Mani: (Mainstream) I received another letter from my cousin. He has questions about six verses that his friends in America gave to him for clarification. Some of them are not at all gentle.
Modi (Moderate): [Looks at Mani’s list.] Ah, I see what is going on. These all sound pretty nasty when you read them in context as well as out of context. But you really have to know what is going on in order to completely understand them.
Mani: Well, what about this first one, verse 4:56. It sounds awful.
“Those who are bent on denying the truth of Our
messages We shall, in time, cause to endure fire: [and] every time their skins
are burnt off, We shall replace them with new skins, so that they may taste
suffering [in full]. Verily, God is almighty, wise.”
Modi: Remember I told you that Muhammad paid a visit to the Jewish scholars in Yathrib, to announce himself as the new Hebrew prophet and that he would be their guide as to the Torah? Well, you must also remember that they all but threw him out, humiliating him. When you have only a rudimentary knowledge of the Torah and scriptures, and you learned them from heretics to begin with, then you try to tell Jewish scholars who have spent decades on single sentences, that you know more than they, that was bound to happen.
Mani: Yes, I remember how the Jews were excoriated in Sura 2.. They were taken to task again in Sura 4? There seemed to be some unbridled anger in the writing against the Jews.
Modi: Just listen to the entire message. It is almost as if Muhammad himself wrote the verses–which some people believe. In 4:46, the people talked about are identified,
“Among those of the Jewish faith, there are some who
distort the meaning of the [revealed] words, taking them out of their context
and saying, [as it were] ‘We have heard, but we disobey,’ and, ‘Hear without
hearkening,’ and, ‘Hearken thou unto us, [O Muhammad]’, thus making a play with
their tongues, and implying that the [true] faith is false.”
Again the Jews are excoriated because what Muhammad had told them of his understanding of the Hebrew scriptures did not come close to what had been studied by the Jews for centuries. And to make things worse, they laughed at him. The scholars that I know have no interest in changing anything or spinning anything. They very assiduously and lovingly work, sweat, and bleed to understand the scriptures.
Mani: That does not sound as if Allah had written it. It does not seem to rise to the level beyond Muhammad himself. We know Muhammad’s anger was enough to send Muslims scurrying away until it was over. So, all of that was directed at the Jewish scholars who humiliated Muhammad.
Modi: Yes. Your second question, I saw, was 4:89:
Mani: That does not sound as if Allah had written it. It does not seem to rise to the level beyond Muhammad himself. We know Muhammad’s anger was enough to send Muslims scurrying away until it was over. So, all of that was directed at the Jewish scholars who humiliated Muhammad.
Modi: Yes. Your second question, I saw, was 4:89:
“Do not, therefore, take them for your allies until
they forsake the domain of evil for the sake of God, and if they revert to
[open] enmity, seize them and slay them wherever you may find
them.”
If any of our people today are using this as an excuse to start trouble, they are way off base. Again, it is only part of the message. Some of the messages, remember, are more than a few verses long. In this sura, in verse 4:79, Allah talks about what Muhammad had termed the Hypocrites, people who had turned against Muhammad and they remind one of a certain red-faced senator who continually badgers President Bush. Allah reminded His Prophet he wasn’t their keeper, and in 4:80, Allah explains how they plot against His Messenger. He continues to talk about them through verse 4:91, apparently trying to tell Muhammad to forget about them and stop trying to convince them or get them on his side.
“How, then could you be of two minds about the
Hypocrites, seeing that God [Himself] has disowned them because of their guilt?
Do you, perchance, seek to guide those whom God has let go astray–when for him
whom God lets go astray thou canst never find any way? They would love to see
you deny the truth, even as they have denied it, so that you should be like
them. Do not then take them for your allies until they forsake the domain of
evil for the sake of God.”
Radi (Radical): What was this Domain of Evil you keeping talking about? Europe, America?
Modi: Hello, Radi. We are glad you finally showed up. According to Muhammad, in the hejira, he left the “domain of evil” to migrate to Yathrib, a place of goodness. It is a spiritual connection only, as Muhammad Asad notes[1] and is used by the Prophet to indicate leaving a sinful state into something better. He is not saying that Mecca per se is the domain of evil.
Radi: Darn! For the moment, I thought we had something.
Mani: What about verse 8:39?
“And fight against them until there is no more
oppression and all worship is devoted to God alone. And if they desist–behold,
God sees all that they do.”
Radi: Allah must be talking about the Coalition here.
Modi: How could He, Radi? The Qur’an was completed in the seventh century.
Radi: What?
