I've been thinking lately about two related questions: What is a Christian, and am I one?
These questions would have been too simple to even ask for most of my life. The world was divided into two kinds of people. There was a small minority who were saved, of whom I was one. Our destiny was paradise with Jesus. Then there was the much larger group of the lost, who were going to hell. They would be cast into an everlasting furnace of fire with weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew 13:42), tormented forever in the flames (Luke 16:24). The punishment is similar to the hell of Islam, where skins will be burned off only to be replaced with new skins (Quran 4:56), and whose inhabitants are forced to drink boiling water (Quran 14:16). The difference, of course, is that the Muslim hell is for all who did not accept Muhammad, and the Christian hell is for all who did not accept Jesus.
These descriptions of the Christian hell, by the way, were those preached 50 years ago when I was a child. Preachers shy away from them today, preferring to describe hell as "eternal separation from God." Apparently even most of them don't want to think too much about the literal hell of the Bible. Larry King never passes up an opportunity to ask his evangelical guests - whether James Dobson, Billy Graham, or Joel Osteen - about hell. Their answer is always to just say that this is a heavy question, but God will work it all out.
Interestingly enough, the way to escape hell in both Christianity and Islam is to make a statement. The statement in Islam is "I testify there is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet" (this should be done in Arabic which, if not the only language God understands, is far and away his favorite). The Christian counterpart is, "I accept Jesus as my Personal Lord and Savior." Unlike Islam, this can be done in any number of ways. My favorite was the Christian camp I attended as a teen-ager, where the speaker encouraged us around the campfire to clasp the finger of one hand in the palm of the other if we wanted to make that momentous decision. We didn't even have to say a word!
Following the decision, of course, in both Islam and Christianity, are things to be done. The first thing in Christianity is to be dipped for a few seconds under water. This is considered to be of such significance that churches have divided over whether it is essential, or subsequant to, the initial born-again experience (which is another way of describing "the statement"). Then one is to tell others what happened to them, pray, read the Bible (daily is best), and go to church. The sequence in Islam also includes reading the Quran, saying prayers at the mosque, and describing your experience to others (called "witnessing" in Christianity, this is "dawah" in Islam).
Having never been a Muslim, I'll leave the parallels for now and concentrate on the Christian experience. The first thing the new Christian learns is that everyone in the entire world is bad. They are all going to hell, unless they make the statement. This poses many intellectual problems for Christians, especially for those who are strongly pro-Israel, since all those Jews are going to hell as well. I've heard Christians come up with some unique solutions to this dilemma. One was that all Jews who were killed in the holocaust got a free pass. Others think that Jews - but no-one else - will be given a second chance after death. The most common view is that things are going to get really bad for Israel over the next few years, and boatloads of them will accept Jesus. That takes care of the Jews in the future, but doesn't give much hope to those who die now.
One of the cracks in the wall came for me a few years ago. Wafa Sultan, a courageous ex-Muslim, says she refuses to believe anything that goes against her reason. I was watching the documentary "Born into Brothels", a story of children born into prostitution in India. The film maker not only made a beautiful film, but put much effort into rescuing the children from their tragic lives (just as Wafa Sultan, who is non-religious, does into liberating Muslim women). I realized as I was watching the film that I could not believe that a person (religious or not) who would devote herself to freeing children from prostitution would suffer the same eternal fate as the man who practiced child prostitution or sold his children into it.
The next thing the Christian is expected to do - at least the Christianity of my youth - is believe the Bible is all literally true. Our earth is in a solar system, including the sun and its nine planets, but God did not create it that way. He first made the earth, and four days later made the sun and the other planets (there were some good explanations of how you could have several days without a sun!). The possibility that a writer thousands of years ago might have based the story upon the assumption that the earth was the center of the universe was not to be taken into consideration. Next comes the story of the walking snake who suddenly loses his legs. Some time ago Aayan Hirsi Ali, another courageous ex-Muslim who is now an atheist, was asked why she had given up all faith. Her response was, "I refused to go from the Allah of Islam to stories of gardens and snakes." At the time I thought that by going from "Allah is not god" to "there is no god", she might have thrown out the baby with the bathwater. Now I'm not quite so judgmental.
So where am I now in all this? I'm not sure. I began by saying I've been asking myself questions. I didn't say I have answers.
Friday, May 1, 2009
Monday, April 13, 2009
Why I Believe in God - or Why Bill Maher Would Really Think I'm Crazy
In the film Religulous, a Christian Jew named Steve Burg explained to Bill Maher that he believed in God because God did miracles. As an example, Burg said he once held a cup out the window and asked God to fill it with rain. In a few minutes, it started pouring. Maher's reply was that if that happened to him, he wouldn't think it was a miracle; he would just think it was raining.
If Maher thought Burg was naive, he would really think I was incredulous. Why do I believe in God? Because of the stuff that keeps happening to me, like the other day. I'm back from Saudi Arabia now, hanging out in Monterey CA, and I've been driving my wife and daughter to work in the morning. Last Friday, daughter says she will drive herself and mom to work, because she wants to have lunch with mom. Then daughter asks if I will drive mom to work first and come back, and then daughter will leave with the car (giving daughter a few minutes extra sleep). I say fine, drive wife to work, and come home. As daughter is about to leave with the car, wife calls to say she she needs the car later in the morning; can I drive daughter to work, leave the car off at wife's location, and walk home? I again say fine. So I'm driving daughter to work, and she wants to go through Starbucks drive-thru to get a cup of coffee. I suggest we don't have time, because wife needs the car in just a few minutes; maybe we can just stop off at the East Village Cafe which is closer, and daughter can run in and get her brew. She does so, and while I'm waiting for her I scan my way through the AM radio channels and hear the local station interviewing a musician named Mike Beck. He sings a song he wrote about an Army girl in Iraq called Amanda Come Home. I really like the song, and after it's over the interviewer says Mike and his band will be playing at a local bar that night. Wife, daughter, and I go to hear them and stay until midnight. It gives me a chance to do two things I love; listen to good live music and support small town American talent.
And that's why I believe in God. If any of the elements of the story above had fallen out of sync, the whole thing wouldn't have happened.
OK, Bill, I know it's so weak you could poke holes through it with a garden rake. But that's the way it is.
If Maher thought Burg was naive, he would really think I was incredulous. Why do I believe in God? Because of the stuff that keeps happening to me, like the other day. I'm back from Saudi Arabia now, hanging out in Monterey CA, and I've been driving my wife and daughter to work in the morning. Last Friday, daughter says she will drive herself and mom to work, because she wants to have lunch with mom. Then daughter asks if I will drive mom to work first and come back, and then daughter will leave with the car (giving daughter a few minutes extra sleep). I say fine, drive wife to work, and come home. As daughter is about to leave with the car, wife calls to say she she needs the car later in the morning; can I drive daughter to work, leave the car off at wife's location, and walk home? I again say fine. So I'm driving daughter to work, and she wants to go through Starbucks drive-thru to get a cup of coffee. I suggest we don't have time, because wife needs the car in just a few minutes; maybe we can just stop off at the East Village Cafe which is closer, and daughter can run in and get her brew. She does so, and while I'm waiting for her I scan my way through the AM radio channels and hear the local station interviewing a musician named Mike Beck. He sings a song he wrote about an Army girl in Iraq called Amanda Come Home. I really like the song, and after it's over the interviewer says Mike and his band will be playing at a local bar that night. Wife, daughter, and I go to hear them and stay until midnight. It gives me a chance to do two things I love; listen to good live music and support small town American talent.
