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The Pulpit
Islam : On the Shoulders of Judaism and Christianity by Sophia Barkat Contrary to popular belief, Islam is a religion with roots common to Christianity and Judaism. It’s holy scripture, the Qur’an, considered revelation of God via the Angel Gibrail (Gabriel), is essentially a referential book to the Old Testament – the Torah (revelation to Musa or Moses) and the Injil (Revelation to Jesus). As such, it holds as it’s core the religion of all the Prophets between Abraham and Jesus, and also what is later revealed to Mohammad. Rooted in Abraham Abraham is considered the first Prophet in all three religions to denounce idolatry and to claim faith in the One God, contrary to the practice of his times. It is said, that he realized that there was only one God at a young age without a direct revelation from God, and practiced his faith in isolation as others found it blasphemous. (See Bruce Fieler, "Abraham") Abraham meets God only after a life of persecution and isolation. He is 76 years old, and God thanks him for believing in Him and promises Abraham that he will be the father of many nations. As Abraham has failed to bear children through his wife Sarah, he finds this idea incredible. But as God has willed it, his wife, Sarah, gives her maidservant to Abraham, to bear them a child. The woman is Hagar. Hagar gives birth to Ishmael. Thirteen years later, Sarah later finds herself also with child, and Isaac is born. It is said that God sent Hagar away into the desert to raise Ishmael, promising to shower her with sustenance. Even though it was under harsh conditions, Hagar survives in the Arabian desert, having discovered the well of Zam Zam, and it is there that she offers the passing Bedouin water and a place to rest. The Banu Hashem tribe, within the Qurayesh clan, to whom Mohammad is born, claims to be descendents of Hagar. But Abraham the forefather of the Muslim religion, is also the progenitor of another line of Prophets on Sarah’s side -- Isaac, Jacob, David, Joseph (of the Technicolor Coat), Moses, Ezekiel, and finally Jesus. Thus, Abraham is the root of all three religions – Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Following Abraham In keeping with the Abraham’s teachings, Muslims denounce idolatry and believe in the One God, observe male circumcision and even perform annual animal sacrifices to God to observe Abraham’s teachings, just as the Qur’an says they should: "And who forsaketh the religion of Abraham save him who befooleth himself? Verily We chose him (Abraham) in the world, and lo! in the Hereafter he (Abraham) is among the righteous." (Qur’an 2:130) In fact, the religious movement called Islam took it’s root in the denunciation of idols as gods and in the reinstatement of the Kabah as the house of the One God only (See Yahya Emerick, "Muhammad"). This gave rise to much apathy towards Islam from within the Qurayesh community, not to mention from the community of idolaters who traveled to Mecca to worship the 360 gods that the Kabah housed. Mohammad was opposed to this idolaters’ pilgrimage, as Abraham had built the Kabah not to be a house for idols but to be a house of the One God known as "Ilaha". By urging the Meccans to remove the idols from the Kabah, Mohammad was bringing back the religion of Abraham to Arabia, as it had once been observed. Jesus, Mary & The House of Imran Today, the Kabah is cloaked in black cloth, and houses no idols. Idolaters are forbidden entrance to the city of Mecca, though recent decrees of the Wahabi Saudi Arabian government also disallow non-Muslims who are "believers" from entering Mecca. On the walls of the Kabah are written in gold the Declaration of Faith or As-Shahadah, "La Illah Ha Illal Lah. Mohammadar Rasul Allah" – "There is no God but Allah, and Mohammad is His Messenger." It is said that a place has been kept inside the Kabah for a portrait of the Virgin Mary, the woman with highest sanctity in Islam. Mary is not only the mother of a Prophet to whom God’s revelation is sent, but Mary is exalted. To Mary, the Qur’an has dedicated one entire chapter: "The House of Imran" – Chapter Three. In it, the Qur’an says of Mary: "And when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah hath chosen thee and made thee pure, and hath preferred thee above (all) the women of