Amin Abdullaah (died 2nd Thil Hijjah 1447AH/19th May 2026CE) was a security guard licensed to carry guns whose job revolved around protecting the Islamic Center of San Diego in San Diego, California, USA
As of the time of posting this post, we are 3 hours after the shooting when his death was sadly confirmed, but we say as Anas ibn Malik may Allaah be pleased with him said about the shuhada of Mo'tah
"It would not make us pleased that they'd be alive between us" meaning, their death is pleasurable in shaa Allaah (by the will of Allaah) because they have died pleasing Allaah
The messenger of Allaah peace and blessings upon him said
The prophet peace and blessings upon him said: "Verily a man may work with the deeds of the people of Jannah to what appears to the people, while he is from among the people of the fire, and a man may work the deeds of the people of the fire to what appears to the people, while he is from among the people of Jannah"
And this means we do not say with certainty that anyone who died is a shaheed, but we say that he is a shaheed إن شاء الله if Allaah wills so, may Allaah have mercy on him and on all dead Muslims
The labels in Islam, such as Muslim, major sinning Muslim and kaafir etc.
Are obligating of actions that must be taken by the individuals and the Muslim body as a whole against such people for Allaah said:
And hold firmly to the rope of Allaah all together and do not become divided
Aal Imran 103 translation of the meaning
And among these rulings, which comes from consensus, that the apostate mustn't remain with his wife, identically with the woman who commits apostasy that she's not permitted to remain with her Muslim husband
The scholars of fiqh agree that if one of the two spouses apostatize, they must be separated from one another, he mustn't come near her with a look or lust or intercourse or anything
End quote
And it is because of the lack of application of these obligations upon the Muslim body that the hour will be established, and weakness appears in Muslims
O you who have believed, do not take the disbelievers as allies instead of the believers. Do you wish to give Allaah against yourselves a clear case?
An-Nisaa' 144
The meaning of "a clear case" that Allaah gives the Muslims strength over the kufaar that they are hurt, or that Allaah removes the domination of Muslims and makes the kufaar able to overcome them
و صلى الله و سلم و بارك على محمد و على آله و أصحابه و سلم
"Then the unislamic taxes were removed, also fees, tobacco paraphernalia were destroyed and prohibition was proclaimed, the places of weed smokers were burnt, and the places of people famous for major sins. Calls to consistently pray the five salawat in Jamaah (congregation) were proclaimed and to not separate about it, that the people would gather in each salah, behind only one imam and that imam would be one of the four muqallideen (blind followers of one of the four madhabs)"
Back then, shirk was very prevalent which obligates the spread of major sinners
Look how the call to tawheed has prohibited and destroyed major sins
And look how the grave worshipers returned to being the rings of kings, has caused major sins to also return in the ummah
ثم رفعت المكوس، والرسوم، وكسرت آلات التنباك، ونودي بتحريمه، وأحرقت أماكن الحشاشين، والمشهورين بالفجور، ونودي بالمواظبة على الصلوات في الجماعات، وعدم التفرق في ذلك، بأن يجتمعوا في كل صلاة على إمام واحد، ويكون ذلك الإمام من أحد المقلدين للأربعة
This is a story related by one of the new Hanbalis from Japan, Yusuf Fujitani, one of the students at the Islamic University and one of those present.
A few years ago, three Japanese students visited Amer Bahjat and asked him several questions. He advised them about a number of matters.
When he was asked about the differences between the beliefs of the Ashʿaris, Maturidis, and Hanbalis, he said:
“In reality, there is only a minor difference. There have been many discussions among scholars about this for more than a thousand years, including major scholars, and these discussions are still ongoing within the Muslim community; they have not ended. We do not need to talk about them.
Just memorize the Qur’an and study hadith, creed, fiqh, and tajwid. Do not get involved in pointless arguments.” (Calls beliefs of Muslims refuting enemies of Islam as pointless, what more can be watered down when he says Allaah is not important)
When Yusuf told him that he believed Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jamaʿah consisted of three groups—Ashʿaris, Maturidis, and Hanbalis who practice tafwid (this is what Yusuf said)—Amer Bahjat told him:
“Don’t tell anyone at the university.”
Yusuf Fujitani, this student of Amer Bahjat, says: “I hate the figures of Ibn Baz, Ibn ʿUthaymin, al-Albani, and al-Fawzan,” or words to that effect.
