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The You Testament
The Making Of A Prophet
is based on an existing game about the life of Christ...

Further Reading
Islam features prominently in
my critique of atheism, where it stands shoulder to shoulder with the world's other major faiths...

"Truth has now arrived and falsehood has vanished away."
- Surah 17:81

As the world's only truly "independent" game developer, I've always felt obliged to unleash my creativity on projects that wouldn't otherwise exist. This website has a long and storied history of delivering unique concepts in unique circumstances. It culminated in 2008's You Testament - in which the conceit of programming was used as the ultimate metaphor for creation. It outraged and fascinated in equal measure, provoking fierce debate at forums throughout the Internet. Now, one year later, an Islamic interpretation of the game looks set to push the envelope even further...

A Brief History Of Faith
One of the biggest misconceptions about Islam is that it's some sort of "new" religion which is at odds with all that came before it. In reality, it's the only religion that ever really existed! The word "Islam" denotes "submission" and refers to living in accordance with a natural order - like swimming with the tide instead of against it. This has, of course, been possible for as long as the universe has existed and forms the backbone of all the world's major faiths. It's what led Abraham out of Ur, Moses out of Egypt, and even what led Jesus to the cross - leaving us with the counter-intuitive prospect that these were the first and greatest of all "Muslims"?! Only in the hands of Muhammad in the 7th century did Islam acquire a specific identity of its own. My game unearths this original premise and places it back in the spotlight where it belongs. As in The You Testament, the conceit of a virtual world gives the story a context that makes sense of all that follows. The character of Muhammad is granted a glimpse of how his world is made and how it really works - from the polygons that form his body to the programming that writes his destiny. With you at his side, he gradually learns to live in accordance with these primordial laws and develops a productive relationship with his creator. But his insights are at odds with the prevailing wisdom of the ignorant masses who prefer to live in a state of delusion...

The Satanic Polygons
Before we go any further, I should perhaps address the fact that it's considered extremely taboo to "depict" the Prophet Muhammad. Negative portrayals are especially frowned upon - as Salman Rushdie and those Danish cartoonists found out to their detriment! But even positive portrayals such as the movie The Message and its forthcoming remake sidestep controversy by not acknowledging Muhammad. This is intellectual and creative cowardice in my opinion. It's also laughably counter-productive because NOT portraying the Prophet Muhammad draws your attention to the fact that he's not there! Any artist or architect will tell you that a structure draws your eyes to the SPACE. In this manner, the rigid walls of dogma produce a Muhammad-shaped hole - making him the ultimate "elephant in the room" (which is perhaps the real blasphemy). This offends against the original reason that depictions were forbidden in the first place, which is that no human being is worthy of special treatment and the teachings should be left to speak for themselves. The law against it (which isn't enshrined in scripture by the way) is also an anachronism because the teachings of Islam have survived intact and are no longer in jeopardy. No work of entertainment can override 1'400 years of cultural evolution! In the 21st century, Islam faces an entirely different problem - which is that people know all too LITTLE about its founder. Keeping him a secret will only perpetuate the absurd prejudices that many westerners have. Indeed, it never occurred to me to make this game until I was implored to by several Muslim players. By depicting the Prophet Muhammad, it's my intention to diffuse the mystery that surrounds him and put the emphasis back on philosophical matters. His existence is like a finger pointing to the moon - we can allow it to direct our gaze skyward without focusing on it...
* The implications of depicting the Prophet Muhammad are discussed in this erudite essay by Jeremy Henzell-Thomas

It's The Thought That Counts
One thing I would like to apologize for is that the game isn't exactly historically accurate. I'm afraid that's a luxury that is seldom afforded to a childish piece of entertainment - especially not one developed on a non-existent budget and released for free! I had neither the time nor the resources to do the project justice in that respect. The result is little more than a rehash of an existing game about the life of Christ - which wasn't entirely accurate in itself, and doesn't become any more so when transplanted to a different time and place! But, as the Qur'an itself would implore us to consider, great things can come from humble circumstances. What we have here is an "artistic interpretation" of Islam. The game may get things wrong on the surface, but the spiritual principles at its heart remain intact. It's what Sufis refer to as embodying the "inner reality" rather than blindly following the "outer law" (a philosophy shared by Christ in his attempts to reform Judaism). Indeed, there's something quite poetic about the fact that the game is based on an existing one about Christ - given that Islam itself shares a history with Judaism and Christianity. That DNA is even more keenly felt here than it would otherwise be, and draws out the similarities between the world's major faiths rather than their differences...
* A detailed account of the game's inaccuracies can be found at the end of this article

