Views of Judaism on Muhammad

In religious writings associated with Judaism, there reportedly exist limited references to Muhammad – the prophet of Islam. Relevant references reportedly reject Muhammad's claim of having received divine revelations from God.

Overview

In the Middle Ages, the description of Muhammad as ha-meshuggah ("the madman") was common due to his self-identification as a messianic figure,^[1] a practice strongly opposed by the theology of Judaism.^[1][2]

Jewish theologians

Maimonides

Maimonides, one of the most prominent medieval Jewish philosophers in history, considered Muhammad a false prophet and an insane man. In the Epistle to Yemen, Maimonides wrote,^[3]

After Jesus arose the Madman [Muhammad] who emulated his precursor, since he paved the way for him. But he added the further objective of procuring rule and submission and he invented what was well known [Islam].

Related pages

• Judaism
• Islamism
• Middle Ages
• Antisemitism
• History of Jews
• History of Jews in the Arabian Peninsula

References

1. • Norman A. Stillman (1979). The Jews of Arab lands: a history and source book. Jewish Publication Society. p. 236. ISBN 978-0-8276-0198-7. Retrieved 26 December 2011.
   • Defending the West: A Critique of Edward Said's Orientalism By Ibn Warraq Page 255
   • The Legacy of Islamic Antisemitism: From Sacred Texts to Solemn History page 21
2. • Reed, Adolph (1996). "False Prophet: The Rise of Louis Farrakhan". The Politics of Race (1 ed.). Routledge. ISBN 9781315286372. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
   • Firestone, Reuven (2014). "The Prophet Muhammad in Pre-Modern Jewish Literatures". The Image of the Prophet between Ideal and Ideology. De Gruyter. doi:10.1515/9783110312546.27. Retrieved January 11, 2025.
   • Francisco del Río Sánchez (May 8, 2015). "The Rejection of Muhammad's Message by Jews and Christians and Its Effect on Islamic Theological Argumentation". The Journal of the Middle East and Africa. 6 (1): 59–75. doi:10.1080/21520844.2015.1028851. Retrieved January 12, 2025.
   • Shrenzel, Israel (September 4, 2018). "Verses and Reality: What the Koran Really Says about Jews". Jewish Political Studies Review. 29 (3–4). Retrieved January 12, 2025.
3. Norman Roth. Jews, Visigoths, and Muslims in Medieval Spain: Cooperation and Conflict, Brill, 1994, p. 218.