The 144,000 and the “Great Crowd”

Jehovah’s Witnesses teach that only 144,000 people of mankind are saved and will be in heaven. These 144,000 are called “the anointed class” or “spiritual Israel.”

The rest of JWs who constitute the majority, belong to “the great crowd” or the “earthly class” who will live forever on paradise earth instead of heaven. Here are some quotes:

“…[O]nly 144,000 chosen from among mankind over the past nineteen centuries would gain eternal life … the Bible holds out hope of eternal life under righteous conditions here on earth for all others who would become faithful servants of God…” (The Truth that leads to Eternal Life, 1968, p. 79).

“These 144,000 Christians, including Jesus’ faithful apostles are raised to life in heaven. When does their resurrection take place? The apostle Paul wrote that it would occur during the time of Christ’s presence … So those few remaining ones of the 144,000 who die in our day are instantly resurrected to life in heaven … The vast majority of mankind, however, have the prospect of being resurrected in the future to life in Paradise on earth” (What Does the Bible Really Teach? 2005, p. 74).

“All faithful men and women who died before Jesus died had the hope of living again on earth, not heaven” (You Can Live Forever in Paradise Earth, 1982, p.122).

The last quote is as false as it sounds because Jesus stated in Matthew 8:11 that many shall come from the East and West to “sit down with Abraham, and Isaac and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” (Note: The NWT of JWs has spuriously pluralized the word “heaven” in the text to alter its meaning).

The Old Testament saints were described as “foreigners and strangers on earth” who “were longing for a better country – a heavenly one” and that God prepared this for them (Hebrews 11:13, 16).

The Psalmist says,”You shall guide me with your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory [heaven]” (Ps. 73:24). Remember also that both Enoch and Elijah were taken up to heaven.

Most JWs believe they do not need to be born again or look forward to heaven because they are part of the “great crowd.” Thus, they sneer at Christians who speak of looking forward to heaven. They also believe that only these 144,000 people have the Holy Spirit in them:

“Only Christ and his 144,00 spirit brothers can be born again and receive spirit baptism which is for body members only.” (Make Sure of All Things, 49)

“This ‘great crowd’ of people are not ‘born again’ nor do they need to be ‘born again’ because they gain everlasting life on earth.” (The Watchtower, Nov. 15, 1954, 682)

Jesus Christ is the sinless Saviour; only sinners are in need of regeneration and a Saviour. Therefore, it’s blasphemy to teach that Jesus can be born again.

Jehovah’s Witnesses also believe that the New Covenant privileges – regeneration, spiritual adoption into God’s family, approaching Jesus as Mediator, the witness of the Spirit, partaking in the Lord’s Evening Meal and hope of heaven – belong only to these 144,000 elites.

This implies that JWs are a battalion of unregenerate servants for the Watchtower Society. There are problems with this doctrine:

I. It conflicts with the clear teachings of Christ. He stressed the importance of being born again:

“Unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

“Do not marvel because I told you, YOU people must be born again” (John 3:7).

“Jesus answered: Most truly I say to you, Unless anyone is born from water and spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” (John 3:5).

“Everyone believing that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God…” (1John 5:1) [Note: all Bible quotes are from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures].

The Bible is clear that the only way by which anyone can enter into God’s kingdom (whether heavenly or earthly) is to be born again. Notice the urgency of Jesus’ words on this. He kept referring to “anyone,” “YOU people,” and “everyone.” This leaves no one out; everyone is included.

Jesus said that it’s God’s will “that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life” (Jn. 6:40). There’s no justification for limiting Jesus’ command directed to everyone to only 144,000 people.

2. The idea of a ‘two-tier salvation’ wasn’t early Watchtower teaching. Charles Russell wrote that:

“The only way, by which any and all of the condemned race may come to God, is not by meritorious works, neither by ignorance, but by faith in the precious blood of Christ, which taketh away the sins of the world (1 Peter 1:19, John 1:29). This is the gospel, the good tidings of great joy, which shall be unto all people” (The Divine Plan of the Ages, 1886, 103).

But today, the Watchtower Society teaches that the anointed class have been appointed between 33 AD and 1935. If their number has been completed since 1935, that means by now, most of them must have either died or become very old.

