Boreal
Remembering Uzza
If Islam was explained to me in a pub
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ENDNOTES 2/4
Who Are You Calling Stupid?
45:24 They say: “There is nothing but this our present life. We die and we live and we are only destroyed by time.” However, they have no certain knowledge of this; they are only conjecturing.
45:20 This (Qur’an) is an illumination for mankind, a guidance and mercy unto a people who believe with certainty.
They were a people of primary colours, or rather of black and white… They were a dogmatic people, despising doubt, our modern crown of thorns. They did not understand our metaphysical difficulties, our introspective questioning. They only knew truth and untruth, belief and unbelief, without our hesitating retinue of finer shades. This people was black and white not merely in clarity, but in apposition. Their thoughts were at ease only in extremes… they never compromised; they pursued the logic of several incompatible opinions to absurd ends, without perceiving the incongruity. They were a limited, narrow-minded people, whose inert intellect lay fallow in curious resignation. Their imaginations were vivid, but not creative.
T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
The motives of the translators [of Greek works in science and philosophy into Arabic] and their patrons, the ['Abbasid] caliphs, may have been partially practical; medical skill was in demand, and control over natural forces could bring power and success. There was also, however, a wide intellectual curiosity, such as is expressed in the words of al-Kindi (c. 801-66), the thinker with whom the history of Islamic philosophy virtually begins:
We should not be ashamed to acknowledge truth from whatever source it comes to us, even if it is brought to us by former generations and foreign people. For him who seeks the truth there is nothing of higher value than truth itself.
A History of the Arab People, Albert Hourani, Harvard University Press 1991, p. 76
38:6 And the dignitaries among them went forth saying: “Go on and be steadfast regarding your gods. This is indeed a matter premeditated (Muhammad…. [wants] to subjugate us and rule us as his subjects, Moududi).
Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet said, "Nobody who enters Paradise likes to go back to the world even if he got everything on the earth, except a Mujahid who wishes to return to the world so that he may be martyred ten times because of the dignity he receives (from Allah)."
Bukhari 52.72
Dignity and better accommodations:
Narrated Samura
The Prophet said, "Last night two men came to me (in a dream) and made me ascend a tree and then admitted me into a better and superior house, better of which I have never seen. One of them said, ‘This house is the house of martyrs.’"
Bukhari 52.49
3:143 You were yearning for death before you actually met it. Now you have seen it and you are beholding it.
[123] The first mention of martyrdom:
3:140 If you have been afflicted by a wound, a similar wound has afflicted the others (the unbelievers). Such are the times; We alternate them among the people, so that Allah may know who are the believers and choose martyrs from among you. Allah does not like the evildoers!
The role of martyrs made clear:
3:141 And that Allah might purify the believers and annihilate the unbelievers.
Martyrs will be the first to enter Paradise.
3:142 Or did you suppose that you will enter Paradise, before Allah has known who were those of you who have struggled, and those who are steadfast.
4:34 Men are in charge of women, because Allah has made some of them excel the others, and because they spend some of their wealth. Hence righteous women are obedient, guarding the unseen which Allah has guarded. And those of them that you fear might rebel, admonish them and abandon them in their beds and beat them. Should they obey you, do not seek a way of harming them; for Allah is Sublime and Great!
[125] The Koran in revelation 4:34 grants the husband the right to beat his wife, but it is a saying of Muhammad that pretty much guarantees the wife-beater immunity from prosecution.
Narrated Umar ibn al-Khattab:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: A man will not be asked as to why he beat his wife.
Abu Dawud 11.2142
2:223 Your women are a tillage for you. So get to your tillage whenever you like. Do good for yourselves, fear Allah and know that you shall meet Him. And give good news to the believers.
Another (not widely held) interpretation of this revelation is that it is not about sex on demand but who gets to decide what position.
Narrated Jabir:
Jews used to say: "If one has sexual intercourse with his wife from the back, then she will deliver a squint-eyed child." So this Verse was revealed: "Your wives are a tilth unto you; so go to your tilth when or how you will." (2.223)."
Bukhari 60.51
A reported saying of Muhammad belies this interpretation.
Ali reported God's messenger as saying, "When a man calls his wife to satisfy his desire she must go to him even if she is occupied at the oven."
At-Tirmidhi
Narrated Uqba:
The Prophet said: "The stipulations most entitled to be abided by are those with which you are given the right to enjoy the (women's) private parts (i.e. the stipulations of the marriage contract)."
Bukhari 62.81
Young. British. Female. Muslim.
While less than 2 per cent of the population now attends a Church of England service every week, the number of female converts to Islam is on the rise. At the London Central Mosque in Regent’s Park, women account for roughly two thirds of the 'New Muslims' who make their official declarations of faith there – and most of them are under the age of 30.
The Sunday Times, May 29, 2010
[129] If revelation 2:282 had been interpreted as Allah stating that women were not good at business, this would have been the lesser of two evils. Unfortunately, it has been taken as meaning that women require more witnesses in different court proceedings that have nothing to do with commercial or financial transactions, such as accusations of adultery or sexual assault (underlining mine).
2:282 O believers, when you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let a scribe write it for you with fairness. No scribe should decline to write as Allah has taught him. So let him then write and let the debtor dictate. He should fear his Lord and not diminish the debt in the least. If the debtor is feeble-minded or week or ignorant, then let his guardian dictate with fairness. And call to witness two witnesses of your men; if not two men, then one man and two women from such witnesses you approve of, so that if one of them (the two women) fails to remember, the other will remind her. The witnesses should not decline [to testify] when they are called upon [to do so]. So do not be averse to writing down the debt, be it small or large, as well as when it is due. This is more equitable in Allah’s sight, more suitable for testimony and less likely to rouse your doubts. If it is an instant transaction among yourselves (involving no debt); then it is no offence if you do not write it down. And let there be witnesses when you sell one to another; but neither the scribe nor the witness should be harmed, because if you do that, it is an act of transgression. Fear Allah; Allah teaches you. He has knowledge of everything.
Narrated abu Said al-Khudri:
The Prophet said, "Isn’t the witness of a woman equal half that of a man?"
The women said, "Yes."
He said: "This is because of the deficiency of the woman’s mind."
Bukhari 48.286
[131] Nowhere is the low esteem and contempt in which Muhammad held females more evident than in the hadiths about women interfering with a man's prayers. A sample:
Narrated Aisha:
The things which annul the prayers were mentioned before me.
They said, Prayer is annulled by a dog, a donkey and a woman (if they pass in front of the praying people).
I said, "You have made us (i.e. women) dogs...
Bukhari 9.490
Ikrimah reported on the authority of Ibn Abbas, saying: "I think the Apostle of Allah said: 'When one of you prays without a sutrah (a barrier), a dog, an ass, a pig, a Jew, a Magian, and a woman cut off his prayer, but it will suffice if they pass in front of him at a distance of over a stone's throw.'”
Abu Dawud 2.704
Aisha said [to Muhammad]: "You have made us equal to the dogs and the asses."
Sahih Muslim
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
Once Allah's Apostle went out to the Musalla (to offer the prayer) of Id-al-Adha or Al-Fitr prayer. Then he passed by the women and said, "O women! Give alms, as I have seen that the majority of the dwellers of Hell-fire were you (women)."
They asked, "Why is it so, O Allah's Apostle?"
He replied, "You curse frequently and are ungrateful to your husbands. I have not seen anyone more deficient in intelligence and religion than you. A cautious sensible man could be led astray by some of you."
The women asked, "O Allah's Apostle! What is deficient in our intelligence and religion?"
He said, "Is not the evidence of two women equal to the witness of one man?"
They replied in the affirmative.
He said, "This is the deficiency in her intelligence. Isn't it true that a woman can neither pray nor fast during her menses?"
The women replied in the affirmative.
He said, "This is the deficiency in her religion."
Bukhari 6.301
[133] Hitler, in Mein Kampf, looked to the East for what he called lebensraum, literally “living space” for the master race. This living space was to be acquired through extermination, enslavement and sterilization of non-Aryan races. It was the moral duty of every NAZI to ensure the survival of the master race by whatever means at his or her disposal.
35:39 It is He Who made you successors in the lands. Then he who disbelieves, his unbelief will recoil upon him; and their unbelief will only increase the unbelievers in contempt in the sight of their Lord. No their unbelief will only increase the unbelievers in perdition.
Will the practitioners of the master religion, one day, with the authority granted them by the Koran as “successors in the lands,” see it as their religious and moral duty to cull a starving planet to ensure not only the survival but the supremacy of the master religion and those who believe? Will this piece of entitlement dogma lead to even greater atrocities than when it was the alleged superior race which laid claim to exclusivity of living space?
9:113 It is not for the Prophet and those who believe to ask for forgiveness for the polytheists even if they are near relatives, after it becomes clear to [the believers] that they are the people of the Fire.
[135] Based on Muslim chronicles of the period, and the demographic calculations done by historian K. S. Lal in his book Growth of Muslim Population in Medieval India, it is estimated that between 1000 CE and 1500 CE, the population of Hindus decreased by 80 million. For much of that period the death rate among Hindus exceeded their birthrate. If the eminent historian’s estimates are even remotely accurate, this period would have witnessed the largest cold-blooded killing of an indigenous people in all written history.
A War That Pays For Itself
[136] The first mention of the Ten Commandments:
2:51 And [remember] how we promised Moses forty nights (at the end of which Moses received the scriptures); and you took the calf after him, thus becoming evildoers.
2:52 But We pardoned you after that, so that you might give thanks.
2:53 And when We gave Moses the Book (the Torah) and the Criterion ("Al-Furqan" which distinguishes right from wrong), so that you might be well guided.
