Mani (Mainstream): I again read Surah Four last night And found it much more interesting than my previous readings. You really must consider that the people were adapting to a new religion and in the middle of a war to crush their religion. If you don’t, it will not make sense.
Modi (Moderate): Bravo! That is exactly right. The Battle of Uhud was behind them and they were still reeling from that setback. Many of the Believers were disheartened. The Battle of Badr showed how good they can be, achieving victory when it seemed impossible. And Uhud showed how bad things can be if they failed to follow all of their instructions.
Mani: It was a particularly bad time for widows and orphans. There were so many that Allah had to allow men to have more than one wife. Allah also had to instruct new stepfathers on safeguarding the inheritances of the orphans and enjoin them from robbing or cheating them. That way, the fighters knew that their kids were cared for if the fathers were martyred and the mother remarried.
Radi (Radical): See. Allah looks after us and expects us to follow His instructions to the letter. When He says that apostates and heretics must be killed, we must do that quickly.
Mani: I have to agree with Radi. I cannot see why you are against killing apostates, Modi.
Modi: You said it yourself, Mani. These laws were promulgated at a time when the people were not used to their new religion and during a time of war when they were being persecuted by the Meccans and when tribes of Jews were defying their treaties, according to the Prophet (pbuh).
Mani: You are saying that in order to preserve the religion it was necessary THEN to kill traitors.
Modi: What else could be done with them? There were no prisons. The only magistrate was Muhammad, and his time was taken up fighting, preparing to fight, and trying to run a new government with untrained people. What could you do with traitors while they were awaiting trials that might be very long in coming?
Mani: I can understand that. He did not have any help in conducting government affairs; he had to manage everything himself. He also had to figure out how to deal with Muslim hypocrites and the Jewish tribes aiding the Meccans.
Modi: Exactly. You can add that he had to develop a penal code and develop religious rites and rules for moral conduct. The penal code, the Sharia, was adapted by principles laid down in the Qur’an, after much debate over the meaning of each word. And despite all these other tasks, Muhammad and Allah had to motivate the Believers to do more, learn more, and put aside their fears of combat. If they did not overcome their powerful enemies first, Allah would be obliged to rely on others, and they would no longer be His chosen people.
Radi: That had to motivate them. To no longer be His chosen people would be hard to take.
Modi: Thankfully, Allah also decided to make the religion travel and warrior friendly by allowing the Believers to “clean” themselves with pure earth when water was not available for their ablutions. The Believers were also cautioned to be generous and kind to neighboring communities.
Mani: I noticed those ayats. In one sense, it helped to consolidate the communities and unify the people, and in another sense, it helped to propagate the new religion.
Modi: Remember, new members were very important. New members meant more fighters and more income through the Zakat. It also meant more tradesmen and agricultural workers. Believers who were still living in Mecca were asked to relocate to Medina whenever they could do so.
Radi: Many new laws were also given to us about family life.
Modi: That is right, Radi. Allah and Muhammad made justice a big part of family life. By so doing, they showed nonbelievers a much superior religious philosophy and a more peaceful family life.
Mani: But Modi, why are some wives treated so unfairly now? It seems that HONOR KILLINGS now are threatening our reputation in Europe, Canada, and America.
Modi: Honor killings are not Islamic. They predate Islam, but many of our people do not understand the difference between our religion and their tradition. Our leaders still have to address strongly these inhumane traditions. You are right to bring them up.
Mani: Perhaps we could get our government to spend the money for PR work that included documentary movies and TV programs. We could put notices in newspapers and magazines. And we can teach the new generation in schools.
Modi: Whatever we do about HONOR KILLINGS, we had better start doing it NOW!
Radi: Don’t you dare! Honor killings are right and appropriate. People must be killed when they sin!
Mani: If you were killed the first time you sinned, Radi, how many years would it have cost you so far?
Modi: I don’t think Radi can count that high.
Radi: I can so.
Mani: What about ayat (verse) 4:157 and 158, which rattled a few Christians? When you put them both together, they conflict greatly with the book. In 4:156, Allah notes that Jews boasted of having slain “Jesus Christ, the son of Mary who claimed to be an apostle of God.” Qur’an 4:157 states, “However, they did not slay him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been] so1; and verily, those who hold conflicting views thereon are indeed confused, having no [real] knowledge thereof, and following mere conjecture. For a certainty, they did not slay him. God raised him unto Himself 2–and God is indeed wise.”
Radi: I bet that showed the Christians something.
Modi: That is a part of the Qur’an that I never understood. When one considers all the virtues of Allah, some of the ayats concerning Jews and Christians do not appear to coincide with His very nature. There are so many ways that ideas can be conveyed without calling good people of other religions fools or liars. Of course, I know I am not supposed to have the intelligence necessary to understand God.
