a rejoinder to pope's allegations against islam by mukhtar a. cheema

8/8/2019 A Rejoinder to Pope's Allegations Against Islam by Mukhtar A. Cheema

1/60

~

-

ARejoinder

ToPope's

AllegationsAgainst Islam

BY:Mukhtar A. Cheema

..

~

.... ~


2/60

CONTENTS

Foreword. .. ... . . .. . . '" .. . "" " .. ... .. . . .. .. . . . '" .. . 1The concept about God . .. .. .. .. . .4The concept about the prophets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .12The concept about the Scriptures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Human Rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Farewell address of the Holy Prophet (Peacebe uponhim) 24Women rights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 28Compu lsion in the R eligion (Is1am icpo in to f view ) 34Jihad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . " . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .36Treatment to the people of the book .. .. "" .42C ompu lsion in th e R eligion (B ib licalpo into f view ) 45Non Muslims in praise of the Holy Prophet of Islam. . . . . . . . . . . ... . 51


3/60

FORE\VORD

Head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI, during hisle ctu re , d eliv ere d on 12thSep tember 2006 a t th e Univ ersity o f Reg en sburgin G erm any, criticized Islam . U nder the shadow of centuries old so calleddialogue between Byzantine emperor Manuel II Paleologus and aneducated Persian, on the subject of C hristianity and Islam , and the truth ofboth. In the selection of a very sm all segm ent of the dialogue Pope madetarget to the Holy P rophet of Islam .H e m ight be testing the patience of the Muslim s, but in reality he not onlyruined, the years long efforts of his predecessor in m oments but also heexposed him self to the entire world, where he stands. In the citation ofdiscourse of the emperor he said, "Show me just what Mohammedbrought that was new, and there you will find things only eviland inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword thefaith he preached" .In this w ay, the Pope leveled false accusations against the H oly Prophet ofIslam under the shelter of so called dialogue betw een B yzantine em perorManuel II Paleologus and a Persian scholar. This statement wasastonishing for the whole world in general and particular for the Muslim s.

The so called dialogue starts as comparison behveen Christianity andIslam and From the citation of a bit of dialogue by the Pope, the mainimpression is created that God forbid, whatever the Holy prophet of Islambrought that was new, is full of evils, or in other words before the HolyProphet of Islam there were teachings full of wisdom and knowledgehaving suitability to mankind but whatever new he brought that was full of

1


4/60

incom patibility to the hum an values and full of evils. Then he especiallyquoted, "such as his command to spread by the sword the faith hepreached". In this way he presented Islam as the religion of horror andterror. He also presented the Islam ic concept of God as irrational andbeyond the lim its of experience, existing out side the material world whichis different from the G reek myth olog y and the B ib lical concept of God.I do not hesitate to say that it was the prophet of Islam, who not onlytaught the people manners and human values but accomplished all them oral standards through his excellent exam ples. In the entire hum an racehe is the only person who can be presented as perfect exemplar formankind. In teaching ethics and good manners to humanity he is wellrecognize in the history of religion. T he suprem acy of Islam over all thereligion is obvious and this whole credit goes to the Holy P rophet of Islam .T his is not just lip service but it is the truth and reality.Being Muslims it is our prime duty to accept this challenge, to show notonly to the Pope, but to the entire Christian world, the true picture ofIslam and Christianity and prove with logic and wisdom that whatever newthing was brought by the Holy prophet of Islam that was all good, nothingbut the good, and he was not the promoter of evil, rather he was thepromoter of peace brotherhood and harmony in the world. It cannot bedenied that by his appearance evils and immoralities vanished away fromth e scene.

M.A . Cheema

2


5/60

Pope's lecture can be divided and discussed under three main categories

1. Nature of God in Christianity and IslamB ib lic al a nd Qura nic T ea ch in gs.Islam is a violent religion and it was spread by force.

2.3.In the following pages I would try to bring into lime 1light step by step thephilosophy and teachings brought by the Holy Prophet of Islam , alongw ith com parison w ith the B iblical teachings of C hristianity.

3


6/60

THE CONCEPT ABOUT GOD

Allah is the proper name of God, which is known since the timeimmemorial, through the prophets. Islam presents most perfect andcom plete concept of G od, free from any w eakness. A lm ighty A llah is theLord of all the worlds. He is free from all blem ishes and possesses allperfect attributes. H e alone is fully aw are of the real nature of all things.G od is entitled to all praise. H is providence is not only universal but is alsoextended to both the physical and the spiritual w orld. H e is the creator andwe all his creatures, so the powers and faculties w ith which man isendowed are all gifts of God. It is He W ho is deserving of praise for anygood that m ay be done by m an.H oly Q uran says;SJ /. /. /. II) iIJ /,. :$I $Jil l\ "J J "'II J. d "'II "J Q;~':.\( ~I ~ \~ d UI ~I U .ill ill \ d

~ r-f ~f ~ J ." r- ~ ~ ~ ~ ~,;' ,.;'" // /'/." " " ,,/ : }. '0 0 :iJ,. /' SIJ wI J. .::'1\ ~ . -:,~ II J. / 1\ J LWI J :J.A .\\ 8 .W \ d U\ ~\ U .ill. j!.f"' ~ ~ y- i U' J ~ ~ ~ ~/ /'".. ;' /',. ,//0 "" tiJ" " ";1J "J /.;Ij r 0~CUI ~ Ju _J II ;L" LJ\ J"IW I illI "~ .) .~ : . J L:.:~ ill I 0~ nc~/ II)y---' \,,;;. ~ J Y ~ . ~;" /"..0" 0 /. ,. IJ/ II)* J ('~I\ J. .::'1\ d" . U( ul"k:JI j ~ ~ J /" J ::"11~~ j!.: ~ J ~) J" J '-.?'" ~ ~

"He is Allah and there is no god beside Him, the Knower of the unseenand the seen. H e is the G raciou s, th e Mercifu l. H e is A llah and there is nogod beside Him, the Sovereign, the Holy One, the Source of peace, theB estowe r o f sec urity , the P rotector, the M ighty, the S ubd uer, the E xa lted .Holy is Allah, far above that which they associate with H im . H e is Allah,the creator, the M aker, the Fashioner. H is are the m ost beautiful nam es.

4


7/60

All that is in the heavens and the earth glorifies Him, and He is th eM igh ty , the W ise."

(HOLY QURAN 59: 23-25)Pope qu oted in his lectu re;"T heo do re Kho ury , ob serv es: F or the emperor, as a B yzantine shaped byGreek philo sophy, th is s ta temen t is s elf- ev iden t. ButfiJ r Muslim teaching,God is abso lu te ly tra ns cend en t. H is w ill is not bound up with any of ourcategorie s, even that o f rationa lity ."So for as the attributes and the powers of God are !Concerned he is notbound to his creatures, otherwise what will be the difference between thecreature and the creator? Our abilities, talents and aptitudes of mind arevery lim ited as compare to the attributes and the powers of the creator ofthe universe, but still we can comprehend his existence. In his creationfrom the smallest particle to the greatest galaxies, even our ownsubsistence is a living proof of the existence God. In spite of being hiddenfrom our physical eyes he is every where, and controlling the entireuniverse. It is true that with our own power we cannot see him but hehimself reaches to us, as Holy Quran says;

"$ J '" ", J {fJ} ~\\ ~\ d/ /~\1\!J ~ /~ / }~\1\;S- :J ~~ " YJ). )" J J). );" "'" ;" ./"Eyes cannot reach Him but He reaches the eyes. And He is th ein compr eh en sib le , th e A ll-Aware ."

(HOLY QURAN 6:104)

God according to Islam ic belief is incom prehensible, but sam e tim e he iscloser than our ow n souls. H e is m ore aw are about us than our ow n selves.

5


8/60

Being hidden from our eyes he rem ains in the core of our hearts. A lm ightyGod h imse lf sa ys;/ "

g ,. ,/ 0" ,.,.s;- ~ ~l y)i J-Jj ~ ~ d y} L: ~:) 0~~\ GiG:- ~j'" ./ ".. // /' .... 0..lu) I

"And assuredly, We have created man and We know what his mindwhispers to him , and W e are nearer to him than even his jugular vein."

(HOI,Y QURAN 50: 17)So whoever becomes obedient to God and walks the ways he likes, andsupplicates to him , he is near to such person, he hears the supplications ofthe supplicants and responds to him . This is Islamic concept of God.Concept of a living and loving God. It is not just hypothesis, but it is thereality, he appeared to whom he pleased in all the ages and revealed hissecrets.Holy Quran says;

"0/ /' /." I"" \JJ /' tJJ

//,.I~ ~~; \~~-\:J\ 0;'; ~\ ~! J~ ~;s.~:~ ~L \~~j", ~/ 0 "0)D"j r - + w 1.5 \~~j J,...,/ -,."And when My servants ask thee about Me, say '[ am near. [ answer theprayer of the supplicant when he prays to Me. So they should hearken toMe an d b elieve in M e that they mayfollow the right way."