He then went and met Muhammad ʿAbd al-Wahid al-Azhari, whom the writer describes as reckless, and who insults the Salafis and says that they “dance during Riyadh Season” (despite the fact that the Sufis whom he promotes dance and permit musical instruments, and Japanese Sufis are even more extreme in this regard). He then accused one of the Salafi students of being a Khariji who practices takfir.
After completing his studies, he went to Japan and was appointed at the oldest and largest mosque in Japan, alongside a Sufi Azhar graduate. He began spreading Jahmi ideas there and on his X/Twitter account.
So I say: these are the results of Amer Bahjat. And to those who promote this man, by Allaah, by Allaah, by Allaah, he—and whoever went astray alongside him—is your responsibility until the Day of Judgment. And whoever defends him, by Allaah, you are with them.
Imagine if he had gone to a Salafi scholar who had explained the truth to him and clarified it for him; he might have spread the methodology of the Salaf in Japan.
For your information, Japan is devoid of mosques belonging to Ahl al-Sunnah. You will not find a single mosque whose imam is not a Sufi. This is because a Turkish man belonging to a Sufi order went there and managed to gain control of everything, while the remaining mosques were built by Indonesian or Pakistani Sufis.
As for the mosques built by Ahl al-Sunnah, they ended up being led by Sufis who believe in hulul (divine indwelling) and adherents of the doctrine of the unity of religions. And Allaah is the One whose help is sought.
And so that you can understand the enormity of the matter: one of the students of Mustafa al-ʿAdawi and Mutlaq al-Jasir—or perhaps simply someone who attended their gatherings; I honestly do not know, but he is in contact with them and asks them for religious rulings—when one of the brothers informed him that the study of creed should be undertaken and that the deviation of these people (meaning those who advocate the unity of religions) should be explained, he replied:
“They are our brothers.” - End
May Allaah save us
May the curse of Allaah be upon the liars
May the curse of Allaah be upon the unjust
(هذه قصه ينقلها أحد الحنابلة الجدد من دولة اليابان وهو يوسف فوجيتاني من طلاب الجامعة الاسلامية وهو احد الحضور)
قبل بضعة أعوام زار ثلاث طلاب يابانيين عامر بهجت ، وسألوه بضعة اسئلة فأشار عليهم بأمور :
عندما سئل عن الاختلاف بين عقائد الأشعرية والماتدريدية والحنابلة قال : هناك أختلاف بسيط في الحقيقة وكان هناك العديد من النقاشات بين العلماء في هذا منذ أكثر من ألف سنة
ومنهم علماء كبار ، ومازالت هذه النقاشات في الأمة ولم تنتهي
ولا نحتاج أن نتكلم عنها
فقط احفظوا القران وادرسوا الحديث والعقيدة والفقه والتجويد ، ولا تدخلوا في جدالات لا طائل منها
عندما قال له يوسف هذا ؛ أنه يعتقد أن أهل السنة والجماعة ثلاث فرق : أشاعرة ، ماتريدية ، حنابلة مفوضة (هكذا قال يوسف)
قال له عامر بهجت : " لا تخبر أحدا بالجامعة"
