Short answer
No. In 628 CE a woman of Khaybar gave the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) a poisoned sheep, but the poison did not kill him. He lived about four more years. In that time Mecca and most of Arabia accepted Islam, and the Qur'an kept being revealed until it was complete. He died in his last illness, which began with a headache and grew severe. In it he said he still felt the pain of the poison, so it may well have weakened him, and Muslim scholars count his death a martyr's death. Nor does any of this make him a false prophet. Qur'an 69:44-47 describes a forger whom God (﷾) cuts off, so that his lie goes no further. Deuteronomy 18:20 says a false prophet "shall die", but every prophet dies, and no court ever sentenced him. Moses gave a different test for a false prophet: a prophecy that fails. Islam's answer is that he finished his mission, so neither verse describes him.
Full explanation
The critic's case
Some Christian critics join three texts. The first is a hadith, a report of what the Prophet (ﷺ) said and did. It says that in his last illness he still felt the poison he ate at Khaybar. He said it felt as if his aorta, the body's main artery, were being cut. The second is the Qur'an, which says God (﷾) would cut the life artery of a man who invented revelation. The third is the Law of Moses, which says a prophet who speaks what God (﷾) has not commanded shall die. From these they argue that the Qur'an and the Bible both condemn him.
Aisha reports that in his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he still felt the pain of the food he had eaten at Khaybar, and that it felt as if his aorta was being cut by that poison.
“And if the messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand, And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart: Nor could any of you withhold him (from Our wrath).”
“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
The Muslims recorded it themselves
Islam accepts the report. The words about the aorta come from Aisha, the Prophet's (ﷺ) wife, and are kept in Sahih al-Bukhari, the most trusted book of hadith. A community hiding a false prophet would not keep the one report its critics could use. Muslims do not see it as a curse. The poison did not kill him at Khaybar. He died about four years later, in an illness that began with a headache and grew so severe that he had to be helped to walk. That he still felt the poison then shows it may have weakened him. Muslim scholars count his death a martyr's death because of it, an honour and not a punishment. Ibn Rajab, a Muslim scholar of the 14th century, records this view.
Aisha reports that in his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he still felt the pain of the food he had eaten at Khaybar, and that it felt as if his aorta was being cut by that poison.
Aisha complained of a headache, saying "Oh, my head!" The Prophet (ﷺ) answered that it was rather he who should say "Oh, my head!". The early biographers place this at the start of his last illness.
Aisha reports that when the illness of the Prophet (ﷺ) grew worse, his wives let him be nursed in her house. He came walking between two men, his feet dragging on the ground. There he asked for the water of seven skins to be poured over him so that he could advise the people, then went out, led them in prayer and spoke to them.
Ibn Rajab records the view that the Prophet (ﷺ) died a martyr from the effect of the Khaybar poison.
Read the verse whole
Qur'an 69:44-47 is a condition, and it describes God's (﷾) own hand. If the messenger invented sayings in God's (﷾) name, God (﷾) would seize him and cut him off. No one could protect him. The verse pictures a forger stopped so that his lie goes no further. The Prophet (ﷺ) lived about four years after Khaybar, from the seventh year after the Hijra (his move from Mecca to Medina) to the eleventh. The Qur'an kept being revealed. At his last pilgrimage to Mecca, the Farewell Pilgrimage, the Qur'an declared the religion perfected. Umar, one of his closest followers, later recalled the day and place it came down. A forger cut off by God (﷾) would not have been allowed to finish the book he was forging.
“And if the messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand, And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart: Nor could any of you withhold him (from Our wrath).”
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
A Jewish man told Umar ibn al-Khattab that if the verse "This day have I perfected your religion" had been revealed to the Jews, they would have kept that day as a festival. Umar answered that Muslims know exactly when and where it came down: on a Friday, while the Prophet (ﷺ) was standing at Arafat during the pilgrimage.