(HOLY QURAN 2:187)Contrary to the Islam ic point of view it is m entioned in the G ospels that nom an has seen G od;

6


9/60

"No man hath seen God at any tim e; the only begotten Son, which is inthe bosom of the Father, he hath declared him ."

(JOHN 1:18)So if no man has seen God, according to the Gospel of John then definitelyPope's statement is contradictory to his own belief. But in reality Biblesupports Islamic point of view . Because it is mentioned in the Bible thatGod talked to M oses face to face."And the Lord spake unto M oses face to face, as a man speaketh unto hisfriend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, theson of N un, a yo ung man , depa rted no t o ut o f the tabern acle."

(EXODUS 33 :1 1)It is not M oses to whom God talked face to face rather he talked to otherIsraelites also on the mount Horeb, as it is described in the book ofDeuteronomy."1 And M oses called all Israel, and said unto them), H ear, 0 Israe l, thestatutes and judgm ents w hich I speak in your ears this day, that ye maylearn them, and keep, and do them. 2 The Lord our God made acovenan t w ith us in Horeb. 3 The Lord m ade not this covenant with ourfathers, but with us, even us, who [are] all of us here alive this day. 4The Lord talked w ith you face to face in the mount out of the midst of thefire. 5 I stood between the Lord and you at th at time, to shew you theword of the Lord: for ye were afraid by reason of the f ire, and went notup into the mount;"

(DEUTERONOMY 5:1-5)

7


10/60

So the above are the two contradictory Biblical statem ents, and there is notany possible way to reconcile them , unless seek guidance from the HolyQuran. So according to the Islamic point of view Goel is not bound to beseen to every one, but he appears to whom he pleases, so this unavoidabledilemma which Pope has mentioned in his lecture can be solved in thelight of the Quranic teachings. In the above Biblical statements, Gospel ofJohn is speaking about the appearance of God in physical sense and thatis not possible, so no man has seen God. The book of Exodus and the bookof Deuteronomy are talking about appearance of God in Visionary formand that is possible and true.According to the Holy Quran, A lm ighty God guides them in his ways toreach him , those who, struggle to find him . To strive hard to win hispleasure. This can best be done by follow ing a Divine guidance giventhro ugh th e p ro ph ets.

0 / ';P;P"" /. "

$J'.. ~ J q ::\ all 0\' cL., 0 J~, 0 J G \ ~G:- '. ..ul'~ c- ~J. r+:--4 ~ J .:.f.. J// "" "'" /' ",..

"And as for those who strive to meet us. We will, surely, guide them inO ur ways. And, verily, A llah is with those who do good."

(HOLY QURAN 29: 70)There are different attributes of G od, m entioned in the H oly Q uran, allthose attributes invite the servants of God to adopt them , and put theminto practice in the daily life. This is the w ay to becom e totally of G od andtotally surrender to him . Sam e philosophy is m entioned in the follow ingverse of the H oly Quran too;

8


11/60

./ ./ ~ t;J ./ iJJ./0J~~ ~ ~j ~.wl ~ :~i::;j.w l ~"Sa y, 'the real color is the color of Allah; and w ho is :better in color thanAllah, and him alone do w e w orship. ,, ,

(HOLY QURAN 2:139)This is the stage in which some one totally loses his identity, and adoptsA llah's attributes and become entirely of God. This is the situation whensome acquire God's attributes and become His living manifestation. Thenhis action becomes the action of God.The God of Islam is a living God; he takes care of every one, and is freefrom any kind of w eakness. N othing is hidden from his eyes. H oly Q uransay s in th is reg ard ;~j uljCJI ~ ~;j ry ~j s ~~t ~ r~1:~I; ~ 1 ; 5 1 ~ ~I./ -/ ./ - "" ./ "~ .

~)~I~" - ""Allah- there is no god save H im , the Living, the Self-Subsisting and All-Sustaining. Slumber seizes Him not, nor sleep. To Him belongswhatsoever is in th e h eavens and wha tso ev er is in the earth."

(HOLY QURAN 2:256)The Quranic concept of God presented above is an excellent concept, ismore rational as compare to the concept presented by any other religion.Islam has presented the idea of God with logic and wisdom, the God wehave personally experienced. Not like Christianity, three in one and one inthree, this triune philosophy is borrowed from Greek mythology. This is

9


12/60

why Pope agreed to comprom ise w ith G reek's traditional concept of gods.Islam cannot comprom ise w ith such myths, and put aside the m agnificentidea about G od. H oly P rophet of Islam has introduced G od in a w onderfulway having no comparison at all. The Islam ic point of view of God isdifferent from the B iblical perception. B ible presents an immature andimperfect opin ion abo ut God . L ik e it is men tion ed in th e B ib le;"And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and herested on the seventh day from all his work which he had m ade."

(GENES IS 2:2)How someone can even suppose about God, the creator of the heavens andthe earth, controller of the whole universe needs to take rest. W hat kind ofGod that is, who feels to restore energy by taking rest? Of course that is notthe God introduced by Muhammad (Peace be upon him), rather that is theG od of Christianity, introduced in by the Bible.

Holy prophet of Islam introduced one omnipotent G od which is differentfrom the triune G od of C hristianity, in w hich Jesus C hrist is also G od, theG od who rem ained in the company of devil for forty days, according to theChristians;"And Jesus,jull of the H oly Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and w as ledin th e Spirit in the wilderness during forty days, being tempted of thedevil. And he did eat nothing in those days: and when they werecomp le ted, he hungered."

(LUKE 4:1-2)

10


13/60

God of Islam is not the one who can be under the dominance of anyone,but the God of Christianity suffered for forty days by devil even felthunger.It was not the God of Islam who was mocked and spitted on by theenemies and remained dead for three days and nights, but that was theGod of Chris tianity."For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, andspitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him and puthim to death: and the third day he shall rise again." (LUKE 18:32 -33 )And what he did, after he was raised from the dead? That God was soscared from the enemies that for forty days he disguised himself andfinally disappears from the scene. Of course the Holy prophet M uhamm ad(Peace be upon him) did not introduce any such God.

11


14/60

THE CONCEPT AB()UTTHE PROPHETS

It is a horrible concept about the Prophets given in the Bible; it isastonishing how the Christians believe in the prophets those who werecheate rs , lia rs and fo rn ic ato rs . God fo rb id .Lot slep t w ith his own d au gh ters a nd ha d c hild ren . Godfo rbid .........(GENESIS 20: 30-38)According to the Bible, Abraham committed lie by saying Sarah was hissister, but she w as his w ife."And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, she is my sister: and Abim elechking of G erar sent, and took Sarah."

(G ENESIS 20:2)M ore than that Jesus Christ condemned all the prophets who were beforehim according to the G ospels;"Jesus therefore said unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I amthe door of the sheep. All that came before me are thievesand robbers: but the sheep did not hear them . I am the door; by me ifany man enters in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and go out, and shallfin d pastu re ."

(JOHN 10:7-9)

12


15/60

What kind of belief the C hristians have in their prophets w ho w ere thievesand robbers? The prophets w ere sent by G od to lead the hum an beings, ifthey w ere sinners, then w hat type of leadership these people had? If theyw ere all sinners then how they w ere leading the sinners" can a blind, leadth e b lind?Is it w hat pope thinks, Islam w as going to copy from them ? N o, not at all.H oly prophet of Islam introduced entirely different concept about theprophets, and this is w hat is brought by Muhammad (Peace be upon him ),not copied from the B ible. It w as all unique and new , unblem ished, cleanand pure .Holy Quran says about the prophets that they were all guided by God, pureand righteous. And this is how they guided the people toward piety andrighteousness. Just compare the picture of the prophets painted by theHoly Quran and the Biblical image of the prophets. It is just to comparethe broad day light w ith the thick dark patches of night.

H oly Q uran says;~J , " ~ , , ,.; JJ\; ~~~ .yj J.i .y ~~ G-}j ~~ ~ y ~j ~~ ~ (~~jj//

"",. ,;'

" ," ""... // / J J J J !;;.;' /J~\ ~~ :::JJj 0J)~j ~yj ~~~j y):\j 0~j/' /. ~~J" /,/~~\ ~ ~ ~~~j lS~j ~j 4';Jj// ". "" /'

"And W e gave him Isaac and Jacob; each did W e guide aright, and Noahdid W e guide aright aforetim e, and of his progeny, D avid and Solom onand Job and Joseph and Moses and Aaron. Thus do W e reward thosewho do good. And W e guided Zachariah and John and Jesus and Elias;each one of them was of the righteous."

