The End Times: Islam vs. the Bible: Part 11b: Muhammad’s Intercession

The End Times: Islam vs. the Bible: Part 11b: Muhammad’s Intercession
Thursday, July 3, 2025 by Dr. James W. Walraven

Categories: Apologetics / Contemporary issues / Scripture discussion / Spiritual deception / Spiritual warfare / The church / Thought for Today

Muhammad. As we saw, Muhammad’s intercession is crucial for Muslims after the weighing of their deeds. Muhammad’s prayers help them cross the bridge over the hellfire, his prayers open Paradise, and his prayers get many Muslims delivered out of the hellfire. What could possibly go wrong?

The big issue: the Qur’an states that Muhammad did not know whether he was awaiting Paradise or the hellfire. Remember, for Muslims, the Qur’an is Allah’s perfect revelation, without error, forever unchanged. In essence, for Muslims, the Qur’an occupies a similar place as Jesus does for Christians. Consider Surah 46:9 (Pickthall): “Say: I am no new thing among the messengers (of Allah), nor know I what will be done with me or with you. I do but follow that which is inspired in me, and I am but a plain warner.”

What are we to make of “nor know I what will be done with me or with you”? It is clear from this surah in the Qur’an itself, that even Muhammad, as the foremost prophet of Allah, had no idea about what his eternal destiny would be. Who knows, what might Allah decide?

One of the hottest debate topics within Islam relates to whether Allah has pre-determined everything. Surah 57:22 (Pickthall): “Naught of disaster befalleth in the earth or in yourselves but it is in a Book before we bring it into being — Lo! that is easy for Allah.” In essence everything we will do is already written and recorded beforehand, and according to some sources, is even predetermined by Allah.

Consider Surah 14:4 (Pickthall): “And We never sent a messenger save with the language of his folk, that he might make (the message) clear for them. Then Allah sendeth whom He will astray, and guideth whom He will. He is the Mighty, the Wise.” Allah decides what he decides. Will Allah’s decision be for or against a person, to guide them or lead them astray? There is no way to know. Also, if every warner is sent in the language of his folk, why is the one true version of the Qur’an only in Arabic (translations are considered commentaries)? That is not the language of almost everyone on the planet.

But wait! One’s situation gets even murkier. Surah 3:54 (Pickthall): “And they (the disbelievers) schemed, and Allah schemed (against them): and Allah is the best of schemers.” Other words for a schemer would be a deceiver, or a shyster. Between 3:54 and 14:4, Allah describes himself as both a schemer/deceiver/shyster and one who deliberately chooses to misguide people. Is it any wonder that Muhammad was uncertain about his own eternal destiny?

It gets worse. The Qur’an is clear that Muhammad is the best man who ever lived, the example all Muslims must follow, imitate, and pattern their lives after. Muslims are not even allowed to question any of his actions or discourses. They are to do them, period. If the best man who ever lived does not know his own eternal destiny, and has no idea what Allah might do with him, what hope is there for anyone else?

Muslims do not know where Muhammad ended up. He is now dead, but every good Muslim will add P.B.U.H. after saying or writing his name. That fully expands to: “May Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him.” Yes, it is a mark of respect, but why does he still need Muslims to pray for him, to ask Allah that his blessings would be upon Muhammad? He is dead, his life is over. That points to even more uncertainty, doesn’t it?

In contrast, briefly, consider Romans 8, where one can know whether one is in an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ, based on whether one either has or does not have, the Holy Spirit residing in them (Islam denies the Holy Spirit in the precise biblical sense). Later in the same chapter, God declares that for believers, nothing can separate them from the love of God. There is a certainty in Christianity that does not, and indeed cannot, exist within Islam.

Ultimately, can we atone for our own sins by doing more good works, and by doing so reach heaven (or Paradise) as Islam teaches? Biblically speaking, we cannot. That is why we need a Savior. Our sins are committed against the infinite holy God. Biblically, apart from faith in Jesus Christ, we will be lost, separated from God, for all eternity. As Ephesians 2:8–9 states (NAU): “For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Would it not be far better to trust in God, who loves us, and Jesus Christ who died for our sins, rather than relying on our own good works based on the teachings of a prophet who had no idea of his own eternal destiny, a prophet who denied the deity of Jesus Christ? Would it not be better to trust in the Living God, rather than a god who describes himself as the best schemer, one who deliberately misguides?

Given Allah’s self-description, what are we to make of Allah’s promised Paradise?

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