Al-Furqan is also a reference to the Qur'an as the decisive factor between Good and Evil. Begs the question as to whether Moses was given all, or part of the Koran. Like in the Bible, Moses comes down the mountain only to find his people worshipping a golden calf. In the Bible the tribe of Levi, who did not worship the calf, is asked to make an example of the idol worshippers, killing three thousand of them. In the Koran, the killing comes in the form of an unusual request.
2:54 When Moses said to his people: “My people, you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf [as god]. Repent to your creator. Kill yourselves (let the innocent kill the evil-doers); that would be better for you in the sight of your Creator.” Then He forgave you. He is the All-Forgiving, the Merciful.
But there’s more…
2:55 And when you (Moses’ people) said: “O Moses, we will not believe in you until we see Allah with our own eyes”, whereupon you were struck by a thunderbolt while you looked on.
2:56 Then We raised you up after you had died, so that you might give thanks.
In another recollection it is clear that it is the people who are struck by the killer thunderbolt from heaven, not Moses.
4:153 The People of the Book ask you to bring down a book from heaven for them; indeed, they asked Moses for greater than that, saying: “Show us God face to face.” Thereupon the thunderbolt struck them for their wickedness. Then, they worshipped the calf, after they had received the clear proofs. Yet we pardoned all that and we gave Moses clear authority.
2:179 In retaliation there is life for you, O people of understanding, that you may be God-fearing.
7:103 Then after them, We sent Moses with Our Revelations to Pharaoh and his people, but they repudiated them. See then what was the fate of the mischief-makers.
7:104 Moses said: “O Pharaoh, I am a Messenger from the Lord of the Worlds.
7:105 “It is only proper that I should not say about Allah anything other than the truth. I have brought you a clear sign from your Lord; so send forth the Children of Israel with me.”
7:106 He said: “If you have brought a sign, produce it if you are really truthful.”
7:107 So he cast his staff and, behold, it was a manifest serpent.
7:108 And he drew his hand; and, behold, it appeared white to the onlookers.
7:109 The dignitaries among Pharaoh’s people said: “This, indeed, is a shrewd magician.
7:110 “He wishes to drive you out of your land; so what do you advise?”
7:111 They said: “Leave him and his brother for a while, and send forth summoners (sic) to the cities;
7:112 “To bring you every shrewd magician.”
7:113 The magicians then came to Pharaoh and said: “We shall surely have a reward, if we are the winners.”
7:114 He said: “Yes, and you will be, indeed, among those I favour.”
7:115 They said: “O Moses, either you cast or we will be the first to cast.”
7:116 He said: “You cast”; but when they cast, they put a spell upon the eyes of the people and frightened them, producing a mighty feat of magic.
7:117 We revealed to Moses: “Cast your staff”, and behold, it proceeded to devour what they faked.
7:118 So the truth was vindicated and what they were doing was nullified.
7:119 And they were vanquished there and then, and they turned away humiliated.
7:120 And the magicians fell down prostrate.
7:121 They said: “We believe now in the Lord of the Worlds;
7:122 “The Lord Of Moses and Aaron.”
7:123 Pharaoh then said: “Do you believe in Him before I give you leave? This is indeed a plot you contrived in the city, in order to drive its people out. Now you shall know.
7:124 “I will surely cut off your hands and your feet on opposite sides; then I will crucify you altogether.”
In the second iteration of the meeting between Moses and Pharaoh, Allah is more specific as to the type and condition of the trees to be used in the crucifixion of the magicians.
20:69 “Cast down what is in your right hand and it will swallow what they have faked. They have only faked the guile of a magician, and the magician will never prosper wherever he goes.”
20:70 Then the magicians fell down prostrate. They said: “We believe [now] in the Lord of Aaron and Moses.”
20:71 He (Pharaoh) said: “Do you believe in him before I give you leave? It must be your chief who has taught you magic. I shall then cut your hands and feet on alternate sides, and I will crucify you upon the trunks of palm trees, and you will certainly know whose punishment is sterner and more lasting.”
The third iteration:
26:49 He (Pharaoh) said: “You have believed before I gave you leave. He (Moses) is indeed your chief, who taught you sorcery, and so you will learn. I shall cut off your hands and feet alternately and will crucify you all.”
In the fourth iteration, Pharaoh won’t crucify his magicians, and his dignitaries appear to have switched sides as well. This time around, he simply wants his administrator, Haman, to build him a tower. The Tower of Babel perhaps?
28:38 Pharaoh then said: “O my dignitaries, I did not know that you had any god but me. So kindle for me, O Haman, a fire upon the clay and build me a tower that I might behold the God of Moses. I really think he is a liar.”
The fifth iteration the magicians are also not crucified, but Pharaoh still wants his tower.
40:36 And Pharaoh said: “O Haman, build me a tower that I may perchance reach the pathways,
40:37 “The pathways of heaven; and then look upon the God of Moses. For I think he is a liar.” That is how embellished for Pharaoh was his evil deed and how he was barred from the Path. Pharaoh’s guile was only destined to fail.
4:157 And their saying: “We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary and the Messenger of Allah.” They neither killed nor crucified him; but it was made to appear so unto them. Indeed, those who differ about him are in doubt about it. Their knowledge does not go beyond conjecture, and they did not kill him for certain;
4:158 Rather Allah raised him unto Him. Allah is Mighty and Wise.
[140] The Last Supper, which Allah catered, may have begun with a Freudian slip with Jesus erroneously referring to himself as Allah in revelation 5:111, i.e., “Believe in Me and My Messenger”; the translator's bracketed explanation notwithstanding. The Messenger in 5:111 can only be Muhammad who would not be born for at least another 570 years. The apparent confusion in Allah's revelations about the Last Supper is only the beginning of incongruities in Allah’s attempt to recast the events surrounding the Crucifixion so as to minimize Jesus' role and suffering, as He does throughout the Koran.
5:111 And when I revealed to the disciples (ordering them through Jesus): “Believe in Me and My Messenger”, they replied: “We believe, and You bear witness that we submit.”
5:112 When the disciples said: “Jesus, son of Mary, is your Lord able to bring down for us a table [spread with food] from heaven?”; he said: “Fear Allah, if you are true believers."
5:113 They said: “We would like to eat from it so that our hearts may be reassured and know that you have told us the truth and be witnesses thereof.”
5:114 Jesus, son of Mary, then said: “O Allah, our Lord, send down to us a table spread with food from heaven that it may be a festival for the first and last of us and a sign from You; and provide for us, for You are the Best Provider.”
[141] After the serving up the last supper Allah warned the disciples about reneging on their pledge.
5:115 Allah said: “I will send it down to you, so that whoever of you disbelieves thereafter I will inflict on him a punishment I do not inflict on any other being.”
Many authors have pointed out that it is problematic to speak of Muslim "fundamentalism" because it suggests that there are large doctrinaire differences between fundamentalist Muslims and the mainstream. The truth, however, is that most Muslims appear to be "fundamentalist" in the Western sense of the world—in that even "moderate" approaches to Islam generally consider the Koran to be the literal and inerrant word of the one true God…
The only future devout Muslims can envisage—as Muslims—is one where all infidels have been converted to Islam, subjugated, or killed. The tenets of Islam simply do not admit of anything but a temporary sharing of power with the "enemies of God."
Sam Harris, author of the New York Times bestseller, End of Faith, W. W. Norton, 2004
Narrated Aisha:
The commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's Apostle was in the form of good dreams which came true like bright day light, and then the love of seclusion was bestowed upon him.
He used to go in seclusion in the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah alone) continuously for many days before his desire to see his family.
He used to take with him the journey food for the stay and then come back to (his wife) Khadija to take his food like-wise again till suddenly the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read.
The Prophet replied, "I do not know how to read."
The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully) and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.'
Thereupon he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I could not bear it any more. He then released me and again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not know how to read (or what shall I read)?'
Thereupon he caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then released me and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord, who has created (all that exists) has created man from a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous.' (96:1, 96:2, 96:3) Then Allah's Apostle returned with the Inspiration and with his heart beating severely.
Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said, 'Cover me! Cover me!'"
They covered him till his fear was over and after that he told her everything that had happened and said, "I fear that something may happen to me."
Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah, Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations with your Kith and kin, help the poor and the destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the deserving calamity-afflicted ones."
Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin Naufal bin Asad bin Abdul Uzza, who, during the pre-Islamic period became a Christian and used to write the writing with Hebrew letters. He would write from the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight.
Khadija said to Waraqa, "Listen to the story of your nephew, O my cousin!"
Waraqa asked, "O my nephew! What have you seen?"
Allah's Apostle described whatever he had seen.
Waraqa said, "This is the same one who keeps the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom Allah had sent to Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the time when your people would turn you out."
Allah's Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?"
Waraqa replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who came with something similar to what you have brought was treated with hostility; and if I should remain alive till the day when you will be turned out then I would support you strongly."
Bukhari 1.3
2:142 The ignorant among the people (among the Jews and polytheist Arabs) will say: “What caused them (the Prophet Muhammad and the believers) to turn away from the former Qibla towards which they used to turn (Jerusalem)?” Say: “To Allah belongs the East and the West. He guides whom He wills towards the Right Path.”
2:143 And thus We have made you (the Muslim nation) a just nation, so that you may bear witness unto the rest of mankind, and that the Messenger may bear witness unto you. We did not ordain your former Qibla except that We may distinguish those who follow the Messenger from those who turn on their heels (return to disbelief). It was indeed a hard test except for those whom Allah guided. Allah would not allow your faith to be in vain. He is Clement and Merciful to mankind.
2:144 Surely, We see your face turned towards heaven (yearning for guidance through revelation). We shall turn you towards a Qibla that will please you. Turn your face then towards the Sacred Mosque (the Sacred Mosque of Mecca, the Ka’ba); and wherever you are turn your faces towards it. Those who were given the Book (the Jews and Christians) certainly know this to be the Truth from their Lord. Allah is not unaware of what they do.
