Ali Sina is a Canadian of Iranian descent. He is the founder of faithfreedom.org a site created to spread the truth about Islam and help Muslimst to leave it. Since its inception in 2001 Faith Freedom International has been transformed into a grassroots movement of ex-Muslims and is bringing about a silent revolution and a reawakening of Muslims all over the world.

Ali Sina has written numerous articles that have been published on his site and many other sites. He is famous mainly for his many debates with Muslims among whom several reputable scholars such as Ayatollah Montazeri, the man who was appointed to succeed Ayatollah Khomeini, Mr. Javed Ahmad Ghamidi, a reformist Pakistani scholar and an advisor to the Pakistani Government, and Maulana Ajmal Qadri, a Senior religious scholar of the Deobandi school and the president of Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (The Society of Islamic Scholars).

Ali Sina is a Secular Humanist, a World Federalist and a vegan.   

Muhammad’s Personality Profile

here are literally tens of thousands of short stories about Muhammad.  Many of them are forgeries, others are weak and dubious in nature, but some are believed to be Sahih (authentic, true) hadith (oral traditions).  By reading these Sahih hadith, a fairly consistent picture of Muhammad emerges and it is possible to make an approximate evaluation of his character and psychological make-up.

The picture that emerges is that of a narcissist.  In this chapter I will quote authoritative sources on narcissism and then will try to show how Muhammad fits that profile hand in glove.

Scholarship and research on the matter is limited precisely because Muslims have not and will not permit objective inquiry into the Qur’an or the life of Muhammad.  However, what is written about him is not only consistent with the definition of narcissism, but also can be seen in many similar bizarre acts being committed today by Muslims themselves the world over.  Thus, the personality disorder of one man has been bequeathed like an inheritance upon his followers, where one man’s psychosis, spectacular in its depth of self-absorption, has been spreading to millions of his followers, rendering them, in the same way, self-absorbed, irrational, and dangerous. 

It is through understanding the psychology of Muhammad, the ruthlessness and situational ethics so essential to his character, that we begin to understand why Muslims are so intolerant, so violent, so paranoid, and why they see themselves as victims, when they are the aggressors and the victimizers.

What is Narcissism?

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) describes narcissism as a personality disorder that “revolve around a pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and sense of entitlement. Often individuals feel overly important and will exaggerate achievements and will accept, and often demand, praise and admiration despite worthy achievements.”[1] 

The third and fourth editions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM) of 1980 and 1994 and the European ICD-10[2] describe NPD in similar language:

An all-pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration or adulation and lack of empathy, usually beginning by early adulthood and present in various contexts.  Five (or more) of the following criteria must be met:

Feels grandiose and self-important (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents to the point of lying, demands to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)

Is obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, unequalled brilliance (the cerebral narcissist), bodily beauty or sexual performance (the somatic narcissist), or ideal, everlasting, all-conquering love or passion

Is firmly convinced that he or she is unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special,  unique, or high-status people (or institutions)

Requires excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation, or failing that, wishes to be feared and notorious (narcissistic supply)

Feels entitled.  Expects unreasonable or special and favorable priority treatment.  Demands automatic and full compliance with his or her expectations

Is “interpersonally exploitative” i.e., uses others to achieve his or her own ends

Is devoid of empathy.  Is unable or unwilling to identify with or acknowledge the feelings and needs of others

Is constantly envious of others or believes that they feel the same about him or her

Is arrogant, has haughty behaviors or attitudes coupled with rage when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted [3]

All these traits were confirmed in Muhammad.  Apart from thinking he was the anointed messenger of God and the Seal of the Prophets (Q.33:40), Muhammad regarded himself as Khayru-l-Khalq (the Best of Creation), an “excellent example” (Q.33:21), and explicitly or implicitly hinted to be “exalted above other prophets in degrees” (Q.2:253). He claimed to be “the preferred one” (Q.17:55), to have been sent as a “Mercy to the worlds” (Q.21:107), to have been risen “to a praised estate” (Q.17:79) – a station which he said none but he would receive – and this is the Station of Intercession at the right hand of the Almighty next to his Glorious Throne.  In other words, he would be the person who would advise God as to who should be sent to Hell and who should be admitted to Heaven.  These are just some of Muhammad’s megalomaniac claims about his own lofty station that are reported in the Qur’an.

The following two verses express vividly Muhammad’s sense of self importance and grandiosity. 

Truly, Allâh and His angels send praise and blessings [forever] upon the Prophet. O you who believe! Praise and bless the Prophet with utmost laud and blessing. (Q.33:56)

In order that you (O men) may believe in Allâh and His Messenger, that you may assist and honor Him, and celebrate His praise morning and evening. (Q.48:9)

Muhammad was so impressed with himself, that he put the following words in the mouth of his sock puppet deity:

“And you (stand) on an exalted standard of character” (Q.68:4) and are “a lamp with spreading light.” (Q.33:46)

Ibn Sa’d reports Muhammad saying:

Among all the people of the world God chose the Arabs.  From among the Arabs he chose the Qinana.  From Qinana he chose the Quraish (the tribe of Muhammad).  From the Quraish he chose Bani Hashim (his clan).  And from Bani Hashim he chose me.[4]

The following are some of the claims Muhammad made about himself in the hadith.  

·          The very first thing that Allâh Almighty ever created was my soul.

·          First of all things, the Lord created my mind.

·          I am from Allâh, and the believers are from me.[5]

·          Just as Allâh created me noble, he also gave me noble character.

·          Were it not for you, [O Muhammad] I would not have created the universe.[6]

Compare that to the words of Jesus, who when someone called him “good master,” objected and said, “Why do you call me good? No one is good—except God alone.”[7] Only a pathological narcissist can be so cut off from reality as to claim the universe was created because of him.   

Narcissists, typically feign humility even when they brag about themselves. Abu Sa`id al-Khudri narrated that the Prophet said: “I am the leader of human beings and I say this without pride.” 

At-Tirmidhi narrated:

“The Prophet said: I heard your words, and everything you said is indeed true, and I myself am the Beloved of Allâh (habibullah) and I say this without pride, and I carry the flag of glory (liwa ul-hamd) on the Day of Judgment, and am the first intercessor and the first whose intercession is accepted, and the first to stir the circles of Paradise so that Allâh will open it for me and I shall enter it together with the poor among my Community, and I say this without pride. I am the most honored of the First and the Last, and I say this without pride.”[8]

A narcissist may seem to be self-confident and even accomplished.  In reality he (pathological narcissists are predominantly male) or she suffers from a great deficit of self-esteem and needs an outside supply of adulation, constantly seeking dmiration.

Dr. Sam Vaknin is the author of Malignant Self-Love.[9] He is regarded as an authority on the subject. He understands and describes the mind of the narcissist like few do. Vaknin explains:

Everyone is a narcissist, to varying degrees. Narcissism is a healthy phenomenon.  It helps survival.  The difference between healthy and pathological narcissism is, indeed, in measure.  Pathological narcissism… is characterized by extreme lack of empathy.  The narcissist regards and treats other people as objects to be exploited.  He uses them to obtain narcissistic supply.  He believes that he is entitled to special treatment because he harbors these grandiose fantasies about himself.  The narcissist is NOT self-aware.  His cognition and emotions are distorted…  The narcissist lies to himself and to others, projecting ‘untouchability,’ emotional immunity and invincibility...  For a narcissist everything is bigger than life.  If he is polite, then he is aggressively so.  His promises are outlandish, his criticism violent and ominous, his generosity inane. …  The narcissist is a master of disguise. He is a charmer, a talented actor, a magician and a director of both himself and his milieu.  It is very difficult to expose him as such in the first encounter. [10]

The Cult of the Narcissist

The narcissist needs admirers.  He draws an imaginary circle around himself, where he is the center.  He gathers his fans and followers in that circle, rewards them and encourages their sycophantism.  Those who fall outside the circle are viewed as his enemies. Vaknin explains:

The narcissist is the guru at the centre of a cult.  Like other gurus, he demands complete obedience from his flock: his spouse, his offspring, other family members, friends, and colleagues.  He feels entitled to adulation and special treatment by his followers.  He punishes the wayward and the straying lambs.  He enforces discipline, adherence to his teachings, and common goals.  The less accomplished he is in reality – the more stringent his mastery and the more pervasive the brainwashing…

The narcissist's control is based on ambiguity, unpredictability, fuzziness, and ambient abuse.[11]  His ever-shifting whims exclusively define right versus wrong, desirable and unwanted, what is to be pursued and what to be avoided.  He alone determines the rights and obligations of his disciples and alters them at will.

The narcissist is a micro-manager.  He exerts control over the minutest details and behaviors.  He punishes severely and abuses withholders of information and those who fail to conform to his wishes and goals.

The narcissist does not respect the boundaries and privacy of his reluctant adherents.  He ignores their wishes and treats them as objects or instruments of gratification.  He seeks to control both situations and people compulsively.

He strongly disapproves of others' personal autonomy and independence. Even innocuous activities, such as meeting a friend or visiting one's family require his permission.  Gradually, he isolates his nearest and dearest until they are fully dependent on him emotionally, sexually, financially, and socially.

He acts in a patronising and condescending manner and criticizes often.  He alternates between emphasizing the minutest faults (devalues) and exaggerating the talents, traits, and skills (idealizes) of the members of his cult.  He is wildly unrealistic in his expectations, which legitimizes his subsequent abusive conduct…[12]

Muhammad invented a big lie that his adherents believe to be the absolute truth.  The danger is that they, like the believers of Hitler’s lies, are willing participants. 

In the previous chapter, where we read the introduction to Muhammad, we saw how he separated his followers from their families and the level of control he exerted over their private lives.  Sadly the situation has not changed much after 1,400 years.  I have received many heartbreaking stories from parents who told me their daughter or son converted to Islam and is now surrounded by Muslims who have persuaded them not to visit their parents.

