vol: 3 No: 11 (July–September, 2018)

104
Ibid, p.78
105
Ibid, p.260
106
Ibid, pp.55,190,270
107
Ibid,pp.197-198
108
Ibid, p.89St. Ephraim (306-373), a famous biblical commentator, prose writer and poet.
His most popular work is the composition of Hymns from which more than 400 are still
existed. Moreover he wrote on folk traditions, religions and Philosophy.
109
Al-Qur’ān,9:89
110
Alī, ‘Abdullah Yūsuf, The Holy Qur’ān,p.232
111
The Book of Isaiah, 65:17, 66:22
112
Ibid, 66:1
113
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