(HO LY QURAN 6:85-86)

13


16/60

The prophets of Islam they were all pious and pure, guided by God, andthis is why they guided humanity to God, taught them manners andhuman valu e.

14


17/60

THE CONCEPT AB()UTTHE SCRIPTU~:S

Almighty God sent the scripture through the prophets for the humanguidance, and these scriptures were according to the human need andaptitude of mind, and according to the capability of the prophets. So fromAdam to this time many prophets appeared and they were given theteachings according to their talent and need. But there was a need ofperfect and complete law and commandments for the people, that law didnot appear up to the law of M oses, as the Bible itself states;"Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a newcovenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, notaccording to the covenant that I m ade w ith their fathers in the day that Itook them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, M y covenantwhich they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. Butthis is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after thosedays, says the Lord: I will put My law in their m inds, and write it ontheir hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Nomore shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother,saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know ]I/Ie,from the least ofthem to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive theiriniq uity, a nd the ir sin I w ill remember no more."

(JEREMIAH 31:31-34)

1 5


18/60

A ccording to the above statem ent of Jerem iah, Israelites w ere given thelaw but that law was rejected and broken by the Israelites, This is what isalso supported by the prophet Isaiah in the B ible;"The earth also is polluted under the inhabitants thereof; because theyhave transgressed the laws, violated the statutes, broken the everlastingcovenant,"

(ISAIAH 24:5)The law given to Moses was an excellent law for that time, which was ableto fulfill the needs of the tim e, w hich is also testified by the H oly Q uran;

Q ;f J 0 , . " ;t J / J J 1 '/ /. "t /.\ ~ ~ " . i l l \ . J . \ ", i' , . . u \ 0 - " '~ \\ I ' . , J ( ' ~ ~ " ! ' ~ I ' . ~ o ( " - ~ \ \ 8 ' , , \ InJ J . ~ J . ~ ~ t " " ' ~ J Y J 0 ~ J y - ' J ~/r " " , . ; ' ,;" ,;J J \ , - , 8 " , \ .L , ; ~ ~ " , \ ~ J G - ~ ( 0 ~ ' G " " \ (, ~ ~ ,J ' J y ! ,J J,. " / ' / ' "" . . . .

" S u r e ly , W e s e n t down t h e T o r a h w h e r e in w a s g u id a n c e a n d l ig h t . B y i td id th e P r o p h e t s , w h o w e r e o b e d ie n t t o U s , ju d g e fo r t h e J e w s , a s d id th eg o d ly p e o p le a n d t h o s e le a r n e d i n th e L a w , b e c a u s e t h e y w e r e r e q u i r e d top r e s e r v e t h e B o o k o f A l la h . "

( HOLY QURAN 5: 45)In reality the Law of Moses was the Divine guidance and light but it wasrejected and ignored by his followers. It happened so much so that afterJesus Christ, the Christians not only rejected that Divine guidance butdeclared it as a curse from God. And still they affirm it; even the Romancatholic Pope cannot decline from this believe. It is the part of the faith ofChristianity;

16


19/60

"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becom ing a curse forus,for it is written, "Cur sed is e veryo ne who ha ng s on a tre e"

(GAlATIANS 3:13)

The Christians not only declared the law of G od as curse but also affirmedJesus Christ who was a noble prophet of God as cursed. So those who cansay such word about their own spiritual head, what can be expected fromthem about the Holy Prophet of Islam? It looks as if they do not know them eaning of the w ord curse.Curse is so detestable in the sight of God the alm ighty, that it should beused with great caution, even about an ordinary person. The Bible hasdescribed curse as disobedience to G od, and to reject his commandm ents.It is most despicable in the sight of God;

"And a curse, if ye will not obey the comm andm ents of the Lord yourGod, but turn aside out of the way which 1 command you this day, to goafter other gods, w hich ye have not know n."

(DEUfERONOMY 11:28)So this is what happened to the Bible by the hand of its own followers.There is another reason that the Christians and the Jews treated the Bibleso inadequately, because it is destine by God to send the perfect andcomplete law for the people, which is also testified by Jesus Christ in thegospels;"1 have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.H owbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all

17


20/60

truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, thatshall he speak: and he will show you things to come."

(JOHN 16:12-13)

So Jesus could not give the complete message to the people rather it wasdestine by someone else, and that was the Holy Prophet of Islam whobrought the compete, perfect and unchangeable law from God, which isexists in the form of the Holy Quran and it w ill remain for ever as a perfectGuide for mankind. This is the law which Jeremiah was talking about, thatthe Lord w ill make a new covenant w ith the house of Israel and with thehouse of Judah, not according to the covenant what He made with theirfathers in the days when they were taken out of the land of Egypt.So in the light of the above information it becomes dear, what in realityMuhammad (Peace be upon him) brought for mankind, and it was truly anew message for mankind the message of hope and love. This message isnot even remotely connected with any evil or inhuman teachings rather itis full of good and kindness to mankind. About this law Jeremiah hasalready mentioned that it will be put in the minds of the people and will bew ritten on their hearts.Practically it is proved that this is the law , which is put in the minds andthe hearts of the people, because they are the M uslims only, who giverespect and honor to the law of Q uran, and they take it as a very precioustreasure in their hearts. And physically also it is proved, the M uslim sm emorize the H oly Q uran and this is how that law of G od becom es w rittenon the heart of the people. In this w ay G od has confirm ed w hat is recordedin the book of Jerem iah, "1will be their G od, and they shall be M y people"

18


21/60

On the other side C hristians take the B iblical law as curse, having not anyrespect in their hearts for that law which was given as a blessing tom ankind through the prophets. A nd in the physical sense also, there is nota single Christian who can claim that he has m em orized the entire Bible.So that law which was predicted by the prophets was not w ritten on theirh earts at all.Holy Quran is the everlasting covenant from God and a perfect guide form ankind, as the H oly Q yran itself claim s;

~ QIJI"

/'~ "';. < ';. . /0/ ,r;' 1//1 \ /,It.~ , t'"~ U \ ) ~ ~ l.::>V ..:...u,:)~ ~ ~. ~) . /"This is a perfect B ook; there is no doubt in it; it is a guidance for therighteous."

(HOLYQURAN 2: 3)So those w ho could not see the beauty of their ow n scripture, and declaredit as curse. What can be expected from them about the H oly Q uran?In reality th eir ey es are d azzled before th e brillian t lig ht o f t he Holy Quran ,and they are not able to see its beauties, which were brought byMuhammad (P eace be upon him ).

19


22/60

HUMAN RIGHTSAccording to the law of Muhammad

(P eace be upon h im)And the law of the Bible.

The greatest problem in any society or any nation is always the issue ofdiscrim ination in the society. W hen we study the Biblical teachingsthrough this angle, we see it full of discrim ination. B ible promoteddiscrimination among the different ethnic groups and races, even inhuman gender. But Holy Quran teaches equality on the bases of race andcolor in the entire hum an race.This is the message of hatred which is promoted by the Bible, especiallyabout the non Jew s;It is unbelievable that even Jesus Christ according to the gospelsaddressed the non Jew s as dogs and sw ine;"21Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyreand S idon . 22And behold , a wom an of Canaan cam e from that region andcried out to H im , saying, "H ave m ercy on me, 0 Lord, Son of D avid! M ydaughter is severely dem on-possessed." 23But H e answered her not aword. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, "Send her away,for she cries out after us." 24But H e answered and said, "I was not sentexcept to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 25Then she came andw orshiped H im , saying, "Lord, help m e!"26B utH e answ ered and said, "It

20


23/60

is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the littledogs. "

(M ATTHEW 15:21-26)Again Je su s sa id ;"Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearlsbefore the swine, lest they trample them under their feet, and turn againand rend you."

(MATTHEW 7:6)Jesus addressed to those who denied him in thefollow ing w ords;31"Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons ofthose who murdered the prophets. 32Fill up, then, the measure of yourfathers' guilt. 33Serpents_brood of vipersl How can you escape thecondemnation o f h ell"?

(M ATTHEW 23:31-33)Biblical law also discrim inates on the bases of anyimperfection or defect among the people, which inreality is not in human control."16T heLord spoke to Moses, saying: 17Speak to A aron and say: No one ofyour offspring throughout their generations who has a blemish mayapproach to offer the food of his God. 18For no one who has ablemish shall draw near, one who is blind or lame, or one whohas a flat nose or a limb too long, 190r one who has a brokenfoot or a broken hand, 200r a hunchback, or a dw arf, or a manwith a blemish in his eyes or an itching disease or scabs orcrushed testicles. 21No descendant of Aaron the priest who has a

21


24/60

blem ish shall com e near to offer the Lord's offerings by fire; since he hasa blemish, he shall not come near to offer the food of his God. 22He m ayeat the food of his God, of the most holy as well as iO fth e holy . 23But h eshall not come near the curtain or approach the altar, because he has ablemish, that he may not profane my sanctuaries; for I am the Lord; Isanctify them. 24ThusM oses spoke to Aaron and to his sons and to all thepeople o f Is rael."

