What was the condition of Muhammad whilst receiving revelations?
He would act lethargic or like a drunkard, he would fall or lay on the ground, he would foam at the mouth, his face color would go very pale or red, sweat would flood his forehead even on a cold day, he would have fits or paroxysms resembling feverish chills, he would start breathing very heavily or snort like a baby camel or calf, he would lose control of his camel, he would hear ringing bell sounds before the fit, he would move his lips due to the pain he felt from the revelation, his jawbone would tremble & his teeth would clatter, his eyes would close, his head would drop & he would cover his face!
In my recent dive into Islamic sources, I found evidence for the epilepsy of Muhammad beyond even my own expectations! What did I uncover? Here is a brief outline! This can easily be published into a book!
As a child Muhammad had two or more episodes in which he saw two men dressed in white approach him, throw him down and cut open his abdomen & chest. What was the reaction of the adults around him? His foster father thought Muhammad had a stroke or is afflicted with jinn possession.
Another instance is recorded where Muhammad told this to his foster mother and she thought Muhammad was going crazy. Out of fear for Muhammad’s well being the foster parents decided to return Muhammad to his mother. This had to have been a serious occurrence for the foster parents deciding to return the child, as traveling in 7th century deserts of Arabia was not an easy undertaking. What is peculiar is the reaction of Muhammad’s mother! The foster parents explained what they feared had happened, yet the biological mother Aminah did not appear shocked at this and behaved as if she was expecting this to happen to Muhammad, referencing herself seeing lights during pregnancy as a justification.
Let us fast forward to Muhammad’s youth! Muhammad was carrying stones one day when he suddenly collapsed unconscious on the ground with his eyes rolling up towards the sky! Reports claim Muhammad was slapped by an angel. The incident was so bizzare that Ibn Abbas stated he feared Muhammad was Mad or Insane!
We also see the mention of two incidents where Muhammad would fall unconscious after listening to Music in Mecca! While keeping that in mind, let’s rewind to the birth of Muhammad.
In multiple narrations we see Muhammad’s mom seeing lights and hearing voices when pregnant. Additionally she described the birth as not normal, where Muhammad came out of the womb with his head raised towards the sky. As we know babies cannot raise their heads and this might be indicative of a complex facial or brow presentation during delivery, which can cause trauma.
We also have multiple narrations claiming Muhammad was born without an umbilical cord or that it was severed during birth. This can lead to severe trauma to the baby as the umbilical cord is the source of nutrition for the fetus.
Muhammad’s mother hallucinating could be her epilepsy, although not enough is known to make any guesses apart from Muhammad possibly inheriting his mother’s disease.
We are then told by Ibn Abbas that Muhammad was hearing the voice of Gabriel for 7 years before the first revelation. Interestingly we are also told that before Muhammad became a prophet he was inflicted with the evil eye and even had exorcisms performed upon him to relieve him of the effects. He would suffer the exact same condition when he started receiving revelation. This suggests his epilepsy preceeded the conversion experience in Cave of Hira.
To add to the weirdness, Muhammad reported multiple times hearing trees and stones talking to him before becoming a prophet. The initial revelation left him confused and sad. In fact Muhammad himself stated that he feared he is going insane as he keeps hearing voices and seeing things. He even attempted suicide according to Muslim sources.
The revelation itself started off with Muhammad swooning and then having severe trouble breathing as he is choked & trembling. Angel Gabriel appeared seated on a chair in the form of a man on the horizon. Muhammad was so scared he ran home and hid under blankets.
We see an interesting incident where Muhammad had black magic worked upon him. This resulted in extreme confusion where he would have amnesiac spells, forgetting day to day tasks, being sexually impotent, false memories of having sex with his wives, lost control of his limbs and would faint and collapse being left catatonic whilst also suffering temporary blindness, a very key observation where we see visual field defects related to epilepsy. How long was the Prophet like this? The authentic narrations state from 40 days to 6 months to a full year!
We now get to the death of Muhammad! This was only ~2 years after the black magic incident. Muhammad complains of a headache, when suddenly he has a spike in his head pain and severe fever rendering him unable to walk! His condition deteriorated further where we see narrations of him losing his speech, gargling words, slapping himself whilst in company of a companion. This is compounded by Muhammad fainting upwards of 4 times in one day back to back to back.
Before his death Muhammad wanted to instruct something to his followers but he was not being coherent and the companions argued saying he is delirious!
We can further detail how the personality of Muhammad is very typical of a crazy man absorbed by his delusions! He is almost always said to be sad and didn’t smile much, repetitive thoughts and actions bordering OCD and obsession with hygiene indicate Scrupolosity.
He is pre disposed to threatening and violence. This is evident in the Quran from the emphasis on Jihad and dehumanization of unbelievers. His actions speak for themselves. In 10 years in Medinah, 70+ raids or battles with 90% being preemptive attacks by Muslims. Then the Beheading of hundreds of Jews in Medinah. The expulsion of Jews and Christians. Breaking the idols and of course, lest we forget, his dead poet society. Seeing angels, wrestling demons or hanging out with genies is far from normal.
A lot more can be added about his personality & weird behaviors! Riding a horse/mule to heaven and meeting all dead prophets and God himself! Or hearing dead people talk! Muhammad is also said to have a weird gait disturbance appearing as if he is lifting his feet up from a rock whilst walking downhill. He would also turn his whole body to look, coupled with a large head & obsession with Urine causing grave torture.
Dr Dede Korkut suspects hydrocephalus which is not surprising given his other neurological problems. The Quran lacks a coherent structure and appears as an example of hypergrahic viscosity. With help from Neurologists Dr Dede Korkut, Dr Abba Sadeghian and guidance from 2 special guests who are MD’s, I will be producing a documentary which will later be published into a book with help from specialists! So far I have gathered 170+ references for his symptoms. The Muslim Ummah is not prepared for this and nothing of this scale or caliber has been done before.
Bonus: We will be refuting a Muslim neurologist Dr Muhammad Al Khaja, the cousin of Farid responds. It will be exemplary demonstrating the pathetic amounts of manipulation, lies and obfuscations created by Farid. The Quran is not the work of any divine being, but the scattered outpourings of a defective mind!
By Abdüllah Gondäl
Read more:
The Origins Of Muhammad’s Revelations
Was Muhammad A True Prophet?
The Life Of Muhammad Before The Revelations