Mani (Mainstream): When we discussed that ninth sura the other day. I was wrapped up in such technical details I forgot to summarize.
Modi (Moderate): You did not mention the fierce Battle of Hunayn.
Mani: Yes. You know, I saw one of the American John Wayne movies at the American camp, “Fort Apache” the movie was called. I could almost swear it was the Battle of Hunayn rewritten to fit the American West. The Muslim army of 12,000 greatly outnumbered the force put together by the four clans led by the Hawazin, but they had to navigate through a narrow pass. Just as the Indians did in the movie, the forces of the four clans occupied the high ground and rained stones, rocks, and almost an avalanche down upon the Muslims. Another raiding party was awaiting those Muslims who reached a point that was free of the death raining down upon them.
Mani: I can hardly blame the Muslims for panicking. One minute they are smug in their numbers, feeling themselves unbeatable, but the next minute they are running for their lives, not understanding what is happening.
Radi (Radical): You did not understand the story, Mani. Our Muslims did not flee in panic; they stood their ground and fought back fiercely.
Modi: You are too much a chauvinist, Radi. Our guys certainly did panic. It took Imam Ali all of his strength and courage to cut off the runaways and reassemble them to change their directions and fight. Even the Qur’an mentions it in sura 9:25:
Now God has helped you in many battlefields, and, on the day of Hunayn, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it availed you nothing; and the earth, with all its breadth, became too straight for you: then turned ye your backs in flight.
Radi: That was in the Qur’an? I guess so, if you have the ayat number.
Mani: I guess the Prophet (pbuh) could have depended on you to stay on target that day, Radi.
Radi: Of course.
Mani: Much of the discourse in sura 9, Radi, had to do with Allah’s and Muhammad’s scorn, heaped not only upon the hypocrites who wanted to see Islam destroyed, but also upon the Muslims who grew rich under Islam but would not fight for Islam and Allah. Being rich, they felt themselves less obligated to go and fight or at least provide funds for both the Hunayn and Mu’tah battles. They certainly should have provided funds for the battle that if lost could have totally destroyed Islam, the battle against Roman legions at Tabuk. Fortunately, the Tabuk battle never materialized.
Radi: I can never understand why Allah doesn’t simply snap his fingers and send all of those people to the everlasting fires.
Mani: Perhaps, Radi, Allah knows that, except for the hypocrites, the people who were lax about fighting had joined many other battles and were just tired of warfare. Those who fight have a right to grow weary of war, not those who sit at home and complain about the noise. The rich Muslims had an obligation to help however they could; after all, the fighting was for their religion and their new way of life. Muhammad had challenged us over and over again to spend in the way of Allah and not to hoard wealth.
Modi: Bravo, Mani. Your analyses is improving. Sura 9 is not the easiest to understand. The reason behind that is that the Qur’an is not the history of a tribe of people but the complete manual for living in peace or war, from before the rooster crows each day to midnight. It is more than a religious treatise but covers each phase of a person’s life through childhood, marriage, and death. Not a breath should be taken without clear knowledge that one proceeds in the footsteps of the Prophet (pbuh).
Mani: Wait a second there, Modi. You make it seem robotic. We have free will, don’t we?
Radi: Yes, Mani. Allah has given us free will to follow closely in Muhammad’s footsteps or reside forever in the great fires. However, having said this, I recollect other words that dispute this sense. Allah knows before we are born what turns we make and why, and He has already selected through His grand plan who will see Paradise and who will writhe in anguish forever.
Modi: I have seen that puzzle drive some to the brink of insanity, Radi. It is best to do your best to stay on the straight and narrow, honoring Allah and His Apostle and doing good works—which may be against your nature.
Mani: That puzzles me also. Several imams have reinforced the idea that no matter what I do, my fate is already decided. Even if I succeeded in being a good example for all, I may react to something that negates my good works and has already been planned to happen. Therefore I can never be certain in my mind that my purity of heart or valiant attempts to remain pure have earned me the right to Paradise. Since purity and good works cannot guarantee Paradise, that means only martyrdom can do so. But for martyrdom to fulfill its promise, it has to be pure and only for love of Allah; it cannot be motivated by any other considerations, or it has the opposite effect.
Modi: Oh, Mani, I feel so sorry for those brigade members that parade around in their white clothing, posing for pictures, and basking in their own heroism. And with the hundreds or even thousands of dollars they know will be coming to their parents, how could they bet eternity on the reasons for their pending martyrdom being 100% pure?
Radi: What are you talking about? A martyr goes to Paradise immediately after passing from life to death. Of course, we disagree on whether we get virgins or (ugh) white grapes.
Mani: I wonder how many grapes it would take to make up for all those virgins.
Radi: (Bares his knife) Are you making fun of the Qur’an? I will have your head.