In essence, all JWs who joined the organization after 1935 are not part of the anointed class and will therefore live eternally on earth. What makes this rather intriguing is that these remaining 144,000 alive are believed to be the “spiritual house” or “temple” which constitute Watchtower leadership:

“For Jesus said that, in this ‘time of the end,’ he separates to a position of favor those doing good to the remaining ones on earth of his ‘brothers,’ his joint heirs who make up the Christian congregation … These are the remaining ones of the ‘living stones’ that are built up into a spiritual house or temple, ‘a place for God to inhabit by spirit.’ Those doing good to the members of this temple class are… [the] ‘great crowd.” (The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life, 121)

Since these “temple class” are the only ones who have God’s Spirit and can hear from Him; they alone are qualified to lead and teach the “great crowd” of JWs.

In the next few years when all these 144,000 finally die, to whom will the JWs be turning to for spiritual guidance? Does this imply that there will no more a place for Jehovah to inhabit by spirit again?

This is an impending Watchtower crisis. This is why they are now trying to manipulate the figures of the dead anointed class and shift the 1935 date.

3. The doctrine is plagued with inconsistencies. Under the heading “Ancient Babylonian Concepts” in Reasoning from the Scriptures, they state: “The distinction between the priest and layman is characteristic of this [Babylonian] religion” (p. 51).

Elsewhere, they stated: “Jesus, the Head does not split up the body of his congregation into a clergy class and a laity class of the ‘common people’…there is no division among those who make up the true church” (The Truth, p. 119).

So on the one hand, the Watchtower Society attacks other religious groups for having a clergy-laity distinction, but at the same time, they teach that Christians are in two classes – the anointed and servant class.

To them it’s wrong to have a clergy class giving spiritual guidance to a laity class, but essential to have a “little flock” or “anointed class” giving spiritual guidance to the “other sheep” or “great crowd!” Where is the difference? Such hypocrisy.

There is no caste system in Christianity. It’s totally unbiblical. Even in the Old Testament, the anointed Levite priests (or kings) were still part of Israel.

In the Church, the pastors, overseers or elders are drawn from the Christian congregations. They are not an “elite class” who receive all the benefits of the New Covenant to the exclusion of the “inferior” masses.

4. The Watchtower informs us that: “only the 144,000 … have properly partaken of the emblems during the Memorial of Jesus’ death, and only with them did Jesus make his covenant … Members of the great crowd are not participant in the new covenant.” (February 1, 1998, p. 19)

But there’s no indication in all the Bible passages relating to the communion that it’s an ordinance to be partaken of only by an “elite” group (Lk. 22:14-20, 1 Cor. 11:23-24). None of Jesus’ promises to the apostles were only for them.

He taught the inner circle disciples to ask for what they need in His name (Jn. 16:23), yet all Christians do so today. Why? Because the same commands that applied to them apply to us. Jesus told them to make disciples of all men and teach them all what He taught them – reserving not one for a special group (Matt. 28:19).

5. According to Watchtower records, there were 52,465 members of the anointed class “sealed” in 1935. This is known by the number of those who partake of the communion emblems each year. In 1985, they were 9,051 and in 1992, 8,683.

But in 2002 they had increased to 8,760! This is another problem for the Watchtower Society because logically, their number ought to be reducing each year.

In a “Questions from our Readers” segment, someone asked why the number of those partaking of the Memorial emblems have increased, since that implies they are having more people being “anointed” as part of the 144,00 – which was supposed to have been completed in 1935.

The Watchtower went into a lengthy explanation to drown the question and gallantly dismissed it:

“On balance, that a few more chose to partake of the emblem is no cause for concern. Over the years, some newly baptized have suddenly begun to partake … Some have recognized that they partook as an emotional response to perhaps physical or mental strain … There is no need for any of us to be concerned if a person begins to partake of the emblems or ceases to do so. It really is not up to us whether someone actually has been anointed with holy spirit and called to heavenly life or not” (The Watchtower, August 1996).

Nice trick there. They deflect the question by telling the reader to mind his own business and attribute the increasing number to physical and mental strain! Bravo mama Watchtower!

