there are many contradictions and between the Qur'an, and the Hadith. An attempt to rectify those contradictions through the acceptable standard that governs historic research as proved to be next to impossible. This has given validity to the assumption that perhaps Muhammad was a composite of many men over the centuries that have shaped the Islamic belief system.
One such scholar is German Professor, who adapted the Muslim name Muhammad Kalisch.
The following is an excerpt from two articles published in the Wall Street Journal by Professor Muhammad Kalisch.
Excerpt: Muslim Academic Questions Muhammad's Existence
Below are translated excerpts from an article in German entitled, "Islamic Theology Without the Historic Muhammad - "Comments on the Challenges of the Historical-Critical Method for Islamic Thinking," by Germany's Prof. Muhammad Kalisch, a Muslim.
A convert to Islam at age 15, Prof. Kalisch says he was drawn to the faith because it seemed more rational than others. He embraced a branch of Shiite Islam noted for its skeptical bent. After working briefly as a lawyer, he began work in 2001 on a postdoctoral thesis in Islamic law in Hamburg, to go through the elaborate process required to become a professor in Germany.
Professor Kalisch writes:
"Up to some time ago I was convinced that Muhammad was a historical figure. Although I always based my thinking on the assumption that the Islamic historical narrative regarding Muhammad was very unreliable, I had no doubts that at least the basic lines of his biography were historically correct.
Many scholars of Islam question the accuracy of ancient sources on Muhammad's life. The earliest biography, of which no copies survive, dated from roughly a century after the generally accepted year of his death, 632, and is known only by references to it in much later texts. But only a few scholars have doubted Muhammad's existence. Most say his life is better documented than that of Jesus.
With regard to the historical existence of Muhammad ... I consider my position simply as a continuation of the most recent research results. It appears so spectacular only because it has been said by a Muslim ... Most Western scientists turn down such an hypotheses out of respect for Islam or because they are afraid of the reactions of their Muslim friends or because they think it is speculative nonsense.
My position with regard to the historical existence of Muhammad is that I believe neither his existence nor his non-existence can be proven. I, however, lean towards the non-existence but I don't think it can be proven. It is my impression that, unless there are some sensational archeological discoveries -- an Islamic "Qumran" or "Nag Hammadi" -- the question of Muhammad's existence will probably never be finally clarified."
The rebuttal.
"Of course Muhammad existed," says Tilman Nagel, a scholar in G�ttingen and author of a new book, "Muhammad: Life and Legend." The Prophet differed from the flawless figure of Islamic tradition, Prof. Nagel says, but "it is quite astonishing to say that thousands and thousands of pages about him were all forged" and there was no such person
Prof. Kalisch didn't buy all of this. Contributing last year to a book on Islam, he weighed the odds and called Muhammad's existence "more probable than not." By early this year, though, his thinking had shifted. "The more I read, the historical person at the root of the whole thing became more and more improbable," he says.
He has doubts, too, about the Quran. "God doesn't write books," Prof. Kalisch says
The complete article can be found at www.wsj.com. This is the wall street Journal website, which posted the article on Saturday, November 15, 2008.
Finial thoughts on the existence of Muhammad.
As I researched the Islamic Belief System, my concern was not the origin of the writings of Islam. My concern focused on by what authority Muslims were allowed to impose Islam on those who did not believe or resisted. Or why Muslims believe that murdering those who reject Islam is pleasing to their God.
The reality is this, even though the Qur'an and Hadith are very contradictory, millions of Muslims worldwide follow Islam and hold the Qur'an and the Hadith as the standard as to what they are to believe, and the action they must take please Allah and His messenger Muhammad.
In my opinion Muhammad did exist as one person, and he alone is responsible the existence of Islam. I base this opinion on the fact that the "spirit being" that Muhammad encountered in the cave outside Mecca gave him the courage to continue to lay the foundation of Islam through much persecution, and his followers witnessed him receiving some of his revelations.
I have no doubt that the basic biological information concerning Muhammad is historically correct.