And that's why I believe in God. If any of the elements of the story above had fallen out of sync, the whole thing wouldn't have happened.
OK, Bill, I know it's so weak you could poke holes through it with a garden rake. But that's the way it is.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Why Don't We Do This With Islam?
I'm probably one of thousands of people who never heard of Dr. Bart Ehrman until I saw his new book "Jesus Interrupted" in the bookstore a few days ago. It caught my attention immediately, and as I read it I became aware of the similarities between his background and mine. We both attended fundamentalist Christian schools, and later in life began to question beliefs we had always assumed to be true. As Dr. Ehrman puts it, you've got to go where the scholarship takes you.
Recapping Ehrman's life as he describes it in his book, he was a devoted believer who wanted to dedicate his life to studying the Bible. Knowing that Greek was the language of the New Testament, he became a Greek scholar. Inconsistencies in the ancient texts caused him to doubt they were "divinely inspired" in the evangelical Christian sense, and also caused him to question the "divinity of Jesus". He is now head of the Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
The thought that came to mind as I read Ehrman's book and listened to a few of his speeches and interviews available online is, why don't we do this with Islam? Ehrman's argument is powerful because he began as a believer. Imagine someone with the exact same background, but who grew up Muslim in an Islamic country. Someone who really believed, and wanted to dedicate his or her life to Allah and Muhammad. Perhaps they even went to university to study Islam, and graduated with a PhD from the most famous Islamic university in the world (as Mark Gabriel - not his true name - did from Al Azhar University in Egypt). But along the way their faith was challenged, they began to question it, and concluded they no longer believed the Quran was inspired by Allah and Muhammad was a prophet from God. Not only that, they became convinced that their religion as envisoned by its prophet was incompatible with life in the 21st century.
Suppose I wanted to study with one of these people. Where would I go? Georgetown, UNC, Princeton? I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Rather than being accepted by American academia for professorships, they have been marginalized. Again I could be wrong, but I think there are two reasons for this. First is the fear of Muslim reaction. Second, and even worse, is that universities have prostituted themselves to receive millions of dollars from individuals such as Prince al-Walid bin Talal and the Emir of Qatar for Islamic studies departments. You don't bite the hand that feeds you.
I've noticed an interesting phenomenom over the years - Americans who are very critical of their own religion are equally defensive of others. A few years ago I had a conversation with a coworker who grew up in the Bible Belt of Tennessee. He'd even been leader of his church youth group before life and its events caused him to become extremely critical of anything remotely Christian. In our conversation, I mentioned a few ideas I was developing about Islam. His astonished reply was, "But you're putting down the whole religion!"
I've got no problem with Dr. Ehrman continuing his research, and I wish him success. But it would be nice to look at the list of graduate courses in the Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina, as I've done, and see something like:
Islamic studies 505 - fall, 2009. Examining the empirical evidence that Muhammad was a prophet of God or that the Quran was inspired by God.
And with a professor from a Muslim background who would use the same methodology in examining Islam as Ehrman does in examining Christianity. There are people out there who could do it, but there's a cost to be paid for hiring them (and I don't mean paying their salaries). I hope we have the courage to do it.
Recapping Ehrman's life as he describes it in his book, he was a devoted believer who wanted to dedicate his life to studying the Bible. Knowing that Greek was the language of the New Testament, he became a Greek scholar. Inconsistencies in the ancient texts caused him to doubt they were "divinely inspired" in the evangelical Christian sense, and also caused him to question the "divinity of Jesus". He is now head of the Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.
The thought that came to mind as I read Ehrman's book and listened to a few of his speeches and interviews available online is, why don't we do this with Islam? Ehrman's argument is powerful because he began as a believer. Imagine someone with the exact same background, but who grew up Muslim in an Islamic country. Someone who really believed, and wanted to dedicate his or her life to Allah and Muhammad. Perhaps they even went to university to study Islam, and graduated with a PhD from the most famous Islamic university in the world (as Mark Gabriel - not his true name - did from Al Azhar University in Egypt). But along the way their faith was challenged, they began to question it, and concluded they no longer believed the Quran was inspired by Allah and Muhammad was a prophet from God. Not only that, they became convinced that their religion as envisoned by its prophet was incompatible with life in the 21st century.
Suppose I wanted to study with one of these people. Where would I go? Georgetown, UNC, Princeton? I could be wrong, but I don't think so. Rather than being accepted by American academia for professorships, they have been marginalized. Again I could be wrong, but I think there are two reasons for this. First is the fear of Muslim reaction. Second, and even worse, is that universities have prostituted themselves to receive millions of dollars from individuals such as Prince al-Walid bin Talal and the Emir of Qatar for Islamic studies departments. You don't bite the hand that feeds you.
I've noticed an interesting phenomenom over the years - Americans who are very critical of their own religion are equally defensive of others. A few years ago I had a conversation with a coworker who grew up in the Bible Belt of Tennessee. He'd even been leader of his church youth group before life and its events caused him to become extremely critical of anything remotely Christian. In our conversation, I mentioned a few ideas I was developing about Islam. His astonished reply was, "But you're putting down the whole religion!"
I've got no problem with Dr. Ehrman continuing his research, and I wish him success. But it would be nice to look at the list of graduate courses in the Department of Religion at the University of North Carolina, as I've done, and see something like:
Islamic studies 505 - fall, 2009. Examining the empirical evidence that Muhammad was a prophet of God or that the Quran was inspired by God.
And with a professor from a Muslim background who would use the same methodology in examining Islam as Ehrman does in examining Christianity. There are people out there who could do it, but there's a cost to be paid for hiring them (and I don't mean paying their salaries). I hope we have the courage to do it.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Abbas ibn Ubada Got it!
People who argue that Islam is a religion of peace often justify the raids and battles carried out by Muhammad as being defensive. After years of suffering persecution without retaliation in Mecca, they say, Allah finally allowed Muhammad to defend himself against the continued attacks of his enemies after he and his followers immigrated to Medina.
The Quran itself does not seem to make that distinction. In the first and most authoritative biography of Muhammad, Ibn Ishaq’s “The Life of the Apostle of Allah”, the author notes that the first passage given to Muhammad authorizing fighting was Quran 22:39-40, “Permission is given to fight against those who have wronged you. Allah will give victory to those who were expelled from their homes only because they said, Our Lord is Allah.” The emphasis is clearly not that Muslims were only allowed to defend themselves from attack in Medina, but were authorized to attack those who had been their opponents in Mecca.
One person who understood this was Abbas ibn Ubada. Ibn Ishaq explains the background as follows:
Yearly fairs were held outside Mecca where people came from as far away as Medina, 250 miles to the north. Muhammad regularly went to these fairs to try to convince visitors to accept him as a prophet, and on one occasion met some men from the Khazraj tribe in Medina. The Khazraj, who were illiterate idolaters, often raided their wealthier, better educated, more skilled Jewish neighbors who formed over one-half the population of Medina. The Jews used to warn them that a prophet would soon be sent to them, and when he came they would gain revenge on the Khazraj for their constant raids. When six Khazraj men heard Muhammad’s message, they concluded he was the prophet the Jews had been talking about. It was better to align themselves with him, they decided, before the Jews got to him first. The Khazraj tribe was also notorious for its lack of unity and internecine hatred. If Muhammad could unite them, they reasoned, they would be mightier than all the other tribes. For these reasons, says Ibn Ishaq, they accepted Islam. (It is interesting that their motivation for becoming Muslim was not spiritual in any sense, but based on a desire to become strong militarily and overpower the Jews).