Living On A Prayer
One of the biggest stumbling blocks in basing an Islamic game on the story of Christ is that "miracles" are nowhere near as prominent. Those attributed to Muhammad in real life are few in number and of little consequence - the true "miracle" being the wisdom of the Qur'an and the way Islam's destiny unfolded. However, miraculous powers formed the backbone of The You Testament and the same ones had to be shoehorned in here as well. For the most part it's a snug fit and makes it mean something to be blessed with an understanding of how life works. The Muslims gradually become a formidable force who are "strengthened" in remarkable ways by the hidden hand of Allah. The way they access these powers is no longer the Indian "meditation" of The You Testament so much as Islam's own prostrated prayer. Other than that, it's the same old process of cultivating spiritual energy which you can then use to enhance your prospects. It's a nice touch that makes prayer mean something and puts it into context. As the Muslim community grows, we even begin to see the 5 communal prayers offered at set times - symbolically directed towards Mecca...

The Centre Of Attention
The first port of call when adapting this game for a different setting was to change the landscape. The You Testament's 1st century Palestine had to be transformed into 7th century Arabia! Mercifully, I was able to recycle most of the original locations by simply pulling them out of position and rearranging one or two things. Rather poetically, it turns out that Saudi Arabia's coastline is almost the reverse mirror image of Palestine's coastline?! The biggest change is that The You Testament's 32 separate locations have been trimmed down to just 20 - which is actually a good thing here because it's a case of quality over quantity and makes exploration less tedious. Of course, some Islamic landmarks also complete the transformation. The centrepiece of the new game is the city of Mecca, which houses the ominous black cube known as the Ka'ba. It was originally built by Abraham and Ishmael in good faith, but became a symbol of pagan materialism during the "Days Of Ignorance". Muhammad and the Muslims seek to purify it and reinstate it as a symbol of monotheistic devotion. They're not welcome there for most of the game though and must consolidate their power in the multi-cultural haven of Medina to the north (another brand new city unique to this game)...

The Dark Side
The game's inhabitants have also changed to complement the new setting. Gone are the Romans that policed The You Testament and in are the barbarous "Quraysh" tribe that assumed control of Mecca and persecuted the Muslims therein. I was sad to see the Romans go because their distinctive dress worked well for the unique role they played. In an effort to make the Quraysh similarly noticeable, they all wear black robes exclusively. This obviously wasn't the case in reality, but I had to turn them into villainous caricatures for the sake of the game. The Muslims, by contrast, tend to wear pure white - except for Muhammad himself who stands out in green garb to distinguish himself at a glance. Again, there's no historical basis for this but such simplistic characterization is essential to a gaming experience. The civilians themselves are the same as in The You Testament with their generic robes that come in various colours. There's obviously an even greater bias towards tanned faces this time though - and many new textures have been drawn up to that effect...

Arabian Knights
A handful of other modifications have also helped to usher in the Arabic setting. Most noticeably, the divisive "veil" has joined the list of headwear options and will often be worn by the local women. It even factors into a storyline about dressing modestly at one point. Other than that, it's not a terribly convincing addition to the game given that the robes still have a plunging neckline! The mask is a cool look though and even suits some of the male characters. As you can see, there's also a more ethnic looking sword that was in World World Alpha but never made the transition to The You Testament. It's more at home in this instalment...

The Necessity Of War
Speaking of swords, another element that differentiates this game from The You Testament is that the story is interspersed with moments of warfare and violence. Christ's story is one of extreme pacifism, whereas Muhammad famously reasoned that war was a justifiable means of achieving his goals. This is the single biggest bone of contention between Islam and Christianity. Before we denounce Muhammad as a bloodthirsty "terrorist" (as many westerners are quick to do), there are a lot of issues to consider. The first is that Jesus and Muhammad are NOT comparable. It can't be a case of "MY prophet is better than YOUR prophet" because they lived in different eras and tackled different problems. Jesus was a shooting star who made a point of having no worldly responsibilities ("My kingdom is not of this world"), whereas Muhammad and his Jewish counterparts were leaders of entire nations. It's no coincidence that they found themselves having to make tough decisions that jar with Christ's self-sacrificing idealism. We can't be sure Jesus wouldn't have ruled with a firmer hand if he held office. We need only witness the way supposed "Christians" galvanized themselves for the Crusades and two World Wars to see that pacifism has its limits! These "limits" are what caused Muhammad to contemplate that waging war against his oppressors was as justifiable as digging up weeds from a garden. The Qur'an reveals that he gave it more thought than any bloodthirsty warmonger ever would, and civilized the process with a litany of rules that read like the Geneva Convention a thousand years in advance! Laws that the "terrorists" to whom is he is compared defy arbitrarily on a daily basis in order to achieve their political aims. In his hands, war was a regrettable last resort that should never succumb to mindless "hate" and should end at the first possible opportunity. The age-old adage of "loving thy neighbour" remains intact - it's just that he, like many of our leaders today, knew there was such a thing as "tough love"...