2:145 Were you even to come to the People of the Book with every proof, they will not follow your Qibla, nor will you follow their Qibla. Nor will some of them follow the Qibla of the others. And were you to follow their desires after all the knowledge that came to you, surely you would be one of the evil-doers.
2:146 Those to whom We gave the Book know him (Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah) as they know their own sons; but a group of them will knowingly conceal the truth.
2:147 The truth is from your Lord. So do not be one of the doubters.
2:148 To everyone there is a direction towards which he turns. So hasten to do the good works. Wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together (in the Hereafter). Surely Allah has power over all things.
2:106 Whichever verse We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring instead a better or similar one. Do you not know that Allah has the power over all things?
13:39 Allah blots out and confirms what He pleases; and with Him is the Mother of the Book.
16:101 And if We replace a verse by another – and Allah knows best what He reveals – they say: “You [Muhammad] are only a forger.” Surely, most of them do not know.
17:86 If We please, We certainly can blot out that which We have revealed to you (O Muhammad); then you would find no guardian to assist you against Us.
[146] The complete list in Let Me Rephrase That - Your Layman's Guide to Abrogations, Bernard Payeur, Boreal Books.
39:28 We made it an Arabic Qur’an without any defect that perchance they might be God-fearing.
How do we know our holy books are free from error? Because the books themselves say so. Epistemological black holes of this sort are fast draining the light from our world...
If we cannot find our way to a time when most of us are willing to admit that, at the very least, we are not sure (italics his) God wrote some of our books, then we need only to count the days to Armageddon—because God has given us many more reasons to kill one another than to turn the other cheek...
The End of Faith - Religion, Terror and the Future of Reason, W. W. Norton & Company, 2004, p. 35
Overkill Becomes the Norm
Narrated Al-Bara bin Azib:
The Prophet appointed Abdullah bin Jubair as the commander of the infantry men (archers) who were fifty on the day (of the battle) of Uhud. He instructed them, "Stick to your place, and don't leave it even if you see birds snatching us, till I send for you; and if you see that we have defeated the infidels and made them flee, even then you should not leave your place till I send for you."
Then the infidels were defeated.
By Allah, I saw the women fleeing lifting up their clothes revealing their leg-bangles and their legs. So, the companions of Abdullah bin Jubair said, "The booty! O people, the booty! Your companions have become victorious, what are you waiting for now?"
Abdullah bin Jubair said, "Have you forgotten what Allah's Apostle said to you?"
They replied, "By Allah! We will go to the people (i.e. the enemy) and collect our share from the war booty."
But when they went to them, they were forced to turn back defeated...
Bukhari 52.276
3:159 It was by a mercy from Allah that you dealt leniently with them (the Muslim fighters who flinched in the midst of the battle); for had you been cruel and hard-hearted, they would have dispersed from around you. So, pardon them, ask Allah’s Forgiveness for them and consult them in the conduct of affairs. Then, when you are resolved, trust in Allah; Allah indeed loves those who trust [in Him].
3:165 And when a misfortune befell you (in the Battle of Uhud) after you had inflicted twice as much (in the Battle of Badr), you said: “Whence is this?”; say: “It is from yourselves.” Surely Allah has power over everything!
3:166 And what befell you on the day the two armies met (in the Battle of Uhud) was by Allah’s Leave, that He might know the true believers;
3:167 And that He might know the hypocrites. When it was said to them: “Come, fight in the way of Allah or defend yourselves”, they replied: “If only we knew how to fight, we would have followed you.” On that day, they were closer to disbelief than to belief. They say with their tongues what is not in their hearts; and Allah knows best what they concealed!
3:152 Allah fulfilled His Promise to you when, by His Leave, you went on killing them; until you lost heart and dissented about the affair and disobeyed (the Muslims were victorious until the archers disobeyed the Prophet's orders), after He had shown you what you cherished. Some of you desired this world (left their position to get a share of the booty), others the Hereafter. Then, He turned you away from them (the Qurashite foes of the Muslims) in order to test you, and He has forgiven you. Allah is Gracious to the believers!
47:4 So when you meet the unbelievers, strike their necks till you have bloodied them, then fasten the shackles. Thereupon, release them freely or for a ransom, till the war is over. So be it. Yet had Allah wished, He would have taken vengeance upon them, but he wanted to test you by one another. Those who die in the Cause of Allah, He will not render their works perverse.
47:5 He shall guide them and set their minds aright;
47:6 And shall admit them into Paradise which He has made known to them.
In Mohsin Khan's Saudi-funded translation of the Koran, there is no ambiguity as to the meaning of “strike their necks,” i.e., cut off their heads.
47:4 So, when you meet (in fight - Jihad in Allah's Cause) those who disbelieve, smite (their) necks till when you have killed and wounded many of them, then bind a bond firmly (on them, i.e. take them as captives)...
3:155 Those of you, who fled on the day the two armies met, were made to slip by the Devil, on account of something they had done. However, Allah has forgiven them; Allah is indeed Forgiving and Merciful.
3:156 O believers, do not be like the unbelievers, who say about their brethren when they [die] while travelling abroad or fighting: “Had they stayed with us, they would not have died or been killed.” Allah wished to make that a cause of anguish in their hearts. It is Allah who causes men to live and die, and Allah has Knowledge of what you do!
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3:168 Those who said to their brethren, while they themselves stayed at home! “Had they obeyed us they would not have been killed?” Say: “Then ward off death from yourselves, if you are truthful.”
3:157 And were you to be killed or to die in the Way of Allah, forgiveness and mercy from Allah are far better than what they amass.
3:158 And were you to die or to be killed, it is unto Allah that you will be gathered.
3:169 And do not think those who have been killed in the Way of Allah as dead; they are rather living with their Lord, well provided for.
3:170 Rejoicing in what their Lord has given them of His bounty, and they rejoice for those who stayed behind and did not join them; knowing that they have nothing to fear and that they shall not grieve.
3:171 They rejoice in the Grace of Allah and His Favour, and that Allah will not withhold the reward of the faithful;
8:68 But for a prior ordinance of Allah, you would have been afflicted on account of what you have taken (an ordinance which made it lawful for Muslims to take spoils and captives) by a terrible punishment.
8:69 So eat of the lawful and good things you have taken as booty. Fear Allah; Allah is truly All-Forgiving, Merciful
Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:
that while he was sitting with Allah's Apostle he said, "O Allah's Apostle! We get female captives as our share of booty, and we are interested in their prices, what is your opinion about coitus interruptus?"
The Prophet said, "Do you really do that? It is better for you not to do it. No soul that which Allah has destined to exist, but will surely come into existence."
Bukhari 34.432
[159] As reported by the BBC, Muhammad’s views on coitus interruptus and by extension contraception have encouraged "more conservative Islamic leaders [to] openly campaign against the use of condoms or other birth control methods, thus making population planning in many countries ineffective."
The Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) sent a military expedition to Awtas on the occasion of the battle of Hunain. They met their enemy and fought with them. They defeated them and took them captives.
Some of the Companions of the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) were reluctant to have intercourse with the female captives in the presence of their husbands who were unbelievers.
So Allah, the Exalted, sent down the Qur’anic verse: (4:24) "And all married women (are forbidden) unto you save those (captives) whom your right hands possess."
Abu Dawud 2.2150
4:24 Or married women except those your right hands possess (captives of war or slave-girls). This is Allah’s decree for you. Beyond these it is lawful for you to seek, by means of your wealth, any women, to marry and not to debauch. Those of them you have enjoyed, you should give them their dowry as a matter of obligation; but you are not liable to reproach for whatever you mutually agree upon, apart from the obligatory payment (the dowry). Allah is indeed All-Knowing, Wise.
Narrated Aisha:
Whenever Allah's Apostle intended to go on a journey, he would draw lots amongst his wives and would take with him the one upon whom the lot fell. During a Ghazwa (military expedition) of his, he drew lots amongst us and the lot fell upon me, and I proceeded with him after Allah had decreed the use of the veil by women. I was carried in a Howdah (on the camel) and dismounted while still in it.
When Allah's Apostle was through with his Ghazwa and returned home, and we approached the city of Medina, Allah's Apostle ordered us to proceed at night.
When the order of setting off was given, I walked till I was past the army to answer the call of nature. After finishing I returned (to the camp) to depart (with the others) and suddenly realized that my necklace over my chest was missing. So, I returned to look for it and was delayed because of that.
The people who used to carry me on the camel, came to my Howdah and put it on the back of the camel, thinking that I was in it, as, at that time, women were light in weight, and thin and lean, and did not use to eat much. So, those people did not feel the difference in the heaviness of the Howdah while lifting it, and they put it over the camel. At that time I was a young lady.
They set the camel moving and proceeded on. I found my necklace after the army had gone, and came to their camp to find nobody. So, I went to the place where I used to stay, thinking that they would discover my absence and come back in my search. While in that state, I felt sleepy and slept.
Safwan bin Mu'attal As-Sulami Adh-Dhakwani was behind the army and reached my abode in the morning. When he saw a sleeping person, he came to me, and he used to see me before veiling. So, I got up when I heard him saying, "Inna lil-lah-wa inn a ilaihi rajiun (We are for Allah, and we will return to Him)."
He made his camel kneel down. He got down from his camel, and put his leg on the front legs of the camel and then I rode and sat over it.
Safwan set out walking, leading the camel by the rope till we reached the army who had halted to take rest at midday. Then whoever was meant for destruction, fell into destruction, (some people accused me falsely) and the leader of the false accusers was 'Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul.
After that we returned to Medina, and I became ill for one month while the people were spreading the forged statements of the false accusers. I was feeling during my ailment as if I were not receiving the usual kindness from the Prophet which I used to receive from him when I got sick. But he would come, greet and say, 'How is that (girl)?'