The Cause of the Narcissist

The Narcissist knows that direct self-promotion will be seen as repulsive and will be rejected.  Instead, he presents himself as a modest, almost self-effacing person, one in the service of God, nation of humanity, whatever the case may be.  Behind this facade is however, a clear stratagem.  The narcissist “bestows” on his followers a cause, one so great, so august they cannot do without it.  He is a revolutionary leader, promoting change and giving hope. Through hype and manipulation, this cause becomes more important than the lives of the people who would be believers.  So brainwashed do they become, they are willing to die, and, of course, to kill for it.  The narcissist encourages sacrifice – the more, the better.  Then he presents himself as the axis of that cause.  The cause revolves around him.  It’s he alone who can make it happen and lead the followers to that Promised Land.  This colossal cause cannot exist without him. He therefore becomes the most important person in the world - the only person who holds the key to their salvation and glory.  

That is how the narcissist cult leader manipulates his followers.  The cause is a means to their personal end.  It could be anything.  For Jim Jones, the man who led over 900 people to their mass suicide in Guyana, “social justice” was the cause, and he was the messiah of that cause. 

Hitler chose Aryanism as his cause.  He did not openly glorify himself, but rather the cause, and the superiority of Germany.  He, of course, was the indispensable inspirer and fuehrer of that cause.

For Stalin the cause was communism.  Anyone who disagreed with him was against the proletariat and had to be killed.

Muhammad did not ask his followers to worship him.  In fact he claimed to be “only a messenger.”  Instead he demanded obedience by adroitly calling his followers to obey “Allâh and his messenger.”  In one Qur’anic verse, he puts the following words into the mouth of his Allâh:

They ask you about the windfall (spoils of war).  Say: The windfalls are for Allâh and the Messenger.  So be careful of (your duty to) Allâh and set aright matters of your difference, and obey Allâh and His Messenger if you are believers. (Q.8:1)

Since Allâh had no use for things stolen from a bunch of Arabs, all those spoils automatically had to go to his proxy, i.e. Muhammad.  Since no one could see or hear Allâh, all the obedience was to Muhammad.  It was he who had to be feared because he was the only intermediary of this most fearsome god.  Allâh was necessary for Muhammad to dominate.  Without the belief in Allâh, would his followers have sacrificed their lives, killed people, including their own relatives, looted their belongings and handed everything over to him?  This imaginary Allâh was his tool of domination.  Allâh was Muhammad’s alter ego.  Ironically Muhammad preached against associating partners with God, when, in fact, himself as the partner Allâh in a manner which made them logically and practically inseparable.

Narcissists need a cause to harness their followers.  The Germans did not start the war for Hitler’s sake.  They did it for the cause that he sold them.

Dr. Sam Vaknin writes: “Narcissists use anything they can lay their hands on in the pursuit of narcissistic supply.  If God, creed, church, faith, and institutionalized religion can provide them with narcissistic supply, they will become devout.  They will abandon religion if it can't.”[13]

Islam was an instrument of domination.  After Muhammad, others used it for the very same purpose.  Muslims become like putty in the hands of those leaders who invoke Islam.

Mirza Malkam Khan (1831-1908), an Armenian who became Muslim and together with Jamaleddin Afghani launched the “Islamic Renaissance” (An-Nahda), had a slogan of unrivaled cynicism: “Tell the Muslims something is in the Qur’an, and they will die for you.”[14]

The Legacy of the Narcissist

On his deathbed, Muhammad urged his followers to push on and continue their jihad. Genghis Khan gave a similar command to his sons on his deathbed.  He told them he desired to conquer the world, but since he could no longer do it, they should fulfill his dream.  The Mongols, like Muslims, were terrorizors.  For the narcissist, all that matters is to win.  They have no conscience.  For them, lives of others are cheap.

At the age of 51, Hitler became aware of a tremor in his left hand.  He usually hid it and as the disease advanced, he stayed away from the public.  He realized his death was approaching.  He became more resolute, launching his attacks with a renewed sense of urgency, knowing he was in a race against time.  The narcissist wants to leave a legacy.

It is a mistake to think of Islam as just a religion.  The mystical aspect of Islam was created later by Muslim scholars and philosophers and who gave esoteric interpretations to Muhammad’s asinine words.  His followers molded the religion according to their penchant, and with the passage of time, those interpretations inherited the seal of antiquity and thus credibility.

If Islam is a religion, then so were Nazism, communism, Satanism, Heaven’s Gate, People’s Temple, Branch Davidian, etc.  If we think of religion as a philosophy of life to educate, to bring forth human potential, to elevate the soul, to stimulate spirituality, to unite hearts and to enlighten mankind, then Islam surely fails that litmus test completely. Therefore, by this measure, Islam should not and cannot be regarded as a religion.        

Narcissist wants to be God

For the narcissist, what ultimately matters is power.  He wants to be respected, noted, and not neglected.  Narcissists are lonely and insecure By projecting themselves as revolutionary leaders, harbingers of hope and ambassadors of great causes, they hope to attract votaries.  The cause is a pretext. Narcissists invent fictitious gods and spurious causes. The more they elevate their false deities and glorify their causes the more power they can garner for themselves.

Allâh was for Muhammad a convenient tool. Through him he could wield unlimited authority over his followers and became the master of their lives.  There was only one God, fearsome as well as generous and forgiving, and he, Muhammad, was his one and only representative.  This made him God by proxy.   Though obedience was supposed to flow from Allâh down to him, in actuality it was always Muhammad and his every whim that they were expected to satisfy. Vaknin explains this dynamism in his article “For the Love of God – Narcissists and Religion”[15]

God is everything the narcissist ever wants to be: omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, admired, much discussed, and awe-inspiring. God is the narcissist's wet dream, his ultimate grandiose fantasy. But God comes handy in other ways as well. The narcissist alternately idealizes and devalues figures of authority.

In the idealization phase, he strives to emulate them, he admires them, imitates them (often ludicrously), and defends them. They cannot go wrong, or be wrong. The narcissist regards them as bigger than life, infallible, perfect, whole, and brilliant. But as the narcissist's unrealistic and inflated expectations are inevitably frustrated, he begins to devalue his former idols.

Now they are "human" (to the narcissist, a derogatory term). They are small, fragile, error-prone, pusillanimous, mean, dumb, and mediocre. The narcissist goes through the same cycle in his relationship with God, the quintessential authority figure.

But often, even when disillusionment and iconoclastic despair have set in - the narcissist continues to pretend to love God and follow Him.  The narcissist maintains this deception because his continued proximity to God confers on him authority.  Priests, leaders of the congregation, preachers, evangelists, cultists, politicians, intellectuals - all derive authority from their allegedly privileged relationship with God.

Religious authority allows the narcissist to indulge his sadistic urges and to exercise his misogyny freely and openly.  …The narcissist whose source of authority is religious is looking for obedient and unquestioning slaves upon whom to exercise his capricious and wicked mastery.  The narcissist transforms even the most innocuous and pure religious sentiments into a cultish ritual and a virulent hierarchy.  He preys on the gullible.  His flock becomes his hostages.

Religious authority also secures the narcissist's Narcissistic Supply.  His coreligionists, members of his congregation, his parish, his constituency, his audience - are transformed into loyal and stable Sources of Narcissistic Supply.  They obey his commands, heed his admonitions, follow his creed, admire his personality, applaud his personal traits, satisfy his needs (sometimes even his carnal desires), revere and idolize him.

Moreover, being a part of a "bigger thing" is very gratifying narcissistically. Being a particle of God, being immersed in His grandeur, experiencing His power and blessings first hand, communing with him - are all Sources of unending Narcissistic Supply.  The narcissist becomes God by observing His commandments, following His instructions, loving Him, obeying Him, succumbing to Him, merging with Him, communicating with Him - or even by defying him (the bigger the narcissist's enemy - the more grandiosely important the narcissist feels).

Like everything else in the narcissist's life, he mutates God into a kind of inverted narcissist.  God becomes his dominant Source of Supply.  He forms a personal relationship with this overwhelming and overpowering entity - in order to overwhelm and overpower others.  He becomes God vicariously, by the proxy of his relationship with Him.  He idealizes God, then devalues Him, then abuses Him.  This is the classic narcissistic pattern and even God himself cannot escape it.[16]

Narcissists do not directly promote themselves.  They hide behind the veneer of modesty, while they elevate their god, ideology, cause or religion, which in reality is their own alter ego.  They may present themselves as mere messengers, simple, humble, self-effacing heralds of this or that mighty and all-powerful deity, or all-encompassing cause, but they make it clear that they are the only ones who know the cause and are extremely intolerant and unforgiving of dissenters and recalcitrants.

Narcissists are ruthless, but not stupid.  They are very much aware of the hurt they cause.  They enjoy the sensation of power they get from hurting others.  They enjoy being gods – deciding whom to reward and whom to punish – who should live and who should die.  Pathological narcissism explains everything that Muhammad was – his ruthlessness, his outlandish claims of grandiosity, his acts of generosity devised to impress those who submitted to him and to establish his superiority, and his self-assurance, as well as his manic and charismatic personality.

What Causes Narcissism?

A child who feels inferior, due to real or perceived social rejection, will try to compensate his feeling of inferiority by a subconscious neurotic mechanism, which the pioneering psychiatrist Alfred Adler coined "Superiority Complex.” This involves exaggerating one’s own achievements and putting down anyone the narcissist perceives as a threat.

Faulty parenting is the major contributing cause of narcissistic personality disorder.  For example, permissive parents who give excessive praise, overindulge, spoil, fail to impose adequate discipline, and idealize the child are just as abusive to the child’s character formation as those who beat them, ignore them or commit incest. As a result, the child feels unprepared for adulthood. He grows up with an unrealistic view of life.  Conversely, a child who does not receive enough support and encouragement may also develop a narcissistic personality. 

We know that Muhammad was given away in infancy to be raised by a stranger.  Did his mother lack interest in him?  Why did he not pray at her grave even when he was over sixty years old?  Was he still resentful toward her?

Halima did not want to take baby Muhammad because he was an orphan of a poor widow and the pay was not great.  Did this affect the way she or her family treated him?  Children can be cruel.  Being an orphan in those days was a stigma, as it still is in many Islamic countries.  Muhammad’s childhood condition was not conducive to building a healthy self esteem. 

