Evidences of Prophethood: Distinguishing the Most Truthful of Creation from the Most Deceitful

When an individual comes forward claiming prophethood, reason presents us with two possibilities and no third: either this person is the most truthful of all people, or he is the most mendacious of them all; for there is no middle ground in the station of claiming revelation from the Lord of the Worlds.

A Prophet is one who has reached the pinnacle of truthfulness, as it is intellectually and legally impossible for him to lie regarding the greatest and most grave of matters, which is prophethood. As for the lying pretender, he is one who has reached the ultimate limit of depravity and falsehood, for he fabricates against God what He did not say, and continues to build an edifice of accumulated lies.

Methodological truth dictates that confusing the most truthful of the truthful with the most mendacious of liars only occurs to one who lacks the light of insight, or is among the most ignorant of people regarding circumstantial evidence and the attributes of men.

Psychological Traits of the Pathological Liar

In the light of psychology, the pathological liar is characterized by clear traits that make detection easy, most notably: cowardice, treachery, psychological weakness, and personal instability. These traits appear clearly in the behavior of false claimants and expose their deception over time.

The Testimony of Enemies to the Truthfulness of the Chosen One ﷺ

As for our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, he was the complete antithesis of the traits of liars, to the extent that his fiercest opponents among the polytheists admitted his truthfulness from the first moment of his call. In this regard, we find in the fragrant Seerah:

They said to him: "We have never experienced a lie from you."

(Narrated by al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 4971)

When Heraclius, the Roman Emperor, asked Abu Sufyan—who was then still a polytheist—: "Did you used to accuse him of lying before he said what he said?", Abu Sufyan replied, "No." Heraclius then made his famous remark:

If I were with him, I would have washed his feet.

(Narrated by al-Bukhari, Hadith No. 7)

These historical testimonies and psychological evidences represent a radiant proof of the truthfulness of his prophethood, and refute every suspicion that attempts to undermine the great station of the Message.