Consider this: if the 144,000 elites were completed in 1935, and 52,465 of them were alive then, that means for 18 centuries, God could only find 91,535 heaven-bound Christians. But between 1879 when the Watchtower Society was founded, and 1935, God was able to find 52,465 heaven-bound elites. This makes no sense.

Consider the rate of growth of the early church. When Peter preached after Pentecost, “about three thousand souls were added” to the church in just one day (Acts 2:41).

God also “added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2: 47). We also read of “more added to the Lord, multitudes both of men and women” (5:14).

Why would God wait till 1935 to have 144,000 saints? Thousands of Christians were killed between the 1st and 4th century, so it would be absurd to believe that God bypassed over hundreds of thousands of faithful Christians for heavenly honours for 18 centuries but – for no reason at all – opened it up to those who joined the Watchtower organization between 1879-1935 on a first come, first served basis.

The more one examines this doctrine, the more absurd it looks, but Witnesses have been taught not to question it.

6. The proof texts used as support for this teaching are:

(a) Luke 12:32 “Have no fear, little flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom” (NWT)

These were the comforting words of Christ to the disciples after He attacked the religious leaders (11:37-54). He was addressing a crowd of thousands (12:1-12).

After telling them of what will befall His disciples, He tells them “do not worry” (vs. 22) and “do not be afraid” (vs. 32).

His addressing them as “little flock” was a term of endearment, rather than an indication of the number of those who would be in heaven. He specifically promised to give them the kingdom so they will “sit on thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel” (v. 30). Nothing here supports the JW claim.

(b) John 10:16 “And I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; those also I must bring, and they will listen to my voice, and they will become one flock, one shepherd.“

JWs quote only the first part of this verse because its second part destroys their theory of a two-tier salvation.

The text says that Jesus’ sheep and this “other sheep” will form “one flock” under one shepherd (Jesus). This contradicts the JW belief that Jesus mediates only for the 144,000 while the 144,000 mediate for the other sheep.

There is only one mediator between God and men – Jesus Christ (1Tim. 2:5). If the 144,000 anointed class mediate for the great crowd, then 1st Timothy 2:5 is false.

In its real context, John 10:3-4 speaks of the Gentiles (the other sheep) who will be brought into the Jewish Christian fold to form one flock. This was actually fulfilled since Acts 8:4-8.

(c) Revelation 7:4 “And I heard the number of those who were sealed, a hundred and forty four thousand, sealed out of every tribe.“

These 144,000 are Jews from the 12 tribes of Israel (vs 4-8) and the names of their tribes are given, because they are not “spiritual Israel.” JWs can only appeal to this verse if they are literal Jews, but they are not.

After listing these Jewish tribes, it speaks of a “great crowd which no man was able to number” standing “before the throne” of Jesus – which is in heaven – not on earth (See Rev. 7:9).

Verse 15 also says they serve God “in his temple” in heaven (see Rev. 11:19, 14:17) and verse 16 adds that “neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat.” These prove  that they are in heaven (Rev. 21:23, 22:5).

The Watchtower Society also quote Revelation 14: 1,3 but have slyly inserted the words “taken (from the earth)” into the text to push the unwary reader into their false doctrine.

But if you read Revelation 19:1 directly from your Bible, you will see that both the 144,000 and the great crowd are in the same place – heaven!

(d) Psalm 37:29 “the righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.”

Nothing here speaks of these righteous as the resurrected dead, so the feeble attempt of JWs to link them with the “great crowd” falls apart.

The basic error in JW earthly paradise teaching is how they snag on the promises of God to the restored nation of Israel under the Messiah in the OT and apply it to themselves.

In conclusion, Jesus fails to be a Saviour if He saves only 144,000 people. There is no single verse in the Bible that says only 144,000 are going to be in Heaven. This doctrine is a grievous, shabby lie.

Signs of a Sinking Church

The church can be likened to a ship sailing on a sea. As it sails, many barnacles can attach to its hull and sometimes they become so many that their weight sinks the ship. To prevent this, the ship has to be brought to a dry dock where the barnacles are knocked off.

In the same vein, when a local church allows the barnacles of the world to attach to it, it’s in the danger of sinking spiritually.

Down through the centuries, there has always been a tendency for the church to be negatively influenced by the philosophy, music, arts, and traditions of the surrounding pagan culture.

