Combating Islam

The Prophet Distinction Trap

How Islam Became Muhammadism

“We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” — Qur’an 2:285
“Those who do are true disbelievers.” — Qur’an 4:150–152

🚨 Introduction: The Subtle Descent into Idolatry

Islam began as a religion fiercely committed to the singular worship of God. It emphasized His oneness, His absolute authority, and His direct communication through a series of messengers across time. But something changed. Slowly, subtly, and with institutional reinforcement, Islam became less about God and more about His final messenger.

What emerged over time was not the Qur’an's envisioned monotheism, but a man-centered faith structure indistinguishable from the prophet-worship the Qur’an itself condemns. Today, the religion that claims to be “submission to God” looks remarkably like “submission to Muhammad”—a prophet-centered religion that ironically mirrors the same error Islam was supposedly sent to correct.

Let’s be clear: Islam, as per the Qur’an, is not the religion of Muhammad. It is the religion of Abraham (2:130, 2:135, 4:125). And it commands believers not to make any distinctions between messengers. Yet modern practice has done just that—with dangerous consequences.

🧠 Part I: The Qur’anic Framework — No Distinctions Between Messengers

Repeatedly, the Qur’an lays down a theological bedrock:

“The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, as did the believers. All of them have believed in God, His angels, His books, and His messengers. We make no distinction between any of His messengers.” — Qur’an 2:285

The point is not symbolic. The command is doctrinal.

Making distinctions between messengers—elevating one over others in spiritual or devotional rank—is explicitly condemned:

“Those who disbelieve in God and His messengers and seek to make a distinction between God and His messengers… saying, ‘We believe in some but reject others,’ seeking a middle way—they are the true disbelievers.” — Qur’an 4:150–151

This is not metaphor. It's a litmus test for belief. To elevate one prophet as “better,” “superior,” “savior,” or “intercessor” is not reverence—it’s rebellion against divine authority.

🔍 Part II: The Tafḍīl Misinterpretation — God’s Favour vs. Human Preference

Traditional theology leans heavily on verses like:

“These messengers—We favoured some over others…” — Qur’an 2:253

At first glance, this appears to sanction preference. But the Qur’an’s use of فَضَّلْنَا (faḍḍalnā) doesn’t mean preference in the human sense of liking one more than another. It refers to divine favour, not superiority.

The favour (tafḍīl) is functional, not hierarchical. It refers to gifts, roles, or challenges suited to each prophet’s time and mission:

Some were given Scripture.
Some were spoken to directly.
Some were gifted with miracles.
Others had no miracles at all, only character and patience.

But these differences are assigned by God, not determined by us. They are not grounds for human veneration, let alone deification.

“To each of you We have prescribed a law and a method. Had God willed, He could have made you one community…” — Qur’an 5:48

📜 Part III: The Religion of Abraham — Not the Cult of Muhammad

Time and time again, the Qur’an reminds us: Islam is the religion of Abraham.

“Who but a fool would turn away from the religion of Abraham…?” — Qur’an 2:130
“Say, rather, [ours is] the religion of Abraham, upright, and he was not of the polytheists.” — Qur’an 2:135

Abraham is the archetype of monotheistic submission—not Muhammad.

Yet what do we see today? A religion almost entirely rebranded around one man. Sermons are filled with the names of Muhammad, his companions, his wives, and his tribe. The Qur’an is rarely quoted except in service of justifying hadith-based theology. And God? Often relegated to a ceremonial mention.

This is not an exaggeration. It’s what even early European observers noticed, referring to Islam not as “submission to God” but as “Muhammadism.” They weren’t trying to insult—it was the only logical label for a religion obsessed with its prophet.

📚 Part IV: The Idolatry Cycle — From Veneration to Deification

What begins as love easily morphs into dependency. What begins as reverence soon becomes worship.

Christianity took Jesus from messenger to Messiah to God incarnate. Islam followed a parallel path:

Veneration of Muhammad’s character.
Obedience to Muhammad’s hadith.
Invocation of Muhammad in prayer.
Dependency on Muhammad as intercessor.
Divinization of Muhammad as sinless, infallible, and the ultimate savior from Hell.

The Prophet went from being a servant of God to being the hope of the ummah—sometimes mentioned more than God Himself. From there, it snowballed:

His companions became holy.
His family became sacred.
His narrators, scholars, and imams became infallible.
His grave became a pilgrimage site.

All this, despite the Qur’an warning:

“The Day when no soul will benefit another in any way, and the command belongs entirely to God.” — Qur’an 2:48

Muhammad cannot hear prayers. He cannot forgive. He cannot intercede. To believe otherwise is idolatry—plain and simple.

🛑 Part V: Who Made the Distinction?

The Qur’an makes it abundantly clear: God alone assigns roles and ranks. Humans do not.

“Those messengers—We gave some more than others…” — Qur’an 2:253
“We raised some of them above others in rank…” — Qur’an 6:83–86

But this tafḍīl was from God, not based on fame, number of hadiths, miracles, or followers. In fact, the prophet most associated with the religion—Abraham—was given that status precisely to avoid the distortion of prophet worship.

So even if we were to say one prophet had a unique rank (say, Abraham, whom God called a friend), the Qur’an never commands us to show preference. On the contrary, it says:

“Those who believe… and do not make distinctions between any of them—God will reward them.” — Qur’an 4:152

This is not optional. This is the test.

🕋 Part VI: Traditional Islam’s Subtle Apostasy

Let’s be blunt.

If Islam today insists that:

Muhammad is the best of creation,
Only Muhammad can intercede,
Prayers should be upon Muhammad daily,
Muhammad is sinless and beyond critique,
Obedience to him is equal to obedience to God,

Then Islam has crossed the line into idolatry.

It has taken a messenger and turned him into a religious object—exactly what previous communities did, and what the Qur’an warned about relentlessly.

“Do not say [of any messenger], ‘He is the son of God.’ God is far above that!” — Qur’an 9:30

Today, Muhammad is praised in poetry, song, and ritual in ways that would horrify the Abraham of the Qur’an.

The Qur’an never commanded:

Sending daily blessings to Muhammad.
Visiting his grave.
Reciting his biography as a religious duty.
Obeying extra-Qur’anic sources attributed to him centuries later.

All this is post-Qur’anic invention. And it directly violates the Qur’anic call to not distinguish between messengers.

⚖️ Part VII: The Consequences of Distinction

When a religion centers a man instead of God, everything collapses:

Revelation becomes secondary to biography.
Worship becomes dependent on intercession.
Divine justice becomes negotiable through human loyalty.
Community identity becomes tribal.

This is precisely what happened to Judaism with Moses, to Christianity with Jesus, and to Islam with Muhammad.

“If they had associated others with Him, all their deeds would have come to nothing.” — Qur’an 6:88

🧨 Conclusion: Time to Choose — Islam or Muhammadism?

The Qur’an is not ambiguous. Those who make distinctions between messengers are disbelievers. Those who refuse to do so are true believers.

The irony is crushing: Islam came to end idolatry, but much of what we see in traditional practice today is precisely that—idolatry in the name of the Prophet.

True Islam, the Qur’an-only kind, calls us to:

Focus on God, not men.
Believe in all messengers, not idolize one.
Follow Scripture, not historical hearsay.
Reject intercessors, and turn to God alone.

“Say: I am only a human being like you. It has been revealed to me that your God is one God. So whoever hopes to meet his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and not associate anyone in worship with his Lord.” — Qur’an 18:110

That includes the Prophet himself.