Praise be to Allah.
After the first verses of Soorat al-Muddaththir were revealed to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), instructing him to call people to Allah and convey the religion, from that moment he started to strive persistently, based on great faith and certainty, and his efforts to convey the message never faltered.
He began to go around to the polytheists, conveying to them the command of Allah and telling them that He alone was deserving of worship, to the exclusion of all others, and that he had been sent from Allah to revive what had been forgotten of the teachings of the Messengers before him, reciting to them the verses that had been revealed concerning that.
Allah, may He be exalted, said, instructing His Prophet in Soorat al-A‘raaf, which was revealed during the Makkan period (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)): ‘O mankind! Verily, I am sent to you all as the Messenger of Allah — to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth. Laa ilaaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He); It is He Who gives life and causes death. So believe in Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)), the Prophet who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) who believes in Allah and His Words, and follow him so that you may be guided”
[al-A‘raaf 7:158].
How could he not be certain of that, when it was Allah, may He be exalted, Who was instructing him to proclaim to all people that he was the Messenger of Allah to them?
And He says in Soorat al-Haaqqah, which was also revealed during the Makkan period (interpretation of the meaning):
“So I swear by whatsoever you see,
And by whatsoever you see not,
That this is verily the word of an honoured Messenger [i.e. Jibril (Gabriel) or Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) which he has brought from Allah].
It is not the word of a poet, little is that you believe!
Nor is it the word of a soothsayer (or a foreteller), little is that you remember!
This is the Revelation sent down from the Lord of the 'Alamin (mankind, jinn and all that exists)”
[al-Haaqqah 69:38-43].
And there are many similar verses.
Anyone who any knowledge of the religion of Islam will know for certain that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) did not have any doubt that he was the Messenger of Allah. How could he have any doubt about that, when he was calling people to enter Islam by testifying that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah?
How could the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) not be confident of his Prophethood when he passed by his companions being tortured by the polytheists, until Sumayyah, the mother of ‘Ammaar ibn Yaasir, was killed, and the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said to them, “Patience, O family of Yaasir, for you are promised paradise”? Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Takhreej Fiqh as-Seerah (p. 103).
How could he not be confident of his Prophethood during the Makkan period when he depicted the truthfulness of his Prophethood by saying: “Do you think that if I told you that there was a cavalry emerging from the foot of this mountain, would you believe me?” They said: We have never known you to be a liar. He said: “I am a warner to you of an imminent and severe punishment.” Abu Lahab said: May you perish! Did you call us together only for this? Then he stood up, and this soorah was revealed: “Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab (an uncle of the Prophet) and perish he!” [al-Masad 111:1].
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1394) and Muslim (208).
How could he not be confident of his Prophethood, when he answered his uncle Abu Taalib, when he said to him, O son of my brother, your people have come to me saying such and such – describing what they said to him – so spare me and yourself, and do not put on me a burden greater than I can bear. The Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) thought that his uncle was going to forsake him and stop protecting him, and that he was no longer able to support him and stand by him. He replied: “O my uncle, by Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I abandon this cause, before Allah has made it victorious, or I perish therein, I would not abandon it.”
Narrated by Ibn Ishaaq in al-Maghaazi (1/154)
Al-Albaani said in as-Silsilah ad-Da‘eefah (2/311):
I found another chain of narration of the hadith with a hasan isnaad, but it says: “I am not more able to give that up for you than you are able to get me a firebrand from the sun.” I have narrated it in al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah, no. 92. End quote.
How could he not be confident of his Prophethood, when he was speaking of his ascent to heaven, his meeting with the Prophets, his coming close to the Lord of Glory, and what He enjoined upon him of the prayers, and the other details in the story of the Isra’ and Mi‘raaj (Night Journey and Ascent to Heaven)? Would he tell of all of that when he was still uncertain about his Prophethood and that Allah had sent him?
How could he not be confident of his Prophethood, when he was reciting to the polytheists verses that spoke of his Prophethood and refuted their doubts concerning it, when they stubbornly refused to believe that he, of all of them, would be the Messenger of Allah?
“And they say: ‘Why does this Messenger (Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)) eat food, and walk about in the markets (as we). Why is not an angel sent down to him to be a warner with him?
‘Or (why) has not a treasure been granted to him, or why has he not a garden whereof he may eat?’ And the Zaalimoon (polytheists and wrong-doers) say: ‘You follow none but a man bewitched.’
See how they coin similitudes for you, so they have gone astray, and they cannot find a (Right) Path”
[al-Furqaan 25:7-9].
How could he not be confident of his Prophethood, when he was refusing to compromise with the polytheists and rejecting what they offered to him of kingship, power, wealth, status and everything that if it were offered to someone who was not confident, he would accept it?
Quraysh sent ‘Utbah ibn Rabee‘ah, who said to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him): O son of my brother, you are, as you know, of noble descent and you have brought your people a grievous matter because of which you have divided their community. Listen to me; I shall give you some options, so that you may choose one of them. If you want wealth, we will collect money from our wealth so that you may be the wealthiest of us. If you want honour, we will make you our leader, and we will not decide any matter without you. If you want sovereignty, we will make you our king. If what comes to you is something caused by the jinn, and you think that you cannot rid yourself of it, then ask us for medicine, and we will spend our wealth on it until you are healed.
When he had finished speaking, the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) recited to him the beginning of Soorat Fussilat, up to the verse (interpretation of the meaning):
“But if they turn away, then say (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him)): ‘I have warned you of a Saa‘iqah (a destructive awful cry, torment, hit, a thunderbolt) like the Saa‘iqah which overtook ‘Aad and Thamood (people)”
[Fussilat 41:13].
Narrated by Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musannaf (36560); classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh as-Seerah (p. 159).
After all of this, could he have had any doubts about his ownProphethood and the fact that Allah had indeed sent him?
But they kept trying to make deals with him and trying to offer him compromises, in the hope that he would respond in kind and compromise with them, as Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“They wish that you should compromise (in religion out of courtesy) with them, so they (too) would compromise with you”
[al-Qalam 68:9].
But no, that never happened.
They even said to him: Worship our gods for one year, and we will worship your God for one year. Then Allah, may He be exalted, revealed soorat al-Kaafiroon (interpretation of the meaning):
“Say (O Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to these Mushrikoon and Kaafiroon): ‘O Al-Kaafiroon (disbelievers in Allah, in His Oneness, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Day of Resurrection, and in Al-Qadar)!
‘I worship not that which you worship,
Nor will you worship that which I worship.
‘And I shall not worship that which you are worshipping.
‘Nor will you worship that which I worship.
‘To you be your religion, and to me my religion (Islamic Monotheism)’”
[al-Kaafiroon 109:1-6].
That put an end to this ridiculous attempt at compromise. If we were to quote all the signs of his confidence in his Prophet hood, we would not have enough room.
And Allah knows best.
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