EPISODE 1: THE 2 COMPILATIONS OF THE QUR’AN€¦ · “Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of

HISTORICAL PROBLEMS WITH ISLAM Introduction:

• Muslims claim that the Qur’an is: • 1) Eternal • 2) Sent down from heaven via Gabriel to Muhammad • 3) Compiled completely by Uthman in 652 AD • 4) That it is Unchanged in1400 years

• Christians would not make three of these claims for the Bible (i.e. the Bible is not eternal, nor sent down, nor unchanged)

• Therefore, we need only look at the 3 Muslim claims and assess them historically Our Remit for this show:

• We don’t have to prove whether the Bible or the Qur’an is the ‘Word of God’ • That’s for each one of you to decide

• Our sole purpose is to prove that the Qur’an we have today (the ‘Hafs’ text): • Is not from Muhammad • Is not from Uthman • Is not even from the 7th century • Was written by mere men • Was intentionally changed throughout the last 1300 years • And, is basically only 93 years old

EPISODE 1: THE 2 COMPILATIONS OF THE QUR’AN What Muslims Say about the Qur’an - They claim that the Qur’an is UNIQUE: The Qur’an is the greatest wonder among the wonders of the world . . . This book is second to none in the world according to the unanimous decision of the learned men in points of diction, style, rhetoric, thoughts and soundness of laws and regulations to shape the destinies of mankind. Hadith (Mishkat III, pg. 664) They claim that the Qur’an is SUPERIOR to all other pieces of literature…

• Will they say, ‘Muhammad hath forged it?’ Answer: ‘Bring therefore a chapter like unto it, and call whom ye to your assistance, besides Allah, if ye speak truth.’ (Suras 10:37-38; 2:23; 17:88)

• “Mother of Books” (Sura 43:3-4)

To understand their claims about its compilation, we have to go to the earliest reference to the Qur’ans compilation, found in the 9th century Hadith, by: al Bukhari, vol.6:509-510

SAHIH AL BUKHARI VOL.6 HADITH 509 Curiously, in 632 AD the Qur’an had not yet been compiled, and many of those who had memorized it were killed at the battle of Yama-ma, which caused problems, as much of the Qur’an would then be lost. Zaid ibn Thabit (Muhammad’s secretary), was given the task to collect it, but initially didn’t want to collect it, due to the difficulty of the charge, conceding that Muhammad had not even done such a task. Finally Thabit relents, and begins to collect the Qur’an from ‘palm leaves, white stones, and from the companion’s memories. He found only one person who knew the Surah 9:128-129 This copy remained with Abu Bakr, then with Umar, then with Hafsa (the daughter of Umar, and wife of Muhammad).

SAHIH AL BUKHARI VOL.6 HADITH 510 During the time of the 3rd Caliph Uthman (around 652 AD), there were differences in the recitation of the Qur’an (7 Ahruf, or Qira’at?) Uthman takes Hafsa’s ‘Qur’anic’ MSS, and has the four compilers (Thabit, Zubair, Al-As, & Hisham) REWRITE the text… In case they DISAGREED, they were to write it in the DIALECT OF THE QURAISH… …UTHMAN SENT TO EVERY MUSLIM PROVINCE ONE COPY…” (There were 9 provinces). He then ordered that all the other Qur’anic materials, whether written in fragmentary manuscripts, or whole copies BE BURNT! Only one person knew of Surah 33:23

QUESTIONS which we need to ask:

• Why didn’t God choose a language which could accommodate the Qur’an? (i.e. no diacritical marks, nor vowelization until the 8th – 9th centuries)

• Why didn’t God choose a man who could ‘read and write’? • Why didn’t Muhammad learn to read and write? (he had 23 years to do so) • What about Zaid ibn Thabit? He was Muhammad’s secretary! (Isn’t that the job of secretaries?) • Why didn’t Abu Bakr make copies and disperse them to the 9 provinces in 634 AD? (i.e. Basra,

Baghdad, Damascus, Jerusalem, Cairo, Alexandria, Aden, Herat, and Nishapur) • Why did Uthman burn all of the copies which didn’t agree? (Wouldn’t it be great to have

comparisons?) • Where are the copies of the Qur’an sent to the 9 cities? (They should only be 1400 yrs. Old. We

have 1700 yrs. Old Biblical Manuscripts of the New Testament) • Why, if Uthman standardized the Qur’an to one copy, are there now a multiplicity of Qur’ans

today? What do the Traditions say about the compilation of the Qur’an? Some verses were Lost: Many (of the passages) of the Qur’an that were sent down were known by those who died on the day of Yamama…but they were not known (by those who) survived them, nor were they written down, nor had Abu Bakr, Umar, or Uthman (by that time) collected the Qur’an, nor were they found with even one (person) after them. (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif p.23) Some verses disappeared: It is reported from Ismail ibn Ibrahim from Ayyub from Naafi from Ibn Umar who said: “Let none of you say ‘I have acquired the whole of the Qur’an’. How does he know what all of it is when much of the Qur’an has disappeared? Rather let him say ‘I have acquired what has survived.’ (as-Suyuti, [d. 1500Sad] Al-Itqan fii Ulum al-Qur’an, p.524). Some verses were forgotten: We used to recite a surah which resembled in length and severity to (Surah) Bara’at. I have, however, forgotten it with the exception of this which I remember out of it: “If there were two valleys full of riches, for the son of Adam, he would long for a third valley, and nothing would fill the stomach of the son of Adam but dust”. (Sahih Muslim, [d. 875 AD] Vol. 2:2286, p.501) Some verses were cancelled: We used to read a verse of the Qur’an revealed in their connection, but later the verse was canceled. It was: “convey to our people on our behalf the information that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and has made us pleased”. (Sahih al-Bukhari, [d. 870AD] Vol. 5:416, pg.288). Some verses went missing:

Some verses went missing: “Allah sent Muhammad (saw) with the Truth and revealed the Holy Book to him, and among what Allah revealed, was the Verse of the Rajam (the stoning of married persons, male and female, who commit adultery) and we did recite this Verse and understood and memorized it. Allah’s Apostle (saw) did carry out the punishment of stoning and so did we after him. I am afraid that after a long time has passed, somebody will say, ‘By Allah, we do not find the Verse of the Rajam in Allah’s Book’, and thus they will go astray by leaving an obligation which Allah has revealed.” (Sahih al-Bukhari, [d. 870AD] Vol. 8:817, pg.539). Other verses were overlooked: Khuzaimah ibn Thabit said: “I see you have overlooked (two) verses and have not written them”. They said “And which are they?” He replied “I had it directly (tilqiyya – ‘automatically, spontaneously’) from the messenger of Allah (saw) (Surah 9, ayah 128) … Uthman said “I bear witness that these verses are from Allah”. (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif p.11). While some verses were changed: Abu Yunus, freedman of Aishah, Mother of Believers, reported: Aishah ordered me to transcribe the Holy Qur’an and asked me to let her know when I should arrive at the verse Haftdhuu alaas-salaati as-salaatiil-wustaa wa quumuu lillaahi qaanitiin (2.238). When I arrived at the verse I informed her and she ordered: Wrte it in this way, Hafidhuu alaas-salaati as-salaatiil-wustaa wa salaatil ‘asri wa quumuu lillaahi qaanitiin. She added that she had heard it so from the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him). (Muwatta Imam Malik, [d.795 AD] p.64). Others were modified: Altogether al-Hajjaj ibn Yusuf made eleven modifications in the reading of the Uthmanic text. … In al-Baqarah (Surah 2.259) it originally read Lam yatasanna waandhur, but it was altered to Lam yatasannah … In al-Ma’ida (Surah 5.48) it read Shari ya’atan wa minhaajaan, but it was altered to shir ‘atawwa minhaajaan. (Ibn Abi Dawud, Kitab al-Masahif p.117) Some verses were substituted: But Allah said “None of Our Revelations do We abrogate or cause to be forgotten but We substitute something better or similar.” (Sahih Bukhari Volume 6, Book 61, Number 527) Other verses were eaten by sheep: It was narrated that Aishah said: “The Verse of stoning and of breastfeeding an adult ten times was revealed, and the paper was with me under my pillow. When the Messenger of Allah died, we were preoccupied with his death, and a tame sheep came in and ate it.” (Sunan ibn Majah 1944)

• Does this sound like a book which was COMPILED Perfectly and Completely? • Does all of this (al Bukhari 6:509-510, the questions concerning the compilation, and the

traditional references to changes) not imply intentional human intervention all through its compilation?

