The Statement of Walid bin Mughira About the Prophet ﷺ and Surah Al-Muddaththir
Authored by: Dr. Raza Abdullah Pasha (Hafizahullah)
❖ Question:
What did Walid bin Mughira say about the Prophet ﷺ?
❖ Answer:
Allah ﷻ says:
﴿فَقَالَ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ ﴾ [المدثر: 24]
"Then he said: This is nothing but magic handed down."
Meaning: He claimed that the words of Muhammad ﷺ were nothing but sorcery that he had copied from people before him and was narrating to others.
Thus he further said:
﴿إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا قَوْلُ الْبَشَرِ ﴾ [المدثر: 25]
"This is nothing but the word of a human being."
That is, he denied it as the Word of Allah, reducing it instead to mere human speech.
The context of these verses refers specifically to Walid bin Mughira al-Makhzumi. He initially acknowledged before the people that what Muhammad ﷺ recited was extraordinary. He swore that it was not poetry, not sorcery, and not madness — rather, it was the Speech of Allah.
But when Abu Jahl confronted him and pressured him to change his statement, Walid altered his words and said:
﴿فَقَالَ إِنْ هَٰذَا إِلَّا سِحْرٌ يُؤْثَرُ ﴾
"So he said: This is nothing but magic that has been copied."