The verse and the hadith, each in its context
Surat al-Haqqa, chapter 69 of the Qur'an, answers those who called the Prophet (ﷺ) a poet or a soothsayer. It says the Qur'an is a message sent down from the Lord of the Worlds. Then it says what would happen if the messenger invented sayings in God's (﷾) name. God (﷾) would seize him by his right hand and cut off the artery of his heart, and no one could shield him. The verse is a condition about a forger. It pictures God's (﷾) own hand stopping him, so that the lie goes no further. The hadith has a different setting. Aisha reports what the Prophet (ﷺ) said in his last illness. He still felt the pain of the food he had eaten at Khaybar, and now it felt as if his artery were being cut by that poison. He was describing the pain of an illness, from a poison that men had given him about four years before. He did not say that God (﷾) had seized him. The Muslims who knew the verse by heart are the ones who recorded his words. And Muslim scholars counted his death a martyr's death, an honour. So each must be read in its own setting. The verse describes a forger stopped before his work is done. The hadith describes a messenger in pain after his work was complete.
“It is not the word of a poet: little it is ye believe! Nor is it the word of a soothsayer: little admonition it is ye receive. (This is) a Message sent down from the Lord of the Worlds.”
“And if the messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand, And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart: Nor could any of you withhold him (from Our wrath).”
Aisha reports that in his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he still felt the pain of the food he had eaten at Khaybar, and that it felt as if his aorta was being cut by that poison.
“This day have I perfected your religion for you, completed My favour upon you, and have chosen for you Islam as your religion.”
Ibn Rajab records the view that the Prophet (ﷺ) died a martyr from the effect of the Khaybar poison.
The poison did not end his mission
The people of Khaybar told the Prophet (ﷺ) why they had poisoned the meat. If he was a liar they would be rid of him, they said, and if he was a prophet it would not harm him. The woman who served it said she had meant to kill him. He told her Allah would never give her the power to do it. She could not: the Prophet (ﷺ) lived on about four more years and finished his mission. In his last illness he died in Aisha's house in Medina, resting against her chest, with the words of faith on his lips.
Abu Hurayra reports that after Khaybar was taken the Prophet (ﷺ) was given a poisoned roast sheep. He gathered the Jews of the place and asked whether they had poisoned it. They said yes. Asked why, they said they wanted to know: if he was a liar they would be rid of him, and if he was a prophet it would not harm him.
Anas reports that a Jewish woman brought the Prophet (ﷺ) poisoned mutton and he ate from it. When she was brought to him she said she had meant to kill him. He answered that Allah would never give her the power to do that. His Companions asked whether they should kill her, and he said no.
Aisha reports that the Prophet (ﷺ) died in her house, on her day, with his head resting against her chest. In his last moments he cleaned his teeth with a softened tooth-stick, wiped his face with water, said there is no god but Allah and that death has its agonies, and then said "With the highest companion" until he passed away.
What "that prophet shall die" means
Every prophet dies. Moses himself died "according to the word of the Lord", and nobody takes that as proof that he was false. So the words in Deuteronomy 18:20 must mean more than dying one day. The Mishnah, the earliest code of Jewish law, treats the false prophet's death as a sentence. It lists him among those whom a court puts to death.
“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
“So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth–peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated. And the children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days: so the days of weeping and mourning for Moses were ended. And Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom; for Moses had laid his hands upon him: and the children of Israel hearkened unto him, and did as the Lord commanded Moses. And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face,”
Lists the offenders whom a Jewish court sentences to death by strangling. The false prophet is one of them, next to the one who prophesies in the name of an idol.
The Qur'an told him he would die
The Qur'an never says the Prophet (ﷺ) would not die. It says to him: "Truly thou wilt die (one day), and truly they (too) will die (one day)." It calls him no more than a messenger, like the messengers who passed away before him. And it asks whether the believers would turn back if he died or were slain. When he died, his closest companion Abu Bakr recited both verses to the grieving people. So his death came as his own scripture said it would.
“Truly thou wilt die (one day), and truly they (too) will die (one day).”
