Question : “I have a question. Can it not be claimed that the Qur’an is the composition of Muhammad (pbuh) himself ?” - Jenniffer, Texas, USA

Since I want to cover this question in detail, but easy to read manner, I have split the answer into 4 parts. Each part discuss a different viewpoint argument that people ask while attributing Muhammad(SA) with the authorship of Quran.  Below is the part one of the answer.

Prophet Muhammad (s) lived in the light of history. It was through him that the world first heard of the Qur’an. As such, it may be asserted by those who do not accept the divine status of the Qur’an that it is the composition of Muhammad (e). There are however, certain facts that must be understood as the premises for this discussion.

It can only be on the foundations of these premises that the question as to whether the authorship of the Qur’an can be attributed to Prophet Muhammad (e) can be discussed.

One : Muhammad (e) had been, upto the age of forty, the most favored man among the Arabs. It was because he had claimed that the Qur’an was divinely inspired and that the commandments within it are to be adhered to, that he was hated; osctracized; and forced to flee from his hometown.

Two : Even among his bitterest opponents in Arabia were unanimous about the truthfulness of Muhammad(e). It is difficult, therefore, to believe that after living forty years of his life with utmost truthfulness, he should venture to declare a falsehood in the name of the Lord Creator and that he should have risked his own life for the sake of its propagation.

Three : Men of letters were accorded a high status in Arabia. There was not the slightest dissenting opinion among any, as regards the lofty position of the Qur’an in its viability as a literary creation. If he had ventured to claim the Qur’an as his own work, he would have gained great respectability and status amongst the Arabs.

Four : There are references in the Qur’an which have criticized certain of the actions of Muhammad (e) himself.

Five : There are also other references in the Qur’an which reproach Muhammad (e) in the strongest possible terms. It should be in the light of these facts that the pros and cons of the argument that the Qur’an is the work of Muhammad (e) should be examined.

Indeed, if a work of great literary merit is composed and is then attributed to the name of God, there must necessarily exist vested interests that lurk beneath. To expose those vested interests will then be the duty of the critics. It will be on the basis of such an exposition alone that the truth of the claim can be ascertained.

Muhammad (SA) wrote Quran for material benefit ?

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