The six returned to Medina, and told their fellow tribesmen about Muhammad. The following year they came back to the fair with some others, and twelve of them pledged themselves to Muhammad. Muhammad sent a man from Mecca named Musab back with them to read the Quran to them and give them instruction in their new religion. The next year 75 of them attended the fair and gave their allegiance to Muhammad.
One of their leaders was Abbas ibn Ubada. Before they gave their pledge to Muhammad, he warned of the seriousness of what they were about to do. “Oh men of Khazraj,” he said, “Do you realize what you are committing yourselves to when you pledge support to this man? It is to war against one and all.” He reminded them that it would be shameful for them to make the pledge, only to rescind it if they lost their leaders and their property in the wars that were to come. If they took the pledge they needed to keep to it, no matter what the consequences. Faced with the significance of their oath, they asked Muhammad what they would get in return for their loyalty. He promised them paradise, and they accepted the bargain. Ibn Ishaq notes that at least 20 of the 75 were killed in the battles of the next few years.
As soon as they completed the pledge by shaking hands with Muhammad, he told them to go back to their caravan. Abbas ibn Ubada told Muhammad they would gladly attack the Meccans with their swords the next day if the Prophet wanted them to. Muhammad’s reply was simply that he had not yet received the command to fight.
The following morning the leaders of the Meccan Quraysh tribe came to the Khazraj, saying they had heard they had invited Muhammad to leave Mecca for Medina, and had pledged themselves to him in war against them. The Quraysh leaders said they had no interest in going to war against the Khazraj, and in fact there was no Arab tribe they would fight with more reluctance. Abbas ibn Ubada noticed that one of the young Quraysh men was wearing a new pair of sandals. He said to an associate named Abu Jabir, “Why can’t you get me a pair of nice sandals like this young man has?” When the young men heard that, he took off his sandals and threw them at Abbas ibn Ubada. Abu Jabir told him, “You’ve made that young man angry, so give him back his sandals.” “By Allah, I will not,” Abbas ibn Ubada retorted, “It is a good omen and if it proves to be true I will plunder him.”
Soon afterwards Allah gave Muhammad the verses noted above authorizing war. Ibn Ishaq records that “when Allah gave permission to his apostle to fight, the Khazraj bound themselves to war against one and all for Allah and his apostle, while he promised them the reward of paradise”. Another of the Khazraj leaders said, “We pledged ourselves to war in complete obedience to the apostle come what may.” Ibn Ishaq concludes the episode by noting, “When Allah had given permission to fight, the apostle ordered his companions from Mecca to immigrate to Medina and link up with their brethren there.
A careful reading of the text prepares one for what came next. Muhammad was only in Medina a short time before he began the raids against the Quraysh trade caravans that would mark the rest of his life. Far from being defensive battles against those who were attacking him, they were offensive forays against his own people who had chosen not to accept him as the prophet he claimed to be. And Abbas ibn Ubada had all the opportunity he wanted for plunder. He undoubtedly ended up with a whole lot more than a pair of new shoes.
The Quran itself does not seem to make that distinction. In the first and most authoritative biography of Muhammad, Ibn Ishaq’s “The Life of the Apostle of Allah”, the author notes that the first passage given to Muhammad authorizing fighting was Quran 22:39-40, “Permission is given to fight against those who have wronged you. Allah will give victory to those who were expelled from their homes only because they said, Our Lord is Allah.” The emphasis is clearly not that Muslims were only allowed to defend themselves from attack in Medina, but were authorized to attack those who had been their opponents in Mecca.
One person who understood this was Abbas ibn Ubada. Ibn Ishaq explains the background as follows:
Yearly fairs were held outside Mecca where people came from as far away as Medina, 250 miles to the north. Muhammad regularly went to these fairs to try to convince visitors to accept him as a prophet, and on one occasion met some men from the Khazraj tribe in Medina. The Khazraj, who were illiterate idolaters, often raided their wealthier, better educated, more skilled Jewish neighbors who formed over one-half the population of Medina. The Jews used to warn them that a prophet would soon be sent to them, and when he came they would gain revenge on the Khazraj for their constant raids. When six Khazraj men heard Muhammad’s message, they concluded he was the prophet the Jews had been talking about. It was better to align themselves with him, they decided, before the Jews got to him first. The Khazraj tribe was also notorious for its lack of unity and internecine hatred. If Muhammad could unite them, they reasoned, they would be mightier than all the other tribes. For these reasons, says Ibn Ishaq, they accepted Islam. (It is interesting that their motivation for becoming Muslim was not spiritual in any sense, but based on a desire to become strong militarily and overpower the Jews).
The six returned to Medina, and told their fellow tribesmen about Muhammad. The following year they came back to the fair with some others, and twelve of them pledged themselves to Muhammad. Muhammad sent a man from Mecca named Musab back with them to read the Quran to them and give them instruction in their new religion. The next year 75 of them attended the fair and gave their allegiance to Muhammad.
One of their leaders was Abbas ibn Ubada. Before they gave their pledge to Muhammad, he warned of the seriousness of what they were about to do. “Oh men of Khazraj,” he said, “Do you realize what you are committing yourselves to when you pledge support to this man? It is to war against one and all.” He reminded them that it would be shameful for them to make the pledge, only to rescind it if they lost their leaders and their property in the wars that were to come. If they took the pledge they needed to keep to it, no matter what the consequences. Faced with the significance of their oath, they asked Muhammad what they would get in return for their loyalty. He promised them paradise, and they accepted the bargain. Ibn Ishaq notes that at least 20 of the 75 were killed in the battles of the next few years.
As soon as they completed the pledge by shaking hands with Muhammad, he told them to go back to their caravan. Abbas ibn Ubada told Muhammad they would gladly attack the Meccans with their swords the next day if the Prophet wanted them to. Muhammad’s reply was simply that he had not yet received the command to fight.
The following morning the leaders of the Meccan Quraysh tribe came to the Khazraj, saying they had heard they had invited Muhammad to leave Mecca for Medina, and had pledged themselves to him in war against them. The Quraysh leaders said they had no interest in going to war against the Khazraj, and in fact there was no Arab tribe they would fight with more reluctance. Abbas ibn Ubada noticed that one of the young Quraysh men was wearing a new pair of sandals. He said to an associate named Abu Jabir, “Why can’t you get me a pair of nice sandals like this young man has?” When the young men heard that, he took off his sandals and threw them at Abbas ibn Ubada. Abu Jabir told him, “You’ve made that young man angry, so give him back his sandals.” “By Allah, I will not,” Abbas ibn Ubada retorted, “It is a good omen and if it proves to be true I will plunder him.”
Soon afterwards Allah gave Muhammad the verses noted above authorizing war. Ibn Ishaq records that “when Allah gave permission to his apostle to fight, the Khazraj bound themselves to war against one and all for Allah and his apostle, while he promised them the reward of paradise”. Another of the Khazraj leaders said, “We pledged ourselves to war in complete obedience to the apostle come what may.” Ibn Ishaq concludes the episode by noting, “When Allah had given permission to fight, the apostle ordered his companions from Mecca to immigrate to Medina and link up with their brethren there.
A careful reading of the text prepares one for what came next. Muhammad was only in Medina a short time before he began the raids against the Quraysh trade caravans that would mark the rest of his life. Far from being defensive battles against those who were attacking him, they were offensive forays against his own people who had chosen not to accept him as the prophet he claimed to be. And Abbas ibn Ubada had all the opportunity he wanted for plunder. He undoubtedly ended up with a whole lot more than a pair of new shoes.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
The Thomas Hamill Effect
Thomas Hamill, the Haliburton truck driver who was kidnapped in Iraq in 2004 and escaped 3 weeks later, probably doesn't even know that his story was instrumental in the conversion of a Muslim from Morocco named Sayf to Christianity.
