Muhammad (SAW) in the Near-Contemporaneous Non-Muslim Sources: An Appraisal of Robert Spencer’s Views

Muhammad’s (SAW life is fully reserved and recorded in history. It has been established beyond a shadow of doubt that not only the major and significant events of his life but even the minutest details of his life are also painstakingly preserved by the Muslims. In spite of the availability of abundant authentic documents concerning Muhammad’s (SAW) life, sayings and deeds, some critics of Islam stubbornly refuse to believe in his historicity. Robert Spencer is one such critic who maintains that Muhammad’s (SAW) value is nothing more than a fictional or mythological figure. This article is an attempt to prove the existence of Muhammad (SAW) in contemporary non-Muslims sources. The article is divided into three major parts: the first part of the paper throws light on how much emphasis Muslims lay on historical authenticity of Muhammad (SAW), in the second part of the paper views and doubts of prominent like orientalists Spencer concerning Muhammad’s (SAW) historical authenticity have been summarized, whereas the third part presents Robert Spencer’s views in the same connection and endeavors to refute his views and approach drawing on contemporary non-Muslim Sources.  

Impact of Neurotransmitters, Emotional Intelligence and Personality on Investors Behavior and Investment Decisions

Mainstream of the investors and investment advisory consultants both suggest and focus on standard finance models and do not take into account the neurological dimensions of finance as neurotransmitters and behavioral psychological dimen sions of investors as Emotional Intelligence (EI) and Personality. When investors make investment in the stock market then these aspects of individual investors can cause of several mistakes which may lead to loss due to the unprofitable decisions, etc. In the informed financial system and knowledge base economy, profitable invest ment program is not only imitative as of conventional and standard finance models or concepts but also use of neurology and behavioral psychology in finance. So, this study would be center of attention on shaping the impact of Neurotransmit ters, Emotional Intelligence and Personality measures on Investor Behavior and its eventual rear-ender on investment decisions. This study used the primary data; the data type is the cross sectional and col lected with the help of questionnaire. Population of the study consists of investors in stock market of Pakistan. Sample size composed of 455 investors in the Pak istan Stock Exchanges. The data analysis performed with the help of partial least square base structural equation modeling (PL-SEM), especially hierarchical la tent variable by using reflective-formative types model with the help of two stage approach as guided by (Becker et al., 2012). The empirical evidence of the study reveals that personality dimensions especially openness and consciousness as well as emotional intelligence dimensions especially self emotions appraisal and regulation of emotions have significant relation with the behavioral features of investor especially investment horizon, personalization of loss and control level. Similarly, documented that neurotransmitter’s dimension dopamine and epinephrine have significant relation with investment decisions of individual investors. In view of this, documented that emotional intelligence, neurotransmitters and personality have 13.2% impact on investor behavior and these dimensions have 4.1% impact on investment decisions of individual investor. x The empirical findings of study contribute in the theory that the fight-or-flight response theory and system of reward, theory of multiple intelligence and trait theory have superior grounds towards assessing the tendency of investor behavior and their investment decisions. The study have wider pragmatic use for individual investors, academic researchers, consultants and investment managers of brokerage houses because it is significant for them to know the connection of behavioral and neurofinance concepts with investor behavior of individual and their investment decisions for their individual scheduling the economic decisions in the Pakistan Stock Exchange. The empirical findings of the research open new horizon for advancement in field of neurofinance and behavioral finance. So, these avenues will provide supplemented inner view of investor’s behavior and their decision’s in the stock market of Pak istan and demand more and more effort to determine universal latent constructs for combine model of neurofinance and behavioral finance.