The Distorted Views of William Muir on Prophet Muhammad (saw)’s Character: A Critical Evaluation

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the inaccurate assertions made by the Western Orientalist William Muir regarding the Character attributed to the Prophet Muhammad (saw). Muir’s portrayal of the character of the Prophet (saw) may attract the interest of his readers. In his many works, he presented the character of the Prophet (saw) in an embarrassing way. Muir associated him with a figure of moral failure who used false revelations to justify immoral actions such as violence, cruelty, and hostility. In an attempt to evaluate the distorted assertions made by Muir, the paper analyses his evidence and observations. At the same time, it conducts a careful examination of Islamic historical records about the character of Prophet Muhammad (saw) to prove the authenticity of his character. According to the findings of historical evidence, it can be said with good reason that Muir’s denial of the Prophet’s good personality was part of his distortion of Islam, and since the claim is not substantiated by real and accurate historical evidence, therefore, it must be baseless.