Koran Curious - A Guide for Infidels and Believers (10 page)
Read Koran Curious - A Guide for Infidels and Believers Online
Authors: C.J. Werleman
On the final day of the pilgrimage, Muhammad gave his farewell sermon, and it is a speech that, in my opinion, surpasses Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. Although I don’t believe Jesus ever said or wrote those words because it is my sense he was not a historical person, given we have not a single independently verifiable eyewitness account of his life, but now I’m paraphrasing sections of my second book,
‘Jesus Lied. He Was Only Human’.
So, anyway, here is Muhammad’s beautifully delivered farewell to his followers and a message for mankind:
“
O People, lend me an attentive ear, for I know not whether after this year, I shall ever be amongst you again. Therefore listen to what I am saying to you very carefully and take these words to those who could not be present today.
O People, just as you regard this month, this day, this city as sacred, so regard the life and property of every Muslim as a sacred trust. Return the goods entrusted to you to their rightful owners. Hurt no-one, so that no-one may hurt you. Remember that you will indeed meet your Lord, and that He will indeed reckon your deeds. Allah has forbidden you to take usury, therefore all interest obligation shall henceforth be waived. Your capital, however, is yours to keep.
You will neither inflict nor suffer any inequity. Allah has judged that there shall be no interest and that all the interest due to ’Abbas ibn ‘Abd al-Muttalib[Muhammad’s uncle] shall henceforth be waived...
Beware of Shayṭān for the safety of your religion. He has lost all hope that he will ever be able to lead you astray in big things, so beware of following him in small things.
O People, it is true that you have certain rights with regard to your women, but they also have rights over you. Remember that you have taken them as your wives only under Allah’s trust and with His permission. If they abide by your right then to them belongs the right to be fed and clothed in kindness. Do treat your women well and be kind to them for they are your partners and committed helpers. And it is your right that they do not make friends with any one of whom you do not approve, as well as never to be unchaste.
O People, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in zakat, Perform hajj if you can afford to.
All mankind is from Adam and Hawwāʾ, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood. Nothing shall be legitimate to a Muslim which belongs to a fellow Muslim unless it was given freely and willingly. Do not, therefore, do injustice to yourselves.
Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer your deeds. So beware, do not stray from the path of righteousness after I am gone.
O People, no prophet or apostle will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O People, and understand words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Qu’ran and my Ahlul-Bayt, and if you follow these you will never go astray.
All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people”
Seventeen days later, Muhammad, at home in Medina, came down with a blinding fever. His wives attended to him and thousands of followers kept a round-the-clock vigil outside his home. Muhammad knew he was on his last legs and on the tenth day of his illness he dragged his aching and exhausted body into the room of his favorite wife, Aisha. She led him to her bed, he kissed him on the forehead, he first looked into her eyes, and then pass her, before whispering, “Lord, grant me pardon.” He then closed his eyes and fell into an eternal sleep.
The Koran remained memorized and recited by Muhammad and his faithful while the prophet was alive. It would be more than two hundred years after his death before the 114 chapters (suras) and 6,236 verses (ayats) became available in the printed form, and no one truly knows how refined or modified the printed words we have today really are.
Suras are classified as either Meccan or Medinan, depending on where Muhammad was when the relevant sura was revealed to him. The sura titles are derived from a name or topic discussed in the text, or from the first words of the sura itself. Generally, longer suras appear earlier in the Koran, while the shorter ones appear later. Thus the sura arrangement or compilation order has nothing to do with the chronological order of the revelations. Significantly, each sura, with the exception of the ninth, begins with the phrase, ‘In the Name of God, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.”
If you are a Muslim, you believe the Koran was gradually revealed from God (Allah) to Muhammad verbally via the archangel Gabriel over a period of twenty-three years, commencing in 610, when he was forty years of age, and concluding in 632, the year of his passing.
Muslims believe that Muhammad was the last prophet and therefore the Koran remains the unalterable and final word of God, and that the Koran of today is the same as the Koran revealed to Muhammad 1,400 years ago.
This sura contains a mere seven verses and, for a lack of a better analogy, it is to Muslims what the Lord’s Prayer is to Christians. But on steroids! Devout Muslims will recite the Al-Fatiha up to seventeen times a day. Al-Fatiha translates as ‘the Opener’.
The sura in full reads:
[1:1] In the name of GOD, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
[1:2] Praise be to GOD, Lord of the universe.
[1:3] Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
[1:4] Master of the Day of Judgment.
[1:5] You alone we worship; You alone we ask for help.
[1:6] Guide us in the right path:
[1:7] the path of those whom You blessed; not of those who have deserved wrath, nor of the strayers.
According to Muhammad, these were the very first words the angel Gabriel told him to recite and write. It’s placement within the order of suras is significant too, as it demonstrates that Muhammad saw himself as only a messenger, prophet, or servant of God – and that he believed it important to convey to his followers that he should not be regarded as some kind of deity.