EPISODE 2: THE 6 MAJOR MANUSCRIPTS A) THE 6 EARLIEST QUR’ANIC MANUSCRIPTS

TOPKAPI SAMMARQAND MA’IL

HOUSEINI PETROPOLITANUS SANA’A

B) WHAT THE MUSLIM EXPERTS SAY ABOUT THE 6 MANUSCRIPTS

PROF. DR. EKMELEDDIN İHSANOĞLU: (Founding Director General of IRCICA (1980-2004) & Secretary General of the Islamic Conference Research Centre)

‘We have none of Uthman’s Mushafs’ (manuscripts)

‘Nor do we have any copies from those Mushafs’

‘These Mushafs date from the later ‘Umayyad period’

• “One of the most important questions of Qur'anic history is the whereabouts of the

Mushafs attributed to Caliph 'Uthman and whether any of them reached the present day. Unfortunately, we do not have a positive answer to this question” (Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu, “Al-Mushaf al-Sharif Attributed to ‘Uthman bin ‘Affan”, 2007:35)

• “Judging from its illumination, the Topkapi Museum Muṣḥaf dates neither from the period when the Muṣḥafs of the Caliph ‘Uthmān were written nor from the time when copies based on those Muṣḥafs were written” (İhsanoğlu, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:10)

• “This, Muṣḥaf, which we proudly present, does not constitute a sample of the early period of Muṣḥaf writing due to a number of characteristics, namely its illumination, calligraphy which shows the development of the Arabic script to a certain extent, the fact that the words appear on straight lines, the proportion between the letters, diacritic marks of i‘rāb in the form of dots in red ink, and the signs of i‘jam in the form of thin slant lines differentiating similar letters from one another in black ink, with which the text is written. Considering its dimensions and style of illumination, this Muṣḥaf most probably belongs to the [later] Umayyad period.” (İhsanoğlu, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:13)

DR. TAYYAR ALTIKULAÇ: (Leading scholar in Qur’anic studies, Ex-president of Turkish religious affairs, deputy in the Turkish parliament)

‘No serious scholarly work has been done on them’

‘These Mushafs date from the early – mid 8th cent.’

‘They are not Uthmanic, nor copies sent by him’ 1) TOPKAPI MUSHAF (EARLY-MID 8TH CENTURY)

Altıkulaç dates the Topkapi manuscript to “the second half of the first century A.H. and the first half of the second Century A.H. [due to] “vowelling and dotting.” (i.e. early - mid 8th century) (Altıkulaç, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:81) “Even though we would like to publish this sacred text as the Muṣḥaf of Caliph ‘Uthmān, our research indicated that it was neither the private Muṣḥaf of Caliph ‘Uthmān, nor one of the Muṣḥafs he sent to various centers.” (Altıkulaç, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:23)

“There are deviations from grammatical rules (Laḥn) and spelling mistakes in the Muṣḥafs attributed to Caliph ‘Uthmān” (Altıkulaç, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:41f) Concludes: “2,270 instances where there is a difference from the [consonantal skeleton] of the Fahd Muṣḥaf” (Altıkulaç, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:81)

2) SAMMARQAND MANUSCRIPT (EARLY-MID 8TH CENTURY)

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY - DR. TAYYAR ALTIKULAÇ

It is not Uthmanic, as it dates from mid-8th c.’

6 REASONS:

• Undisciplined spelling

• Different writing styles

• Scribal mistakes

• Copyist mistakes

• Written by someone with little experience

• With later additions (only goes to Surah 43) (Altıkulaç, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:65, 71-72)

Note: Of the 43 Surahs only 1 is complete, 24 are partially complete, and 18 have nothing written!

3) MA’IL QUR’AN (2165) LONDON

BRITISH LIBRARY (Ridblatt Gallery)

• Hijazi Script

• Only up to Surah 43

• -53% of the Qur’an

• Date: late 8th c. (Dr. Martin Lings)

– Or early 8th c. (Dr. Tayyar Altıkulaç)

4) PARIS PETROPOLITANUS – (Early 8th c.)

FRANCOIS DEROCHE (Deroche 2009:172-177):

Corrections to the text

Disagrees with the Caireen Mushaf in 93 places

• “Five different copyists” • “Later modified with erasures and additions”

Arabe 328 = 26% of the Qur’an

Arabe 330g = 15% of the Qur’an

Arabe 614a = 4.2% of the Qur’an

5) AL HUSSEINI CAIRO MSS (EARLY TO MID 8th CENTURY)

[Located: ‘al-Mashhad al-Husayni’ – Cairo, Egypt]

Dr. Tayyar Altıkulaç:

This is not Uthmanic’

It is dated from early to mid 8th century’

Francois Deroche: 9th century

‘Monumental MS are later…the bigger the later’

“It was stated that the Cairo copy…might have been written on the order of ‘Abd al-‘Aziz b. Marwan (d.704), the governor of Egypt. However, the reason for reaching this conclusion has not been explained. We share the view that this copy is not one of the Mushafs attributed to Caliph ‘Uthman” (Altıkulaç, ‘Al-Mushaf al-Sharif’ 2007:36-footnote 14a)

6) SANA’A MANUSCRIPT (705 AD )

Karl-Heinz Ohlig (1981-Present) • Qur’an began to be compiled • in the last two decades of the • 7th century, with other versions • continuing until the 9th century

Dr. Gerd Puin (1981-Present)

• “Oldest parchments & papers of any Qur’anic Ms.” • Yet, more than half of the text is ambiguous letters • Which need diacritical marks for understanding. • Adding vowels helped correct mistakes. Changes in orthography not found in geographical

tradition schools.

SANA’A MUSHAF PROBLEMS – Upper 705 AD Text

• Many deviations not mentioned in later literature • Different numeration, and surah arrangements found

(i.e. surahs 19-22 26-37-36-38...67- 71-72-51) • Differences in scripts, showing evolution in the text. • Surprising number of variants, including completely different words, and chapters are in a

different order. (Puin 1996:111) • Difference is even meaningful in a theological sense” i.e. ‘Qalu’ to ‘Qul’ (see below) • ‘Qalu’ 50% with alif b/w Qaf-Lam, • Sometimes Abraham (S.2), sometimes Ibrahim

THE SANA’A PALIMPSEST

Claim: A radiocarbon analysis has dated the parchment containing the lower text to before 671 AD with a 99% accuracy.

Response: This is now disputed: “Deroche had already dated this particular manuscript on paleographic (script style) and orthographic (spelling) grounds to the early 700s- it has a more refined form of hijazi script than you find in either the Paris BNF 328a MS or the British Library's Or. 2165, pointing to it being a later manuscript than either of these. The Radio Carbon date seems to be at odds with the date arrived at by the other means…. A scholar who is currently studying its text for variants has found lots of textual variants of all sorts, unintentional and intentional, as well as corrections. His work is not published yet.” (Keith Small, e-mail of March 11, 2015) [not to be published]

LOWER TEXT = Mid – late 7th century (50 years older than the upper text)

• 70 Variants within 63 verses • Doesn’t agree with any known 8th – 10th c. variant schools • Hilali = are from a ‘reading circle’ (but why use expensive parchment?) • Sadeghi & M. Goudarzi = variant of Ibn Mas’ud (yet, doesn’t follow Mas’ud) • E. Puin = part of an entirely different Qur’an, probably a nascent example • 50 years earlier is the date of the animal’s death, and the skin’s curing • Yet RC14 dates = 543-643 AD & 433-599 AD • Ink can’t be dated, thus written later • Corrections of the text are late & too extent • Thus, finally completely erased • And upper text re-written in early 8th century • Yet, the upper text is still not canonical • These 2 layers are the oldest Qur’ans we have • Where are the originals? • Neither layer parallels our 1924 MSS! • A Companion MS? • A Qur’anic ‘Q’ Document

DR DAN BRUBAKER’S CORRECTIONS For his PhD thesis in 2014, Dr Brubaker looked at the 6 earliest Qur’anic Manuscripts, as well as 4 other Manuscripts which appeared soon after.

