muhammad the antagonist still

8/4/2019 Muhammad the Antagonist Still

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Muhammad the Antagonist Still!

Responding to a Dawagandist¶s attempt of vilifying the Meccans

so as to defend Muhammad¶s abuse of them

Sam Shamoun

Bassam Zawadi has written a ³reply´ to my article proving that it was actually Muhammadwho first antagonized and threatened the pagans, thereby refuting the Muslim claim that the

Meccans actually started the problems with Muhammad and his followers.

Although Zawadi raised a host of issues, all of which I plan on refuting in due time by thegrace of the Lord Jesus, here I want to focus on his explanation and defense of Muhammad¶s

insulting the religious beliefs of the pagans.

Zawadi claims that the way in which Muhammad insulted their gods was by proclaiming that

God is actually one!

Notice what they were feeling offended at the Prophet's request to have them believe in onegod. This is how they felt they were insulted and how their gods were insulted. They

especially felt like their forefathers were insulted when verses like Surah 2:170-171 could berevealed claiming that their forefathers were in error.

To say that this response is desperate would be putting it mildly. Zawadi obviously didn¶t

bother to read the sources which I provided or, worse still, wasn¶t able to understand what hewas reading. According to the quotations themselves the Meccans weren¶t merely upset over

the fact that Muhammad turned all the gods into one. They were also angry over his mocking

their gods and insulting their ancestors. Since Zawadi failed to see this point I will quote

another Islamic source to help him see more clearly:

(Maketh he the gods One God? Lo! that is an astounding thing«) [38:5-11]. Abu¶l-Qasim

ibn Abi Nasr al-Khuzaµi informed us> Muhammad ibn µAbd Allah ibn Hamdawayh> Abu

Bakr ibn Abi Darim al-Hafiz> Muhammad ibn µUthman in Abi Shaybah> his father>

Muhammad ibn µAbd Allah al-Asdi> Sufyan> al-Aµmash> Yahya ibn µUmarah> Saµid ibn

Jubayr> Ibn µAbbas who said: ³When Abu Talib fell ill, the Quraysh and the Prophet went to

visit him. There was, close to the head of Abu Talib, enough room for one man to sit, so Abu

Jahl rushed to it to prevent the Prophet from sitting there. They complained to Abu Talib

about the Prophet. Abu Talib said to the Prophet: µSon of my brother, what is it that you

want from your own people?¶ He said: µO uncle, I want from them one word by means of

which all the Arabs will surrender to them and all the non-Arabs will pay exemption tax to

them¶. µWhat is this word?¶ he asked. He said: µThere is no deity except Allah¶. They all

exclaimed: µDoes he make the gods One God?¶ The Qur¶an was then revealed about them(Sad. By the renowned Qur¶an, nay, but those who disbelieve are in false pride and schism«)

up to Allah¶s words (This is naught but an invention) [38:1-7]´. The commentators of the

Qur¶an said: ³When µUmar ibn al-Khattab embraced Islam, the Muslims were overjoyed

while the Quraysh was devastated. Al-Walid ibn al-Mughirah said to the nobles and chiefs of

Quraysh: µGo to Abu Talib and say to him: you are our elder and chief and you know well

what these fools have done. We have come to you so that you judge between us and your nephew¶. Abu Talib sent for the Prophet and when he answered his call, he said to him: µSon

of my brother, these are your own people and they are asking you for fairness, so do not



swerve completely from them¶. The Prophet asked: µWhat do they want from me?¶ They said:µCEASE MENTIONING OUR DEITIES AND WE WILL LEAVE YOU ALONE

WITH YOUR GOD¶. The Prophet said to them: µWill you grant me one word by means of which you will rule over the Arabs and subjugate the non-Arabs?¶ Abu Jahl said: µWe will

surely grant it and grant you ten like it!¶ The Prophet said: µSay: there is no deity except

Allah!¶ The Quraysh were repelled and left, saying: µDoes he make the gods One God?

How can One God be sufficient for the whole creation?¶ And so Allah, exalted is He,revealed about them these verses, up to His words (The folk of Noah before them denied

(their messenger)«) [38:12]´. ('Al ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul ; bold and capital

emphasis ours)

Does Zawadi not see that the Meccans were already complaining that Muhammad was

insulting their gods and fathers and had asked him to stop EVEN BEFORE he invited them to

believe that Allah is the only deity? Does this not prove that Muhammad did more than

simply preach that there is only one god but that he also reviled, ridiculed, mocked and

insulted the other gods which the pagans worshiped?

Nor is this an isolated citation. We find this repeated all throughout the Islamic literature just

as the following quotations prove:

Yunus stated, from Ibn Ishaq, ³Then Abu Bakr met the Messenger of God and asked him, µIs

it true what the Quraysh are saying, Muhammad? About you abandoning our gods, ridicul ing

our intell ect s, and call ing our ancest or s pa g ans?¶

³The Messenger of God said, µY es indeed . I am the Messenger of God, and His Prophet, He

sent me to deliver his message and invite you to God by the truth. For I swear, God is the

truth. I call upon you, O Abu Bakr, to believe in God alone, in Him who has no associate.

And I call upon you to worship none but Him, and to devote yourself to obeying Him.¶

³He then recited the Quran to him. And he neither confirmed nor refused.

³Then he did accept Islam, disavowed the idols, repudiated the other gods and affirmed the

truth of Islam. When Abu Bakr went home he was a believer, a man of faith.´ (Ibn Kathir,

The Lif e of t he Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sir a al-N abawiyya), translated by professor Trevor

Le Gassick, reviewed by Dr. Ahmed Fareed [Garnet Publishing Limited, 8 Southern Court,

south Street Reading RG1 4QS, UK ; The Center for Muslim Contribution to Civilization:

First paperback edition, 2000], Volume I, p. 314; bold and italic emphasis ours)

And:

Yunus b. Bukayr stated that Muhammad b. Ishaq related to him, quoting a man originally

from Egypt some forty years previously, from µIkrima, from Ibn µAbbas, a long anecdoterelating what transpired between the polytheists of Mecca and the Messenger of God. When

the Messenger of God arose, Abu Jahl b. Hisham said, ³O Quraysh, Muhammad is persisting,

as you know, in critici z ing our rel igi on , revi l ing our fore father s, ridicul ing our values and

insul ting our g od s. I swear by God that I¶ll sit and wait for him tomorrow carrying a rock,

and if he prostrates in his prayer, I will smash his head with it! And let µAbd Manaf¶s people

do whatever they like about it afterwards.´ (Ibid., p. 337; bold and italic emphasis ours)

Again:



³They said, µO Abu Talib, your ne phew has cur sed our g od s, ridicul ed our values and said

our fore father s erred . Either you interpose yourself between us ± you disagree with him just

as we do ± or we¶ll take care of him for you!¶

³Abu Talib gave them a polite and gracious reply and they then left him.

³There after the Messenger of God continued as before, openly practising God¶s religion andcalling upon people to embrace it. But then thing s between them became more heated unti l

the men were mut uall y hosti l e and al ienated f r om one another .

³Quraysh discussed the Messenger of God a great deal, complaining to one another and

urging one another on to take action against him.

³The y then went AGAIN t o Abu T al i b, and told him, µO Abu Talib, you have seniority, prestige, and position among us, and we have asked you to keep your nephew away from us,

but you have not done so. W e can¶t an y longer put up with hi s behavi our in revi l ing our fore father s, ridicul ing our values, and critici z ing our g od s, until such time as you make him

desist, or we will battle with him and you in this matter, until one or other side perishes.¶

They then said something of this sort, and then they left.

³It grieved Abu Talib to be alienated from his people, and he was neither sympathetic to the

call for Islam by the Messenger of God nor to the idea of abandoning him.´ (Ibid., p. 344)

There is more:

Ibn Ishaq stated, ³When Quraysh learned Abu Talib had refused to abandon the Messenger of

God and was determined to break with them in enmity because of this, they went to him, bringing µUmara b. al-Walid with them. They told him, as I have heard, µO Abu Talib, this is

µUmara b. al-Walid, the strongest and best-looking young man of Quraysh. Take him and use

his mind and strength and adopt him as your own son;

he is yours. And hand over to us thisnephew of yours who has opposed your rel igi on and that of your fore father s, br ok en up the

unit y of your peopl e , and ridicul ed our values, so that we may kill him. It will be just one

man for another!¶´ (Ibid., p. 345; bold and italic emphasis ours)

Finally:

³Nuµaym b. µAbd Allah met him and enquired, µWhere are you heading, µUmar?¶

³He replied, µI¶m looking for Muhammad, that Sabian who has disunited Quraysh, ridicul ed

their dreams, critici z ed their rel igi on and slandered their g od s. I¶m going to kill him!¶´(Ibid., Volume II, p. 21; bold and italic emphasis ours)

Moreover, the Quran itself is witness to the fact that Muhammad did more than simply

proclaim the unity of God. Zawadi mentioned this passage:

When it is said to them: "Follow what Allah has sent down." They say: "Nay! We shall

follow what we found our fathers following." (Would they do that!) E ven thou gh their

father s did not under st and an ything nor were the y g uided ? S. 2:170

But failed to mention the following verses:



And when it is said to them: "Come to what Allah has revealed and unto the Messenger (Muhammad for the verdict of that which you have made unlawful)." They say: "Enough for

us is that which we found our fathers following," even thou gh their father s had no

k nowl edge what soever and no g uid ance. S. 5:104

Verily! Allah forgives not (the sin of) setting up partners in worship with Him, but He

forgives whom he pleases sins other than that, and whoever sets up partners in worship withAllah, has indeed strayed far away. They (all those who worship others than Allah) invoke

nothing but female deities besides Him (Allah), and the y invok e nothing but S hait an