(LEVIT ICUS 21:1 6-2 4)

But Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) brought the messagein the form of the Holy Quran which promoted equality among themankind, in which there is no difference among the Arabs or the nonA rabs; it is only the righteousness that m akes the difference;;p J /'

""J 0 "" I // ~ J Q/ /. /. M0\ \ ./~ l~w/ G JJ:. ~"\.:I;~/ :..( (""~./ -,,~ ~\ J G\ \/.1G'~~) u.J'~r J~Jf ifr .i f ~"

"" '" "" -:P,/

(/1(/1 J..-/(/I J 0/" /. ~ .I~ aJ\ 0\ o~


25/60

fJJ ' "" "tM" "" ~ M0 J~/ (0/, \ ! ~~ 0i / / 0 ~ . / " ~ 0/,0 ': L! \ ~/T /. .lJ\ \/.:j G '~rY~ ~i~rYi~~' Yu:. ~ ~" /"0 ye who believe! Let not one nation deride another nation, they m ay bebetter th an th em"

(HOLY QURAN 49: 12)The message of Islam was not lim ited to any race or color like the Biblicalmessage rather the message of Islam was for all human race, as it is clearlymentioned in the Holy Q uran;

J ,/ oJJ J .;i /. J./ 0 J~ 0 ('0\\ .Jj\ J J, :'\ J t:J\ \/.:j G ' l.~ / r-'' '::"' ~ / .Y") '-I~u ~ ~ ifSay, "0 mankind, truly I am a Messenger to you allfrom A llah"

(HOLY QURAN 7:159)Holy Prophet of Islam up to his last breath remained educating hisfollow ers, established a wonderful society before his eyes, he not onlyestablished the bond of love among his follower but also taught themmanners to respect the others also. He tried tooth and nail to bring allhum an beings under one banner. Just study his last address to before hisdemise, in which he addressed, over one hundred thousand of hisfollowers. T hat ad dress is worth to be w ritten v vith g old en word s.

23


26/60

THE FAREWELL ADDRESS OF THE HOLY PROPHET{Peace be upon him}

A Wonderful Charter for the Modern World

The farew ell address of the H oly P rophet (peace and blessings of A llah beupon him), which he delivered in M ecca during his last pilgrimage,teaches human equality w ithout discrim ination of any race or color. T hisaddress can serve the best human charter of peace, harmony andb ro therh oo d, in which h e said:0 men, lend me an attentive ear for I know not whether I w ill standbefore you again in this valley and address you as I address you now . Y ourlives and your possessions have been m ade immune by G od to attacks byone another until the D ay of Judgm ent. G od has appointed for everyone ashare in the inheritance. No testam ent shall now be adm itted which isprejudicial to the interests of a rightful heir. A child born in any house w illb e regard ed as th e ch ild of th e fath er o f th at h ou se. 'i\T llO ev ercon tests th eparentage of such a child shall be liable to punishm ent under the Law ofIslam . Anyon e who attribu tes h is b irth to someone e]lse's fath er, or falselyclaims someone to be his master, God, H is angels and the whole ofmankin d w ill cu rse him .0 m en, you have som e rights against your w ives, but your w ives also havesom e rights against you. Y our right against them is that they should livechaste lives, and not adopt w ays, w hich may bring disgrace to the husbandin the sight of his people. But if the behavior of your w ives is not such aswould bring disgrace to their husbands, then your duty is to provide for

24


27/60

them food and clothing and shelter, according to your own standard ofliving. Remember, you must always treat your wives well. God hascharged you with the duty of looking after them. v'Voman is weak andcannot protect her own rights. W hen you married, God appointed youtrustees of those rights. Y ou brought your w ives to your hom es under thelaw of God. You must not, therefore, abuse the trust, which God hasp lac ed in you r h ands .0 men, you still have in your possession some prisoners of war. I adviseyou, therefore, to feed them and to clothe them in the same way and styleas you feed and clothe yourselves. If they do anything wrong which youare unable to forgive, then pass them on to someone else. They are part ofGod's creation. To give them pain or cause them suffering can never beright. 0 men, what I say to you, you must hear and remember.All M uslims are as brethren to one another. All of you are equal. All men,whatever nation or tribe they may belong to, and whatever station in lifethey may hold are equal. (Raising his hands, and joining the fingers of theone hand with those of the other, he added, Even as the fingers of the twohands are equal, so are human beings equal to one another. No one hasany right, any superiority to claim over another .You are as b ro th ers.0 men, your God is One and your ancestor is one. An Arab possesses nosuperiority over a non-Arab, nor does a non-Arab over an Arab. A whiteman is in no way superior to a black nor for that matter, is a black manbetter than a white, but only to the extent to which he discharges his dutyto God and man. The most honored among you in the sight of God is them ost righteous am ong you.

25


28/60

Even as this m onth is sacred, this land inviolate, and this day holy, so hasG od m ade the lives, property and honor of every m an sacred. To take anym an's life or his property, or attack his honor, is as unjust and w rong as toviolate the sacredness of this day, this m onth, and this territory. W hat Icommand you today is not m eant only for today. It is m eant for all tim e.You are expected to rem ember it and to act upon it: until you leave thisworld and go to the next to m eet your M aker. W hat I have said to you, youshould communicate to the ends of the earth. M aybe those who have notheard m e m ay benefit by it m ore than those w ho have heard.

(Sihah Sitta, Tabari, H isham and B aihaqi)This is w hat the Holy Prophet M uhammad (Peace be upon him ) brought,a w onderful m essage of equality and brotherhood, to sever all the ties ofnational and tribal prejudice and hatred, and to get all human racesunder one banne r.So can I humbly ask to the Christians, especially to the head of the RomanCatholic church, that which message is inhuman? The message of Islamwhich is calling all human races to join together, leaving all differenceaside o r the B iblical m essage?The message of Christ which is only lim ited to the Jews and putting allhuman being aside addressing them as dogs and swine, is inhuman or themessage of the holy prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him), treatingevery one equally, and teaching superiority of human race on the bases ofp ie ty and r ighteousnes s?Of course it is Islam . And this is what holy prophet Muhammad (Peace beupon him) brought a new ray of hope for mankind.

26


29/60

Let m e show som ething m ore inhum an from the Biblical teachings, howth e B ib le teach es to treat, oth er n atio ns or aliens;"You shall not eat anything that dies of itself; you may give it to aliensresiding in your towns for them to eat, or you may sell it to a foreigner.For you are a people holy to the Lord your G od."

(DEUTERONOMY 14-21)

It is really inhuman that some thing which is disliked by some one is givento the others. Such things are only expected by some one who had goneinto the depth of m oral degradation.

On the other side the H oly P rophet of Islam says;J J J J " J tJ J"~ ~ ~ '1 ~ ($-'--~wl>-\ if~ '1

/ / / /

"No one among you believes unless, he likes for his brother what he likesfo r h im self'

(IBN -E -MAJAH)This is Islam and this is the new message what Holy Prophet Muhammad(Peace be upon him ) brought.

2 7


30/60

"WOMEN RIGHTS

Now let us see how the Bible and the Holy Quran deal w ith the womenrights, because in the whole world C hristianity is beating the drum thatIslam is not giving the proper rights to the w omen.According to the Bible, from the very beginning, it was decided that man isgoing to rule the w om an;"To the woman he said, "I will greatly increase your pangs inchildbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children, yet your desire shallbe for your husband, and he shall rule over you."

(GENESIS 3:16)Then in the New Testament a very clear-cut message is given, that womenare created for men, that is it."Indeed, man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neitherwas man createdfor the sake of woman, but womanfor the sake of man"

(1 COR INTH IANS 11:8-9)Not only that, but the freedom of speech and conscience is also taken awayfrom wom en,She cannot even speak in Public: but still they say it is not inhuman;

2 8


31/60

"Let a wom an learn in silen ce w ith all su bm issio n. A nd 1 do not permit awoman to te ach o r to have authority over a man, but to be in silence."

(1 TIM ITHY 2:11-12)

Bible is full of sim ilar inhum an teachings, regarding w om en;"Let your w om en keep silent in th e ch urches,for they a re n ot p erm itted tospeak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if theywant to learn som ething, let them ask their ow n husbands at hom e; for itis sh amefu l fo r women to speak in church."