I did not know anything of what was going on till I recovered from my ailment and went out with Um Mistah to the Manasi where we used to answer the call of nature, and we used not to go to answer the call of nature except from night to night and that was before we had lavatories near to our houses. And this habit of ours was similar to the habit of the old 'Arabs in the open country (or away from houses).
So. I and Um Mistah bint Ruhm went out walking. Um Mistah stumbled because of her long dress and on that she said, 'Let Mistah (cousin of Abu Bakr) be ruined.' I said, 'You are saying a bad word. Why are you abusing a man who took part in (the battle of) Badr?'
She said, 'O Hanata (you there) didn't you hear what they said?' Then she told me the rumors of the false accusers.
My sickness was aggravated, and when I returned home, Allah's Apostle came to me, and after greeting he said, 'How is that (girl)?' I requested him to allow me to go to my parents. I wanted then to be sure of the news through them.
Allah's Apostle allowed me, and I went to my parents and asked my mother, 'What are the people talking about?' She said, 'O my daughter! Don't worry much about this matter. By Allah, never is there a charming woman loved by her husband who has other wives, but the women would forge false news about her.'
I said, 'Glorified be Allah! Are the people really taking of this matter?' That night I kept on weeping and could not sleep till morning.
In the morning Allah's Apostle called Ali bin Abu Talib and Usama bin Zaid when he saw the Divine Inspiration delayed, to consult them about divorcing his wife (i.e. 'Aisha). Usama bin Zaid said what he knew of the good reputation of his wives and added, 'O Allah's Apostle! Keep your wife, for, by Allah, we know nothing about her but good.'
'Ali bin Abu Talib said, 'O Allah's Apostle! Allah has no imposed restrictions on you, and there are many women other than she, yet you may ask the woman-servant who will tell you the truth.'
On that Allah's Apostle called Buraira and said, 'O Burair. Did you ever see anything which roused your suspicions about her?'
Buraira said, 'No, by Allah Who has sent you with the Truth, I have never seen in her anything faulty except that she is a girl of immature age, who sometimes sleeps and leaves the dough for the goats to eat.'
On that day Allah's Apostle ascended the pulpit and requested that somebody support him in punishing 'Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul. Allah's Apostle said, 'Who will support me to punish that person ('Abdullah bin Ubai bin Salul) who has hurt me by slandering the reputation of my family? By Allah, I know nothing about my family but good, and they have accused a person about whom I know nothing except good, and he never entered my house except in my company.'
Sad bin Mu'adh got up and said, 'O Allah's Apostle! by Allah, I will relieve you from him. If that man is from the tribe of the Aus, then we will chop his head off, and if he is from our brothers, the Khazraj, then order us, and we will fulfill your order.'
On that Sad bin 'Ubada, the chief of the Khazraj and before this incident, he had been a pious man, got up, motivated by his zeal for his tribe and said, 'By Allah, you have told a lie; you cannot kill him, and you will never be able to kill him.'
On that Usaid bin Al-Hadir got up and said (to Sad bin 'Ubada), 'By Allah! you are a liar. By Allah, we will kill him; and you are a hypocrite, defending the hypocrites.'
On this the two tribes of Aus and Khazraj got excited and were about to fight each other, while Allah's Apostle was standing on the pulpit. He got down and quietened them till they became silent and he kept quiet.
On that day I kept on weeping so much so that neither did my tears stop, nor could I sleep. In the morning my parents were with me and I had wept for two nights and a day, till I thought my liver would burst from weeping.
While they were sitting with me and I was weeping, an Ansari woman asked my permission to enter, and I allowed her to come in. She sat down and started weeping with me. While we were in this state, Allah's Apostle came and sat down and he had never sat with me since the day they forged the accusation.
No revelation regarding my case came to him for a month. He recited Tashah-hud (i.e. None has the right to be worshipped but Allah and Muhammad is His Apostle) and then said, 'O 'Aisha! I have been informed such-and-such about you; if you are innocent, then Allah will soon reveal your innocence, and if you have committed a sin, then repent to Allah and ask Him to forgive you, for when a person confesses his sin and asks Allah for forgiveness, Allah accepts his repentance.'
When Allah's Apostle finished his speech my tears ceased completely and there remained not even a single drop of it.
I requested my father to reply to Allah's Apostle on my behalf. My father said, ‘By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle.'
I said to my mother, 'Talk to Allah's Apostle on my behalf.' She said, 'By Allah, I do not know what to say to Allah's Apostle.'
I was a young girl and did not have much knowledge of the Quran. I said. 'I know, by Allah, that you have listened to what people are saying and that has been planted in your minds and you have taken it as a truth. Now, if I told you that I am innocent and Allah knows that I am innocent, you would not believe me and if I confessed to you falsely that I am guilty, and Allah knows that I am innocent you would believe me. By Allah, I don't compare my situation with you except to the situation of Joseph's father (i.e. Jacob) who said, 'So (for me) patience is most fitting against that which you assert and it is Allah (Alone) whose help can be sought.' Then I turned to the other side of my bed hoping that Allah would prove my innocence.
By Allah I never thought that Allah would reveal Divine Inspiration in my case, as I considered myself too inferior to be talked of in the Holy Qur'an. I had hoped that Allah's Apostle might have a dream in which Allah would prove my innocence.
By Allah, Allah's Apostle had not got up and nobody had left the house before the Divine Inspiration came to Allah's Apostle. So, there overtook him the same state which used to overtake him, (when he used to have, on being inspired divinely). He was sweating so much so that the drops of the sweat were dropping like pearls though it was a (cold) wintry day.
When that state of Allah's Apostle was over, he was smiling and the first word he said, 'Aisha! Thank Allah, for Allah has declared your innocence.'
My mother told me to go to Allah's Apostle.
I replied, 'By Allah I will not go to him and will not thank but Allah.' So Allah revealed: "Verily! They who spread the slander are a gang among you . . ." (24:11)
When Allah gave the declaration of my Innocence, Abu Bakr, who used to provide for Mistah bin Uthatha for he was his relative, said, 'By Allah, I will never provide Mistah with anything because of what he said about Aisha.' But Allah later revealed: "And let not those who are good and wealthy among you swear not to help their kinsmen, those in need and those who left their homes in Allah's Cause. Let them forgive and overlook. Do you not wish that Allah should forgive you? Verily! Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." (24:22)
After that Abu Bakr said, 'Yes! By Allah! I like that Allah should forgive me,' and resumed helping Mistah whom he used to help before.
Allah's Apostle also asked Zainab bint Jahsh (another wife of the Prophet) about me saying, 'What do you know and what did you see?'
She replied, 'O Allah's Apostle! I refrain to claim hearing or seeing what I have not heard or seen. By Allah, I know nothing except goodness about Aisha.'
Aisha further added "Zainab was competing with me (in her beauty and the Prophet's love), yet Allah protected her (from being malicious), for she had piety."
Bukhari 48.829
24:10 And, but for Allah’s Bounty towards you and His Mercy and that Allah is a remitter of sins and is All-Wise;
24:11 Those who spread the slander (against Aisha, wife of the Prophet, according to the commentators) are a band of you. Do not reckon it an evil for you; rather it is a good thing for you. Everyone of them will be credited with the sin he has earned, and he who bore the brunt of it shall have a terrible punishment.
24:12 Would that the believers, men and women, when you heard it (the slander), had though well of themselves saying: “This is manifest slander!”
24:13 And would that they had brought forth four witnesses [to vouch for it]! But since they did not bring any witnesses, those are, in Allah’s sight, the real liars.
24:14 And but for Allah’s Bounty to you and His Mercy, in this world and the next, you would have been visited, due to your chatter, by a terrible punishment.
24:31 And tell believing women to cast down their eyes and guard their private parts and not show their finery, except for the outward part of it. And let them drape their bosoms with their veils and not show their finery, except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands’ fathers, their sons, the sons of their husbands, their brothers, the sons of their brothers, the sons of their sisters, their women, their maid-servants, the men-followers who have no sexual desires, or infants who have no knowledge of women’s sexual parts yet. Let them, also, not stamp their feet, so that what they have concealed of their finery might be known. Repent to Allah, all of you, O believers, that perchance you may prosper.
[164] Allah, in His Koran, has quite a few instructions which appear to be for His spokesperson’s wives only. In a book for the ages this seems out of place.
Muhammad’s wives are, of course, in a class by themselves. As befitting their exalted status, if they make a fool of Allah’s spokesperson they will suffer double the punishment of an ordinary wife, revelation 33:30, and He will see to it personally.
33:28 O Prophet, say to your wives: “If you desire the present life and its finery, so come along that I might provide for you and set you free kindly.
33:29 “But if you desire Allah, His Messenger and the life to come, surely Allah has prepared for the beneficent among you a great wage.”
33:30 O wives of the Prophet, whomever of you commits a flagrant foul act, her punishment will be doubled; and that for Allah is an easy matter.
If the fear of double the punishment for putting His spokesperson in an embarrassing situation is not enough, Allah is not beneath offering a little monetary incentive.
33:31 Whoever of you obeys Allah and His Messenger and does the righteous deed, We shall pay her wage twice over, and we have prepared for her a generous provision.
Being the wife of Muhammad may not have been all that fulfilling for some of the women and girls confined to his household for Allah to admonish them to “not be abject in speech,” e.g., expressing hopelessness when talking about their lives with the greatest of them all.
They may have even expressed a wish that their husband might give them their freedom, which would explain why Allah revealed that “he in whose heart is a sickness may covet you.”
Hope springs eternal. The “sickness” alluded to by Allah may simply have been young men expressing the desire that, because a wife of Muhammad may have secretly wished to be free of her husband, they might one day get a share of his bounty of beautiful women and girls.