(Sat an), a persistent rebel! S. 4:116-117

Do they attribute as partners to Allah those who created nothing but the y themsel ves are

created ? No help can the y give them , nor can the y help themsel ves. And if you call them to

guidance, they follow you not. It is the same for you whether you call them or you keep

silent. Verily, those whom you call upon besides Allah are slaves l i k e you. So call upon them

and let them answer you if you are truthful. Have the y f eet wherewith the y walk? Or have

the y hand s wherewith the y hol d ? Or have the y e yes wherewith the y see? Or have the y ear s

wherewith the y hear ? Say (O Muhammad): "Call your (so-called) partners (of Allah) and

then plot against me, and give me no respite! Verily, my W ali (Protector, Supporter, andHelper, etc.) is Allah Who has revealed the Book (the Qur'an), and He protects (supports and

helps) the righteous. And those whom you call upon besides H im (Allah) cannot help you

nor can the y help themsel ves." And if you call them to guidance, the y hear not and you wi ll

see them look ing at you, yet the y see not . Show forgiveness, enjoin what is good, and t urn

awa y f r om the fool i sh ( i.e. d on't puni sh them) . S. 7:191-199

And the y wor shi p besides Allah thing s that hurt them not , nor pr of it them, and they say:

"These are our intercessors with Allah." Say: "Do you inform Allah of that which He knows

not in the heavens and on the earth?" Glorified and Exalted be He above all that which they

associate as partners with Him! S. 10:18

He to Whom belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth, and Who has begotten no

son (children or offspring) and for Whom there is no partner in the dominion. He has createdeverything, and has measured it exactly according to its due measurements. Yet they have

taken besides Him other aliha (gods) that created nothing but are themsel ves created , and

possess neither hurt nor bene f it for themsel ves, and possess no power (of causing) death ,

nor (of giving) l i f e , nor of r ai sing the dead . S. 25:2-3

To add insult to injury Muhammad even appealed to an apocryphal legend concerningAbraham¶s confrontation with his people regarding their idolatry as a way of insulting and

cursing his own people for worshiping idols:

And certainly We gave to Ibr ahim his rectitude before, and We knew him fully well. Whenhe said to his father and his people: What are these images to whose worship you cleave?They said: We found our fathers worshiping them. He said: Certainly you have been, (both)

you and your fathers, in manifest error. They said: Have you brought to us the truth, or areyou one of the triflers? He said: Nay! your Lord is the Lord of the heavens and the earth,

Who brought them into existence, and I am of those who bear witness to this: And, by Allah!I will certainly do something against your idols after you go away, turning back. So he broke

them into pieces, except the chief of them, that haply they may return to it. They said: Whohas done this to our gods? Most surely he is one of the unjust. They said: We heard a youth



called Ibrahim speak of them. Said they: Then bring him before the eyes of the people, perhaps they may bear witness. They said: Have you done this to our gods, O Ibrahim? He

said: Surely (some doer) has done it; the chief of them is this, therefore ask them, if they canspeak. Then they turned to themselves and said: Surely you yourselves are the unjust ; Then

they were made to hang down their heads: Certainly you know that they do not speak. He

said: What! do you then serve besides Allah what bring s you not an y bene f it at all, nor

d oes it harm you? F ie on you and on what you serve besides Allah; what! do you not thenunderstand? They said: Burn him and help your gods, if you are going to do (anything). S.

21:51-66 Shakir

In these next passages Muhammad tells his people that they are liars who are deceived, that

they have no sense and that they do not know the truth:

Or have they taken (for worship) aliha (gods) from the earth who raise the dead? Had there

been therein (in the heavens and the earth) gods besides Allah, then verily both would have

been ruined. Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Throne, (High is He) above what they

attribute to Him! He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be questioned.

Or have they taken for worship (other) aliha (gods) besides Him? Say: "Bring your proof:"

This (the Qur'an) is the Reminder for those with me and the Reminder for those before me. But most of them k now not the Tr uth , so the y are aver se. S. 21:21-24

Say: "Whose is the earth and whosoever is therein? If you know!" They will say: "It is

Allah's!" Say: "Will you not then remember?" Say: "Who is (the) Lord of the seven heavens,

and (the) Lord of the Great Throne?" They will say: "Allah." Say: "Will you not then fear

Allah (believe in His Oneness, obey Him, believe in the Resurrection and Recompense for

each and every good or bad deed)." Say "In Whose Hand is the sovereignty of everything (i.e.

treasures of each and everything)? And He protects (all), while against Whom there is no

protector, (i.e. if Allah saves anyone none can punish or harm him, and if Allah punishes or

harms anyone none can save him), if you know." [Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 12, Page 145] They

will say: "(All that belongs) to Allah." Say: " How then are you deceived and t urn awa y f r om

the tr uth?" Nay, but We have brought them the truth (Islamic Monotheism), and veri l y , the y

( di sbel iever s ) are l i ar s. S. 23:84-90

If you were to ask them: "Who has created the heavens and the earth and subjected the sunand the moon?" They will surely reply: "Allah." How then are the y devi ating (as polytheists

and disbelievers)? Allah enlarges the provision for whom He wills of His slaves, and straitensit for whom (He wills). Verily, Allah is the All-Knower of everything. If you were to ask

them: "Who sends down water (rain) from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after

its death?" They will surely reply: "Allah." Say: "All the praises and thanks be to Allah!"

Nay! M ost of them have no sense. S. 29:61-63

Have you then considered Al-Lat, and Al-'Uzza (two idols of the pagan Arabs) And Manat(another idol of the pagan Arabs), the other third? Is it for you the males and for Him thefemales? That indeed is a division most unfair! The y are but names which you have named ,

you and your father s, for which Allah has sent d own no authorit y. They follow but a guessand that which they themselves desire, whereas there has surely come to them the Guidance

from their Lord! « Verily, those who believe not in the Hereafter, name the angels withfemale names. W hi l e the y have no k nowl edge thereof . The y follow but a g uess, and veri l y ,

g uess i s no substit ute for the tr uth. S. 53:19-23, 27-28



Muhammad also repeatedly threatened the pagans with hell and wrath:

And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him [i.e. theyare Mushrikun - polytheists - see Verse 6: 121]. Do the y then f eel secure f r om the coming

a g ainst them of the covering vei l of the T orment of Allah , or of the coming against them of

the (Final) Hour, all of a sudden while they perceive not? S. 12:106-107

Have you not seen those who have changed the Blessings of Allah into disbelief (by denying

Prophet Muhammad and his Message of Islam), and caused their people to dwell in the house

of destruction? Hell, in which they will burn, - and what an evil place to settle in! And they

set up rivals to Allah, to mislead (men) from His Path! Say: " E nj o y ( your brie f l i f e)! But

cert ainl y , your destinati on i s the (H ell ) F ire!" S. 14:28-30

Certainly! You (disbelievers) and that which you are worshipping now besides Allah, are(but) fuel for Hell! (Surely), you will enter it. Had these (idols, etc.) been aliha (gods), the y

woul d not have entered there (H ell ) , and all of them wi ll abide therein. S. 21:98-99

And they have taken besides Allah aliha (gods), hoping that they might be helped (by those

so called gods). The y cannot help them , but the y wi ll be br ou ght forward as a tr oop a g ainst

those who wor shi pped them (at the time of Reckoning). S. 36:74-75

Finally, these next passages give us an idea of what Muhammad was actually saying to his

people and how the pagans felt about his criticisms of their beliefs:

And when those who disbelieve (in the Oneness of Allah) see you (O Muhammad), they takeyou not except for mockery (saying): " Is thi s the one who t alks (bad l y ) about your g od s?"

While they disbelieve at the mention of the Most Beneficent (Allah). [Tafsir. Al-Qurtubi]. S.21:36

And insult not those whom they (disbelievers) worship besides Allah, l est the y insul t Allah wr ong full y without k nowl edge. Thus We have made fairseeming to each people its own

doings; then to their Lord is their return and He shall then inform them of all that they used to

do. S. 6:108

These texts clearly presuppose that Muhammad did more than offend the Meccans by

proclaiming the unity of god. He also insulted the religious beliefs of the pagans by speaking

badly of their gods.

Zawadi thinks he has an explanation of Q. 6:108 which calls into question my exegesis of the

text.

Shamoun's arguments fails on two different levels:

1) He has not shown that it was Muslims who initiated the insults. For all we know theycould have been doing it in response to the disbelievers initiating it. The Meccans got fed up

and couldn't take it and then wanted it to end and wanted to make a compromise with the

Muslims that they would stop insulting as well.



It gets to be really tiring having to constantly and repeatedly point out the fact that Zawadihas a serious inability to correctly understand and actually comprehend the arguments of his

opponents. Did Zawadi not read the following?

Ibn Humayd ± Salamah ± Ibn Ishaq: The Messenger of God proclaimed God¶s message

openly and declared Islam publicly to his tribesmen. When he did so, they did not

withdraw from him or reject him in anyway, as far as I had heard, UNTIL HE SPOK E OF THEIR GODS AND DENOUNCED THEM. WHEN DID THIS, THEY TOOK

EXCEPTION TO IT and united in opposition and hostility to him , except for those of

them whom God had protected from error by means of Islam. The latter were few in number

and practiced their faith in secret. His uncle Abu Talib was friendly to him, however, and

protected him and shielded him from them. The Messenger of God continued to do God¶s

work and to proclaim his message, undeterred by anything. When Quraysh saw that he would

not give them any satisfaction, they objected to his departing from their ways and

denouncing their gods , and seeing that Abu Talib protected him, shielded him from harm,

and would not hand him over to them, a number of the nobles of Quraysh, consisting of such

men as µUtbah b. Rabiµah, Shaybah b. Rabiµah, Abu al-Bakhtari b. Hisham, al-Aswad b. al-Muttalib, al-Walid b. al-Mughirah, Abu Jahl b. Hisham, al-µAs b. Wa¶il and Nubayh and

Munabbih, the sons of al-Hajjaj, went to Abu Talib and said, "Abu Talib, your nephew hasreviled our gods, denounced our religion, derided our traditional values and told us that

our forefathers were misguided. Either curb his attacks on us or give us a free hand to dealwith him, for you are just as opposed to him as we are, and we will deal with him for you."

Abu Talib gave them a mild answer and declined courteously, and they left him. TheMessenger of God continued as before, proclaiming the faith of God and summoning people

to it. (The History of al-Tabari: Muhammad at M ecca, translated and annotated by W.

