“…Allah is the best of deceivers.” Sura 3:54
Prophet of Doom provides a comprehensive, contextual, and chronological review of the Islamic scriptures starting with the religion’s rendition of creation and ending with the terror it inspired. The book brings Islam’s five earliest and most trusted sources together, putting their words and deeds into the context of time and place to expose what the dogma’s founder had to say about himself, his ambition, religion, and god. There is no better way to understand Muhammad, Allah, or Islam—or to evaluate their legacy.
When reviewing the primary papers of any dogma we must be mindful that context comes in three forms. There is the context of historical chronology—that of circumstance, place, people, and time. There is the context of adjacency — the proximity of related words and thoughts within the writings themselves. And context can be topical; in this case similar themes can be brought together and organized by subject. All forms of context provide clarity.
Unfortunately, the Qur’an fails its faithful on all three counts. The book lacks any semblance of chronology. It is deficient when it comes to providing the required context of place, people, and time. Adjacent verses are usually unrelated and often contradictory. In the Meccan surahs there is a preoccupation with railing against Muhammad’s mockers and with describing Allah’s torments, but the rejections and condemnations are strewn haphazardly through the text. This is also true of the Medina surahs and their fixation on submit and obey, perform and pay, fight or burn. Yes these are themes, and they are repetitive, but they are not presented in cohesive groupings.
The Qur’an’s failures in this regard dictate Prophet of Doom’s length, order, and format. The narrative and chronological Hadith compiled by Ishaq and Tabari were required to provide the Qur’an with the context of circumstance, time, and place that it otherwise lacked. Bukhari’s and Muslim’s topical Hadith were used to amplify important Islamic themes. Therefore, Muhammad’s message has never been as clear as it is in these pages. Unfortunately for humankind, unmasked, his message is repulsive, even terrorizing. But that is precisely what makes this study important.