Muhammad’s contemporaries thought that Satan, or an evil spirit, had taken control of Muhammad. Some examples of which include:
Narrated Jundub bin Sufyan:
“Once Allah’s Apostle became sick and could not offer his night prayer (Tahajjud) for two or three nights. Then a lady (the wife of Abu Lahab) came and said, “O Muhammad! I think that YOUR SATAN HAS FORSAKEN YOU, for I have not seen him with you for two or three nights!” On that Allah revealed: ‘By the fore-noon, and by the night when it darkens, your Lord (O Muhammad) has neither forsaken you, nor hated you.’ (93.1-3) (Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 475)
One of the Meccan Chiefs told Muhammad that:
… ‘I will make some suggestions, and perhaps you will be able to accept one of them.’ The apostle agreed, and he went on, ‘If what you want is money, we will gather for you of our property so that you may be the richest of us; if want honour, we will make you our chief so that no one can decide anything apart from you; if you want sovereignty, we will make you king, and if this ghost which comes to you, which you see, is such that you cannot get rid of him, we will find a physician for you, and exhaust our means in getting you cured, for OFTEN a familiar spirit gets possession of a man until he can be cured of it,’ or words to that effect…
And:
“… No Arab had ever treated his tribe as Muhammad had treated them, and they repeated the charges which have been mentioned on several occasions, If it was money he wanted, they would make him the richest of them all; if it was honour, he should be their prince; if it was sovereignty, they would make him king; if it was a spirit which had got possession of him (they used to call the familiar spirit of the jinn ra’iy), they would exhaust their means in finding medicine to cure him. The Apostle replied he had no such intention…” (Alfred Guillaume, The Life of Muhammad [Oxford University Press, Karachi, tenth impression 1995], pp. 132, 133-134;
The attestation to Muhammad by his first wife’s cousin Waraqa, is that he was deceived by a fallen angel:
“I am afraid it may be someone other than Gabriel, for certain devils imitate him and by so doing can mislead and corrupt some men. This can result in a man becoming confused and even crazy whereas before he had been of sound mind.’” (Ibn Kathir, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad [Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya], Volume I)
Choking, gasping, spasmodic movements, delirium, and whispering are signs of possession, sorcery and Satanic influence. (See: Guillaume, ‘The Life of Muhammad’, pp 135-6; for other source references: https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/possessed.htm)
Surah 2:97: Say, “whoever is an enemy to gabriel – it is [none but] he who has brought the qur’an down upon your heart, [O Muhammad], by permission of Allah , confirming that which was before it and as guidance and good tidings for the believers.”
The Quran claims Gabriel as the angel and messenger who brought down the Quran unto Muhammad’s heart. In the Hadith, however, the angel is described as PRESSING and STRANGLING Muhammad upon the giving of the revelation. Something we NEVER find Gabriel doing in the Bible.
WHY FEAR PREVENTS OUR HEARING FROM GOD
There is a categorical difference between a healthy fear, as in being in awe of Holy God, and being afraid or scared which is the leading edge of a spirit of terror.
Biblical visitations by angels were always accompanied by greetings of “fear not” or “do not be afraid”. (e.g. Luke 1:11 & 1:30).
These were not merely platitudinous greetings to their startled audience. They had a greater significance and express a Biblical truth which is often overlooked. Firstly, it is impossible to hear from, receive from, or even be in God’s presence in a state of fear. So when God wanted His angels to bring messages of importance it was essential that the recipients be calm or their testimony would be compromised. Similarly when we want to align ourselves spiritually with God’s will there is no room for fear. A classic example was when the disciples see Jesus walking on the water.
“Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” “Lord, if it’s You,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.” “Come! ” He said. And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid. And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me! ” (Matthew 14:27-30 HCSB)
As long as he kept calm Peter was able to step out of the boat in obedience without sinking and stayed upheld by his faith approaching his Lord. But as soon as he was distracted by his surroundings and became fearful he started to sink. Moral of story: we cannot stay in the presence of God and/or expect to communicate with or hear from him or His angels in a fearful state.
Secondly, a state of fear would be a sure sign that the source of visitation was not divine but demonic. God’s angels greeting with “do not be afraid” were effectively a form of calling card affirming and authenticating their origin, and this is entirely reflective of God’s character; for His perfect love leaves no room for fear:
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.”
(I John 4:18 NKJV)
CONCLUSIONS
These fundamental truths alone are proof that whatever asaulted Muhammad in a dark cave was not from God and his scared state made it impossible that he received anything with a divine origin.
But it gets worse for Muslims. Following his encounter, Muhammad thought he was demon possessed. This according to Sahih Bukhari 9:111 where it states that he was twitching with terror, asking what was wrong with him whilst demanding to be covered, fearing that something BAD may happen to him.
Also from Ibn Ishaq’s “Sirat Rasul Allah” Muhammad didn’t think this was Gabriel at first, but that he was demon possessed. (pp. 106-107). It was only until people convinced him that he was met by an angel of the Lord that he slowly came to believe that he was called to prophethood.
As a matter of fact, even people during Muhammad’s time believed that he was demon possessed and was met, NOT by Gabriel, but by a demon. How embarrassing that the Quran even had to issue denials on his behalf :
Surah 81:22-25: “No, your compatriot [Muhammad] is not mad. He saw him [Gabriel] on the clear horizon. He does not grudge the secrets of the unseen, nor is this the utterance of an accursed devil.”
Surah 69:41, 42: “It [the Quran] is no poet’s speech: scant is your faith! It is no soothsayer’s divination: how little you reflect! It is revelation from the Lord of the Universe.”
Christians are not surprised that Muhammad displayed demonic signs. Paul warns of false apostles:
“For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder! For Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no great thing if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their destiny will be according to their works.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15 HCSB)
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone preaches to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!” (Galatians 1:8-9 HCSB)