Montgomery Watt and M. V. McDonald [State University of New York Press, Albany 1988],

Volume VI, p. 93; bold and capital emphasis ours)

And:

µAli b. Nasr b. µAli al-Jahdami and µAbd al-Warith b. µAbd al-Samad b. µAbd al-Warith ±

µAbd al-Samad b. µAbd al-Warith ± Aban al-µAttar ± Hisham b. µUrwah ± µUrwah: He wroteto µAbd al-Malik as follows, referring to the Messenger of God: When he summoned his

people to the guidance and light which had been revealed to him and for which God hadsent him, THEY DID NOT WITHDRAW FROM HIM AT THE BEGINNING OF HIS

PR EACHING, AND WER E ON THE POINT OF LISTENING TO HIM. WHEN,HOWEVER, HE SPOK E OF THEIR IDOLS, some wealthy men of Quraysh who had

come from al-Ta¶if took exception to this and reacted strongly against him, not likingwhat he said« (Ibid., pp. 95-98; bold and underline emphasis ours)

Does Zawadi not see that according to these quotations the pagans had absolutely no problem

with Muhammad preaching about Allah, which means that they were not the ones whostarted insulting the god of the Muslims? After all, didn¶t they also believe that Allah was one

of their gods?

Can he not read that the Meccans only objected to Muhammad¶s preaching and threatened to

insult Allah AF T ER Muhammad started denouncing and mocking their gods?

I also quoted the following which Zawadi apparently didn¶t bother to read carefully:



The Prohibition of Insulting the False gods of the Disbelievers, So that they Do not

Insult Allah

Allah prohibits His Messenger and the believers from insulting the false deities of the

idolators, although there is a clear benefit in doing so. Insulting their deities will lead to a

bigger evil than its benefit, for the idolators might retaliate by insulting the God of the

believers, Allah, none has the right to be worshipped but He. Àli bin Abi Talhah said thatIbn Àbbas commented on this Ayah [6:108]; ³They (disbelievers) said, Ò Muhammad!

YOU WILL STOP INSULTING OUR GODS, OR WE WILL INSULT YOUR LORD.´

Thereafter, Allah prohibited the believers from insulting the disbelievers' idols«

(l e st t he y insult All ah wrongfully wit hout knowl ed g e.) '' Àbdur-Razzaq narrated that Ma`mar

said that Qatadah said, "Muslims used to insult the idols of the disbelievers and the

disbelievers WOULD RETALIATE by insulting Allah wrongfully without knowledge. Allah

revealed«

(And insult not t hose whom t he y worship be side s All ah.)´ (T afsir Ibn Kathir ; capital and

underline emphasis ours)

Was Zawadi able to see that according to Ibn Kathir the pagans clearly warned Muhammad

that he better stop insulting their gods otherwise they would start insulting his deity? If he did

read this then couldn¶t Zawadi comprehend the fact that the pagans¶ threat to Muhammad

actually proves that it was Muhammad who started insulting them and not the other way

around? Can it be any clearer than this?

Here is another quote just in case Zawadi still fails to see the point:

(Revile not those unto whom they pray beside Allah lest they wrongfully revile Allah through

ignorance«) [6:108]. Said ibn µAbbas, according to the report of al-Walibi: ³They [theidolaters] said: µ

O Muhammad, either you stop reviling our idols or we will revile yourLord¶. And so Allah, exalted is He, warned against reviling their idols lest they wrongfully

revile Allah through ignorance´. Qatadah said: ³The Muslims used to revile the idols of the

unbelievers and the latter USED TO R EACT AGAINST THEM. Allah, exalted is He,

therefore, warned the Muslims against being the cause which drives ignorant unbelievers,

who have no knowledge of Allah, to revile Allah as a result of reviling their idols´. Said al-

Suddi: ³When Abu Talib was dying, [some chiefs of] the Quraysh said: µlet us go to this man

and ask him to forbid his nephew from reviling our idols , for we feel shame to kill him

after he passes away and drive the Arabs to say: µHe used to defend him but once he passed

away, they killed him¶. And so Abu Sufyan, Abu Jahl, al-Nadr ibn al-Harith, Umayyah and

Ubayy the sons of Khalaf, µUqbah ibn Abi Muµayt, µAmr ibn al-µAs, al-Aswad ibn al-

Bukhturi went to see Abu Talib. They said to him: µYou are our master and chief, but

Muhammad has harmed us AND HARMED OUR IDOLS. We would like you to callhim and warn him AGAINST SPEAKING ILL OF OUR IDOLS. And from our part,WE WILL LEAVE HIM ALONE TO HIS ALLAH¶. The Prophet went when he was

summoned. Abu Talib said to him: µThese are your people and cousins!¶ The Messenger of Allah asked them: µWhat do you want?¶ They said: µWe want you to leave us alone with

our idols and we will leave you alone with your Allah¶. Abu Talib said: µYOUR PEOPLE AR E BEING FAIR WITH YOU, so give your consent¶. The Messenger of

Allah said: µIf I agree to this would you agree to give me one sentence, if you were to utter it,you would rule over the Arabs and non-Arabs alike?¶ Abu Jahl said: µYes, by your father, we



will give it to you and also give you ten other things like it ; but what is it? He said: µSay:there is no god but Allah!¶ They refused and expressed their aversion at this proposal, upon

which Abu Talib said; µSon of my brother, ask for something else, for your people are waryof this¶. ('Al ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi, Asbab al-Nuzul )

Can Zawadi see that this source expressly says that the pagans REAC T ED to the Muslims

reviling their idols, which again proves that they didn¶t start the insults and therefore were notthe cause of the problem? Can he also read here that the pagans asked Muhammad to stop

reviling their idols?

Will he be able to see their complaints to Abu Talib that Muhammad was harming them and

their idols and asked that he stop speaking against their gods? Better yet, will he be able to

comprehend and appreciate just how tolerant the pagans were being since they were still

willing to work with Muhammad and allow him to continue preaching and worshiping Allah,

provided that he stopped insulting their gods?

Even Muhammad¶s own uncle, Abu Talib, could see just how fair and tolerant the pagans

were being to his nephew!

In fact, the Meccans repeatedly went out of their way to appease Muhammad, doing

everything they can to reconcile with him by offering to give him everything he could desire

on a silver platter, just as long as he stopped attacking their gods and beliefs:

Yunus and Ziyad related, from Ibn Ishaq, and from a certain scholar, namely a sheikh from

Egypt named Muhammad b. Abu Muhammad, from Saµid b. Jubayr and µIkrima, from Ibn

µAbbas, who said, ³Leaders from Quraysh chiefs met ± and he enumerated their names ± after

sunset at the rear of the k aµba. Some send, µSend for Muhammad and speak with him and

argue with him SO YOU WILL FIN D EXCUSE FOR HI M .

³So they sent a message to him, saying, µThe chiefs of your people have assembled to with

you.¶

³The Messenger of God came to them quickly, believing that there had been a change in their

attitude to him. He was eager for them to accept the truth for their error, which was painful to

him. He sat down with them.

³They said, µO M uhammad , we sent for you T O RECONCILE WI T H YOU . B y God , we

k now of no Ar ab who has ever br ou ght hi s peopl e AS M UCH T ROU B LE AS YOU HAVE .

You have revi l ed the forebear s, critici z ed the rel igi on , ridicul ed the values, cur sed the g od s,

and divided our communit y . EVERY UNPLEASAN T T HING POSSI B LE YOU HAVE DONE t o mak e a ri f t between you and us.

³If you had come to say these things merely to seek wealth, we would have collected money

for you from our own until you were the richest among us. If what you wanted was prestige,

we would have placed you in leadership over us. If you had wanted sovereignty, we would

have made you a king over us. If what you were bringing us was because of a spirit that had

possessed you (they used the word r a¶ i for t abiµ meaning spirit) and that may be the case, we

would expend our resources seeking a potion to free you from him, or we would excuse

you.¶´ (Ibn Kathir, The Lif e of t he Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sir a al-N abawiyya), Volume I,

pp. 347-348; bold, capital and italic emphasis ours)



And:

Imam µAbd b. Humayd stated in his musnad collection of had it h that Abu Bakr b. Shaybarelated to him, quoting µAli b. Mishar, from al-Ajlah, the son of µAbd Allah al-Kindi, from al-

Dhayyal b. Harmala al-Asadi, from Jabr b. µAbd Allah, who said, ³Quraysh met one day and

agreed to determine who among them was the most knowledgeable in magic, sorcery, and

poetry. That person would then approach the man who had caused dissension, and divisionamongst them and had found fault with their religion, talk to him and decide how to respond

to him. They agreed that µUtba b. Rabiµa was the obvious choice, and they approached him

and told him, µIt is to be you, O Abu al-Walid.¶

³µUtba then went to the Messenger of God and said, µO Muhammad, who is better, you or

µAbd Allah?¶ The Messenger of God, remained silent.

³Then he said, µWho is better, you or µAbd al-Muttalib?¶ The Messenger of God remained

silent.

³µUtba then said, µIf you claim those men to be better than you, the fact i s the y wor shi p the

g od s YOU HAVE CRI T ICIZE D. If you claim to be better than them, then speak so we canhear what you say. B y God , we¶ve never seen an y fool M ORE HAR M FUL T O HIS

PEOPLE T HAN YOU; you have caused divi si on and di ssensi on among us, CRI T ICIZE D

OUR RELIGION and so di s gr aced us in the e yes of the Ar abs that the rumour is current

among them that there is a magician or a sorcerer amidst Quraysh. By God, fellow, it seems

all we have to await is the cry of a pregnant woman for us all to be at one another with

swords till we wipe ourselves out! If it is need that is your problem, we¶ll make a collection

for you till you¶re the wealthiest man in Quraysh; if it is status you want, choose any women

of Quraysh you like and we¶ll marry you to ten of them.