Final Thought
After 10 years of bold innovation, I'm no stranger to controversy and I'm well aware that this stands to be the most controversial project I've ever embarked on - far surpassing even The You Testament. I would like to make it clear that I haven't done so lightly, nor am I motivated by anything but the most sincere of intentions. If I wanted to join the long line of people who have besmirched Islam, I could have done so with a project far less sophisticated than this one. And if it was my intention to "profit" from it in some way, I would not have dedicated months of my life to a piece of entertainment that is freely available. On the contrary, this is the work of a man who has already committed career suicide and has scant regard for his future as a game designer! Like The You Testament before it, I'm well aware that this project can expect to be criticized by everyone and praised by no one. For every Muslim that denounces it as blasphemy, there will be a NON-Muslim westerner who denounces it as unpatriotic, pro-Islamic propaganda. My only solace is the odd westerner that realizes there was more to Islam than they thought, or the odd Muslim that can enjoy the game as a celebration of their faith. Although it's far from a perfect representation of Islam, I suspect it's as close as a gaming experience will ever get to conveying those principles. No other game designer will ever have the opportunity nor the inclination to visit this subject again. The choice Muslims have is this representation or NO representation. Islamic scholars may glibly claim to prefer the latter, denouncing my humble contribution as recklessly inadequate. But however "ignorant" they behold me to be, there must be millions who are even more so. For hundreds of thousands of westerners, this is the ONLY positive portrayal of Islam they will ever be exposed to. How the Muslim community reacts to it will determine whether that goodwill blossoms or dies...

The Lesser Of Two Evils
To put my game in perspective, I'd like to remind everybody how Islam has previously been portrayed by the games industry. A quick search on the Internet reveals an erudite theological masterpiece called Muslim Massacre, which challenges the player to slaughter as many Arabic individuals as possible. It makes the lazy stereotyping of Arabs in mainstream games look progressive by comparison! Its unspeakably crude content is surpassed only by the crude visuals that it uses to deliver its message. I had reservations about whether MY graphics were good enough, but it looks like I needn't have feared! Most offensively of all, the creator of this monstrosity seems incapable of explaining himself - lurching wildly from basking in the praise of fans to nodding in agreement as journalists ask whether it might be an ironic satire of American foreign policy? It's not the latter and has nothing to offer the debate. There's only one game developer that ever does - and it's the guy that put his reputation on the line to break with convention and put a POSITIVE spin on the world's most misunderstood faith. I hope the Muslim community bears that in mind when judgment is passed on my contribution. The "truth" has indeed come and "falsehood" has indeed been shown up for what it is...

Attention To Detail
As a work of entertainment, The Making Of A Prophet is inevitably more fiction than fact. That said, any errors it has were deliberate creative decisions rather than the result of ignorance or negligence. In the interests of full disclosure (and to pre-empt any tiresome feedback), I should like to acknowledge the following inaccuracies:

• The "Night Of Power" during which Muhammad receives his first revelation was supposed to be an encounter with the angel Gabriel. This was neither possible to display nor in keeping with the gaming metaphor. Instead, we find Muhammad shaken after being granted a glimpse of the programming and 3D modelling that created his world. He sees his own subtitles on the screen in English and marvels at not knowing what any of it means! This is a riff on the idea that he was famously instructed to "READ!" in real life despite being illiterate.
   

• For the purposes of exposition, YOU are the first person to encounter Muhammad up Mount Hira when it was in fact his wife Khadijah. His desire to preach straightaway is also an invention to kick-start the game. In reality, he cowered from public life for years on end before gradually sharing his experiences. Even then, he did so with his family first and not the general public. The events featured in the game panned out over a period of 22 years in real life, so a condensed timeline had to be employed!
   

