If Mohammed gives a false prophesy would Moslems accept that he is a false prophet? Most likely not.

Before I start, let us step back and define what a prophecy or a prophet is.

The role of a “prophet” in the Qur’an is described as a person who is sent to a particular people or tribe as a warner. This can be seen in many instances in the Qur’an, for example:

Surah Al-Ahzab (Chapter 33, Verse 45): "O Prophet, indeed We have sent you as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner."

Surah Fatir (Chapter 35, Verse 24): "Indeed, We have sent you [O Muhammad] with the truth as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. And there was no nation but that there had passed within it a warner."

Surah Saba (Chapter 34, Verse 28): "And We have not sent you except comprehensively to mankind as a bringer of good tidings and a warner. But most of the people do not know."

In this regard, the Qur’an and the Old Testament are not much different (that’s not that strange if you think about the fact that 22 out of 25 prophets of Islam are lifted straight from the Bible!).

The Old Testament reports about prophets who proclaimed a pending divine judgment that - unless people repent - will befall the nation. For example:

Amos - Amos prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II in Israel (8th century BC) and warned of Israel's destruction because of its idolatry, social injustice, and religious complacency. His prophecies were fulfilled when the Assyrian Empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 BC, leading to the exile of its people (Amos 5:27; 7:17).

Hosea - A contemporary of Amos, Hosea specifically prophesied against the Northern Kingdom of Israel, using his own marriage as a metaphor for Israel's unfaithfulness to God. He warned of the impending invasion and exile as a result of the nation's idolatry and breach of the covenant (Hosea 1:4; 11:5). The Assyrian conquest of Israel fulfilled these prophecies.

Isaiah - Isaiah’s ministry spanned the reigns of several kings of Judah in the 8th century BC. He warned both the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom of Judah about the consequences of their sins. Isaiah prophesied the fall of Israel to Assyria and also warned Judah about the Babylonian captivity (Isaiah 39:6-7). His prophecies regarding Judah were fulfilled when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in 586 BC, and the people were taken into exile.

Jeremiah - Jeremiah, active from the late 7th century through the early 6th century BC, was a prophet in Jerusalem who warned Judah of its coming destruction by Babylon due to its idolatry, injustice, and failure to obey God. His prophecies came to pass when Jerusalem was besieged and destroyed by the Babylonians, and the people were exiled in 586 BC (Jeremiah 25:8-11; 52).

Micah - Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah, also prophesied the fall of both Samaria (capital of Israel) and Jerusalem (capital of Judah) because of their sins (Micah 1:6; 3:12). His warnings about Jerusalem’s destruction and the exile of its people were fulfilled with the Babylonian conquest.

As you can see in the examples above, the prophecies were not just hot air! Having failed in stopping their idolatry and their wicked ways and having failed to repent, the Israelites were truly destroyed by the Assyrians, exiled by the Babylonians, and their Temple raided and razed to the ground - usually not long after the prophecy was proclaimed.

Prophecies were fulfilled.

Now, let’s look at Muhammad. The problem is not that Muhammad’s prophecies were false. Muhammad didn’t prophesy anything!

Yes, we have Hadith verses that say other stuff that haven’t been fulfilled yet (e.g. nature will rat out the Jews hiding behind trees to the Muslims in the final battle between Muslims and jews, etc.), but the Qur’an - the part of Allah’s revelations that Muhammad himself told his followers to write down, the direct word of Allah, didn’t contain any prophecies!

Well, let me correct that.

There is one prophecy in the whole of the Qur’an, but it’s so weak and irrelevant that I’m hesitant to even call it a prophecy. I’m talking about Surah Ar-Rum (Chapter 30, Verses 2-4):

"The Romans have been defeated. In the nearest land. But they, after their defeat, will overcome. Within three to nine years. To Allah belongs the command before and after. And that day the believers will rejoice"

Muslims believe these verses refer to the defeat of the Byzantine Empire by the Persians around 613-614 AD. The Quran predicted that the Byzantines would recover from previous defeats and beat the Persians within a few years ("three to nine years"). This prophecy was allegedly fulfilled when the Byzantine Empire, under Emperor Heraclius, successfully counterattacked and decisively defeated the Persian forces, culminating in their victory in 622-628 AD.

But there are so many problems with this - one and only - prophecy of the Qur’an:

The prophecy doesn’t matter to Islam. It doesn’t talk about the Muslim Ummah. Whether the Romans or the Persians won that war was highly inconsequential to Muslims.

Muhammad was not a “warner” to either Romans or Persians. He was an outward commentator outside of the borders of the Roman Empire. Isn’t it strange that Allah would send a “warner” to the Arabs and then give him one prophecy only that doesn’t even deal with the Arabs?

There was nothing the Muslims could do about the outcome of this prophecy. In the Old Testament, the citizens of Nineveh repented and were spared from the judgment that Jonah warned them about. Here, the Muslims didn’t or couldn’t do anything to sway Allah’s decision. Muhammad and the Muslims were just passive observers of a geo-political situation between two superpowers.

Muhammad attacked the Byzantines one year after the fulfilment of the prophecy. The prophecy from the Quran states that Muslims will rejoice after its fulfilment. Modern Muslim apologetics will try to tell you that the prophecy was needed to lift the spirits of the Muslims who rooted for the Christian Byzantines and not the pagan Persians. But that is utter bollocks since Muhammad sent out a military expedition against the Byzantines in 629 AD (one year after the Byzantines defeated the Persians), which culminated in the Battle of Mu’tah.

We can safely assume that the above passage was just a random commentary made by Muhammad/Allah about the geo-political conditions of that time. It wasn’t supposed to be a prophecy with the gravity of, e.g., Jeremiah, who prophesied Jerusalem’s doom by the hand of the Babylonians.

This “prophecy” of Muhammad should be taken as seriously as if I would say that:

“The Germans have been utterly defeated during the last World cup. But they will rise again and become Weltmeister, the next World cup, or the one after that one.”

Surah al-Alemani 1–4

Mark my words, infidels! Inshallah, it will happen again!

IN CONCLUSION

It’s not that Muhammad was dealing with false prophecy. Although Muhammad was supposed to be a prophet, Allah sent down the Qur’an with no prophecies in it.

Therefore, the question of whether Muhammad gave false prophecy is utterly irrelevant.