Mohammed Image Archive


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Dante's Inferno



In the Inferno chapter of Dante's trilogy The Divine Comedy, Mohammed is described as being one of the "Sowers of Discord," showing his entrails to Dante and Virgil in the Eighth Circle of Hell:

Inferno XXVIII, 19-42.

The poets are in the ninth
chasm of the eighth circle, that of the Sowers of
Discord, whose punishment is to be mutilated.
Mahomet shows his entrails to Dante and Virgil
while on the left stands his son Ali, his head cleft
from chin to forelock.



Several famous artists have created their own illustrations of this scene. In each drawing, Mohammed is the one with his torso slit open.


Gustave Doré.


William Blake.


Auguste Rodin.


Salvador Dalí.


The 1911 Italian silent film L'Inferno contained a dramatization of the scene; Mohammed is here on the right with his entrails hanging out.
(Hat tip: Peter R.)



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Islamic Depictions of Mohammed in Full
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Dante's Inferno
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