Jon Mardi Horowitz, the author of Stress Response Syndromes, explains: “When the habitual narcissistic gratifications that come from being adored, given special treatment, and admiring the self are threatened, the results may be depression, hypochondria, anxiety, shame, self destructiveness, or rage directed toward any other person who can be blamed for the troubled situation.  The child can learn to avoid these painful emotional states by acquiring a narcissistic mode of information processing.”[17]

Muhammad, indeed, had a difficult childhood.  In Sura 93 verses 3-8 (quoted at the beginning of chapter one of this book) he tenderly calls to mind his lonesome orphanhood and reassures himself that Allâh will be kind to him and will not forsake him.  This shows how much the memory of his lonesome childhood pained him.  The fact that he created an imaginary world to escape from reality, so vivid that it scared his foster parents, is another clue that his early childhood was anything but pleasant. Muhammad may not have remembered the details of what happened during his first years of life, but obviously he bore the psychological scars for the rest of his life.  To him, the imaginary world he created was real. It was a safe refuge, a pleasant place to retreat and escape from reality.  In this imaginary world, he could be loved, respected, admired, powerful, important, and even feared.  He could be anything he wanted to be and compensate for the lack of attention he was getting from the world outside.

According to Vaknin, “the true cause of Narcissism is not fully understood but it does start in early childhood (before the age of five).  It is believed it is caused by serious and repetitive failures on the part of the child's Primary Object (parents or other caregiver).  Adult Narcissists often come from homes where one or both parents severely neglected (ignored) or abused the child… ALL children (healthy and otherwise) when they are not allowed to do something by their parents will sometimes enter into a narcissistic state where they see themselves and act as if they are all powerful.  This is healthy and natural as it gives the child the confidence needed to rebound from the parental rejection with self-confidence.”[18]

Neglected children internalize a feeling of inadequacy.  They come to believe they are undeserving of love and attention.  In reaction to that, they tend to defend their egos by puffing themselves up.  They see their own weakness and they feel that if others come to see it, they will not be loved, admired and respected.  So they lie and invent fantastic stories bragging about their self-importance.  Their imaginary power often originates from an external source. It could be their daddy or a strong friend.  This kind of narcissism in children is normal, but if they retain these thoughts into adulthood, it develops into narcissistic personality disorder.  Muhammad was used to having imaginary friend. Later in life he replace them with Allâh, the most powerful of all gods. By associating himself with Allâh and presenting himself as his sole intermediary, he incarnated all of God’s power.

After the death of his mother, when Muhammad was six years old, he went under the tutelage of his aging grandfather, who spoiled him.  As various ahadith show, Abdul Muttalib was too permissive. He overindulged his orphaned grandchild. He would let Muhammad sit on his mat while his sons sat reverentially around them.

 Muhammad’s claim that Abdul Muttalib had foreseen his greatness is obviously his wishful thinking and a figment of his imagination. It is a lie that he may have concocted and possibly believed. In one place he recounted that when his uncles whated to remove him from the mat Abdul Muttalib told them, “Let him alone for he has a great destiny, and will be the inheritor of a kingdom”[19] In another place he bragged to hear the old patriarch telling his nurse, “Beware lest you let him fall into the hands of the Jews and Christians, for they are looking out for him, and would injure him!”[20] These are typical fantasies of narcissists, who think of themselves as so important they believe everyone is after them to harm them out of jealousy. Nonetheless, it is clear that Abdul Mutalib made Muhammad feel special.  He pampered and loved his orphaned grandchild.  The old man spoiled him out of pity.  However, Muhammad interpreted that extra attention as the confirmation of his grandeur.  The image he cast about himself in his fantasy world during his childhood was thus bolstered by his grandfather’s overindulgence of him.  He was reconfirmed as unique, special, and exceptional.

After the death of Abdul Muttalib, his kind-hearted uncle, Abu Talib, also treated him differently from other children.  His status as an orphan, with no siblings, evoked compassion. Both his grandfather and uncle overindulged failed to impose adequate discipline on him.  All these extremes contributed to him developing a narcissistic personality.  Psychologists J. D. Levine and Rona H. Weiss write:

Just as we know, from the point of view of the physiologist, that a child needs to be given certain foods, that he needs to be protected against extreme temperatures, and that the atmosphere he breathes has to contain sufficient oxygen, if his body is to become strong and resilient, so do we also know, from the point of view of the depth-psychologist, that he requires an empathic environment, specifically, an environment that responds (a) to his need to have his presence confirmed by the glow of parental pleasure and (b) to his need to merge into the reassuring calmness of the powerful adult, if he is to acquire a firm and resilient self. [21]

Muhammad experienced neglect and abandonment during early  years of his life, and permissiveness after that.  His circumstances were therefore ripe and conducive for him to become a narcissist. 

There is no record that Muhammad ever spoke of his mother. He visited her tomb after he conquered Mecca, but he refused to pray for her.  What was the point of that visit?  Perhaps this was his vindication, a way to prove to her that despite her, he had made it.  On the other hand, he remembered his grandfather, who had showered him with love and provided for him plenty of narcissistic gratifications, fondly.

Psychologists tell us that the first five years of a child’s life are the years that either make him or break him.  Muhammad’s emotional needs during the first five years of his life were not met.  He carried the painful memories of those lonesome years of abandonment and neglect into his adulthood and old age.  He grew up insecure and had a fluctuating sense of self-worth, a weakness he tried to hide with overwhelming haughtiness by growing a sense of entitlement, grandiosity, and an illusion of superiority.

Muhammad positioned himself as the only partner of God and to make sure that no one would ever usurp his position, he claimed to be the last messenger.  His power thus was absolute and everlasting. 

Khadijah’s Influence on Muhammad 

Khadijah’s role in Islam has not yet been fully appreciated.  Her influence on Muhammad cannot be overemphasized.  Khadijah should be regarded as Muhammad’s partner in giving birth to Islam.  Without her, perhaps, Islam would not exist.

We know that Khadijah adored her young husband.  There is no report that Muhammad ever worked after marrying Khadijah.  After the marriage, Khadijah’s business seems to have gone down the tubes. By her death, the family had become empoverished.

Dejected by the world, he spent most of his time recluse retreating to his pleasant imaginary world of contemplation. 

In vaknin’s words, "To avoid such intolerable pain, some patients with Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) socially withdraw and feign false modesty and humility to mask their underlying grandiosity. Dysthymic and depressive disorders are common reactions to isolation and feelings of shame and inadequacy."[22]

At times Muhammad would take food for several days, returning only when it was finished to procure more provisions and go back to his cave.

Khadijah remained at home. Not only she took care of her nine children, but also of her husband who acted like an irresponsible child. She did not seem to complain. She was happy to sacrifice.  Why?

That is an important question.  This suggests that Khadijah may have had her own personality disorder.  She was what we today would call a codependent or a reversed narcissist. This crucial piece of puzzle will help us understand why she stood by her husband and when he told her of his bizarre hallucination, instead of calling an exorcist she encouraged him to launch his prophetic career.

The National Mental Health Association (NMHA) defines codependency as “A learned behavior that can be passed down from one generation to another.  It is an emotional and behavioral condition that affects an individual’s ability to have a healthy, mutually satisfying relationship.  It is also known as ‘relationship addiction’ because people with codependency often form or maintain relationships that are one-sided, emotionally destructive and/or abusive.  The disorder was first identified about ten years ago as the result of years of studying interpersonal relationships in families of alcoholics.  Codependent behavior is learned by watching and imitating other family members who display this type of behavior.”[23]

Khadijah was a dainty accomplished woman.  She was the favorite daughter of her father Khuwaylid.  In fact Khuwaylid relied on her, more than he did on his sons.  She was a “daddy’s girl.”  She had rejected the hands of the powerful men of Mecca.  But when she saw the youthful but dispossessed and needy Muhammad, she fell in love with him on the spot and sent a maid to him to propose marriage. 

On the surface it seems that Muhammad had such a magnetic personality that he mesmerized this powerful woman.  This, however, is a superficial understanding of a complex dynamism.

Tabari writes: “Khadijah sent a message to Muhammad inviting him to take her.  She called her father to her house, plied him with wine until he was drunk, anointed him with perfume, clothed him in a striped robe and slaughtered a cow.  Then she sent for Muhammad and his uncles. When they came in, her father married him to her.  When he recovered from his intoxication, he said, ‘What is this meat, this perfume, and this garment?’ She replied, ‘You have married me to Muhammad bin Abdullah.’ ‘I have not done so,’ he said. ‘Would I do this when the greatest men of Mecca have asked for you and I have not agreed, why would I give you to a bum?’”[24]

The party of Muhammad replied indignantly that the alliance had been arranged by his own daughter.  The old man drew his sword in anger and the relatives of Muhammad drew theirs.  Blood was about to be shed when Khadijah intervened and made her love for Muhammad known and confessed to having masterminded the whole proceeding.  Khuwaylid was then pacified, resigned to the fait accompli and reconciliation ensued.

How can one explain a seemingly levelheaded and successful woman suddenly falling in love with an indigent youth 15 years her junior?  This erratic behavior belies a certain personality disorder in Khadijah.

Evidence suggests that Khadijah’s father was an alcoholic.  Khadijah must have known her father’s weakness for alcohol to devise such an audacious plan. Non-alcoholic people often drink in moderation and hardly alone. Khuwaylid became drunk before the arrival of the guests. He was not just a social drinker but an alcoholic. 

Now, why this should matter at all?  Because it is another piece of puzzle in support of the theory that Khadijah was a codependent.  Children of alcoholics often develop co-dependency.

Khadijah’s father was overly protective of her and had high expectations for her.  From his reaction to the marriage of his 40-year-old daughter to an ordinary man and his words saying “the greatest men of Mecca have asked for you and I have not agreed,” it is clear that Khadijah was the apple of his eye.  Khuwaylid had other children too, including a few sons, but it is clear that this daughter was his pride and joy.  She was his only accomplished offspring.

Children who are adored and placed on a pedestal by their needy parents grow in their shadow.  They often develop codependency personality disorder.  They become obsessed with their father (or mother) and see their function as making their parents look good in the eyes of the outsiders.  They are expected to be the “wunderkin.” and they strive to live upto that expectation and not disappoint their parents.  

Under the constant demand for better performance, the child becomes unable to develop her own independent personality.  She seeks her fulfillment in satisfying the needs of her perfectionist and narcissistic parent.  She does not feel loved for WHO she is, but rather for HOW she performs.  The alcoholic parent unloads his own emotional baggage on his children, especially on the one with more potential.  He expects her to excel in everything and to make up for his own failures.

