Refuting accusations against Prophet Muhammad ﷺ (part 1)
One of the accusations repeated by Orientalists and modern critics, is that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ suffered from mental illness, even schizophrenia. Muslim scholars across the ages have consistently exposed this claim as baseless, irrational, and contradictory to both historical evidence and the lived reality of the Prophet’s ﷺ life.
The Qur’anic response
The Qur’an itself directly refutes such allegations:
مَا صَاحِبُكُم بِمَجْنُونٍ
“Your companion is not mad.” (al-Takwir 81:22, al-Qalam 68:2, al-Ḥaqqah 69:41-42)
For the believer, Allah’s testimony is decisive. But even when approached rationally, the claim collapses under scrutiny.
Classical exegesis on “majnun” (madness)
The classical mufassirun unanimously explained that the Quraysh accused the Prophet ﷺ of being majnun (possessed, insane, deluded) as a way to undermine his message, not as a genuine medical diagnosis:
- Tabari (d. 310H) in his Tafsir explains that majnun was a slander by the disbelievers, claiming revelation was madness or sorcery, but Allah categorically rejected their claim by affirming the Prophet’s ﷺ clarity and truthfulness.
- Ibn Kathir (d. 774H) notes in his tafsir of al-Qalam 68:2 (ma anta biniʿmati rabbika bima jnun) that Allah defended His Messenger against these charges, affirming that his speech and actions were wise, coherent, and divinely guided.
- al-Qurtubi (d. 671H) emphasises that the verse is a declaration of the Prophet’s ﷺ perfect mental and spiritual state, silencing the slanderers.
- al-Razi (d. 606H) points out that the coherence of the Qur’an itself is proof that its bearer could not be mad; madness brings inconsistency, whereas revelation brought unmatched order, depth, and wisdom.
Thus, classical exegetes saw the Qur’an’s defence as both a spiritual guarantee and a rational proof.
1. Dr Mustafa al- Aʿzami
In his writings on the Sunnah and his critiques of Orientalists, Dr. al-Aʿẓami emphasised:
- Schizophrenia produces incoherence, contradiction, and dysfunction in life.
- The Prophet’s ﷺ life was marked by harmony, clarity, and consistency across twenty-three years of prophethood.
- The Qur’an is structurally and intellectually impossible to reconcile with mental disorder.
- Orientalists were not offering medical diagnoses but projecting modern labels to undermine his prophethood.
2. Shaykh Muhammad Abu Shahba
In al-Sirah al-Nabawiyyah fi Ḍawʾ al-Qurʾan wa al-Sunnah, Abu Shahba refuted the claim:
- A mentally ill man cannot unite scattered Bedouin tribes into a global civilisation within a single generation.
- Schizophrenia isolates from reality, but the Prophet ﷺ mastered leadership, diplomacy, law, family life, and spirituality.
- His balance with wives, companions, enemies, and children reflects psychological brilliance, not illness.
- Abu Shahba concluded that such accusations are projections of critics’ own societal illnesses.
3. Rational and historical refutations
- Consistency of Revelation: The Qur’an’s 23-year gradual revelation, addressing diverse contexts with coherence, is unmatched and beyond the capacity of one suffering delusion.
- Civilisational Impact: The Prophet ﷺ established a nation, instituted laws, and transformed societies — achievements impossible for one mentally unsound.
- Testimony of Contemporaries: The Quraysh never claimed medical insanity. They called him poet, sorcerer, or soothsayer — attempts to explain away his influence, not genuine psychiatric diagnoses.
- Balance in Leadership: In Badr, Uḥud, Hudaybiyyah, the Conquest of Makkah, and the Farewell Pilgrimage, his clarity, patience, compassion and wisdom demonstrate extraordinary psychological stability.
From the classical mufassirun to modern scholars, the consensus is clear: the claim that the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ suffered from schizophrenia is false, irrational, and contradictory to reality.