Modi: Yes. In fact, some of the Arabs were rejecting Muhammad’s preaching, saying they had heard it all at one time or another[2]. They also wanted some kind of a small sign.
Mani: Why did Allah not give them their sign, or even a miracle? It would have ended all that consternation from the people and they would all believe.
Modi: I have never understood that, not being Allah, but I think it has something to do with taking that first leap of faith. My kids see me every day, know who I am and how I react to different stimuli, so whenever I say something, they know how to take it. There is no great leap on their part to know I mean business sometimes and very generous at other times.
Radi: So, you are saying that the people do not know Allah, only what Muhammad tells them Allah is revealing to him. How do they know that Muhammad is telling them the truth? How do they know Muhammad is not just fulfilling his own agenda?
Mani: You have it nailed, Radi. Good work. Other reasons for Muhammad's terrible anger with the Jews was that they laughed at his prophethood and disputed the idea of the revelations.
Modi: Whoa. That is right. So Allah continues on until verse 8:36, when He promises to gather all the people who cannot make that leap of faith during their lifetime, into hell for a reunion with others who cannot believe. They are the lost. In 8:38, Allah promises that the rest of the unbelievers still have a chance to come into the fold–and then all will be forgiven.
“But if they revert to their wrongdoing, then let them
know what happened to the like of them in times gone by. And fight against them
until there is no more oppression and all worship is devoted to God
alone.”
Radi: That does not sound fair, Modi. Are you sure Allah said that?
Modi: It is written so in the Qur’an, Radi. And you are right; it does not sound fair to ask Arabs to make such a leap of faith when it is contrary to everything they have ever been taught. And then condemn them to hell for all eternity because they are unable to leap that far.
Mani: What about verse 8:60? Is that about the same?
“Hence, make ready against them whatever force and war
mounts you are able to muster, so you might deter thereby the enemies of God,
who are your enemies as well, and others beside them of whom you may be unaware
[but] of whom God is aware; and whatever you may expend in God’s cause shall be
repaid to you in full, and you shall not be wronged.”
Modi: No, not at all, Mani. Allah is talking about the non-Muslims making agreements between them and the Muslims, and then breaking those agreements by hostile acts. Allah starts with verse 8:56, discussing covenants and agreements with non-Muslims, and then proceeds to talk about possible treachery on their part in 8:57 through 8:59. As I said, in context, those verses may never mean the way they sound out of context.
Mani: My cousin said one of his friends complained that verse 24:19 outlawed homosexuality.
Modi: His friend is right, but it depends on the translation.
“Indeed, those who like that immorality should be
spread [or publicized] among those who have believed will have a painful
punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And Allah knows and you do
not.”
However, let me quickly add that another translation, this one by Muhammad Asad, differs quite a bit: “Verily, as for those who like [to hear] foul slander against [any of] those who have attained to faith–grievous suffering awaits them in this world and in the life to come: for God knows [the full truth], whereas you know [it] not.” The first translation is from the Noble Qur'an of the Saudis. I hope your cousin has more than one Qur'an, if he is concerned about the translations.
Mani: Where does the last one, 47:4 fit in?
Modi: Look at the entire message:
“Now when you meet [in war] those who are bent on(Underlined is 47:5 and 47:6.)
denying the truth, smite their necks* until you overcome them fully, and tighten
their bonds; but thereafter [set them free], either by an act of grace or
against ransom, so that the burden of war may be lifted: this [shall it be]. And
know that had God so willed, He could indeed punish them [Himself]; but [He
wills you to struggle] so as to test you [all] by means of one another. And as
for those who are slain in God’s cause, never will He let their deeds go to
waste; He will guide them in the hereafter as well] and set their hearts at
rest, and will admit them to the paradise which he has promised
them.
*"Smite their necks" is only a way of saying "fight fiercely". Allah is simply saying that whenever you have beat them and taken prisoners, it would be wasteful to massacre the prisoners. You can ransom some and let the others go if you have the heart to do so. If He wanted them all dead, He could have done it Himself with a word, but it is better all around that you work together for victory. Those who died have not died in vain, something good will come of it on earth, and they will see paradise.
Mani: You were right, Modi. When you look at the complete messages, everything is different. I have the "Glorious Qur'an" by Pickthall. I really like it, but Asad's "Message of the Qur'an" seems to be more informative. I love those notes at the bottom of each page. I have nothing but scorn for the imams who speak for Allah, yet declare something completely different.
Radi: Speaking of different, I am buying today...hey! Where’d everyone go?
HJS
[1] Message of the Qur’an, Muhammad Asad, page 138, note 203.
[2] Qur’an, verses 8:31, 32.
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