³The Messenger of God responded, µAre you done?¶ µYes,¶ replied µUtba. The Messenger of

God then spoke: µIn the name of God, the Most Merciful and Beneficent. H a Mim. A

revelation from the Most Merciful and Beneficent. A book whose verses have been detailed

in an Arabic Quran for a people who are aware«¶ and so on until he reached the verse, µButif they turn aside, say: ³I warn you of a terrible punishment like that which destroyed µAd and

Thamud´¶( sur at H a Mim, also called sur at al-Fussil at , XLI, v.1-13).

³µUtba said, µThat¶s sufficient. You¶ve nothing else´¶

³µNo,¶ he replied.

³µUtba then went back to Quraysh and they asked what had happened. He replied, µI didn¶t

omit saying to him anything you talked about.¶

³µAnd did he respond?¶ they asked. µYes,¶ he answered. Then he stated, µWell, no ; by Him

who erected it as a building, I didn¶t understand anything he said, exce pt that he warned

YOU of a terri bl e puni shment l i k e that of µAd and Thamud .¶´ (Ibid., pp. 363-364; bold,

capital and italic emphasis ours)

Finally:



Ziyad b. Ishaq stated that µUtba said, ³O Quraysh, should I not go to Muhammad and talk tohim and make him offers, some of which he might accept, so we give them to him AN D HE

WOUL D LEAVE US ALONE ?´ That occurred when Hamza had accepted Islam andQuraysh recognized that the followers of the Messenger of God were increasing and

expanding. So they said, ³YES , Abu al-Walid, do go and talk to him.´

µUtba then arose and sat down near the Messenger of God and said, ³O ne phew , you k now the st at us and respect your peopl e give you, and the nobility of your lineage, but you have

caused much tr oubl e t o your peopl e. B y thi s, you have destr o yed their unit y , RI D ICULE D

T HEIR VALUES, CRI T ICIZE D T HEIR GO D S AN D T HEIR RELIGION, and claimed

that their fore father s were unbel iever s. Listen to me now, as I make you some offers to

consider ; perhaps you might be able to accept some of these.

The Messenger of God replied, ³I am listening, Abu al-Walid.´

µUtba went on, ³O nephew, if all you want by bringing up this matter is wealth, we willcollect money from ourselves for you and so you will be the richest of us all. If what you are

seeking by it is honour, we will make you our leader and never make decisions without you.

If what you want by it is sovereignty, we will make you our king. If whatever comes to you issome spirit you see but can¶t remove by yourself, we will seek out a potion for you and spend

our own money to free you from it. A spirit may well take possession of a person until he is

cured of it.´ His words were similar to these. (Ibid., p. 365; bold, capital and italic emphasis

ours)

All of this proves that the pagans were much more tolerant than Muhammad ever was since

after he conquered Mecca he threatened to kill any of them if they refused to become

Muslims. More on this point later.

Zawadi also asks:

2) After this verse was revealed and the Muslims stopped insulting the Meccan deities, why

did the Meccans continue to persecute the Muslims? If all they really wanted were for the

Muslims to stop cursing their deities then why continue the persecution? Why continue to

chase the Muslims to Abyssinia and try to have them killed?

In the first place, even if we assume that the Muslims did in fact stop insulting the pagans the

damage had already been done, peoples¶ families had already been insulted, and their gods

had already been reviled. It is hard for individuals to simply forgive and forget when their

ancestors and gods have been mocked and ridiculed.

Secondly, it is not hard to see why the pagans would chase after the Muslims in order to bring

them back. Since their gods had been insulted, their honor had been trampled on, and their fathers had been ridiculed it is only to be expected that the Meccans would want justice and

vengeance. In fact, as we shall shortly see Muhammad did the very same thing to those who

insulted him and questioned his "revelations." Therefore, what is good for the goose is also

good for the gander.

Interestingly, the very same sources which say that the Muslims fled for Abyssinia also

plainly state that Muhammad had it rather good in comparison to some of the other Muslims,

a fact that Zawadi conveniently failed to mention:



Muhammad b. Ishaq, stated, "When the Messenger of God, witnessed the trials descendingupon his Companions, he com pared thi s WI T H HIS OWN GOO D S T AT E that derived from

his own status with God and from his uncle Abu Talib, and, recognizing that he was unable to prevent the evil befalling them, he told them, 'I wish you would go forth into the land of

Abyssinia, for there is a king in whose realm no one is harmed, where truth prevails. Stay

there until God gives you relief from your plight.'

"The Companions of the Messenger of God, thereupon left for Abyssinnia fearing the unrest

and fleeing with their faith unto God. This was the first emigration that occurred in Islam ..."

(Ibn Kathir, The Lif e of t he Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sir a al-N abawiyya), Volume II, p. 1;

bold, capital and underline emphasis ours)

Third, who said that the Muslims actually stopped insulting the gods of the pagans? We find

verses which were composed all throughout Muhammad¶s stay at Mecca insulting the gods

and ancestors of the pagans.

The Muslims continued insulting the pagan gods even in Medina:

« Then µUrwah said: ³Muhammad, tell me: if you extirpate your tribesmen, have you ever heard of any of the Arabs who destroyed his own race before you? And if the contrary comes

to pass, by God I see both prominent people and rabble who are likely to flee and leave you.´

Abu Bakr said, ³Go suck the cl it ori s of al-Lat!´ ± al-Lat was the idol of Thaqif, which they

used to worship ± ³Would we flee and leave him?´ « (The History of al-Tabari ± The

Victory of Isl am, translated by Michael Fishbein [State University of New York Press

(SUNY), Albany 1997], Volume VIII (8), p. 76; bold and italic emphasis ours)

Ibn Ishaq provides a slightly different version:

« Now Abu Bakr was sitting behind the apostle and he said, ' Suck al-Lat' s ni ppl es! Shouldwe desert him?' « (The Lif e of Muhammad, A T r ansl ation of I bn Ishaq¶ s Sir at Ra sul All ah,

with introduction and notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth

Impression 1995), p. 502; bold and italic emphasis ours)

What the above references show is that the only reason why the Muslims were told not to

insult people's religions is because of the fear that they would then start insulting the Islamic

god and his prophet. These quotes also show that such a rule only applies when Muslims are

a minority and the disbelievers greatly outnumber them since once Muslims are strong

enough to kill people who insult Islam then they do not have to refrain from insulting other

people¶s faiths. That is why we find Abu Bakr insulting this man's goddess and using profane

language. He was now in a situation where the Muslims had power and could murder the man

if he had responded back with insults of his own

This is similar to Muhammad commanding tolerance when he was living in Mecca andgreatly outnumbered by the unbelievers. During this stage of his life the Muslims were weak

and the rule was essentially turn the other cheek and forgive those who cursed them.Muhammad knew that if the Muslims tried to attack the disbelievers at this stage then he

would be running the risk of being defeated and/or killed. However, once Muhammad cameinto a position of power and the Muslims became dominant the Islamic god changed the rules

and ordered his jihadist thugs to murder, plunder, rape and pillage the disbelievers.



What about the monotheists before Muhammad?

To further document the utter futility of Zawadi¶s argument that Muhammad insulted the

pagans by claiming that there was only one god it is important to remember that there were

others before Muhammad who had either converted to Christianity or embraced monotheism.

One such individual was Waraqa ibn Naufal, the first cousin of Muhammad¶s first wife,Khadijah bint Khuwaylid, and the man Muhammad spoke to after being physically

manhandled and tormented by the spirit who came to him in the cave.

According to the Islamic sources Waraqa abandoned the pagan religion of his people and

embraced Christianity:

Narrated 'Aisha:

The Prophet returned to Khadija while his heart was beating rapidly. She took him to Waraqa bin Naufal who was a Christian convert and used to read the Gospels in Arabic Waraqa asked

(the Prophet), ³What do you see?´ When he told him, Waraqa said, ³That is the same angel

whom Allah sent to the Prophet) Moses. Should I live till you receive the Divine Message, Iwill support you strongly.´ (S ahih al-Buk hari, Volume 4, Book 55, Number 605)

Now if Zawadi¶s claim was sound then we would expect that the pagans would have also

persecuted Waraqa for believing that there was only one God, thereby turning all the gods

into one, much like Muhammad was accused of doing. However, such is not the case since

Waraqa continued to live peaceably with the pagans in Mecca and was free to preach and

believe in whatever religion he wanted.

This in turn exposes the utter weakness of Zawadi¶s explanation since it proves that the

pagans didn¶t have a problem with Muhammad choosing to believe in one god. In fact, all of the sources that I cited clearly stated that the pagans even listened to Muhammad when he

spoke of his god. They had a problem with Muhammad making fun of their gods and

ancestors.

Muhammad¶s treatment of those who ridiculed him

In order to more fully appreciate just how tolerant the pagans were towards Muhammad all

we have to do is compare their response with how Muhammad responded to anyone who

would dare challenge and criticize him.

According to the hadith and sirah literature Muhammad had his followers brutally murder

anyone who made fun of him or his beliefs. Here are some examples:

Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas:

A blind man had a slave-mother who used t o abuse the P r ophet and di spar a ge him. He

forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her habit. One night

she beg an t o slander the P r ophet and abuse him. So he t ook a d a gger , placed it on her

bell y , pressed it , and k i ll ed her . A child who came between her legs was smeared with the

blood that was there. When the morning came, the Prophet was informed about it.



He assembled the people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and Iadjure him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the people

and trembling the man stood up.

He sat before the Prophet and said: Apostle of Allah! I am her master ; she used t o abuse you

and di spar a ge you. I forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not

abandon her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Lastnight she began to abuse and disparage you. So I t ook a d a gger , put it on her bell y and

pressed it ti ll I k i ll ed her .

Thereupon the Prophet said: Oh be witness, no ret al i ati on i s pa yabl e for her blood . (Sunan

Abu Dawud , Book 38, Number 4348)

And:

Narrated Ali ibn AbuTalib:

A Jewess used to abuse the Prophet and disparage him. A man str ang l ed her ti ll she died.