“Muhammad is no more than a messenger: many Were the messenger that passed away before him. If he died or were slain, will ye then Turn back on your heels? If any did turn back on his heels, not the least harm will he do to Allah; but Allah (on the other hand) will swiftly reward those who (serve Him) with gratitude.”
Aisha reports that when the Prophet (ﷺ) died, Umar insisted he was not dead. Abu Bakr came, kissed the Prophet's face, then told the people that whoever worshipped Muhammad should know Muhammad was dead, and whoever worshipped Allah should know Allah is alive and never dies. He recited 39:30 and 3:144, that Muhammad is no more than a messenger, and the people wept.
Where the critic's reading lands
Read as a death sentence carried out by men, the verse does not fit Muhammad (ﷺ). No court ever sentenced him, and he died in his last illness at home, with his work done. Suppose being condemned by men proved a man false. Then the rule would fall on Jesus, whom the New Testament Gospels say a council condemned to death for blasphemy. It does not, because true prophets were killed. Jesus himself said Jerusalem killed the prophets, and the Qur'an speaks of those who slay the prophets in defiance of right. Muslims do not believe Jesus was killed, because the Qur'an denies it. The test Moses himself gave for a false prophet is a different one: a prophecy that does not come to pass.
“Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.”
“That they said (in boast), "We killed Christ Jesus the son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah";- but they killed him not, nor crucified him, but so it was made to appear to them, and those who differ therein are full of doubts, with no (certain) knowledge, but only conjecture to follow, for of a surety they killed him not:-”
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
“As to those who deny the Signs of Allah and in defiance of right, slay the prophets, and slay those who teach just dealing with mankind, announce to them a grievous penalty.”
“When a prophet speaketh in the name of the Lord, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him.”
Verse by verse
Qur'an 69:44-47 — Surat al-Haqqa (The Reality), verses 44-47
“And if the messenger were to invent any sayings in Our name, We should certainly seize him by his right hand, And We should certainly then cut off the artery of his heart: Nor could any of you withhold him (from Our wrath).”
Cited for
God said He would cut the life artery of a forger. In his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he felt his aorta being cut by the Khaybar poison. So the verse condemns him.
The response
The verse is a condition about God (﷾) seizing a forger so that his lie goes no further. This man lived four more years, received more revelation, saw Arabia accept Islam, and heard the religion declared perfected. The woman who poisoned him meant to end his mission there and then. He told her Allah would never give her the power to do it.
Where it lands — The verse describes a forger stopped before his work is done. The Prophet (ﷺ) finished his mission, so the verse does not fit him.
Deuteronomy 18:20 — Torah, Devarim, chapter 18, verse 20
“But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die.”
Cited for
A prophet who speaks in God's name what God has not commanded "shall die", and Muhammad (ﷺ) died of poison.
The response
Every prophet dies, Moses included, so the words must mean a sentence. The Mishnah lists the false prophet among those whom a court puts to death. The Prophet (ﷺ) died at home in his last illness, years after the poison, and no court of men sentenced him. Even when the Bible shows God (﷾) striking a false prophet, Hananiah, he died the same year (Jeremiah 28:15-17). The Prophet (ﷺ), by contrast, lived on for years and finished his mission.
Where it lands — On the Jewish reading the verse describes a sentence carried out by a court. It does not describe the Prophet's (ﷺ) death.
Sahih al-Bukhari 4428 — Kitab al-Maghazi (Military Expeditions), hadith 4428
Aisha reports that in his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he still felt the pain of the food he had eaten at Khaybar, and that it felt as if his aorta was being cut by that poison.
Cited for
In his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he felt his aorta being cut: the very artery Qur'an 69:46 names.
The response
The words are not the same. The Qur'an says al-watin; the hadith says abhar. But both name a great artery of the heart: Yusuf Ali renders the Qur'an's word "the artery of his heart", and the hadith's English has "aorta". So the different word proves nothing either way. What answers the charge is the context. The verse is a condition: God (﷾) seizing a forger so that his lie goes no further. The Prophet (ﷺ) spoke of the pain of a poison eaten about four years before, after the religion had been declared perfected. He did not say God (﷾) had cut his artery, and he died at home with his mission complete.