(1 CORINTHIAS 14Again Bible says, woman has no freedom what to dress or wear. No gold,pearls, or expensive clothes are permitted for woman to put on."1 d esire, th en , th at in every place the men should pray, lifting up holyhands without anger or argument; also that the women should dressth emselv es modes tly and decently in su itab le clo th ing , n ot w ith th eir h airb ra id ed , o r w ith gold , p ea rls, o r ex pen siv e c lo th es."

(1 TIM OTHY 2:8-9)Now let me show what Holy Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him)brought, that was altogether different, a new law but not inhuman like theBiblical Law , it was a law of freedom of speech and eonscious, the law ofrespect and honor for women and men equal. The Holy Prophet (peace beupon him) was very serious in improving the condition of women insociety and on securing for them a position of dignity and fair andequ itable treatment.

29


32/60

Holy Quran says" " /. J '" ,. ~ Q J J,.& "''' :; M\ J/ .8 ~ J .1\..::: ,r/ ~o


33/60

men and women equally side by side. And all men and women will berew arded equally by God on the Day of Judgm ent; in this regard the H olyQu ran s ay s;

0 0 I) 0 0 0 SJuGLillj ~wlj uG:?Jlj ~:?Jlj ukl:.:Jlj ::'r:4f..: 1\ 01,..

'" // ;' /' //,.

0 0 /.""

/. /.u~b:Jlj ~b:Jlj ul:r.~\j ;j.T.~\j ~I~~~\j ~~~Ij, ,.../' / /'

'"/'

'" '"//J 0 /. /. ~ 0 IJJ J 0~ J) ~G .Jlj uW~\j ~~Ij u~:i~\j ~~\j//

"' // '",,-

~ /. /:/1 :", SJ /'(jj :II

'"0I?ij o~,; ~ ~I ~i ul}'"UJlj \~ aJI ;)~}"I..u\julk!G .Jlj

~"Surely, men who submit themselves to God and women who submitthemselves to Him , and believing men and believing women, andobedient men and obedient women, and truthful men and truthfulw om en, and m en steadfast in their faith and steadfast women, and m enwho are humble and women who are humble, and men who give almsand women who give alms, and men who fast and women who fast, andmen who guard their chastity and women who guard their chastity andmen who remember Allah much and women who remember Him - Allahhas preparedfor all ofthem forgiveness and a great rew ard."

(HOLYQURAN 33: 36)Just see w hat status wom en have in Islam . It is the H oly Prophet of Islamwho said that women as mothers have paradise under their feet, and toseek p arad ise w e h ave to serv e o ur mothers;

31


34/60

;.J 0/ J 0u~~'\ i\:ui :.:.;J ~\,. ,."The paradise lies under the feet of the m others."

(SAHEEH MUSLIM )

In the same way the holy prophet always advised the believers to giveevery possible respect to the w ives and to take their proper care. O nce hesaid;

~ ,,/ 't ~ J /J,/

~'1 ~ y?- GIJ ~'1 ~ y?- ~ y?-,. ,.,."The best am ong you is on e, who is best in takin g ca re o f h is w ife."

(JAMI-SAGEER)Comparing the B iblical teaching w ith the Islam ic teaching in regards towomen , is lik e c omparing darkness w ith lig ht.

In respect to Islamic rights regarding women, the Christians raIseobjections that Islam gives not equal rights in the laws of propertyinheritance.In reality Islam was the first religion, which conferred upon women theright of inheritance. The Quran makes daughters along with the sons heirsto the property left by their parents. In the same way a mother is made anheir to her son's or daughter's property, and a w ife is made an heir to herhusband's property, when a brother becomes an heir of his deceasedbrother's property, a sister is also an heir to that property. No religionbefore Islam had so clearly and firm ly established a woman's right ofinheritance and her right to possess property. In Islam a woman is the

32


35/60

absolute owner of her own property and her husband cannot obtain anycontrol over it by virtue m erely of their relationship. A w om an is at fullliberty to deal w ith her property as she chooses. Islam has half share forwomen as compared to men, because Islam puts the whole financialresponsibility of the fam ily on the m en only. M an being husband and thehead of the fam ily has to take all the economic liabilities upon hisshoulders.But let us see what rights are given by the Bible to women, so for asproperty inheritance is concerned. W hen we study the Biblical law in thisregard, we see that women cannot become heirs in the presence of theirbrothers;"And the Lord spoke to M oses, saying: "The daughters of Zelophehadspeak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession ofinheritance am ong their father's brothers, and cause the inheritance oftheir father to pass to them . And you shall speak to the children of Israel,saying: 'I f a man dies and has no son, then you shall causehis inheritance to pass to his daughter. If he has no daughter,then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. If he has no brothers,then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers. And if hisfather has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relativec lo ses t to h im in his fam ily, and he shall possess it."

(NUMBERS 27:6-11)

3 3


36/60

COMPULSIONIN THE RELIGION

In h is lecture, th e Pop e q uo ted :"T he empero r to uch es on the theme of the holy war. The emperor musthave known that surah 2, 256 reads: "There is no compulsion inreligion". According to some of the experts, this is probablyone of the suras of the early period, when Mohammed was stillpowerless and under threat. But naturally the emperor also knewth e in structio ns, develo ped la ter an d reco rd ed in the Qur'an, conce rn ingholy war. W ithout descending to details, such as the d iffe rence intreatment accorded to those who have the "Book" and the"inJidels ".Follow ing is the verse of the H oly Q uran w hich is m entioned in the aboveq uotatio n g iv en b y Pop e;

~ " J /./. /. ~ "....~\ ~ D}\ ;;;J ~ ~:u\ ~ ;\~l ~-", ,. -/ ,/

"There is no compulsion in religio n. S urely th e righ t h as b ecome distin ctfr "m wrong.(HOLY QURAN 2:257)

According to the statem ent of the above quote, this declaration of the H olyQ uran w as for the early days of Islam , w hen H oly Prophet w as pow erless,but when he gained power he started the Holy war, God forbid. Verse of

34


37/60

~ " .....the H oly Q uran says, " ~:.ul ~ ol}"~" there is no compulsion in th ereligion, and the philosophy of this Q uranic command is given in the nextpart o f th e verse,

.;l g J "'"/ -: tl

/ J 0 JI/

"'/iJ' ~";U ..,L.;. ~ .. ulS . ~ ~- /

"Surely the right has become distinctfrom wrong".It is the height of injustice to accuse Islam for usmg force, for thepropagation of Islam . The verse not only gives the commandment that inno case is force to be used for the purpose of converting non-Muslims toIslam , but also gives the reason why it should not be used, saying: Surely,right has become distinct from wrong. It means that the true path hasbecom e distinct from the wrong one and therefore there is no justificationfor using force. Islam is a manifest truth. Anyone who sincerely desires tosee this truth can easily see it; but if there is a person who does not desireto see it, no force can possibly make him do so. All that we have to do is topoint out its beauties to non-Muslims; it rests with them to accept it orreject it as they like. Faith in Islam is defined as believing in a thing withthe heart and the mind and expressing that belief w ith the tongue. Noforce on earth can bring about that change. Islam never used force toconvert anyone to Islam rather force w as used against: Islam .The term inology of the Holy war is not an Islamic term inology; rather it isa Christian innovation, which was started during the Christian crusadesaga in st Islam .But in Islam the term inology of Jihad is used which I am going to discussnow.

35


38/60

JIHAD

The term , Jihad is m isunderstood by the m ajority of M uslim s and non-Muslims a like.Jihad in Islam ic term inology, m eans to m ake an effort, to endeavor and tostrive in a noble w ay, and has been m etaphorically applied to fighting inthe cause of religion. O ver the centuries this m eaning of Jihad has beenoblitera ted o r at le as t d ilu te d.A ccording to the H oly Prophet there are three m ain, categories of Jihad.

1 The Jihad that is waged against lower self, for self-purification. InIslam ic idiom it is called the greatest Jihad (Jihad A kbar)

This Jihad was started, the very first day, when Islam w as introduced bythe H oly P rophet of Islam . T he H oly P rophet guided his follow ers in everywalk of their lives. He purified them and taught them the Book and thew isdom as it is m entioned in the H oly Q uran;

'fJ tJJ ""J tJJ ~ ~ Jo,/ $I~::I:~/ o~ I> ('/,J/ < G G 1 . ~ /\~ .I~~ 0 J~ / U J / /. /.~tJ\ . ~ d.ill d~) ~ j:.) // ~ ~ ~ ~ y) ~ ~ . '-? / Y '},/ "..J/ /00 0~ ~~ ~ J; ~ \;l5'"0~J~\J y~1

"H e it is Who has raised among the Unlettered people a Messenger fromamong themselves who recites unto them His Signs, and purifies themand teaches them the Book and wisdom, although they had been before,in manifes t misguidance."