• INSERTIONS - A POST PRODUCTION ADDITION TO A TEXT (390)

• ERASURES – THE INTENTIONAL REMOVAL OF TEXT FROM THE PAGE (390)

• ERASURES OVERWRITTEN – A CHANGE WAS MADE AT SOME TIME AFTER THE PAGE WAS ORIGIANALLY PRODUCED (560)

• OVERWRITING (WITHOUT ERASURE) – TO RESTORE A PORTION OF TEXT THAT HAS FADED WITH TIME (190)

• TAPINGS – A PATCH APPEARS TO BE SERVING SOME OTHER PURPOSE THAN THE REPAIR OF THE PAGE ITSELF

• SELECTIVE COVERING – INTENTIONAL CHANGE DIRECTLY OVER PORTIONS OF THE

TEXT (515)

• SELECTIVE COVERING OVERWRITTEN – WRITING IN THE TEXT OVER TOP OF THE

TAPE (210)

WHAT CAN WE CONCLUDE?

These corrections number over 2,255 TOTAL! (Now = 3,500)! They are all consonantal corrections (Thus the RASM is being changed)

• No later Diacritical additions • No later Vowelization (Dhamma, Khasrah, Fatah) • No later ‘Dagar Alifs’ (Muslim Response “it’s just an alif”) • Thus, they change the meaning of the text

They continue up until the 9th century

Thus, they are all intentional

They bring about a Standardization

They have a political agenda

QUAR’ANIC MANUSCRIPT CONCLUSIONS

• Western Scholars (Deroche, Böwering, Conrad, Peters, Stein, Shoemaker, etc…) conclude that the earliest Mushaf’s begin to appear in the 8th century

• Muslim Scholars (Prof. Dr. Ekmeleddin İhsanoğlu & Dr. Tayyar Altıkulaç) conclude that the earliest Mushaf’s begin to appear in the 8th century

• Islamic Awareness (IA) concludes there are no complete Uthmanic Mushafs, and that all the early Mushafs date from the late 7th – early 8th century (or later)

• The latest research shows that even these Mushafs have 7 forms of corrections, dating up till the 9th century

• Therefore…. I CONCLUDE: Since Muslims CANNOT PROVE that there are ANY COMPLETE MANUSCRIPTS from the time of Uthman (despite claims about the Topkapi & the Sammarqand)

1) The Qur'an is NOT ETERNAL 2) Was NOT SENT DOWN 3) Was NOT COMPLETE in 650 AD 4) NOT THE SAME, it HAS BEEN CHANGED

Thus, since the above ‘4’ are proven, then… Muhammad had little to do with the Qur’an!

…SO, WHO THEN CREATED THE QUR’AN?!!

EPISODE 3: THE 4 QIBLAS THE TRADE ROUTE THEORY - MECCA Earliest literary reference to Mecca’s existence:

“Apocalypse of Pseuido-Methodius Continuatio Byzantia Arabica” During the early reign of caliph Hisham

• 741 AD! • The earliest maps don’t show MECCA until….900 AD! • Cröne: Greek trading documents refer to the towns of Ta’if (South-East of Mecca), Yathrib

(later Medina), Kaybar, but never Mecca!

THE QIBLA

Qibla – Archaeological evidence Creswell & Fehervari (1905)

• They looked at ancient mosques in the Middle East • Umayyad mosques in Iraq (7th – early 8th c.)

o ‘Fustat’ (641 - outside Cairo) o ‘Wasit’ mosque (706 - Iraq) o ‘Kufa’ mosque (Iraq)

(Creswell 1969:37,137ff,150 & 1989:40; Fehervari 1961:89; Crone-Cook 1977:23,173) (al-Baladhuri's Futuh, ed. by de Goeje 1866:276; Crone 1980:1)

Dan Gibson’s Discoveries ‘The Sacred City’ (May 2016) & ‘Early Islamic Qiblas’ (May 2017)

• Gibson took photos of all of the earliest mosques • He noted their Qiblas • Their direction of prayer

Let’s look at his findings…

Every Qibla from 624 AD – 706 AD is facing Petra

• Medina – 626 AD • Guangzhou, China – 627 AD • Cherman, India - 629 AD • Jami’ Hama al’Kabir, Syria – 637 AD • Fustat, Egypt – 642 • Dome of the Rock, Israel – 690 AD • Humeina, Jordan – 699 AD • Amman, Jordan – 701 AD • Grand Sa’ana, Yemen – 705 AD • Khirbat al Minya, Israel – 706 AD

Note: All 17 Petran Qiblas (except for 2) fall within the 45 mile dotted circle (on the right), proving how accurate they were. The first mosque to face Mecca is not until 727 AD, the Banbhore Mosque in Pakistan, a full 103 years after the Qibla was canonized (in 624AD – see Surah 2:143-149)

THERE WERE 4 QIBLAS

• ALL the Qiblas were facing towards PETRA until 706 AD • Followed by a confusion for the next 100+ years

o 17 face Petra – 8 are between – 10 face Mecca - 6 are Parallel • The Qibla was not finalized towards MECCA until 876 AD • Almost 250 years too late!

QIBLA #1 = PETRA - Most of the Qiblas face towards Petra for the 1st century (624 AD – 772 AD)

QIBLA #2 = BETWEEN - The Qiblas then point between Petra and Mecca from 706 AD – 772 AD

QIBLA #3 = MECCA - The Qiblas only begin facing Mecca from 727 AD – 876 AD, over 100 years too late!

QIBLA #4 = PARALLEL - Yet, there are Qiblas which face Parallel to Petra & Mecca from 732 AD – 866 AD

Which Qibla is the most accurate?

• Petra (17) = 2.9 degrees accuracy (1.9 if we take out the 2 worst) • Between (8) = .98 degrees accuracy • Mecca (10) = 4.78 degrees accuracy • Parallel (6) = 3.5 degrees accuracy

Conclusion: The earlier Qiblas were more accurate, while Meccan Qiblas were the least!

The Significance of Petra?

• It is the Centre of Trade

• It was also the sanctuary for:

• The Nabataeans (2nd c. BC – 713 AD)

• The Umayyads (661 AD – 749 AD)

So, what really happened?

• To make sense of all of this, we will need to begin with Abdullah ibn Zubayr, the governor of Petra, under Abd Malick, the Umayyad caliph from 685 – 705 AD

• Zubayr rebelled in 683 AD, against the Umayyad power in Damascus

• Why were they not in Medina, or Mecca?

• He begins the 2nd civil war

• Zubayr destroys the Ka’aba in Petra, then takes the black stone from there, and flees to the Hijaz (perhaps to Mecca?)

• The Abbasids, who are in control in Kufa, join the rebellion, and support Zubayr

• Damascus is the political capital of the Umayyads • It is 1,000 miles north of Mecca • Petra is the religious sanctuary for the Umayyads • It is 600 miles north of Mecca • Baghdad is the political capital of the Abbasids • Mecca is the religious sanctuary of the Abbasids

The need for an Arab Identity

The Arabs had been in power since the Mid-7th century, but they had no religious identity • Abd al Malick, ruled politically from 685 – 705 AD, in Damascus • He needs an Arab Identity • The Arabs had now controlled that part of the world since 642 AD • Yet, for that roughly 40 year period they were dependent on Jews & Christians to run their

empire o Mawla (s.), or Mawalis (p.) = non Arab converts who lived in cities o The Jews and Christians had their own prophetic line, their own identity

• Yet, the Arabs, though rulers, had no prophetic line, & no identity of their own • This identity was created and introduced by Abd al Malick

Let’s see how he created that identity…

THE MAN

Abd al Malick introduces here his Arab Identity, in the guise of an Arab prophet • Beginning with the Dome of the Rock (691 AD)

o It’s larger than any other non-Arab structure o It’s facing the Arab sanctuary (Petra) o It incorporates inscriptions against Byzantine Christianity o It introduces their faith: ‘Islam’ o It introduces their people: ‘Muslim’ o It introduces their prophet: ‘Muhammad’

• The Caliphal Protocols change over night in 691 AD • Then he mints new Coins in 692 AD

o Replaces the images with Arabic Script o Introduces the ‘Shahada’ on these coins

THE BOOK

Once Abd al Malick introduces Muhammad, he then needs an Arab Revelation

• The earliest Qur’anic texts are on the ‘Dome of the Rock’ (691 AD) • The earliest Qur’anic Manuscripts begin to appear during his reign (i.e. the lower text of the

Sana’a Manuscript = late 7th century)

• The Qur’anic manuscripts begin to proliferate during the reign of his son Al Walid (705 – 715 AD) • None of the manuscripts are complete, nor do they parallel today’s Qur’an completely • They continue to be changed and corrected by later Caliphs (up to the 9th century AD) • The Qur’an is finally canonized, at Al Azhar University, in Cairo, Egypt, in 1924 (just 93 years ago! • And finally, as we shall see, there are still currently 31 different versions of the Arabic Qur’an

THE PLACE

Two Empires compete to create an Arab sanctuary • The Umayyad (and earlier Nabataean) sanctuary in Petra is destroyed by an earthquake

in 713 AD, thus a new place is needed…Mecca, 1st

noted in 727 AD • Possibly chosen by the rebel Abdallah Ibn Zubayr & those from Kufa (the Abbasids), in

defiance of the Umayyads and Petra • The Abbasids, and Zubayr, with their sanctuary in Mecca, then demand allegiance to the

surrounding tribes. All those Qiblas facing Mecca are those who ally themselves to the Abbasids

• Al Hajjaj also rebels against both, & it is his mosques which are facing in between the two other sanctuaries

• Those in No. Africa and Andalusia don’t show allegiance to either empire, so have mosques facing parallel to each sanctuary.

