The Troubling Origins of Islam

Muhammad’s Early Experiences and Mental Struggles

“Something is terribly wrong with me.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (according to early Islamic reports)

The genesis of any religious movement often hinges on the credibility of its founder’s experiences. In Islam, the foundational claim is that Muhammad ibn Abdallah received divine revelations from the angel Jibril (Gabriel), initiating the Qur’anic message. But when we scrutinize Islam’s earliest sources, a different, more troubling picture emerges—one that raises serious psychological, epistemological, and historical questions about the origin of Islam itself.

---

I. The Cave of Hira: Visions, Fear, and a Suicidal Prophet

According to Islam’s most authoritative early biographer, Ibn Ishaq (as preserved in Ibn Hisham’s recension), Muhammad’s first encounter with the “angel” was not serene or joyous—it was terrifying, confusing, and left him deeply disturbed.

✅ Source:

“He came to me while I was asleep... he said, ‘Read!’... He seized me and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it... then he released me and said, ‘Read!’... I said, ‘What shall I read?’”
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 1, Book 1, Hadith 3

Muhammad reportedly ran home trembling, crying out “Cover me, cover me!” and fearing for his sanity.

✅ Aisha’s account:

“Then the angel came to him and said: ‘Read!’... (later) he returned to Khadijah trembling with fear and said, ‘Cover me! Cover me!’ He said, ‘I fear that something may happen to me.’”
— Sahih al-Bukhari, 6982

⚠️ He Thought He Was Possessed

The early Islamic narrative doesn’t conceal Muhammad’s initial reaction: he feared he had become majnun—a term used in Arabic to denote someone who is possessed by jinn, or is mentally unstable.

“I fear I may be possessed.”
— Ibn Ishaq, as summarized by W. M. Watt, Muhammad at Mecca, p. 40

Why would a true prophet mistake divine revelation for demonic possession?

---

II. Multiple Suicide Attempts

The most alarming part of the early hadiths is the report of Muhammad attempting to kill himself after the revelations temporarily stopped (the “fatrah” period). The source for this is Sahih al-Bukhari, the most respected Sunni hadith collection.

✅ Source:

“Narrated Jabir bin ‘Abdullah: While talking about the period of pause in revelation, he said: The Prophet said in his narration: ‘...I intended several times to throw myself from the tops of high mountains... every time I went to throw myself... Jibril would appear.’”
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Vol. 9, Book 87, Hadith 111

This report is almost never cited in apologetic contexts—but it is in canonical Islamic sources.

Critical question:
Why would a prophet chosen by God repeatedly attempt suicide?

Is it because of genuine divine revelation—or traumatic mental strain?

---

III. Comparative Analysis: Prophetic Experiences

Compare this with how biblical prophets or Jesus responded to divine calling:

• Moses was hesitant but rational (Exodus 3–4).

• Isaiah accepted his mission with awe (Isaiah 6).

• Jesus displayed peace and clarity even under torture.

But Muhammad’s first reactions included:

• Fear of insanity

• Terrifying visions

• Suicidal thoughts

• No prior spiritual preparation

If Islam is to claim prophetic continuity, this pattern is strikingly anomalous.

---

IV. Possible Psychological Explanations

Numerous researchers have explored naturalistic explanations for Muhammad’s experiences.

🧠 Seizure Hypothesis

• Neurologists like Dr. Dede Korkut and historians like John Gilchrist have proposed that Muhammad may have suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE).

• Symptoms of TLE include:

  • Auditory and visual hallucinations

  • Intense religious feelings

  • Automatic speech

  • Dissociative experiences

• Muhammad’s reported behaviors—falling unconscious, hearing voices, profuse sweating, convulsions—match these symptoms closely.

🧠 Post-Traumatic Stress

• Others suggest PTSD or trauma-related delusions, possibly due to:

  • The death of both parents at an early age

  • Social isolation

  • Excessive ascetic practices in the cave

These explanations are more consistent with human psychology than the claim of divine dictation from heaven.

---

V. Alternative Supernatural Explanation? Demonic Encounters

Even Islamic sources acknowledge the cultural context of jinn possession.

• The Qur’an repeatedly defends Muhammad from being called “possessed” (majnun) — Qur’an 81:22, 52:29, 68:2

• But why defend against an accusation unless it was widely believed?

The fact that he was frequently accused of being possessed or mad by his contemporaries—people who knew him best—cannot be ignored.

---

VI. The Problem of Revelation via Seizure-like States

Muhammad’s revelations were sometimes accompanied by:

• Hearing bell-like sounds

• Falling to the ground

• Sweating profusely in cold weather

• Unconsciousness or trance-like states

These are not typical prophetic moments. They resemble catatonia, seizure, or trance states far more than cognitive, reasoned communication from a divine source.

---

VII. Why This Matters Today

This isn’t just an academic issue. All of Islam is founded on the belief that Muhammad was infallibly receiving revelation from God. Yet if:

• His early experiences were indistinguishable from mental illness,

• He contemplated suicide,

• He was unsure whether his experiences were divine or demonic,

• And his revelations followed physiological dysfunctions...

Then the entire epistemological foundation of Islam is thrown into question.

---

VIII. Conclusion: Troubling Origins, Unstable Foundations

Islam teaches that Muhammad was the “Seal of the Prophets.” But from his first revelation, the evidence suggests:

• Psychological distress, not divine serenity

• Terror and despair, not certainty and peace

• Unverifiable mystical experience, not rational discourse

The founder of the world's second-largest religion may have built it not on divine light, but on inner darkness misunderstood as revelation.

---

🗣 Reader Reflection:

If Muhammad’s earliest and most critical experiences were shaped by fear, trauma, and suicidal despair—how can one be sure that what followed was truly from God?