Codependents cannot find fulfillment and happiness in normal and emotionally healthy relationships that can happen only among equals. Only in the capacity of caregivers and pleasers can codependents find their happiness. The “perfect” match for the codependent is a needy narcissist.

Khadijah rejected her successful and mature suitors, falling in love with a poor young man who was both emotionally and financially needy. Codependents confuse love and pity.  They have the tendency to “love” people they should pity and rescue.

Vaknin uses the term  “inverted narcissism” instead of codependency.  Here is what he says about the co-dependent-narcissist relationship: “The inverted narcissist can only truly FEEL anything when he is in relationship with another narcissist.  The inverted narcissist is conditioned and programmed from the very beginning to be the perfect companion to the narcissist - to feed their Ego, to be purely their extension, to seek only praise and adulation if it brings greater praise and adulation to the narcissist.”[25]

This explains why a successful and beautiful woman like Khadijah would become interested in a needy man like Muhammad.  Although inverted narcissists tend to be successful in their businesses, their relationships are often unhealthy. Vaknin further explains: “In a primary relationship, the inverted narcissist attempts to re-create the parent-child relationship.  The invert thrives on mirroring to the narcissist his own grandiosity and in so doing the invert obtains his OWN Narcissistic Supply (the dependence of the narcissist upon the invert for their Secondary Narcissistic Supply).  The invert must have this form of relationship with a narcissist in order to feel complete and whole.  The invert will go as far as he needs to ensure that the narcissist is happy, cared for, properly adored, as he feels is the narcissist's right.  The invert glorifies his narcissist, places him on a pedestal, endures any and all narcissistic devaluation with calm equanimity, impervious to the overt slights of the narcissist.[26]

It seems that the marriage of Muhammad and Khadijah was made in heaven (no pun intended). Muhammad was a narcissist who craved constant praise, attention and adulation.  He was poor and emotionally needy.  He was an adult, but his inner child was still yearning for attention.  He was in need of someone to take care of him and provide for him, someone to exploit and abuse, the way an infant exploits and abuses his mother.

The relationship between a mother and her infant is narcissistic-codependent relationship. A mother is emotionally codependent on her child. She endures all his abuses joyfully. This is healthy. But it is not healthy when this dynamism exists between two adults.

The emotional maturity of the narcissist is frozen in childhood.  His infantile needs have never been satisfied.  He is constantly trying to satisfy those childish needs.  All babies are narcissists and that is a necessary part of their growth.  But if their narcissistic needs are not satisfied in childhood, their emotional maturity will freeze at that stage.  They seek the attention they missed during their childhood in their relationships with their mates and others, including their children.

Muhammad’s craving for love was expressed by him on many occasions.  Ibn Sa'd quotes him saying, the families of Quraish are all related to me and even if they do not love me for the message I am bringing them, they should love me because of my kinship to them.[27]  In the Qur’an Muhammad says: “No reward do I ask of you for this except the love of those near of kin.”[28]  These words are indeed desperate cries of one craving love and attention. 

Khadijah, on the other hand, was an inverted narcissist who needed someone to fulfill her own fantasies as a caregiver.  Not only does the codependent not mind being taken advantage of, she actually enjoys it.

Vaknin writes: “The inverted narcissist feeds on the primary narcissist and this is his narcissistic supply.  So these two typologies can, in essence become a self-supporting, symbiotic system.  In reality though, both the narcissist and the inverted narcissist need to be well aware of the dynamics of this relationship in order to make this work as a successful long-term arrangement.”[29]

Psychologist Dr. Florence W. Kaslow, explaining this symbiosis says that both parties have personality disorders (PDs) – but on opposite ends of the spectrum.  “They seem to have a fatal attraction for each other in that their personality patterns are complementary and reciprocal – which is one reason why, if they get divorced, they are likely to be attracted over and over to someone similar to their former partner.”[30]

The symbiotic relationship between the narcissist Muhammad and the inverted narcissist Khadijah worked to perfection.  Muhammad no longer needed to be preoccupied with work or money. He spent his days wandering in the caves and wilderness of his fertile fantasies, the delightful and affable realm where he was loved, admired, respected and feared.  Khadijah became so engulfed in this self-absorbed narcissist and in attending to his needs that she neglected her commerce.  Her thriving business dwindled and her wealth evaporated.  She must have been around fifty years old when her youngest child was born.  She stayed home while her husband was away most of the time, a recluse in his mental and physical caves.

According to Vaknin, “the inverted narcissist is extinguishingly selfless, sacrificial, even unctuous in his interpersonal relationships and will avoid the assistance of others at all costs.  He can only interact with others when he can be seen to be giving, supportive, and expending an unusual effort to assist.”[31]

He also defines codependents as “people who depend on other people for their emotional gratification and the performance of Ego or daily functions.”  He says “they are needy, demanding, submissive.  They fear abandonment, cling and display immature behaviours in their effort to maintain the ‘relationship’ with their companion or mate upon whom they depend.”[32]

Melody Beattie, the author of Codependent No More explains that codependents unconsciously pick troubled partners in order to have purpose, be needed and feel fulfilled.

Any sensible person would have interpreted Muhammad’s bizarre experience as psychosis or “demon possession,” as they used to call it in those days.  Even Muhammad himself thought he had become a kahin (sorcerer) or demon-possessed.  As we read in the Qur’an, the reasonable people of Mecca thought Muhammad had become a majnoon, which literally means possessed by jinns and is understood as insane.  But such a thought was too much to bear for Khadijah, who sought her fulfillment and happiness in fulfilling the needs of her husband.  She had to cling to her narcissist at any cost.  As a codependent, Khadijah felt the urge to step in, be helpful, give advice and salvage her own source of narcissistic supply.

The narcissist often demands sacrifices from people around him and expects them to become his codependents.  They also live above the moral code.  They feel too important to abide by any morality or rule.

John de Ruiter is a self-proclaimed messiah from Alberta, Canada. His followers worship him like God.  “One day we were sitting around the kitchen smoking cigarettes,” said Joyce, de Ruiter's estranged wife of 18 years, in an interview.  “He was talking about my 'death.'  He acknowledged that I had gone through a lot of dying, which was a good thing.  I had let go of ninety-five percent of the life that I had to let go of. But he said I wasn't letting myself go completely.  He suggested that my ultimate death would be if he took on two more wives.”  Joyce said she thought he was joking.  He wasn't.  He brought up the matter a second time, and asked Joyce if she thought his three wives could live in the same house.[33]

Fortunately Joyce was not codependent enough to agree to this much humiliation, and left her degenerate narcissist husband. A true codependent would do anything to appease her narcissist.  The relationship of a codependent and her narcissist is that of sadomasochism.

Unfortunately for mankind, Khadijah was a real codependent, who was willing to sacrifice everything for her adored narcissist.  It was she who encouraged Muhammad to pursue his prophetic ambitions and spurred him in that direction.  When Muhammad no longer had epileptic seizures or saw any angels, Khadijah was disappointed.  Ibn Ishaq writes: “After this, Gabriel did not come to him for a while and Khadijah said, ‘I think that your Lord must hate you.’”[34]  This demonstrates how eager she was for her narcissist to become a prophet. 

Why did Muhammad not take other wives when Khadijah was still alive?  Because he was living off her money and in her house. Furthermore, the majority of the people of Mecca derided him.  He was called a lunatic.  No one would have married him even if he had had money of his own and Khadijah had not been an issue.  In Mecca, his followers were a handful of teenagers and slaves with only a few women among them – and none was eligible for him to marry.  Had Khadijah survived to see Muhammad's rise to power, she probably would have had to put up with her husband’s vagaries and the humiliation of sharing him with younger and prettier women.   

After the death of Khadijah, Muhammad never found another codependent to take care of his emotional needs like she had.  Instead, he sought fulfillment by becoming a sexual butterfly.  Only a month after his wife’s death, Muhammad convinced his loyal friend and follower, Abu Bakr, to betroth to him his six-year-old daughter, Aisha.  Abu Bakr was shocked.  He tried to dissuade him, saying, “But we are brothers.” Muhammad reassured him they were only brothers in faith and that his marriage to that little child was not haram.[35]  

He further told him that she had been shown to him twice in dreams in which he saw an angel carrying the little Aisha in a silken piece of cloth.  “I said (to myself), ‘If this is from Allâh, then it must happen.’”[36]  Now Abu Bakr was left with the options: Leaving Muhammad, for whom he had made so many sacrifices, denouncing him, calling him a liar and going back to his people, acknowledging he had been a fool; or doing whatever Muhammad asked of him. This is often the difficult choice cultists must make. Abu Bakr even built a mosque in the backyard of his house for Muslims to pray. He would often cry when reciting Muhammad’s allegedly revealed verses. Denoucing him at this stage, was not easy.  Cultitsts are trapped. They have often sacrificed so much for the cult that going back is more painful than submitting.

 Bob Larson writes: “Cult leaders know that once an initiate has been reconditioned to accept their particular worldview and as soon as he feels a sense of meaningful belonging, his mind will be ready to accept any teaching, including a belief that the leader represents God.”[37]

Abu Bakr pleaded with Muhammad to wait three more years before consummating the marriage. Muhammad agreed, but meanwhile, he married Sauda, the widowed wife of one of his followers, a few days later.  

Muhammad created a harem with more than a score of women.  He tried to compensate the loss of his sugar mommy with an abundance of younger women.  He kept adding to the collection of his wives and concubines but none could meet his childish needs the way Khadijah had. He needed a mother to take care of his inner child, something his teenage wives could hardly do for a man who could be their grandfather.

Muhammad’s Belief in His Own Cause

From his early youth, Muhammad attended the annual fair in Okaz, where people from everywhere met for commerce and fun.  There, Christian preachers read stories of Biblical prophets to their captivated audiences.  Muhammad was fascinated by those stories.  Being loved and respected were the only thoughts that had occupied his young mind.  “How great it would be to be a prophet, to be loved and feared by everyone,” he must have thought while listening to those stories.  Now, his wife was reassuring him he had become a prophet and that his fantasy had become a reality.  It seemed that God had finally looked upon him mercifully, had chosen him from amongst all the people and had raised him to invite people to submit. 