• When the Abbasids finally overpower the Umayyads in 749 AD, most of the Qiblas then face Mecca, with a few holdouts, until by 822 AD, after which they all face Mecca…up to the present time

THE SCENARIO

Now that the Muslims have: • A Prophet (Muhammad) • A Revelation (the Qur’an) • A Sanctuary (Mecca)

They then need a history • The Sira is introduced in 833 AD • The Hadith in 870 AD • The Tafsir in 923 AD

So, by the 9th century, they then have the ‘Book’, the ‘Man’, the ‘Place’, and the ‘Story’…

And a new religion is formed, and growing…

Yet, not within a mere 22 years, but evolving over 200 - 300 years!

EPISODE 4: THE MYTH OF THE ANDALUSIAN PARADISE

By Daniel Janosik, Ph.D.

1. What was al-Andalus? • Muslim-ruled medieval Spain • Said to be a multi-cultural paradise, a place where Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived in

harmony (Multiculturalism and diversity) • Began in 711 with the Islamic Caliphate’s conquest of Spain (ended with Reconquista at the end

of the 15th century) • Said to be a place of tolerance. In reality, it was marked by religious and cultural repression in all

areas of life and the marginalization of Christians and other non-Muslims. • Supposed to be a beacon of peaceful coexistence. In reality a subjugation of all who were not

Muslims

2. What are some things that scholars say who promote the view that Islam was a positive influence during its rule over Spain?

a. According to this view, i. the Arabs “brought one of history’s greatest revolutions in power, religion, culture,

and wealth to Dark Ages Europe” as they were “generally religiously tolerant.”1 ii. This perspective also paints the Muslim culture as “[respectful of] Christians and

Jews as ‘People of the Book’” and maintains that “[m]odern historians seem to agree that the invasion was not particularly cruel, or destructive,” as one historian has summarized. 2

iii. Finally, it maintains that the Qur’an is the source of tolerant behavior and jihad is merely an “inner struggle” rather than a violent and large-scale conquest.

b. Other comments: i. “Muslim rulers of the past were far more tolerant of people of other faiths than

were Christian ones. For example, al-Andalus’ multi-cultural, multi-religious states ruled by Muslims gave way to a Christian regime that was grossly intolerant.” (The Economist)

ii. “The new Islamic polity [in Spain] not only allowed Jews and Christians to survive but, following Quranic mandate, by a large protected them.” (Yale University professor Maria Rosa Menocal

iii. “The standard-bearers of tolerance in the early Middle Ages were far more likely to be found in Muslim lands than in Christian ones.” (Tony Blair, former prime minister of Great Britain)

c. On the other hand, “Far from a land of tolerance, Islamic Spain was marked by religious and therefore cultural repression in all areas of life and the marginalization of Christians and other groups – all this in the service of social control by autocratic rulers and a class of religious authorities.” (book cover for The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise by Fernandez-Morera)

1 David Levering Lewis, God’s Crucible: Islam and the Making of Europe, 570-1215 (New York: W.W. Norton, 2008), xxii-xxiii. 2 Colin Smith, Christians and Moors in Spain (Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1988), 1:10.

3. What were some of the realities that Morera uncovered in his book? a. Morera collects a body of compelling evidence that suggests that much of the positive view

of multi-cultural tolerance practiced in Muslim-controlled Spain during the “Golden Age” has no legitimate basis in reality.

b. He argues that its promotion as such has been more to advance a vision of medieval Islam as being enlightened and tolerant (even superior to Christianity) than to objectively study the historical evidence.

i. First, the chronicles and eyewitness accounts from this time period record ruthless invasions where churches were pilfered and burned, or converted to mosques.

ii. Libraries were burned, just as they were in Zoroastrian Persia and Christian Alexandria. Crosses were destroyed wherever they were found.

iii. “Religious and political persecutions, inquisitions, beheadings, impalings, and crucifixions” reached a height unequaled before in Spain.3

iv. Slavery was rampant, and slaves made up one of the main exports. Indeed, many Christian women were taken as sex slaves and Christian men were made eunuchs to guard the harems.

c. In addition to the brutal invasion tactics, Morera’s evidence also points to the creation of a violent and unsophisticated culture after the conquest:

i. killings for power were common and violence was the major method for social control.

ii. Even though the European culture of Spain was much more advanced than the culture of the invading Muslims, who were mostly illiterate Bedouins, Christians were looked down upon and Jews were held in contempt.4

iii. In addition, the Maliki School of Islamic jurisprudence, which is very strict and unfavorable to non-Muslims, was instituted throughout the area in order to maintain Muslim control.

d. Finally, Morera argues that Andalusian society was hardly multi-cultural. i. Care was taken by Muslims not to pollute themselves by contact with Christians and

Jews, whether that be from verbal greetings or using the same utensils. ii. Morera also demonstrates that the Christian dhimmis of Spain did not benefit much

from Islamic “toleration.” Instead, “they were by definition a subaltern group, a fourth- or fifth- class marginalized people in a hierarchical society” and “they were the victims of an extortion system, the dhimma, that gave them the choice that gangsters give to their victims: pay to be protected, or else.”5

iii. Rather than being the tolerant, multi-cultural paradise presented by many scholars today, Islamic Spain is described by Morera as a “multicultural society wracked by ethnic, religious, social, and political conflicts that eventually contributed to its demise – a multicultural society held together only by the ruthless power of autocrats and clerics.”6

iv. According to Morera’s research, for the Jews and Christians in Spain who were subjected to the rule of Islam, Al-Andalus was certainly not the tolerant, peaceful, and progressive paradise that many scholars and politicians promote today.

3 Morera, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise, 120. 4 Morera, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise, 64. 5 Morera, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise, 239. 6 Morera, The Myth of the Andalusian Paradise, 4.

4. Why do Muslims, as well as liberal scholars feel the need to promote medieval Spain under Islamic rule as a time when Muslims were tolerant and benevolent to their Christian and Jewish subjects when this was not historically accurate? What is their agenda?

i. The need to downgrade the progress made by the Christian West so that the agenda of secularism and atheism can be promoted

1. “[In the Middle Ages there emerged] two Europes – one [Muslim Europe] secure in its defenses, religiously tolerant, and maturing in cultural and scientific sophistication; the other [Christian Europe] an arena of unceasing warfare in which superstition passed for religion and the flame of knowledge sputtered weakly.” (David Levening Lewis, professor of History at New York University)

ii. A genuine lack of understanding of the true agenda that Islam has for world domination

iii. A distorted view of historical events of that time. 1. “European culture had, since the sack of Rome in A.D. 455, gone into a

dramatic decline known as the Dark Ages. Middle Eastern culture, by contrast, was flowering, with the added impetus provided by the new religion of Islam.” (Antony Wild, Coffee: A Dark History, 2005)

iv. Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6:10-18)

5. What were the assumptions of the so-called Golden Age of Islam, and how does it fit together with the views of liberal scholars concerning Al-Andalus?

a. The basic tenets of the pro-Muslim view are that the Islamic world, especially during the Golden Age (750-1050 AD), was a period of great learning and innovation for Muslim scholars. The assumption is that the West at this same time experienced a period of cultural and technological stagnation, and the Renaissance several hundred years later was only possible because Islamic scholars had preserved the classical works that were later “rediscovered” by the West and which stimulated the cultural revival of the Renaissance.

b. Furthermore, the traditional account maintains that scientific discoveries pioneered by Muslim scholars were later of great significance in Europe’s own technological boom. These Muslim advances are said to include the following: the astrolabe (for navigation); an early version of the scientific method; the development of algebra, algorithms, and spherical trigonometry; the introduction of “Arabic” numerals (originally from India); advances in anatomy, surgery, and pharmacology; and advances in astronomy, chemistry, and optics.