Modi: I thought you were going to talk to your imam about that translation problem, Radi.
Radi: I asked him about the white grapes, and he got angry and will not talk to me.
Mani: I wonder why that is, Radi.
Modi: Could it be that he feels he has been found out? He does not want to argue with someone who might really know something? Some imams will give the benefit of their “knowledge” only to those who know little. Of course, if they themselves are found out, they may be shunned or even beaten if it is determined they were purposely giving out wrong information about the religion.
Radi: You mentioned that a few days ago: Ayat 6:21,
And who could be more wicked than he who attributes his own lying inventions to God or gives the lie to His messages? Verily, such evildoers will never attain to a happy state.
Modi: Very good, Radi. Perhaps we are getting closer with respect to the Qur'an.
Radi: I would not bet on that, Modi, knowing your views are not necessarily agreeing with them. You moderates make me sick, like the European wimps who give in to everything we want. It is hard for me to believe also that big, strong, virile America seems sometimes to be led by that man and woman team who sound as if they flunked kindergarten.
Modi: Yes, I saw her on Al-Jazeera, making a fool of herself in Syria. If he had the power, President Reagan would have risen from the grave, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her back to the airplane that brought her.
Radi: Wow, talk about me! You sure are unforgiving.
Modi: I just cannot stand little people in big countries with big responsibilities and little ability. The American people cannot possibly understand how much damage that man/woman team does to their reputation and standing. An old Asian statement promises that an army of sheep led by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions led by sheep.
Mani: I just had a chance to look over some of the verses of sura 9. Modi, it makes a difference to discuss or at least read introductions to the suras before reading the ayats themselves. I can now understand what Allah is saying. I was more than a little foggy before. This is great!
Modi: Super. Anybody ready for a late breakfast?
Radi: I am always up for a late breakfast. I have been thinking, Modi, these conversations deserve a better scenario. How about lining up a coffee house that will let us sit, talk, and drink coffee?
Mani: That is a good idea, Radi, glad I thought of it.
Radi: What?
Modi: Brilliant idea, Mani. You know which places we like. Why don’t you ask a couple?
Mani: I am pretty sure I can get Abu Nadir’s place. He needs business and has good coffee.
Radi: Hey, it’s not Mani’s idea. What about me?
Modi: Oh, OK, Radi. You can come also; you can pay first.
Radi: What? You dogs! Where’s my knife!!
HJS
Modi (Moderate): You did not mention the fierce Battle of Hunayn.
Mani: Yes. You know, I saw one of the American John Wayne movies at the American camp, “Fort Apache” the movie was called. I could almost swear it was the Battle of Hunayn rewritten to fit the American West. The Muslim army of 12,000 greatly outnumbered the force put together by the four clans led by the Hawazin, but they had to navigate through a narrow pass. Just as the Indians did in the movie, the forces of the four clans occupied the high ground and rained stones, rocks, and almost an avalanche down upon the Muslims. Another raiding party was awaiting those Muslims who reached a point that was free of the death raining down upon them.
Mani: I can hardly blame the Muslims for panicking. One minute they are smug in their numbers, feeling themselves unbeatable, but the next minute they are running for their lives, not understanding what is happening.
Radi (Radical): You did not understand the story, Mani. Our Muslims did not flee in panic; they stood their ground and fought back fiercely.
Modi: You are too much a chauvinist, Radi. Our guys certainly did panic. It took Imam Ali all of his strength and courage to cut off the runaways and reassemble them to change their directions and fight. Even the Qur’an mentions it in sura 9:25:
Now God has helped you in many battlefields, and, on the day of Hunayn, when ye prided yourselves on your numbers; but it availed you nothing; and the earth, with all its breadth, became too straight for you: then turned ye your backs in flight.
Radi: That was in the Qur’an? I guess so, if you have the ayat number.
Mani: I guess the Prophet (pbuh) could have depended on you to stay on target that day, Radi.
Radi: Of course.
Mani: Much of the discourse in sura 9, Radi, had to do with Allah’s and Muhammad’s scorn, heaped not only upon the hypocrites who wanted to see Islam destroyed, but also upon the Muslims who grew rich under Islam but would not fight for Islam and Allah. Being rich, they felt themselves less obligated to go and fight or at least provide funds for both the Hunayn and Mu’tah battles. They certainly should have provided funds for the battle that if lost could have totally destroyed Islam, the battle against Roman legions at Tabuk. Fortunately, the Tabuk battle never materialized.
Radi: I can never understand why Allah doesn’t simply snap his fingers and send all of those people to the everlasting fires.
