Mani (Mainstream): Good morning, Modi: I went through Sura 6 the last two nights. It seems to me that Allah was still vexed at the Meccans.
Modi (Moderate): Well, this sura, along with Sura 5, was released during the last year of Muhammad’s (pbuh) life. You recall that the Meccans were forced to convert to what they called “Muhammad’s religion,” but many Meccans still bristled at the situation. They did their best to ignore him.
Mani: They ignored him even though they knew that Allah was behind him?
Modi: As authoritative as Muhammad and Islam was in Medina, Modi, it was not the same in Mecca. Remember, the Meccans set out to kill him more than once when he lived there. That is the main reason why he traveled to Medina. It was life or death for him. They were still not too sure Allah was actually behind him.
Mani: I noticed that Allah stopped addressing the Believers and turned to the Jews again in this sura.
Modi: (Shakes his head). The Jews first lost their assets, then their homes, and finally their lives. They were trying to follow the commandments in their Torah, all 613 of them, minus a few that pertain only to Israel. Muhammad accused Jewish scholars, who loved every word of the Torah and spent lifetimes studying less than a paragraph, of changing the commandments and corrupting the religion. Those scholars would no more change a letter than kill their parents. I do not know how anyone could expect the Jews to be conciliatory toward Islam.
Mani: But Allah revealed to Muhammad scripture that said they did corrupt their religion. Our Most Beloved was angry with them in Medina.
Modi: Muhammad was angry because they rejected his prophethood, and they told him straight on he did not know Hebrew scriptures enough to criticize anything. It was after that exchange when revelations showed that Muhammad was right in what he said.
Radi (Radical): Muhammad knew Hebrew scripture better than the Jews, Modi; he told them that Allah had revealed their perfidies to him. He was right to go to them and tell them that he knew all about it. In ayat 7:35 and 7:36, He told them:
Mani: It seems to me that Allah was giving the Jews a second chance to abandon what they were doing and follow the teachings of the Qur’an. Then they would be saved.
Modi: But, Mani, that was your interpretation as a Muslim who is not a Jewish scholar who had spent decades studying the Torah, trying to understand God’s every word. Mani, Radi, with all that you know now and how you love Muhammad (pbuh) and the Qur’an, suppose a new prophet descended from Mt. Hira with good credentials and said that someone in our past screwed up and got everything wrong and that we must return to the Jewish Torah. How would you take that?
Radi: Terrible! How would we know he was a true prophet?
Modi: How did our fathers know who Muhammad was (pbuh)?
Radi: He waged war against the unbelievers and won against great odds.
Modi: And the Israelis on the first day of existence crushed seven Arab armies when the Arab armies had them outnumbered shamefully! Look we can argue all day on whether the Jews deserved the fulmination to which they have been subjected for centuries. We need to move on.
Mani: Ayat 7:172 seems to have gone in a different direction.
Radi: I have no idea what that means. (Mani nods his head in agreement).
Modi: I admit I had some problems with that ayat myself. Fortunately, Muhammed Asad (Message of the Qur’an, page 261, note 139) addressed it. He indicated that Allah has given all of us the innate ability to perceive the Supreme Being, so people who resist the messages are doing so for their own cynical reasons. They will pay dearly for such resistance.
Mani: But what about 7:199:
Modi: (laughs) That one seems to be a little different from 7:172 above. It warns not to expect too much from humanity; after all, men were created weak; therefore do not be too harsh with those who err. That sounds like something that could be addressed to you, Radi.
Radi: You made that up! (Mani shows him the ayat from his working Qur’an. He quickly covers it with the cloth again.)
Modi: So it appears that trying to understand the Qur’an by simply reading it is asking for trouble.
Modi (Moderate): Well, this sura, along with Sura 5, was released during the last year of Muhammad’s (pbuh) life. You recall that the Meccans were forced to convert to what they called “Muhammad’s religion,” but many Meccans still bristled at the situation. They did their best to ignore him.
Mani: They ignored him even though they knew that Allah was behind him?
Modi: As authoritative as Muhammad and Islam was in Medina, Modi, it was not the same in Mecca. Remember, the Meccans set out to kill him more than once when he lived there. That is the main reason why he traveled to Medina. It was life or death for him. They were still not too sure Allah was actually behind him.
Mani: I noticed that Allah stopped addressing the Believers and turned to the Jews again in this sura.
Modi: (Shakes his head). The Jews first lost their assets, then their homes, and finally their lives. They were trying to follow the commandments in their Torah, all 613 of them, minus a few that pertain only to Israel. Muhammad accused Jewish scholars, who loved every word of the Torah and spent lifetimes studying less than a paragraph, of changing the commandments and corrupting the religion. Those scholars would no more change a letter than kill their parents. I do not know how anyone could expect the Jews to be conciliatory toward Islam.
