Quran
Also Carries Muhammad’s Words!
By
Mohammad Asghar
One of the cardinal beliefs of the Muslims is this: The Quran is the only
Religious Book that was not written by any human, and that all of its
messages had come down to Muhammad in Allah’s own words.
My
research into the Quran proves that the above claim is false. Here is what
its verse 16:51 says, and what I have understood from it.
“Allah
has said: “Take not (for worship) two gods: for He is just One Allah:
then fear Me (and Me alone).””
If we
need a specific verse from the Quran that irrefutably proves that it also
contains Muhammad’s words and statements, this is it!
Not
only the first three words and the construction of the statement prove
that the speaker of the statement was Muhammad; even the nuances of the
Arabic grammar that govern the use of punctuation marks make it absolutely
clear that it was Muhammad, and not Allah, who spoke those words of the
verse.
The
verse, previous to this one, ended with a big circle (a full stop in
English) along with an instruction to the reader to bow his or her head
after reaching its end. In other words, verse 51 is independent of verse
50 and that we should judge it solely on the basis of its contents.
Approaching
the contents of the verse from the above standpoint, we find that the
speaker of the words “Allah has said” were the words that came from
Muhammad’s mouth. There is no way that Allah could have expressed
Himself in those words, as doing that would have made Him not only batty,
but also a subject of ridicule and contempt.
The
sooner Muslims accept this fact, the better it will be for them. The
realization of the truth by them will herald a new era in which the people
of other religious denominations would not only be able to talk to them on
social and economic issues, but also on their religion and its varied
doctrines, without fear of being assaulted or lynched by them.
If any
thing most Muslims respect and love more than their own lives is the Quran.
This is a psychological disorder the root of which runs to a belief that
tells them that what their Religious Book contains were spoken by none but
Allah Himself. Despite the fact that the Quran contradicts this belief,
Muslims do not want to consider even the possibility of it having words
that could also have come from Muhammad’s mouth.
Muslims’
belief that all the words of the Quran are from Allah makes it an
extremely sacred Book. To preserve its sacredness, they are willing to do
anything, including killing themselves, if it becomes necessary. This
behavior of the Muslims is known as ‘fundamentalism.’ Also known
vicariously as ‘Islamic Fundamentalism,’ which espouses violence,
causes death and destruction, it has become today the major problem of our
world.
It is
not true that only the illiterate or half-literate Muslims are guilty of
fundamentalism, even the scholars of Islam harbor it in their heart. This
is discernible from the efforts that they have been making, for hundreds
of years, for defending what is indefensible. Here is an example of how a
reputable Muslim scholar avoided telling his readers the truth that lies
behind the Quran’s authorship.
“Allah
is Most High, Most Wise: man is, in spite of his high destiny, often the
lowest of the low (95:5). Yet Allah, out of His infinite Mercy and Grace,
has bestowed His revelation on man. How does it come about? Three ways are
mentioned: (1) W’ahyun, Inspiration; (2) from behind a veil; and
(3) by sending of a Messenger.
W’ahyun,
Inspiration, is interpreted to be of two kinds: (1) a suggestion thrown by
Allah into the heart and mind of man, by which man understands the
substance of the Message, whether it is a command or prohibition, or an
explanation of a great truth; and (2) verbal or literal inspiration, by
which the actual words of Allah are conveyed in human language. Orthodox
opinion admits the existence of both kinds, though the latter
(“recited,” matlu) is held to be of a superior degree, only
vouchsafed to the greater Prophets, while the former (“other than
recited,” gair-matlu) may be given not only to the greater
Prophets but to the other men of spiritual insight who have not attained
the degree of Prophethood. If we accept the theory of verbal inspiration,
it would also cover the Messages brought by the angel Gabriel.”
It is
clear from the Quran itself that it is the bearer of messages that had
come supposedly from Allah to Muhammad in two forms. One of them came in
the form of inspiration, which Allah Himself ‘threw’ into Muhammad’s
heart.
The second came through the medium of angel Gabriel, who, too, put it down
to his heart by Allah’s Will.
In
both the cases, no direct words from Allah were involved. Muhammad
received the messages either directly from Allah or through angel Gabriel
‘into his heart and mind,’ and then expressed them to his followers in
his own words. This is what the Quran implies, and also, this is what the
learned scholar has said indirectly in his commentary.
The
Muslim scholars’ unwillingness or desire to speak clearly on the
authorship of the Quran is a reason that leads all Muslims to believe that
all of its contents came directly from Allah, and in His own words.
Therefore, they are not only extraordinarily sacred to them, they are also
infallible.
This
dogmatic belief has made the Muslims not only excessively reverent of the
Quran; it has also made them highly sensitive to any criticism that is
made by those who hold differing views on its authorship.
Given
the state of mind with which almost all Muslim children grow up and lead
their lives, we are not likely to see a peaceful world until steps are
taken to debrief them on the Quran and its contents. And this can be done
only through the Muslim scholars and preachers.
We do
not know how Muslim scholars and preachers can be made to change what they
have been preaching to their readers and listeners, but this is something
that we need to do, if we want to see a less dogmatic and placid community
of Muslims to emerge in our midst sometime in future.
Insofar
as the question of two gods spoken of in the verse is concerned, the
concept of two gods had actually originated in ancient Persia much before
Judaism, Christianity and Islam took their birth. Not only did the
Persians of the yore believe in Resurrection after death as well as Free
Will for man to choose between good and bad, they also believed that there
were two gods; one of which, known as Ahura Mazda, Lord of Wisdom,
Supreme Ruler of the World, was the Creator of all good things. The other,
called Angra Manyu, the Evil Spirit, created all that is evil in
the world.
The
ancient Persians, also known as Zoroastrians, therefore, worshipped Ahura
Mazda so that he could continue to favor them with all the good things of
the world. The presence of Angra Manyu in their midst reminded them of the
evil things, which they needed to shun in their lives.
The
tradition of having two gods was also prevalent among the Meccan Pagans of
Muhammad’s time, but with a difference. To them, both the gods were
good, hence worthy of veneration and worshipping.
In
keeping with this tradition, they had two statues of the gods Isaf
and Naila installed on the hills of Safa and Marwa. When performing
their annual hajj rituals, the Pagans ran from one hill to another, each
time stopping briefly only to touch the idols.
Muhammad
retained the Pagans’ practice of running between the two hills seven
times in Islam, but without the idols. Though the Pagans’ practice
carried some sense, Muslims replicating it during their annual hajj does
not.
What
people, not familiar with the hajj rituals, should make of millions of
Muslims, who run between the two hills without, unlike the Pagans, a
logical cause or ostensible reason?
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, op. cit. Vol. 2, p. 1321.
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