Some atheist circles describe the Prophet as “a schizophrenic, insane person hearing things”. How can we refute their statements?

Dear Brother / Sister,

One must be quite ignorant to say that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), whom the world accepts as the most intelligent person in the world, was schizophrenic. The same claim, that he was insane, was also voiced by the Arab polytheists. What today’s atheists say is a delusion plagiarized from the ignorant polytheist Arabs of the Era of Jahiliyya fifteen centuries ago.

One of the answers given by the Quran to their claims is as follows:

 “Nun. By the Pen and the (Record) which (men) write,- Thou art not, by the Grace of thy Lord, mad or possessed. Nay, verily for thee is a Reward unfailing: And thou (standest) on an exalted standard of character. Soon wilt thou see, and they will see, Which of you is afflicted with madness....” (al-Qalam, 68/1-6).

a) It is pointed out here that those who have knowledge, especially those who understand the Quran, know very well that the Prophet Muhammad was not insane because the probability of a person who produced a book like the Quran being insane is zero in a trillion. What schizophrenic in the history of the world has ever produced such a work? What sane person, what philosopher, what scholar - let alone an insane person - who kept the Quran separate from his own speeches for twenty-three years, who performed them in different styles, and who produced this book in a very different style has ever been seen.

b) Another point emphasized here is the high ethics of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Thus, Allah Almighty says to those who voice this claim that the high ethics of the Prophet (pbuh) in individual, social, family, military and civil administration is unique and unparalleled. Show me if there is anyone similar!... If they could have found someone and said, “This one has perfect ethics like him in every way...”, the unbelievers would have publicized it everywhere. However, the sources do not mention any such clamor. So, he truly has unsurpassed ethics... Which schizophrenic has ever had such ethics? There are thousands of schizophrenics in the world today; which one can produce a book like the Quran, which one can have a mind and ethics like the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)? Let them gather all the schizophrenics of the world together, using the technological means available today, and see if they can do such a work!...

c) In fact, it is necessary to take those who make this claim to an asylum and see if they themselves are schizophrenic; they can be sure that there will be positive findings in the laboratories.

d) Is it only schizophrenics who see hidden things around them? Prophets and saints also see those things. Then, are we going to label one hundred and twenty-four thousand prophets and hundreds of thousands of saints with miracles as insane?

The great poet Abdullah b. Rawaha, one of the Companions, expressed this characteristic of the Prophet (pbuh) in his poem as follows:

“There is such a prophet among us who sees what we do not see / who gives such unknown information that all that he says turns out to be completely true either on the same day or on the morning of the next day.”

I wonder how many schizophrenics there are who foretell the future and their words come true. Are there any? None whatsoever...

e) They say the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), who has challenged all mankind in the language of the Quran for fifteen centuries, by arguing that no one can bring a book like the Quran, or even a chapter of it, drew his strength from - God forbid - schizophrenia? This challenge is valid until the Day of Judgment. If someone were to come up with something similar to a chapter of the Quran, Islam would be doomed to total extinction. However, the Quran, with its information about the future, universal moral principles, just legal laws, social, economic, cultural phenomena, formulas for happiness in this world and the hereafter, cosmic/ontological, geological and embryological knowledge, has proved that it is the book of Allah, the Creator of the entire universe and the infinite knowledge, wisdom and power.

If a book that all the intelligent people of the world have not been able to replicate is accepted as the work of a schizophrenic, people will have to adjust the concepts of insane and intelligent. Henceforth mad/schizophrenic will mean the most intelligent, and intelligent will mean the lunatic... This would mean turning the facts upside down, which is a delusion that no one but the claimants can claim.

Questions on Islam