先知ﷺ是一位诚实之名众所周知的人。事实上，他的族人曾正式称他为“艾敏”（al-Amīn，意为可信赖者）。51即便他们迫害他、拒绝他的使命，仍然把最珍贵的财物托付给他。阿伊莎说：“他ﷺ吩咐阿里留在麦加，归还安拉的使者ﷺ为人们代为保管的所有财物。麦加的所有人（包括他的敌人）只要有担心会遗失的贵重物品，都会寄存在安拉的使者ﷺ那里，这是因为他的诚实和可信赖在众人中广为人知。阿里在麦加停留了三天三夜，把人们托付给安拉的使者ﷺ的一切都归还了，完成这项任务后才追上了他ﷺ。”52

The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم was a person whose honesty was common knowledge to those around him. In fact, his clansmen had officially titled him al-Amīn (the Trustworthy).51 Even when they persecuted him and rejected his message, they still trusted him with their most precious possessions. ‘Āishah  said, “He صلى الله عليه وسلم instructed ‘Alī  to stay behind in Mecca, to return all the property the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم had held in trust for people. There was nobody in Mecca (even his enemies) who had valuables that he feared for except that he kept them with the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, due to the honesty and trustworthiness that was known [to all] about him. ‘Alī  stayed back for three days and three nights to deliver everything entrusted by the people to the Messenger of Allah صلى الله عليه وسلم, and then caught up with him صلى الله عليه وسلم after completing that task.”52

他的诚实是如此明显，以至于不同时代、不同背景、不同宗教的人都承认这一点。确实很难想象，一个公正的人读了他的生平之后会得出不同的结论。尽管苏格兰哲学家、历史学家托马斯·卡莱尔（1881年去世）对伊斯兰教有所保留，但他对这位最后的先知ﷺ之真诚的着迷，有时似乎在怀疑与明显的信服之间摇摆。

His honesty was so evident that even people from different eras, backgrounds, and religions recognize it. It is indeed difficult to imagine a fair person reading his life and arriving at a different conclusion. Although the Scottish philosopher and historian Thomas Carlyle (d. 1881) had his reservations about Islam, his fascination with the Final Prophet’s صلى الله عليه وسلم sincerity at times seemed to veer between skepticism and apparent conviction.

这一点与“冒充者”之说大相径庭：他的一生始终平凡、宁静、毫不出奇，就这样过了他血气方刚的岁月。直到四十岁，他才谈到来自天堂的使命。他一切所谓的越轨之事，无论真假，都发生在他五十岁之后，即善良的赫蒂彻（Kadijah）去世之后。此前，他似乎所追求的“野心”，只是过一种诚实的生活；他的“名声”，不过是认识他的邻里的普遍好评，这已经足够。直到他已渐渐年迈……平安成为这个世界所能给他的最重要之物时，他才开始踏上所谓“野心的道路”；并且，与他过去的品行和一生相违背，被[他人]树立为一个可悲、空洞的江湖骗子，去谋取他如今已无法享受的东西！就我个人而言，我对那种[冒充者]之说毫无信心。53

For instance, It goes greatly against the impostor-theory, the fact that he lived in this entirely unexceptionable, entirely quiet and commonplace way, till the heat of his years was done. He was forty before he talked of any mission from Heaven. All his irregularities, real and supposed, date from after his fiftieth year, when the good Kadijah died. All his ‘ambition,’ seemingly, had been, hitherto, to live an honest life; his ‘fame,’ the mere good-opinion of neighbours that knew him, had been sufficient hitherto. Not till he was already getting old… and peace growing to be the chief thing this world could give him, did he start on the ‘career of ambition;’ and, belying all his past character and existence, set up [by others] as a wretched empty charlatan to acquire what he could now no longer enjoy! For my share, I have no faith whatever in that [impostor-theory].53

在同一本书中,卡莱尔说:“这些谎言(西方的诽谤)