Where it lands — Whatever the word, the verse is about a forger stopped before his work is done. The Prophet (ﷺ) finished his.
Qur'an 5:67 — Surat al-Ma'ida (The Table), verse 67
“O Messenger! proclaim the (message) which hath been sent to thee from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission. And Allah will defend thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject Faith.”
Cited for
The Qur'an promised that Allah would defend him from men (5:67). Yet a woman of Khaybar poisoned him, so the promise failed.
The response
The verse ties the promise to his mission. It tells him to proclaim what was sent to him, and says Allah (﷾) will defend him from men. The woman meant to kill him, and he told her Allah would never give her the power to do it. She could not. He lived about four more years and proclaimed all of it, until the religion was declared perfected. He then died at home in his last illness, not by any man's hand.
Where it lands — No one stopped him from proclaiming the message, and no one killed him. The promise was kept.
Qur'an 7:188 — Surat al-A'raf (The Heights), verse 188
“Say: "I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah willeth. If I had knowledge of the unseen, I should have multiplied all good, and no evil should have touched me: I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings to those who have faith."”
Cited for
If he was a prophet, why did God not warn him before he ate the poisoned meat?
The response
The Qur'an has him say that he has no power over harm to himself except as Allah (﷾) wills, and that if he knew the unseen, no evil would have touched him. A prophet knows only what God (﷾) shows him, and the Qur'an speaks of prophets who were harmed and even killed. The people of Khaybar called the poison a test: if he was a liar, they would be rid of him. They were not rid of him. He lived on and finished his mission.
Where it lands — Being harmed does not make a prophet false. What the poisoners hoped for, to be rid of him, did not happen.
Perspectives
Christian critics
In his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he felt the Khaybar poison cutting his aorta. They say this is the death Qur'an 69:46 gives a forger and the death Deuteronomy 18:20 gives a false prophet.
In his last illness the Prophet (ﷺ) said he felt as if his aorta, the great artery of the heart, was being cut. He said it was the poison he had eaten at Khaybar.
Rebuttal
Islam accepts the report. But pain from the poison does not show that God (﷾) cut him off. He lived about four more years, and the Qur'an declared the religion complete.
Qur'an 69:46 says God would cut the life artery of a messenger who invented sayings. So, they say, the Prophet's (ﷺ) words show the sentence carried out.
Rebuttal
The verse is a condition about a forger whom God (﷾) stops before his lie spreads. The Prophet (ﷺ) was not stopped. He lived about four years more and the Qur'an was complete.
Deuteronomy 18:20 says a prophet who speaks a word God has not commanded shall die.
Rebuttal
The verse does say "shall die", but Moses died too, so it must mean more than dying one day. The Mishnah reads it as a court's sentence, and no court ever sentenced the Prophet (ﷺ). Moses' own test is a prophecy that fails.
The Islamic perspective
The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) lived four years after the poison, completed the Qur'an and died at home in his last illness. Neither verse describes him.
Qur'an 69:44-47 is a condition about a forger whom God (﷾) cuts off before his lie can spread. The Prophet (ﷺ) lived to see the religion declared complete.
The people of Khaybar said they used the poison as a test. If he was a prophet, it would not harm him.
The Prophet (ﷺ) spoke to the woman who poisoned him. Allah (﷾), he told her, would never give her the power to kill him.
The Prophet (ﷺ) died in Aisha's house in Medina, resting against her chest.
Every prophet dies, Moses included. And the Mishnah lists the false prophet among those whom a court puts to death.
The Qur'an told the Prophet (ﷺ) that he would die, and Abu Bakr recited that verse when he died.
True prophets can be killed. Jesus said Jerusalem killed the prophets, and the Qur'an condemns those who slay the prophets.
Moses' own test of a false prophet is a prophecy that fails to come to pass.
The poison did not kill him: he died about four years later in his last illness. Because he still felt its pain then, Muslim scholars count his death a martyr's death.