This is why in each generation, these barnacles must be removed to keep the church afloat.

As a Christian who desires to be grounded in the faith and grow to spiritual maturity, one of the challenges you will face today is finding a church that is spiritually alive and Bible-based, out of the many churches dotting our landscape.

Some church problems do not affect doctrine, and are normal, but there are certain issues that could be indicators of a spiritually sinking church. Some of these are:

1. Involvement of church leaders in the occult or partnership with cults.

This is a big sign that the ship has torn apart and is plunging down below.

It’s no longer news in some churches that many of its clergy men are actively involved cult groups like AMORC, Ogboni, Freemasonry or other forms of witchcraft. Sometimes, it’s at the funeral of such clergymen that their involvement become known.

All cultic initiations involve a clear rejection of God, Christ and the Holy Spirit, to make the initiate a vessel for demons.

Therefore, if a church leader (particularly if they teach from the pulpit) has not verbally and prayerfully renounced a past/present association with a cult group or has not destroyed his “instruments” (regalia, rings, tokens, emblems or charms), he shouldn’t be allowed to minister to the congregation.

This is why spiritual death has been released into some Christian denominations today.

An ungodly partnership usually comes into play when a Christian church invites false prophets, Islamic clerics or diviners to minister to the congregation from its pulpits. By so doing, they are giving them a level of spiritual authority over the congregation.

If a church sees nothing wrong with any of its leaders visiting pagan shrines or refuses to rebuke its key leaders openly utilizing or promoting occult techniques, such a gathering can drown you spiritually (Lev. 20:26, 1 Cor. 6:14-18).

2. Neglect of key Christian doctrines

The current apostasy in the church has made it seem “out of fashion” to emphasize some basic Christian doctrines, like the exclusivity of Christ in salvation or inerrancy of Scripture.

According to a U.S. poll, only 7% of Protestant denominations, 13% of non-denominational Protestants, 10% Pentecostal and 8% Baptists have a Biblical worldview. That’s not a good picture.

One Lutheran minister in Copenhagen even openly said: “There is no heavenly God, there is no eternal life, there is no resurrection.” (Associated Press, May 10, 2004). This is a heresy.

Heresy literally means “choosing.” It’s when a group of people choose how much of the Bible they want to believe or accept. I call it a cut-and-paste-Bible-Syndrome.

In many African churches today, “motivational” or material prosperity sermons and miracle rallies are lauded, but “meaty” doctrines like the sufficiency of Scripture, Christian discipline, ethical conduct and exposition of erroneous doctrines in the church, evoke responses ranging from cold apathy to outright opposition.

Be very careful of a “church” that peddles teachings distorting the nature, person or the work of Jesus Christ. They are teaching a “damnable heresy” (2 Peter 2:1) and you need to jump off that ship as fast as you can.

Another area of concern is when a church has its “pet doctrines” – a doctrine that is overemphasized at the expense of “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27). Some teach only on faith and healing; some teach only about Old Testament judgements, while some teach only on spiritual warfare and nothing else.  This usually leads to doctrinal excesses.

When you keep feeding on the same spiritual diet, you won’t grow well. It’s just like taking potato chips and soda everyday. After a year, I can bet you won’t like what you’d see in the mirror

3. A redefinition of or total silence about sin

The more a church sinks into the world, the less it will speak against sin, because that is what the world loves.

The secular society celebrates lust, envy, greed, hate, pride, name it. All these vices have been adopted by secularism and rebaptized with nicer terms.

When Psychology, rather than Scripture, becomes a church’s frame of higher authority, sins and sinners are completely redefined.

For example, drunkards are rechristened as “alcoholics”; adulterers are “just having an affair,” child molesters or rapists are just “sex addicts,” while gays are practicing “an alternative lifestyle.”

By changing the labels, the seriousness of sin is ignored and its destructive power is denied.

A sinking church avoids using words like “sin” or “repentance.” A member of such a church once told me, “Jesus didn’t ask us to talk about sin.”

Sorry, you need to start studying your Bible. Both the Old and New Testament talk about sin. How can you preach salvation without mentioning “sin?” What are the people being saved from? From a low self-esteem?

Robert Schuller, author of Tough Times Never Last, once said: “I preach repentance so positively that most people don’t recognize it.”