creation." (Qur’an 3:42) In fact, Mary plays a crucial part in the prophethood of Mohammad, as her story is used to ensure the Prophet that those to whom God’s revelation was sent were at first chided and rebuked as liars: "This is of the tidings of things hidden. We reveal it unto thee (Muhammad). Thou wast not present with them when they threw their pens (to know) which of them should be the guardian of Mary, nor wast thou present with them when they quarrelled (thereupon)." (Qur’an 3:44) The miraculous Birth of Jesus and the immaculate conception are, also, explained in the Qur’an: "(And remember) when the angels said: O Mary! Lo! Allah giveth thee glad tidings of a word from him, whose name is the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, illustrious in the world and the Hereafter, and one of those brought near (unto Allah)." (Qur’an 3:45) Relationship with Christians & Slaves Indeed, because of the above verses in the Qur’an, the Christian King Negev of Abbyssinia gave the first Muslims refuge in his kingdom, when they fled Mecca from the persecution of the Qurayesh. When the Qurayesh arrived at his court demanding the Muslims be handed over, Mohammad’s Uncle, Zubayr, who led the Muslims to Abbyssinia showed the King these very versus. Not only were the Qurayesh sent away empty-handed, but the King himself converted to Islam soon after. "The House of Imran" would also prove useful when the Muslims, under the Caliphate of Osman (662 AD), tried to capture Persia from the Sassanid Empire. At the time, the Persians ruled over what is present day Iraq, Iran and Azerbaijan. The area of Iraq was predominantly Christian, and many were held as slaves in the region. The Sassanids were an oppressive hierarchical culture, given to slavery, the slaves often being of Jewish and Christian origins. It is said that when the slaves in Persia heard about the Army of Mohammad, they rejoiced and caused a revolt in the kingdom, thereby overpowering the ruling Sassanids. By the time the Muslims reached Persia the Sassanids had already been overthrown. The Christian, Jewish and all other slaves were freed by Mohammad, as the Qur’an decreed Muslims to do (Qur’an 2:177, 4:92, 91:13): "It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteous is he who believeth in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the prophets; and giveth wealth, for love of Him, to kinsfolk and to orphans and the needy and the wayfarer and to those who ask, and to set slaves free; and observeth proper worship and payeth the poor-due. And those who keep their treaty when they make one, and the patient in tribulation and adversity and time of stress. Such are they who are sincere. Such are the Allah-fearing." (Qur’an 2:177) Many of these Christians on seeing the verses of the "House of Imran" also converted to Islam. It is said that Mohammad himself had freed many slaves. He had seen slavery in Arabia as a child, and befriended them. In the first years of Islam, many of the first converts of Islam were slaves their Muslim Masters had freed. Of these, he had adopted a boy, Zeyd, who later became one of his generals in the war with Syria, and a martyr. One of Mohammad’s wives was also a freed Christian slave by the name of Miriam. Mohammad’s connection to Christians began, however, long before this, when he first was sent the revelations. At first indeed he did not understand the nature of what had happened to him in the cave of Hira, when the Angel Gabriel appeared before him as he was meditating, and proclaimed that he was a Prophet. It is said that it was a Arab Christian, indeed, Mohammad’s first-wife, Khadija’s uncle who first told Mohammad, upon hearing the story, that he was a Prophet of God. This uncle, Waraqah Ibn Nawfal, never converted to Islam, and remained a Christian, but is recognized in Islam as an crucial advisor to the Prophet in his early days. People of the Book & Judaism Indeed, Christians find a special place in the Qur’an, as do Jews. The Qur’an taught in its earliest verses to free slaves and to respect People of the Book, as they too are Believers of Allah, the One God: "Lo! Allah hath bought from the believers their lives and their wealth because the Garden will be theirs: they shall fight in the way of Allah and shall slay and be slain. It is a promise which is binding on Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur'an. Who