(Holy Quran 62:3)

36


39/60

2 The Jihad to preach the word of God through the H oly Quran and iscalled the greatest Jihad (Jihad K abeer)

This Jihad was also started the day the Holy Prophet started his m issionand continued till the last breath of his life. All his companions (hisfollow ers w ho lived during his tim e) also tried their utmost to participatein this Jihad. D uring this Jihad, I m ean the Jihad of preaching the w ord ofG od, som e companions lost their lives, others their children, still otherstheir properties, but they never ever gave up, or relented. Through thisJihad the M uslims were able to win the hearts of people, and to gatherthem under the banner of Islam . No sword was ever used for this jihad.Rather the sword was raised against the Muslims to stop them frompreaching the word of Allah. But in spite of all these hardships andpersec utio ns, th rough love a nd a ffectio n, th rough th e b eau tifu l te ach ing o fth e Holy Quran , thro ug h his ex cellen t character, the Holy P rop het of Islamand h is c ompan ions attracted th e unbeliev ers toward s Islam .

3 The Jihad that is waged against the enemy of freedom of consciousas also to fight in self-defense. This is called the lesser Jihad (JihadAsghar).

It is mentioned in the hadeeth (the recorded sayings of the Holy Prophet)that on returning from an expedition (Tabuk expedition) the Holy Prophetsaid: "W e are returning from the Jihad Asghar (the lesser jihad of fightingin self-defense) to Jihad Akbar (struggle against oneselD ." This Jihad w asnot started like the other two types of Jihad with the appearance of theHoly Prophet of Islam . Rather it was started after 13 years of severepersecution of the Muslims. The history of Islam records how the HolyProphet along with his followers faced hostility and enmity by his

37


40/60

opponents for a very long time. When there was no way out from thissituation, he commanded his follow ers to m igrate to A byssinia and later,to M edina. Finally, he too migrated to M edina. So, all the M uslims leftM ecca, their hometow n, in a very helpless condition" S till, they w ere notperm itted by the H oly Prophet to raise their sw ords even in self-defenseagainst any opponent. A fter the Muslim s had m igrated to Medina, the nextyear the M eccans organized their forces to attack the M uslim s even intheir new place of refuge, M edina. That was the tim e when the Alm ightyAllah granted the permission to the M uslims to fight in self defense asstated in the fo llowin g v erses o f t he Holy Quran say ;

/ r;. ,/ ,., ~ $J J / ".. J '" :JJ "" I\y.;'\ ~jJ\ * fl.uJ ~ ~ ~ ~\ 01J I~ ~r~ 0}f~ ~..w 0~\'" ;"

,/ // /'", ",,., ...-t1J 0 ",,., (jJ J. J J ,. (/J ,;J",~" 8\.Jj1 J, ; Uox il lI ~" 1.1"" -i u\ '"" - : G ,;).('-i-,.:2. - U" r : : : Y J .J Y y.: U ~ ,y>- ~ ~ J" .: f

'",; -"',/ //,.. ,/r;. , 0 r;(:.


41/60

So, the third type of Jihad was started after M uslim s being attacked inth eir n ew p lace o f refug e followin g a lo ng p erio d o f sev ere p ersecu tio n an dloss of lives and property. Until then, Muslims were not allowed toretaliate, rather they were commanded to leave M ecca and m igrate toM edina, nearly 250 m iles away, in a very helpless condition. W hen theyw ere granted perm ission to fight, it w as for defensive purpose only. T hesewere not offensive wars. If the conditions of this Jihad are studiedcarefully, it w ill be found that they are not for any destructive purpose;rather they were perm itted only to protect human rights and to giveprotection to places of w orship, like cloisters, churches, synagogues andmosques.Islam does not permit any act of aggression or terrorism against anyreligion, may they be from Judaism or Christianity. W e find specificinjunctions in the H oly Q uran:

,/ "" . . . . .~~~ ~ ~~'1\ ~ \J~ ~J"And create not disorder in the earth after it has been set in order."

(HOLYQURAN 7:57)

" /' " ,;0 - ." 0 "j!~1 ~)~\ l/ , \~ ~J"And comm it no t in iq uity in th e ea rth ca usin g diso rd er."

(HO LY QURAN 11:86)Agg ressio n, h ostility , m isch ief an d w icked ness are co nd emned in sev eralother verses and Muslim s are commanded to w ork w holly for peace. Islamalw ay s en co urag es th e freedom o f co nscience and th e p romotion o f h umanwelfare. Islam not o nly p reach es p eace an d b ro th erh oo d b ut also promotes

39


42/60

tolerance, broadm indedness, forbearance and com plete harm ony in themulti religious society. Islam is a religion of peace, brotherhood and loveb asin g its teachin gs o n th e Quran ,It is also a false accusation against the H oly Prophet of Islam that he usedpow er in the later part of his life against his enem ies" H e w as the greatestbenefactor of hum an beings, and m ercy for the m ankind as is recorded inth e Holy Quran ;

" olJJ ~~ ~ 0 "~WJ :C-j Ul!J8: .~i ~J-- --

''And W e have not sent thee but as a mercy for all peoples."(HOLY QURAN 21:108)

In every walk of his life he remained kind and compassionate to every one.He forgave even to his blood thirsty enemies. He was at the peak of hispower when he captured Mecca. On the day of the victory of Mecca tenthousand soldiers of the M uslim army marched into the city but with greatcare that nobody should be disturbed. The Holy Prophet (peace be uponhim ) him self w as controlling the situation w ith great concern for the safetyand welfare of the people. That was the day when the enemies of Meccafully surrendered themselves before the M uslim army. The Holy Prophet(peace be upon him) had full control not only upon his opponents but alsoupon his own army. As the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) and hisarmy marched through the heart of Mecca, he did so in all peace,humbleness, and justice. That was a very great achievement and victory ofIslam . That was the day when the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him)returned to Mecca, the city from where he was expelled along with hishelpless companions. He had not yet forgotten his helpless position the

40


43/60

day he left Mecca. Every scene was fresh in his memory. When he wasleaving the city, he had a last glance at it, while tears rolled down from hiseyes and he could not control his emotions and said, "0 city of Mecca, Idon't like to leave you but the people of Mecca don't permit me to live in."It was the same city where he was severely tortured and humiliated. It wasthe city where his loved ones were tormented and killed mercilessly. Nowhe was entering the same city as a victor. He was the champion, he was theconqueror, but very different from the worldly kings. He was a wonderfulman, that history is not able to produce single one parallel to him . Heentered in Mecca while the people of Mecca were at his mercy, but therewas not any sign of pride on his face. He was riding on a camel and hishead was bowing down so much so that it was touching the back of thecamel. A man spoke to him on that day, trembling with fear. As he did so,M uhammad (peace be upon him) consoled him saying, "Calm yourself, forI am not a king. I am but the son of a humble and poor woman fromQuraish."

41


44/60

Treatment to the people of the book

It is also a false allegation that he exhibited difference in treatm ent tothose who were the people of the book, "Jews and Christians" he neverever discrim inated anyone that may be his friend or foe. H istory hasrecorded a w onderful event w hich is w itness upon his fare treatm ent to thenon Muslims;

In 628 C.E. the Holy Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) Charter ofPrivileges to the monks of St. Catherine Monastery in M t. Sinai. Itconsisted of clauses covering all aspects of human rights including suchtopics as the protection of C hristians, freedom of w orship and m ovem ent,freedom to appoint their own judges and to own their own property,exemption from military service, and the right of protection in war. Thisdocum ent is excellent guidance for all the M uslim states for dealing withthe Non Muslim m ino rities.

Text of the Charter:This is the document w hich Muhammad, son of A bdullah, G od's P rophet,W arner and B earer of glad-tidings, has caused to be w ritten so that thereshould remain no excuse for those coming after. I have caused thisdocum ent to be w ritten for C hristians of the East and the W est, for thosew ho live near, and for those of distant lands, for the C hristians living at

42


45/60

present and for those who w ill com e after, for those Christians who areknow n to us and for those as w ell whom w e do not know .

1. Any Muslim violating and abusing what is th er ein o rdere dwould be regarded as violator of God's testament and would be thebreaker of His promise and would make himself deserving of God'scurse, be he a king or a subject.

2. I promise that any monk or way-farer, etc., who will seek myhelp on mountains, in forests, deserts or habitations, or in places ofw orsh ip , I w ill rep el enemies with all m y friends and helpers, with all m yrelatives and with all those who profess to follow me and will defendhim, because they are my covenanted. And will defend the covenantedagainst the persecution, injury and em barrassm ent from their enemiesin lieu of the poll-tax they have prom ised to pay.

3. If they will prefer themselves to defend their properties andpersons, they will be allowed to do so and will not be put to anyinconvenience on tha t account.