How can you preach something and people wouldn’t know you are preaching it? Is he also suggesting that Jesus and the saints of old who preached repentance were “too negative?”

These “positive”, utilitarian, narcissistic ‘all about me’ messages that distort the Gospel – and have sadly filled up the media – are signs of sinking ships.

4. Rejection of the doctrine of Hell

One of the signs of liberalism in a church is silence about eternal damnation.

Of course, it shouldn’t be unduly overemphasized, but it has been observed that an uncomfortable dismissal of the reality hell is a mark of apostasy.

Let me give you some examples:

The doctrinal commission of the Church of England states that:

“Hell is not eternal torment, but it is the final and irrevocable choosing of that which is opposed to God so completely and so absolutely that the only end is total non-being.”

Billy Graham once said in an interview:

“Hell means separation from God. We are separated from his light, from his fellowship. That is going to be hell. When it comes to a literal fire, I don’t preach it because I am not sure about it” (Time Magazine, 15/11/93).

Schuller, mentioned earlier, defines hell as “the loss of pride that naturally follows separation from God – the ultimate and unfailing source of our soul’s sense of self-respect. ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?’ was Christ’s encounter with hell. In that ‘hellish’ death our Lord experienced the ultimate horror … A person is in hell when he has lost his self esteem” (Self-Esteem: The New Reformation, 1982, 14-15, 93).

Though these people used Christian terminologies, they have redefined hell to suit their false theology.

Jesus – the embodiment of God’s love – warned us the most about Hell (Matt. 5:22, 8:11-12, 13:40 etc). We can play with anybody’s words, but we dare not play with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. He wasn’t some theologian or a philosopher in search of truth. He is the Word of God made flesh.

5. Seeker Friendly methodologies

The “seeker friendly” method of church growth involves a pastor taking a survey in his community and asking unbelievers what sort of church service they want, the sermons they want to hear etc.

Based on these surveys, the pastor then adjusts his church to suit the people’s needs. It’s a marketing strategy.

Pastors using this method believe they are competing in a buyer’s market, so they feel they cannot alienate their “customers.”

This method attempts to re-define God to appease unbelievers. The emphasis of such churches is not on God or what He requires of us, but on man and what will increase his self-esteem.

The seeker movement gives people the “religion” they want instead of the convicting truth they need. When Paul preached the True God to the Athenians, “some mocked and others said, we will hear thee again of this matter” (Acts 17:32-34). Hardly a “seeker-sensitive” message.

A big flaw of the “seeker friendly” movement is the assumption that membership size, buildings and other externalizations are the only goals that count. Thus they invest more on material things that will pull much crowd: entertainment, jamborees, sumptuous meals, basketball courts, spas etc.

As good as these things are, the real emphasis of Christianity is to be drawn by the Father to Christ and built up in Him.

The early Believers didn’t utilize man-made strategies to bring people to Christ, rather “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47b).

Jesus didn’t ask the Jewish leaders what type of church they wanted neither did His apostles take a survey of the heathen to know what they wanted to hear.

This “seeker sensitive” method reduces Jesus to a needed “product,” and “sells” the gospel to the lost, who are the consumers. But any attempt to present Jesus as a “product” is to refashion Him or adjust His image to appeal to the felt needs of the consumer-happy culture.

With such a backdrop, every teaching of Christ that the heathen finds “offensive” is tossed into the trash can.

A famous pastor of such a “seekers sensitive” eeker  based in Houston, Texas, was once interviewed by Larry King and was asked if Muslims or Hindus would be in heaven without accepting Christ. He answered:

“You know, I’m very careful about saying who would and wouldn’t go to heaven. I don’t know…Well, I don’t know if I believe they’re wrong…I spent a lot of time in India with my father, I don’t know all about their [Hindu] religion. But I know they love God. And I don’t know. I’ve seen their sincerity. So I don’t know.”

How typical. They avoid offending their consumers with the truth, but rather soothe them with motivational philosophies dressed up in a carefully selected set of Bible verses. Christ Himself is “the rock of offence” (Rom. 9:33) and there is the “offence of the cross” (Gal. 5:11).

The true gospel offends and convicts a sinner. Far from being “sensitive,” any gospel that is designed to tickle people is often a false gospel that will damn those who believe it.