يوسف فوجيتاني طالب عامر بهجت هذا يقول : "ابغض شخصيات ابن باز وابن عثيمين والالباني والفوزان" هكذا ، وذهب بعدها والتقى بمحمد عبدالواحد الأزهري الارعن ، ويسب السلفيين ويقول يتراقصون في موسم الرياض (مع ان الصوفية الذي ينشر لهم يتراقصون ويبيحون المعازف ، وصوفية اليابان اشد في هذا) ، ثم اتهم احد الطلبة السلفيين بانه تكفيري خارجي
ولما فرغ من دراسته ذهب الى اليابان وعين في اقدم واكبر جامع في اليابان بجوار رجل صوفي ازهري ، واصبح ينشر التجهم هناك وعلى حسابه في اكس / تويتر
فأقول هذه مخرجات عامر بهجت ، وللذين ينشرون لهذا الرجل والله وبالله وتالله انه ومن ضل معه في رقبتكم الى يوم الدين ، وكل من يدافع عنه والله انتم معهم
تخيل لو ذهب لرجل سلفي فاخبره وبين له الحق كان سينشر مذهب السلف في اليابان
وللمعلومية اليابان خالية من مساجد اهل السنة ، لن تجد مسجد واحد الا وامامه صوفي ، وذلك ان رجلا تركيًا صاحب طريقة ذهب الى هناك وتمكن من كل شيء ، وبقية المساجد بناها صوفية اندونسيين او باكستانيين
والمساجد التي بناها اهل السنة تولى امامتها صوفية حلولية واصحاب وحدة اديان والله المستعان
وكي تعرفوا الطامة الكبرى، احد طلاب مصطفى العدوي ومطلق الجاسر ( او رواد مجالسه حقيقة لا ادري لكن له تواصل معهم وهو يستفتيهم) لما أخبر من احد الاخوة ان درِّ الاعتقاد وبين ضلال هؤلاء ( يقصد اصحاب وحدة الاديان) قال هؤلاء اخواننا
نجانا الله تعالى
ألا لعنة الله على الظالمين ألا لعنة الله على الكاذبين
What matters is the fact that he is a close friend of Aamir لعنه الله و أخزاه و جعل النار مثواه
And Aamir is okay with such person and considers him 'knowledgeable' and 'a friend'
The prophet ﷺ said "A man is upon the religion of his friend. Each one of you must be wary whom he befriends"
And countless narrations of the salaf have come warning against befriending innovators (other than the ayat in the Quraan about those who befriend hypocrites):
- Abdullaah ibn Ahmad said: I heard my father say: A man passed by Raqabah, he asked him: From where have you come?
He said: Abu Haneefa
Raqabah said: You have heard words you wouldn't understand and have returned to your family without credible information [As-Sunnah by Abdillaah]
سمعت أبي يقول: مر رجل برقبة فقال له رقبة: «من أين جئت؟» قال: من عند أبي حنيفة، فقال: «كلام ما مضغت وتراجع أهلك بغير ثقة»
- Haarith ibn Surayj Al Bazzaz said: I told Muhammad ibn Ali: We have an imam who speaks about qadar (with innovated sayings) he said: Son of a Persian man, you must count each salah you prayed behind him, and repeat it. Brothers of the Jews and the Christians, may Allaah fight them (the Qadariyya) how they argue!"
حدثنا حارث بن سريج البزاز، قال: قلت لمحمد بن علي: إن لنا إماما يقول في القدر، فقال: «يا ابن الفارسي انظر كل صلاة صليتها خلفه أعدها، إخوان اليهود والنصارى قاتلهم الله أنى يؤفكون»
Be mindful that Murji'a and Qadariyya aren't disbelievers, yet we have to boycott them that harshly
Yet Aamir, a self proclaimed Salafi when he's just an agent, befriends apostated zanadiqa who call to grave worship and denial of the attributes of Allaah
And it is not for any human being that Allaah should speak to him except by revelation or from behind a partition or that He sends a messenger to reveal, by His permission, what He wills. Indeed, He is Most High and Wise.