6. Defenders of Islam believe that the Golden Age of Islam produced some of history’s greatest thinkers and inventors. Who were some of these men?

a. It has been generally established from historical records that numerous Muslim scholars contributed to diverse fields of study during this time. b. Al-Farabi (b. 872), Ibn-e-Rushd (b. 1126), and Ibn-Sina (b. 980) were great philosophers who studied and wrote commentaries on Aristotle (as well as on religion and reason), c. Ibn-al-Haytham (b. 965) and Abu Musa Jabir-bin-Hayan (b. 721) were famed physicists and astronomers. d. Al-Haytham is also recognized as the “father of modern optics” for his contributions to the understanding of vision, especially in regard to light being reflected into the eye from the outside rather than from the eye itself.

e. Muhammad ibn Zakaria Al-Razi (b. 865), was the greatest Muslim physician and is credited with the invention of rubbing alcohol; f. Al-Biruni (b. 973), specialized in multiple fields that included astronomy, physics, and mathematics; g. Omar Khayyam (b. 1048), was a great mathematician, poet, and astronomer; h. Al-Khawarazmi (b. 780), collected and consolidated previous mathematical discoveries, and brought advancements to the fields of astronomy and geography. i. All of these men are credited with contributing to the cultural splendor and learning that characterized the various Muslim empires, but especially the Abbasid Empire in its zenith as the center of the 300-year Golden Age of Islam.

7. What have revisionists said about these Muslim advances? a. first, that many of the innovations originated from conquered peoples and non-Muslim

thinkers rather than Arab scholars, b. second, that those Muslims who did contribute to their fields did so outside of and

sometimes even directly against the religious circles of Islam. c. One scholar, Robert Spencer, enumerates some examples of how the evidence shows major

innovations to be the work of non-Muslims; these points are supported by other revisionist scholars as well. • The architectural design of mosques, especially the domes, was originally from

Byzantine models of existing churches. • The astrolabe was developed by the Greeks long before Muhammad was born (though

the Muslims made improvements).7 • Christians preserved Aristotle’s works during the “Dark Ages,” and Christians, such as

Huneyn ibn Ishaq (809-873), did most of the translation of the Greek into Arabic.8 • The first hospital in Baghdad during the Abbasid period was built by a Nestorian

Christian, Abu ‘Ali ‘Isa ibn Zur’a (943-1008). • The first Arabic-language medical text was written in Greek by a Christian priest and

then translated into Arabic by a Jewish doctor. • The world’s first university may have been the Assyrian Christian School of Nisibis, and

not Al-Azhar in Cairo.9 • The “Arabic” numerals, as well as the concept of the zero, came from India. • Morera points out “even the Arabic script may have been invented by Christian

missionaries from the Christianized Arab city of Hira in ancient Iraq.”10 • Morera also adds that a tenth century Muslim Chronicler testified that in Iran the

majority of philosophers were still Christian.11

Spencer goes on to point out the implications of such evidence: “Islam was not the foundation of much significant cultural or scientific development at all. It is undeniable that there was a great cultural and

7 http://www.astrolabes.org/pages/history.htm 8 John O’Neill, Holy Warriors, 137 9 Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, 90-91. 10 Morera, The Myth of Andalusian Paradise, 237. 11 Morera, The Myth of Andalusian Paradise, 237.

scientific flowering in the Islamic world in the Middle Ages, but there is no indication that any of this flowering actually came as a result of Islam itself.”12

8. What are some other critiques brought up by scholars who do not accept the liberal view of the Islamic Golden Age?

a. There is evidence from Muslim scholars themselves that strongly suggests that a number of discoveries credited to Islam did not come from the Arab Muslim conquerors, but rather from the people they had conquered, especially the Persians, the Greek-speaking Christians educated in the Byzantine system, and the Jews.

b. A second main issue that is not raised by Muslim scholars defending the Golden Age is that the Islamic governments did not support a number of these scholars, especially the ones who rejected core beliefs of Islam. Therefore, what they accomplished was often in spite of Islam rather than because of Islam.

9. What was the ultimate result of the “closing of the Muslim mind”? By the second or third generation in from conversion to Islam, the spirit of critical inquiry essential to the growth of knowledge was trumped by a strong anti-intellectualism that stifled much Islamic philosophical and scientific thought. This trend was epitomized by the Sufi philosopher Abu Hamid al-Ghazali (1058-1111) who concluded that all man-made ideas were inferior to the revealed message of the Qur’an. From his time until this day, Islam has been dominated by the heavy hand of intellectual stagnation from which it has not yet emerged.

10. What are the implications of these views? One of the main implications is that Islam has not progressed forward and for the most part is still stuck in the mindset of the 7th century. This also means that most of the early accomplishments came in spite of Islam rather than because of Islam. Most of the Muslims who brought forth new ideas were deemed innovators, and therefore heretics, and much of their work was destroyed or later ignored.

This is also why Trifkovic laments that often “the best Muslims, whether judged by intellectual or political achievement, are usually the least Muslim.”13

11. How can we use this material in order to share the truth of Christianity with our Muslim friends? By understanding that many of the early accomplishments were borrowed from other cultures conquered by the Muslims, and that many of the Muslim scholars were considered heretics or rebels for their ideas, provides a good opportunity to explain how Christianity is well suited to advance the cause of science since the God of Christianity is understood as both the creator of all things and the one who created the laws of science to be orderly and consistent so that mankind could benefit from using reason to make new discoveries. In Islam, reason was made subordinate to revelation and science, as well as innovative thinking, was rejected through “the closing of the Muslim mind.” Since Christianity has a balanced view in regard to reason and revelation, new discoveries and innovative thinking have been highly regarded and supported throughout history.

12 Robert Spencer, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam, 89-90. 13 Serge Trifkovic, “The Golden Age of Islam is a Myth,” FrontPageMagazine.com/Friday, November 15, 2002. http://archive.frontpagemag.com/readArticle.aspx?ARTID=21117

EPISODE 5: THE 2 SLAVE TRADES

1. Definitions of Slavery

• Dictionary: “Slavery is one of the things that everyone agrees is unethical” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/slavery/ethics/intro_1.shtml)

• Scriptural: The Bible and the Qur’an use the terms slave and slavery in both positive and negative ways

• Neutral: a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another; a bond servant, or someone entirely under the domination of some influence or person (http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/slave)

• Classical: “Slaves… property, essentially no different than a farm implement or domesticated animal.” (Harrill. J, “The Manumission of Slaves in Early Christianity”, p14)

• Orlando Patterson: “Slavery is a process of dishonour, alienation, and “social death” • David Brion Davis: “The more we learn about slavery, the more difficulty we have defining it.”

(Harrill. J, “The Manumission of Slaves in Early Christianity”, p15) • Cultural Anthropologists: "Scholars do not agree on a definition of "slavery”. The term has been

used at various times for a wide range of institutions, including plantation slavery, forced labor, the drudgery of factories and sweatshops, child labor, semi-voluntary prostitution, bride-price marriage, child adoption for payment, and paid-for surrogate motherhood. Somewhere within this range, the literal meaning of "slavery" shifts into metaphorical meaning, but it is not entirely clear at what point….." (NS:ECA:4:1190f, Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology (4 vols), David Levinson and Melvin Ember (eds), HenryHolt:1996)

2. Muslim Apologetic – Islam Came to Abolish Slavery

• Slavery is good as it is ordained by the Qur’an (Surah 4:24), and thus ordained by Allah • Slavery should not be practised today as there is no genuine caliphate • Islam restricted categories: Only POWs & children from slaves, but Maria & Sirin were gifted to

Muhammad • Islam Improved treatment (Not to be beaten or slapped - Sahih Muslim, The Book of Oaths (Kitab Al-

Aiman), Book 015, Number 4079) o Yet, Islam also didn’t improve treatment: “Where is your camel? He replied: I lost it last

night. Abu Bakr said: There was only one camel that you have lost. He then began to beat him while the Apostle of Allah (pbuh) was smiling and saying: Look at this man who is in the sacred state (putting on ihram), what is he doing?” (Abu Dawud, Book 004, Number 1814)

• Islam Encouraged Manumission (S.4:92; 5:89; 24:33; 58:3)

Complete freedom to work and live where ever

Some sweatshop workers

Chattel slavery

3. What Muslims Claim – Racial Equality in Islam

Muslims claim that Islam is diverse

• Surah 2:178 - O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered - the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him with good conduct. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment.