• In reality, a man called Abu Bakr and Muhammad's son in law Ali were his "closest companions". Your fictitious character must take their place in order to drive the story along. There is a riff on the difference between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims towards the end when people bicker about whether to revere you or a blood relative of Muhammad.
   

• Although Muhammad was devoted to Khadijah while she was alive, he went on to have numerous other wives - most notably the young Aisha who survived him by a great many years and was key to preserving his legacy. All of these subsequent wives are omitted from the game entirely so that I could concentrate on his spiritual transformation. However, there is one scene where he accepts a widow as his wife out of mercy when many males die. This is to demonstrate the logic behind his stance on multiple wives.
   

• Muhammad had many children who are not acknowledged in the game. Again, this is because I didn't want his domestic life to impinge on the game's spiritual message. I also didn't relish dealing with the fact that most of them died.
   

• There were no instances in which Muhammad gave others a glimpse of his insights the way he does with the player up Mount Hira. This is a storytelling device to help you understand what he is trying to convey to the public. This is the same effect that occurs halfway through The You Testament as part of the "transfiguration".
   

• In real life, the prostrated prayer is NOT used as a form of meditation and Muslims do not do it for an extended period of time. The real process involves returning to a standing position and repeatedly humbling oneself before a higher power.
   

• In real life, Muslims originally prayed towards Jerusalem and not Mecca until much later. I have them pray towards Mecca at the earliest possible opportunity because of the condensed timeline (and also because Jerusalem doesn't exist on the map!).
   

• The scene in which an abused child is transformed into an adult is fictitious. It is a contrived way of introducing the power to change one's body shape. That said, it does reflect the Islamic philosophy of worldly power being usurped by spirituality.
   

• The scene in which Muhammad becomes "invisible" to spy on the public is entirely fictitious and is a contrived way of including that power from The You Testament. However, it does do a neat job of setting up his rant about the "Day Of Judgment". This is a riff on the Islamic idea that our deeds are etched onto a "scroll". As far as the game is concerned, this is the data file that stores information about each character!
   

• The game shows Muhammad meeting the Christians of Abyssinia when it was in fact a party of Muslims sent at his behest. I also place Abyssinia in walking distance when it was in fact another country across the Red Sea in what is now Ethiopia.
   

• During the meeting with the Christians, Muhammad's views on the crucifixion differ from what is written in the Qur'an. He genuinely didn't believe Christ was crucified at all, whereas I render it as a misunderstanding about the difference between body and soul.
   

• The famous "Satanic Verses" are alluded to when Muhammad is accused of saying what the Jews and Christians want to hear. In fact, it was the pagans that Muhammad was accused of pandering to by changing the wording of Surah 17.
   

• The city of Medina was originally known as "Yathrib" and changed its name later. The game's map obviously had to choose one name and stick to it.
   

• Although it's true that people competed to house Muhammad, in real life he left his camel to roam and vowed to make his home wherever it stopped. Unfortunately, this charming episode was not possible in the game! He also built the world's first mosque in Medina at this juncture, but in the game the whole city is just a nondescript walled enclosure.
   

• In reality, the freed slave Bilal was chosen to be the voice of the "call to prayer". In the game, it was supposed to be the player but turned out to be no one in particular.
   

• In reality, it was Muhammad who wanted to go to war with the Quraysh and he didn't need any persuasion from the leader of Medina. He also elected to take pot-shots at their trade routes instead of confronting them face to face, and he did so during a sacred month when violence was prohibited. I omitted these details to make his leadership appear more virtuous.
   

• The "Battle Of Badr" is reduced to a symbolic confrontation between 5 Quraysh and 5 Muslims. In reality, the Muslims were outnumbered by a huge Quraysh army - which made their unlikely success all the more remarkable. It was obviously not possible to portray extensive war scenes in a game not of that genre.
   

• In reality, the leader of the Quraysh, Abu Jahl, perished at the "Battle Of Badr" and was not taken prisoner. He is spared in the game to demonstrate Muhammad's stance on treating captives humanely. It also wasn't practical to replace the leader of the Quraysh halfway through the game. In reality, Abu Jahl was succeeded by Abu Sufyan.
   

• The episode where time seems to speed up didn't really happen in the time of Muhammad and alludes to a story from the Qur'an where some men fell asleep in a cave and awoke to find themselves in a different century. The principle remains the same though - which is that man is less qualified than Allah to judge the truth of a matter. This sets up the forthcoming storylines about people questioning Muhammad's leadership.
   