Muhammad’s thoughts were grand.  In fact it was these grandiose ideas and his unwavering faith in unlimited success that kindled his followers to rise and to champion his cause, to assassinate, loot and kill, even their own fathers, for his cause.  Thanks to these grandiose ideas, he always felt entitled to having special privileges.

Muhammad was extremely manipulative and exploitative.  He built his empire without ever having to fight a single battle personally.  By promising otherworldly rewards and a paradise of infinite orgies, he managed to make his followers wage wars for him, spend their wealth for his cause, sacrifice their lives, loot to make him rich and catapult him to the acme of power.

Narcissists are masters of lies. They themselves are, inevitably, the first victims of their own deception.  They unconsciously deny their intolerably poor self-images by inflating their egos with grandiosity. They turn themselves into glittering images of immense grandeur surrounded by walls of denial.  The goal of this self-deception is to be impervious to external criticism and to their roiling sea of doubts. Narcissists are pathological liars, while they genuinely believe in their own lies, and are extremely offended if contradicted.

Vaknin says, “The narcissist is ever in the pursuit of excitement and drama intended to alleviate his all-pervasive boredom and melancholy. Needless to say, both the pursuit itself and its goals must conform to the grandiose vision that the narcissist has of his (False) Self.  They must be commensurate with his vision of his uniqueness and entitlement.”[38]

This explains Muhammad’s constant warfare.  The drama, the rush of adrenaline and excitement were his narcissistic supplies.  However, the narcissist is the first to believe in his own malarkey.

Dr. Vaknin explains: “Granted, the narcissist's hold on reality is tenuous (narcissists sometimes fail the reality test).  Admittedly, narcissists often seem to believe in their own confabulations.  They are unaware of the pathological nature and origin of their self-delusions and are, thus, technically delusional (though they rarely suffer from hallucinations, disorganized speech, or disorganized or catatonic behaviour).  In the strictest sense of the word, narcissists appear to be psychotic.”[39]

Vaknin says however, that narcissists, while masters of self-deception or even malignant con-artistry, “are usually fully aware of the difference between true and false, real and make-believe, the invented and the extant, right and wrong.  The narcissist consciously chooses to adopt one version of the events, an aggrandizing narrative, a fairy-tale existence, a ‘what-if’ counterfactual life.  He is emotionally invested in his personal myth.  The narcissist feels better as fiction than as fact – but he never loses sight of the fact that it is all just fiction.  The narcissist is in full control of his faculties, cognizant of his choices, and goal-oriented. His behavior is intentional and directional.  He is a manipulator, and his delusions are in the service of his stratagems.  Hence his chameleon-like ability to change guises, his conduct, and his convictions on a dime…The narcissist attempts to condition his nearest and dearest to positively reinforce his delusional False Self.”[40]  In the case of Muhammad, that role was played by Khadijah.

This is somewhat difficult to understand.  On the one hand, Vaknin says the narcissist never loses sight of the fact that it is all his fiction, and on the other hand he says that the narcissist’s hold on reality is tenuous and that often he believes in his confabulations.  Although this presents a logical dilemma for normal people, it is no problem for the narcissist who lies and then goes on to convince himself of those lies as if they were absolute truth, and will also change his story whenever it suits him.

We tend to believe that either a person is insane or he is a liar and that the two are mutually exclusive.  This is not true.  Often criminals plead insanity to escape punishment. Society, including mental health professionals, fall for this fraud.  This stupidity has reached the absurd.  James Pacenza, a 58-year-old man who was fired for spending his time visiting adult internet chatrooms at work, sued his employer (IBM) for wrongful dismissal, claiming that he was addicted to online chat rooms and IBM should have offered him sympathy and treatment instead of firing him.  He was awarded $5,000,000 compensation.[41]

The truth is that narcissists are fully aware of their actions.  New York serial killer David Berkowitz, who called himself “Son of Sam,” escaped capital punishment because his crimes were so senseless that everyone thought by reason of insanity he was not responsible for his actions.  Actually he knew what he was doing was wrong.  As a narcissist he craved attention and left clues to be found. The exhilaration of reclaiming all the celebrity that surrounded the case was more impelling to him than his freedom.  He simply could not pass on basking in the glory of fame.  What Berkowitz did was consistent with narcissistic personality disorder.  When he was caught and locked in prison, he decided to become a born-again Christian.  Why did he not do this before?  Did he undergo a mental surgery in prison?  No!  He simply decided to change tactics to gain the attention that he so intensely craved.  In prison, the only way to do that was to feign becoming a holy man. The narcissist is a chameleon.  He carefully monitors others to see what elicits more attention and then acts accordingly.  

Narcissists are aware of their actions.  They know the difference between right and wrong.  They seek attention and wil do anything to get it. If they can get it by becoming serial killers, they become serial killers; and if they can get it by becoming religious, that is what they become. 

To a great extent, we can compare a serial killer to a smoker.  Both of them know that what they do is wrong.  Yet their urges are stronger than their willpower and they give in to their urges.  A smoker kills himself slowly, one cigarette at a time, and the serial killer kills others. Why does a smoker not stop when he knows that nicotine kills him?  It is because he is addicted to it.  Likewise, narcissist psychopaths are addicted to the adrenaline rush and the excitement of playing God.  The urge to receive attention is so strong they willingly risk their freedom and lives for it.

Narcissists are aware of their own evil action and they do is wrong is that they do not like to be on the receiving end of it.  Muhammad raided villages; and after massacring unarmed civilians, he looted their belongings.  Yet, he tortured to death those who killed one of his shepherds and stole his stolen camels. He raped women captured in his raids, even if they were married; yet he was intolerant of anyone looking at his own wives and he ordered them to cover themselves. He prohibited killing and stealing, but he justified his own killing and robbing.  As a narcissist, he believed to be entitled to special rights and at liberty to do anything his whims dictated.  Muhammad was both insane and a liar.  This is possible only if you are a psychopathic narcissist.

Did the Meccans call Muhammad Honest?  

Muslims claim that Muhammad was known to be an honest man as the Meccans called him Amin (trustee). This is simply not true. Amin was the title of those who sold and bought merchandise on behalf of others.  One is called school trustee, or city trustee because of his profession.  The title "Amin" is a label for every sort of profession.  Here are some examples: Amin El-Makataba (Trustee of the library); Amin El-Shortaa (Police Trustee); and Majlass El-Omnaa (Counsil of Trustees.)

In fact, Abul Aas, husband of Zeinab and son-in-law of Muhammad was also called Amin because of his profession.  He did not accept Islam until he was forced to, because Muhammad ordered Zeinab to leave him unless he converted.  

Muhammad acted as the trustee of Khadijah once, when he took her merchandise to Damascus and sold it on her behalf. Had the Meccans believed Muhammad to be trustworthy they would not have derided him when he told them that he had received a message from God.  According to Muhammad’s own admission made in the Quran, those who knew him best called him a liar and a madman, (Q.15:6) a charge that he tried to deny by making his Allâh testify: “Therefore continue to remind, for by the grace of your Lord, you are not a soothsayer, or a madman.” (Q.52:29)

More on the Policy of Divide and Rule

As stated in the previous chapter, Muhammad severed his followers’ ties to their families in order to secure his absolute dominance over them.  He ordered his Meccan followers, who had immigrated to Medina, not to contact their relatives back home.  Despite his warnings, some of them did, probably because they needed money for their sustenance.  To stop this, he dictated the following verse from his Allâh.[42]

O you who believe!  Take not my enemies and yours as friends (or protectors), - offering them (your) love, even though they have rejected the Truth that has come to you, and have (on the contrary) driven out the Prophet and yourselves (from your homes), (simply) because you believe in Allâh your Lord!  If you have come out to strive in My Way and to seek My Good Pleasure, (take them not as friends), holding secret converse of love (and friendship) with them: for I know full well all that you conceal and all that you reveal.  And any of you that do this has strayed from the Straight Path.[43]

We see this urge to alienate in a later verse too:

O you who believe!  Take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love infidelity above Faith: if any of you do so, they do wrong. (Q. 9:23)

Why was Muhammad so keen to isolate his followers?  Vaknin explains: “The narcissist is the guru at the centre of a cult.  Like other gurus, he demands complete obedience from his flock: his spouse, his offspring, other family members, friends, and colleagues.  He feels entitled to adulation and special treatment by his followers.  He punishes the wayward and the straying lambs.  He enforces discipline, adherence to his teachings, and common goals.  The less accomplished he is in reality – the more stringent his mastery and the more pervasive the brainwashing.”[44]

This was something Muhammad could not accomplish while his followers still lived in Mecca, where they could, if things got tough, return to their families. To isolate his followers, the cult leader often encloses them in compounds where he can brainwash them to exert total control over them.  At first Muhammad sent the early believers to Abyssinia, but later, when he made a pact with the Arabs of Yathrib, he chose that town as his compound.  He even changed the name of Yathrib and called it Medina (which is short for Medinatul Nabi, the Prophet’s Town).

Vaknin says: “The – often involuntary – members of the narcissist's mini-cult inhabit a twilight zone of his own construction.  He imposes on them a shared psychosis, replete with persecutory delusions, ‘enemies,’ mythical narratives, and apocalyptic scenarios if he is flouted.”[45]

Note how accurate is this description about Muhammad and Muslims who up to this day have persecutory delusions and see enemies everywhere.  They believe in mythical narratives such as angels and fairy tales like Jinns, Mi’raj (ascension of Muhammad to heaven), Doomsday, etc.

According to Vaknin, “the narcissist's deep-rooted conviction that he is being persecuted by his inferiors, detractors, or powerful ill-wishers, serves two psychodynamic purposes.  It upholds the narcissist's grandiosity and it fends off intimacy.”[46]

Vaknin writes: “The narcissist claims to be infallible, superior, talented, skilful, omnipotent, and omniscient.  He often lies and confabulates to support these unfounded claims.  Within his cult, he expects awe, admiration, adulation, and constant attention commensurate with his outlandish stories and assertions.  He reinterprets reality to fit his fantasies.  His thinking is dogmatic, rigid, and doctrinaire.  He does not welcome free thought, pluralism, or free speech, and doesn't brook criticism and disagreement.  He demands – and often gets – complete trust and the relegation to his capable hands of all decision-making.  He forces the participants in his cult to be hostile to critics, the authorities, institutions, his personal enemies, or the media – if they try to uncover his actions and reveal the truth.  He closely monitors and censors information from the outside, exposing his captive audience only to selective data and analyses.”[47]

By elucidating the characteristics of the narcissist, Vaknin unintentionally and with astounding accuracy describes Muhammad’s mind and the Muslim mindset.  Muslims are narcissists to the extent that they emulate their prophet.