33:32 O wives of the Prophet, you are not like any other women. If you are God-fearing, do not be abject in speech, so that he in whose heart is a sickness may covet you, but speak in an honourable way.
Some may, as girls and young women are wont to do, look for validation of their attractiveness in a young man’s eyes. This would explain Allah’s demand that they stay inside and out of sight so as not to expose their "finery” and keep busy with prayers and giving "the alms." As to how they could give "the alms" if they were not allowed to leave the house is problematic.
Allah justified the extreme restrictions He imposed on His spokesperson’s females, effectively making them invisible to the outside world, so as to turn away abomination − young men of their generation is assumed − and to purify them “fully,” whatever that means.
33:33 Stay in your homes and do not display your finery as the pagans of old did; perform the prayer, give the alms and obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah only wishes to turn away abomination from you and purify you fully, O People of the House.
33:34 And remember what is recited in your homes of Allah’s Signs and of wisdom. Indeed, Allah is Subtle, Well-Informed.
33:35 Men and women who have submitted, believed, obeyed, are truthful, steadfast, reverend, giving in charity, fasting, guarding their private parts and remembering Allah often, Allah has prepared for them forgiveness and a great reward.
Because of the beautiful, young Aisha’s alleged sexual indiscretion and Allah’s concern about His favourite spokesperson being ridiculed for not being able to control his young brood, women everywhere in the conservative Muslim world are forced into seclusion to this day. Allah admonished His Messenger’s wives to stay at home, and conservative Muslim men have been enjoining their wives and daughters to do the same ever since.
Two Down, One to Go
5:5 This day the good things have been made lawful to you; the food of the People of the Book is lawful to you, and your food is lawful to them; and so are the believing women who are chaste, and the chaste women of those who were given the Book before you, provided you give them their dowries and take them in marriage, not in fornication or as mistresses. If any one denies the faith, his work shall be of no avail to him, and in the Hereafter he will rank with the losers.
Revelation 5:5 expanded many-fold the available stock of virgins that a believing man could choose from. And if this still was not enough or you could not afford a believing woman, you could always take wives from among your believing slave-girls.
4:25 Whoever of you cannot afford to marry a free, believing woman, let him choose from whatever your right hands possess (captives of war or slave-girls) of believing girls. Allah knows best your faith; you come one from the other. So marry them with their parents’ leave and give them their dowry honourably, as chaste women, neither committing adultery nor taking lovers…
The pain a former slave-girl can expect if she cheats on her husband with another man must take into account her former status as a slave.
4:25 … If they are legally married and commit adultery, their punishment shall be half that of a free women. Such is the law for those of you who fear committing sin; but to abstain is better for you. Allah is All-Forgiving and Merciful!
Why all the rules about the women and girls a man can marry? It’s a question of lust and Allah’s Mercy.
4:26 Allah wants to explain to you [His laws] and to guide you along the paths of those who preceded you, and to be Merciful to you. Allah is All-Knowing, Wise!
4:27 Allah also wants to be Merciful to you, but those who follow their lust want you to deviate greatly from the right course.
60:10 O believers, if believing women come to you as Emigrants, then test them; Allah knows better their faith. If you find them to be believers, do not send them back to the unbelievers. They are neither lawful to the unbelieving men, nor are those men lawful to them. Give them what they [the unbelieving husbands] had paid in dowry; and you are not at fault if you marry them, provided you pay them their dowries. Do not hold fast to unbelieving women; demand what you have spent and let them demand what they have spent. That is Allah’s Judgement. He judges between you, and Allah is All-Knowing and Wise.
2:221 Do not marry unbelieving women (polytheists) until they believe. A believing slave-girl is certainly better than an unbelieving woman, even if the latter pleases you. And do not give your women (believing women) in marriage to polytheists until they believe. A believing slave is certainly better than a polytheist, even if the latter pleases you. Those (the polytheists) call to the Fire and Allah calls to Paradise and Forgiveness by His Leave; and He makes clear His Revelations to mankind so that they may be mindful.
59:5 Whatever palm trees you cut off or leave standing upon their roots is only by Allah’s Leave, and that He might disgrace the sinners.
[169] No slaves were employed in the digging of the trench.
Narrated Anas:
Allah's Apostle went towards the Khandaq (i.e. Trench) and saw the Emigrants and the Ansar digging in a very cold morning as they did not have slaves to do that for them. When he noticed their fatigue and hunger he said, "O Allah! The real life is that of the Here-after, (so please) forgive the Ansar and the Emigrants."
In its reply the Emigrants and the Ansar said, "We are those who have given a pledge of allegiance to Muhammad that we will carry on Jihad as long as we live."
Bukhari 52.87
33:9 O believers, remember Allah’s grace on you when enemy hosts (of confederates allied against Muslims in the Battle of the Ditch (Khandaq) during the siege of Medina) came upon you; then We sent against them a wind and hosts you did not actually see. Allah perceives well what you do.
Disconcerted and confused, the Meccans and their allies abandoned the siege of Medina.
33:25 Allah turned back the unbelievers in a state of rage, having not won any good (spoils), and Allah spared the believers battle. Allah is, indeed, Strong and Mighty.
As at the Battle of Badr, the casualties inflicted by these “hosts” during this desert sitzkrieg were light; casualties for both sides were 8 Meccans dead and 6 Muslims.
I am not aware in the entire history of civilisation of a more gracious, more loving, more vibrant society than that of the Arabs before Islam … [it was a time] … of unbound freedom, lofty sentiments, a nomadic and chivalrous way of life, [a land] of fantasy, joy, mischievousness, bawdy impious poetry, refined love-making…
Ernest Renan, cf. Robert Montagne, La Civilisation du désert
In Arab traditions, the story of Adam and Eve is not like that of other people's. They were tricked by the devil into eating the forbidden fruit and for that transgression were literally thrown out of Paradise. Eve landing in Arabia and Adam in [present day] India...
Adam made his way to Mecca, dragging with him a stone from Paradise and built the first Ka'ba [in which he placed the stone].
Next to the Ka'ba is another stone, the Maqām Ibrāhīm ("Abraham's place of standing") on which Abraham is alleged to have left his footprint.
Later in a pilgrimage to Mecca Adam ran into Eve near mount Arafat. In one meaning of the Arabic ta'arafa, "they recognized each other."
The miracle is not that they found each other, but that they recognized each other having been separated for over a hundred years...
They fell in love again ... and began procreating.
La Vie de Mahomet, VirgilGheorghiu, Robert Lafont, 1962, p. 18
[173] Following is one of five accounts of the story of Adam and Eve in the Koran. This one is all about the first couple discovering their “private parts,” not once, but twice. The first time their “private parts” just seem to appear out of the blue (rev. 7:22). In a later explanation, it is Satan stripping them of their clothing in front of a concealed audience of his kin (rev. 7:27).
Could there be a connection between the first couple prancing around naked and nakedness at the Hajj before Islam?
Allah seems to think so (see last revelation in this series).
7:19 And [We said]: “Adam, dwell you and your wife in Paradise, and eat from wherever you wish; but do not come close to this tree, lest you both become wrongdoers.”
7:20 But Satan tempted them secretly in order to expose their nakedness to them saying: “Your Lord has forbidden you this tree, lest you become angels or become immortal.”
7:21 And he swore to them: “I am indeed a sincere advisor to you both.”
7:22 Then he brought about their downfall by deceit; so that when they tasted the tree, their private parts became visible to them, and they started to cover themselves with the leaves of Paradise. Then their Lord called out to them: “Have I not forbidden you that tree and said to you: ‘Indeed Satan is your sworn enemy’?”
7:23 They said: “Our Lord, we have wronged ourselves and if you do not forgive us and have mercy on us, we will surely be among the losers.”
7:24 He said: “Go down, some of you as enemies of the others. On earth you will have a dwelling place and a means of enjoyment for a while.”
7:25 He said: “Therein you shall live and therein you shall die, and from it you will be brought out.”
7:26 “O Children of Adam, We have provided you with clothing and finery to cover your private parts. But the attire of piety is the best.” Such are Allah’s Signs, that they may take heed. The stripping:
7:27 “O Children of Adam, do not let Satan lead you astray as he drove your parents out of Paradise, stripping them of their clothes so as to show them their private parts. He and his host (army or tribe) see you from a place where you cannot see them. We have made the devils the friends of those who do not believe.”
Whoever told the pre-Islamic Arabs they could perform the Hajj naked, it wasn’t Allah, even if they think it was.
7:28 When they commit an indecency, they say: “We have found our fathers doing it, and Allah commanded us to do it.” Say (O Muhammad): “Allah does not command indecencies. Do you impute to Allah what you do not know?”
8:35 Their prayer at the House (the Ka’ba) is nothing but whistling and clapping; so taste the punishment for your disbelief.
Narrated Said bin Al-Musaiyab:
Al-Bahira was an animal whose milk was spared for the idols and other deities, and so nobody was allowed to milk it.
As-Saiba was an animal which they (i.e. infidels) used to set free in the name of their gods so that it would not be used for carrying anything.
Abu Huraira said, "The Prophet said, 'I saw Amr bin 'Amir bin Luhai Al-Khuzai dragging his intestines in the (Hell) Fire, for he was the first man who started the custom of releasing animals (for the sake of false gods).'"
Bukhari 76.723
[176] Muhammad’s account of Allah crushing a helpless animal under Abraham’s feet on Judgment Day until blood oozes then throwing it into the fire is about as vicious as vicious can get and an example for the believers that when it comes to unbelievers, nothing is too bad for them.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "On the Day of Resurrection Abraham will meet his father Azar whose face will be dark and covered with dust. (The Prophet Abraham will say to him): 'Didn't I tell you not to disobey me?'
His father will reply: 'Today I will not disobey you.'