• Surah 30:22 - And of His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth and the diversity of your languages and your colors. Indeed in that are signs for those of knowledge. (quoted in ‘Day of Prayer’ in 2017, to prove there is diversity in the Qur’an)

• Surah 49:13 - O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.

They only give this Popular rendition of Muhammad’s Farewell sermon as proof:

“All mankind is from Adam and Eve, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor has a black any superiority over white except by piety and good action.” However

• This is not the earliest version • Traced back to a 1987 book “Sermons of the Prophet” by S.F.H. Faizi

Al-Tabari records: “Know for certain that every Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, and that all Muslims are brethren. It is not lawful for a person [to take] from his brother except that which he has given him willingly, so do not wrong yourselves. O Allah, have I not conveyed the message? Al-Tabari, Vol. 9, pp. 112-113 Thus, this equality only applies to Arabs 4. Verses in the Qur’an which Muslims believe preach about the Islamic Emancipation of Slavery

Surah 24:33 – But let them who find not [the means for] marriage abstain [from sexual relations] until Allah enriches them from His bounty. And those who seek a contract [for eventual emancipation] from among whom your right hands possess - then make a contract with them if you know there is within them goodness and give them from the wealth of Allah which He has given you. And do not compel your slave girls to prostitution, if they desire chastity, to seek [thereby] the temporary interests of worldly life. And if someone should compel them, then indeed, Allah is [to them], after their compulsion, Forgiving and Merciful.’

Surah 8:67 - O you who have believed, prescribed for you is legal retribution for those murdered - the free for the free, the slave for the slave, and the female for the female. But whoever overlooks from his brother anything, then there should be a suitable follow-up and payment to him with good conduct. This is an alleviation from your Lord and a mercy. But whoever transgresses after that will have a painful punishment. Surah 4:92 - And never is it for a believer to kill a believer except by mistake. And whoever kills a believer by mistake - then the freeing of a believing slave and a compensation payment presented to the deceased's family [is required] unless they give [up their right as] charity. But if the deceased was from a people at war with you and he was a believer - then [only] the freeing of a believing slave; and if he was from a people with whom you have a treaty - then a compensation payment presented to his family and the freeing of a believing slave. And whoever does not find [one or cannot afford to buy one] - then [instead], a fast for two months consecutively, [seeking] acceptance of repentance from Allah . And Allah is ever Knowing and Wise Surah 5:89 - Allah will not impose blame upon you for what is meaningless in your oaths, but He will impose blame upon you for [breaking] what you intended of oaths. So its expiation is the feeding of ten needy people from the average of that which you feed your [own] families or clothing them or the freeing of a slave. But whoever cannot find [or afford it] - then a fast of three days [is required]. That is the expiation for oaths when you have sworn. But guard your oaths. Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you may be grateful But, what does history show us? 5. Slave Routes and numbers from Africa

Note: Where does this map suggest most of the slaves from Africa went to?

Yet, look where the Total Slaves who left Africa went to…

Note:

17 million went from Trans-Saharan Africa to the North

11.7 million went across the Atlantic to the Americas

Austen, African Economic History, (1987, Currey and Heinemann 2003 reprint p. 275)

6. Slave Trade/Raid Comparisons

Islamic Slave Raids in Africa

17 – 20 million

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

11 – 12 million

2 out of every 3 slaves were women

2 out of every 3 slaves were men

Mortality rate during transit 80%-90%

Mortality rate during transit –10%

Purpose – Mainly sexual exploitation

Purpose – Mainly agricultural work

Few descendants survived Most descendants survived

Should be over 140m alive today

11.7m – 100m progeny

Note:

1) The Bible eradicates slavery

2) The Qur’an supports slavery

3) Islamic Slavery lasted 1400 years

4) European Slavery lasted 400 years

5) Christians uniquely abolished slavery

6) Islam has no abolition movement

7) Slavery doesn’t exist in Christian areas

8) Slavery still exists in Islam today

Islamic Slave Raids of Americans

American seamen in the Atlantic

1785 – 1793

130 captured

7. Muhammad’s own example with slavery

The Abolitionist? (Sahih Bukhari - Volume 5, Book 57, Number 99) Narrated Qais, Bilal said to Abu Bakr, "If you have bought me for yourself then keep me (for yourself), but if you have bought me for Allah's Sake, then leave me for Allah's Work." Muhammad scolds a Woman for freeing a slave: (Sahih Bukhari - Volume 3, Book 47, Number 765) Narrated Kurib: “the freed slave of Ibn 'Abbas, that Maimuna bint Al-Harith told him that she manumitted a slave-girl without taking the permission of the Prophet. On the day when it was her turn to be with the

Islamic Slave Raids in Europe

From Sicily, Italy to Cornwall, England. Even up to Baltimore, Ireland

Purpose = Galley slaves, labourers and sexual exploitation

16th – 19th C.

1.25m enslaved

Prophet, she said, "Do you know, O Allah's Apostle, that I have manumitted my slave-girl?" He said, "Have you really?" She replied in the affirmative. He said, "You would have got more reward if you had given her (i.e. the slave-girl) to one of your maternal uncles." Muhammad re-enslaves a freed slave: (Sahih Muslim - Book 015, Number 4112) 'Imran b. Husain reported that a person who had no other property emancipated six slaves of his at the time of his death. Allah's Messenger called for them and divided them into three sections, cast lots amongst them, and set two free and kept four in slavery; and he (the Holy Prophet) spoke severely of him. Muhammad cancels the manumission: (Sahih Bukhari - Volume 3, Book 41, Number 598) Narrated Jabir: A man manumitted a slave and he had no other property than that, so the Prophet cancelled the manumission (and sold the slave for him). No'aim bin Al-Nahham bought the slave from him. Muhammad redefines freedom: (Sahih Bukhari - Volume 8, Book 80, Number 753) Narrated Anas bin Malik: The Prophet said, "The freed slave belongs to the people who have freed him," or said something similar. 8. Arab Superiority Al- Tabari (839-923AD) “Arabs are the most noble people in lineage, the most prominent, and the best in deeds. We were the first to respond to the call of the Prophet. We are Allah’s helpers and the viziers of His Messenger. We fight people until they believe in Allah. He who believes in Allah and His Messenger has protected his life and possessions from us. As for one who disbelieves, we will fight him forever in Allah’s Cause. Killing him is a small matter to us.” Ibn Taymiyyah (1263-1328AD) Vol. 1, p. 12 "A man married a maid-slave who bore him a child. Would that child be free or would he be an owned slave?" "Her child whom she bore from him would be the property of her master according to all the Imams (heads of the four Islamic schools of law) because the child follows the (status) of his mother in freedom or slavery. If the child is not of the race of Arabs, then he is definitely an owned slave according to the scholars, but the scholars disputed (his status) among themselves if he was from the Arabs - whether he must be enslaved or not because when A'isha (Muhammad's wife) had a maid-slave who was an Arab, Muhammad said to A'isha, `Set this maid free because she is from the children of Ishmael.'“ 9. Black Inferiority – According to the Islamic scholars

869 967 918 1016 1114 1065 1163 1212 1261 1310 1407 1359

Al-Jahiz – famous Muslim scholar (781-869AD)

"Like the crow among mankind are the Zanj [African Blacks] for they are the worst of men and the most vicious of creatures in character and temperament.” [Jahiz, Kitab al-Hayawan, vol. 2]

"We know that the Zanj (blacks) are the least intelligent and the least discerning of mankind, and the least capable of understanding the consequences of actions.“ [Jahiz, Kitab al-Bukhala (“Avarice and the Avaricious”)

"They [the Shu`ubiyya] maintain that eloquence is prized by all people at all times - even the Zanj, despite their dimness, their boundless stupidity, their obtuseness, their crude perceptions and their evil dispositions, make long speeches.” [Jahiz, Al-Bayan wa`l-tabyin, vol. 3]

Ibn Qutaybah – Renowned Islamic scholar from Kufa, Iraq (828-889AD) “[Blacks] are ugly and misshapen, because they live in a hot country.” [Adam Misbah al-Haqq “Blasphemy Before God: The Darkness of Racism in Muslim Culture”] Al-Muqaddasi – Medieval Muslim Geographer (945/946-1000AD) "Of the neighbors of the Bujja, Maqdisi had heard that "there is no marriage among them; the child does not know his father, and they eat people -- but God knows best. As for the Zanj, they are people of black color, flat noses, kinky hair, and little understanding or intelligence“ [Kitab al-Bad’ wah-tarikh] Ibn Sina – Hafiz, Islamic Psychologist, Scholar and Theologian (980-1037AD) “[Blacks are] people who are by their very nature slaves. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi – Shia Muslim Scholar and Grand Ayatollah (1201-1274AD) "If (all types of men) are taken, from the first, and one placed after another, like the Negro from Zanzibar, in the Southern-most countries, the Negro does not differ from an animal in anything except the fact that his hands have been lifted from the earth - in no other peculiarity or property - except for what God wished. Many have seen that the ape is more capable of being trained than the Negro, and more intelligent“ [Tasawwurat (Rawdat al-taslim] Ibn Khaldun – Islamic Jurist, Lawyer, Scholar, theologian and Hafiz (1332-1406AD) "Therefore, the Negro nation are, as a rule, submissive to slavery, because [Negroes] have little [that is essentially] human and have attributes that are quite similar to those of dumb animals, as we have stated“ "Beyond [known peoples of black West Africa] to the south there is no civilization in the proper sense. There are only humans who are closer to dumb animals than to rational beings. They live in thickets and caves, and eat herbs and unprepared grain. They frequently eat each other. They cannot be considered human beings" 10. Colourism – Pre Islam v. Post Islam

“The Arabs…sometimes describe themselves as black in contrast to Persians, who are red, but at other times as red or white in contrast with Africans, who are black.”