Radi: At last you said something sensible.
Mani: Modi, you were just playing with another ayat from this surah, number 82. I am surprised at you, and I expected Radi to call you on it.
Modi: You mean “Will they not, then, try to understand this Qur’an? Had it issued from any but God, they surely would have found in it many an inner contradiction.”3
Mani: I seem to recall...
Modi: I would not go into what you are thinking with our f-r-i-e-n-d around.
Radi: Hey, wise guy! I know my name when it is spelled.
Modi and Mani laugh.
Mani: Radi, you know that Modi is doing you a favor by having these last three talks with you.
Radi: What is that supposed to mean?
Mani: Modi knows you need to know at least the gist of what al Kitab (the Qur’an) is about, but he knows you will not be able to get much out of it without some help.
Radi: I see. So he is just giving me an outline of what the verses are talking about.
Mani: I read it myself a few times but could not understand it until Modi showed me a few things.
Modi: Well, someone showed me. I just passed it on.
Mani: Anyone know the Zuhr (Afternoon Prayer) time today? I forgot to check the newspaper.
Modi: According to the Internet, islamicfinder.org, Zuhr is 12:12, Asr (Late Afternoon Prayer) is 2:58, Maghrib (Sunset Prayer) is 5:17, and Isha (Evening Prayer) is 6.39.4
Radi: Where did you get those times?
Modi: I just clicked on the Islamic Finder website, selected the country, then the city, and it gave me a chart for the entire week. I could have selected a chart for the entire month. Well, pals, we do not have time to have lunch first, so off to wudu (ante-prayer ablutions). Except for you, Radi. You need a ghusl (ante-prayer full body wash).
Radi: (red-faced): Oh, you heard it, eh?
Modi and Mani: Yeah, and smelled it, too!
Radi: You guys are mean.
HJS
[Adapted partly from Mawdudi's Introduction to Surah Four of the Noble Qur'an.]
1 Muhammad Asad in his note 171 (Message of the Qur’an) indicates that the Qur’an categorically denies the Crucifixion as another fanciful legend surrounding Christ.
2 In his note 172, Asad explains the passage to mean that God honored him; He did not raise him physically up to Heaven.
3Asad’s note 97 assures us that the Qur’an is free of all inner contradictions, in spite of its having been revealed over a period of twenty-three years. He states it could only have been created by a supra-human source.
4 The times are for January 14, 2008.
Modi (Moderate): Bravo! That is exactly right. The Battle of Uhud was behind them and they were still reeling from that setback. Many of the Believers were disheartened. The Battle of Badr showed how good they can be, achieving victory when it seemed impossible. And Uhud showed how bad things can be if they failed to follow all of their instructions.
Mani: It was a particularly bad time for widows and orphans. There were so many that Allah had to allow men to have more than one wife. Allah also had to instruct new stepfathers on safeguarding the inheritances of the orphans and enjoin them from robbing or cheating them. That way, the fighters knew that their kids were cared for if the fathers were martyred and the mother remarried.
Radi (Radical): See. Allah looks after us and expects us to follow His instructions to the letter. When He says that apostates and heretics must be killed, we must do that quickly.
Mani: I have to agree with Radi. I cannot see why you are against killing apostates, Modi.
Modi: You said it yourself, Mani. These laws were promulgated at a time when the people were not used to their new religion and during a time of war when they were being persecuted by the Meccans and when tribes of Jews were defying their treaties, according to the Prophet (pbuh).
Mani: You are saying that in order to preserve the religion it was necessary THEN to kill traitors.
Modi: What else could be done with them? There were no prisons. The only magistrate was Muhammad, and his time was taken up fighting, preparing to fight, and trying to run a new government with untrained people. What could you do with traitors while they were awaiting trials that might be very long in coming?
Mani: I can understand that. He did not have any help in conducting government affairs; he had to manage everything himself. He also had to figure out how to deal with Muslim hypocrites and the Jewish tribes aiding the Meccans.
Modi: Exactly. You can add that he had to develop a penal code and develop religious rites and rules for moral conduct. The penal code, the Sharia, was adapted by principles laid down in the Qur’an, after much debate over the meaning of each word. And despite all these other tasks, Muhammad and Allah had to motivate the Believers to do more, learn more, and put aside their fears of combat. If they did not overcome their powerful enemies first, Allah would be obliged to rely on others, and they would no longer be His chosen people.
Radi: That had to motivate them. To no longer be His chosen people would be hard to take.
Modi: Thankfully, Allah also decided to make the religion travel and warrior friendly by allowing the Believers to “clean” themselves with pure earth when water was not available for their ablutions. The Believers were also cautioned to be generous and kind to neighboring communities.