If your church is sinking, there could still be hope. In some cases, you may need to pray and call attention to it.

In some cases, you may need to sit down with your leader(s) and reason with him from the Bible. If he’s not willing to go by Scripture, then it would be better to look for another fellowship where the Word of God is honoured and Christ is glorified.

Men can create an organization and call it a “church” but that doesn’t mean it’s a true church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Wickedness of the Prophet

The key to understanding Muslims and why Islam is a violent religion is by understanding Muhammad himself.

In a previous post, I quoted from Islamic sources to prove that the idea of a “merciful” Muhammad only exists in the imaginations of his deceived and deceiving followers.

I will continue from there and cite more examples of how wicked Muhammad really was.

I. He was a terrorist

Terrorism is defined as the calculated use of violence (or the threat of violence) against civilians in order to attain goals that are political or religious in nature by instilling fear. Terrorism is always directed against civilians, not combatants.

It is recorded that Muhammad launched more than 60 raids against people, and all his raids were carried out without prior notice. His targets were caught off-guard. That is terrorism.

Ibn Aun reported: “…the messenger of Allah (pbuh) made a raid upon Bani Mustaliq while they were unaware and their cattle were having a drink at the water. He killed those who fought and imprisoned others. On that day, he captured Juwariyya bint al-Harith…” (Muslim 19:4292).

The Arabic word used to describe Muhammad’s raids is qazwa which means ambush or sudden attack, a situation where the targets didn’t have a chance to escape.

In the above case, the people attacked were innocent Jews who were going about their daily business. Those who fought in self-defense were killed and the women were taken as slaves. In another case:

“Allah’s apostle offered the Fajr prayer when it was still dark, then he rode and said ‘Allahu Akbar! Khaibar is ruined…’ The people came out into the streets saying ‘Muhammad and his army.’ Allah’s apostle vanquished them by force and their warriors were killed; the children and women were taken as captives” (Bukhari 2:14:68).

Here, even Muhammad’s men didn’t know which town they were going to attack until he shouted “Allahu Akbar!” (Allah is greater) and mentioned the Jewish tribe. This is the modus operandi of Islamic jihad till date.

On November 18, 2014, five Jews were killed in a Jerusalem synagogue by Muslim terrorists. These Muslims intentionally carried out the attack while the people were in prayer, in an unguarded moment.

Here in Nigeria, Boko Haram incursions also follow the same trend; they strike their victims mostly at night.

When someone informed Muhammad that some tribes have gathered in Dhatal riqa, he rose up “with a group of 100 (or 700) warriors immediately headed to the place of gathering of these Arab tribes. He found no one there, but a few women, between them there was a beautiful girl. They captured the women. The men of the tribes took refuge in the mountains” (Ibn Sa’ad, Tabaqat Al-Kabir 2:59).

Even though the news was a rumour, Muhammad still went ahead to capture the innocent women. Many of them were raped.

II. He was an assassin

An assassin is one who sends someone to kill (usually an important person) for political or religious motives. Muhammad had no tolerance for any sort of criticism. He murdered all his critics.

One of his victims was Abu Afak, a 120 year old Jewish man. When a call was made for his murder, Salim ibn Umayr said:

“‘I take a vow that I shall either kill Abu Afak or die before him’. He waited for an opportunity until a hot night came and Abu Afak slept in an open place. Salim placed the sword on his liver and pressed it till he reached his bed. The enemy of Allah screamed…” (Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir 2:31).

That Salim had to wait “for an opportunity” indicates that it took quite a long period before he could carry out this murder. He certainly nursed this evil ambition for a long time.

Note that during this period, he was praying to Allah and following all the teachings of the “merciful prophet.” His deity must be vastly different from the God of the Bible that the Psalmist speaks of: “If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me” (Psa. 66:18).

If Muhammad was a teacher of mercy and righteousness as some Muslims tell us why were cruelty and evil rather evident in the lives of his followers? And why was Salim not punished for this crime?

When Asma bint Marwan heard of this evil, she began to speak out against Muhammad with her poems. Muhammad said to his thugs:

“Who will rid me of Marwan’s daughter? ‘Umaryr bin Adiyal Khatmi who was with him heard him and that very night he went to her house and killed her. In the morning, he came to the apostle and told him what he had done and he [Muhammad] said, ‘You have helped Allah and his apostle Umayr!” (Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Rasulallah, translated by A. Guillaume, 1955, pp. 675-76).