Allah describes him:
وَإِنَّكَ لَعَلَىٰ خُلُقٍ عَظِيمٖ
“Indeed, you are upon a tremendous character.” (al-Qalam 68:4)
His life, message, and the Qur’an itself demonstrate harmony of mind, soul, and action. Far from madness, he is the ultimate example of human perfection supported by divine guidance.
Responding to children’s questions
When children or teenagers raise such difficult questions, it is important not to dismiss them. Too often, cultures silence children when they ask questions deemed “taboo.”
For some children, and especially teenagers, it is an opportunity to elicit their own understanding of the issue before either confirming or correcting it. One can discuss the children’s answers to ascertain what knowledge they are missing and then discuss and then gently prompt them on the path to understanding. This may inculcate a better appreciation of the issue than just telling them the facts.
How to approach the issue depends on the teacher’s perception of the children’s ability to take the path described above – it will not suit all children. In all cases, encourage them to study the sirah (his biography), to see for themselves how sane and balanced the Prophet ﷺ was.
We also need to teach our children, that while belief in the unseen is second nature and axiomatic for some, for many people, the only aspect of existence that’s axiomatic is materiality, what can be sensed and measured or detected via some physical method. Hence, when faced with angels, revelation, miracles, and life after death, just like Quraysh, they are unable to see them as real, and consequently deny their existence or attribute them to delusion / illusion.
Therefore, we must teach them that belief in the unseen is not irrational, it is simply beyond the limits of empirical observation. Rationality is not confined to what can be weighed or measured; it is the ability to follow evidence wherever it leads. To deny the unseen merely because it cannot be detected is, in fact, an irrational narrowing of reason — reducing truth to what fits within human instruments. True intellect (ʿaql) recognises its own limits and accepts that there are realities that transcend the senses. Thus, faith in the unseen is not the rejection of reason, but the completion of it.
Accusations copied into “Muslim” writings
Some so-called Muslim historians, influenced by Orientalist narratives, misrepresented the Prophet’s ﷺ first encounter with revelation as resembling an epileptic seizure. Such writings are not based on authentic sources; rather, they copy hostile narratives from outside.
The Muslim response remains the same: we rely on Allah’s testimony in the Qur’an and the evidence of the Prophet’s ﷺ life.
What would a psychiatrist say to such a claim?
In truth, the accusation of schizophrenia is rather ridiculous, as the people making it are generally not psychiatrists, and no qualified psychiatrist has made such a claim, as far as we know.
To do so, they would have to spell out the rationale for their diagnosis, i.e. the symptoms they think they detect, which could then be rationally rebutted because they could only be based either on supposition and assumption, which can easily be challenged, or a lack of understanding of the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the milieu he lived in.
Most people don’t even have a clear idea what schizophrenia is, nor of its symptoms and how it affects behaviour. Many children may hear this sort of nonsense from non-Muslims, and they need rational answers based on a good understanding of the issues involved, not just rote learning.
The test of accusations and patience
It must be remembered that such accusations were themselves part of the Prophet’s ﷺ trial. Being called a madman or accused of falsehood was painful, yet Allah reassured him repeatedly in the Qur’an. This repetition indicates that the accusation would arise again and again in different eras, and believers must be equipped to respond.
The Prophet ﷺ is, as Allah said, the perfect example:
لَّقَدۡ كَانَ لَكُمۡ فِي رَسُولِ ٱللَّهِ أُسۡوَةٌ حَسَنَةٞ لِّمَن كَانَ يَرۡجُواْ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلۡيَوۡمَ ٱلۡأٓخِرَ وَذَكَرَ ٱللَّهَ كَثِيرٗا
“Indeed, in the Messenger of Allah you have an excellent example for whoever hopes in Allah and the Last Day and remembers Allah much.” (al-Ahzab 33:21)
The companions’ testimony
Another rational point is that those closest to him, his companions, knew him best. They described him as compassionate, balanced, trustworthy, and consistent. Had there been any trace of madness, incoherence, or delusion, it would have been impossible for his closest followers to sustain such loyalty and to transform their lives so radically.
Shaykh Haytham Tamim – Tafseer Class 29th September 2025