The Apost l e of Allah declared that no recom pense was pa yabl e for her blood . (Sunan Abu

Dawud , Book 38, Number 4349)

Muhammad also ordered the murder of an old man and a young woman for lampooning him

and criticizing his evil actions through poetry:

SALIM B. ÙMAYR'S EXPEDITION TO KILL ABU ÀFAK

Abu Àfak was one of B. (tribe) Àmr b. Àuf of the B. Ùbayda clan. He showed hisdisaffection when the apostle killed al-Harith b. Samit and said:

Long have I lived but never have I seenAn assembly or collection of people

More faithful to their undertaking

And their allies when called upon

Than the sons of Qayla when they assembled,

Men who overthrew mountains and never submitted.

A rider who came to them split them in two (saying)"Permitted", "Forbidden" of all sorts of things.

Had you believed in glory or kingshipYou would have followed Tubba`.

The apostle said, "Who will deal with this rascal for me?" Whereupon Salim b. Ùmayr,

brother of B. Àmr b. Àuf one of the "weepers", went forth and killed him. Umama b.Muzayriya said concerning that:

You gave the lie to God's religion and the man Ahmad!

By him who was your father, evil is the son he produced!

A hanif gave you a thrust in the night saying"Take that Abu Àfak in spite of your age!"

Though I knew whether it was man or jinnWho slew you in the dead of night (I would say naught)



(The Lif e of Muhammad : A T r ansl ation of I bn Ishaq¶ s Sir at Ra sul All ah, with introductionand notes by Alfred Guillaume [Oxford University Press, Karachi, Tenth impression 1995],

p. 675)

And:

When the apostle heard what she had said he said, "Who will rid me of Marwan's daughter?"Umayr b. Adiy al-Khatmi who was with him heard him, and that very night he went to her

house and killed her. In the morning he came to the apostle and told him what he had done

and he [Muhammad] said, "You have helped God and His apostle, O Umayr!" When he

asked if he would have to bear any evil consequences the apostle said, "Two goats won't butt

their heads about her", so Umayr went back to his people.

Now there was a great commotion among B. Khatma that day about the affair of bint [girl]Marwan. She had five sons, and when Umayr went to them from the apostle he said, "I have

killed bint Marwan, O sons of Khatma. Withstand me if you can; don't keep me waiting."That was the first day Islam became powerful among B. Khatma; before that those who were

Muslims concealed the fact. The first of them to accept Islam was Umayr b. Adiy who was

called the "Reader", and Abdullah b. Aus and Khuzayma b. Thabit. The day after BintMarwan was killed the men of B. Khatma became Muslims because they saw the power of

Islam." (Ibid., p. 676)

Here is another version of these murders:

SARIYYAH OF µUMAYR IBN µADI

Then (occurred) the sariyyah of Umayr ibn µAdi Ibn Kharashah al-Khatmi against µAsmaBint Marwan, of Banu Umayyah Ibn Zayd, when five nights had remained from the month of

Ramadan, in the beginning of the nineteenth month from the hijr ah of the Apostle of Allah,may Allah bless him. µAsma was the wife of Yazid Ibn Zayd Ibn Hisn al-Khatmi. She used to

revile Islam, offend the Prophet and instigate the (people) against him. She composed verses.

µUmayr Ibn µAdi came to her in the night and entered her house. Her children were sleeping

around her. There was one whom she was suckling. He searched her with his hand

because he was blind, and separated the child from her. He thrust his sword in her chest

till it pierced up to her back . Then he offered the morning prayers with the Prophet at al-

Madinah« The Apostle of Allah said to him: Have you slain the daughter of Marwan? He

said: Yes. Is there something more for me to do? He said: No. Two goats will butt together

about her. This was the word that was first heard from the Apostle of Allah. The Apostle of

Allah called µUmayr, ba sir (the seeing).

SARIYYAH OF SALIM IBN µUMAYR

Then occurred the sariyyah of Salim Ibn µUmayr al-µAmri against Abu µAfak, the Jew, in

Shawwal in the beginning of the twentieth month from the hijr ah of the Apostle of Allah.

Abu Afak, was from Banu µAmr Ibn µAwf, and was an old man who had attained the age

of one hundred and twenty years . He was a Jew, and used to instigate the people against

the Apostle of Allah and composed (satirical) verses. Salim Ibn µUmayr who was one of the

great weepers and who had participated in Badr, said: I take a vow that I shall either kill Abu

µAfak or die before him. He waited for an opportunity until a hot night came, and Abu µAfak

slept in an open place. Salim Ibn µUmayr knew it, so he placed the sword on his liver and



pressed it till it reached his bed. The enemy of Allah screamed and the people, who werehis followers rushed to him, took him to his house and interred him. (Ibn Sa'ad's K it ab Al-

Tabaqat Al- K abir , English translation by S. Moinul Haq, M.A., PH.D assisted by H.K.Ghazanfar M.A. [Kitab Bhavan Exporters & Importers, 1784 Kalan Mahal, Daryaganj, New

Delhi - 110 002 India), Volume II, pp. 30-31; bold emphasis ours)

Moreover, Islamic law demands that anyone who insults Muhammad must be murdered:

Know that all who curse Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, or blame

him or attribute imperfection to him in his person, his lineage, his deen or any of his qualities,

or alludes to that or its like by any means whatsoever, whether in the form of a curse or

contempt or belittling him or detracting from him or finding fault with him or maligning him,

the judgement regarding such a person is the same as the judgement against anyone who

curses him. He is killed as we shall make clear. This judgement extends to anything which

amounts to a curse or disparagement. We have no hesitation concerning this matter, be it a

clear statement or allusion.

The same applies to anyone who curses him, invokes against him, desires to harm him,

ascribes to him what does not befit his position or jokes about his mighty affair with foolishtalk, satire, disliked words or jokes, or reviles him because of any affliction or trial which

happened to him or disparages him, because of any of the permissible and well-known human

events which happened to him. All of this is the consensus of the 'ul ama' and the imam s of

f at wa from the time of the Companions until today.

Abu Bakr ibn al-Mundhir said that the bulk of the people of knowledge agree that whoever

curses the Prophet is killed. These include Malik ibn Anas, al-Layth, Ahmad ibn Hanbal and

Ishaq ibn Rahawayh, and it is the position of the Shafi'i school. Qadi Abu'l-Fadl said that it is

based on the statement of Abu Bakr as-Siddiq. His repentance is not accepted. Something

similar was stated by Abu Hanifa and his people, ath-Thawri and the people of Kufa and al-

Awza'i about the Muslims. However, they said that it constitutes apostasy.

At-Tabari related something similar from Abu Hanifa and his companions about anyone whodisparages the Prophet, proclaims himself quit of him or calls him a liar.

Sahnun said about those who curse the Prophet, "This is apostasy in exactly the same way as

heresy (zandaqa) is. Therefore there is some dispute about whether such a person should be

called to repent (as a Muslim) or whether he is an unbeliever. Is he to be killed by a hadd-

punishment (as a Muslim) or for disbelief?" We will make this clear in Chapter Two. We do

not know of any dispute among the 'ul ama' of the community and the S al a f regarding the

permissibility of shedding his blood.

Several people have mentioned that the consensus is that he is to be killed and considered anunbeliever. One of the Dhahirites, Abu Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Farisi, however, indicatedthat there is some disagreement about whether to consider someone who belittles the Prophet

as an unbeliever. The best-known position has already been stated.

Muhammad ibn Sahnun said that the 'ul ama' agree that anyone who reviles the Prophet and

disparages him is an unbeliever and the threat of Allah's punishment is on him. The

community's judgement on him is that he be killed. Anyone who has any doubts about such a

person's disbelief and punishment is also an unbeliever. For a proof of this, Ibrahim ibn



Husayn ibn Khalid, the f aqih, uses the instance of Khalid ibn al-Walid killing Malik ibn Nuwayra for referring to the Prophet as "your companion."'

Abu Sulayman al-Khattabi said, "I do not know of any Muslim who disagrees about the

necessity of killing such a person if he is a Muslim."

Ibn al-Qasim reports from Malik in the book of Ibn Sahnun, the M ab sut , and the 'Utibiyya and Ibn Mutarrif relates the same from Malik in the book of Ibn Habib, "Any Muslim who

curses the Prophet is killed without being asked to repent."

Ibn al-Qasim said in the 'Utibiyya, "Anyone who curses him, reviles him, finds fault with him

or disparages him is killed. The community say that he should be killed just like the dualist.Allah made it obligatory to respect the Prophet and be dutiful to him."

In the M ab sut from 'Uthman ibn Kinana we find, "Any Muslim who reviles the Prophet is

killed or crucified without being asked to repent. The Imam can choose between crucifyinghim or killing him." In the variant of Abu'l-Mus'ab and Ibn Abi Uways, they heard Malik say,

"Anyone who curses the Messenger of Allah reviles him, finds fault with him or disparages

him is killed, be he Muslim or unbeliever, without being asked to repent."

Asbagh said, "He is killed in every case, whether he conceals it or makes it public, without

being asked to repent because his repentance is not recognised." 'Abdullah ibn 'Abdu'l-

Hakam said that and at-Tabari related something similar from Malik Ibn Wahb related that

Malik said, "Anyone who says that the Prophet's cloak (or button) was dirty, thereby

intending to find fault with him, should be killed.´ «

Ahmad ibn Abi Sulayman, the companion of Sahnun, said, ³Anyone who says that the

Prophet was black should be killed .´ ( Muhammad M e sseng er of All ah (Ash-S hif a of Qad i

'Iyad), translated by Aisha Abdarrahman Bewley [Madinah Press, Inverness, Scotland, U.K.1991; third reprint, paperback], Part Four. The judgements concerning those who think the

Prophet imperfect or curse him, Chapter One: Clarification about cursing the prophet or

saying that he is imperfect by allusion or clear statement, Section One. The Judgement of

the S hari' a regarding someone who curses or disparages the Prophet, pp. 373-374, 375;

bold emphasis ours)

In order to prove that this ruling is correct the Qadi presents some cases of individuals who

were murdered by the express orders of Muhammad for mocking or criticizing him:

In a sound had it h the Prophet commanded that Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf be killed. He asked, "Who

will deal with Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf? He has harmed Allah and His Messenger." He sent

someone to assassinate him without calling him to Islam, in distinction to other idol-

worshippers. The cause of that lay in his causing harm to the Prophet. That indicates that theProphet had him killed for something other than idol-worship. It was for causing harm. Abu

Rafi,' who used to harm the Messenger of Allah and work against him, was also killed.