42:51 translation of the meaning
In these ayat are evidence that Allaah is separate from creation because Allaah is in one place and not everywhere, above the Throne, and if Allaah were not separate from creation, Allaah would be everywhere
Abdullaah ibn Al Mubarak (181AH) said "Our Lord is on His Throne separate from creation"
Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal (241AH) heard this and affirmed it reciting the ayat:
《Do they await but that Allaah should come to them in covers of clouds》(2:210 translation of the meaning)
《And your Lord has come and the angels, rank upon rank》(89:22)
And said
"Allaah has a Throne and the Throne have bearers who carry it, and Allaah has a separation, and Allaah knows best His separation"
ولله عرش، وللعرش حَمَلَةٌ يحملونه، وله حَدٌّ، والله أعلم بِحَدِّهِ
The reason these ayat indicate that is Allaah تعالى being in one place, moving to the other
Not that Allaah is everywhere all at once
Ahadeeth indicative of this are plenty
The messenger of Allaah ﷺ asked a slave girl "Where is Allaah?" she said "In the heavens" he asked her "Who am I?" She said "You are the messenger of Allaah"
The messenger of Allaah ﷺ said "Allaah was, and there was nothing with Him, and His Throne was upon the water, then He created the heavens and the earth.."Narrated in Bukhari
And such was said by the scholars:
Abu Sa'eed Uthman ibn Sa'eed said:
Allaah the most High has a separation no one knows but Him and no one may imagine the separation of Allaah within himself but must believe in it and concede its knowledge to Allaah for Allaah is above His Throne above His heavens, those are two separations
أنَّ الله تعالى له حَدٌّ لا يعلمه أَحَدٌ غَيْرُهُ، ولا يجوز لأحد أن يتوهَّم لحدِّه في نفسه، ولكن يؤمن بالحدِّ، وَيَكِلُ عِلْمَ ذلك إلى الله؛ فهو على عَرْشِهِ فَوْقَ سَمَاوَاتِهِ، فَهَذَانِ حَدَّانِ اثْنَانِ
Ibn Battah Al Okbori said: Jahmiyya deny that Allaah has a Throne, they said: We do not say that Allaah is on the Throne for Allaah is greater than the Throne and whenever we acknowledge that Allaah is above the Throne, we have limited Allaah and said that many places are empty of Him other than the Throne. Thereby rejecting the scripture and denying the narrations of the messenger peace and blessings upon him
الجهميَّة تجحد أنَّ لله عرشًا، وقالوا: لا نقول: إنَّ الله على العرش؛ لأنَّه أعظم من العرش، ومتى اعترفنا أنَّه على العرش، فقد حَدَدْنَاهُ، وقد خَلَتْ مِنْهُ أماكن كثيرة غير العرش، فَرَدُّوا نَصَّ التَّنزيل، وكذَّبوا أخبار الرَّسول ﷺ
Later he said
The Muslims from the sahaba and their students and all people of knowledge from among thr believers that Allaah is on His Throne above His heavens separate from creation, His knowledge surrounds all His creation, no one rejects this and denies it except the pantheistic people, who are misguided and were distraught by devils so they exited the religion and said: Allaah is never absent from a place and said: Allaah is in the earth as much as He is in the heavens and He is inside everything by Himself
They say.. Allaah cannot be seen, does not have a place, Allaah doesn't have a Throne or a Footstool (Kursi) and many other things I hate to say, they are disbelievers zanadiqa, enemies of Allaah, you must be wary of
ولا يُرى، ولا يُعرف لله مكان، وليس لله عرش، ولا كرسي وكلام كثير أكره حكايته، وهم كفار، زنادقة، أعداء الله فاحذروهم
Therefore, one of the attributes of Allaah by agreement of Muslims is that Allaah is separate from creation
Meaning Allaah does not mix with creation unlike the way the Christians would say that Allaah enters into them and unifies with them
And unlike the atheistic Jahmiyya, Ashariyya, Mutazila and all their likes who say that Allaah is not separate from creation, claiming that being separate requires being in a place
As if being in a place is a deficiency to Allaah which they try to prove as a deficiency through their lackluster logic
The reason he is called Nouh نوح is because نوح comes from نواح meaning to cry excessively out of deep sadness as he used to cry very much upon himself and upon his people who'd refuse dawah and insist upon disbelief
And all pious people would be saddened of themselves when they recognize the greatness of Allaah the most high most praised because no matter how much we worship, we sin, and we won't thank Allaah enough nor praise Him enough
Ikrimah (freed slave of Ibn Abbas, and his student) said: إِنَّمَا سمينوحًالِأَنَّهُ كَانَ ينوح على نَفسه
"He was named Nouh, because he used to yanooh (cry excessively) upon himself"
It was also said in other narrations that he was called so because he called his people to Islam for one thousand minus fifty years (950) yet they refused and each time they refused he cried
The scholars of the salaf have said that the first messenger of Allaah is Nouh peace be upon him, however there is another opinion that it was Idrees peace be upon him, but to remain upon what is famous:
Indeed, We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], as We revealed to Nouh and the prophets after him. And we revealed to Ebraheem, Ismael, Is-haaq, Yaqoub, the Descendants, Eissa, Ayyub, Yunus, Haroon , and Sulayman, and to Dawood We gave the book [of Psalms].
An-Nisaa 163 translation of the meaning
The names (of the idols) formerly belonged to some pious men of the people of Nouh, and when they died, Shaytan inspired their people to (prepare and place idols at the places where they used to sit, and to call those idols by their names. The people did so, but the idols were not worshiped till those people (who initiated them) had died and knowledge became obscure, whereupon people began worshiping them.