Mani: I noticed those ayats. In one sense, it helped to consolidate the communities and unify the people, and in another sense, it helped to propagate the new religion.
Modi: Remember, new members were very important. New members meant more fighters and more income through the Zakat. It also meant more tradesmen and agricultural workers. Believers who were still living in Mecca were asked to relocate to Medina whenever they could do so.
Radi: Many new laws were also given to us about family life.
Modi: That is right, Radi. Allah and Muhammad made justice a big part of family life. By so doing, they showed nonbelievers a much superior religious philosophy and a more peaceful family life.
Mani: But Modi, why are some wives treated so unfairly now? It seems that HONOR KILLINGS now are threatening our reputation in Europe, Canada, and America.
Modi: Honor killings are not Islamic. They predate Islam, but many of our people do not understand the difference between our religion and their tradition. Our leaders still have to address strongly these inhumane traditions. You are right to bring them up.
Mani: Perhaps we could get our government to spend the money for PR work that included documentary movies and TV programs. We could put notices in newspapers and magazines. And we can teach the new generation in schools.
Modi: Whatever we do about HONOR KILLINGS, we had better start doing it NOW!
Radi: Don’t you dare! Honor killings are right and appropriate. People must be killed when they sin!
Mani: If you were killed the first time you sinned, Radi, how many years would it have cost you so far?
Modi: I don’t think Radi can count that high.
Radi: I can so.
Mani: What about ayat (verse) 4:157 and 158, which rattled a few Christians? When you put them both together, they conflict greatly with the book. In 4:156, Allah notes that Jews boasted of having slain “Jesus Christ, the son of Mary who claimed to be an apostle of God.” Qur’an 4:157 states, “However, they did not slay him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been] so1; and verily, those who hold conflicting views thereon are indeed confused, having no [real] knowledge thereof, and following mere conjecture. For a certainty, they did not slay him. God raised him unto Himself 2–and God is indeed wise.”
Radi: I bet that showed the Christians something.
Modi: That is a part of the Qur’an that I never understood. When one considers all the virtues of Allah, some of the ayats concerning Jews and Christians do not appear to coincide with His very nature. There are so many ways that ideas can be conveyed without calling good people of other religions fools or liars. Of course, I know I am not supposed to have the intelligence necessary to understand God.
Radi: At last you said something sensible.
Mani: Modi, you were just playing with another ayat from this surah, number 82. I am surprised at you, and I expected Radi to call you on it.
Modi: You mean “Will they not, then, try to understand this Qur’an? Had it issued from any but God, they surely would have found in it many an inner contradiction.”3
Mani: I seem to recall...
Modi: I would not go into what you are thinking with our f-r-i-e-n-d around.
Radi: Hey, wise guy! I know my name when it is spelled.
Modi and Mani laugh.
Mani: Radi, you know that Modi is doing you a favor by having these last three talks with you.
Radi: What is that supposed to mean?
Mani: Modi knows you need to know at least the gist of what al Kitab (the Qur’an) is about, but he knows you will not be able to get much out of it without some help.
Radi: I see. So he is just giving me an outline of what the verses are talking about.
Mani: I read it myself a few times but could not understand it until Modi showed me a few things.
Modi: Well, someone showed me. I just passed it on.
Mani: Anyone know the Zuhr (Afternoon Prayer) time today? I forgot to check the newspaper.
Modi: According to the Internet, islamicfinder.org, Zuhr is 12:12, Asr (Late Afternoon Prayer) is 2:58, Maghrib (Sunset Prayer) is 5:17, and Isha (Evening Prayer) is 6.39.4
Radi: Where did you get those times?
Modi: I just clicked on the Islamic Finder website, selected the country, then the city, and it gave me a chart for the entire week. I could have selected a chart for the entire month. Well, pals, we do not have time to have lunch first, so off to wudu (ante-prayer ablutions). Except for you, Radi. You need a ghusl (ante-prayer full body wash).
Radi: (red-faced): Oh, you heard it, eh?
Modi and Mani: Yeah, and smelled it, too!
Radi: You guys are mean.
HJS
[Adapted partly from Mawdudi's Introduction to Surah Four of the Noble Qur'an.]
1 Muhammad Asad in his note 171 (Message of the Qur’an) indicates that the Qur’an categorically denies the Crucifixion as another fanciful legend surrounding Christ.
2 In his note 172, Asad explains the passage to mean that God honored him; He did not raise him physically up to Heaven.
3Asad’s note 97 assures us that the Qur’an is free of all inner contradictions, in spite of its having been revealed over a period of twenty-three years. He states it could only have been created by a supra-human source.
4 The times are for January 14, 2008.
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