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The truth about Voltaire’s attitude towards Prophet Muhammad
and his message
Initially, we, as Muslims, recognize the greatness of Prophet Muhammad
and his sublime status, by virtue of which he needs no glorification by
humans after Allah commended him and raised his unmatched status.
(. ‫ )تحذف‬It was the Divine will, however, which made some non-Muslims
testify in favor of the Prophet with truthfulness and justice.
François-Marie Aroue (1694 – 1778), better known by the penname ( ‫كلمذ‬
‫ )واحذة‬Voltaire, is a case in point. In 1742, he wrote “Fanaticism”, a play
where he attacked Islam, and claimed that women are forced to accept the
Islamic faith. He also raised some doubts about the talk of Prophet
Muhammad (may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) with
Gabriel (Jibreel), (peace be upon him) and he (i.e. Voltaire) provided an
abusive portrayal of the Messenger of Allah. One year after publication,
the play was confiscated because the Church had some reservations
concerning the content. The Church thought that Voltaire wanted to
criticize it (through Islam)from the Islamic perspective.
Voltaire’s prejudiced description and attacks against Prophet Muhammad
aimed to antagonize religious thought in general to cope with the trend of
his time. Large-scale campaigns were launched against the Christian
thoughts, in compliance with the principles of the so-called Age of
Renaissance and Enlightenment that was prevalent in Europe at that time.
Actually, Voltaire renounced fanaticism in the French society and called
upon others to fight it. However, he committed a gross mistake by
authoring his play “Fanaticism” or “Mahomet” which was primarily
based on the principles of fanaticism, falsehood, and calumny. Indeed, he
wanted to criticize the Church and profane all the sanctities, perceiving
that both the church and the community would accept his attacks against
Islam and Prophet Muhammad.. The contemplated reaction was revealed
at the beginning until the play was presented to the Church, which
consequently banned it again because the church realized that it was
meant by the critique.
Later on, Voltaire refuted these malicious allegations against Islam as he
knew the truth about Islam, its guidelines, and lofty principles. He was
affected by “The Life of Muhammad”, a book authored by Henri de
Boulainvilliers and published in London in 1720. The book gloriously
defended Prophet Muhammad and refuted the allegations that were raised
against him. The author explained that Muhammad was a religious and
rational innovator who deserved appreciation even by the West.
In 1765, Voltaire authored “ A Treatise on Tolerance” where he praised
Islam, extolled Muhammad, and appreciated the Qur’an. He said that
Muhammad, Confucius, and Zoroaster were the greatest lawmakers of the
world. In 1751, Voltaire authored his book “Essay on the Manners of
Nations” where he defended Muhammad as a judicious political thinker
and a wise founder of religion. He indicated that the Islamic countries
always enjoyed tolerance, while the Christian tradition lacked tolerance
throughout history.
In light of that, it would have been fair and perfect that French
intellectuals in particular, Western intellectuals in general, and the
common people who admire Voltaire’s thought to give precedence to
“Treatise on Tolerance” over “Fanaticism”, or do they prefer the latter out
of bigotry?
In the midst of the campaign launched by Western extremists against
Islam and Prophet Muhammad, we would probably ask those extremists
to reconsider their situation in this age of scientific advancement and
amazing communication between nations and cultures. They are due to
recheck themselves to match the spirit of the age with all of its facts, one
of which is demonstrated by proofs of the truthfulness and virtue of
Muhammad.
This is the time, given the scientific advancement and the astonishing
communication between nations and cultures, for the Western mind to
resettle its accounts and take an attitude closer to the spirit of the age and
more in line with its facts.
This is an urgent demand as the world witnesses many disorders which
induced blood shedding and claimed the souls of people unfairly. This
has created a desperate need for promoting the causes of peace and justice
and establishing respect for the Divine laws, Prophets, and Messengers.
Following this approach will maintain the human necessities and keep
people’s souls, honor, wealth, rights, and elements of a noble life.
The offensive hostilities against the sanctities reinforce the wretchedness
and misery of the world, because all people need mercy and guidance,
and these two things were divinely provided by Prophet Muhammad.
However, those who ridicule Prophet Muhammad and defame his life and
message drive people away from virtue and deprive the world from
stability and tranquility. These people are condemned and threatened by
the Qur’an. Allah says in His Glorious Book, : {The ones who prefer the
worldly life over the Hereafter and avert [people] from the way of Allah,
seeking to make it (seem) deviant. Those are in extreme error.} [chapter
of Abraham, 14:3]
It is unfortunate for the humankind that progress has been achieved in
different spheres of knowledge and amazing discoveries have been made.
However, many world-class claimers of civilization profane the religious
sanctities in writings which bring about the fall of their own societies due
to the moral reflections involved.
There is no doubt that Muslims assume a great responsibility to prevent
the defamation of Islam, Prophet Muhammad, and the Qur’an. Each
Muslim shares the responsibility, whether major or minor. Leaders,
scholars, intellects, media professionals, communities, etc. are
responsible according to the position that they hold.