(Director, Islamic Society of Orange County, Garden Grove, California)
A Christian group from Anaheim, California is active now a days in distributing an anti-Islamic flyer at some Islamic centers in this area. Some Muslims sent this flyer to me asking me to give a response for the purpose of clarification.
The flyer starts with a positive note and says that as a Christian the author agrees with Muslims on several issues. The author says that “America needs to repent of its many sins, such as abortion, sexual immorality, idolatry, racism, drug use and drug trafficking etc.” After making Muslims interested to read this flyer, the author starts attacking Islam, the Qur’an and Prophet Muhammad. The author says that Christians cannot accept Prophet Muhammad as God’s true Prophet because the author alleges that the Prophet made some foolish and false statements.
The author has preferred to remain anonymous but he tries to impress his readers of his knowledge of Arabic and Islamic literature. He has deliberately misquoted and mistranslated some Islamic texts. He has exposed not only his anti-Islamic bias, but also his lack of knowledge and understanding the Qur’an, Hadith and other Islamic literature.
Following are his arguments and our responses:
1. Does the Sun set in a muddy pool?
The author refers to the story of an ancient ruler mentioned in the Qur’an in Surah al-Kahf. The Qur’an says that this ruler named Zul Qarnain traveled to distant lands. He went westward to a distant land near the ocean and he saw the sun was setting there in a murky pond. The Qur’anic words are “When he (Zul Qarnain) reached the setting of the sun, he found that it set in a pond of murky water.” (Al-Kahf 18:86). The author of this flyer took this literally and he objected that how could God say that the sun was setting in a murky pond? He considered this a “foolish and false statement” and a proof that the Qur’an was not the word of God and Prophet Muhammad was not God’s Prophet.
In the New Testament Jesus is reported to have said about the Queen of Sheba that she came from the ends of the earth (Matthew 12:42; Luke 11:31). Would the author also say that Jesus’ words were also foolish and false and would he reject him also? Obviously, we know that Queen Sheba did not come from the ends of the earth. Yemen is not the end of the earth. The author would say that Jesus spoke metaphorically. We say the same thing that in the story of Zul Qarnain, God spoke metaphorically.
The author claims that “the great Islamic scholars (such as Tabari, Zamakhshari, Baydawi, Jalalain, etc.) took this literally.” This is not correct. The fact is that most of the commentators of the Qur’an do not take it literally. Most of them explain that “the sun appeared to him as if it was setting in murky water.” The famous commentators of the Qur’an Jalalain say, “fi ra’y al-’ain wa illa fahiya a’zamo min al-dunya” meaning “it appeared to his own eyes otherwise the sun is bigger than the earth.” The Qur’anic statement is clearly metaphorical and this is the way it has been understood by most of the classical and modern commentators of the Qur’an.
The author claims that Prophet Muhammad also explained it in a literal sense. He quoted a Hadith in which the Prophet -peace be upon him- reported to have said, “Do you know O Abu Dharr, where this sun sets?” He answered, “God and His Apostle know better. Muhammad said, “It sets in a spring of slimy water.” According to most authorities this statement is not from Prophet Muhammad but it is attributed to Ka’ab al-Ahbar, a Jewish Rabbi who was converted to Islam and who reported this from the Torah, not from Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him.
Do Muslims have one intestine while non-Muslims have seven?
The author quotes a Hadith of the Prophet -peace be upon him. He is reported to have said, “A believer eats in one intestine whereas a non-believer eats in seven intestines.” This is an authentic Hadith and is quoted by several authorities. The scholars of Hadith explain this to mean that a true believer is a contented person. He takes little from the material world. The non-believer is greedy and is never satisfied with what he has. The scholars say that one should not take the number seven literally; it is used in Arabic to indicate large number or quantity. “Eating in seven intestines” is a metaphorical way of saying “eating too much or being too greedy.”
Some scholars say that the Prophet was not speaking generally but he was referring to a particular person who came to visit him. This person was offered a glass of milk to drink. His host poured some more milk in his glass, he drank that. Then some more was given and he drank that too. This continued until this person drank seven glasses of milk. Next day he came again to the Prophet and the Prophet spoke to him about the message of Islam, the visitor accepted Islam. The Prophet again offered him the milk, but this time he took only one serving and that was sufficient for him. The Prophet then remarked that when he was a non-believer he drank seven times more than what he drank after his accepting Islam. So in this sense, some scholars say that this was not a general remark about every non-believer and believer. This remark was made about a particular person only. (See Tuhfatul Ahwazi Sharh al-Tirmidhi)
2. Does Satan stay in your nose over night?
The Prophet -peace be upon him- is reported to have said, “When any of you wakes up from his sleep and makes ablution, let him clean his nose three times, because Satan stays at night at the upper part of his nose.” (Al-Bukhari, Hadith no. 3052) The author of this flyer ridicules this Hadith. He considers this one of the “foolish and false statements” of the Prophet.
He must have read his own Bible which has dozens of statements about Satan entering the bodies and bellies of people. The Gospel of John says that after Judas ate food from Jesus’ own hand, “Satan entered into him.” (John 13:27) So if after eating food from Jesus’ hand one could not be safe from Satan, what is surprising if an ordinary person has Satan near his nose during the night?
Muslim scholars explain that nose is one of the ways to one’s mind and thoughts. Satan tries to put his ideas and suggestions into the mind of a person during his sleep as well. The best cure is that after waking up one should clean one’s nose, make ablution for prayers and seek God’s protection. Some other scholars say that Satan is a symbol of everything bad and evil. Through this symbolism the Prophet was warning the people to be conscious about the cleanliness of their bodies. In the hot and dry climate nose does become stuffy during the night. One feels like the devil was in the nose. This was the Prophetic way to tell the people to keep themselves clean and make ablution as soon as they get up.
