I think its dangerous to class it as doubt - I don't think that is the mainstream view. No doubt it was a very difficult time, and the prophet while waiting for the next revelation was ... anxious would be a better way to describe it IMO. Between the first revelation and the second I think there was a period of a month or 5 weeks, and the silence in between was a challenge.

In a similar manner, there is the argument that even the reply "I cannot read" is not an accurate translation of the reply to Angel Jibril.

Thinking about it logically, Jibril was not asking the Prophet to read something, but to repeat. The Prophet refused to ("I am not a reader" as opposed to "I cannot read"), but only until the angel said " Read, in the name of the Lord who created you" at which point the Prophet did.

Yeh I was listening to Sh. Hamza Yusuf who said the same thing about the "I cannot read" and how it meant he wasn't a reader.

As Muslims we should look hard and try to find the answers to our questions in Islam but this is supposed to be done in humbleness, with the belief that we do not know anything and Allah knows everything. This is one interpretation given for the letters in the Quran which we do not know the meaning; alif laam meem, etc. They are supposed to make us understand that not everything is within our comprehension and we don't know everything.

We have to be careful of who we take our knowledge from, and it should be from Muslims. Good manners, being decent towards others and other things can be from non-Muslims, but the way we approach our belief, what way we should think about it, act upon it and so on and so forth can only be learnt from Muslims who are knowledgeable not non-Muslims. Non Muslims will not have a true understanding - otherwise they'd be Muslim! Like a GP wouldn't do brian surgery even if they knew how it's generally done, because their lack of expertise could be dangerous and could kill a person...wait GP's may not be so bad, I dunno lol...well we wouldn't go to our biology teachers to find out what's wrong with our body. In this way we have to go to the people who know the source, not a third person.

I hope I didn't come across as being partonising or anything, that was not my intention, of course.

I dnt think "doubt"is the correct word.

Thwres smething abt if we cld see Allah, everyone wld belief and thats the point of this life. Worshipping Allah as if you can see Him. (because ifleven though u cnt, He can -thats the defo of Ihsan, the highest level of The religion of Islam)

its nt doubt, im t sure what it is but its like..smething that u cnt feel with ur sense amd that doesnt work the same way the rest of our world works Believing in THAt. Its nt doubt, its just belief...\faith...i dnt knw..

didnt watcj the vid btw.

The word fear and anxiety can be used but not doubt. Doubt has a different meaning altogether. As she says herself it's not the conservative view, I don't know about the the early biographies she mentions, so I can't comment on that. She says "demanding perfection they refuse to tolerate human imperfection". 

Firstly we believe the Prophet *was* perfect, there is no demand to make.

Secondly, we still believe he was human, he had feelings and emotions and he was shocked when he got the revelation.

It's not doubt though! He had been going to the cave to seek out the truth, he knew it was there, even before the Prophets got their message, they would all have dreams which come true and they knew, they had faith in there being something more. 

When Prophet Muhammad ran home from the cave, fearing he may be possessed, Khadija (ra) replied 
"Never, your Lord would not betray you, for you keep the family ties, you are truthful, you support the weak, you forgive those that burden and transgress upon you and you support the causes of good"

If it was doubt, then why did Khadija (ra) not doubt? Why did she believe without needing to know more? 

In the Quran it mentions how we should not have any doubts for example in Surah Ibrahim verse 10 "Their messengers said, "Can there be doubt about Allah , Creator of the heavens and earth? He invites you that He may forgive you of your sins, and He delays your death for a specified term." They said, "You are not but men like us who wish to avert us from what our fathers were worshipping. So bring us a clear authority."

Of course, people *get* doubts, and the Quran is there to answer those questions and doubts. 

That's what I was referring to. 

But she is right in saying we should not be certain that we are right and be so arrogant to not listen to others etc.

Quote:

 So I could have gone there first.

Exactly. It's better (best) to get Islam from Islamic sources, that's all I'm saying. It's a matter  of faith so it should be taken from Muslims not from non-Muslims. Whereas something like having good manners/relations (I was just using an example) is obvious and doesn't need explained. If a non-Muslim does it, it will still be good and right. 

I probably still haven't explained myself very well. I'm not saying non-Muslims should be ignored, but it can be dangerous to listen to their way of thinking on particular subjects and Islam is best taught by Muslims. 

Saying that, Karen Armstrong's biography is meant to be pretty good though I haven't read it.

I recommend Qalam institute's podcasts on the seerah. They humanise the life of the Prophet (saw), make you recognise the emotions that the Prophet went through as well teaching you practical lessons which you can take from each sitution and each part of the life - helping you to see the ;ife of the Prophet for what it is; guide to life.

I agree with this sentiment. I used to be so fearful of "doubt" because of how "dangerous" it's supposed to be, but then I came across al-Ghazali's story. Look at the spiritual crisis he went through, and then he came out of it only to now be known as one of the greatest influences of Islam today. 

I think it's dangerous to tell people to fear and be ashamed of doubt because to me it sounds a lot like telling people not to think for themselves. If someone has iman, or is to build their iman, I think they need to confront and address their doubt, not hide away from it.