Abraham will say: 'O Lord! You promised me not to disgrace me on the Day of Resurrection; and what will be more disgraceful to me than cursing and dishonoring my father?'
Then Allah will say (to him): 'I have forbidden Paradise for the disbelievers.’
Then he will be addressed, 'O Abraham! Look! What is underneath your feet?'
He will look and there he will see a Dhabh (an animal,) blood-stained, which will be caught by the legs and thrown in the (Hell) Fire."
Bukhari 55.569
[177] The devil likes to “make sport” of peoples’ behinds when they cannot avoid exposing their posterior. You should protect yourself against such an eventuality, but there is no harm if you don’t.
Narrated Abu Hurayrah:
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said… If anyone goes to relieve himself, he should conceal himself, and if all he can do is to collect a heap of sand, he should sit with his back to it, for the devil makes sport with the posteriors of the children of Adam.
If he does so, he has done well; but if not, there is no harm.
Abu Dawud 1.35
Narrated Abdullah bin Masud:
The Prophet recited Suratan-Najm at Mecca and prostrated while reciting it and those who were with him did the same except an old man who took a handful of small stones or earth and lifted it to his forehead and said, "This is sufficient for me."
Later on, I saw him killed as a non-believer.
Bukhari 19.173
[179] The second most important document in Islam after the Koran is probably Muhammad’s Farewell Khutba, his farewell sermon. In his last sermon, delivered on mount Arafat outside Mecca a few months before he died, he summarized all the basic beliefs of Islam and all the duties of a Muslim. English translations will usually run less than 1,300 words. Like the Koran, commentators have spoken about the Muhammad’s last khutba in laudatory terms. If you are not a believer your praise may be more guarded.
The Prophet slaughtered seven Budn (camel) with his own hands while the camels were standing. He also sacrificed two horned rams (black and white in color) at Medina.
Bukhari 26.772
I saw Ibn Umar passing by a man who had made his Badana (sacrifice) sit to slaughter it.
Ibn Umar said, "Slaughter it while it is standing with one leg tied up as is the tradition of Muhammad."
Bukhari 26.771
[181] In its March 8, 2012 edition, Le Point, the popular mainstream French (France) weekly published excerpts from a confidential government report prepared by Le Conseil général de alimentation, de l’agriculture et des espaces ruraux on La protection animale en abattoir; la question particulière de l’abattoir rituel (Animal protection in slaughterhouses; the question of ritual slaughter, my translation).
The excerpts reveals that during 2010, 2,068,439 cattle, 382,460 calves, 2,568,444 sheep and 35,713 goats were ritually slaughtered i.e. the animal was not rendered unconscious before being bled to death.
The longest time reported for an animal to die while fully conscious was six minutes for cattle, almost twice that time for calves at eleven minutes, and five minutes for sheep. No time was available for goats or camels.
Under the heading Intensité et durée de la douleur: souffrance (Intensity and duration of the pain: suffering), the report goes on to describe the type of pain an animal that is not stunned* prior to bleeding experiences. It’s not for the squeamish. Again, the translation is mine, as are explanatory comments surrounded by round brackets ().
The pain that a conscious animal experiences at the time of its throat being slit is assumed to be intense …
To be able to compare different method of slaughter as to the amount of pain they cause, we must take into account the visible signs that permit us to gage the intensity of the pain experienced by the conscious animals … The amount of pain will vary depending on the type of animal.
A slit throat is in itself painful:
• The incision provokes a nociceptive reaction (“pain caused by stimulation of peripheral nerve fibers that respond only to stimuli approaching or exceeding harmful intensity” Wiki) causing extreme pain;
• the contraction of the muscle at the point of the incision has to be extremely painful;
• blood will fill the lungs provoking a sensation of drowning.
…
The length of time it takes for an animal (that has not been stunned) to become unconscious is a result of many factors:
• the constriction of the arteries compensates for the loss of blood and causes an increase in the heart rate;
• where cattle is concerned, the vertebral arteries are not cut when the incision is done …; different anastomosis (channels) between the vertebral and cervical arteries allow the vertebral arteries to continue bringing blood to the brain even after the carotid artery has been cut;
• other factors may contribute to the time an animal remains conscious e.g. a clot in the carotid artery …
…
Rendering an animal unconscious is both the beginning and the end of its suffering when conventional methods are used. In the ritual slaughter of an animal, unconsciousness comes much later.
During this period, which varies among types of animals, the animal, in a conscious state, will be subjected to many painful procedures, some related to the incision made by the person performing the sacrifice, others by the stop and go (“saccadé”) nature of the ritual.
[182] Modern, non-traditional slaughtering methods use what is commonly referred to as a captive bolt pistol which delivers a forceful strike to the forehead rendering an animal unconscious prior to slaughter “to prevent the pain and suffering of the animal during the bleeding (exsanguination) process (which is itself necessary to prevent meat spoilage) during butchering.”
5:3 You are forbidden the eating of carrion, blood, the flesh of swine as well as whatever is slaughtered in the name of any one other than Allah. [You are forbidden] also the animals strangled or beaten to death, those that fall and die, those killed by goring with the horn or mangled by wild beasts, except those which you slaughter and those sacrificed on stones set up [for idols]. [You are forbidden] to use divining arrows; it is an evil practice. Today, those who disbelieve have despaired of your religion; so do not fear them, but fear Me. Today, I have perfected your religion for you, completed my Grace on you and approved Islam as a religion for you. Yet, whoever is compelled by reason of hunger (to eat what is forbidden), but not intending to sin, then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Merciful.
22:36 And the camels We have made for you as parts of the sacred rites of Allah. You have some good therein; so mention Allah’s Name over them as they stand in line. When their sides fall to the ground, eat of them and feed the contented and the beggar. That is how We subjected them to you, that perchance you may be thankful.
[186] Brigadier General S. L. A. Marshall, Chief Historian of the European Theater of Operations in World War II, in a series of interviews with American riflemen, concluded that only 15 to 20 percent of them fired their weapons at an exposed enemy soldier. His conclusions have been supported by other studies.
The modern military has largely overcome this reluctance in a normal person to killing another human being, even in theaters of war, through repetition and operant conditioning (modification of behaviour based on stimulus/response), making it an automatic reflexive reaction for a soldier to fire his weapon at a threat, real or imaginary.
What if your objective is to deliberately and methodically eliminate a segment of humanity for which you will require the assistance of the general population?
You do what the NAZIs did. You dehumanize that portion of humanity you wish to eradicate, making their elimination the moral equivalent of getting rid of a pest. Islamists have taken this dehumanization process one step further, adding demonization to the mix.
4:76 Those who believe fight for the Cause of Allah, and those who disbelieve fight on behalf of the Devil. Fight then the followers of the Devil. Surely the guile of the Devil is weak.
Islam, as a religion, has proven particularly effective at overcoming peoples’ strong genetic predispositions against killing one of their own kind by concentrating on a thorough indoctrination in the Koran. It starts at home where a child is expected to have at least mouthed in its entirety, under the tutelage of its mother, what philosopher Robert Redeker, writing in Le Figaro, described “as a book of incredible violence."
Three women approached the Prophet one day. One of them said, “O Prophet! My husband has shunned the company of his wife.”
The second said, “My husband has stopped eating meat!”
The third said, “My husband has stopped using perfume!”
Hearing the women, the Prophet was upset. He saw that misguided ideas were beginning to take root amongst his followers. Although it was not the time for any mandatory prayer, he proceeded to the mosque. He went in such a great hurry that even his cloak was not properly placed on his shoulder and one end of it was touching the ground. He ordered the people to assemble in the mosque. People rushed there leaving aside their tasks.
The Prophet ascended the pulpit and said, ”I have heard that my companions are getting wrong ideas.”
He added, “I am Allah’s Messenger, I eat meat and delicious food! I wear good clothes! I wear perfumes and keep the company of my wives and have conjugal relations with them! Whosoever opposes my ways is not my follower!”
The Prophet has repeated this sentence on several occasions:
"One who does not adopt my ways is not a Muslim".
Wasa'il
No Paradise for Old Men
2:29 It is He Who created for you everything on earth, then ascended to the heavens fashioning them into seven, and He has knowledge of all things.
23:17 We have created above you seven spheres, and We were not oblivious of the creation.
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41:11 Then He arose to heaven while it was smoke, and He said to it and to the earth: “Come over, willingly or unwillingly.” They said: “We come willingly.”
41:12 Then He completed them as seven heavens in two days and assigned to each heaven its proper order. And We adorned the lower heaven with lamps as protection (from the demons). That is the determination of the All-Mighty, the All-Knowing.
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48:5 That He may admit the believers, men and women, into gardens beneath which rivers flow, dwelling therein forever, and that He may remit their sins. That, in Allah’s Sight, is a great triumph. 55:68 Therein are fruits, palm trees and pomegranates.
67:3 He Who has created seven stratified heavens. You do not see any discrepancy in the creation of the Compassionate. So fix your gaze, do you see any cracks?
76:13 Therein, they shall recline upon couches, and they shall see therein neither [blazing] sun nor bitter cold.
18:31 Those shall have Gardens of Eden, beneath which rivers flow, bejeweled therein with bracelets of gold, and wearing green clothes of silk and brocade, reclining therein on couches. Blessed is their reward and fair is the resting place!
37:43 In the Gardens of Bliss;
37:44 Upon couches, facing each other.
37:45 A cup of pure spring water shall be passed around them;
37:46 Snow-white, a delight to drinkers.
37:47 Wherein there is no gall and they are not intoxicated by it.
37:48 And they also shall have wide-eyed maidens averting their gaze.
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52:20 Reclining on ranged couches, and We shall wed them to wide-eyed houris.
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56:22 And wide-eyed houris,
56:23 Like hidden pearls;
56:24 As a reward for what they used to do.
