Fragile: Handle with Care
Sher
Khan
2005/12/14
When breakable goods are shipped,
they are stamped with a distinctive sign--“Fragile:
Handle with Care”. Even though the Quran, the holiest book on Earth,
does not carry the warning, Quran-maniacal Muslims do handle it with the
same attitude, as if the holy book will shatter into pieces. Apparent
respect shown towards this book is not because of its contents. Instead,
it has become a religious mandate, propagated by extensive propaganda and
it is an exhibition of a natural human instinct to worship something,
whether it be an idol or a book. Muslims believe that thawab (a
spiritual reward) is earned every time a portion of the book is recited.
It’s a kind of credit card that offers mileage on flying—the more you
charge the card, the more points you earn.
Is the book that Muslims are
holding in their hands today nothing but a replica of the master copy,
which Allah has preserved in his sacred library? All Muslims of the world
would unanimously vote for “Yes”. Their assessment is not based on
facts but on a Quranic verse that says, “This is a Glorious Quran,
(inscribed) in a tablet preserved!” (Q85:21). So, did Allah use his
gigantic copier machine, creating thunder and storm, to make copies of his
Quran?
Not really!
In today’s world, people would
reject any attempt of initiating a new religion. If someone did try, he
would immediately be put in a straightjacket and sent to a psychiatric
hospital. The same rule applies to Muhammad; his claim of receiving
commands from Allah is an outright lie. However, for the sake of this
article, let’s pretend that Allah revealed the Quran.
Whenever a verse was revealed to
Muhammad, it was memorized by his associates and sometimes written on
pieces of wood, deerskin, palm leaves, bones, etc.
Why were those verses written on
wood, deerskin, bones and palm leaves?
Historical records show that
Ts’ai Lun, a Chinese official, reported the invention of paper to the
Chinese Emperor in 105 AD, 500 years before the era of Muhammad. Recent
archeological investigations, however, claim the actual invention may have
been around 140-86 BC in
Gansu
province
of
China
. Although the word “paper” came from “papyrus”, there is a
significant difference between these two. Papyrus was a type of plant
found in
Egypt
along the
Nile
River
. Approximately 5000 years ago, Egyptians made flat and uniform sheets
from these trees for writing purposes.
Maybe
China
was a little too far from
Arabia
and Allah was not able to help Muhammad with paper. How about using
papyrus, which was available in
Egypt
? In another archeological discovery, a roll of papyrus more than 2000
years old was found in
Egypt
. This papyrus contains 112 short poems of a Greek poet and they are in
good condition. Allah could have easily commanded, “O prophet! Get a
bundle of papyrus and write down what’s sent to thee!” But it did not
happen.
People used
to make false a Quran when Muhammad was alive. We read in verse 2:79,
“And
woe unto those who write the scripture with their own hands and then say,
‘This is from God,’ that they may in this way obtain a small gain. Woe
unto them for what their hands have written and woe unto them for what
they gain thereby!”
Despite the possibility of
creating a false Quran, Allah or Muhammad never thought about the
importance of compiling the Quran and putting the verses in the form of a
book. Apparently, the foremost method of preserving the Quran was
memorization. Some verses were written on stones, bones and leaves,
without realizing the fact that goats love to eat leaves. Yes, a darned
animal with four legs known as a goat ate a piece of the all-powerful
Allah’s Quran. “Narrated by Hazrat Ā’ishah
that ayat-e-Rajm and ayat Raza’at were revealed, they were written on
something. I kept them under the cart, meanwhile the holy prophet died and
we became busy and one GOAT came and ATE those ayyat” (Ibn-e-Maja).
A’ishah had a problem with
domestic animals before. In another instance, in order to resolve a
scandal, a slave girl, Barirah, testified (al-Tabari, p.1523), “The
only fault I ever found in ‘Ā’ishah
is that, when I was kneading my dough and ordered her to watch it, she
fell asleep over it, and the pet sheep (or a goat) came and ate it.”
It’s very normal for a little child; however, a goat eating the Quran is
a noteworthy phenomenon that will have an enduring effect on believers of
Islam.
Evidently, those two verses were
very important as they spelled out the punishment for adultery, but they
don’t exist in today’s Quran. “Narrated by Ibn Abbas: Umar said,
‘I am afraid that after a long time has passed, people may say, 'We do
not find the Verses of the Rajm (stoning to death) in the Holy Book,' and
consequently they may go astray by leaving an obligation that Allah has
revealed. Lo! I confirm that the penalty of Rajm be inflicted on him who
commits illegal sexual intercourse, if he is already married and the crime
is proved by witnesses or pregnancy or confession.’ Sufyan added, ‘I
have memorized this narration in this way.’ Umar added, ‘Surely
Allah's Apostle carried out the penalty of Rajm, and so did we after
him’” (Sahih Al Bukhari V8.B82.N816).
The hadith has been confirmed by
al-Tabari (p.1821) and also Ibn Ishaq quoted Umar saying (1015), “Part
of what he sent was the passage on stoning; we read it, we were taught it,
and we heeded it.” However, those verses simply disappeared because
of a goat. It’s unknown if the goat became pregnant after eating the
verse; after all, the verses talked about pregnancy from an illicit
relationship. I am assuming, without quoting any Islamic resource, that
this shameful behavior of a goat may have motivated Muslims to slaughter
millions of goats during the Eid festival. So much for Allah’s
guarantee, “We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We
will assuredly guard it (from corruption)” (Q15:9).
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