4. No b ish op w ill be exp elled from h is b ish op ric, no monk from hismonastery, no priest from his place of worship, and no pilgrim will bedetained in pilgrimage.

5. None of their churches and other places of worship will bedeso la te d des tro yed o r demo lish ed . No material of their churches w ill beused for building mosques or houses for the Muslims, any Muslim sodoing w ill be regarded recalcitrant to G od and His Prophet.

43


46/60

6. Monks and bishops will be subject to no ta x or indemnitywhe th er th ey liv e in fo re sts or on the rivers , or in th e Eas t or West, Northor South. I give them my word of honor. They are on my promise andcovenant and will enjoy perfect immunity from all sorts ofinconveniences.

7. Every help shall be given them in the repair of their churches.They shall be absolved from w earing arm s, and shall be protected by theMu slim s. L et this do cumen t b e no t d isob eye d till the LTu dgmen tDay .

(Al-W asaiq-ul-Siyasiyya, pp. 187-190)

44


47/60

BIBLICAL TEACHIN"GSAnd compulsion in the religion

I discussed the Islam ic teachings and the practice of the prophet of Islamregarding propagation of religion, his conduct w ith non M uslim s andfreedom provided by the prophet of Islam to the non M uslim s. N ow I w illdiscuss the B iblical teachings and the practice of the follow er of the B iblein this regard, and it w ill be very easy to decide w hich scripture providesmore freedom of speech and conscience. W hen we study the Biblicalhistory, it is full of blood shed, no forgiveness or m ercy at all. In reality theB iblical teachings are packed w ith horror and terror. It is m entioned in theBible;"When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are about toenter and occupy, and he clears away many nations before you-theH ittites, th e G irg ashites, th e Amo rites, the Canaanites, th e P erizzites, theH ivites, and the Jebusites, seven nations m ightier and more num erousthan you. And when the Lord your God gives them over to youand you defeat them , then you must utterly destroy them .Make no covenant with them and show them no mercy."

(DEUTERONOMY 7 :1 -2 )Can someone believe, these are the teaching of any religion? No nation,culture or civilization perm its killing, after any nation has been conquered.But in the above quotation of the Bible Moses said to his followers toslaughter all the inhabitants of the land, after they surrendered, and not to

45


48/60

make any treaty w ith them at all. Such teaching are not even remotelyrela ted to Islam , a nd never p rac tice d.Somebody can say that these were only the teachings, and thesecommandments w ere not practiced. B ut it is not true, these teachings w ereim plem ented by the follow ers of the Bible and an exam ple w as set up forthe nations to come. Just see w hat further happened;"7 And they w arred against the M idianites, as th e L ord commandedMoses; and they slew all the males. 8 And they slew the kings ofM idian, beside the rest of them that w ere slain; nam ely, Evi, and Rekem ,and Zur, and H ur, and Reba, five kings of M idi an: Balaam also the son ofBeor they slew with the sword. 9 A nd the children of Israel took all thewomen of M idian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of alltheir cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 And they burntall their cities w herein they dw elt, and all their goodly castles, w ith fire.11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and ofbeasts. 12 And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil,unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of thechildren of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of .Moab, which are byJordan near]Jericho . 13 And Moses, and E leazar the priest, and all theprinces of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.14 And M oses was wroth with the officers of the host, w ith the captainsover thousands, and captains over hundreds, w hich cam e from the battle.15 And Moses said unto them , have ye sat.'ed all the womenalive ?"

(NUMBERS 31:7-15)

46


49/60

After the M idianites, were captured, their mails were killed, theirproperties w ere looted and the cities w ere burnt, but still M oses w as notsatisfied and he said, have ye saved all the w omen alive?C an someone believe such horrible teachings w ere not only preached, butfo rcefu lly p racticed by the B ib lical p ro ph ets an d th eir fo llowers. How su chreligion can raise figure against the religion w hich is the promoter of lovea nd peac e?T hese are the people against w hom Jesus C hrist said;

"4 1And why you behold the mote that is in th y b ro th er 's e ye, but p er ce iv enot the beam that is in your own eye? 42 Either how can you say toyour brother, brother, let me pull out the mote that is in your eye, w henyou yourself behold not the beam that is in your ow n eye? You hypocrite,cast out first the beam out of your own eye, and then shall you see clearlyto pull out the mote that is in your b ro th er 's e ye ."

(LUKE 6 :41-4 2)

So Pope is worried about the Islamic teachings, which are full of love andcompassions, but he is not worried about the dreadful Biblical teachings.Such people are not accepted in God's kingdom, these are the people whoare addressed by Jesus C hrist has hypocrites;A gain see w hat M oses is saying;

"2 5 And when Moses saw that the people were naked; for Aaron hadmade them naked unto their shame among their enemies: 26 ThenMoses s tood in the gate of the camp, and said, who is on th e Lord's s id e?let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselvestog eth er u nto h im . 27 And he said unto them, Thus said the Lord Godof Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from

47


50/60

gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, andevery m an his com panion, and every m an his neighbor. 28 The sonsof L evi did as Moses commanded, and about three thousand ofthe people fe ll on that day."

(EXODUS 32:25-28)Can someone believe, only in one day three thousand people w ere killed?T his is the bloody history of the B ible. P rophet of Islam never commandedsuch to his fo llow ers, an d n ev er b utchered the p eo ple like th at.A gain see w hat M oses commanded to his follow ers to do, and this is w hatis supported and promoted by the B ible w ithin last thousands of years;"12 If you hear it said about one of the tow ns that the Lord your G od isgiving you to live in 13 that scoundrels from among you have gone outand led the inhabitants of the town astray, saying, "Let us go andworship other gods," whom you have not known 14 then you shallinquire and m ake a thoroug h investigation. If the charge is establishedth at su ch an abhorrent thing has been done am ong you 15 you shall putthe inhabitants of that town to the sword, uUerly destroying itand e ver yth ing in it even putting its livestock to the sw ord. 16 All ofits spoil you shall gather into its public square; then burn the town andall its spoil w ith fire, as a whole burnt offering to the Lord your God. Itsha ll remain a pe rp etua l ruin , ne ve r to be re bu ilt."

(DEUTERONOMY 13:12-16)Christians still can say, that it is the history of M oses, it is not advocated byJesus Christ. My dear Jesus have also sim ilar teachings, but could notcarry out, because he never got power. Just see what Jresus said;

48


51/60

"3 4 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not tosend peace, but a sw ord."

(MATTHEW 10:34)

Can anyone say in the light of the above statement:, that Jesus was thepromoter of peace? Answer w ill be No. Because the message is very clearand no body can be deceived. Is not wolf in the goat's sleeve?Again see what Jesus is saying to his disciples, that sell your garment andby swo rd s.

"35 And he said unto them, when I sent you without purse, and scrip,and shoes, lacked ye any thing? And they said nothing. 36 Then said heunto them , But now , he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise hisscrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."

(LUKE 22:3 5-3 6)It looks Jesus had a hidden agenda. But failed, because Jews and Romansnever gave him chance to do so. Jesus was always in hallucination ofkilling and slaying the other, it looks as if it was the aim of his life. This isw hat is mentioned in one of his parable what he narrated to his disciples;26 For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given;and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away fromhim . 27 But those m ine enem ies, which would not that I should reignover them , bring hither, and slay them before me.

(LUKE 19:2 6-2 7)

49


52/60

Just imagine if Jesus would have seceded in his aims, as it is describedabove in his ow n statem ents, the situation w ould have been worse thanthe tim e of Moses and Joshua.So the teaching brought by the Holy Prophet of Islam are excellentteachings, better than the teachings of all Biblical Prophets. He was aw onderful m an ever appeared in the history of m ankind. This is not w hatis preached by Muslim s only, but in reality accepted by m any non Muslim salso. H ere I w ould like to quote som e non M uslim scholars, w ho w rote infavor of Islam and sung in the praise of the Holy Prophet M uhammad(pea ce be up on h im ).