• The "Battle Of Uhud" is symbolically reduced to Muhammad facing the Quraysh on his own. In reality, it was a perfectly normal battle which ended badly when many Muslims disobeyed orders through a combination of cowardice and negligence. It is true that Muhammad suffered a blow and was presumed dead. He then made a remarkably swift recovery - although it fell short of rising from the dead as he seems to do here!
   

• Muhammad did not witness a flood in his time - although he did feel there was much to learn from the story of Noah. Here, the storyline is a device to introduce the power of controlling water. In reality, his mastery of water amounted to miraculously producing it for ablutions (which is also alluded to).
   

• Although the Jews of Medina embraced Muhammad at first, the game omits their later rejection of him and the bloodshed that followed. Many Jews were executed for being traitors in what is known as the "Battle Of The Trench". I felt this was inappropriate subject matter for a game, and it would also confuse the clear divide between the Muslims and the Quraysh.
   

• The pilgrimage to Mecca stalled at a place called "Hudaybiyyah" in real life. The condensed map leaves out many tiny outposts between Mecca and Medina and places them all in Badr. The Muslims were not a spent force at this juncture in real life and actually came to the table with a lot of power. I portray them as weak because the disaster of Uhud was the last war portrayed.
   

• In real life, it was a bold Muslim called Uthman - and not Muhammad - who went ahead into Mecca to begin negotiations. He was held captive and (falsely) proclaimed dead. I omitted this convoluted distraction and had Muhammad discuss terms straightaway on his own.
   

• In real life, the Muslims were sent home to Medina and didn't get to complete their pilgrimage until the following year. I have them do it straight away to save time. The way Muhammad groomed converts is also slightly different. In real life, many Muslim sympathizers in Mecca took it upon themselves to take pot-shots at the Quraysh - but Muhammad had to pretend he didn't approve of their actions. Technically, these scuffles broke the agreed 10-year ceasefire.
   

• The real pilgrimage is a lengthy affair that involves circling the Ka'ba and then heading out towards the hills of Safa and Marwa at the well of Zamzam. Mount Arafat and Mina are also visited. All of these locations are included in the game so that a real pilgrimage can be completed of your own volition.
   

• The Ka'ba in Mecca wasn't black with a gold trim during the reign of the Quraysh. I elected to portray it as it would be recognized by people today.
   

• In real life, the Ka'ba would have contained lots of pagan statues instead of random objects! I did not feel it was necessary to create extra items for that one moment. It's also not true that Muhammad destroyed its contents entirely - he spared a painting of Jesus and Mary.
   

• Muhammad did not really suggest that another item be placed in the Ka'ba which then disappears. This is a contrived way of shoehorning in the ability to manifest items. It also alludes to an Islamic story about Moses where he carries a fish which then disappears into the ocean to symbolize his enlightenment.
   

• The real Ka'ba has a sacred black stone that I neglected to feature. It took 4 people to help relocate it after Muhammad purified the Ka'ba and I could not portray that process in the game.
   

• The tradition of stoning the pillar in Mina actually predates Muhammad and can be traced back to the way Abraham responded to a vision of Satan. Since Satan is a real character in the game, I factored his demise into it.
   

• There were no instances in which Muhammad roamed around on top of the Ka'ba and he could not fly. This skill (and the accompanying remark about it being "nothing more than a fly can do") is a reference to an Islamic mystic called Rabi'ah. It was included in the game as a means of accessing the ability to fly from The You Testament.
   

• After conquering Mecca and returning to Medina, Muhammad and the Muslims embarked on many other campaigns to seize distant territories that are not featured in the game.
   

• Muhammad did not die randomly on the grounds of Medina. It was with his head resting on the lap of his wife, Aisha. It's true that he suffered intense headaches towards the end, which he valiantly fought through to continue guiding his people.
   

• In real life, it was Abu Bakr that made people accept Muhammad was gone. In the game, the player utters his immortal lines: "Whoever worshipped Muhammad, Muhammad is dead. Whoever worships Allah, Allah is living and never dies."
   

• All scriptural references refer to Abdullah Yusuf Ali's translation of the Qur'an and the Hadith of Bukhari. Other sources may differ. The subtitles displayed in the game are not at all authentic and had to be paraphrased to work in a different context.