Sayf told his story on the Arabic Christian television channel Al-Hayat on a program entitled "Daring Question". When asked about his name, which means "Sword", Sayf commented that Islam is the only religion in the world that has the word sword as a common first name. Even Col. Gadhaffi has a son named Sayf al-Islam, "the Sword of Islam".
Sayf was a very religious Muslim until the age of 54. He wore a robe and beard, prayed 5 times a day, and in addition to the month-long fast of Ramadan fasted every Monday and Thursday. He allowed no music in his house, no movies, no TV serials. He would not greet nor shake the hand of a woman, and even gatherings in his house did not contain both men and women.
All that changed in 2004. Here's how Sayf tells the story:
RASHID: So you were 54 years old, and very religious. What attracted you to the Gospel? A lot of people won't be able to understand how a person of your age and experience could make such a change.
SAYF: It will be hard for some people to understand. I hadn't been searching for Christianity or reading the Bible. Some times I picked up a Bible but I always had this feeling that I was touching the corrupted book of the infidels. But what drew me to the Gospel was Jesus Christ himself.
RASHID: How?
SAYF: In April, 2004, I was in America. In early April I was watching the news and saw a news item watched by millions of people around the world. It was about an American truck driver named Thomas Hamill who was kidnapped in Iraq. There was nothing unusual about my watching the story, but what happened some days later was arranged by Jesus. I saw another news story about his wife and children and relatives in a church. The church was filled with people who were praying to Jesus to release Thomas. You can imagine what I thought as a Muslim of people asking this of Jesus. I laughed at their prayer; I mocked and scorned them. I thought, "How can these people ask Jesus who is only...."
RASHID: A prophet...
SAYF: God married Mary and had a son named Jesus...that is what we think Christians believe and it is a big problem for us. It made no sense for them to ask Jesus to release Thomas. I laughed at them. But several days later I was watching the TV again and there was Thomas free and standing with American soldiers.
RASHID: So you were laughing at the Christians' prayer, and in the end it came true.
SAYF: I was listening to the TV announcer, and all of a sudden I heard the voice of Jesus. He said, "Sayf, you were mocking the Christian prayer. But I set him free." It was as if someone turned a switch in my heart from off to on. And from that moment I began to search.
RASHID: To search for the truth.
SAYF: I took a Quran in one hand and a Bible in the other and began to compare them. I did this for 40 days. The Quran was in one hand, the Bible in the other, and the computer in front of me. I would perform my ablutions for the Muslim prayer, and then I would pray as Christians do. After 40 days, Jesus spoke to me again...
RASHID: How did he speak to you? Many of the viewers can't understand this. Was it a voice or an impression?
SAYF: It was a beautiful voice. I literally heard it. He spoke to me first in Arabic and then in French. He said, "I am your Lord, and I know all languages...."
RASHID: Because Allah of the Muslims only knows Arabic...
SAYF: That was on June 11, 2004, and I have been following Jesus ever since.
Sayf told his story on the Arabic Christian television channel Al-Hayat on a program entitled "Daring Question". When asked about his name, which means "Sword", Sayf commented that Islam is the only religion in the world that has the word sword as a common first name. Even Col. Gadhaffi has a son named Sayf al-Islam, "the Sword of Islam".
Sayf was a very religious Muslim until the age of 54. He wore a robe and beard, prayed 5 times a day, and in addition to the month-long fast of Ramadan fasted every Monday and Thursday. He allowed no music in his house, no movies, no TV serials. He would not greet nor shake the hand of a woman, and even gatherings in his house did not contain both men and women.
All that changed in 2004. Here's how Sayf tells the story:
RASHID: So you were 54 years old, and very religious. What attracted you to the Gospel? A lot of people won't be able to understand how a person of your age and experience could make such a change.
SAYF: It will be hard for some people to understand. I hadn't been searching for Christianity or reading the Bible. Some times I picked up a Bible but I always had this feeling that I was touching the corrupted book of the infidels. But what drew me to the Gospel was Jesus Christ himself.
RASHID: How?
SAYF: In April, 2004, I was in America. In early April I was watching the news and saw a news item watched by millions of people around the world. It was about an American truck driver named Thomas Hamill who was kidnapped in Iraq. There was nothing unusual about my watching the story, but what happened some days later was arranged by Jesus. I saw another news story about his wife and children and relatives in a church. The church was filled with people who were praying to Jesus to release Thomas. You can imagine what I thought as a Muslim of people asking this of Jesus. I laughed at their prayer; I mocked and scorned them. I thought, "How can these people ask Jesus who is only...."
RASHID: A prophet...
SAYF: God married Mary and had a son named Jesus...that is what we think Christians believe and it is a big problem for us. It made no sense for them to ask Jesus to release Thomas. I laughed at them. But several days later I was watching the TV again and there was Thomas free and standing with American soldiers.
RASHID: So you were laughing at the Christians' prayer, and in the end it came true.
SAYF: I was listening to the TV announcer, and all of a sudden I heard the voice of Jesus. He said, "Sayf, you were mocking the Christian prayer. But I set him free." It was as if someone turned a switch in my heart from off to on. And from that moment I began to search.
RASHID: To search for the truth.
SAYF: I took a Quran in one hand and a Bible in the other and began to compare them. I did this for 40 days. The Quran was in one hand, the Bible in the other, and the computer in front of me. I would perform my ablutions for the Muslim prayer, and then I would pray as Christians do. After 40 days, Jesus spoke to me again...
RASHID: How did he speak to you? Many of the viewers can't understand this. Was it a voice or an impression?
SAYF: It was a beautiful voice. I literally heard it. He spoke to me first in Arabic and then in French. He said, "I am your Lord, and I know all languages...."
RASHID: Because Allah of the Muslims only knows Arabic...
SAYF: That was on June 11, 2004, and I have been following Jesus ever since.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Who was Muhammad? Part 6 - The Influence of Hanafiya
SUMMARY: Zakariya Boutros presents evidence in this segment that Muhammad adopted the monotheistic beliefs and practices of the hanafiya and incorporated them into Islam. He also shows evidence that Muhammad copied some of the poetry of the hanif poet Umayya bin Abu Salt into the Q uran. Of particular interest is that fact that Muhammad did not initially call people to Islam, but to the faith of Abraham the hanif.
COMMENT: The idea that Muhammad codified the beliefs of the hanifs into a religion he called Islam will of course offend many Muslims. The important question, however, is not “Is it offensive?” but “Is it true?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AHMAD: We have spoken about the religious influences on the life of Muhammad, and the idolatry that was widespread in the Arab Peninsula. Can you also tell us about the hanifs and hanafiya?
ABUNA: The first thing I want to do is make a distinction between the Hanafiya legal school that was established by Abu Hanifa and is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and the hanafiya movement that existed before Islam. Shaykh Khalil Abd al-Karim writes in “The Historical Roots of Islamic Sharia” that the hanafiya was a religious movement whose followers were called hanifs and who believed theirs was the religion of Abraham. They did not worship idols, believed in only one God, did not drink alcohol, prohibited adultery, fasted, practiced the pilgrimage, circumcised their sons, and were against the murder of daughters as was commonly practiced at the time. Muslims often claim that Muhammad was the first to outlaw female infanticide, but it was condemned by the hanifs. They also believed in destiny and fate.