Muslims view ‘The Opener’ as the prayer from God’s servant, Muhammad, and the Koran is the answer from God to his prayer.
In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful
The second sura is the Koran’s longest, comprising of two hundred and eighty six verses, including the single longest verse in the book. (2:282)
Scholars regard it as a Medinan sura, meaning it was revealed to Muhammad during the first two years after the Hajj. The Hajj, in this instance, being the journey of Muhammad and his followers to Medina in 622. Thus making 622 the first year of the Islamic calendar. Therefore, when scholars say it was written within the first two years after the Hajj, what they’re really saying is it was written in the years 622-624 C.E.
‘The Cow’ addresses a wide range of topics, including many decrees of Islamic law. It also retells the biblical stories of Adam, Abraham and Moses. Also, Muhammad urges the pagan worshipers and the Jews to embrace Islam.
The first half of this sura is addressed to the Jews of Medina, who refuse to accept Muhammad as a prophet. Hence, he puts forth his argument as to why they should accept him on his word.
The second half is addressed to the Muslims of Medina, and prescribes to them how it is they should live their lives as devout Muslims. Essentially, Muhammad submits the following instructions to ensure the survival of the Muslim community there:
1. The Community should work diligently and with utmost zeal to propagate its ideology, so as to recruit as many people as possible.
2. Work hard to prove to non-Muslims their respective religion is wrong
3. The Community should tend assistance to its weakest i.e. orphans and homeless
4. The Community must be ready and willing to suppress and defeat any external enemy who come armed with a different ideology
5. The Community should eradicate evil vices such as gambling, alcohol, and unscrupulous business practices.
These introductory verses proclaim the Koran to be the Book of Guidance. Further, it stipulates the articles of faith: belief in Allah, prophethood, and Life-after-death. Muhammad also groups mankind into three categories: Believers, disbelievers, and hypocrites. Specific verses include:
[2:2] This scripture is infallible; a beacon for the righteous;
[2:6] As for those who disbelieve, it is the same for them; whether you warn them, or not warn them, they cannot believe.
[2:7] GOD seals their minds and their hearing, and their eyes are veiled. They have incurred severe retribution.
These nine verses concern themselves with submission; the submission to Allah, and for those who submit, they will be rewarded in Paradise.
[2:21] O people, worship only your Lord - the One who created you and those before you - that you may be saved.
[2:24] If you cannot do this - and you can never do this - then beware of the Hellfire, whose fuel is people and rocks; it awaits the disbelievers.
Muhammad revises the biblical story of Adam’s fall from grace; of his life in Eden; and of his succumbing to Satan. The prophet narrates the Genesis mythology for the purpose of demonstrating bad stuff happens when Muslims stray from God.
[2:35] We said, “O Adam, live with your wife in Paradise, and eat there from generously, as you please, but do not approach this tree, lest you sin.”
Muhammad addresses the Jews (“Children of Israel”) of Medina throughout the following eighty verses. He is highly critical of the fact he believes they’ve deviated from the original scriptures i.e. the commandments delivered to them by their prophet Moses. He criticizes them for worshipping the Golden Calf and uses this to illustrate their turning away from God.
Interestingly, he references Israel’s covenant with God, and believes it is the Muslim’s duty to honor it:
[2:40] O Children of Israel, remember My favor, which I bestowed upon you, and fulfill your part of the covenant, that I fulfill My part of the covenant, and reverence Me.
[2:41] You shall believe in what I have revealed herein, confirming what you have; do not be the first to reject it. Do not trade away My revelations for a cheap price, and observe Me.
[2:63] We made a covenant with you, as we raised Mount Sinai above you: “You shall uphold what we have given you strongly, and remember its contents, that you may be saved.”
[2:64] But you turned away thereafter, and if it were not for GOD’s grace towards you and His mercy, you would have been doomed.
[2:65] You have known about those among you who desecrated the Sabbath. We said to them, “Be you as despicable as apes.”
The historical context of the above verse refers to the establishment of the Muslim community in Medina. As we know, Muhammad saw himself as a kind of reformer of both Judaism and Christianity. He saw himself as a then modern day Moses, but with the specific objective of bringing the Arabs to God. But the Jews never accepted him as anything other than a quasi cult leader. Now, in the above verses, was he calling all Jews “apes”? No, he wasn’t. He was specifically referring to the Jewish clan of Medina, who had joined forces with the Meccans to annihilate him in the Siege of Medina.
Jesus makes the first of his twenty-five cameos in the Koran in the following verse. Muhammad considered Jesus to be a Messenger of God, who was sent to guide the Jewish people with an updated memo (Testament) from God. Throughout the Koran, Muhammad actually teaches Muslims to revere and honor Jesus. Effectively, Muhammad believes he is equal to Jesus, sent with the same message but for a different audience. Interestingly, the Koran alleges that Jesus was neither killed nor crucified, but rather he had ascended to heaven.