fulfilleth His covenant better than Allah? Rejoice then in your bargain that ye have made, for that is the supreme triumph." (Qur’am 9:111) In the Prophet’s time, freed Christian slaves and converts from Mecca constituted the first Muslims, and when the Muslims needed refuge from the persecuting idolaters in Mecca, they were shown this favor by the people of Medina. The people of Yathrib, as it was then called, were mostly Bedouins and Jews. The first army of Islam that the Prophet put together was called the Ansar, and it was formed by the first Muslims and the Jewish tribes of Yathrib. Indeed, these Jews fought side-by-side the Muslims in the Battle of Badr in their attempt to fight religious persecution by the Qurayesh. Though outnumbered they won. In the Battle of Hud they would not see the same ease of victory. There would be large casualties on both sides and the Jews would leave the Ansar, causing a mellowing of the bond and criticism of the defaulters by the Qur’an. The Qur’an uses the word "hypocrites" to describe such defaulters (Qur’an 2:217, 4:38, 5:61, 9:61-70, 9:73-110): "They question thee (O Muhammad) with regard to warfare in the sacred month. Say: Warfare therein is a great (transgression), but to turn (men) from the way of Allah, and to disbelieve in Him and in the Inviolable Place of Worship, and to expel His people thence, is a greater with Allah; for persecution is worse than killing. And they will not cease from fighting against you till they have made you renegades from your religion, if they can. And whoso becometh a renegade and dieth in his disbelief: such are they whose works have fallen both in the world and the Hereafter. Such are rightful owners of the Fire: they will abide therein." (Qur’an 2:217) Revelations critical of Jews, commonly seen as usurers in their times, are found after this rift: "Those who swallow usury cannot rise up save as he ariseth whom the devil hath prostrated by (his) touch. That is because they say: Trade is just like usury; whereas Allah permitteth trading and forbiddeth usury. He unto whom an admonition from his Lord cometh, and (he) refraineth (in obedience thereto), he shall keep (the profits of) that which is past, and his affair (henceforth) is with Allah. As for him who returneth (to usury) - Such are rightful owners of the Fire. They will abide therein." (Qur’an 2:275) It is also said that Muslims, thereafter, no longer faced Jerusalem, the place Holy to the Jews (See Yahya Emerick, "Muhammad"), and where the Prophet is said to have ascended to heaven from Mount Arafat on the event of Shab-e-Qadr – the Ascent to the Heavens. Hereafter, Muslims would face the Mecca when they prayed. Nonetheless, Muslims would follow the Torah much closer than they would follow modern versions of the Bible, especially since much of the Torah's teachings are in line with Abrahams. Contesting Christianity and Judaism The Qur’an does not agree with everything in the Old Testament – i.e. Torah and Injil. It asks Muslims to denounce the Christian claim that Jesus is God, though it accepts the immaculate conception: "And when Allah saith: O Jesus, son of Mary! Didst thou say unto mankind: Take me and my mother for two gods beside Allah? he saith: Be glorified! It was not mine to utter that to which I had no right. If I used to say it, then Thou knewest it. Thou knowest what is in my mind, and I know not what is in Thy Mind. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower of Things Hidden?" (Qur’an 5:116)Much like Jesus did in his day, the Qur’an asks Muslims to question the ways of tyrannical Rabbis, and in this case of Christian monks too: "O ye who believe! Lo! many of the (Jewish) rabbis and the (Christian) monks devour the wealth of mankind wantonly and debar (men) from the way of Allah. They who hoard up gold and silver and spend it not in the way of Allah, unto them give tidings (O Muhammad) of a painful doom." (Qur’an 9:34) The Other Prophets The Biblical Prophets from Abraham to Jesus find a place in the Qur’an: "That is Our argument. We gave it unto Abraham against his folk. We raise unto degrees of wisdom whom We will. Lo! thy Lord is Wise, Aware." (Qur’an 6:83) However, in most cases, the Qur’an uses these Prophets to remind Muslims of what happened to those who disbelieved in the earlier Prophets. The stories of