Dr. Jawad Ali writes that the hanifs did not follow an organized religion like Judaism or Christianity, and did not have a system of doctrines and regulations from texts that were revealed from heaven. He adds that today we would call them reformers, because they wanted to improve the general situation and elevate the role of reason.
AHMAD: Can you give the names of some of them?
ABUNA: There was Kab bin Luay, who was one of the ancestors of Muhammad, and Abd al-Mutallib who was Muhammad's grandfather. The poet Zayd bin Amer, who was the uncle of the Caliph Umar bin Khattab, was a hanif. So was the poet Umayya bin Abu Salt, who was a contemporary of Muhammad and influenced Muhammad to the extent that Muhammad adopted some of his poetry and turned it into verses of the Quran.
AHMAD: How was Muhammad influenced by hanafiya?
ABUNA: Muhammad found that this movement was all prepared, ready to be turned into a religion. He took the beliefs of this movement and turned them into a religion. He transformed them into a system and laws, and put them into a book and named it the Quran. He claimed this was revealed from heaven via the angel Gabriel. Shaykh Khalil Abd al-Karim writes, “Islam adopted the regulations and beliefs and practices of the hanifs, pronounced them openly, and called people to them.”
AHMAD: Is their evidence from the Quran that Muhammad adopted the ideas of the hanafiya movement and turned it into the religion of Islam?
ABUNA: Quran 16:123 says, “We revealed to you, Muhammad, that you are to follow the faith of Abraham, who was one of the hanifs.” Quran 12:38 says, “I have followed the faith of my ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we would never attribute any partners to Allah.” Quran 6: 161 says, “My Lord has guided me in a way that is straight, the path of Abraham the hanif.” Quran 3: 95 says, “Follow the religion of Abraham the hanif, who was not one of the idolaters.” Quran 2:135 says, “They tell you to become Jews or Christians if you want to be rightly guided. Tell them you would rather follow the religion of Abraham the hanif.” Note that none of these verses even mention Islam. It was only in Quran 22:78 (which is a later Medinan surah) that they were called Muslims. That verse says, “Strive for Allah…he has chosen you and has given you the faith of your father Abraham, who called you Muslims.” Now Muhammad says that Abraham and those with him were Muslim.
AHMAD: Is their additional evidence from other Islamic sources?
ABUNA: We always begin with the Quran in our study, because that is the main authority for the Muslims. Then we look at the books that explain the Quran. In his exegesis of Quran 6:161 (“My Lord has guided me in a way that is straight, the path of Abraham the hanif”), Al-Tabari writes, “This was hanafiya, the religion of Abraham. The hanif was the one guided in a straight way.” Note that he says Muhammad proclaimed the religions of the hanifs, not a new religion.
Al-Wahidi writes in “Asbab al-Nazul” that Muhammad entered a Jewish school and called the Jews there to follow Allah. When they asked him which religion he belonged to, he replied he followed the religion of Abraham. One would have expected him to say Islam. Dr. Jawad Ali writes that the poet Umayya bin Abu Salt came to Muhammad in Medina and asked what he had brought to them. Muhammad replied that he had come with the hanafiya, the religion of Abraham.
AHMAD: You said that Umayya bin Abu Salt was one of the hanifs who influenced Muhammad. How did he do that?
ABUNA: Dr. Jawad Ali writes that Umayya was the first person to introduce his writings with the expression “In your name, who is their Allah.” Muhammad began to use this expression, and then exchanged it for the expression “In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate One” (which opens all but one of the chapters of the Quran). Umayya also recounted a story of angels appearing and opening his chest in preparation for prophethood, which was also adopted by Muhammad. Ibn Kathir recounts in his book “The Beginning and the End” stories that Umayya met with priests who saw on him physical marks of prophethood, and that enchanting beings descended on him and opened up his heart to cleanse and purify it. Muhammad took these stories that Umayya wrote, and claimed they happened to him. Umayya Ibn Abu Salt was a noteworthy and respected person among the Arabs. If Muhammad could claim to have the same experiences he did, it would be to his advantage. The earliest authoritative biographies of Muhammad including Ibn Ishaq’s “The Life of Muhammad” claim that all these events happened to Muhammad.
AHMAD: Umayya Ibn Abu Salt was a poet. Did Muhammad take any of his poetry and incorporate it into the Quran?
ABUNA: Yes, he did. The Arabic book “An Anthology of Christian Poets” gives some of Umayya’s poetry:
The God of the heavens and the earth
And lord of the mountain peaks
Created them and planted them firmly
Without visible pillars or cords
He made them and adorned them with light
From the sun and the moon
He put the shooting stars in the darkness
Throwing them swifter than arrows.
Is this not what Muhammad said in Quran 31:10: “He created the heavens without visible pillars, and planted mountains firmly on the earth.”
AHMAD: Are there other examples?
ABUNA: Yes, there are many. Ali Jawad writes that the descriptions of Umayya bin Abu Salt of judgment day, and heaven and hell, correspond in great detail to what is written in the Quran. Umayya wrote that Allah sends individuals as messengers and judges and rewards people. Those who do wrong are condemned to hell, and those who do right live forever in a heaven where they feast on water, wine, milk and honey, and have whatever they desire including beautiful women. Quran 47:15 contains direct quotes from Umayya’s poetry, “The heaven that has been promised to the righteous will contain rivers of water, milk, wine and honey.” Quran 56: 17-22 says, “Young boys will serve them wine from cups that will not cause headaches or intoxication, and they will have females with wide lovely eyes like pearls.
AHMAD: Is there more historical evidence that Muhammad knew the poetry of Umayya bin Abu Salt?
ABUNA: Sahih Muslim (book 28, hadith 5602) wrote that Amr bin Sharid reported his father said he was riding behind Allah’s Messenger one day when the Messenger asked him, “Do you remember any poetry of Umayya bin Abu Salt?” When the father said he did, the Messenger asked him to recite some of it. After he recited a few verses, the Messenger asked him to continue and he recited to the Messenger one hundred couplets of Umayya’s poetry. Another relevant hadith is (book 28, 5606), Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger said, “The truest verse recited by a poet is ‘Apart from Allah everything is vain’, and Umayya bin Abu Salt was almost a Muslim.”
The encyclopedia of Islamic Knowledge writes that the poetry of Umayya bin Abu Salt was one of the sources that the Quran relied upon.
AHMAD: Abuna, what do you personally think was the influence of Umayya on Muhammad?
ABUNA: Rather than give my opinion, I’d rather continue with what the Muslim historians themselves have written. I have a feeling that after this program today, the Muslim shaykhs are going to attack their own books!
Jawad Ali writes that Umayya bin Abu Salt said, “If Muhammad was truly a prophet, he would not have killed those people in the cemetery.”
AHMAD: What was he talking about?
ABUNA: Umayya bin Abu Salt was going to meet with Muhammad, and on the way he and his associates passed a cemetery. Someone informed Umayya that the people in the cemetery were those Muslims who had been killed in the battle of Badr. Umayya had been in Syria at the time of that battle, not in Medina. Umayya tore his tunic and said, “By Allah, if he were truly a prophet he would not have killed his own people.” That was the opinion of Umayya bin Abu Salt.
AHMAD: The same person whose poetry Muhammad took and put it in the Quran!
COMMENT: The idea that Muhammad codified the beliefs of the hanifs into a religion he called Islam will of course offend many Muslims. The important question, however, is not “Is it offensive?” but “Is it true?”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AHMAD: We have spoken about the religious influences on the life of Muhammad, and the idolatry that was widespread in the Arab Peninsula. Can you also tell us about the hanifs and hanafiya?