All Semitic languages and especially Arabic are full of metaphor and hyperboles. Jesus -peace be upon him- used to speak in parables, similarly Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him- used to instruct his people sometimes in metaphorical and symbolic language. It is reported that Jesus -peace be upon him- said, “”Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under foot and turn to attack you.” (Matthew 7:6) These words fit very well on those who do not try to understand the Prophetic pearls and holy language. The author of this flyer should pay attention to these words of Jesus.
3. Would a 50-year-old “Prophet of God” have sex with a 9-year-old girl?
The author of this flyer attacks the character of Prophet Muhammad by using these words, “Prophet of God having sex with a 9 year old girl.” He is trying to confuse his readers as if the Prophet was not married to this girl or married her against her will. Prophet’s wife A’ishah -may Allah be pleased with her- was indeed young, but he married her according to the traditions of his people at that time.
A’ishah was most pleased with this marriage. She became his best supporters and learned much of Islam from him. She was a great teacher for many women and men of her time. Her parents were very pleased with this marriage. Historically it is not confirmed that she was 9 years old when she came in the household of the Prophet. There are various reports from age 9 to age 24. Her maturity, knowledge, intelligence and contributions during the life of the Prophet and afterwards all indicate that she was either an exceptional nine years old or must have been older than that. Whatever the case may be about her age, one thing is certain that she was a most compatible spouse of Prophet Muhammad. None of the contemporaries of the Prophet, his friends or foes, are reported to be surprised by this marriage or made objections to it.
The author should read his own Bible and ask himself how fair he is in judging Prophet Muhammad with one standard and his own prophets with another. If he thinks that a Prophet of God should not have has a very young wife, then he should also reject Abraham as God’s Prophet. If he cannot accept a 50 year old Prophet of God having a 9 year old (I do not agree that she was 9) wife, then he should also not accept a 86 year old Prophet of God who slept with a young maiden of his own wife without marrying her, as the Bible says (see Genesis 16:1-16). He should then reject all the Prophets who came in the line of Prophet Abraham including Jesus. He should also reject the whole Bible, Old and the New Testament, because they both praise Abraham as a great person. We as Muslims, of course, honor Prophet Ibrahim - may peace and blessings of Allah be upon him- and respect his marriage to Hajirah - may Allah be pleased with her. She was the honored mother of Prophet Isma’il - peace be upon him and upon all the Prophets of God.
4. Slavery Islam and the Bible:
The author claims that “the Bible condemns slavery” and “one who practices slavery contradicts right teachings.” In order to prove his point he even adds “the slave traders” in 1Timothy 1:10. There is no such word there in the Revised Standard Version. Actually in the whole Bible this word does not exist. The author also makes false allegation against Prophet Muhammad -peace be upon him- by saying that he used to buy, sell, hire and rent slaves.
Slavery existed throughout the Biblical period including the time of Jesus -peace be upon him. Most of the Biblical Prophets had slaves, both males and females. Perhaps the author of this flyer did not read his own New Testament. Otherwise he would have found there the following advices to salves: “Let all who are under the yoke of slavery regard their masters as worthy of all honor, so that the name of God and the teaching may not be defamed.” (1 Timothy 6:1) and “Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to be refractory … (Titus 2:9)
Prophet Muhammad - peace be upon him - did not own slaves. He had many slaves purchased and freed. The author quotes Muslim scholar Ibn al-Qayyim who said about the Prophet, “His purchases of slaves were more then he sold.” This is correct because he used to purchase slaves in order to free them, not to sell them.
However, the author mistranslates Ibn al-Qayyim when he says, “The Prophet use to renting out and hiring many slaves, but he hired more slaves then he rented out.” The author has mischievously added the words “many slaves and more slaves” in the text. Ibn al-Qayyim is not talking here about the sale, purchase, renting and hiring of slaves, but about general business practices of the Prophet before he received the Prophethood. Actually he is saying that “the Prophet himself was hired before he became the Prophet to take care of some sheep and he was hired by Khadijah to do business for her. (see Zad al-Ma’ad, vol. 1, p. 154)
The Qur’an teaches that freeing the salves is a great virtue (See Surah 90:13). One of the expenditures of Zakat (obligatory charity) is to spend the money for the freedom of the slaves (Surah 9:60). It is forbidden in Islam to enslave a free person. If Muslims had consistently followed the Islamic teachings in this regard, slavery would have become extinct long time ago. It is unfortunate that some Muslims did not follow these teachings of Islam and slavery continued in Muslim lands for centuries. We are ashamed that some Muslims practiced slavery against the teachings of Islam. However, it is also a historical fact that for centuries the worst type of slavery in its most extensive and horrible form was practiced by those who claimed themselves to be the followers of Christ. They enslaved millions of free men, women and children and shipped them like animals from one continent to another. They made millions in profit by this most shameful trade of human beings.
I wish to remind the author of this flyer what Jesus -peace be upon him- said, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, `Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:3-5)
5. Do Jews believe Ezra is the son of Allah?
The author of this flyer quotes the Qur’an 9:30 “And the Jews say: Ezra is the son of God and Christians say: the Messiah is the son of God…” The author thinks that this is a false statement of the Qur’an, because many Jews do not say that Ezra is the son of God. But Jewish historians have not negated the possibility that all or some Jews of Madina believed that Ezra was the son of God. It is true that today Jews do not believe that; but the Qur’an is not saying that all of them shall always believe that. If many Christians stop believing that Jesus is son of God, would that prove the Qur’an wrong? We are pleased that Jews do not believe that any more.
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