# What exactly did Mohammed prophecise? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 9, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020 "2013-07-09T08:34:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Stan\_Shmenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/94ad74/32.png) [@Stan\_Shmenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Shmenge)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/1 "2013-07-09T08:34:38Z")
And did it all come to pass? Were the predictions specific enough to legitimately prove his gift? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/2 "2013-07-09T10:49:31Z")
Nothing, no, no, what gift? Next! ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/3 "2013-07-09T11:51:09Z")
A prophet isn’t a soothsayer, you’re confusing two different concepts; a prophet can be a soothsayer, but that’s neither the only definition nor its, uhm, defining aspect in a religious context. From [m-w](http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prophet): 1: one who utters divinely inspired revelations: as xxxxa, often capitalized : the writer of one of the prophetic books of the Bible xxxxb, capitalized : one regarded by a group of followers as the final authoritative revealer of God’s will \ 2: one gifted with more than ordinary spiritual and moral insight; especially : an inspired poet 3: one who foretells future events : predictor 4: an effective or leading spokesman for a cause, doctrine, or group 5: Christian Science xxxxa, a spiritual seer xxxxb, disappearance of material sense before the conscious facts of spiritual Truth Mohammed was type 1b, you’re thinking of the 3rd definition. He was the “follow the paths of the Lord!” type, not the “there shall be war” type. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2013, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/4 "2013-07-09T13:06:55Z")
He foretold that, one day, everyone would be able to spell. He got that one wrong. ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/5 "2013-07-10T04:00:36Z")
The noun is prophecy (pl. prophecies) with a long E, pronounced: PRAH - feh - see The verb is prophesy with a long I, pronounced: PRAH - feh - seye The verb gets conjugated: I prophesy You prophesy He/She/It prophesies It’s the last form that confuses people as they think the word is ‘prophesize’, and back-fills it into the non-existent verb “to prophecize” which then leads to the non-existent 'he prophecizes." It’s “to prophesy,” and “he prophesies.” I’m a grammatical prophet. ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/6 "2013-07-10T07:00:39Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > The noun is prophecy (pl. prophecies) with a long E, pronounced: PRAH - feh - see. insert alternate pronunciation thread here…i.e that isn’t the way much of the English speaking world says the word (PROH not PRAH and stress on the last two syllables if any) ---
**Author:** ![moriah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b2d939/32.png) [@moriah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moriah)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/7 "2013-07-10T15:01:22Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > insert alternate pronunciation thread here…i.e that isn’t the way much of the English speaking world says the word (PROH not PRAH and stress on the last two syllables if any) proh as in rhyming with doe or go? ---
**Author:** ![Novelty\_Bobble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/a3d4f5/32.png) [@Novelty\_Bobble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Novelty_Bobble)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/8 "2013-07-10T16:27:01Z")
> [@moriah](#): > > proh as in rhyming with doe or go? not quite, shorter than those…don’t really know how to explain without using another ambiguous example. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/9 "2013-07-10T16:34:04Z")
> [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > not quite, shorter than those…don’t really know how to explain without using another ambiguous example. PROH as in prod. But it’s pointless trying to explain this to most Americans as they hear/say “prod” as “PRAHd”. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-exactly-did-mohammed-prophecise/663020/10 "2013-07-10T17:42:04Z")
GQ answered by **Nava** – Prophet meaning one who transmits authoritative revelations from God. Muhammad is attributed the characteristics of definitions 1b, 2 and 4. In Judeo/Christian/Islamic contexts proper acts of a prohet in transmitting revelations can include lawgiving, denouncing of unrighteous behaviors (with or without smiting), proclamation of what God wants done, and ISTM the least instances of canonical prophecy are those involving specific verifiable foretelling.