Muhammad and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE)

[sword]

Muhammad and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE)

By Ali Sina

[sword]

Here is a different opinion from Dr. Sommers of the Psychological Laboratory Leuven/NL (I guess...):

The mysterious illness of the Prophet Muhammad identified

Theophanes, a monk (752-817), wrote in his Chronography that Muhammad suffered from epilepsy. From that time most historians repeated this opinion. When in the late 19th century better notions of psychopathology became common, this diagnosis was challenged. Some thought his disease was hysteria or hystero-epilepsy, although for most scientists epilepsy was excluded. There was no definitive answer to this question. A better scientific examination of the sources has made clear that all symptoms of acromegaly are present with some psychopathological paranoid traits. Acromegaly is caused by a small tumour of the hypophysis, beginning most of the time about the fortieth year and ending in the sixtieth year with an apoplexy of the hypophysis.

According to the hadith Muhammad suffered from a long-lasting disease, which he treated by means of bleeding. He walked as somebody who comes down from a hill. His skin-colour was peculiar, not white, not too tanned, somewhat rosy. His eyebrows were conspicuous. He was sweating heavily, especially when he was receiving revelations. He heard the noise of bells and voices. He had a great appetite and suffered from hunger. Notwithstanding his sexual relations with ten young women, he remained quasi-sterile: one only child after the age of forty years. During his last illness he suffered from intense headaches, losses of consciousness, back- and intestinal pains. He died at the age of 62 years. Psychologically he was known as trustworthy, somewhat retiring and prude. Initially, about at the age of forty years, he was depressed, retiring, and showed a tendency to suicide. He spoke slowly. Most typical were his great hands, dough feeling palms, great feet, a long fleshy nose, well developed ears and a peculiar voice.

These indications suggest that he suffered from acromegaly. This hypothesis allows to explain almost all details found in the hadith.

Acromegaly is caused by an adenoma of the pituitary, which causes an increase in growth hormone (somatotropine) and usually a deficiency or increase of other hormones such as gonadotropine. The disease begins in adult persons about the fourth decade of age. Most patients die about the age of 60 years. It is a long-lasting disease with slow progress, sometimes burning out. Most patients tolerate it reasonably well. The melanophore hormones secreted by the pituitary cause a peculiar straw-yellow skin-colour. Excessive sweating is sometimes caused by hyperthyroidism. Sweating can be oily and have an unpleasant odour. Patients suffer from high blood pressure. Some hirsutism is observed (eyebrows). The growth of all extremities after adult age causes also the vertebrae to extend and the spine to curve. This extension can cause pain as the nerves suffer pressure. Especially typical is the enlargement of the fingers and the dough like feeling of the palms when shaking hands. Rarely a bleeding of the pituitary occurs and causes dead: this apoplexy of the pituitary causes headaches, nausea, vomiting, losses of consciousness. Psychologically patients suffer initially from depression, brooding and irritability, also an increase of appetite and a loss of libido. Some patients are anxious and are lacking in self-confidence. When the adenoma exerts pressure on the third ventricle and the optic chiasma in the brain the patients may suffer from hallucinoses. Uniformly these patients are trustworthy. Their personality is characterised by conscientiousness, reliability and industriousness.

Confronting this picture of the symptomatology of acromegaly with the tradition about Muhammad one can only state the conformity. Moreover one understands some other traits of the personality of Muhammad. He washed himself often, till two or tree times successively. He indulged in men's scents, such as musk and ambergris; he used to burn camphor on odoriferous wood. This is understandable. He smelled the unpleasant odour of his sweat, and did not want it to be perceived by others. The use of bleeding, as a treatment can be understood as a remedy against his high blood pressure. His polygamy and the incessant acquisition of new young women can be explained by his wish for a masculine child. His young sons were all dead. He adopted two sons. But a son of his own was for him an absolute must. As the pituitary influences fertility his acromegaly reduced considerably the spermatogenesis. Ten wives could only give birth to one only masculine child, which died early. Changing wives he tried desperately to engender that masculine child. He was not a sex-maniac. His death was probably caused by a pituitary apoplexy. Psychologically he was considered as a trustworthy person. Initially depressed and devoid of self-confidence, he considered suicide. He suffered from hallucinoses and even hallucinations.
The complete report was published in Dutch.

http://users.skynet.be/sky50779/mohammed.htm

[Richard_The _Lionheart]

Mo’ was sick in many way.
And he also smelled really bad.

No wonder Muslims are mad, observing repetitive rituals – they are following the actions of someone suffering a mental illness.

[Ali Sina]

[maha_swami]

[farside]

Should I expand my top ten prophetical traits of Muhammad to 12 ?

Number 11 - Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Number 12 – Acromegaly

Kind Regards,
Farside

[TheOtherWhiteMeat]

I'm glad this was finally addressed months after I first came to this forum and inquired about it. Other than that Greek Oracle there has not been a more vividly recorded physical description of prophesy and yet its totally ignored in modern scholarship. If these are descriptions of a historical character, and this character is Mohammed, then he very obviously suffered a mental illness. I disgree with the article that its 'unbelievable' that people would follow such a man. There are many historical 'witches' and 'prophets' and 'leaders' who either abused substances or suffered from mental illness in order to give them courage or inspiration. From the Oracle to St Paul and even modern authors and artists. Read Sartre's preface of Genet's Our Lady of Flowers. Its a fine line between artist and autist.
_________________
A voice from heaven should be ignored if it is not on the side of justice. ~ Isaac Bashevis Singer

It wasn't you who killed them, it was Allah. ~ 8:17

[armour_piercing_bullets]

very good,pls keep up the good work.

like muhamed,abraham,moses,jesus,etc...all so
called prophets also suffered from mental disease.

so,they all had false visions and influenced people.

now is the time to expose these liars,cheats and pathetic
terrorists and ensure that judeo christianity islam is destroyed
forever.

[Vlad Tepes Dracula]

[jack]

Its interesting how todays science is reaching back into time with explanations.

On one of the T.V. science channels they talked about "Giants".

Giants come about when a tumour cases the pituatary gland to over secrete.

When this happens the person grows no stop intill they die.

Today in the West a doctor can treat the pituatary and while the person might make it to 7' they usually catch it and correct it.

Reach back into the bible and explaind David and Goliath.

Goliath probably had a pituatary tumour which made him very tall.

A Giant.

One of the side effects is poor vision as the tumour presses on the optic nerve.

Goliath probably never saw David comming.

Another side effect for Giants is if they take a shot to the head because of the tumour they are at greater risk for bleeding internally.

If David hit Goliath in the head with a rock poor Goliath probably never saw the rock and fell causing the tumour to bleed out.

Now as much I never really thought the story of David and Goliath as being true according to science there is a good chance that what was described wasn't a bible tale but possibly an actual event.

[waterdragon52]

The symptoms are also highly suggestive of someone who suffers from manic depression.

[Ali Sina]

[Dan-Cannon]

Whatver he had, he seems to have had it from childhood:

[menjalara]

This is the most wackiest article that I have ever seen! This author, "Ali Sina" (whoever the heck the moron is) would surely deserve the award of "Best Writing By Moron Who Repeated An Orientalist Lie 200 Years Ago"!

I wish to impore the readers to visit the folowing link to see how this moron's lie has been destroyed aeons ago by an eloquent writer.....

The Prophet Muhammad(P) and the Slander of Epilepsy

http://www.bismikaallahuma.org/Muhammad/epilepsy.htm

I think this is enuff to destroy such allegations. For people who think.....
_________________
Bukan Islam Liberal

[Hector]