ABUNA: The first thing I want to do is make a distinction between the Hanafiya legal school that was established by Abu Hanifa and is one of the four major schools of Islamic jurisprudence, and the hanafiya movement that existed before Islam. Shaykh Khalil Abd al-Karim writes in “The Historical Roots of Islamic Sharia” that the hanafiya was a religious movement whose followers were called hanifs and who believed theirs was the religion of Abraham. They did not worship idols, believed in only one God, did not drink alcohol, prohibited adultery, fasted, practiced the pilgrimage, circumcised their sons, and were against the murder of daughters as was commonly practiced at the time. Muslims often claim that Muhammad was the first to outlaw female infanticide, but it was condemned by the hanifs. They also believed in destiny and fate.
Dr. Jawad Ali writes that the hanifs did not follow an organized religion like Judaism or Christianity, and did not have a system of doctrines and regulations from texts that were revealed from heaven. He adds that today we would call them reformers, because they wanted to improve the general situation and elevate the role of reason.
AHMAD: Can you give the names of some of them?
ABUNA: There was Kab bin Luay, who was one of the ancestors of Muhammad, and Abd al-Mutallib who was Muhammad's grandfather. The poet Zayd bin Amer, who was the uncle of the Caliph Umar bin Khattab, was a hanif. So was the poet Umayya bin Abu Salt, who was a contemporary of Muhammad and influenced Muhammad to the extent that Muhammad adopted some of his poetry and turned it into verses of the Quran.
AHMAD: How was Muhammad influenced by hanafiya?
ABUNA: Muhammad found that this movement was all prepared, ready to be turned into a religion. He took the beliefs of this movement and turned them into a religion. He transformed them into a system and laws, and put them into a book and named it the Quran. He claimed this was revealed from heaven via the angel Gabriel. Shaykh Khalil Abd al-Karim writes, “Islam adopted the regulations and beliefs and practices of the hanifs, pronounced them openly, and called people to them.”
AHMAD: Is their evidence from the Quran that Muhammad adopted the ideas of the hanafiya movement and turned it into the religion of Islam?
ABUNA: Quran 16:123 says, “We revealed to you, Muhammad, that you are to follow the faith of Abraham, who was one of the hanifs.” Quran 12:38 says, “I have followed the faith of my ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and we would never attribute any partners to Allah.” Quran 6: 161 says, “My Lord has guided me in a way that is straight, the path of Abraham the hanif.” Quran 3: 95 says, “Follow the religion of Abraham the hanif, who was not one of the idolaters.” Quran 2:135 says, “They tell you to become Jews or Christians if you want to be rightly guided. Tell them you would rather follow the religion of Abraham the hanif.” Note that none of these verses even mention Islam. It was only in Quran 22:78 (which is a later Medinan surah) that they were called Muslims. That verse says, “Strive for Allah…he has chosen you and has given you the faith of your father Abraham, who called you Muslims.” Now Muhammad says that Abraham and those with him were Muslim.
AHMAD: Is their additional evidence from other Islamic sources?
ABUNA: We always begin with the Quran in our study, because that is the main authority for the Muslims. Then we look at the books that explain the Quran. In his exegesis of Quran 6:161 (“My Lord has guided me in a way that is straight, the path of Abraham the hanif”), Al-Tabari writes, “This was hanafiya, the religion of Abraham. The hanif was the one guided in a straight way.” Note that he says Muhammad proclaimed the religions of the hanifs, not a new religion.
Al-Wahidi writes in “Asbab al-Nazul” that Muhammad entered a Jewish school and called the Jews there to follow Allah. When they asked him which religion he belonged to, he replied he followed the religion of Abraham. One would have expected him to say Islam. Dr. Jawad Ali writes that the poet Umayya bin Abu Salt came to Muhammad in Medina and asked what he had brought to them. Muhammad replied that he had come with the hanafiya, the religion of Abraham.
AHMAD: You said that Umayya bin Abu Salt was one of the hanifs who influenced Muhammad. How did he do that?
ABUNA: Dr. Jawad Ali writes that Umayya was the first person to introduce his writings with the expression “In your name, who is their Allah.” Muhammad began to use this expression, and then exchanged it for the expression “In the name of Allah the Merciful, the Compassionate One” (which opens all but one of the chapters of the Quran). Umayya also recounted a story of angels appearing and opening his chest in preparation for prophethood, which was also adopted by Muhammad. Ibn Kathir recounts in his book “The Beginning and the End” stories that Umayya met with priests who saw on him physical marks of prophethood, and that enchanting beings descended on him and opened up his heart to cleanse and purify it. Muhammad took these stories that Umayya wrote, and claimed they happened to him. Umayya Ibn Abu Salt was a noteworthy and respected person among the Arabs. If Muhammad could claim to have the same experiences he did, it would be to his advantage. The earliest authoritative biographies of Muhammad including Ibn Ishaq’s “The Life of Muhammad” claim that all these events happened to Muhammad.
AHMAD: Umayya Ibn Abu Salt was a poet. Did Muhammad take any of his poetry and incorporate it into the Quran?
ABUNA: Yes, he did. The Arabic book “An Anthology of Christian Poets” gives some of Umayya’s poetry:
The God of the heavens and the earth
And lord of the mountain peaks
Created them and planted them firmly
Without visible pillars or cords
He made them and adorned them with light
From the sun and the moon
He put the shooting stars in the darkness
Throwing them swifter than arrows.
Is this not what Muhammad said in Quran 31:10: “He created the heavens without visible pillars, and planted mountains firmly on the earth.”
AHMAD: Are there other examples?
ABUNA: Yes, there are many. Ali Jawad writes that the descriptions of Umayya bin Abu Salt of judgment day, and heaven and hell, correspond in great detail to what is written in the Quran. Umayya wrote that Allah sends individuals as messengers and judges and rewards people. Those who do wrong are condemned to hell, and those who do right live forever in a heaven where they feast on water, wine, milk and honey, and have whatever they desire including beautiful women. Quran 47:15 contains direct quotes from Umayya’s poetry, “The heaven that has been promised to the righteous will contain rivers of water, milk, wine and honey.” Quran 56: 17-22 says, “Young boys will serve them wine from cups that will not cause headaches or intoxication, and they will have females with wide lovely eyes like pearls.
AHMAD: Is there more historical evidence that Muhammad knew the poetry of Umayya bin Abu Salt?
ABUNA: Sahih Muslim (book 28, hadith 5602) wrote that Amr bin Sharid reported his father said he was riding behind Allah’s Messenger one day when the Messenger asked him, “Do you remember any poetry of Umayya bin Abu Salt?” When the father said he did, the Messenger asked him to recite some of it. After he recited a few verses, the Messenger asked him to continue and he recited to the Messenger one hundred couplets of Umayya’s poetry. Another relevant hadith is (book 28, 5606), Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger said, “The truest verse recited by a poet is ‘Apart from Allah everything is vain’, and Umayya bin Abu Salt was almost a Muslim.”
The encyclopedia of Islamic Knowledge writes that the poetry of Umayya bin Abu Salt was one of the sources that the Quran relied upon.
AHMAD: Abuna, what do you personally think was the influence of Umayya on Muhammad?
ABUNA: Rather than give my opinion, I’d rather continue with what the Muslim historians themselves have written. I have a feeling that after this program today, the Muslim shaykhs are going to attack their own books!
Jawad Ali writes that Umayya bin Abu Salt said, “If Muhammad was truly a prophet, he would not have killed those people in the cemetery.”