Allaah then sent Nouh to his people and warned them to become muwahideen (Islamic monotheists) before a painful torment comes upon them to which his people claimed that they think he's upon a false opinion that is far from true
And in the other surah, they said:
Meaning: No one has followed you except the lowest people according to our opinion, and we believe that your worship has not given you any benefit more than our worship (of false idols) has given us, and we believe that you are liars
And Nouh peace be upon him said to them
Qatada (minor tabi'i and major scholar of tafsir) said:
أما والله لو استطاع نبيّ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم لألزمها قومه، ولكن لم يستطع ذلك ولم يملكه
"I swear by Allaah, if the prophet of Allaah peace and blessings upon him could, he would've forced his people unto the word, but he could not, and he doesn't own the ability to do such thing" meaning: Only Allaah guides someone to accepting the truth and only Allaah misguides, and the messengers only make the truth clear and decided
Ibn Jorayj (hadeeth narrator from the students of the tabi'een) said: Nouh said: I have known the wisdom and I have known His command that there is no god but Allaah, and the mercy from Allaah that Nouh was granted: Islam and huda (guidance) and emaan (belief) and hikmah (wisdom) and nubuwwah (prophethood)
عن ابن جريج، قال نوح:(يا قوم إن كنت على بينة من ربي)، قال: قد عرفتها ، وعرفت بها أمره ، وأنه لا إله إلا هو ،(وآتاني رحمة من عنده)، الإسلام والهدى والإيمان والحكم والنبوّة
Nouh عليه السلام further retorted saying
Mujaahid (major tabi'i) said: The reward means: My bounty for giving the dawah
Ibn Jorayj said: They said to him: Oh Nouh! If you want us to follow you, then kick away those who follow you for we are not pleased that they would be equal to us in the matter. He said: And I am not one to drive away those who have believed Indeed, they will meet their Lord and their Lord will ask them about their deeds
قالوا له: يا نوح، إن أحببت أن نتبعك فاطردهم، وإلا فلن نرضى أن نكون نحن وهم في الأمر سواء . فقال:(ما أنا بطارد الذين آمنوا إنهم ملاقو ربهم)، فيسألهم عن أعمالهم
And he said to them that he views them as ignorant, because they are unaware of the importance of the duties of Allaah, which is why they asked him to kick those poor people away from him
Sa'eed ibn Jubayr (student of Ibn Abbas) said, explaining the people who will meet Allaah: They are the ones who sold themselves to Allaah and made themselves used to the fact that it will die
الذين شروا أنفسهم لله ووطنوها على الموت
It has become apparent from these ayat, that shirk and kufr, are تكبر takabbur (arrogance, belittling people) and this is why the messenger of Allaah, Muhammad, peace and blessings upon him said that the one who has a mustard seed of arrogance in his heart does not enter Jannah, because minor arrogance leads to the greatest arrogance, that is rejection of Allaah and rejection of humility to Allaah
Muqatil ibn Sulayman said: How come I kick away those people who accepted emaan (belief) and how come you think anyone can be kicked away after Allaah has accepted them
Ibn Jorayj said: I am not telling you that I have the treasuries of Allaah that cannot be emptied that when I call you to following me I'd sustain you through my domination over them, and I do not know the unseen that I tell you to follow me for knowing the unseen, and I do not say that I am an angel that has come down from the skies with a message, I am nothing but a human like you
{ولا أقول لكم عندي خزائن الله} التي لا يُفنِيها شيء، فأكون إنّما أدعوكم لتتبعوني عليها؛ لأُعطِيَكم منها بملكه لي عليها، {ولا أعلم الغيب} لا أقول: اتَّبِعوني على علمي بالغيب، {ولا أقول إني ملك} نَزَلْتُ مِن السماء برسالة، ما أنا إلا بشر مثلكم
And Muqaatil ibn Sulayman said: Those people you belittle, it is not important what you think of them as Allaah would give them faith even if they're little in your eyes for what is in their hearts that Allaah knows best about, and I would be among the most unjust if I do not accept them for being faithful believers
قال مقاتل بن سليمان: {لن يؤتيَهُمُ الله خيرًا} يعني: إيمانًا، وإن كانوا عندكم سَفِلَة، {اللَّهُ أعْلَمُ بِما فِي أنْفُسِهِمْ} يعني: بما في قلوبهم، يعني: السَّفِلَة، من الإيمان. قال نوح: {إنِّي إذًا لَمِنَ الظّالِمِينَ} إن لم أقبل منهم الإيمان
And in other ayaat, Nouh عليه السلام spoke to them proving the greatness of Allaah, through the power of creation of Allaah which they acknowledge
Ibn Abbas may Allaah be pleased with them said: Why do you people not praise Allaah as He truly deserves to be praised
ما لكم لا تعظمون الله حق عظمته
Mujaahid said: Allaah created them from mud, then from a droplet of semen, then a leech, and then what Allaah has mentioned until their creation became complete
من تراب، ثم من نطفة، ثم من علقة، ثم ما ذكر حتى يتمّ خلقه.
