The orientalists, The seerah and the qur’an-4

The orientalists, The seerah and the qur’an-4

Jassim Ibn Da’yan


C. OTHER SOCIAL AMBITIONS

C. 1 MORAL REFORMATION


Some scholars have put forward moral reformation as a probable motive which actuated Muhammad (pbuh) to compose the Qur’an. The reformation theory presents several problems in the face of insinuations of deceit and lies by some of the orientalists. Moral reformation is a very noble objective, but can it be achieved by resorting to immoral acts like deceit and lies? The reason for this choice of immoral means to build a moral society is neither clear nor stated by the proponent of this theory.
The second problem is that the Qur’an designates lying against God as one of the most abominable sins.
“Who can be more unjust than he, who invents a lie against Allah or says,‘I have received inspiration’, whereas he is not inspired in anything?” Ch 6: V 93
“If he (Muhammad pbuh) had forged a false saying concerning Us (Allah), We surely should have seized him by his right hand (or power and might), and certainly should have cut off his life artery (Aorta).” Ch 69: V 44-46
The above verses and others, go on to prescribe the most humiliating punishment for such liars. Knowing that he was the author of the Qur’an and knowing also that he was deceitfully ascribing it to God, it is most unlikely that Muhammad (pbuh) should have described himself as the most wicked man. Apprehension of the possibility that his fabrication might one day be uncovered would have induced him to modify the above verses into something like, ‘There is no blame for those who, if need be, lie for the sake of God.’ In fact this is what St. Paul did when he confessed in the New Testament in the book Romans 3:7:
“Again, if the truth of God brings him all the greater honour because of my falsehood, why should I any longer be condemned as a sinner?”
For St. Paul, the end justifies the means. The orientalists, who are conversant with this type of statements in the Bible, perhaps assume that this is the case with Muhammad (pbuh) as well.


But Muhammad (pbuh) did not have to resort to deceit and lies to spread the Glory of Allah. Today, after one thousand four hundred years, new scientific discoveries or archeological findings confirm the truth proclaimed by the Qur’an and the Prophethood of Muhammad (pbuh).
Thirdly, Muhammad (pbuh) did not bring the whole Qur’an at one sitting. He recited it piecemeal over a period of 23 years, and during which period the Qur’an had made an open and definite promise to answer any question that would be asked concerning anything.
“If you ask about things when the Qur’an is being revealed they will be made plain to you.” – Ch 5: V101


People availed themselves of this opportunity to ask a wide range of questions, covering for example wine, gambling, menstruation, spoils of war, the soul or even about historical figures like Zul-Qarnain. It was in response to such questions that the Qur’an says in at least 15 places that, “they ask thee (O Muhammad pbuh) concerning such and such matter. Say: It is so and so”. The difficulty that emerges here is that, there is no way Muhammad (pbuh) could have known before hand that the questions he had invited would perfectly suit his reformation purposes for which he had set out to write the Qur’an. It would hardly be advisable for a president who wants to talk about the food situation of his country to call a press conference and invite pressmen to ask him any question. They may choose to inquire about political prisoners or corruption in high places.

Another problem which militates against the moral reformation theory is the fact that Muhammad (pbuh) himself is corrected by the Qur’an in several places. An example of such a situation is when Hamzah, the uncle of the prophet (pbuh) was killed during the battle of Uhud. At the instigation of Hind, the wife of Abu Sufiyan, his body was ripped open and violently mutilated. When the Prophet (pbuh) pbuh what had been done he said, “Never yet have I felt more anger than now I feel, and when next God gives me victory over the Quraish, I will mutilate thirty of their dead.”
But soon after this there came the revelation, “If you punish (your enemy) then punish them with the like of that with which you were afflicted. But if you endure patiently, verily it is better for As-Sabirin (the patient ones).” 16:126. Not only did the Prophet (pbuh) not fulfil his threat, but he expressly forbade mutilation after every battle.
It will thus be seen from the above, that the assumption that moral reformation is the central concern of the Qur’an is incorrect. Moral precepts are only part of the message.


C.2 UNITY AND LIBERATION OF ARABS


The theory that Muhammad (pbuh) had authored the Qur’an in order to unite and liberate the Arabs is very difficult to defend for the following reasons:
There is not a single verse in the whole Qur’an calling for the unity or liberation of the Arab nation. If we assume that Muhammad (pbuh) was the author, then his motive is not the unity of the Arabs, or at least it is not reflected in the Qur’an.
If the unity of the Arabs was the overriding consideration of Muhammad (pbuh), he would have gladly accepted the offer to be the king of Arabia and use his power and influence to build a unified Arabia.
There are verses in Qur’an, which seem to contradict the idea that Muhammad’s (pbuh) motive was to build Arab nationalism.
The Qur’anic concept of Ummah (nation) is ideological and against any manifestations of nationalist tendencies. It is based on the criterion of truth (haq) and falsehood (batil). Anyone who accepts that ideology is a member irrespective of his nationality, race, color or even blood ties. In practice this sometimes meant the separation of father and son. It was because of the apparent rift that the Quraish clan was alarmed and sent Utbah to ask the Prophet (pbuh) to give up his call to Islam. The unity, which prevailed in Arabia after the triumph of Islam, was ideological and that unity is strongly encouraged by the Qur’an.
“And (remember) when the angles said. ‘O Mary! Verily Allah has chosen you, purified you (from polytheism and disbelief), and chosen you above the women of the Alamin (mankind and jinns)’ (of her time).” Ch. 3: V42
The above verse refers to Mary the mother of Jesus (PBUH). Such an honor to Mary is not to be found even in the Christian Bible.
If the Qur’an was authored by Muhammad (pbuh) to propagate his nationalistic ideas, why would he praise a woman from the Jewish race, instead of some other woman from his own household or of Arab origin? There were plenty of women who suffered and even sacrificed their lives for their belief in Islam, but none of them were given this highest honor.
On the contrary, the Qur’an declares that the human race is one, springing from one man and one woman, and that the best among them is the one best in piety.
Footnotes:
Please see “The Bible, The Qur’an & Modern Science” by Maurice Bucaille for more information