AHMAD: What was he talking about?
ABUNA: Umayya bin Abu Salt was going to meet with Muhammad, and on the way he and his associates passed a cemetery. Someone informed Umayya that the people in the cemetery were those Muslims who had been killed in the battle of Badr. Umayya had been in Syria at the time of that battle, not in Medina. Umayya tore his tunic and said, “By Allah, if he were truly a prophet he would not have killed his own people.” That was the opinion of Umayya bin Abu Salt.
AHMAD: The same person whose poetry Muhammad took and put it in the Quran!
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Who was Muhammad? Part 5 - The Practices of Islam
SUMMARY: In this segment, Boutros Zakariya shows from Muslim sources that many things Muslim practice today were part of pre-Islamic society.
COMMENT: Few Muslims know that practices as common as the fast of Ramadan and the circumambulation of the Kaaba during the Pilgrimage were done by the pagan Arabs long before Islam. The Muslim belief, of course, is that these were revealed to Muhammad from Allah. Muslims often have two responses when presented with new, unfavorable information about Islam. The first is to admit they did not know this. The second is to deny it. The majority continue in that denial for the rest of their lives.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AHMAD: We have looked at the idols that were present during the “jahiliyah” (the time of ignorance before Islam). Let’s move to a related subject, which is the religious practices of the idolaters and their influence on Muhammad and Islam.
ABUNA: Every religious system has its accompanying religious practices, and this is true of idolaters as well. I would like to introduce at this point an important additional reference text, “The Historical Roots of Islamic Shariah” by Shaykh Khalil Abdel Karim. He is a graduate of Al-Azhar University, and his book is very important. There is also the book of Dr. Jawad Ali about the Arabs before Islam that we saw in our previous session.
AHMAD: Can you tell us the religious practices of the time that influenced Muhammad?
ABUNA: Dr. Ali Jawad points out that the religious practices of the Arabs before Islam included fasting, things that were permitted and prohibited (halal and haram), major and minor pilgrimages (the hajj and the umrah), and houses for their gods including the Kaaba and its cloth covering. Shaykh Khalil Abdel Karim adds to this list the month of fasting (Ramadan), the exaltation of Abraham and Ismail, and a public meeting on Fridays (Islam’s holy day). All these Islamic practices were present before Islam.
AHMAD: As a former Muslim, the first thing that comes to my mind is Ramadan. What can you tell us about fasting before Islam?
ABUNA: The Quraysh would fast on the day of Ashurah, which is still practiced by Muslims today (and was a fast of the Jews at the time of Muhammad). Muhammad practiced this before he imposed the month of Ramadan, and afterwards he allowed it as a voluntary fast. Shaykh Khalil writes that even the fast of Ramadan was practiced before Islam.
AHMAD: About 80 days after the end of Ramadan comes the pilgrimage. What can you tell us about that?
ABUNA: I want to repeat one important comment, which is that the fast of Ramadan did not just drop out of the sky as revelation to Muhammad but was practiced by the Arabs before Islam. Some of the hanifs would fast in the cave of Hira during that time (which is where Muhammad received the first revelation of the Quran). Ramadan is simply a continuation of a practice that existed before Islam.
Now for the Hajj (pilgrimage). Shaykh Khalil writes that the Arab tribes agreed that the Kaaba in Mecca was sacred, and were eager to make pilgrimage to it. Islam continued the emphasis on the holiness of the Kaaba and Mecca, and the Quran used many expressions common at the time to describe them. Jawad Ali adds men and women would circumambulate the Kaaba naked. And even today the white cloth (the ihram) they wear at the pilgrimage leaves them half-naked.
AHMAD: What is the meaning and origin of the word “Hajj”?
ABUNA: In his important book “Myths and Traditions”, Dr. Qimni writes that the word “hajj” originally came from the root “hakk”, and even today some Arabic dialects pronounce the “J” sound as a “K”. By the way, they have silenced Dr. Qimni, but they cannot silence his books (Sayyid Qimni or Qemni is a current Egyptian reformer whose writings are attacked and banned in his own country). The root “hakk” is a derivative of “ihtikak”, which means “to rub against”. In “Al Milal wal Nahal”, Abu Qasim al-Shahristani writes that the pilgrims used to rub themselves against the black stone in the Kaaba. Dr. Qimni adds that the women would rub menstrual blood against the black stone. My question for my Muslim brethren is, If that was the meaning of the pilgrimage in the jahiliyah, why was it incorporated into Islam? What is the meaning of their kissing the black stone today?
AHMAD: You have also noted that the pilgrimage was a time of commercial profit.
ABUNA: “The Encyclopedia of Islamic Knowledge” informs us the pilgrimages were held during the date season, and markets to sell dates were set up during that time. Dr. Qimni says this was also a time where prostitution and group sex were practiced by the pilgrims as a celebration of the date harvest. One of the idols in the Kaaba was Hubal, the god of fertility, and sex was considered part of his worship. This explains why circling the Kaaba nude was part of the pilgrimage. They also practiced a form of prostitution known as “mutah” (a form of “temporary marriage” or “marriage for enjoyment” still practiced today among the Shia; the word “mutah” means “enjoyment” and it is explained in detail at mutah.com). In Quran 4:24, the list of women that Muslim men can marry includes those “for enjoyment” to whom a price is to be paid. In his “Exegesis of the Quran”, Qurtabi writes that Abu Durr said “mutah” marriage was practiced in the pilgrimage.
AHMAD: What were other pilgrimage rites at that time?
ABUNA: Shaykh Khalil writes that the pilgrims did many of the same practices they do today. These included the chant, “I am here at your service, Oh Allah”, wearing special clothing, stopping at Mt. Arafat, circling the Kaaba, throwing stones at the devil, etc.
AHMAD: What is the origin of throwing stones at the devil?
ABUNA: Jawad Ali writes that the idea of throwing stones at the devil goes back to Amr ibn Lahya (or Luhayy, who lived 400 years before Muhammad). Murtada al-Zubaydi writes in “The Bride’s Crown” that Amr brought seven idols to Mecca and then threw three stones at each one saying it was larger than the one before it. So the idea of throwing stones at the devil at the Kaaba preceded Muhammad by hundreds of years.
AHMAD: What about the black stone of the Kaaba? Was it considered sacred before Islam?
ABUNA: The black stone was sacred before Islam to the extent that the Kaaba itself took its sacredness from it. Mahmud Salim al-Hut says in his book “Mythology and the Arabs” that the Kaaba housed the black stone they believed had come down from heaven. The Arabs used to circumambulate this stone. I have already mentioned that women would rub their menstrual blood against it in the belief that would give them fertility.
AHMAD: Did Muhammad consider the black stone to be sacred?
ABUNA: Yes indeed, and he used to kiss it. He preserved circumambulating the Kaaba and the black stone in the rituals of the Hajj. The Kaaba is the focal point of the pilgrimage. In the hadith of Bayhaqi, he writes that Ibn Abbas said that Muhammad kissed the black stone and rubbed his right cheek against it. He added that the Prophet would circle the Kaaba three times running like a gazelle, and would then circumambulate it four times walking slowly in respect of the black stone. Sahih Bukhari adds that the Caliph Umar kissed the black stone and said, “I know that you are only a stone, having no power of good or evil, and I would not kiss you had not I seen the Prophet kiss you.” I ask the Muslims, why did Muhammad make this stone sacred? Can they give one reason?
AHMAD: Do you have any comment as to why Muhammad considered the black stone sacred, when Umar realized it was only a stone?