Similarly on the Day of the Conquest, he ordered the killing of Ibn Khatal and his two

slavegirls who used to sing his curses on the Prophet.



In another had it h about a man who used to curse the Prophet, the Prophet said, "Who willsave me from my enemy?" Khalid said, "I will," so the Prophet sent him out and he killed

him.

Similarly the Prophet commanded that a group of unbelievers who used to injure and curse

him, like an-Nadr ibn al-Harith and 'Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt, be killed. He promised that a

group of them would be killed before and after the conquest. They were all killed except for those who hurried to become Muslim before they were overpowered. Al-Bazzar related from

Ibn 'Abbas that 'Uqba ibn Abi Mu'ayt cried out, "O company of Quraysh, why is it that I

alone among you am to be killed without war?" The Prophet said, "For your disbelief and

your forging lies against the Messenger of Allah."

'Abdu'r-Razzaq mentioned that a man cursed the Prophet, causing the Prophet to say, "Who

will save me from my enemy?" Az-Zubayr said, "I will." He sent az-Zubayr and he killed

him.

It is related that a woman used to curse the Prophet and he said, "Who will save me from my

enemy?" Khalid ibn al-Walid went out and killed her.

It is related that a man forged lies against the Prophet and he sent 'Ali and az-Zubayr to kill

him.

Ibn Qani' related that a man came to the Prophet and said, "Messenger of Allah, I heard my

father say something ugly about you, SO I KILLED HIM," AND THAT DID NOT

DISTRESS THE PROPHET.

Al-Mujahir ibn Abi Umayya, the Amir of Yemen, reported to Abu Bakr that a woman therein the time of the Ridda chanted curses against the Prophet, so he cut off her hand AND

PULLED OUT HER FRONT TEETH. When Abu Bakr heard that, he said to him, "If youhad not done what you already did, I would have commanded you to kill her because the

hadd regarding the Prophet is not like the hadd regarding others."

Ibn 'Abbas said that a woman from Khatma satirised the Prophet and the Prophet said, "Who

will deal with her for me?" A man from her people said, "I will, Messenger of Allah." The

man got up and went and killed her. He told the Prophet who said, "Two goats will not lock

horns over her."2

Ibn 'Abbas said that a blind man had an umm wal ad who used to curse the Prophet. He

scolded her and restrained her, but she would not be restrained. That night she began to attack

and revile the Prophet, so he killed her. He told the Prophet about that and he said he had

shed her blood with impunity«

Harun ar-Rashid asked Malik about a man who had reviled the Prophet and he mentioned to

him that the fuqaha' of Iraq had given a f at wa that he be flogged. Malik became angry and

said, "Amir al-Mu'minin! There is no continuation for a community after it curses its Prophet!

Whoever curses the Companions of the Prophet is to be flogged."

I do not know which of those Iraqi fuqaha' gave Harun ar-Rashid that f at wa. We have already

mentioned that the school of the people of Iraq is that he be killed. Perhaps they were among

those who were not known for knowledge or those whose f at wa s were unreliable or



idiosyncratic, or it is possible that what the man said was not taken to be a curse and therewas a dispute as to whether or not it was a curse or he had retracted it and repented of it.

None of these things were mentioned to Malik at all. However, the consensus is that anyonewho curses him is to be killed as we have already stated.

That he is to be killed can be deduced by reflection and consideration. Anyone who curses or

disparages the Prophet has shown clear symptoms of the sickness of his heart and proof of hisreal convictions and belief. That is why most of the 'ul ama' judge him to be an apostate. This

is what is transmitted by the people of Syria from Malik, al-Awza'i, ath-Thawri, Abu Hanifa

and the people of Kufa.

The other position is that it is not a proof of disbelief, and so the person in question is killed

by the hadd-punishment but he is not adjudged to be an unbeliever unless he persists in his

words, not denying them nor refraining from them. To be judged an unbeliever, his statement

must either be a clear statement of disbelief, like calling the Prophet a liar, or originate from

mocking words and censure. His open avowal of what he said and lack of repentance for it is

an indication that he finds it lawful and this constitutes disbelief, so there is no disagreement

that he is an unbeliever. Allah says about people like this, "They swear by Allah that they

did not speak. They said the words of disbelief. They disbelieved after their Islam."(9:76)

The commentators said that this refers to the statement, "If what is said by Muhammad is

true, we are worse than monkeys."

It is said that it refers to what one of them said, "Our likeness with respect to that of

Muhammad is only as the words of the one who says, 'Feed your dog and it will devour you.'

When we return to Madina, the mighty will drive out the weaker."

It is said that even if the one who says this conceals it, the same judgement applies to him as

to the heretic and he is killed because he has changed his deen. The Prophet said, "Strike off

the heads of all who change their deen."

Because upholding the Prophet's honour is an obligation owed by his entire community and

anyone who curses a free man of his community is given a hadd-punishment, the punishment

of someone who curses the Prophet is that he is to be is killed because of the immensity of

the worth of the Prophet and his elevation over others. (Ibid., Section Two. The proof of the

necessity of killing anyone who curses the Prophet or finds fault with him , pp. 378-380)

The translator has a note identifying the woman from Khatma:

2. A tribe allied to the Aws. She was 'Usma' bint Marwan. (Ibid., p. 378)

I.e., Asma bint Marwan, the young woman whom the Islamic sources say was brutally

murdered while breastfeeding heir child! But didn¶t the Qadi know better than to use the

incident of Asma to establish this Islamic ruling since her story is based on a weak narration

according to Muslim propagandists like Zawadi? Or should we see this assertion for what it

truly is, i.e. this is nothing more than a canar d and smokescreen which Muslim dawagandists

like Zawadi always bring up whenever they cannot defend their position?



What makes some of these murders all the more reprehensible is that some of theseindividuals were killed for simply writing poetry criticizing Muhammad¶s violent crimes!

Ironically, Muhammad himself ordered his own followers to compose poems mocking his

opponents!

Narrated Al-Bara:The Prophet said to Hassan, " LA M POON them ( the pa g ans ) in ver se , and Gabriel i s with

you." (S ahih al-Buk hari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 174)

Narrated Al-Bara:

The Prophet said to Hassan, " A BUSE T HE M ( with your poems ) , and Gabriel i s with you

( i.e. , support s you )." (Through another group of sub narrators) Al-Bara bin Azib said, "On

the day of Quraiza¶s (besiege), Allah¶s Apostle said to Hassan bin Thabit, µ A BUSE T HE M

( with your poems ) , and Gabriel i s with you ( i.e. support s you ).¶" (S ahih al-Buk hari, Volume

5, Book 59, Number 449)

Here we see that it was perfectly okay for Muhammad to mock people¶s beliefs just as long

as they didn¶t mock him or his teachings. We also see that it was alright for Muhammad tohave his followers compose poems ridiculing his opponents, but it was not okay when the

disbelievers did the same exact thing to him!

To make matters worse Muhammad is reported to have said that poetry was actually from

Satan!

"The Messenger of God moved a little away from his tent and prayed. He travelled on the rest

of that day and night and arrived next morning in Tabuk. He gave appropriate praise andthanks to God, then said ... µDoubting is from disbelief. Wailing in mourning is from

jahiliyya. Fraud is of the soil spread in hell. POETRY COMES FROM SATAN. Womenare the snares of Satan. Youth is an offshoot of madness. The worst income is that from

interest. The worst food is consuming the wealth of orphans ...¶" (Ibn Kathir, The Lif e of t he

Prophet Muhammad (Al-Sir a al-N abawiyya), Volume IV, p. 16; bold and capital emphasis

ours)

Now doesn¶t this mean that Muhammad was encouraging his followers to sin against Allah

by participating in a satanic act? And wouldn¶t this indicate that Hasan was actually inspired

and supported by Satan whom Muhammad claimed was Gabriel? Or would Zawadi like us to

believe that all poetry is from Satan except the ones that are commissioned by

Muhammmad?!

Whatever the case, these examples not only prove that the Meccans were much more

tolerable than Muhammad and his followers, and put up with a lot more than Muhammad hadto ever put up with, they further show just how inconsistent and hypocritical Muhammad and

his followers truly were. Muhammad¶s motto clearly was, ³we do unto others what we will

never allow others to do to us!´



The Slaughter which Muhammad Brought

I had quoted al-Tabari to document that Muhammad had threatened to murder the paganswhile he was at Mecca.

Ibn Humayd- Salamah- Muhammad b. Ishaq- Yahya b. µUrwah b. al-Zubayr- his father

µUrwah-µAbdallah b. µAmr b. al-µAs: I said to him, "What was the worst attack you saw byQuraysh upon the Messenger of God when they openly showed their enmity to him?" He

replied, "I was with them when T HEIR NO B LES assembled one day in the Hijr and

discussed the Messenger of God. They said, µWe have never seen the like of what we have

endured from this man. He has derided our traditional values, abused our forefathers,

reviled our religion, caused division among us, and insulted our gods. We have endured

a great deal from him,¶ or words to that effect. While they were saying this, the Messenger

of God suddenly appeared and walked up and kissed the Black Stone. Then he passed by

them while performing the circumambulation, and as he did so they made some

slanderous remarks about him. I could see from the Messenger of God¶s face that he had

heard them, but he went on. When he passed the second time they made similar remarks, and

I could see from his face that he had heard them, but again he went on. Then he passed them

the third time, and they made similar remarks; but this time he stopped and said, µHear, menof Quraysh. B y H im in whose hand M uhammad¶ s soul rest s, I have br ou ght you

slau ghter .¶ They were gripped by what he said, and it was as though every man of them had a bird perched on his head; even those of them who had been urging the severest measures

against him previously spoke in conciliatory ways to him, using the politest expressions theycould think of, and said, µDepart in true guidance, Abu al-Qasim; by God you were never

ignorant.¶

Muhammad clearly warned the nobles or the chiefs of Mecca that he had come to slaughter

them.

