Answered by Shaykh Gibril F Haddad
I was on a discussion forum, and a sister posted an article by a historian called Al-Kalbi who claimed that the Holy Rasool Allah [SAWS] was an idol worshipper before his prophethood. How can this claim be refuted?
Wa `alaykum as-Salam:
Many ways:
First, nowhere in his Kitab al-Asnam does al-Kalbi make such a claim.
Second, even if he did make such a claim there or elsewhere, his rank in hadith narration is that of “discarded, and he is a chronicler” (matruk wa-huwa akhbari cf. al-Dhahabi’s Mughni) meaning, he will retell everything he hears without verifying who says it or where he heard it.
Third, the works of Prophetic biography (siras) all concur to the contrary of the claim cited above. And Allah Most High knows best.