A Comparison between Islam and the Cult of the Narcissist   

The following is a description of the cult of the narcissist.  First let us see what Vaknin says about the cult of the narcissist and then I will quote episodes from Muhammad’s life and leave the reader to decide whether they coincide. 

The narcissist's cult is “missionary” and “imperialistic.”  He is always on the lookout for new recruits – his spouse's friends, his daughter's girlfriends, his neighbors, new colleagues at work.  He immediately attempts to ‘convert’ them to his ‘creed’ – to convince them how wonderful and admirable he is.  In other words, he tries to render them Sources of Narcissistic Supply.

                        Often, his behavior on these ‘recruiting missions’ is different to his conduct within the ‘cult’. In the first phases of wooing new admirers and proselytising to potential ‘conscripts’ – the narcissist is attentive, compassionate, empathic, flexible, self-effacing, and helpful.  At home, among the “veterans” he is tyrannical, demanding, wilful, opinionated, aggressive, and exploitative.

As the leader of his congregation, the narcissist feels entitled to special amenities and benefits not accorded the “rank and file.”  He expects to be waited on hand and foot, to make free use of everyone's money and dispose of their assets liberally, and to be cynically exempt from the rules that he himself established (if such violation is pleasurable or gainful).

In extreme cases, the narcissist feels above the law – any kind of law.  This grandiose and haughty conviction leads to criminal acts, incestuous or polygamous relationships, and recurrent friction with the authorities.

Hence the narcissist's panicky and sometimes violent reactions to “dropouts” from his cult. There's a lot going on that the narcissist wants kept under wraps.  Moreover, the narcissist stabilizes his fluctuating sense of self-worth by deriving Narcissistic Supply from his victims. Abandonment threatens the narcissist's precariously balanced personality.

Add to that the narcissist's paranoid and schizoid tendencies, his lack of introspective self-awareness, and his stunted sense of humor (lack of self-deprecation) and the risks to the grudging members of his cult are clear.

The narcissist sees enemies and conspiracies everywhere.  He often casts himself as the heroic victim (martyr) of dark and stupendous forces.  In every deviation from his tenets he espies malevolent and ominous subversion.  He, therefore, is bent on disempowering his devotees – by any and all means. 

The narcissist is dangerous.[48]

Now let us see if there are similarities between this description and what we know about Muhammad and his religion.

Islam is both missionary and imperialistic.  Muhammad’s main objective was to conquer and dominate.  He tried to force everyone to convert to his cult, starting with his family and relatives.  He asked Abu Talib, his uncle and guardian to convert to Islam on the patriarch’s deathbed.  When the old man declined, Muhammad refused praying for him and said he will go to hell. In consideration for what Abu Talib had done for him, he conceded to place him in a shallow hell where fire would reach only to his anckles. However, he managed to convert his uncle’s children and his wife. 

When Muhammad was still weak and had few followers, he was courteous, attentive, compassionate, flexible, helpful and even feigned humility. There is a sharp contrast between the Qur’anic verses written during this period and those written in Medina when he became powerful and did not need to wear a mask to woo new converts with kindness. In Medina, he became demanding, tyrannical, willful, aggressive and exploitative. There he raided villages and towns and after killing unarmed men men and looting them, demanded survivors submit to him, pay jizyah, or face death.

 The following are examples Meccan verses:

1.     Be patient with what they say, and part from them courteously. (Q.73:10)

2.     To you be your religion, and to me my religion. (Q. 109:6)

3.     Therefore be patient with what they say, and celebrate (constantly) the praises of your Lord. (Q.20:103)

4.     Speak well to men. (Q.2:83)

5.     We well know what the infidels say: but you are not to compel them. (Q.50:45)

6.     Hold to forgiveness; command what is right; but turn away from the ignorant. (Q.7:119)

7.     Pardon thou, with a gracious pardoning. (Q.15:85) 

8.     Tell those who believe, to forgive those who do not look forward to the Days of Allâh. (Q.45:14)

9.     Those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians - any who believe in Allâh and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q.2:62)

10.   And do not dispute with the followers of the Book except by what is best. (Q.29:46)

            Compare them to those written later in Medina when Muhammad became powerful.

1.     Oh you who believe! Murder those of the disbelievers and let them find harshness in you. (Q.9:123)

2.     I will instill terror into the hearts of the unbelievers: smite above their necks and smite all their finger-tips off. (Q.8:12)

3.     Whoso desires another religion than Islam, it shall not be accepted of him. (Q.3:85)

4.     Slay the idolaters wherever you find them. (Q.9:5)

5.     Kill them wherever you find them, and drive them out from wherever they drove you out. (Q.2:191)

6.     Fight them on until there is no more dissension and religion becomes that of Allâh. (Q.9:193)

7.     Fight them, and Allâh will punish them by your hands, cover them with shame. (Q.9:14)

8.     Make no excuses: you have rejected Faith after you had accepted it. If we pardon some of you, we will punish others amongst you, for that they are in sin. (Q.9:66) 

9.     You who believe! Verily, the Mushrikûn (unbelievers) are Najasun (impure). So let them not come near Al-Masjid-al-Harâm (the grand mosque at Mecca) after this year. (Q.9:28)

10.   Fight those who do not believe in Allâh and the last day... and fight People of the Book, who do not accept the religion of truth (Islam) until they pay tribute by hand, being inferior. (Q.9:29)

This much should suffice as evidence that Muhammad changed drastically after he came to power.  The gentle, attentive, compassionate and empathic preacher was transformed into a demanding, tyrannical, ruthless, and willful despot. 

It was after the battle of Badr that the cruel and vindictive spirit of Muhammad began to display itself.  Muir narrates:

The prisoners were brought up before him. As he scrutinized each, his eye fell fiercely on Nadhr, the son of Harith (Muhammad’s own cousin who was a poet and critical of him).  ‘There was death in that glance,’ whispered Nadhr, trembling, to a bystander.  ‘Not so,’ replied the other; ‘it is but your own imagination.’                           

The unfortunate prisoner thought otherwise, and besought Musab (a friend of him who had converted to Islam) to intercede for him.  Musab reminded him that he had denied the faith and ridiculed Muhammad.  ‘Ah!’ said Nadhr, ‘had the Quraish made you a prisoner, they would never have put you to death!’  ‘Even were it so,’ Musab scornfully replied, ‘I am not as you are; Islam has rent all bonds asunder.’ (Emphasis added)  Musad, the captor, seeing that the captive, and with him the chance of a rich ransom, was about to slip from his hands, cried out, ‘The prisoner is mine!’  At this moment, the command to “strike off his head!’ was interposed by Muhammad, who had been watching all that passed.  ‘And, O Lord!’ he added, ‘do thou of thy bounty grant unto Musab better prey than this?’  Nadhr was forthwith beheaded by Ali.

Two days afterwards, about half-way to Medina, Oqba, another prisoner, was ordered out for execution.  He ventured to expostulate, and demand why he should be treated more vigorously than the other captives.  ‘Because of your enmity to God and to his Prophet,’ replied Muhammad. ‘And my little girl!’ cried Oqba, in the bitterness of his soul, ‘Who will take care of her?’ – ‘Hellfire!’ exclaimed the heartless conqueror; and on the instant his victim was hewn to the ground.  ‘Wretch that he was!’ continued Muhammad, ‘and persecutor!  Unbeliever in God, in his Prophet, and in his Book!  I give thanks unto the Lord that has slain you, and comforted mine eyes thereby.’[49]

There is a tender love story in all this that highlights even more the ruthlessness of Muhammad.  After some of the prisoners captured in the battle of Badr were put to death because they had insulted Muhammad years earlier, when he was in Mecca, an offence a narcissist is incapable of forgiving, the rest were kept for ransom. Among them was Abul Aas, the above mentioned husband of Muhammad’s daughter, Zeinab.  The families of the prisoners procured what the bandit demanded to rescue their loved ones from death. Zeinab sent a gold necklace, which she had received from her mother Khadijah at her wedding. Upon seeing that necklace and recognizing it as once worn by Khadijah, Muhammad was moved. He agreed to release Abul Aas without ransom provided that Zeinab abandon him and come to Medina. 

This man was incapable of any act of kindness or of giving anything up without demanding something in exchange. Even his largesse was designed to impress the recipients and win them over to his side.  Abul Aas could not bear the separation from his wife. In order to with her he converted to Islam and joined her in Medina, only to lose her to death shortly afterwards.

Muslims present Islam as a religion of peace and tolerance, and will assume a smiling countenance to proselytize potential recruits.  They are extremely helpful, humble, and charming to those whom they want to woo and in front of the media.  Among themselves, however, they act very differently.  They are tyrannical and demanding.  Once you convert to Islam and the honeymoon period is over, Muslims will drop the smiling mask and become high-handed, aggressive and abusive.  They expect the convert’s questioning of Islam to end, and after conversion any possibility of going back is also considered terminated.  This is consistent with the guidelines Muhammad himself laid down through his own conductthat has been encoded in Islamic law. 

Muhammad felt entitled to special benefits and treatments not accorded to others. He not only did things that were against ethical principles, even by the society in which he lived, he also went against his own stated rules.  He did whatever he pleased and when that shocked his followers, he brought a verse from Allâh to justify his actions and silence the critics.  With a verse from Allâh under his belt, anyone whispering a word against his indecency was denying God and, the punishment of such person was death.  What he said was faslul-khitab (the end of discussion).  Examples abound.  Here are a few:  

The Qur’an limits believers to four wives.  However, Muhammad thought that he should not be restricted by his own rules and therefore made his Allâh reveal verses 33:49-50 telling him he was exempt and could have any number of women he pleases, as wives, concubines or sex slaves. Then he added “This only for you, [O Muhammad] and not for the Believers¼in order that there should be no difficulty for you.  And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.”  

