One of the most embarrassing events in Muhammad's life occurred when Satan put words in Muhammad's mouth. Muhammad spoke Satan's words as the word of God. This event is documented by several early Muslim scholars and referenced in the Hadith and Quran. The scholars agree that:-

Muhammad did not want to further offend the Meccans and he did not want God to reveal something to him that would cause further offense. He desired a revelation that would bring peace between him and the Meccans. When Muhammad began to recite the chapter called "The Star", Satan interjected some words and thoughts into Muhammad's heart and mind. This was coupled with Muhammad's own desires; thus Muhammad spoke Satan's words. Later, Gabriel rebuked Muhammad for having spoken Satan's words. Muhammad admitted his sinful error and was then comforted by Allah. This refers to 53:19-26 which now reads:-

This event is also mentioned in the following :-

Think about it, which of the Old Testament prophets ever spoke the words of Satan? Those prophets loved their people, but they persisted in speaking the truth to them, not compromising the word of God to gain peace and converts as Muhammad did.

A little thought shows that:-

It is obvious that Allah guided Muhammad (saw) so that he rectified his error.

It is also clear that those who recorded the doings and sayings of Muhammad (saw) were very honest and that the Prophet did not censor these records, but that the event is even recorded in the Quran. There is, therefore, a purpose for the recording of the event, a lesson to be learnt.

It is further obvious that there was no need for the Prophet to admit that he had made a mistake, but nevertheless he admitted it.

From all this it can be gathered that:-

(1) That the Prophet was human, and though this had been stated in the Quran, here we have a confirmation to reinforce the message. We are not to mistake the Prophets for God. The Quran itself records his other mistake and the rebuke from God (Quran chapter 80).

(2) There is a distinction between what is revealed by Allah and what the Prophet may himself desire, between what comes through the higher mind (usually unconscious) and that which comes from the lower worldly mind. This distinction is absent in all other religions. Allah preserved the purity of the revelation. Without this incident one might have wondered how much of the text consists of the Prophets own opinions based on prejudice, expediency, strategy or timidity. In the case of other scriptures no such discrimination is possible.

(3) His admission to error shows the Prophet's honesty, courage and humility and his ability to recognize what comes from God and what comes from Satan. Though even Prophets can be tempted (Jesus too was tempted), others may not have this power of discrimination and we must beware of them.

(4) It is also a test to weed out the prejudiced and the hypocrites from among the sincere seekers. Obviously, there are some who are interested in understanding the message and others who are interested only in maligning the messenger. This has been done also to Jesus and other prophets. There are always more than one way of interpreting events.

Something guided Muhammad. I don't think it was Allah. True Prophets always obey. Jesus obeyed, Paul obeyed, even the OT prophets obeyed when they didn't want to.

One correction does not mean the entire Quran is perfect or truth. I find many passages in the Quran to be of Muhammad's making, not God's. To me, the Quran is a second or third-rate book.

In fact, the Old Testament shows that Moses, Jonah, Solomon, and David did err and were forgiven.

That you do not think Allah guided Muhammad (saw) is obvious. You made considerable efforts to dig out something that you thought might harm Islam. But you have no justification for this view.

There are millions who do think that the Quran comes from God, not only because Muhammad (saw) was known as truthful and this truthfulness is manifest from the fact that it is recorded in the Quran, but also because those who understand the Quran perceive it to be an extra-ordinary inspired book. This belief allows them to understand and apply the Quran to their own benefit.

The Prophet Muhammad (saw) also obeyed - why else did he admit his error?

If one correction was made then, if there are errors, there is nothing preventing other corrections being made also. It shows that the Prophet (saw) was able to discriminate. No such self-censorship is to be found in the case of other Prophets as far as I know. It strengthens my confidence in the Quran. But this does not necessarily imply that I have interpreted or understand everything in it correctly.

As to what you find in the Quran, that depends entirely on your capacities, motives and efforts and is entirely irrelevant except to yourself. There are people with all kinds of tastes, levels of intelligence and perception, prejudices and motives. Your opinion about the Quran, therefore, tells us something about you and nothing objective about the Quran.

In fact, there is another version of the story that you have deliberately ignored. According to this, there were many hostile pagan Arabs present when the revelation came. One of them, desiring to make mischief, deliberately shouted a distorted version made up by himself, in a loud voice, which caused the scribes to write it down. It is this, not what the Prophet said, which had to be rectified. The versions cited by you could easily come from a single source who had mis-observed or misinterpreted the event. He might have been like you wishing harm to Islam for some reason of his own.

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