Here is Zawadi¶s ³response.´

There are two possible ways to understand this narration. One is literally and the second ismetaphorically.

The literal understanding of the Arabic word dhabh (translated as slaughter) has us to

understand that the Prophet (peace be upon him) was speaking about a particular group of

people from the Quraysh and not all of them just as Sheikh Al-Munajjid states. This is clear

because we know that the Prophet eventually forgave the Quraysh after the conquest of

Mecca and did not slaughter them...

It seems most plausible to me that the Prophet intended to communicate to the Quraysh they

will be doomed to peril and destruction if they continued their ways and habits and not thathe is intending to massacre them.

This is simply another example of why Zawadi shouldn¶t be writing articles defending Islam

or criticizing the Holy Bible.

According to the Islamic sources Muhammad did carry out his plan since he had his follows

murder the chiefs of the Quraysh at the Battle of Badr:



Narrated Abdullah:

Once the Prophet was offering the prayer in the shade of the Ka'ba. Abu Jahl and someQuraishi men sent somebody to bring the abdominal contents of a she camel which had been

slaughtered somewhere in Mecca, and when he brought them, they put them over the

Prophet. Then Fatima (i.e. the Prophet's daughter) came and threw them away from him, and

he said, "O Allah! Destroy (the pagans of) Quraish; O Allah! Destr o y Qur ai sh; O Allah Destr o y Qur ai sh," naming especially Abu Jahl bin Hisham, 'Utba bin Rabi'a, Shaiba bin

Rabi'a, Al Walid bin 'Utba, Ubai bin Khalaf and 'Uqba bin Abi Mitt. (The narrator, 'Abdullah

added, " I saw them all k i ll ed and thr own in the Badr well ). (S ahih al-Buk hari, Volume 4,

Book 52, Number 185)

This shows that when Muhammad said he came to bring slaughter to the Quraish he

specifically meant their chiefs. And:

Narrated 'Abdullah:

While the Prophet was in the state of prostration, surrounded by a group of people from

Quraish pagans. 'Uqba bin Abi Mu'ait came and brought the intestines of a camel and threwthem on the back of the Prophet. The Prophet did not raise his head from prostration till

Fatima (i.e. his daughter) came and removed those intestines from his back, and invoked evil

on whoever had done (the evil deed). The Prophet said, "O Allah! Destr o y the chie fs of

Qur ai sh, O Allah! Destroy Abu Jahl bin Hisham, 'Utba bin Rabi'a, Shaiba bin Rabi'a. 'Uqba

bin Abi Mu'ait 'Umaiya bin Khalaf (or Ubai bin Khalaf)." Later on I saw all of them k i ll ed

d uring the batt l e of Badr and their bodies were thr own int o a well except the body of

Umaiya or Ubai, because he was a fat person, and when he was pulled, the parts of his body

got separated before he was thrown into the well. ( Sahih al- Buk hari , Volume 4, Book 53,

Number 409)

Finally:

Narrated 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud:

From Sad bin Mu'adh: Sad bin Mu'adh was an intimate friend of Umaiya bin Khalaf and

whenever Umaiya passed through Medina, he used to stay with Sad, and whenever Sad went

to Mecca, he used to stay with Umaiya. When Allah's Apostle arrived at Medina, Sa'd went to

perform 'Umra and stayed at Umaiya's home in Mecca. He said to Umaiya, "Tell me of a time

when (the Mosque) is empty so that I may be able to perform Tawaf around the Ka'ba." So

Umaiya went with him about midday. Abu Jahl met them and said, "O Abu Safwan! Who is

this man accompanying you?" He said, "He is Sad." Abu Jahl addressed Sad saying, "I see

you wandering about safely in Mecca in spite of the fact that you have given shelter to the

people who have changed their religion (i.e. became Muslims) and have claimed that you willhelp them and support them. By Allah, if you were not in the company of Abu Safwan, youwould not be able to go your family safely." Sad, raising his voice, said to him, "By Allah, if

you should stop me from doing this (i.e. performing Tawaf) I would certainly prevent youfrom something which is more valuable for you, that is, your passage through Medina." On

this, Umaiya said to him, "O Sad do not raise your voice before Abu-l-Hakam, the chief of the people of the Valley (of Mecca)." Sad said, "O Umaiya, stop that! B y Allah , I HAVE

HEAR D ALLAH ¶ S APOS T LE PRE D IC T ING T HAT T HE M USLI M S WILL KILL YOU ."



Umaiya asked, "In Mecca?" Sad said, "I do not know." Umaiya was greatly scared by thatnews.

When Umaiya returned to his family, he said to his wife, "O Um Safwan! Don't you know

what Sad told me? "She said, "What has he told you?" He replied, " H e claims that

M UHA MM A D HAS INFOR M E D T HE M ( i.e. com pani ons ) T HAT T HEY WILL KILL

M E . I asked him, 'In Mecca?' He replied, 'I do not know." Then Umaiya added, "By Allah, Iwill never go out of Mecca." But when the day of (the Ghazwa of) Badr came, Abu Jahl

called the people to war, saying, "Go and protect your caravan." But Umaiya disliked to go

out (of Mecca). Abu Jahl came to him and said, "O Abu Safwan! If the people see you

staying behind thou gh you are the chie f of the peopl e of the Vall e y, then they will remain

behind with you." Abu Jahl kept on urging him to go until he (i.e. Umaiya) said, "As you

have forced me to change my mind, by Allah, I will buy the best camel in Mecca. Then

Umaiya said (to his wife). "O Um Safwan, prepare what I need (for the journey)." She said to

him, "O Abu Safwan! Have you forgotten what your Yathribi brother told you?" He said,

"No, but I do not want to go with them but for a short distance." So when Umaiya went out,

he used to tie his camel wherever he camped. H e k e pt on d oing that ti ll Allah caused him t obe k i ll ed at Badr . (S ahih al-Buk hari, Volume 5, Book 59, Number 286)

Moreover, Zawadi and his source are being quite selective in their quotations since they

failed to inform their readers that even though Muhammad initially forgave the Qurayshwhen he conquered Mecca he and his god later changed their minds and threatened to kill the

pagans if they did not embrace Islam.

In fact, the following passage threatening the pagans to convert or be murdered was

composed roughly a year after Muhammad had taken control of Mecca:

F reed om f r om (all ) obl ig ati ons ( i s declared) f r om Allah and H i s Messenger t o those of the

M ushri kun (pol ythei st s, pa g ans, id olater s, di sbel iever s in the Oneness of All ah) , with

whom y

ou made a treat y. So travel freely (O Mushrikun - see V.2:105) for four months (as

you will) throughout the land, but know that you cannot escape (from the Punishment of)

Allah, and Allah wi ll di s gr ace the di sbel iever s. And a declaration from Allah and HisMessenger to mankind on the greatest day (the 10th of Dhul-Hijjah - the 12th month of

Islamic calendar) that Allah i s f ree f r om (all ) obl ig ati ons t o the M ushri kun (see V .2:105)

and so i s H i s Messenger. So i f you ( M ushri kun) re pent , it i s better for you, but i f you t urn

awa y , then k now that you cannot escape (f r om the Puni shment of ) Allah . And give tidings(O Muhammad) of a painful torment to those who disbelieve. Except those of the Mushrikun

with whom you have a treaty, and who have not subsequently failed you in aught, nor have

supported anyone against you. So fulf i ll their treat y t o them t o the end of their term. Surely

Allah loves Al-M att aqun (the pious - see V.2:2). Then when the Sacred M onths ( the 1st ,

7 th , 11th , and 12th months of the Islamic cal end ar) have passed , then k i ll the M ushri kun

(see V .2:105) wherever you f ind them , and capt ure them and besiege them , and pre pare for them each and ever y ambush. But if they repent and perform As-S al at ( I qamat-a s-S al at ),

and give Z ak at , then leave their way free. Verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. And

if anyone of the Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of

Allah) seeks your protection then grant him protection, so that he ma y hear the Word of

Allah ( the Qur' an) , and then escort him t o where he can be secure , that i s because the y are

men who k now not . How can there be a covenant with Allah and with His Messenger for the

Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah) except those

with whom you made a covenant near Al-M a sjid -al-H ar am (at Makkah)? So long, as they are



true to you, stand you true to them. Verily, Allah loves Al-Mutt aqun (the pious - see V.2:2).How (can there be such a covenant with them) that when you are overpowered by them, they

regard not the ties, either of kinship or of covenant with you? With (good words from) their mouths they please you, but their hearts are averse to you, and most of them are F a siqun

(rebellious, disobedient to Allah). They have purchased with the Ayat (proofs, evidences,

verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) of Allah a little gain, and they hindered men from His

Way; evil indeed is that which they used to do. With regard to a believer, they respect not theties, either of kinship or of covenant! It is they who are the transgressors. But if they repent,

perform As-S al at ( I qamat-a s-S al at ) and give Z ak at , then they are your brethren in religion.

(In this way) We explain the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.)

in detail for a people who know. But if they violate their oaths after their covenant, and attack

your religion with di sappr oval and critici sm then f ight ( you ) the l eader s of di sbel ie f (chiefs

of Quraish - pagans of Makkah) - for surely their oaths are nothing to them - so that they may

stop (evil actions). Will you not fight a people who have violated their oaths (pagans of

Makkah) and intended to expel the Messenger, whi l e the y did att ack you f ir st ? Do you fear

them? Allah has more right that you should fear Him, if you are believers. Fight against them

so that Allah will punish them by your hands and disgrace them and give you victory over them and heal the breasts of a believing people, And remove the anger of their (believers')

hearts. Allah accepts the repentance of whom He wills. Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. Doyou think that you shall be left alone while Allah has not yet tested those among you who

have striven hard and fought and have not taken W alijah [( Bat anah - helpers, advisors andconsultants from disbelievers, pagans, etc.) giving openly to them their secrets] besides Allah

and His Messenger, and the believers. Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do. It is notfor the Mushrikun (polytheists, idolaters, pagans, disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah), to

maintain the Mosques of Allah (i.e. to pray and worship Allah therein, to look after their

cleanliness and their building, etc.), while they witness against their ownselves of disbelief.