ABUNA: This is an indication of how Muhammad tried to please people, in order to gain them to his side. He called for the abolition of idols, but considered the black stone sacred. Was that not an idol? Umar realized that the stone carried no blessing. Was he better than Muhammad? Did Muhammad not realize that as well? Is it proper of a prophet that he try to please the idolaters to attract them to him? Why is the black stone still located in the Kaaba?
COMMENT: Few Muslims know that practices as common as the fast of Ramadan and the circumambulation of the Kaaba during the Pilgrimage were done by the pagan Arabs long before Islam. The Muslim belief, of course, is that these were revealed to Muhammad from Allah. Muslims often have two responses when presented with new, unfavorable information about Islam. The first is to admit they did not know this. The second is to deny it. The majority continue in that denial for the rest of their lives.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
AHMAD: We have looked at the idols that were present during the “jahiliyah” (the time of ignorance before Islam). Let’s move to a related subject, which is the religious practices of the idolaters and their influence on Muhammad and Islam.
ABUNA: Every religious system has its accompanying religious practices, and this is true of idolaters as well. I would like to introduce at this point an important additional reference text, “The Historical Roots of Islamic Shariah” by Shaykh Khalil Abdel Karim. He is a graduate of Al-Azhar University, and his book is very important. There is also the book of Dr. Jawad Ali about the Arabs before Islam that we saw in our previous session.
AHMAD: Can you tell us the religious practices of the time that influenced Muhammad?
ABUNA: Dr. Ali Jawad points out that the religious practices of the Arabs before Islam included fasting, things that were permitted and prohibited (halal and haram), major and minor pilgrimages (the hajj and the umrah), and houses for their gods including the Kaaba and its cloth covering. Shaykh Khalil Abdel Karim adds to this list the month of fasting (Ramadan), the exaltation of Abraham and Ismail, and a public meeting on Fridays (Islam’s holy day). All these Islamic practices were present before Islam.
AHMAD: As a former Muslim, the first thing that comes to my mind is Ramadan. What can you tell us about fasting before Islam?
ABUNA: The Quraysh would fast on the day of Ashurah, which is still practiced by Muslims today (and was a fast of the Jews at the time of Muhammad). Muhammad practiced this before he imposed the month of Ramadan, and afterwards he allowed it as a voluntary fast. Shaykh Khalil writes that even the fast of Ramadan was practiced before Islam.
AHMAD: About 80 days after the end of Ramadan comes the pilgrimage. What can you tell us about that?
ABUNA: I want to repeat one important comment, which is that the fast of Ramadan did not just drop out of the sky as revelation to Muhammad but was practiced by the Arabs before Islam. Some of the hanifs would fast in the cave of Hira during that time (which is where Muhammad received the first revelation of the Quran). Ramadan is simply a continuation of a practice that existed before Islam.
Now for the Hajj (pilgrimage). Shaykh Khalil writes that the Arab tribes agreed that the Kaaba in Mecca was sacred, and were eager to make pilgrimage to it. Islam continued the emphasis on the holiness of the Kaaba and Mecca, and the Quran used many expressions common at the time to describe them. Jawad Ali adds men and women would circumambulate the Kaaba naked. And even today the white cloth (the ihram) they wear at the pilgrimage leaves them half-naked.
AHMAD: What is the meaning and origin of the word “Hajj”?
ABUNA: In his important book “Myths and Traditions”, Dr. Qimni writes that the word “hajj” originally came from the root “hakk”, and even today some Arabic dialects pronounce the “J” sound as a “K”. By the way, they have silenced Dr. Qimni, but they cannot silence his books (Sayyid Qimni or Qemni is a current Egyptian reformer whose writings are attacked and banned in his own country). The root “hakk” is a derivative of “ihtikak”, which means “to rub against”. In “Al Milal wal Nahal”, Abu Qasim al-Shahristani writes that the pilgrims used to rub themselves against the black stone in the Kaaba. Dr. Qimni adds that the women would rub menstrual blood against the black stone. My question for my Muslim brethren is, If that was the meaning of the pilgrimage in the jahiliyah, why was it incorporated into Islam? What is the meaning of their kissing the black stone today?
AHMAD: You have also noted that the pilgrimage was a time of commercial profit.
ABUNA: “The Encyclopedia of Islamic Knowledge” informs us the pilgrimages were held during the date season, and markets to sell dates were set up during that time. Dr. Qimni says this was also a time where prostitution and group sex were practiced by the pilgrims as a celebration of the date harvest. One of the idols in the Kaaba was Hubal, the god of fertility, and sex was considered part of his worship. This explains why circling the Kaaba nude was part of the pilgrimage. They also practiced a form of prostitution known as “mutah” (a form of “temporary marriage” or “marriage for enjoyment” still practiced today among the Shia; the word “mutah” means “enjoyment” and it is explained in detail at mutah.com). In Quran 4:24, the list of women that Muslim men can marry includes those “for enjoyment” to whom a price is to be paid. In his “Exegesis of the Quran”, Qurtabi writes that Abu Durr said “mutah” marriage was practiced in the pilgrimage.
AHMAD: What were other pilgrimage rites at that time?
ABUNA: Shaykh Khalil writes that the pilgrims did many of the same practices they do today. These included the chant, “I am here at your service, Oh Allah”, wearing special clothing, stopping at Mt. Arafat, circling the Kaaba, throwing stones at the devil, etc.
AHMAD: What is the origin of throwing stones at the devil?
ABUNA: Jawad Ali writes that the idea of throwing stones at the devil goes back to Amr ibn Lahya (or Luhayy, who lived 400 years before Muhammad). Murtada al-Zubaydi writes in “The Bride’s Crown” that Amr brought seven idols to Mecca and then threw three stones at each one saying it was larger than the one before it. So the idea of throwing stones at the devil at the Kaaba preceded Muhammad by hundreds of years.
AHMAD: What about the black stone of the Kaaba? Was it considered sacred before Islam?
ABUNA: The black stone was sacred before Islam to the extent that the Kaaba itself took its sacredness from it. Mahmud Salim al-Hut says in his book “Mythology and the Arabs” that the Kaaba housed the black stone they believed had come down from heaven. The Arabs used to circumambulate this stone. I have already mentioned that women would rub their menstrual blood against it in the belief that would give them fertility.
AHMAD: Did Muhammad consider the black stone to be sacred?
ABUNA: Yes indeed, and he used to kiss it. He preserved circumambulating the Kaaba and the black stone in the rituals of the Hajj. The Kaaba is the focal point of the pilgrimage. In the hadith of Bayhaqi, he writes that Ibn Abbas said that Muhammad kissed the black stone and rubbed his right cheek against it. He added that the Prophet would circle the Kaaba three times running like a gazelle, and would then circumambulate it four times walking slowly in respect of the black stone. Sahih Bukhari adds that the Caliph Umar kissed the black stone and said, “I know that you are only a stone, having no power of good or evil, and I would not kiss you had not I seen the Prophet kiss you.” I ask the Muslims, why did Muhammad make this stone sacred? Can they give one reason?
AHMAD: Do you have any comment as to why Muhammad considered the black stone sacred, when Umar realized it was only a stone?
ABUNA: This is an indication of how Muhammad tried to please people, in order to gain them to his side. He called for the abolition of idols, but considered the black stone sacred. Was that not an idol? Umar realized that the stone carried no blessing. Was he better than Muhammad? Did Muhammad not realize that as well? Is it proper of a prophet that he try to please the idolaters to attract them to him? Why is the black stone still located in the Kaaba?
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