[191] The marriage ceremony may include branding of the houris. According to Professor Clark, in a Tradition of the Prophet, one of the houris’ voluptuous breasts is branded with the name of her husband and the other with the name of her husband’s benefactor, Allah. This will definitely make it easier for men to keep track of what is the equivalent of their herd or harem of houris and make it less likely for one man to accidently fornicate with another man’s houris.
Narrated Abdullah bin Qais:
Allah's Apostle said, "In Paradise there is a pavilion made of a single hollow pearl sixty miles wide, in each corner of which there are wives who will not see those in the other corners; and the believers will visit and enjoy them.”
Bukhari 60.402
55:70 Therein are beautiful virtuous maidens.
55:71 So, which of your Lord's Bounties do you both (Jinn and humans) deny?
55:72 Wide-eyed, cloistered in pavilions.
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "If somebody fights (or beats somebody) then he should avoid the face."
Bukhari 46.734
55:56 Therein are maidens lowering their glances and they have not been touched, before them by any man or jinn.
56:35 We have formed them originally;
56:36 And made them pure virgins,
56:37 Tender and unageing,
It was narrated from Muaadh ibn Jabal that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "The people of Paradise will enter Paradise hairless, beardless with their eyes anointed with kohl, aged thirty or thirty-three years."
al-Tirmidhi 2545
38:49 This is a Reminder and the God-fearing will surely have a fair resort.
38:50 Gardens of Eden whereof the gates are wide-open for them.
38:51 Reclining therein and calling for abundant fruit and beverage.
38:52 And they have mates of equal age, averting their gaze.
38:53 “This is what you are promised for the Day of Reckoning.
38:54 “This is our provision which will not end.”
15:45 “The righteous will surely be amidst gardens and fountains.
15:46 [It will be said to them]: “Enter therein in peace and security.”
15:47 We shall remove all hatred from their hearts, and as brethren they shall recline, facing each other, upon couches.
15:48 They shall not be touched by fatigue therein, nor will they be driven out.
Each time we sleep with a houri we find her virgin. Besides, the penis of the Elected never softens. The erection is eternal; the sensation that you feel each time you make love is utterly delicious and out of this world and were you to experience it in this world you would faint. Each chosen one [Muslim] will marry seventy [sic] houris, besides the women he married on earth, and all will have appetising vaginas.
Al-Suyuti (died 1505)
76:15 And cup-bearers shall go round them with vessels of silver and goblets of glass,
76:16 Goblets of silver which they measured exactly.
76:17 And they are given therein to drink a cup whose mixture is ginger.
76:18 A spring therein is called Salsabil.
76:19 And there go round them immortal boys; when you see them, you will think that they are scattered pearls.
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52:22 And We shall supply them with fruit and meat, such as they desire.
52:23 They will exchange therein a cup of wherein there is no idle talk or vilification.
52:24 And boys of their own will go around them, as if they were hidden pearls.
[202] According to David Cook, author of Understanding Jihad, a question was posed on the Hamas website by a prospective female suicide bomber as to what are the “rewards for a female martyr.” Would she get the equivalent to the male suicide bomber who is promised a “fairly extensive harem of women in return for martyrdom?”
Question: I wanted to ask: what is the reward of a female martyr who performs a martyrdom operation; does she marry 72 of the houris?
Answer: The female martyr gains the same rewards as does the male, with the exception of this one aspect [the houris], so that the female martyr will be with the same husband with whom she dies. “And those who have believed and their progeny, followed them in belief. We shall join their progeny to them. We shall not deprive them of any of their work; every man shall be bound by what he has earned” [52:21]. The one who is martyred and has no husband will be married to one of the people of Paradise.
[203] In the Koran, Allah brags about annihilating more than a handful of cities as an example of his pitiless devastating might, not satisfied with Sodom and Gomorrah, whose names He can’t be bothered to remember.
Not surprisingly, perhaps, the cities Allah crows about destroying and whose names He remembers were ones with which Muhammad was familiar, from stories he heard and from stumbling unto ruins, as is undoubtedly the case with Petra, during his numerous treks north from Mecca to Syria during his more than two decades as an itinerant merchant before Allah chose him as His last and greatest spokesperson.
Petra in the Koran is called Thamud. The people of Thamud were wiped out for not heeding the warning of the prophet Salih, the only non-biblical prophet, apart from Muhammad, found in the Koran.
The Destruction of Thamud is an exception to Allah's predilection for committing genocide because people called His messengers liars. Nonetheless, the destruction is just as ghastly and the reason for the destruction of the people of Thamud is about as petty as petty gets where gods are concerned.
Allah is very proud of what He did to the inhabitants of Petra/Thamud and their city. In at least nine chapters of His Book, Thamud is mentioned as a place and a people He obliterated. You could be forgiven if you confused Allah’s passion for Petra with that of a tourist who visits an impressive faraway shrine and keeps on returning to it during conversations to impress his friends and acquaintances.
Following is Allah’s account of the destruction of Thamud in the surah Poets. In this account, the people regret what they did to Allah’s camel, the reason for their obliteration in eight of the nine recollections; but, being sorry did not deter the wrath of the Compassionate, the Merciful.
26:141 Thamud denounced the Messengers as liars.
26:142 When their brother Salih said to them: “Do you not fear God?
26:143 “I am a faithful Messenger to you.
26:144 “So fear Allah and obey me.
26:145 “I do not ask you any wages for this; my wage is with the Lord of the Worlds.
26:146 “Will you be left herebelow in peace?
26:147 “In gardens and springs;
26:148 “And plantations and palm trees, whose shoots are tender?
26:149 “And will you hew skillfully houses in the mountains?
26:150 “So fear Allah and obey me.
26:151 “And do not obey the orders of the extravagant;
26:152 “Who work corruption in the land and do not make amends.”
26:153 They said: “You are certainly a man bewitched.
26:154 “You are only a mortal like us. Produce, then, a sign, if you are truthful.”
26:155 He said: “This is a she-camel; this has a drinking day, and you have a fixed drinking day.
26:156 “Do not cause her any harm, or else the punishment of a Great Day will smite you.”
26:157 However, they hamstrung her, and became full of remorse.
26:158 Then, punishment smote them. There is surely in that a sign; and most of them were not believers.
26:159 Your Lord is truly the All-Mighty, the Merciful.
[204] Allah out-schemed the Arabs of Petra (Thamud in the Koran) in the only recollection where it is not the maiming of a she-camel that is responsible for its destruction.
27:45 And We have sent to Thamud their brother Salih, saying: “Worship Allah”; and lo and behold, they split into two groups fighting each other.
27:46 He said: “O my people, why do you hasten the evil course before the fair? If only you would seek Allah’s Forgiveness, that perchance you may receive mercy!”
27:47 They said: “We augured ill of you and your companions.” He said: ‘Your bird of omen is with Allah, but you are a people who are being tested.”
27:48 And they were in the city nine individuals, who worked corruption in the land and did not set things right.
27:49 They said: “Swear one to the other by Allah: We will attack him and his family at night; then we will tell his guardian: ‘We did not witness the slaying of his family, and we are indeed truthful.’”
27:50 They schemed a scheme and We schemed a scheme, while they were unaware.
27:51 See, then, what was the outcome of their scheming; We destroyed them together will all their people.
27:52 Their houses are in ruin, on account of their wrongdoing. There is in that a sign for a people who know.
27:53 And we delivered those who believed and were God-fearing.
2:125 And [remember] when We made the House (the Ka`ba) a place of residence for mankind and a haven [saying]: “Make of Abraham’s maqam [stand] a place for prayer.” We enjoined Abraham and Isma`il [saying]: “Purify My House for those who circle it, for those who retreat there for meditation, and for those who kneel and prostrate themselves (perform the prayers).”
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37:102 Then, when he attained the age of consorting with him, he said: “My son, I have seen in sleep that I am slaughtering you. See what you think.” He said: “My father, do what you are commanded; you will find me, Allah willing, one of the steadfast.”
37:103 Then, when they both submitted and he flung him down upon his brow;
37:104 And We called out to Him: “O Abraham,
37:105 “You have believed the vision.” Thus We reward the beneficent.
37:106 This, indeed, is the manifest trial.
37:107 And We ransomed him with a large sacrifice.
37:108 And We left him for later generations:
37:109 “Peace be upon Abraham.”
37:110 Thus, We reward the beneficent.
37:111 He is indeed one of Our believing servants.
37:112 And We announced to him the good news of Isaac as a Prophet, one of the righteous.
[206] After the murder of Abel, which is said to have occurred near present day Damascus, Adam became convinced that it was only a matter of time before God decided to punish mankind for its increasingly wicked ways by drowning everyone. In anticipation of the Flood, he built a shelter for the "black stone" he brought from Paradise on mount Hira, the same mount on which the future Prophet Muhammad would receive the revelations.
The flood water came the day when the sins of man became of such magnitude that they could no longer be tolerated, as Adam had predicted. A popular Arab tradition is that rain is the spit of angels. Rain being a rare occurrence where they lived, the Arabs, while being extremely imaginative, could not visualize the flood as real rain, simple angel spit that is.
The flood waters must have come from somewhere else; they did not fall from the sky. The water that inundated the desert and the entire Earth simultaneously gushed from the depths of the Earth, from a hole in the Earth's crust, like from a broken water main or a fire hydrant.
11:40 And when Our Command came, and the water gushed forth from the earth, We said: “Carry in it (the Ark) two of every kind, together with your family, except for those who have been doomed, and [take] those who believe.” However only a few believers besides him were there.
This hole-in-the-ground from which water flooded the entire Earth is said to be at Kufa where the Great Mosque is located. In Shia traditions the Ark was built at Kufa:
The Ark began its voyage at Kufa in central Iraq and sailed to Mecca, circling the Ka'ba (sic) [seven times] before finally travelling to Mount Judi where it settled.