“During the period immediately following the death of the Prophet in 632 AD the great Islamic conquests took the new faith to vast areas of Asia and also of Africa. A new situation was created, and many changes can be observed in the literature of the time. The first of these is the narrowing, specializing, and fixing of color terms applied to human beings. In time, almost all disappear apart from “black”, “red”, and “white”; and these become ethnic and absolute instead of personal and relative…Together with this specialization and fixing of color terms comes a very clear connotation of inferiority attached to darker and more specifically black skins.” [Bernard Lewis “Race and Slavery in the Middle East”, p. 22-26]

Black man living in Arabia: Jahiz of Basra, 776-869 AD

“It is part of your ignorance… that in the time of heathendom [i.e., in pre-Islamic Arabia] you regarded us as good enough to marry your women, yet when the justice of Islam came, you considered this wrong.”

[Pellat, “The Life and Works of Jahiz”, pp. 195-198]

11. Colourism – According to the Qur’an

Q3:106

“On the Day (i.e. the Day of Resurrection) when some faces will become white and some faces will become black; as for those whose faces will become black (to them will be said): "Did you reject Faith after accepting it? Then taste the torment (in Hell) for rejecting Faith."

Q39:60

“And on the Day of Resurrection you will see those who lied about Allah [with] their faces blackened. Is there not in Hell a residence for the arrogant?"

12. Colourism – According to the Traditions (Sunah of the Prophet)

Bukhari Vol. 9, Book 89, Hadith 256 “Narrated Anas bin Malik. Allah's Messenger said, "You should listen to and obey, your ruler even if he was an Ethiopian (black) slave whose head looks like a raisin”

Sunan an-Nasa'i 4184 “It was narrated that Jabir said: "A slave came and pledged to the Prophet to emigrate, and the Prophet did not realize that he was a slave. Then his master came looking for him. The Prophet said: 'Sell him to me,' and he bought him for two black slaves. Then he did not accept the pledge from anyone until he asked: 'Is he a slave?"‘ (Sahih Darussalam)

Sunan Ibn Maja: Vol 1 Do not marry women for their beauty, which may destroy them, or for their money, which may corrupt them, for religion. A slit-nosed black slave-woman, if pious, is preferable. [Cairo, (1372/1952), p. 597]

Ibn Hazm (994-1064) God has decreed that the most devout is the noblest even if he be a Negress’s bastard, and that the sinner and unbeliever is at the lowest level even if he be the son of the prophets. [Ibn Hazm, “Jamharat Ansab al-Arab” Cairo, (1948)]

Jami at-Tirmidhi: Vol. 2, Bk 4, No 877 Ibn Abbas narrated that: “The Messenger of Allah said: "The Black Stone descended from the Paradise, and it was more white than milk, then it was blackened by the sins of the children of Adam."

Al-Tirmidhi Hadith, Number 38 Narrated AbudDarda', Allah's Messenger (peace be upon him) said: Allah created Adam when He had to create him and He struck his right shoulder and there emitted from it white offspring as if they were white ants. He struck his left shoulder and there emitted from it THE BLACK OFFSPRINGS as if they were charcoal. He then said (to those who had been emitted) from the right (shoulder): For Paradise and I do not mind. Then He said to those (who had been emitted) from his left shoulder: They are for Hell and I do not mind.

Early Consequences

Al Tabari (10th century) notes:

• Zanj employed in groups (500-5000) • Their condition was ‘extremely bad’, and they were ‘literally pinned down there, hopeless and

homeless’ The bad treatment led to numerous slave revolts, beginning in 689AD.

13. Muhammad’s Appearance (according to the Islamic Traditions

Ibn Musa al-Yahsunbi “Anyone who says that the Prophet was black should be killed”

Handsome White Face (Muslim 2340)

White Forearm (Dawud 3206)

White Armpits (Bukh. 8:78:631)

White Abdomen/Belly (Bukh. 4:56:767)

White Leg/Shank (Bukh. 4:56:767)

White Skin (Al-Adab Mufra 790:33:37)

Not completely white (Bukhari 4:56:744)

Muhammad was a White Man (Al-Bukhari 1:3:63)

14. Muhammad’s view on the colour Black

Black Dogs must be killed because they are evil: (Abu Dawud #2839) Abd Allah B. Mughaffal reported the apostle of Allah as saying: Were dogs not a species of creature I should command that they all be killed; but kill every pure black one.

The Hadith's note for #2839 says, "The prophet did not order the killing of all the dogs, for some are to be retained for hunting and watching. He ordered to kill the jet black ones. They might be more mischievous among them.

They are devils: (Sahih Muslim Number 1032) Abd Dharr reported: The Messenger of 'Allah said: When any one of you stands for prayer and there is a thing before him equal to the back of the saddle that covers him and in case there is not before him (a thing) equal to the back of the saddle, his prayer would be cut off by (passing of an) ass, woman, and black Dog. I said: O Abu Dharr, what feature is there in a black dog which distinguish it from the red dog and the yellow dog? He said: O, son of my brother, I asked the Messenger of Allah as you are asking me, and he said: The black dog is a devil.

Black women cause epidemics: (Bukhari Vol. 9, Book 87, Hadith 163) Narrated Salim's father, The Prophet said, "I saw (in a dream) a black woman with unkempt hair going out of Medina and settling in Mahai'a. I interpreted that as (a symbol of) epidemic of Medina being transferred to Mahai'a, namely, Al-Juhfa."

Anything but black: (Sunan an-Nasa'i 5076) It was narrated that Jabir said: "Abu Quhafah was brought on the Day of the Conquest of Makkah, and his hair and beard were white like the Thaghamah. The Messenger of Allah said: 'Change this with something, but avoid black.'"

15. Bernard Lewis on Pre-Islamic Views on Colour

“The Arabs…sometimes describe themselves as black in contrast to Persians, who are red, but at other times as red or white in contrast with Africans, who are black. The characteristic colour of the Bedouin is variously stated as olive or brown”. [Bernard Lewis “Race and Slavery in the Middle East”, p. 22]

“During the period immediately following the death of the Prophet in 632 AD the great Islamic conquests took the new faith to vast areas of Asia and also to Africa. A new situation was created, and many changes can be observed in the literature of the time.”

“The first of these is the narrowing, specializing, and fixing of colour terms applied to human beings. In time, almost all disappear apart from “black”, “red”, and “white”; and these become ethnic and absolute instead of personal and relative….”

“…Together with this specialization and fixing of colour terms comes a very clear connotation of inferiority attached to darker and more specifically black skins.” [Lewis: ‘Race and Slavery in the Middle East – An Historical Enquiry, pg 26]

16. Attitudes in Early Islamic Literature

African Origin Poet, Suhaym – 660 AD: “If my colour were pink, women would love me, But the Lord has marred me with blackness. Though I am a slave my soul is nobly free, Though I am black of colour my character is white. I am covered with a black garment, but under it there is a lustrous garment with white skirts” [Suhaym, Diwan p, 69]

Black Poet, Abu Dulama “Father of Blackness” – 776 AD [Probably the best known early black poet in Arabic. A Slave who became a court jester of the 1st Abbasid caliphs]

“We are alike in colour; our faces are black and ugly, our names are shameful.”

