Dr. Labib: Mohammed was not a true prophet. And I say that because, you see, the true prophet must receive a direct call from God, especially if he will be the founder of a religion. Mohammed is the founder of Islam. Moses received a direct call from God. Mohammed didn't receive a direct call from God. The story is very interesting. He was in the cave of Hira, outside of Mecca, and there, a spirit appeared to Mohammed. And then, the spirit squeezed Mohammed very tightly, that he thought that he was going to die. And the spirit said to Mohammed, "Read." Mohammed was illiterate, he could not read. And he said, "I cannot read." Then the spirit squeezed him more tightly that he thought he was going to die. And the spirit said to him, "Read!" "I cannot read," Mohammed answered. Then the spirit squeezed him more tightly. He was afraid that he was going to die. And he said, "Read!" He said, "What shall I read?" The words should be recited because he could not read. How could you command someone who doesn't know how to read, read? You say to him, "Recite!" And then he said, "What shall I read?" And he said, "Read, in the name of thy Lord, who created man from the clot," etc, etc. So the Quran is not the invention of Mohammed. The Quran was given to him by that spirit who appeared to him at the cave of Hira. The Muslims say, that the spirit was Gabriel the angel. They say the angel Gabriel is the spirit who appeared to Mohammed at the cave of Hira , and he squeezed him tightly.
But listen, when you go the Bible, Gabriel appeared to many people. Gabriel appeared to Daniel, and Daniel was scared. And he said, "Do not be afraid, Daniel." Then he appeared Zecharia, the father of John the Baptist. And he was afraid, and Gabriel said, "Do not be afraid, do not be afraid." Then he appeared to Mary. And Mary was troubled, and Gabriel said, "Do not be afraid." But that spirit who met Mohammed and squeezed him, left him very troubled. He was scared to death. And when he went back to his wife Khadigah, he said, "I am scared, I am scared! I am trembling?" She said, "What?" He said, "I don't know, I don't know. I am afraid that I am possessed." Then she took him to a bishop in Mecca, by the name of Waraka Bin Nawfal, who was her cousin, and she told him about what happened. And this Waraka, the bishop of the Amunit cult in Mecca said to her, "Oh, be quiet. Be quiet. Mohammed will be the prophet of the Arabs."
So the one who declared Mohammed a prophet was the bishop of Mecca. And that is the historical fact. So the Quran is not the invention of Mohammed. It was dictated to him by that spirit. And I want to tell you something, it's not a miracle, because any book would not be a miracle. Any book, you know, Homer wrote the Iliad, and Odyssey, it's not a miracle. Shakespeare wrote many books, it's not a miracle. Plato wrote many books, not a miracle. The books cannot be a miracle because if I cannot understand the language, I cannot confirm if it's a miracle or not. The miracle is to raise somebody, to heal somebody, to give the sight to somebody, these are miracles! But to tell me that a book is a miracle, I don't buy that!