Joseph, the Prince of Egypt, and of Moses too, are told as forewarnings to Muslims who might think about renouncing their faith in Allah: "Allah made a covenant of old with the Children of Israel and We raised among them twelve chieftains, and Allah said: Lo! I am with you. If ye establish worship and pay the poor-due, and believe in My messengers and support them, and lend unto Allah a kindly loan, surely I shall remit your sins, and surely I shall bring you into Gardens underneath which rivers flow. Whoso among you disbelieveth after this will go astray from a plain road." (Qur’an 5:12) Good and Evil Muslims are to believe in One God – Allah the God of all the Prophets -- His Messengers, the revelations, the angels, the Day of Judgement, Heaven and Hell. Hell is a fiery punishment (See Note 1). Heaven is a garden (See Note 2). These are not different from the understanding of Heaven or Hell in the Bible. Even evil is thought to be following the path of Satan. You could say, Mohammad popularized some version of Christianity and Judaism in Arabia. The Holes in the Boat Being so closely tied to both Judaism and Christianity leaves Islam in a delicate position. In endorsing some of the dogma in Judaism and Christianity, the dogma in Islam is as good as the dogma on which it stands. Let's have a look: Virgins The case of the Virginity of Mary, for e.g., held as uncontestable in both Christianity and Islam, are cause for concern. History shows that the practice of identifying Virgins with divinity goes back all the way to Greek mythology. Artemis, the daughter of the male god Zeus, is said to have been a Virgin even though she had children. The same is true for Athena. (See Note 3). Indeed in that time, virginity meant independence from men. A woman could have had sexual relations, even children. By giving his daughter the status of Virgin, Zeus raised her above all goddesses, even his own wife, Hera. Any wife was seen as less than a virgin. This concept is later handed down to the Oracles or Vestile Virgins – priestesses in Egyptian and Greek temples with whom men seeking favor of the gods often had sex. Sex with Virgins was seen as the way to achieve a connection with god. Virginity is, thus, symbolic of divinity in pagan cultures – in fact, the very religions Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad are said to have opposed. By the time of Mohammad, however, the Christian Church had already incorporated the idea of a Virgin Mary into the Bible, if it had not already been the claims of Jesus to begin with. The idea of a Virgin was not alien to the Romans either, who followed a pagan culture before Christianity. Miracles The Qur’an, being a reference to the Torah and Injil, is as much a contestable Book, as the two, because of the miracles it endorses as acts of God’s Will. Noah’s Ark saving animals from the Great Flood (See Note 5), the parting of the Sea by God to save Moses (See Note 6), the immaculate conception of Christ and the Resurrection of Christ (See Note 7) -- these are just some examples of the mythological miracles that the Qur’an endorses. If historical and archeological evidence point to the contrary Islam has a problem, as does Christianity, and perhaps even Judaism. Even the very dogma of life after death, and of heaven and hell are all miraculous. We who are alive do not have evidence of it or against it. If they do not exist, then all three religions fall on their faces. If they exist, they may have divine roots. The Trinity On the flip-side, it is known that the Council of Nicaea introduced the idea of Trinity in 325 AD (See Note 4). A well-known fact to Christians fleeing Roman persecution during the time of Mohammad, this is now, however, considered a tenet of Christian faith. The fact that it is negated in the Qur’an – which calls the idea of a God on Earth as blasphemy – shows that the Qur’an is not completely built on the dogma of Christianity in Rome, but perhaps closer to that of the Christianity of the Najrans, Arabs who claimed to be descendents of those who fled Roman persecution in Jerusalem and Syria. Thus, a flaw in this modern-day Christian tenet has no bearing on Islam. Conclusion In today’s political talk-shows, one is prone to hear political hotshots talk about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan as one between Muslims and Christians. "It’s