[Mohammed Ben Cheneb, Abu Dolama, poete bouffon de la cour des premiers calies abbasides (Algiers, 1992), pp 35, 136]

Jahiz of Basra, 776-869 AD [One of greatest prose writers in classical Arabic literature and may be partly of African descent. In his special essay “the Boast of the Blacks against the Whites”]

“It is part of your ignorance… that in the time of heathendom [ i.e., in pre-Islamic Arabia] you regarded us [blacks] as good enough to marry your women, yet when the justice of Islam came, you considered this wrong.” [Pellat, “The Life and Works of Jahiz”, pp. 195-198]

17. Anti-Black sentiment is an Islamic creation according to the scholars

James Harrill: “…Roman slaveholders were neither paternalistic nor racist in the modern sense of the term. Race itself is a modern construct: although there were views about differing ethnicities in antiquity…, there was no so-called scientific theory of skin-coloured race until the nineteenth century.” (Harrill. J, “The Manumission of Slaves in Early Christianity”, p52)

Davis Goldenberg: “Lewis did not find anti-Black sentiment in Arabia until the seventh-century conquest of Africa and the enslavement of its inhabitants. Snowden and Thompson similarly did not find a prejudiced view of Blacks in ancient Greece and Rome…. In those earlier times colour did not

define a person and was not a criterion for categorizing humanity.” (Goldenberg, D. “The Curse of Ham” (2003), p. 200)

“We first see this… explicit link between skin colour and slavery in Near Eastern sources beginning in the seventh century.…”

“…We note its first appearance, in the Christian West, as soon as Europe discovered black Africa and began to engage in the slave trade.” (Goldenberg, D. “The Curse of Ham” (2003), p. 175, 200)

Bernard Lewis: “The myth of Islamic racial innocence was a Western creation and served a Western purpose… In the [18th] century, the philosophers of the Enlightenment had praised Islam for its lack of dogmas and mysteries, its freedom from priests and Inquisitors and other persecutors – recognising real qualities but exaggerating them as a polemical weapon against the Christian churches and clergy.” (Lewis. Bernard, “Race and Slavery in the Middle East”, (1990) p101)

So, where did this Islamic notion of black inferiority originate from?

18. Banu Ham

“…during the first three Islamic centuries banu Ham appears quite often as a synonym for black African.

[Rotter, “Die Stellung des Negers” p. 141]

Referring to story of Noah and resulting curse

“We first see this… explicit link between skin color and slavery in Near Eastern sources beginning in the seventh century.” “The tradition that Noah uttered a dual curse against his son Ham, cursing him with blackness and with slavery at the same time, is very widespread in Islamic sources.”. [David Goldenberg, “The Curse of Ham” pp. 170]

Ibn Ata (647-732)

“Ham begat all those who are black and curly-haired….Noah prayed that the hair of Ham’s descendants would not grow beyond their ears, and that wherever his descendants met the children of Shem, the latter would enslave them.”

[David Goldenberg (Historian), “Curse of Ham,” 33]

Al-Tabari

“He prayed that Ham’s color would be changed and that his descendants would be slaves to the children of Shem and Japheth”. [Brinner, “The History of al-Tabari” 2:14]

19. Huge Mistake!!!

1. Islamic writers borrowed from late non-Biblical writings (The Cave of Treasures, Syriac apocrypha writing, 373 AD)

2. If they had knowledge of the Torah they would have known there was no curse of Ham. The curse was on Canaan (Genesis 9:25) and the exact nature of the curse was debated among Rabbinic scholars.

3. “In Rabbinic literature, we do not have or find an implication that the descendants of the accursed Canaan are black or African People. Indeed there was never a question in Rabbinic thought – it was Cush and not Canaan who inhabited Africa south of Egypt.” [Isaac, “Genesis, Judaism” (1985), 77]

20. Huge Consequences

Resulted in unprecedented prejudice against the black Africa. Yes, there were slaves of all colours but the treatment was not equal. For example:

Unequal Treatment: Baqt of 652AD

Agreement made between Muslim Egypt and Christian Nubia, requiring Nubia to supply 360 slaves annually to Egypt.

In addition to the 360, another 40 were sent annually, either for the Arab officials handling the transaction or to compensate for an estimated 10% loss during transport. [Hasan, ‘The Penetration of Islam’, 113-115; Lokkegaard “EI”; Ootto Meinadus, “The Christian Kingdoms of Nubia” [1967, p146]

Consequences “Thus, we see that over the centuries an obscure text was so interpreted by medieval Jews to explain the blackness of Africans and was then used in turn by Arabs, Europeans, and North Americans to justify slavery and, until recently, by Mormons to exclude blacks from their priesthood.” [Yamauchi, “Africa and the Bible” (1985), 31]

All because Islamic writers did not have knowledge of the previous scriptures.

21. Questions for our Muslim Friends

#1 Why did Islamic thought borrow from sectarian Jewish and apocryphal Christian writings?

#2 Why did the advent of Islam bring about the fixing of colour terms for human beings?

#3 Why did Muhammad cancel the manumission of some freed slaves?

#4 What caused the Zanj to rebel in the 7th century, under the rule of the second best generation of Islam?

#5 If Islam came to abolish slavery, when did they abolition it, & why are Muslim countries the last to eradicate slavery?

#6 Would you follow the example of Muhammad and take slaves if the circumstances satisfied the Shariah?

22. Quick Comparisons

Christianity Islam

Narrative – Slavery to Freedom Narrative – Slavery to Slavery

Voluntary Involuntary

Freedom in YHWH was always the plan Slaves to Allah was always the plan

Jesus did not trade or own slaves Muhammad traded and owned slaves

Jesus set the world free Muhammad bought more slaves than he “freed”

Our freedom was costly Freedom is a mere monetary value

God Himself fought for our freedom Muhammad fought to capture slaves

Although the OT provided for slavery for criminals and insolvent debtors, kidnapping and enslaving law-abiding people incurred the death penalty.

23. Useful Biblical Verses on slavery

Exodus 21:16 "Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death."

The New Testament expressly forbids both the slave trade and slavery itself.

Mark 12:30-31 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Love your neighbour as yourself."

Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,

John 8:32 "Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free."

Acts 17:26 "From one man He made every nation of men."

2 Cor. 3:17 ".....where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom."

Galatians 3:28 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free.....for you are all one in Christ Jesus."

1 Timothy 1:9-10 "....the Law is made not for the righteous but for Law breakers....for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for adulterers and perverts, for slave traders and liars and perjurers."

Philemon 16: “I am sending him back to you [Onesimus] no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother…both as a man and as a brother in the Lord”

Conclusion:

Galatians 5:1 “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery”

EPISODE 6: THE 31 DIFFERENT ARABIC QUR’ANS

We have always been told that there has only ever been 1 Qur’an

• The same Qur’an which exists eternally in the ‘Preserved Tablets’ in heaven (Surah 85:22) • The same Qur’an which was sent down to Muhammad between 610 AD – 632 AD • The same Qur’an which was compiled and canonized under Uthman in 652 AD • The same Qur’an which has never changed in 1400 years • The same Qur’an which can be found all over the world in every Muslim community

But is this true?

All of these 26 Arabic Qur’ans (now 31) were bought in the last two years in Arab speaking countries, in popular Arab book markets. Not one of them is exactly the same!

• Are these 59,776 differences ‘Ahruf’, or ‘Qira’at’ readings? • If so, do they change the meaning and theology of the verses?

Note how the following examples change the meaning and theology of the verses:

What did we find?

1) From the 8th – 9th centuries, different readings began to appear

1) No one today knows how to define ‘Ahruf’ and ‘Qira’at’

2) They say they are synonyms, and do not change the meanings

3) Yet, we found that they changed the meanings substantially

2) From the 8th - 10th century 25 well known and 13 lesser known teachers and their students (37 in total) introduced thousands of variants

3) Looking at just 23 of their compilations, we found 59,766 variations between them

4) While most of the variants aren’t substantial, many changed the meanings, and even the theology of the verses

Conclusions:

1) The Qur’an was not completed during the life of Muhammad

2) Nor was it completed during the life of Uthman

3) In fact, it continued to be changed for the next 200 years

1) By at least 37 different teachers and students

2) Who changed the diacritical marks and the vowelization, and at times even the words, up to and including the 9th century (over 1,000 years ago)

3) These changes affect the meaning of the verses, and their theology

4) So that today we have at least 31 different Arabic Qur’ans

5) Thus, the Qur’an is not from God, but from man

6) It has been manipulated over the past 1400 years

7) It was finalized into its present form in 1924, a full 93 years ago!