Mani: Perhaps, Radi, Allah knows that, except for the hypocrites, the people who were lax about fighting had joined many other battles and were just tired of warfare. Those who fight have a right to grow weary of war, not those who sit at home and complain about the noise. The rich Muslims had an obligation to help however they could; after all, the fighting was for their religion and their new way of life. Muhammad had challenged us over and over again to spend in the way of Allah and not to hoard wealth.
Modi: Bravo, Mani. Your analyses is improving. Sura 9 is not the easiest to understand. The reason behind that is that the Qur’an is not the history of a tribe of people but the complete manual for living in peace or war, from before the rooster crows each day to midnight. It is more than a religious treatise but covers each phase of a person’s life through childhood, marriage, and death. Not a breath should be taken without clear knowledge that one proceeds in the footsteps of the Prophet (pbuh).
Mani: Wait a second there, Modi. You make it seem robotic. We have free will, don’t we?
Radi: Yes, Mani. Allah has given us free will to follow closely in Muhammad’s footsteps or reside forever in the great fires. However, having said this, I recollect other words that dispute this sense. Allah knows before we are born what turns we make and why, and He has already selected through His grand plan who will see Paradise and who will writhe in anguish forever.
Modi: I have seen that puzzle drive some to the brink of insanity, Radi. It is best to do your best to stay on the straight and narrow, honoring Allah and His Apostle and doing good works—which may be against your nature.
Mani: That puzzles me also. Several imams have reinforced the idea that no matter what I do, my fate is already decided. Even if I succeeded in being a good example for all, I may react to something that negates my good works and has already been planned to happen. Therefore I can never be certain in my mind that my purity of heart or valiant attempts to remain pure have earned me the right to Paradise. Since purity and good works cannot guarantee Paradise, that means only martyrdom can do so. But for martyrdom to fulfill its promise, it has to be pure and only for love of Allah; it cannot be motivated by any other considerations, or it has the opposite effect.
Modi: Oh, Mani, I feel so sorry for those brigade members that parade around in their white clothing, posing for pictures, and basking in their own heroism. And with the hundreds or even thousands of dollars they know will be coming to their parents, how could they bet eternity on the reasons for their pending martyrdom being 100% pure?
Radi: What are you talking about? A martyr goes to Paradise immediately after passing from life to death. Of course, we disagree on whether we get virgins or (ugh) white grapes.
Mani: I wonder how many grapes it would take to make up for all those virgins.
Radi: (Bares his knife) Are you making fun of the Qur’an? I will have your head.
Modi: I thought you were going to talk to your imam about that translation problem, Radi.
Radi: I asked him about the white grapes, and he got angry and will not talk to me.
Mani: I wonder why that is, Radi.
Modi: Could it be that he feels he has been found out? He does not want to argue with someone who might really know something? Some imams will give the benefit of their “knowledge” only to those who know little. Of course, if they themselves are found out, they may be shunned or even beaten if it is determined they were purposely giving out wrong information about the religion.
Radi: You mentioned that a few days ago: Ayat 6:21,
And who could be more wicked than he who attributes his own lying inventions to God or gives the lie to His messages? Verily, such evildoers will never attain to a happy state.
Modi: Very good, Radi. Perhaps we are getting closer with respect to the Qur'an.
Radi: I would not bet on that, Modi, knowing your views are not necessarily agreeing with them. You moderates make me sick, like the European wimps who give in to everything we want. It is hard for me to believe also that big, strong, virile America seems sometimes to be led by that man and woman team who sound as if they flunked kindergarten.
Modi: Yes, I saw her on Al-Jazeera, making a fool of herself in Syria. If he had the power, President Reagan would have risen from the grave, grabbed her by the hair, and dragged her back to the airplane that brought her.
Radi: Wow, talk about me! You sure are unforgiving.
Modi: I just cannot stand little people in big countries with big responsibilities and little ability. The American people cannot possibly understand how much damage that man/woman team does to their reputation and standing. An old Asian statement promises that an army of sheep led by a lion is more to be feared than an army of lions led by sheep.
Mani: I just had a chance to look over some of the verses of sura 9. Modi, it makes a difference to discuss or at least read introductions to the suras before reading the ayats themselves. I can now understand what Allah is saying. I was more than a little foggy before. This is great!
Modi: Super. Anybody ready for a late breakfast?
Radi: I am always up for a late breakfast. I have been thinking, Modi, these conversations deserve a better scenario. How about lining up a coffee house that will let us sit, talk, and drink coffee?
Mani: That is a good idea, Radi, glad I thought of it.
Radi: What?
Modi: Brilliant idea, Mani. You know which places we like. Why don’t you ask a couple?
Mani: I am pretty sure I can get Abu Nadir’s place. He needs business and has good coffee.
Radi: Hey, it’s not Mani’s idea. What about me?
Modi: Oh, OK, Radi. You can come also; you can pay first.
Radi: What? You dogs! Where’s my knife!!
HJS
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