a clash of civilizations," they say, citing Samuel Huntington. Likewise, there is snobbery and hatred towards Jews and Christians in the Muslim world. How little these people know that Islam is literally standing on the shoulders of Christianity or Judaism. Indeed, modern day Christians, Jews and Muslims do not really follow what is in their texts, or know what is in their own religion’s history. Their ignorance about other religions is even more. I hope this article shed some light on the congruency of dogma in the three religions. In the next issue I will write about Women’s Rights in all three to see how much the values are interrelated. Notes 1. Qur’an talks about a fiery Hell in these Verses: 2:24, 2:119, 2:161, 2:166, 2:201, 3:10, 3:12, 3:116, 3:131, 3:151, 3:162, 3:192, 4:55-56, 4:93, 4:97, 4:114, 4:121, 4:169, 5:10, 5:37, 5:72, 5:86, 6:27, 6:70, 6:128, 7:18, 7:36, 7:38, 7:41, 7:50, 7:179, 8:16, 8:36, 8:50, 9:17, 9:35, 9:49, 9:63, 9:68, 9:73, 9:81, 9:95, 9:109, 9:113, 10:8, 10:27, 11:16, 11:17, 11:98, 11:106, 11:113, 11:119, 13:5, 13:18, 13:35, 14:16, 14:49, 15:43, 16:29, 16:62, 17:8, 17:18, 17:39, 17:63, 17:97, 18:29, 18:53, 18:100, 18:106, 19:68, 19:70, 19:86, 20:74, 21:39, 21:98, 22:4, 22:9, 22:19-22, 22:51, 22:72, 23:103-104, 24:57, 25:11-13, 25:34, 25:65, 26:91, 26:94, 27:90, 28:41, 29:25, 29:54, 29:68, 31:21, 32:13, 32:20, 33:64, 33:66, 34:12, 34:42, 35:6, 35:36, 36:63, 37:10, 37:23, 37:55, 37:63, 37:68, 37:163, 38:27, 38:56, 38:59, 38:61, 38:64, 38:85, 39:8, 39:16, 39:19, 39:32, 39:60, 39:71, 39:72, 40:6, 40:7, 40:41, 40:43, 40:46, 40:47, 40:49, 40:60, 40:72, 40:76, 41:19, 41:24, 41:28, 41:40, 42:7, 43:74, 44:47, 44:56, 45:10, 45:34, 45:35, 46:20, 46:34, 47:12, 47:15, 48:6, 48:13, 50:24, 50:30, 51:13, 52:13-16, 52:18, 54:48, 55:43, 56:94, 57:15, 57:19, 58:8, 58:17, 59:3, 59:17, 59:20, 64:10, 66:6, 66:9, 66:10, 67:5-10, 69:31, 70:15, 71:25, 72:15, 72:23, 73:12-13, 74:26-31, 74:42, 76:4, 77:31, 78:21, 79:36, 79:39, 81:12, 82:14, 83:16, 84:12, 85:10, 87:12, 88:4, 89:23, 90:20, 92:14, 98:6, 101:9-11, 102:6, 104:6-9, 111:3 2. Qur’an talks about Heaven in these verses: 2:25, 3:15, 3:136, 3:181, 3:195, 3:198 3. "A History of Women: Volume I", Chapter I: "What is a Goddess?" by Nicole Loraux. 4. http://www.bibledecoded.com/understanding14.html 5. Noah is mentioned here in the Qur’an: 3:33, 6:84, 7:59-64, 7:69, 9:70, 10:71, 11:25-33, 11:36-48, 11:89, 14:9, 17:3, 17:17, 19:58, 21:76, 22:42, 23:23-29, 25:37, 26:105-120, 29:14, 37:75-79, 38:12, 40:5, 40:31, 42:13, 50:12, 51:46, 53:52, 54:9, 57:26, 66:10 * ark, 7:64, 10:73, 11:37-38, 11:40, 23:27, 29:15, 54:13-14, 69:11, 71:1-28 * came to rest on Mt. Judi, 11:44 * flood, 7:64, 10:73, 11:40-44, 25:37, 29:120, 29:14, 54:11-12, 71:25 6. Moses is mentioned here in the Qur’an: # 3:84, 6:84, 6:91, 7:103-162, 10:75-93, 11:96, 11:110, 14:5, 14:6, 14:8, 17:2, 17:101-104, 18:60-82, 19:51-53, 20:9-98, 21:48, 22:44, 23:45-49, 25:35, 26:10-66, 27:7-14, 28:3-43, 28:44, 28:48, 28:76, 29:39, 32:23, 33:7, 33:69, 37:114-120, 40:23-27, 40:53, 41:45, 42:13, 43:46-55, 44:17-36, 46:12, 46:30, 51:38-40, 53:36, 61:5, 79:14-25, 87:19 * bringing forth water from the rock, 2:60, 7:160 * commands to his people, 5:21 * duel by sorcery with Pharaoh's magicians, 7:109-126, 10:79-81, 20:65-70, 26:43-47 * forty nights upon Mt. Sinai, 2:51, 7:142 * House of, 2:248 * parting of the Red Sea, 20:77, 26:63 * plagues, 7:133-136, 7:163 7. Jesus is mentioned in the Qur’an here: 4:163, 9:30, 9:31, 10:68, 19:30-34, 21:91, 23:50, 33:7, 61:6, 61:14 * bears witness on Resurrection Day, 4:159 * Christians asked not to deify, 4:171 * creation of, 3:45-49, 19:22 * disciples, 3:52, 61:14 * divergent views about, 43:65 * followers above others on Resurrection day, 3:55 * healing of blind and lepers, raising the dead, 5:110 * his holy inspiration, 2:87, 2:252, 5:110 * his nature is as Adam's, 3:59 * is the means to know Judgement Day (alternate translation), 43:61 * Jews boast of killing, 4:157 * not Allah, 5:17, 5:72, 5:116 * only a messenger, 4:171, 4:172, 5:75, 19:30 * only seemed slain and crucified, 4:157 * resurrected, 4:158 * resurrection foretold, 3:55, 19:33 * truth about him will be realized when people die, 4:159 8. The Holy Qur'an, Indexed About the Author(s): See under Our Contributors to find out about the Author(s) of this article. |
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