Another problem which militates against the moral reformation theory is the fact that Muhammad (pbuh) himself is corrected by the Qur’an in several places. An example of such a situation is when Hamzah, the uncle of the prophet (pbuh) was killed during the battle of Uhud. At the instigation of Hind, the wife of Abu Sufiyan, his body was ripped open and violently mutilated. When the Prophet (pbuh) pbuh what had been done he said, “Never yet have I felt more anger than now I feel, and when next God gives me victory over the Quraish, I will mutilate thirty of their dead.”
But soon after this there came the revelation, “If you punish (your enemy) then punish them with the like of that with which you were afflicted. But if you endure patiently, verily it is better for As-Sabirin (the patient ones).” 16:126. Not only did the Prophet (pbuh) not fulfil his threat, but he expressly forbade mutilation after every battle.
It will thus be seen from the above, that the assumption that moral reformation is the central concern of the Qur’an is incorrect. Moral precepts are only part of the message.


C.2 UNITY AND LIBERATION OF ARABS


The theory that Muhammad (pbuh) had authored the Qur’an in order to unite and liberate the Arabs is very difficult to defend for the following reasons:
There is not a single verse in the whole Qur’an calling for the unity or liberation of the Arab nation. If we assume that Muhammad (pbuh) was the author, then his motive is not the unity of the Arabs, or at least it is not reflected in the Qur’an.
If the unity of the Arabs was the overriding consideration of Muhammad (pbuh), he would have gladly accepted the offer to be the king of Arabia and use his power and influence to build a unified Arabia.
There are verses in Qur’an, which seem to contradict the idea that Muhammad’s (pbuh) motive was to build Arab nationalism.
The Qur’anic concept of Ummah (nation) is ideological and against any manifestations of nationalist tendencies. It is based on the criterion of truth (haq) and falsehood (batil). Anyone who accepts that ideology is a member irrespective of his nationality, race, color or even blood ties. In practice this sometimes meant the separation of father and son. It was because of the apparent rift that the Quraish clan was alarmed and sent Utbah to ask the Prophet (pbuh) to give up his call to Islam. The unity, which prevailed in Arabia after the triumph of Islam, was ideological and that unity is strongly encouraged by the Qur’an.
“And (remember) when the angles said. ‘O Mary! Verily Allah has chosen you, purified you (from polytheism and disbelief), and chosen you above the women of the Alamin (mankind and jinns)’ (of her time).” Ch. 3: V42
The above verse refers to Mary the mother of Jesus (PBUH). Such an honor to Mary is not to be found even in the Christian Bible.
If the Qur’an was authored by Muhammad (pbuh) to propagate his nationalistic ideas, why would he praise a woman from the Jewish race, instead of some other woman from his own household or of Arab origin? There were plenty of women who suffered and even sacrificed their lives for their belief in Islam, but none of them were given this highest honor.
On the contrary, the Qur’an declares that the human race is one, springing from one man and one woman, and that the best among them is the one best in piety.
Footnotes:
Please see “The Bible, The Qur’an & Modern Science” by Maurice Bucaille for more information