On the May 4, 2023, episode of Blogging Theology, host Dr. Paul Williams gave a talk at the Islamic Society at Cambridge University. During the Q&A, someone asked him the following question.
“You mentioned earlier there were a few things in the Bible which kind of raised doubts and questions. I know you mentioned the Divinity of Jesus, but what were some of the other ones?”
In response, Dr. Williams cited chapter 13 of the Gospel of Mark. In this passage, Jesus is claimed to have made a prophecy of the temple’s destruction and his second coming, and that this was all to happen within a single generation. He further explained that since this clearly did not happen, therefore, he doubted the Bible.
For reference, here is the passage from the Gospel of Mark.
1 As Jesus was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!” 2 “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.” 3 As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the temple, Peter, James, John and Andrew asked him privately, 4 “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?”
26 “At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory. 27 And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens. 28 “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 29 Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. 30 Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 31 Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 32 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father. 33 Take heed, watch and pray; for you do not know when the time is.
While listening to the interview, I found it strange that he considered the false prophecy mentioned in Mark 13 as a critical piece of evidence that shook his faith in the Bible. This was because earlier in the interview, around the 23-minute mark, he had mentioned that what drew him to Islam was the prophet’s history, as documented in his biographies compiled by Hadith sources.
Ironically, the Hadith makes a similar false prophecy regarding the coming of the Hour, yet this doesn’t seem to shake Dr. Williams’s faith regarding the Hadith.
According to the most authentic Hadith sources, it claims that the prophet Muhammad thought that the end of the world was to happen in the next few generations. In the following narrations, it states that the Hour will occur within 100 years.
Jabir b. ‘Abdullah reported: I heard Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as saying this one month before his death: You asked me about the Last Hour whereas its knowledge is with Allah. “And I swear by Allah, not there will be any living soul on earth in a hundred years.”
Sahih Muslim 2538a
https://sunnah.com/muslim:2538a
Notice that this Hadith, Muhammad’s response is similar to Jesus’s response in Mark 13:32 where it states that the knowledge is only with God, but then continues to give a timeframe of 100 years.
‘Abdullah b. Umar reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) led us ‘Isha’ prayer at the latter part of the night and when he had concluded it with salutations he stood up and said: Have you seen this night of yours? For a cap of one hundred years from it, none who is upon the surface of the earth will remain. Ibn Umar said: People were (not understanding) these words of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) which had been uttered pertaining to one hundred years. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) in fact meant (by these words) that on that day none from amongst those who had been living upon the earth (from amongst his Companions) would survive (after one hundred years) and that would be the end of this generation.
Sahih Muslim 2537a
https://sunnah.com/muslim:2537a
Both the above Hadith are clear that this will impact all life on Earth. Yet, the narrator of the second Hadith attempted to cope by stating that the mention of 100 years in the Hadith was only about the companions of that time, despite the Hadith clearly not stating “none of you” but instead that “none would survive on the surface of the earth” which implies that this was about all of mankind.
In another narration, it states that the youngest child among the prophet would not live to old age before the hour was to come.
Anas reported that a person asked Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) as to when the Last Hour would come. He had in his presence a young boy of the Ansar who was called Muhammad. Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said: If this young boy lives, he may not reach an old age till the Hour arises.
وَحَدَّثَنَا أَبُو بَكْرِ بْنُ أَبِي شَيْبَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا يُونُسُ بْنُ مُحَمَّدٍ، عَنْ حَمَّادِ بْنِ سَلَمَةَ، عَنْ ثَابِتٍ، عَنْ أَنَسٍ، أَنَّ رَجُلاً، سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم مَتَى تَقُومُ السَّاعَةُ وَعِنْدَهُ غُلاَمٌ مِنَ الأَنْصَارِ يُقَالُ لَهُ مُحَمَّدٌ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ إِنْ يَعِشْ هَذَا الْغُلاَمُ فَعَسَى أَنْ لاَ يُدْرِكَهُ الْهَرَمُ حَتَّى تَقُومَ السَّاعَةُ ” .
Sahih Muslim 2953a
https://sunnah.com/muslim:2953a
Some traditionalists attempt to ration out of this Hadith by stating that the word “fa’asa” ( فَعَسَى) implies that the prophet was unsure. They interpret this to mean that the boy may live past an old age, but it is clear in the reading that the uncertainty was that the boy most likely will not reach old age before the Hour is established. This sets a cap, similar to the previous Hadith that by the time the boy is old, the Hour will be established.
In another Hadith, we see a similar statement, reinforcing that the Hour would be established in an even shorter time horizon.
Narrated Anas: A bedouin came to the Prophet (ﷺ) and said, “O Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ)! When will The Hour be established?” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Wailaka (Woe to you), What have you prepared for it?” The bedouin said, “I have not prepared anything for it, except that I love Allah and H is Apostle.” The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “You will be with those whom you love.” We (the companions of the Prophet (ﷺ)) said, “And will we too be so? The Prophet (ﷺ) said, “Yes.” So we became very glad on that day. In the meantime, a slave of Al-Mughira passed by, and he was of the same age as I was. The Prophet (ﷺ) said. “If this (slave) should live long, he will not reach the geriatric old age, but the Hour will be established.”
Sahih al-Bukhari 6167
https://sunnah.com/bukhari:6167
Another argument is that traditionalists claim was that, no one thought the world was going to end in that time frame. Except based on the commentary by the narrator of these Hadith, they were unsure what to make of this statement, so they resorted to clever revisionism of interpretation to cover the contradiction. It is expected that since these compilations were put into books 200+ years after their supposed statement, the compilers were well aware that the Hour did not pan out like it was prophecized. Hence, they needed to find reasoning to reconcile this as their entire life’s work depended on this. Yet if we look at the history of Tabari (839–923 CE), who came after the publications of these Hadith, we see that even among such imminent scholars, they believed that the end of the world was upon them.
In the History of al-Tabari, Volume 1, p. 183-184, Tabari calculated, based on Hadith, that the lifespan of the Earth to Muhammad was 6,500 years, and from the coming of Muhammad to the End of the World would be another 500 years, ~1132 CE.
There are only one of two possibilities. Either these narrations are correct, and the prophet provided a false prophecy, or the most sound Hadith are wrong, and the prophet never made such statements.
Question to Dr. Williams
If Mark 13 was reason enough for Dr. Williams to doubt the authenticity of the Bible and the religion it promotes, then why wouldn’t the same apply to the authenticity of the Hadith and the religious laws that the Hadith promotes? Why continue to consider the Hadith as an authentic source for religious law when it is so unreliable on something that we can all witness was not true? Why the double standard for the Bible and not for the Hadith?