Ibn Haukal [died 978 A.D.]
Before sailing off into the unknown, on the advice of the angel Gabriel who had earlier taken the sacred stone to the shelter built by Adam on month Hira, Noah did seven complete circles of the Ka`ba aboard the Ark.
This circumambulation of the sacred sanctuary by Noah is called tawaf and is still done to this day by pilgrims as part of the Hajj and the Umbra.
Noah's wife, it is said, and one of her sons were great sinners and were not allowed on the Ark.
In the Koran, the son did not make it onto the Ark because he thought he would be safe on higher ground [11:43].
There is no mention of Noah's wife not boarding the Ark, only that, along with the wife of Lot, she will burn in Hell for betraying her husband in some unspecified manner [66:10] as wives in the Koran often do.
In the Traditions, Noah is buried near Baalbek in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley. Adam in Mecca, his tomb at the center of the universe, Eve is buried at Jeddah.
From: La Vie de Mahomet, Virgil Gheorghiu, Robert Lafont, 1962
The Hajj: So Many Pilgrims, Not Enough Time
15:98 So (Muhammad), celebrate the praise of your Lord and be one of those who prostrate themselves.
15:99 And worship your Lord, till the certain [Hour] overtakes you!
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21:1 Mankind’s reckoning is drawing near, but they are turning away heedlessly.
33:63 People will ask you about the Hour. Say: “The knowledge thereof is with Allah.” And what do you know? The hour may be close at hand.
47:18 Do they, then, only expect that the Hour should come upon them suddenly? In fact, its signs have already come. How then, when it comes, will they regain their recollection?
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53:57 The Last Day is imminent;
53:58 It has, apart from Allah, no disclosure.
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70:1 A questioner asked about an imminent punishment,
70:2 Of the unbelievers, that none can avert;
70:3 From Allah, Lord of the Ways of Ascent.
70:4 Unto Him the angels and the spirit (Gabriel) ascend on a Day the duration thereof is fifty thousand years.
70:5 Bear up patiently then (Muhammad).
70:6 They think it is distant;
70:7 But We think it is close.
Narrated Sahl bin Sad As-Sa'idi:
Allah's Apostle, holding out his middle and index fingers, said, "My advent and the Hour are like this (or like these)," namely, the period between his era and the Hour is like the distance between those two fingers, i.e., very short.
Bukhari 63.221
Narrated Anas:
A bedouin came to the Prophet and said, "O Allah's Apostle! When will The Hour be established?"
The Prophet said, "Wailaka (Woe to you), What have you prepared for it?"
The bedouin said, "I have not prepared anything for it, except that I love Allah and His Apostle."
The Prophet said, "You will be with those whom you love."
We (the companions of the Prophet) said, "And will we too be so?
The Prophet said, "Yes."
So we became very glad on that day. In the meantime, a slave of Al-Mughira passed by, and he was of the same age as I was.
The Prophet said. "If this (slave) should live long, he will not reach the geriatric old age, but the Hour will be established."
Bukhari 73.188
2:30 When your Lord said to the angels: "I am placing a deputy on earth", they said: "Will you place one who will make mischief in it and shed blood, while we sing Your praise and glorify Your sanctity?" He said: "I know what you do not know."
[210] Except for an entrance and an exit door, Bait-ul-Ma'mur is almost an exact replica of the Ka’ba in Mecca and is situated directly above it, somewhere above the clouds.
Like Muslims on Earth, angels are required to make a pilgrimage to this Ka’ba in the sky at least once in their lifetime as immortals, and seventy thousand angels do so every day according to Muhammad, who was informed of this by Gabriel himself during his one-night visit with Allah in Paradise.
Anas b. Malik reported on the authority of Malik b. Sa sa', perhaps a person of his tribe, that the Prophet of Allah (may peace be upon him) saidI was near the House (i. e. Ka'bah) in a state between sleep and wakefulness...
Then the bait-ul-Ma'mur was raised up to me.
I said: O Gabriel! what is this?
He replied: It is the bait-ul-Ma'mur. Seventy thousand angels enter into it daily and, after they come out, they never return again.
Sahih Muslim 1.0314
Unlike Earth-bound pilgrims, angels do not circle the Ka'ba but enter by one door and exit by another. Much more efficient, which may explain why Muhammad once considered remodeling the Earth Ka'ba on the Ka'ba in the sky.
Narrated Aswad:
Ibn Az-Zubair said to me, "Aisha used to tell you secretly a number of things. What did she tell you about the Ka'ba?"
I replied, "She told me that once the Prophet said, 'O Aisha! Had not your people been still close to the pre-Islamic period of ignorance! I would have dismantled the Ka'ba and would have made two doors in it; one for entrance and the other for exit."
Bukhari 3:128
2:37 Then Adam received words from his Lord, Who forgave him. He is indeed the All-Forgiving, The Merciful.
2:38 We said: “Go down from here (Paradise) all of you. And when in time My Guidance is vouchsafed to you, those who follow My Guidance will have nothing to fear nor will they grieve (because they will be re-admitted into Paradise).”
2:128 “Our Lord, cause us to submit to You, and make of our posterity a nation that submits to You. Show us our sacred rites, and pardon us. You are, indeed, the Pardoner, the Merciful.”
2:129 “Our Lord, send them a Messenger from among themselves (Arabs) who will recite to them Your Revelations, to teach them the Book (the Koran) and the wisdom, and to purify them. You are truly the Mighty, the Wise.”
2:125 And [remember] when We made the House (the Ka`ba) a place of residence for mankind and a haven [saying]: “Make of Abraham’s maqam [stand] a place for prayer.” We enjoined Abraham and Isma`il [saying]: “Purify My House for those who circle it, for those who retreat there for meditation, and for those who kneel and prostrate themselves (perform the prayers).”
2:126 And when Abraham said: “My Lord, make this a secure city and feed with fruits those of its inhabitants who believe in Allah and the Last Day.” Allah (having accepted Abraham’s prayer) said: “As for those who disbelieve, I shall provide for them for a while (in this life), and then subject them to the scourge of the Fire, and what an abominable fate!”
If the Islamic tradition that Adam set up the original altar at Mecca using the stone he brought with him from Paradise has any connection with reality, then people were already circling the Ka`ba when Abraham and Isma'il showed up. Where the Tradition falls down a bit is if we give “raised the foundations” in revelation 2:127 its ordinary, everyday meaning.
2:127 And while Abraham and Isma`il raised the foundations of the House, [they prayed]: “Our Lord, accept [this] from us. Surely you are the All-Hearing, the Omniscient.”
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22:29 Then, let them complete their self-cleansing and fulfill their vows and circle round the Ancient House (the Ka’bah).
A Strategic Massacre
2:65 And you surely know those of you who violated the Sabbath; We said to them: “Be [like] dejected apes.”
2:66 Thus We made that an example to their contemporaries and to those after them, and an admonition to the righteous.
7:166 Then, when they disdained arrogantly what they were forbidden, We said to them: “Be miserable monkeys.”
When they saw him (Lubabah), the men rose to meet him, and the women and children rushed to grab hold of him, weeping before him, so that he felt pity for them.
They said to him, “Abu Lubabah, do you think that we should submit to Muhammad’s judgment?”
“Yes”, he said, but he pointed with his hand to his throat, that it would be slaughter.
Tabari
Abu Lubabah would not be a witness to the result of his negotiations with the Jews. It was probably just as well. Abu Lubabah felt guilty that he had broken his promise of secrecy with Muhammad. To atone for his ‘misdeed’ he went straight to the mosque and bound himself with ropes to one of the pillars.
This pillar is known as the ‘pillar of repentance’ or the ‘pillars of Abu Lubabah’. Abul Kasem Lubabah spent six days chained to his pillar. He was freed by the Prophet after God's Messenger received the following revelation.
8:27 O you who believe, do not betray Allah and the Messenger, nor betray your trust knowingly.
Some people (the Banu Qurayzah) agreed to accept the verdict of Sad bin Mu’adh so the Prophet sent for him.
He came riding a donkey, and when he approached the Mosque, the Prophet said, "Get up for the best amongst you." or said, "Get up for your chief."
Then the Prophet said, "O Sad! These people have agreed to accept your verdict."
Sad said, "I judge that their warriors should be killed and their children and women should be taken as captives."
The Prophet said, "You have given a judgment similar to Allah's Judgment."
Bukhari, 58.148
The messenger of God commanded that furrows should be dug in the ground for the B. Qurayzah. Then he sat down, and Ali and al-Zubayr began cutting off their heads in his presence.
Tabari
33:26 And He brought those of the People of the Book who supported them from their fortresses and cast terror into their hearts, some of them you slew and some you took captive.
33:27 And He bequeathed to you their lands, their homes and their possessions, together with land you have never trodden. Allah has power over everything.
5:55 Your only friends are Allah, His Messenger and those who believe, performing the prayer and giving the alms, while they bow down.
4:144 O believers, do not take the unbelievers for friends, instead of the believers. Do you wish to give Allah a clear proof against you?
Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "I have been ordered to fight with the people till they say, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah', and whoever says, 'None has the right to be worshipped but Allah,' his life and property will be saved by me except for Islamic law, and his accounts will be with Allah, (either to punish him or to forgive him.)"
Bukhari 52.196
48:28 It is He Who sent forth His Messenger with the guidance and the religion of truth, that He may exalt it above every other religion. Allah suffices as Witness.
9:73 O Prophet, fight the unbelievers and the hypocrites and be stern with them. Their abode is Hell, and what a terrible fate!
Just so we are clear on the concept, when Allah demands that the believers “be stern with them” (or harsh), He means kill them, as He does here in a revelation where He insists the hypocrites be murdered wherever you find them.
33:61 Accursed, wherever they are encountered they will be seized and slaughtered.