Quora Answer: Since Muhammad (s.a.w.) Received Some Verses Inspired by Evil Spirits, Could the Whole Qur’an be Inspired by Evil Spirits?

بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ

The following is my answer to a Quora question: “We know that Muhammad (s.a.w.) received some verses inspired by evil spirits, so could the entire Qur’an be inspired by evil spirits in order to lead humanity astray?  We know that Jesus (a.s.) warned people to be aware of false prophets.” 

There are no verses in the Qur’an inspired by evil spirits.  That is a misconception by Orientalists.  The verses claimed to be inspired by Satan are these: 

سُوۡرَةُ النّجْم

أَفَرَءَيۡتُمُ ٱللَّـٰتَ وَٱلۡعُزَّىٰ (١٩) وَمَنَوٰةَ ٱلثَّالِثَةَ ٱلۡأُخۡرَىٰٓ (٢٠)

Have ye seen Lat and ‘Uzza?  And another the third (goddess) Manat? (Surah an-Najm:19-20) 

These are the names of the pagan goddesses, the so-called daughters of Allah (s.w.t.), that the Quraysh believed in. 

Here is the verse in context: 

سُوۡرَةُ النّجْم

أَفَرَءَيۡتُمُ ٱللَّـٰتَ وَٱلۡعُزَّىٰ (١٩) وَمَنَوٰةَ ٱلثَّالِثَةَ ٱلۡأُخۡرَىٰٓ (٢٠) أَلَكُمُ ٱلذَّكَرُ وَلَهُ ٱلۡأُنثَىٰ (٢١) تِلۡكَ إِذً۬ا قِسۡمَةٌ۬ ضِيزَىٰٓ (٢٢) إِنۡ هِىَ إِلَّآ أَسۡمَآءٌ۬ سَمَّيۡتُمُوهَآ أَنتُمۡ وَءَابَآؤُكُم مَّآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ بِہَا مِن سُلۡطَـٰنٍ‌ۚ إِن يَتَّبِعُونَ إِلَّا ٱلظَّنَّ وَمَا تَهۡوَى ٱلۡأَنفُسُ‌ۖ وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَهُم مِّن رَّبِّہِمُ ٱلۡهُدَىٰٓ (٢٣)

Have ye seen Lat and ‘Uzza? And another the third (goddess) Manat?  What!  For you the male sex and for him the female?  Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair!  These are nothing but names which ye have devised ― ye and your fathers ― for which Allah has sent down no authority (whatever).  They follow nothing but conjecture and what their own souls desire! ― Even though there has already come to them Guidance from their Lord! (Surah an-Najm:20-23)

Here, it is quite clear that no pagan deities are invoked.  The Message here is that these deities do not exist, that Allah (s.w.t.) has no gender, and the division of sacrifices according between male and female deities in the pagan Arab pantheon was made up, and not from Divine Guidance. 

Orientalists cite collections of the sirah, the narrations on the life of the Prophet (s.a.w.) that mention the Prophet (s.a.w.) was tricked into adding this to Revelation.  There are several problems with this. 

Firstly, collections of sirah are full of folk tales, apocryphal stories and even stories borrowed from elsewhere.  These narrations are considered dha’if, weak; or mawdhu’, rejected.  They are never used as the basis for ‘aqidah, creed; and fiqh, jurisprudence. 

Secondly, these books copy from each other, so a spurious tale in one appears in another.  The source is still the same purported swahabah, companion; or maybe, not even that.  That means these narrations are not mutawatir, extent. 

Finally, sirah contradicts itself because it is also written in these books that the Prophet (s.a.w.) verified Revelation every Ramadhan with the Archangel Gabriel (a.s.), and twice in his last Ramadhan.  If this was an error, it would have been found out. 

We must also consider, from the Qur’an, the many verses where Revelation is Protected from error, and the Prophet (s.a.w.) is Protected as the source of Revelation.  An Absolute God cannot possibly be gainsaid by anything in Creation.