What difficulty?  The difficulty of having to control his lustfulness, of being a decent human being, faithful to one woman!  Are we to believe in a man who found it difficult to control his basest animal instincts as the best of creation?  Don’t actions speak louder than words?  On one hand, he lived like the vilest beasts, and on the other he spoke of himself so loftily, putting words in the mouth of the Almighty to praise him. Remember that while still in Mecca, living off the wealth of his wife Muhammad did not dare to bring another woman to her house.  All his vagaries started when he came to power.  Are we to believe that as a young and virile man he did not have difficulty sleeping with an older woman and that his difficulties appeared in the last ten years of his life when he was old and beset by all sorts of ailments?  Or shall we interpret this as another sign of an aging man gone wild with his newfound liberties who, like a child left unchecked in a candy store, was unable to set limits for himself? 

One day Muhammad visited his wife Hafsa, daughter of Omar and upon meeting her maid Mariyah, lusted for her.  Mariyah was a very beautiful Coptic girl sent as a gift by Maqaqis (Patriarch) of Egypt to Muhammad.  He sent Hafsa on an errand, lying that her father wanted to see her.  No sooner had she left, than he took Mariyah to Hafsa’s bed and had sex with her.  Upon learning her father had not sent for her, Hafsa returned to discover what was going on and why Muhammad wanted to get rid of her.  She became upset and started to make a scene. (Ah, women will be always women!) To pacify her, Muhammad promised to prohibit Mariyah to himself. However, he still lusted after the pretty young slave girl.  How could he now break his oath?  Well, that is easy when you have God up your sleeve.  The maker of the universe revealed the sura Tahrim and told him it is okay to break his oath and have sex with that slave girl because she was his “right hand possession.”  Actually the almighty God, now acting as a pimp for his favorite prophet, was even angry at him, and rebuked him for denying himself carnal pleasures and for promising to be decent just to please his wives! (Hence the name of the sura given for this incident Tahrim, Prohibition.)  

O Prophet! Why do you ban (for yourself) that which Allâh has made lawful to you, seeking to please your wives?  And Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.  Allâh has already ordained for you (O men), the dissolution of your oaths.  And Allâh is your Maula (Lord, or Master, or Protector, etc.) and He is the All-Knower, the All-Wise. (Q.66:1-5)

Ibn Sa’d writes: “Abu Bakr has narrated that the messenger of Allâh (PBUH) had sexual intercourse with Mariyah in the house of Hafsa.  When the messenger came out of the house, Hafsa was sitting at the gate (behind the locked door).  She told the prophet, ‘O Messenger of Allâh, do you do this in my house and during my turn?  The Prophet said, control yourself and let me go for I make her haram to me.  Hafsa said, I do not accept, unless you swear for me.  The Prophet said, by Allâh I will not touch her again.’”[50]

As usual, Muslims have justified Muhammad for the breach of his oath.  No matter what Muhammad did, Muslims will always justify his actions.  They have submitted their intelligence to him and have stopped thinking rationally.  Ibn Sa’d continues: “Qasim ibn Muhammad has said that this promise of the Prophet that had forbidden Mariyah to himself is invalid – it does not become a violation (hormat).[51]

The question is, if that oath was invalid, why did he make it; and if it was valid, why he did he break it?  There are countless other examples of Muhammad breaking his own promises.  Here he had sworn to God and not even that was an impediment to him.  His god was a figment of his own imagination and he was not ao stupid as to let his imagination stop him from having sex with the beautiful Mariyah.  The whole idea of inventing that god was to approve whatever he desired without restrictions. A god putting restrictions on him would have defeated the whole purpose of becoming a prophet. 

My copy of the Qur’an contains the following tafseer (interpretation) side by side with the Sura Tahrim:  

Also it is reported that the Prophet had divided his days among his wives. And when it was the turn of Hafsa, he sent her for an errand to the house of her father Omar Khattab.  When she took this order and went, the prophet called his slave girl Mariyah the Copt who (later) bore his son Ibrahim, and who was a gift from Najashi, and had sexual intercourse with her.  When Hafsa returned, she found the door locked from inside.  She sat there behind the locked door until the prophet finished the business and came out of the house while sweat was dripping from his face.  When Hafsa found him in that condition she rebuked him saying, you did not respect my honor; you sent me out of my house with an excuse so you could sleep with the slave girl.  And in the day that was my turn you had intercourse with someone else.  Then the Prophet said, be quiet for although she is my slave and halal to me, for your contentment I, at this moment, make her haram to myself. But Hafsa did not do this and when the Prophet went out of her house she knocked at the wall that separated her quarter from that of Aisha and told her everything.[52]  

For Muslims oaths have no meaning. They promise something and then renege if they so choose. Bukhari reports a hadith where Muhammad says: “By Allâh, and Allâh willing, if I take an oath and later find something better than that, then I do what is better and expiate my oath."[53]
And he advised his followers to do the same: "If you ever take an oath to do something and later on you find that something else is better, then you should expiate your oath and do what is better."[54]

Muslims should never be trusted. Their words mean nothing, their promises are not binding and even their oaths are worthless. This is consistant with NPD. Narcissists believe they are entitled to anything they desire and that their promises and obligations are not binding on them.

One day Muhammad went to see his adopted son Zeid and there he saw his wife Zeinab, in her revealing home clothing.  He was aroused by her beauty and could not control his desire. “Praised be Allâh, the best of all creators, who transformes the hearts,” he murmured lustfully and left the house. When Zeid learned this, he felt obliged to divorce his wife for Muhammad to have her.  The interesting thing is that a few years earlier, when Muhammad had claimed to have ascended to heaven, he said that there he had met a woman.  He inquired about her, and they said she was Zeinab, the wife of Zeid.  Later he told this anachronistic story to Zeid who, thinking that his marriage had been arranged in heaven, married her.  However, when Muhammad saw Zeinab semi-nude, he forgot all about his own heavenly fable.  Of course, no one knew better than he that the whole story of Mi’raj (ascension) was his own fabrication.

When Zeid told Muhammad that he will divorce his wife, he said, "Keep your wife to yourself, and fear Allâh." (Q.33:37) Soon after Zeid left, the rememberance of Zeinab’s lips, her thighs and her breast awoke his Allâh residing under his tunic who revealed a verse admonishing him for fearing the criticism of the people instead of givig in to his desires.

You did hide in yourself that which Allâh will make manifest, you did fear the people whereas Allâh had a better right that you should fear Him. So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from her (i.e. divorced her), We gave her to you in marriage, so that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of (the marriage of) the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them. And Allâh's Command must be fulfilled. (Q.33: 37)

His marriage to his own daughter-in-law confounded even his followers.  But who could argue with Allâh? To silence them again, his Allâh came out of his sleeve with a verse saying that Muhammad is not the father of anyone but the messenger and the Seal of the prophets. (Q.33:40)  He claimed that his marriage to Zeinab was arranged by God to show people that adoption was a bad thing and should be annulled.  As you can see, just because he could not control his lust, he made his bogus deity tell people that adoption was wrong, depriving countless orphans of a second chance at life.  Doesn’t this alone disqualify him as a messenger of God?  How can the almighty God be offended by adoption?

There is an interesting story in connection with this topic. After Muhammad annulled the institution of adoption, Abu Hudhaifa and his wife Sahla, who had an adopted son called Salim, came to Muhammad for advice. “Messenger of Allâh, Salim (the freed slave of Abu Hudhaifa) is living with us in our house,” said Sahla. “He has attained (puberty) as men attain it and has acquired knowledge (of the sex problems) as men acquire.” In response to her Muhammad improvised an ingenious solution. “Suckle him,” he told her. “How can I suckle him as he is a grown-up man?” She asked perplexed. Muhammad smiled and said: “I know that he is a young man.” In fact Salim was old enough to have participated in the Battle of Badr. Another tradition says that Muhammad laughed.[55] I wonder what he would have said if some astute guy told him, please allow us scuckle the nipples of your wives so they don’t have to cover themselves from us.

According to Muhammad, breast-feeding establishes a degree of maternal relation, even if a woman nurses a child who is not biologically hers. Inspired by these traditions, Dr. Izzat Atiya of Egypt’s al-Azhar University, one of Islam’s most prestigious institutions offered a way around segregation of the sexes at work. He issued a fatwa (religious ruling) allowing women to feed a male colleague "directly from her breast" at least five times to establish a family bond and thus be allowed to be alone together at work. "Breast feeding an adult puts an end to the problem of the private meeting, and does not ban marriage," he ruled. "A woman at work can take off the veil or reveal her hair in front of someone whom she breastfed." [56]

Even though some Muslims had no problem with this fatwa, since it was based on authentic hadith, the legal ruling sparked outrage throughout Egypt and the Arab world and Dr. Atiya was forced to retract his fatwa.

Muhammad’s Sacred Secretions

On June 13, 2007, MEMRI (The Middle East Media Research Institute) published the following article:[57]

In his book Religion and Life - Modern Everyday Fatwas, Egyptian Mufti Dr. Ali Gum'a wrote that the companions of the Prophet Muhammad would bless themselves by drinking his urine, and described an incident of urine-drinking from a hadith: "Umm Ayman drank the urine of the Prophet, and the prophet told her: 'This stomach will not be dragged through the fire of Hell, because it contains something of our Lord the Messenger of Allâh...' [58]

‘This blessing,’ Al-Gum'a added, ‘[can also] be done with the honorable saliva, sweat, hair, urine or blood of the Prophet. This is because anyone who knows the love of the Messenger of Allâh is not repulsed [by these]; just as a mother is not repulsed by the feces of her son, this is even more so [in the case of] our Lord the Messenger of Allâh, whom we love more than our fathers, sons, and wives. Anyone who was or is repulsed by the Messenger of Allâh must recant his faith.’[59]

Following the ensuing uproar, Gum'a came to the defense of his fatwa, saying: ‘The entire body of the Prophet, whether exposed or hidden, is pure, and there is nothing in it- including his secretions - that [can] repulse anyone. His sweat smelled better than perfume. Umm Haram would collect this sweat and distribute it to the people of Al-Madina.’[60]

Dr. Gum'a added: ‘The hadith of Suhail bin Omar at Al-Hudaybiya says: 'Oh Lord, I was with Kisra [the ruler of Persia] and with Kaisar [the ruler of Byzantium] and I saw no instance in which the leader was glorified like the Companions of the Prophet glorified Muhammad. The second Muhammad spat, one of them would immediately hasten [to grab his saliva] and smear it upon his face.' Hence, the ulema, including Ibn Hajar Al-Askalani, Al-Baihaqi, Al-Daraqutni and Al-Haythami, determined that the Prophet's entire body was pure.’[61]

Egyptian Religious Endowments Minister Dr. Muhammad Hamdi Zaqzouq was extremely critical of Gum'a's statements. He said: ‘Fatwas such as these do damage to Islam, serve its enemies, and push the people towards backwardness and ignorance.’[62] Writing in the government daily Al-Ahram, Zaqzouq explained further: ‘Tragic fatwas such as [Gum'a's] have harmed Islam and the Prophet more than the Danish cartoons did, because this time the harm comes not from Islam's enemies but from some Muslim ulema who present their opinions on Islam to the public...’