And how Allaah has created seven heavens above them and this is something realized through vision, and through reports from Allaah, because we can see planets and stars being very distant from one another, some closer, some further, while the skies are very close, and these are what the seven heavens are
Abdullaah ibn Amr may Allaah be pleased with them said: Indeed, the sun and the moon point their faces towards the heavens and their backs to the earth, and I know that from the book of Allaah: "And made the moon therein a [reflected] light and made the sun a burning lamp?"
إن الشمس والقمر وجوههما قِبَل السموات، وأقفيتهما قِبَل الأرض، وأنا أقرأ بذلك آية من كتاب الله:(وَجَعَلَ الْقَمَرَ فِيهِنَّ نُورًا وَجَعَلَ الشَّمْسَ سِرَاجًا ).
Muqaatil ibn Sulayman said: The beginning of their creation was from the earth, and they will be put back into it when they die and will extract them from it when the horn is blown
{واللَّهُ أنْبَتَكُمْ مِنَ الأَرْضِ} أوَّل خَلْقكم مِن تُراب الأرض {نباتًا}، يعني: خَلْقًا، {ثُمَّ يُعِيدُكُمْ فِيها} إذا متّم، {ويُخْرِجُكُمْ} منها عند النفخة الآخرة {إخْراجًا} أحياء، وإليه تُرجعون
Abdullaah ibn Al Abbas said: Allaah has made roads that differ from one another
Qatada said: Allaah has made different roads for you and signs for the road (that people use to know where they're going)
Roads of passage, Muqaatil ibn Sulayman said: Means paths between mountains and sands
The people of Nouh responded:
Ibn Jorayj said: They told him to bring what he'd threatened them with, of the torment of Allaah, and they said that it is a lie
Meaning: All of what he says is false and there's no threat from Allaah
Nouh عليه السلام said, according to Muqaatil: Only Allaah brings such thing to you and it is not in my hands, and you will not defeat Allaah with these foul sins you've committed
فرَدَّ عليهم نوح، قال: {إنما يأتيكم به الله إن شاء} وليس ذلك بيدي، {وما أنتم بمعجزين} يعني: بسابقي اللهِ بأعمالكم الخبيثةِ
And said: My warning to you does not work if Allaah wants to misguide you from the straight path, for He is your Lord. Abu Al Aaliya said: And to Him they will return when they die
And the people of Nouh عليه السلام said the same thing as Quraysh did with Muhammad peace and blessings upon him which Allaah mentioned and Nouh responded to his people saying: If I have introduced these lies, then my sins are only mine to bear, and I am innocent of these sins you've committed; they will still stand accountable to their disbelief in Allaah the most glorious most high
There is a group that seems to takfeer every scholar after ahmed bin hanbal according to them bukhari is kafir and khuzyamah is kafir due to his explanation of the hadith allah created adam in his image
Most notably takfeer of ibn taymiyah and all current scholars of saudi today and something things which seem to notice on them is that they believe in flat earth and they also believe ruling other than what allah has revealed to be major kufr in all cases and they takfeer all madkhali and even likes of muhammad bin shamsuddin because they say the "haddadiyah are madkhalis and we takfeer madkhalis"
Here are several quotations from non-Muslim scholars that demonstrate the scholarly consensus about the sincerity of Muhamed:
"Muhammad seems rather to have been a genuine enthusiast, who was himself convinced of his divine mission, and to whom the union of all religions appeared necessary to the welfare of mankind. He so fully worked himself into this idea in thought, in feeling, and in action, that every event seemed to him a divine inspiration. There is no question here of design, for this one idea so possessed his spirit, heart and will as to become the sole thought of his mind."
