Meanings
alternative if the mountain won't come to Mohammed · alternative if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain · alternative as the mountain could not wait upon Mahomet, Mahomet would go to the mountain
- If something one wishes to be done cannot be commanded to be done, one must find another way to achieve one's goal.
It was obvious that, if Opec was going to survive much longer, it had to be taken seriously by the world’s major oil companies. So Yamani decided, if the mountain won’t come to Muhammad, Opec had somehow to impose its presence on the oil companies.
1988, Jeffrey Robinson, “The Birth of Opec and the Rise of Yamani”, in Yamani: The Inside Story (Biography/History), New York: Atlantic Monthly Press, published 1989, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 54
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
An ellipsis (anapodoton) of the apocryphal phrase "if the mountain won't come to Muhammad, then Muhammad must go to the mountain," coined in a story by Francis Bacon (1561–1626) Details The earliest appearance of the phrase is from Chapter 12 of the Essays of Francis Bacon, published in 1625: Mahomet made the people believe that he would call a hill to him, and from the top of it offer up his prayers, for the observers of his law. The people assembled; Mahomet called the hill to come to him, again and again; and when the hill stood still, he was never a whit abashed, but said, If the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill. It was published in John Ray's 1670 book of English proverbs, The more complete reading of the essay makes it clear that Sir Francis Bacon meant the example to be disparaging, as he refers to “…mountebanks for the natural body, so are there mountebanks for the politic body…" in the context of his discussion “of boldness”, or what might be described in modern, political terms as brazening out a scandal or failure. Although the phrase is widely associated with Muhammad, the 6th-century prophet of Islam who lived in Arabia, there is no written or oral tradition tracing it back to him. There is, however, a phrase in Turkish—dağ sana gelmezse, sen dağa gideceksin… (“if the mountain won't come to you, you must go to the mountain”)—that has no reference to Muhammad. (An alternative version can be found on the Turkish Wiktionary.) It is known as one of the atasözleri, or "common sayings", which exist in modern Turkish but are thought to have much older origins.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian ако не можеш да занесеш планината при Мохамед, заведи Мохамед при планината
- ако не можеш да занесеш планината при Мохамед, заведи Мохамед при планината (ako ne možeš da zaneseš planinata pri Mohamed, zavedi Mohamed pri planinata)if one cannot get something done by commanding it
Chinese Mandarin 山不過來，我就過去 /山不过来, 我就过去
- 山不過來，我就過去 /山不过来if one cannot get something done by commanding it
- 我就过去 (shān bù guò lái, wǒ jiù guò qù)if one cannot get something done by commanding it
Czech když nejde hora k Mohamedovi, musí Mohamed k hoře
- když nejde hora k Mohamedovi, musí Mohamed k hořeif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Danish hvis bjerget ikke vil komme til Muhammed, må Muhammed komme til bjerget, når bjerget ikke vil komme til Muhammed, må Muhammed komme til bjerget
- hvis bjerget ikke vil komme til Muhammed, må Muhammed komme til bjergetif one cannot get something done by commanding it
- når bjerget ikke vil komme til Muhammed, må Muhammed komme til bjergetif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Dutch als Mohammed niet naar de berg komt, moet de berg maar naar Mohammed
- als Mohammed niet naar de berg komt, moet de berg maar naar Mohammedif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Esperanto se la monto ne venas al Mohamedo, Mohamedo devas iri al monto
- se la monto ne venas al Mohamedo, Mohamedo devas iri al montoif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Finnish jos vuori ei tule Muhammedin luo
- jos vuori ei tule Muhammedin luoif one cannot get something done by commanding it
French si la montagne ne va pas à toi, va à la montagne
- si la montagne ne va pas à toi, va à la montagneif one cannot get something done by commanding it
German wenn der Berg nicht zum Propheten kommt, muss der Prophet wohl zum Berge kommen
- wenn der Berg nicht zum Propheten kommt, muss der Prophet wohl zum Berge kommenif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Greek όταν δεν πάει στον Μωάμεθ το βουνό, πάει στο βουνό ο Μωάμεθ
- όταν δεν πάει στον Μωάμεθ το βουνό, πάει στο βουνό ο Μωάμεθ (ótan den páei ston Moámeth to vounó, páei sto vounó o Moámeth)if one cannot get something done by commanding it
Hebrew אם מוחמד לא יבוא אל ההר, יבוא ההר אל מוחמד
- אם מוחמד לא יבוא אל ההר, יבוא ההר אל מוחמדif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Hungarian ha a hegy nem megy Mohamedhez, Mohamed megy a hegyhez
- ha a hegy nem megy Mohamedhez, Mohamed megy a hegyhezif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Italian se la montagna non va da Maometto, Maometto va alla montagna
- se la montagna non va da Maometto, Maometto va alla montagnaif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Norwegian Bokmål når fjellet ikke kommer til Muhammed, må Muhammed komme til fjellet
- når fjellet ikke kommer til Muhammed, må Muhammed komme til fjelletif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Polish nie chce góra przyjść do Mahometa, musi Mahomet przyjść do góry
- nie chce góra przyjść do Mahometa, musi Mahomet przyjść do góryif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Portuguese se a montanha não vem a Maomé, Maomé vai à montanha
- se a montanha não vem a Maomé, Maomé vai à montanhaif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Romanian dacă nu vine muntele la Mahomed, merge Mahomed la munte
- dacă nu vine muntele la Mahomed, merge Mahomed la munteif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Russian е́сли гора́ не идёт к Магоме́ту, то Магоме́т идёт к горе́
- е́сли гора́ не идёт к Магоме́ту, то Магоме́т идёт к горе́ (jésli gorá ne idjót k Magométu, to Magomét idjót k goré)if one cannot get something done by commanding it
Slovak ak nepríde hora k Mohamedovi, príde Mohamed k hore
- ak nepríde hora k Mohamedovi, príde Mohamed k horeif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Spanish si la montaña no viene a Mahoma, Mahoma va a la montaña
- si la montaña no viene a Mahomaif one cannot get something done by commanding it
- Mahoma va a la montañaif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Swedish om berget inte kan komma till Muhammed, får Muhammed komma till berget
- om berget inte kan komma till Muhammed, får Muhammed komma till bergetif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Turkish dağ Muhammet’e gelmezse, Muhammet dağa gider
- dağ Muhammet’e gelmezse, Muhammet dağa giderif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Vietnamese trời không chịu đất, đất phải chịu trời
- trời không chịu đất, đất phải chịu trờiif one cannot get something done by commanding it
Cite this entry
if the mountain won't come to Muhammad. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20the%20mountain%20won't%20come%20to%20Muhammad
“if the mountain won't come to Muhammad.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20the%20mountain%20won't%20come%20to%20Muhammad. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “if the mountain won't come to Muhammad,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/if%20the%20mountain%20won't%20come%20to%20Muhammad.
Source: if the mountain won't come to Muhammad on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.