Mani: But Allah revealed to Muhammad scripture that said they did corrupt their religion. Our Most Beloved was angry with them in Medina.
Modi: Muhammad was angry because they rejected his prophethood, and they told him straight on he did not know Hebrew scriptures enough to criticize anything. It was after that exchange when revelations showed that Muhammad was right in what he said.
Radi (Radical): Muhammad knew Hebrew scripture better than the Jews, Modi; he told them that Allah had revealed their perfidies to him. He was right to go to them and tell them that he knew all about it. In ayat 7:35 and 7:36, He told them:
“Oh children of Adam, if there come to you messengers from
among you relating to you my verses, then whoever fears Allah and reforms—there
will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve;” “but they who give the
lie to Our messages and scorn them in their pride—these are destined to the
fire, therein to abide.”
Mani: It seems to me that Allah was giving the Jews a second chance to abandon what they were doing and follow the teachings of the Qur’an. Then they would be saved.
Modi: But, Mani, that was your interpretation as a Muslim who is not a Jewish scholar who had spent decades studying the Torah, trying to understand God’s every word. Mani, Radi, with all that you know now and how you love Muhammad (pbuh) and the Qur’an, suppose a new prophet descended from Mt. Hira with good credentials and said that someone in our past screwed up and got everything wrong and that we must return to the Jewish Torah. How would you take that?
Radi: Terrible! How would we know he was a true prophet?
Modi: How did our fathers know who Muhammad was (pbuh)?
Radi: He waged war against the unbelievers and won against great odds.
Modi: And the Israelis on the first day of existence crushed seven Arab armies when the Arab armies had them outnumbered shamefully! Look we can argue all day on whether the Jews deserved the fulmination to which they have been subjected for centuries. We need to move on.
Mani: Ayat 7:172 seems to have gone in a different direction.
“And whenever thy Sustainer brings forth their offspring
from the loins of the children of Adam, He [thus] calls upon them to bear
witness about themselves: ‘Am I not your sustainer?’—to which they answer: “Yea,
indeed, we do bear witness thereto.”
Radi: I have no idea what that means. (Mani nods his head in agreement).
Modi: I admit I had some problems with that ayat myself. Fortunately, Muhammed Asad (Message of the Qur’an, page 261, note 139) addressed it. He indicated that Allah has given all of us the innate ability to perceive the Supreme Being, so people who resist the messages are doing so for their own cynical reasons. They will pay dearly for such resistance.
Mani: But what about 7:199:
“Make due allowance for man’s nature and enjoin the
doing of what is right; and leave alone all those who choose to remain
ignorant.”
Modi: (laughs) That one seems to be a little different from 7:172 above. It warns not to expect too much from humanity; after all, men were created weak; therefore do not be too harsh with those who err. That sounds like something that could be addressed to you, Radi.
Radi: You made that up! (Mani shows him the ayat from his working Qur’an. He quickly covers it with the cloth again.)
Modi: So it appears that trying to understand the Qur’an by simply reading it is asking for trouble.
Mani: I can see that. I really thought I knew it well, Modi, but I can see I did not. Even now, after all of this, I know I need to spend more time on it.
Modi: Now we have reviewed only seven suras all of this time. The answer I seek is where these radical imams get the temerity to tell us that they know the Qur’an and where it tells them to kill Christians and Jews. It has been more than 1200 years since problems had occurred with some Christians living in Arabia; those were only on the fringe of Christianity. And Palestine is really the only thorn in the side of the Arabs as far as Jews are concerned—Palestine and the state of Israel.
Mani: Well, there does seem to be a lot of bad blood between Christians and Believers. Whence came such enmity?
Modi: Remember the Crusades?
Mani: Oh, yeah. I heard quite a few stories about them.
Modi: Again, Mani, it is too far in the past to be considered anything but ancient history. It should never factor into anything that goes on today. Nobody is trying to suppress our religion! Nobody cares what religion anybody follows—except us!
Radi: We are commanded very seriously never to rest until “Allahu akbar” is heard from every corner of the earth.
Modi: I guess Radi just woke up. Radi, that expression is heard from almost every corner of the earth now. If you want, we could finance some trips for you to the North and South Poles to start some echoes there.
Radi: What?
Modi: Radi, Islam is just about in every country of the world, even Ireland. Scotland is advertising for more Muslim immigrants. What more do you want?
Mani: Well, what do we do now?
Modi: We need to keep studying and learn how to be as good as we are supposed to be.
Mani: How will we know when we get to that point?
Modi: We will cover that a little later. Meanwhile, according to my watch, we should start walking toward the Mosque for a little wudu and some prayer and a good speaker.
Mani: Lunch afterwards?
Modi: Who is buying?
Mani: Radi.
Radi: What? I just bought!
Mani: Yeah, two weeks ago.
HJS
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