In another version of this story, this woman was nursing her baby when Umaryr entered her home. He yanked away the baby and stabbed her in her bed till she died. And he was congratulated. Talk about wickedness!

After the battle of Honain, Abbas, one of Muhammad’s soldiers, complained about how the booty was shared and recited some little, nasty poems. “The Apostle overheard him and said with a smile, ‘Take that man from here and cut out his tongue” (Sirat, p. 595).

In another instance, Ka’b Al-Ashraf was reciting poems to criticize Muhammad. He asked his henchmen, “Who will help me get rid of this rascal?” then “Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying ‘O Allah’s apostle! Would you like that I kill him? ‘The Prophet said ‘yes.’ Muhammad bin Maslama said ‘Then allow me to say a (false) thing (to deceive Kab). The Prophet said, ‘You may say it.’ This man went on to Kab and acted like a friend till he killed him (Bukhari 5:369).

Muhammad didn’t care how his critics were killed, whether by terrorism or deception. Today some Muslims may take non-Muslims as friends but when a jihad breaks out, they are the first ones they would kill.

III. He was a mass murderer

He murdered 600-900 Jewish men of the Bani Quraiza tribe. He accused them of conspiring against him (a convenient rationale to eliminate them) and shut off their water supply. These Jews finally surrendered without any fight. Their men were separated from the boys by examining their pubic hair and killed.

One of the boys, Atiyyah al-Qurazi, later reported:

“I was among the captives of Banu Qurayzah. They (the companions) examined us, and those of us who had begun to grow hair (pubes) were killed, and those who had not were not killed. I was among those who had not grown pubic hair” (Sunan Abu Dawud, 38:4390).

When these Jews surrendered to Muhammad, “he directed them to Sa’ad to give the verdict. Sa’ad said ‘I give my judgement that their men should be killed, their women and children taken as captives, and their properties distributed” (Bukhari 5:59:448).

Sa’ad ibn Mo’adh already had a personal animosity against the Bani Quraiza Jews, so he used this to get back at them. Some Muslims shamelessly justify this crime, well, I don’t blame them. They have sank so deep that they praise evil as good and despise good as evil.

These Jewish men must have been pleading and begging this “merciful prophet” to spare their lives, but his mercy was nowhere they could get at it.

No sane person should follow such a ruthless murderer as a “perfect example.” If all humans were to emulate Muhammad, imagine how horrible this earth would become.

By the way, where was the “most compassionate and most merciful Allah” in all of these? The same Allah who sent down verses for Muhammad to have sex with Mariyah or take Zaynab to his bed couldn’t send down verses to rescue hundreds of innocent men from being killed. Muhammad had to resort to a man’s opinion.

In essence, the lives of 600-900 Jews wasn’t as important to Allah as Muhammad having sex with beautiful girls.

IV. Banishing the “infidels”

Islam has only three messages to non-Muslims (“infidels”): convert, become a dhimmi and pay taxes or die. More importantly, Muhammad’s plan was: “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim” (Muslim p. 4366).

The city Muhammad found solace in after he left Mecca was Yathrib, which was inhabited mostly by Jews. After he had captured it and wiped out the Jews, he re-named it as Medina (“city of the prophet”). His companions too followed suit:

“Umar expelled the Jews and Christians from the Hijaz. When Allah’s apostle had conquered the Khaibar, he wanted to expel the Jews from it as its land became the property of Allah, his apostle and the Muslims … so they (Jews) kept on living there until Umar forced them to go towards Taima and Ariha” (Bukhari 3:39:531).

Every land that Muhammad’s army captured immediately became the property of Allah, his prophet and the Muslims and no infidel was to be allowed. This is an intolerant, expansionist and totalitarian ideology that the modern world needs to be wary of.

Many Muslims still have this possessive mentality; they believe they own every individual, nation and society on earth and must dominate them.

All these show us clearly that Islam doesn’t lead to God but is a tool of Satan to destroy and mislead humanity. It also proves beyond a doubt that Muhammad is not a prophet of God.