Part 4 - Conclusion
The Final Word
Smith began by posing a dichotomy:
" . . . in the early 7th century, Islam, a religion of immense sophistication, of intricate laws and traditions was formulated in a backward nomadic culture and became fully functional in only 22 years.'
'How did it come together so neatly and quickly? There is no historical precedence for such a scenario. One would expect such a degree of sophistication over a period of one or two centuries provided there were other sources, such as neighbouring cultures from which traditions and laws can be borrowed but certainly not within an unsophisticated desert environment and certainly not within a period of a mere 22 years."
He tell us that secular historians cannot simply accept the position posited by the latter (Muslim) that 'in the early 7th century, Islam, a religion of immense sophistication, of intricate laws and traditions was formulated in a backward nomadic culture and became fully functional in only 22 years.'
It is part of the consistent problem faced by the Christian and secularist polemicist. Their prejudicial stance in their mutual refusal to accept the Prophethood of Muhammed forces them to try and find any alternative explanation. Their inability to fight Islam according to the sources of Islam, and the fact that their attempts to discredit the Prophethood of Mohammed have proved mutually contradictory has now forced them to adopt their radical "demythologising" alternative.
The fact that we have amply illustrated with evidence, including that which must be acceptable to any unbiased "secular" historian, that the Qur'an and authenticated traditions of the Prophet are not only reliable historical information but rank in authenticity far above anything Christianity can offer, or anything ancient and indeed much of modern history. All this leads inevitably to the conclusion that Muhammed was indeed the Universal Prophet of Allah and the early Muslim community was guided by the Light and Wisdom that ensued from Divine guidance. It is this that accounts for the phenomena of Islam, even if the disbelievers detest it.