Did the Prophet Muhammad Really Exist? Historical Proof from Coins, Inscriptions, and Non-Muslim Chronicles
Historical Evidence of the Messenger of God ﷺ
Table of Contents
- Introduction
- Proof 1 — Dirham of Abd al-Malik Ibn Abdullah, 66 AH
- Proof 2 — Seal of Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan, 65–86 AH
- Proof 3 — Grave of Abbasa Jarir, 71 AH
- Proof 4 — Umayyad Dinar of Caliph Abd al-Malik, 72–74 AH
- Proof 5 — Inscription of Caliph Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan, 73 AH
- Proof 6 — Inscription of the Reconstruction of the Sanctuary, 78 AH
- Proof 7 — Manuscript in the Paris Museum, First Century AH
- Proof 8 — The Chronicle of the Monk Thomas, 636–637 CE
- Note on Earliest Sources
Introduction
Proof 1 — Dirham of Abd al-Malik Ibn Abdullah, 66 AH
Quoted from Dr. Sami Amri’s book: The Historical Existence of the Prophets.
Proof 2 — Seal of Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan, 65–86 AH
Proof 3 — Grave of Abbasa Jarir, 71 AH
Proof 4 — Umayyad Dinar of Caliph Abd al-Malik, 72–74 AH
Proof 5 — Inscription of Caliph Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwan, 73 AH
Proof 6 — Inscription of the Reconstruction of the Sanctuary, 78 AH
Proof 7 — Manuscript in the Paris Museum, First Century AH
Proof 8 — The Chronicle of the Monk Thomas, 636–637 CE
He mentions the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ twice:
- Once by name
- Once by the phrase “Arab Muhammad” — meaning that Arab Muslims are attributed to Muhammad ﷺ through their adherence to his religion and their following of Islam.
This is considered the oldest ancient evidence from non-Muslim sources mentioning the Prophet ﷺ.
This indicates that the name Muhammad ﷺ does not mean “the glorified one,” nor is it a Syriac name for Christ or any other name.
Note on Earliest Sources
- The earliest Islamic source mentioning the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ is an inscription dating back to the 3rd or 4th year of the Hijra.
- The earliest non-Muslim source mentioning him is between the 15th and 16th years of the Hijra.
In response to those who doubt the historical existence of the Prophet Muhammad, the American historian Chase F. Robinson states: “No reasonable historian familiar with all the evidence doubts that Muhammad (peace be upon him) did indeed exist, that many Arabs acknowledged him as a prophet in the line of monotheistic prophets, that he was sincere in his belief that he received revelation later recorded in the Quran, or that Arab armies defeated the Byzantines and Sassanids in a series of battles that established Islamic rule over large parts of the Mediterranean basin and the Middle East. With the exception of a fringe group characterized by excessive skepticism, all of this is beyond dispute.”
Even Patricia Crone and Orientalists have acknowledged that the historical existence of the Prophet Muhammad is an undeniable fact.