In the same book, Carlyle says, “The lies (Western slander)

这个人（穆罕默德）周围被一股出于善意的热忱所堆砌起来的种种附会

which well-meaning zeal has heaped round this man (Muhammad)

“……只会让我们自己蒙羞。”54

are disgraceful to ourselves only.”54

早在卡莱尔之前，就已有历史人物断然驳斥“冒名者”之说，认为那是荒谬的诽谤。先知穆罕默德ﷺ首次致信拜占庭皇帝希拉克略（卒于641年），邀请他皈依伊斯兰时，希拉克略立即派出一支队伍，寻找任何能够证实这位先知所宣称之事的人。穆罕默德当时最主要的敌手阿布·苏福just Ibn Harb（Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb）也在被捕之列，并在拜占庭显贵面前接受了审问。希拉克略是一位精通犹太教与基督教经典的军事统帅，他向阿布·苏福扬提出了一系列关键问题，随后又将其回答与其同族人的说法相互印证。 调查结束后，希拉克略对阿布·苏福扬说了如下一些话：我问过你，在他宣称自己是先知之前，你是否曾指控他撒谎。你回答说没有。我知道，一个不肯对他人撒谎的人，不会转而对真主撒谎……我还问过你，他是否曾背信弃义。你回答说没有，而使者们也从不背信弃义……如果你所说属实，他将会占有我脚下的这两块土地。我从经典中得知，他即将出现，但我从未想到他会出自你们之中。如果我知道自己能够安全地见到他，我一定会竭力去见他。如果我能到他面前，我会亲自为他洗脚。55

Historical figures who dismissed the imposter theory as preposterous slander existed well before Carlyle. When Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم first corresponded with Heraclius (d. 641), the Byzantine emperor, calling him to embrace Islam, Heraclius immediately dispatched a brigade to find anyone who could verify this man’s claims to prophethood. The leading adversary of Muhammad at that time, Abū Sufyān ibn Ḥarb, was among those apprehended and interrogated in the presence of the Byzantine dignitaries. Heraclius—a military commander versed in Judeo-Christian scriptures—asked Abū Sufyān a series of key questions, and then cross-checked his answers with his fellow clansmen. Upon completing his investigation, the following is some of what Heraclius said to Abū Sufyān, I asked you whether you ever accused him of lying before he stated what he stated [about prophethood]. You replied in the negative, and I know that he would not refrain from lying about others and then lie about God… And I asked you whether he ever betrayed [anyone]. You replied in the negative, and likewise the messengers never betray… If what you are saying is true, he will conquer the place of these two feet of mine. And I knew [from scripture] that he would soon emerge, but I never assumed that he would be from among you. And if I knew that I could reach him [safely], I would have been bent on meeting him. And if I were in his presence, I would personally wash his feet.55

在人类历史上，许多冒牌者宣称自己是先知，但他们迟早会被揭穿，要么是心理失常的人，要么是不道德的投机者。第一类人从未对世界舞台产生过任何影响，更不用说提出一套完整的信仰与律法体系，并赢得成千上万智者、历史学家、哲学家以及其他有智慧的男男女女的尊重。第二类人则会随着时间推移而暴露出其阴险和操纵的本性，近代最臭名昭著的例子便是约瑟夫·史密斯（卒于1844年）。这些恶劣品质普遍存在于第二类人身上，也理应如此，因为正如说谎骗朋友比骗陌生人更糟，骗父母又比骗朋友更糟，没有什么比一个人假借真主之名说谎更丑恶。因此，当一个人对世界产生了穆罕默德ﷺ那样独特的影响（见第三章），并且他以无可挑剔的诚实著称，尽管他的公私生活都被详细记录下来，那么他宣称自己是真主的先知这一主张，就不应被轻易置之不理。