The works of such are in vain and in Fire shall they abide . The M osques of Allah shall be

maint ained onl y b y those who bel ieve in Allah and the Last Da y; per form As -Salat

(Iqamat -as-Salat) , and give Zakat and f ear none but Allah. I t i s the y who are ex pected t obe on tr ue g uid ance. Do you consider the providing of drinking water to the pilgrims and the

maintenance of Al-M a sjid -al-H ar am (at Makkah) as equal to the worth of those who believe

in Allah and the Last Day, and strive hard and fight in the Cause of Allah? They are not equal

before Allah. And Allah guides not those people who are the Z alimun (polytheists and

wrong-doers)« O you who believe! Take not for Auliya' (supporters and helpers) your

fathers and your brothers if they prefer disbelief to Belief. And whoever of you does so, then

he is one of the Zalimun (wrong-doers, etc.)« O you who believe (in Allah's Oneness and in

His Messenger (Muhammad)! Verily, the Mushrikun (polytheists, pagans, idolaters,disbelievers in the Oneness of Allah, and in the Message of Muhammad) are N a ja sun

(impure). So let them not come near Al-M a sjid -al-H ar am (at Makkah) after this year, and if you fear poverty, Allah will enrich you if He will, out of His Bounty. Surely, Allah is All-

Knowing, All-Wise. S. 9:1-19, 23, 28 Hilali-Khan

Here, Allah gives Muhammad the right to break any of his pacts and covenants that he hadmade with the polytheists with the intention of forcing them to convert to Islam:

This is the A yah of the Sword...

< But if t he y r e pent and perfor m t he S al ah, and give Z ak ah, t hen l eave t heir wa y fr ee. V erily ,

All ah is Oft-Forgiving , Most M er ciful .>



Abu Bakr As-Siddiq used this and other honorable Ayat as proof for fighting those whorefrained from paying the Zakah. These Ayat allowed fighting people unless, and until, they

embrace Islam and implement its rulings and obligations... In the two S ahih s, it is recordedthat Ibn µUmar said that the Messenger of Allah said,

< I have been commanded to fig ht t he peopl e until t he y t e stify t her e is no deity wort h y of

worship exce pt All ah and t hat Muhammad is t he M e sseng er of All ah, e st ablish t he pr a yer and pa y Z ak ah.>

This honorable Ayah (9:5) was called the Ayah of the Sword, about which Ad-Dahhak bin

Muzahim said, "It abrogated every agreement of peace between the Prophet and any idolator,

EVERY TREATY, AND EVERY TERM." Al-µAwfi said that Ibn µAbbas commented: "No

idolator had any more treaty or promise ever since Sur a Bar a¶ah was revealed. The four

months, in addition to, all peace treaties conducted before Bar a¶ah was revealed and

announced had ended by the tenth of the month of Rabi¶ Al-Akhir." (Ta fsir I bn K at hir , Q.

9:5; capital and underline emphasis ours)

Another famous Muslim commentator, as-Suyuti, confirms Ibn Kathir¶s interpretation:

This [Q. 9:5] is an Ayat of the Sword WHICH ABROGATES PARDON, TRUCE AND

OVERLOOKING. (seize t hem) is used as evidence for the permission to take captives. ( and

be sie g e t hem) is permission for besieging and raiding and attacking by night. Ibn Abi Hatim

reported that Abu 'Imran al-Jawfi said that ribat in the way of Allah is found in the words,

" lie in wait for t hem on every road." (if they make t awba and establish the prayer and pay the

zak at , let them go on their way) Repentance from shirk is not enough to let them go their way

until they establish the prayer and pay the zak at . Ash-Shafi'i took this as a proof FOR

KILLING ANYONE WHO ABANDONS THE PRAYER and fighting ANYONE WHO

REFUSES TO PAY ZA K AT . Some use it as a proof that they are k a firun« (Aisha Bewley,

T afsir ± Sur at at -T awba: Re pent ance; capital and underline emphasis ours)

And here is the approximate date of composition which helps us see that these verses were

composed long after Muhammad had taken complete control of Mecca:

Discourses and Periods of Revelation

This Surah comprises three discourses:-

The first discourse (vv. 1-37), was revealed in Zil-Qa'adah A. H. 9 or thereabout. As the

importance of the subject of the discourse required its declaration on the occasion of H a j the

Holy Prophet dispatched Hadrat Ali to follow Hadrat Abu Bakr, who had already left for

Makkah as leader of the Pilgrims to the Ka'abah. He instructed Hadrat Ali to deliver the

discourse before the representatives of the different clans of Arabia so as to inform them of the new policy towards the mushriks«

Historical Background

Now let us consider the historical background of the Surah. The series of events that have

been discussed in this Surah took place after the Peace Treaty of Hudaibiyah. By that time,

one-third of Arabia had come under the sway of Islam which had established itself as a

powerful, well organized and civilized Islamic State. This Treaty afforded further



opportunities to Islam to spread its influence in the comparatively peaceful atmospherecreated by it. After this Treaty, two events took place, which led to very important results:

Conquest of Arabia

The first was the Conquest of Arabia. The Holy Prophet was able to send missions among

different clans for the propagation of Islam. The result was that during the short period of twoyears, it became such a great power that it made the old order of ignorance' feel helpless

before it. So much so that the zealous elements from among the Quraish were so exasperated

that they broke the Treaty in order to encounter Islam in a decisive combat. But the Holy

Prophet took prompt action after the breach so as not to allow them any opportunity to gather

enough force for this. He made a sudden invasion on Makkah in the month of Ramadan in A.

H. 8 and conquered it. Though this conquest broke the backbone of the order of ignorance, it

made still another attack on Islam in the battle-field of Hunain, which proved to be its death-

knell. The clans of Hawazin Thaqif, Naur, Jushm and others gathered their entire forces in the

battle field in order to crush the reformative Revolution, but they utterly failed in their evil

designs. The defeat of 'ignorance' at Hunain paved the way for making the whole of Arabia

the 'Abode of Islam' ( Dar-ul-Isl am). The result was that hardly a year had passed after the

Battle of Hunain, when the major portion of Arabia came within the fold of Islam and only afew upholders of the old order remained scattered over some corners of the country«

Problems of the Period

If we keep in view the preceding background, we can easily find out the problems that were

confronting the Community at that time. They were:

1. to make the whole of Arabia a perfect Dar-ul-Isl am,

2. to extend the influence of Islam to the adjoining countries,

3. to crush the mischiefs of the hypocrites, and

4. to prepare the Muslims for J ihad against the non- Muslim world.

1. Now that the administration of the whole of Arabia had come in the hands of the Believers,

and all the opposing powers had become helpless, it was necessary to make a clear declaration of that policy which was to be adopted to make her a perfect Dar-ul-Isl am.

Therefore the following measures were adopted:

1. A clear declaration was made that all the treaties with the mushriks were abolished and theMuslims would be released from the treaty obligations with them after a respite of four

months.(vv. 1-3). This declaration was necessary for uprooting completely the system of life based on shirk and to make Arabia exclusively the center of Islam so that it should not in any

way interfere with the spirit of Islam nor become an internal danger for it.

2. A decree was issued that the guardianship of the Ka`abah, which held central position in all

the affairs of Arabia, should be wrested from the mushriks and placed permanently in thehands of the Believers, (vv. 12-18) that all the customs and practices of the shirk of the era of

'ignorance' should be forcibly abolished: that the mushriks should not be allowed even to



come near the "House" (v. 28). This was to eradicate every trace of shirk from the "House"that was dedicated exclusively to the worship of Allah.

3. The evil practice of N a si, by which they used to tamper with the sacred months in the days

of 'ignorance', was forbidden as an act of kufr (v. 37). This was also to serve as an example to

the Muslims for eradicating every vestige of the customs of ignorance from the life of Arabia

(and afterwards from the lives of the Muslims everywhere). ( S yed Abu-Ala' M aud udi' sC hapter I ntr od ucti ons t o the Qur' an; underline emphasis ours)

And:

« The first part of this honorable Surah was revealed to the Messenger of Allah when hereturned from the battle of Tabuk, during the Hajj season, which the Prophet thought about

attending. But he remembered that the idolators would still attend that Hajj, as was usual in past years, and that they perform Tawaf around the House while naked. He disliked to

associate with them and sent Abu Bakr As-Siddiq to lead Hajj that year and show thepeople their rituals, commanding him to inform the idolators that they would not be

allowed to participate in Hajj after that season. He commanded him to proclaim...

< Fr eed om from ( all ) oblig ations (is decl ar ed) from All ah and His M e sseng er«>, to the

people. When Abu Bakr had left, the Messenger sent `Ali bin Abu Talib to be the one to

deliver this news to the idolators on behalf of the Messenger, for he was the Messenger's

cousin. We will mention this story later. (Ta fsir I bn K at hir , Q. 9:1-2; bold emphasis ours)

The pagans posed no serious threat to Muhammad since he had already subjected them to his

rule. Yet it wasn¶t enough for Muhammad that the disbelievers were under his control, he had

to force them to become Muslims. Otherwise he would have them brutally murdered if they

refused.

Hence, this clearly proves that Muhammad had every intention in literally slaughtering and

murdering the Meccans had they not converted due to duress and fear.

What makes this rather unfortunate is that Zawadi knows full well that these verses warning

the polytheists of impending massacre were composed sometime after the pagans of Mecca

had already surrendered to Muhammad. And yet Zawadi deliberately withheld this

information from his readers in order to portray Muhammad in the best possible manner

while depicting his enemies in the worst imaginable way. Such deception and dishonesty is

truly reprehensible and exposes the true origin of the teachings of Islam.

May the Triune God have mercy on Muslims such as Zawadi by bringing them out of the

deception of Islam and into the glorious light of the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We now come to the conclusion of this part of our refutation to Zawadi¶s distortion of truth.

Lord Jesus willing, the rest of our response to Zawadi¶s smokescreens should be appearing

soon.

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muhammad the antagonist still

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