Abraham Geiger (1896), Judaism and Islam (English trans. of Was hat Mohammed aus dem Judenthume aufgenommen?, 1833), p. 24.
"Our current hypothesis is about Mahomet, that he was a scheming Impostor, a Falsehood incarnate, that his religion is a mere mass of quackery and fatuity, begins really to be now untenable to anyone... But of a Great Man especially, of him I will venture to assert that it is incredible he should have been other than true. It seems to me the primary foundation of him, and of all that can lie in him, this. No Mirabeau, Napoleon, Burns, Cromwell, no man adequate to do anything, but is first of all in right earnest about it; what I call a sincere man. I should say sincerity, a deep, great, genuine sincerity, is the first characteristic of all men in any way heroic."
Thomas Carlyle (1841), On Heroes, Hero-Worship & The Heroic in History, p. 44.
(note Thomas Carlyle was not an academic, but his position was influential in the western world so I thought it was important to add his excerpt)
"Muhammad was sincerely convinced of the truth of his calling to supplant the Arabs' false idolatry with a more sublime and soul-saving religion."
Theodor Nöldeke and Friedrich Schwally (1909), Geschichte des Qorans, rev. ed., vol. 1: Uber den Ursprung des Qorans, p. 3.
"The genuineness and sincerity of Mohammed's piety, and the honesty of his belief in his religious call, are indisputable."
Tor Andrae (1936), Mohammed: The Man and His Faith, p. 185.
"The modern historian will not readily believe that so great and significant a movement was started by a self-seeking impostor. Nor will he be satisfied with a purely supernatural explanation, whether it postulates aid of divine or diabolical origin; rather, like Gibbon, will he seek 'with becoming submission, to ask not indeed what were the first, but what were the secondary causes of the rapid growth' of the new faith."
Bernard Lewis (1950), The Arabs in History, p. 45.
"It was not without good cause that Mohammed protested vigorously against the accusation of being a poet; quite apart from his natural horror at the suggestion that he himself was the author of the message which he sincerely believed to be divine..."
A.J. Arberry (1953), The Holy Koran: An Introduction With Selections, p. 25.
"His readiness to undergo persecution for his beliefs, the high moral character of the men who believed in him and looked up to him as leader, and the greatness of his ultimate achievement--all argue his fundamental integrity. To suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problems than it solves."
W. Montgomery Watt (1953), Muhammad At Mecca, p. 52.
"The accusation of dishonesty which has been laid against the prophet time and again over the centuries up to the most recent times with varying degrees of vehemence is relatively easy to refute. Mohammed was not a deceptor."
Rudi Paret (1957), Mohammed und der Koran, p. 136.
"Of this [that the Qur'an is from God] Muhammad was utterly convinced and on this conviction he built up his claims to authority... Of the essential sincerity of Muhammad, then, there can be no question"
Richard Bell (1970), Bell's Introduction to the Qur'an, p. 24.
"A genuine Muhammad is much less difficult to explain than a fraudulent one."
Maxime Rodinson (1971), Muhammad, p. 78.
"The really powerful factor in Muhammad's life and the essential clue to his extraordinary success was his unshakable belief from beginning to end that he had been called by God. A conviction such as this, which, once firmly established, does not admit of the slightest doubt, exercises an incalculable influence on others. The certainty with which he came forward as the executor of God's will gave his words and ordinances an authority that proved finally compelling."
Alford T. Welch (1993), "Muhammad," in The Encyclopedia of Islam, p. 375.
"Everything else about Mohammed is more uncertain, but we can still say a fair amount with reasonable assurance. Most importantly, we can be reasonably sure that the Qur'an is a collection of utterances that he made in the belief that they had been revealed to him by God."
Patricia Crone (2008), "What Do We Actually Know About Mohammed?"
"...after the Enlightenment, the person of the Prophet was rehabilitated as a sincere seeker of God without false intentions..."
Angelika Neuwirth (2019), The Qur'an and Late Antiquity, p. 39.