In the history of humanity, many imposters have claimed prophethood, but it was always a matter of time before they were discovered to either be psychologically disturbed individuals or unethical opportunists. The first category has never had any influence on the world stage, let alone produced a complete system of beliefs and laws that would earn the respect of thousands of sages, historians, philosophers, and other men and women of wisdom. The second category is eventually exposed with the passage of time as sinister and manipulative, with the notorious Joseph Smith (d. 1844) being an iconic example of this in recent history. These are endemic qualities that permeate this second category, and should be expected to, because just as lying about your friends is worse than lying about a random person, and just as lying about your parents is worse than lying about your friends, there is nothing uglier than a person lying about God. So, when a man who had the unique impact on the world that Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم did (see Chapter 3) was also known for his impeccable honesty, despite his public and private life being documented with granular detail, then his claim of being God’s prophet should not be disregarded.

他诚实正直的另一有力证明，是他坚决拒绝任何人对他进行神化和抬高。哲比尔·本·阿卜杜拉传述说，在易卜拉欣——安拉的使者ﷺ之子——去世的那一天，发生了日食。当人们开始说这次日食是因为这个幼儿的去世时，安拉的使者ﷺ立即起身，说道：“太阳和月亮不会因为任何人的死亡或诞生而发生日食。它们是真主的两个迹象，祂借此使祂的仆人心生畏惧。当你们看到日食时，就应当礼拜并向真主祈祷。” 如果先知ﷺ是一个自恋的骗子，这本是利用这一巧合来提升可信度的绝佳机会。这两件同时发生的事情，为任何个人野心提供了巨大的机会，然而先知ﷺ却不允许他人将此解释为天空为易卜拉欣而悲伤。尽管他因这场悲痛的损失而心痛，他ﷺ仍然登上讲台，驳斥了这种错误的解释，并确立了日食只遵循真主在被造宇宙中所设定的宇宙秩序。

Another powerful testament to his integrity was his adamant refusal to allow anyone to aggrandize him. Jābir ibn ‘Abdillāh  narrates that there was a solar eclipse on the day that Ibrāhīm, the son of Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم, had died. When the people began to say that the eclipse was due to the death of this young child, Allah’s Messenger صلى الله عليه وسلم rose at once and said, “The sun and the moon are not eclipsed because of the death or birth of anyone. Rather, they are two of God’s signs, by which He instills fear in His slaves. When you see an eclipse, pray and invoke God.”56 Had the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم been a narcissistic imposter, this would have been the perfect opportunity to capitalize on such a convenient credibility booster. These coinciding events represented an immense opportunity for any personal agenda, and yet the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم would not allow others to interpret this as the skies being saddened for Ibrāhīm. Though hurting from the tragic loss, he صلى الله عليه وسلم still ascended the pulpit, dismissed the false interpretation, and established that eclipses follow nothing but the cosmic order set by God in the created universe.

在另一次，胡宰法·本·雅曼在白德尔战役之前来到先知ﷺ面前，带着一个伦理上的两难问题。

On another occasion, Ḥudhayfah b. al-Yamān  came to the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم prior to the Battle of Badr with an ethical dilemma.

古莱氏的多神教徒刚刚释放了胡宰法和他的父亲，条件是他不得加入穆罕默德的阵营，与古莱氏并肩作战。尽管穆斯林军队处于劣势，即将面对兵力三倍于己的军队，先知ﷺ仍然说：“那就继续前进吧。我们会信守对他们的承诺，并向真主寻求援助以对抗他们。”57先知的圣洁品格，即使在极其脆弱的处境中，也不允许他ﷺ妥协于诚实与正直的原则。

The pagans of Quraysh had just released Ḥudhayfah and his father on the condition that he would not join Muhammad’s ranks and fight Quraysh alongside him. Despite the Muslim army being disadvantaged and about to face a military force three times its size, the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم still said, “Then proceed on [to Madinah]. We will keep our promise to them, and we will seek aid from Allah against them.”57 His prophetic morals did not allow him صلى الله عليه وسلم, even in an extremely vulnerable position, to compromise the principles of honesty and uprightness.