50


53/60


54/60

Annie Besant W rote:"It is impossible for anyone w ho studies the life and eharacter of the greatProphet of Arabia, who knows how he taught and how he lived, to feelanything but reverence for that m ighty Prophet, one of the greatmessengers of the Supreme. And although in what I put to you I shall saymany things which may be fam iliar to many, yet I myself feel whenever Ire-read them, a new way of admiration, a new sense of reverence for thatm ig hty A ra bian teac her."(The Life and Teachings of Muhammad, By Annie Besant, Madras, 1932,P.4)

W. Montgomery Wa tt w rote:His readiness to undergo persecution for his beHefs, the high moralcharacter of the m en w ho believed in him and looked up to him as leader,and the greatness of his ultim ate achievem ent, all argue his fundamentalintegrity. T o suppose Muhammad an impostor raises more problem s thanit solves. Moreover, none of the great figures of history is so poorlyapp reciated in th e West as Muhammad.(M ohammad At M ecca, By W . M ontgom ery W att, O xford, 1953, p. 52)Thomas Carlyle wrote:

"O ur current hypothesis about Muhammad, (peace and blessings of A llahbe on him ) that he was a schem ing Im postor, a Falsehood incarnate, thathis religion is a m ere m ass of quackery and fatuity, begins really to be nowuntenable to anyone. T he lies, w hich w ell-m eaning zeal has heaped roundthis m an, are disgraceful to ourselves only... It is really tim e to dism iss all

52


55/60

that. The word this man spoke has been the life--guidance now of ahundred and eighty millions of men these twelve hundred years. Thesehundred and eighty millions were made by God as well as we. A greaternumber of God's creatures believe in Muhammad's (peace and blessing ofAllah be on him) word at this hour, than in any other word whatever. Arewe to suppose that it was a miserable piece of spiritual legerdemain, thiswhich so many creatures of the Almighty have lived by and died by? I, form y part, cannot form any such supposition".(Thom as C arlyle 'O n H eroes, H ero-W orship and the H eroic in H istory'.Pages 43 & 44. U of N ebraska P ress (1966)

Edward Gibbon W rote:"H is beneficial or pernicious influence on the public happiness is the lastconsideration in the character of M uhammad (peace be upon him ). Themost b itter or most big oted o f his Christian o r Jew ish foes w ill su rely allowthat he assum ed a false commission to inculcate a salutary doctrine, lessperfect only than their own. He piously supposed, as the basis of hisreligion, the truth and sanctity of their prior revolutions, the virtues andm iracles of their founders. The idols of Arabia were broken before thethrone of God; the blood of hum an victims was expiated by prayer, andfastin g, and alm s, th e laud ab le or in nocent arts of d evo tion ;... h e b reathedam ong the faithful a spirit of charity and friendship; recommended thepractice of the social virtues; and checked, by his law s and precepts, thethirst of revenge, and the oppression of w idow s and orphans. The hostiletribes w ere united in faith and obedience, and the valour w hich had been

53


56/60

idly spent in domestic quarrels w as vigorously directed against a foreign"nemy.

(Edward Gibbon 'The H istory of the Decline and Fall of the RomanEm pire'. Vol. V. Page 231. Pengu in s C la ssic s (1 st p ub lish ed 1788, thisedition 1996)John Devonport Wrote:"It would be a huge mistake to assume that the creed taught by the Qur'anwas propagated by the use of the force. He says that those who areunbiased would freely acknowledge that through the religion ofMuhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) sacrifice of humanwas replaced with worship of God and charity and it infused a spirit ofgenerosity and social harmony instead of enmity and chronic hostilities.He wrote that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Al1lahbe on him) was atrue blessing for the Eastern world and it was particularly for this reasonthat he did not need to employ the bloody strategiies which were usedwithout exception and indiscrim inately by Moses (on whom be peace) inorder to obliterate idolatry. He concludes that it is idle to be insulting inignorant condemnation of such an excellent source that nature provided toinfluence beliefs and propositions of human beings for a long period intime."(John D evonport 'An A pologyfor M uhammad and the Q uran'. (1stpublished 1869)

54


57/60

George Bernard Shaw wrote:"I have alw ays held the religion of Muhammad in high estim ation becauseof its wonderful vitality. It is the only religion whieh appears to me top ossess that assim ilatin g cap acity to th e chan ging p hase of ex isten ce whichcan m ake itself appeal to every age. I have studied him - th e wonderfu lman - and in m y opinion far from being an anti-C hrist, he m ust be calledth e Sav io r o f Humanity ."(G eo rge B ern ard Shaw 'T he Genuin e Islam'. V ol. 1 No.8 (1936)Pringle Kennedy wrote:"M uhammad was, to use a striking expression, the man of the hour. Inorder to understand his w onderful success, one must study the conditionsof his tim es. Five and half centuries and m ore had elapsed when he wasborn since Jesus had com e into the w orld. A t that tim e, the old religions ofGreece and Rome, and of the hundred and one states along theMediterranean, had lost their vitality. In their place, C aesarism had comeas a living cult. The worship of the state as personified by the reigningC aesar, such w as the religion of the R oman Empire. O ther religions m ightexist, it was true; but they had to perm it this new cult by the side of themand predom inant over them . B ut C aesarism failed to satisfy. T he E asternreligions and superstitions (E gyptian, S yrian, P ersian) appealed to m anyin the R om an w orld and found num erous votaries. The fatal fault of m anyof these creeds was that in m any respects they were so ignoble ... W henC hristianity conquered C aesarism at the commencem ent of the fourthcentury, it, in its turn, becam e C aesarised. N o longer w as it the pure creed

5 5


58/60

which had been taught som e three centuries before. It had become largelyde spir itua lised, r itual ised, mater ia lised.. .How, in a few years, all this was changed, how, by 6so AD a great part ofthis w orld becam e a different w orld from w hat it had been before, is one ofthe m ost rem arkable chapters in hum an history This w onderful changefollow ed, if it w as not m ainly caused by, the life of one m an, the Prophet ofMecca...W hatever the opinion one m ay have of this extraordinary m an, w hether itbe that of the devout Muslim who considers him the last and greatestherald of God's word, or of the fanatical Christian of former days, whoconsidered him an emissary of the Evil One, or of certain modernOrientalists, who look on him rather as a politician than a saint, as anorganiser of Asia in general and Arabia in particular, against Europe,rather than as a religious reformer; there can be no difference as to theimmensity of the effect w hich his life has had on the history of the w orld. "(P ringle K ennedy 'A rabian Society at the T im e of M "uhammad. P ages; 8,10, 18, 21. )

S. P. Scott w rote:If th e o bject of relig ion b e the in cu lcatio n o f morals, the dim inu tio n of ev il,the promotion of human happiness, the expansion of the human intellect,if the perform ance of good works w ill avail in the great day w hen mankindshall be summoned to its final reckoning it is neither irreverent norunreasonable to adm it that Muhammad w as indeed an A postle of G od."(S . P . Sc ott 'H istory o f the Moo rish Emp ire in Euro pe'. P ag e 12 6 )

56


59/60

Ruth Cranston wrote:"Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be on him) never instigatedfighting and bloodshed. Every battle he fought was in rebuttal. He foughtin order to survive...and he fought with the weapons and in fashion of histime... Certainly no 'Christian ' nation of 140,000,000 people who todaydispatch (this is a book written in 1949) 120,000 helpless civilians with asingle bomb can look askance at a leader who at his worst killed a bare fiveor six hundred. The slayings of the Prophet of Arabia (peace and blessingsof Allah be on him) in the benighted and bloodthirsty age of the seventhcentury look positively puerile compared w ith our own in this 'advanced'and enlightened twentieth. Not to mention the mass slaughter by theChristians during the Inquisition and the Crusades - when, Christianwarriors proudly recorded, they "waded ankle-deep in the gore of theMus lim in fidels ."(Ruth Cranston 'W orld Faith'. Page 155. Ayer Publishing . (1949)James A. M ichener wrote"Muhammad, the inspired man who founded Islam , was born about AD570 into an Arabian tribe that worshipped idols. O rphaned at birth, he wasalways particularly solicitous of the poor and needy, the widow and theorphan, the slave and the downtrodden. At twenty he was already asuccessful businessman, and soon became director of camel caravans for aw ealthy widow. W hen he reached twenty-five his employer, recognizinghis meet, proposed marriage. Even though she was fifteen years older, hemarried her, and as long as she lived, remained a devoted husband. Likealmost every major prophet before him , M uhammad fought shy of serving

57


60/60

as the transmitter of God's word, sensing his own inadequacy. But theangel comm anded 'Read.' So far as we know, M uhammad was unable toread or write, but he began to dictate those inspired words which wouldsoon revolutionize a large segm ent of the earth: "There is one G od." In allthings Muhammad was profoundly practical. W hen his beloved sonIbrahim died, an eclipse occurred, and rumors of God's personalcondolence quickly arose. Whereupon Muhammad is said to haveannounced, "An eclipse is a phenomenon of nature. It is foolish toattribute such things to the death or birth of a human-being." AtM uhammad's own death an attem pt was made to deify him, but the manw ho w as to becom e his adm inistrative successor killed the hysteria w ithone of the noblest speeches in religious history: 'If there are any am ongyou who worshipped Muhammad, he is dead. But if it is God youworshipped, He lives fo reve r."("Islam : T he M isunderstood R eligion," By Jam es A. M ichener, R eader'sD ig es t (American ), May 1955, p p. 68 -70 )

The End

a rejoinder to pope's allegations against islam by mukhtar a. cheema

Documents