‘The books of the hadiths contain both wheat and chaff. They contain the acceptable and the unacceptable, and it is not for the good of Islam or the Muslims if we repeatedly disseminate the pollution that they contain... Those of us who speak in the name of the religion must understand that... the world has changed, circumstances have changed, and it is no longer acceptable or logical to fill the heads of the Muslim masses with the defiled sayings, sick thoughts, and groundless suppositions whose correctness is completely unproven... [63]

The Academy for Islamic Research, headed by Al-Azhar Sheikh Dr. Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, expressed vehement objections to the fatwa issued by Gum'a, who is an academy member. According to the academy, the fatwa was not appropriate for today's circumstances...[64]

There were many other protests from Islamic scholars and the public. Attorney Nabih Al-Wahsh filed a complaint against Gum'a with the prosecutor general, claiming that Gum'a's fatwa threatened social stability and also reviled and defamed the Prophet and his companions.[65]

Al-Ahram editor Osama Saraya argued that Gum'a's fatwa was not relevant to Muslim life today, even if it did draw on religious sources: ‘The books of religious law contain many questions and issues, some of which have descended into oblivion. They have nothing to do with the reality of the lives of Muslims today, and they have become theoretical, philosophical or polemic [issues]. In the past, clerics said that one does not have to reveal everything one knows. The accepted opinion is that that many issues that preoccupied the Muslim clerics in the past are no longer worthy of discussion - either because they belong to the ancient period and are too loosely linked to public life, or because they are likely to cause confusion and public pandemonium. This is a fact well-known to students of religious law..." [66]

Gala GabAllâh, columnist for the government daily Al-Gumhouriyya, wrote: ‘Whether the story of Umm Ayman is true or not, it should not be retold by the mufti. [If asked about it], the mufti should respond: 'What use is it to you to know this? The Prophet, with his honorable past, his honorable blood and his honorable urine, is no longer among us. There is no place at all for talking about such pointless matters, which are likely to harm people and start talk that will damage Islam and the religion...’[67]

Al-Akhbar columnist Ahmad Ragab mocked Gum'a's statements, writing: ‘[With regard] to the fatwa of the honorable mufti... How is it possible to actually drink urine when this need is always met in a secluded place specially designated for this [purpose]? Did the Companions of the Prophet stand around and wait [there], with containers in their hands? Can any reasonable person imagine that the Prophet [actually] let them collect his urine?’ [68]

There is a glimmer of hope in this. These episodes show that there is a limit to which Muslims are willing to be fooled and beyond which they will not go. Therein lies my conviction that once the naked truth about Islam is exposed and its asininity becomes manifest, a great number of Muslims will see the light and will abandon it.

Muhammad reintroduced the pagan tradition of fasting. However, he found it difficult to abstain from food and water from dawn to dusk, so he ate whenever he pleased. Ibn Sa’d writes: “The Messenger of Allâh used to say ‘We the prophets are required to eat our morning food later than others and hurry in breaking our fast in the evening.'”[69]

These are just a few examples of how Muhammad did as he pleased and made his Allâh approve whatever he did. The young and perceptive Aisha noticed this and, perhaps sarcastically, or innocently, said to him “I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires.”[70] She uttered the above when Muhammad made his Allâh order him to take his daughter in law Zeinab, as a bride.

In none of the wars that Muhammad waged did he put his own life in danger.  He stood behind his troops wearing often two coats of chain-link mail, one on top of the other.[71]  The double armoring would make him so heavy that his movements became cumbersome and he needed assistance to stand or to walk. While in that state he would shout toward the front and loudly encourage his men to be valiant and not fear death, promising them high-bosomed virgins and celestial food in the other world.  Sometimes he would grab a handful of sand and throw it in the air in the direction of the enemy while cursing them.

To finance his military expeditions, the Prophet of Allâh exhorted his followers to contribute their wealth.  He urged them to serve him and wait upon him.  He encouraged their adulation of him and strongly frowned on dissent.  Orwa, the negotiator of the Quraish, who visited Muhammad among his men in Hudaibiyyah witnessed that Muhammad’s followers “rushed to save the water in which he had performed his ablutions, to catch up his spittle, or seize a hair of his if it chanced to fall.”[72]  This should not be interpreted or dismissed as an exaggeration of later years, as the historian Sir Willam Muir believed.  Muhammad, like all other cult leaders, had created a personality cult around himself.  We can see this kind of personality worship in modern cults even today.  This is how the narcissist wants to be treated.

Muhammad thought himself to be above the law.  He broke moral and ethical codes whenever it suited him, and then made his Allâh reveal a verse to confirm that what he had done was all right.

            Arabs were simple people of the desert, but they had dignity and prided themselves on their chivalry.  During the year there were a few months when they did not fight.  These were known as the sacred months, when people traveled freely on pilgrimage.  In one such month, Muhammad sent an expedition to Nakhlah, a place known for its palm trees, to lay siege and ambush a caravan carrying raisins, butter, wine, and other goods from Taif to Mecca.  Fighting and killing at such a time of the year was a sacrilege.  He sent eight men towards Nakhlah without telling them about their mission.  He gave a sealed letter to the leader of the expedition instructing the men to open it only after reaching the destination.  When they opened the letter, they realized Muhammad was asking them to raid a caravan during the sacred months.  Two of the men conveniently lost their camels in the desert, went out to find them, and did not take part in the raid.  The other six discussed the situation and finally convinced themselves that the orders of the prophet should be obeyed even if they went against their consciences and seemed immoral and unethical.  To set up the ambush, they shaved their heads and pretended to be preparing themselves for pilgrimage, and when the men of the caravan lowered their guard, they leapt upon them, killing one and taking two as hostages.  The fourth person escaped. This was the first bloodshed chargeable to Islam.  The first blood spilled in the history of Islam was the blood of a non-Muslim by Muslims.  Muslims started the hostilities.  They persecuted their detractors, not the other way around.  The killing sent a shockwave through the Quraish, who realized that their opponent, in his quest for power, would not respect any law.

There are countless cases in which Muhammad broke the laws of the land and disregarded the codes of ethics, decency, and morality.  Laying siege to merchant caravans or raiding villages and seizing their wealth is theft and is against the law in any society.  Muhammad ambushed unarmed groups when they were least prepared to fight, killed as many of their unarmed men as he could, enslaved their women and children, and made his Allâh approve whatever he did.  He also okayed having sex with women captured in war, even if the women were still married. (Q.4:24)

From incest to polygamy, from rape to pedophilia, from assassination to genocide, the Prophet of Allâh did them all and encouraged his followers to do the same.  He was disdainful of authorities, and so are his followers.

The word “Islam” means “submission.”  The Qur’an says: “No believing man and no believing woman has a choice in their own affairs when Allâh and His Messenger have decided on an issue.”(Q.33:36)  The truth is that even non-believing people have no choice.  They must submit or be killed.  Muhammad interpreted dissent as betrayal.  For narcissists, dissent is intolerable.  In response they panic and feel threatened.  Painful memories of being abandoned as a child rise up to shake their precariously balanced personalities.  They feel deeply hurt and seek revenge.

Muhammad viewed as enemies any who were not his supporters and followers.  He was paranoid and saw conspiracies everywhere. He cast himself as the heroic victim of the malicious forces of his enemies. These “enemies,” of course, existed nowhere except in his fertile imagination.

One of the main factors driving Muhammad’s success was that he had spies everywhere who posed as his detractors and brought news from places he wanted to ambush.  So paranoid was he that he even encouraged his believers to spy on each other.  Muslims do the same to this day.

Like their prophet, Muslims have victim mentality, and therefore justify their acts of terrorism. They think dark stupendous forces are at work to destroy Islam and that there is a world conspiracy against Muslims led by the Jews.  They are convinced Jews control the world, particularly the United States of America, who are doing their bidding and waging proxy wars against the Muslims at the order of this mysterious and omnipotent Jewish cabal.

Muslims are vigilant toward each other’s words and actions. Eeach Muslim spies on others to ensure that the laws of Islam are properly observed.  An ambience of terror is created in all Islamic countries, where hardly anyone dares raise the slightest question of the tenets of Islam.  Your own kin could report your infidelity, which, of course, would mean certain death to you.

Pathological narcissists believe they are special and therefore entitled to gratuitous favors. Muhammad did not thank those who he did his bidding. Instead, he told them they should be grateful for being given the privilege of serving Allâh.

O you who believe! Do not make your charity worthless by reproach and injury, like him who spends his property to be seen of men and does not believe in Allâh and the last day. (Q. 2:263)

Muhammad tried to compensate for his craving for love with power.  He yearned for love because he did not receive enough of it from his primary caregivers.  A loveless childhood is the root cause of narcissism, despotism and psychopathic behavior.  His grandfather’s and uncle’s permissiveness, and their failure to set limits, further aggravated his narcissistic trait.  Muhammad cried bitterly at the tomb of his mother, but those tears were not for her. They were for himself. Narcissists have no feelings for others.  They are only aware, in fact too aware, of their own feelings, their own pain and their own emotional needs.