# Did Patricia Crone accept that the Prophet Muhammad existed?

*Patricia Crone on the certainty that the Prophet existed*

- URL: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/14/
- Date: 2020-09-22 · Kind: question · Transcript tier: machine · Recording: Monday Nights with Mufti #183 | Q&A Unscripted & Unrestricted! 😉 | Mufti Abu Layth (1:17:16–1:18:25)
- Status: general teaching
- Watch from the start of the segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYEM-eEe78&t=4636s
- Recording page: https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/

**Topics:** Replies to attacks on the Prophet; Atheists and polemicists

**Question as asked:** Patricia Crone believes the Prophet was alive because of the fragment of the Arab conquest which mentions the Prophet.

**Summary (not a quotation; machine-made, unchecked):** Mufti Abu Layth agrees with Patricia Crone that the Prophet's existence is certain, since sources document him from his last year or just after.

**Checked position (checked by two independent reviews, not by the channel):** Agreeing with Patricia Crone, Mufti Abu Layth holds that it is very clear the Prophet existed, because he is documented in sources from his final year or a couple of years after.

**Evidence, his words at 1:17:53:** “because he is documented by people that are either the documentations are in the final year of the prophet's life or maybe a couple of years after but it's very clear that he existed” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jTYEM-eEe78&t=4673s)

## Longer summary

Mufti Abu Layth reads two super chats: one asking about the Murji'a, and one noting that Patricia Crone believed the Prophet existed because of a fragment from the Arab conquest that mentions him. Mufti says he has mentioned before that Crone considers it a matter of certainty that the Prophet Muhammad existed. He says this is for the reason he gave earlier: the Prophet is documented in sources from his final year or a couple of years after. He then turns to the Murji'a.

## Sources and names cited

- Patricia Crone

## Transcript (machine tier, 1:17:16–1:18:25)

[1:16:36] then muslims don't have unity and the problem is this sect wants their mask and this sect wants their mosque and then they all want to turn it into something that looks like it's out of pakistan bangladesh or india or in the middle of the uk whereas really they should have structures that harmonize with the local local kind of geography but yeah that's um i hope that makes some sense let me what did i miss another i answered that super chat about the enemies aisha answered her super chat

[1:17:16] brad can you talk about the murjia specifically salafis hate them brad childers doing it with the super chat much love patricia crone believes the prophet was alive uh because of the frog fragment of the arab conquest which mentions the prophet yes i mean patricia crone i have mentioned that previously that she does highlight that for her it's unquestionable in her words she says it's a matter of certainty that the prophet muhammad was a person that existed

[1:17:53] she uh clearly states that because of exactly what i said a moment ago because he is documented by people that are either the documentations are in the final year of the prophet's life or maybe a couple of years after but it's very clear that he existed yeah the murji ah right the murjia are right this is a sect that a lot of the theologians speak

[1:18:24] about and why do the selfies always go on about it because the selfies just live in a cuckoo world [Laughter] you know the selfies they live like they just taught books of of of iraq sects that are deviant and this sect is this deviant sect that believes this and is going to hell this sect is this and it's going to hell so all they do is know those names of those groups those groups haven't existed sometimes for a thousand years uh sometimes they haven't existed for 1200 years sometimes they haven't existed for 700 years

## Cite

Mufti Abu Layth Archive, segment jTYEM-eEe78/s/14. https://muftiabulayth.org/r/jtyem-eee78/s/14/

Not a fatwa: these answers were given to specific people at specific times. Ask a qualified scholar about your own situation.