Pervasive False Beliefs among Muslims
By Naseer Ahmed, New Age Islam
13 April 2021
Islamic Scholarship Is based very little on rigorous
analysis and mostly on perceptions formed. Perceptions are formed based on
the narratives spun, told and re-told, until these got accepted as the
authentic or “Saheeh” ahadith (plural of hadith).
Main Points:
1. Scholars base their arguments and conclusions on
false beliefs.
2. Scholars continue to equate Mushrik with Kafir.
3. It is a pervasive false belief that Allah
destroyed the people of Noah, Lut, Hud, Saleh and Shoaib because they practiced
polytheism and idolatry and refused to accept Islam
4. In the case of the prophetic mission of
Muhammad, the violent rejecters were only a few and the passive non-believers
many.
5. Violent rejecters taunted Allah and His Messenger that if they were speaking the truth, they should bring about the punishment that they had warned of. It is therefore only these people who got punished.
Peace be upon all the prophets mentioned in this article.
Islamic
scholarship is based very little on rigorous analysis and mostly on perceptions
formed. Perceptions are formed based on the narratives spun, told and re-told,
until these got accepted as the authentic or “Saheeh” ahadith (plural of
hadith) when these are nothing but stories embellished by bigotry. Rather than
use analysis to check the veracity of the beliefs, the scholars base their
further arguments and conclusions on the false beliefs!
One such
belief is that all the Mushrikin of Mecca were kafir and the surah 109 called
Al-Kafirun addresses all the Mushrikun as Kafirun. If this is true, then after
having said to the Kafirun meaning all the Mushrikun, “And you will not follow
what I follow, and to you be your religion and to me mine”, Allah and His
Messenger, had effectively declared an end of the Prophetic mission to all the
Mushrikun of the world. How ridiculous, and yet the scholars continue to equate
Mushrik with Kafir!
The
second pervasive false belief is that Allah destroyed the people of Noah, Lut,
Hud, Saleh and Shoaib because they practised polytheism and idolatry and
refused to accept Islam. In the case of the people of Lut, we do not even know
whether or not they practised polytheism and idolatry. There are stories of
other prophets such as Ibrahim and Elias (37:123-132) who were also rejected by
the people who practiced polytheism and worshiped idols, but this did not end
with their destruction. Prophet Ibrahim was put through the fire which he
survived by divine grace and then plotted against (21:69-71). No punishment was
visited on the people for it. Prophet Yusuf preceded Moses and preached in
Egypt but we do not find any believers among the Egyptians when Moses is sent
as a Messenger to the Pharaoh. Prophet Yusuf’s Egyptian audience was not
destroyed for rejecting the Message perhaps because it was a peaceful rejection
of “unto you be your religion and unto me mine”. The non-believing Egyptians
are not destroyed even after Moses was sent except those who followed the
Pharaoh in pursuit of Moses.
Allah
says in the Quran that He does not change His sunnat or practice (17:77). There
must therefore be a common reason that runs across the people who were
destroyed by an act of Allah when they rebelled against their Messengers. There
is indeed a common reason. The relevant verses that bring out what is common to
each of the people destroyed by Allah are quoted below:
(11:32)
They said: "O Noah! thou hast disputed with us, and (much) hast thou
prolonged the dispute with us: now bring upon us what thou threatenest us with,
if thou speakest the truth!?"
(7:70)
They (people of Aad) said (to the Messenger Hud): "Comest thou to us, that
we may worship Allah alone, and give up the cult of our fathers? bring us what
thou threatenest us with, if so be that thou tellest the truth!"
(7:77)
Then they (the Thamud) ham-strung the she-camel, and insolently defied the
order of their Lord, saying: "O Salih! bring about thy threats, if thou
art a messenger (of Allah)!"
(29:29)
"Do ye indeed approach men, and cut off the highway?- and practise
wickedness (even) in your councils?" But his (Lut’s) people gave no answer
but this: they said: "Bring us the Wrath of Allah if thou tellest the
truth."
(26:187)
(They said to Shu´aib )"Now cause a piece of the sky to fall on us, if
thou art truthful!"
What is
common to all these stories is that the people rejected the Messenger and
actively opposed him and hindered those who followed the Messenger and
persecuted them. They also mocked and taunted the Messenger asking him to bring
down the punishment of Allah that the Messenger had repeatedly warned about.
These Messengers also prayed to Allah to deliver them and their followers from
the violent rejecters. Those who heeded the Messenger and Allah’s message were
saved and the rest destroyed by an act of Allah “to accomplish that of which
they were in doubt” (15:53).
It is
therefore not rejection of the Messenger or any other crimes/sins that the
people practiced that resulted in their destruction, but their violent
opposition and persecution of the Messenger and his followers, culminating in
taunting Allah and His Messenger that if they were speaking the truth, they
should bring about the punishment that they had warned. It is therefore only
the people who asked for the punishment who got punished.
In the
case of the prophetic mission of Muhammad, the violent rejecters were only a
few and the passive non-believers many. It is these violent rejecters alone who
are addressed in Surah 109 as Kafirun and not the passive non-believers. The
violent rejecters also asked for the punishment to descend but Allah did not
send His punishment on all the disbelievers since many were only passive
disbelievers “who could yet seek pardon”. Allah punished the few violent
rejecters by the sword of the Muslims in battle. The rest accepted Islam after
their violent and cruel leaders were eliminated and whose fear had perhaps prevented
them from accepting Islam earlier.
(8:32) Remember how they said:
"O Allah if this is indeed the Truth from Thee, rain down on us a shower
of stones form the sky, or send us a grievous penalty."(33) But Allah was
not going to send them a penalty whilst thou wast amongst them; nor was He
going to send it whilst they could ask for pardon.(34) But what plea have they
that Allah should not punish them, when they keep out (men) from the sacred
Mosque - and they are not its guardians? No men can be its guardians except the
righteous; but most of them do not understand.
So apart
from the disbelievers daring the Messenger to bring down the punishment, the
other condition to be satisfied for their destruction was that there remain none
among them who could yet seek pardon. This is also confirmed by the following
verse:
(11:36) It was revealed to Noah:
"None of thy people will believe except those who have believed already!
So grieve no longer over their (evil) deeds.
This was
the case with the people of Lut also about whom the decision to destroy all
except Lut and his daughters was taken even before the Messengers (Angels) sent
for it reached Lut. (11:76, 15:57-67)
It is
only when the people reach a point of no return who will not believe no matter
what, are they referred to as Kafir in the Quran. The Kafirin are not every
disbeliever, but those who oppose Allah and His Deen and reach a point from
where they will not return to the Deen of Allah. Abu Lahab and his wife are
examples of such kafirin on whom the punishment of Hell in the Hereafter is
declared a decade before their death in Surah 111. The others are Abu Jahl in Surah 96 and Walid-ibn-Mughiyrah
in Surah 68 who are referred indirectly and not by name and Pharaoh in verse
10:88.
The third
false belief is that Prophet Muhammad was fighting battles against the
disbelievers to end disbelief. When Allah did not destroy anyone for merely
disbelieving, Prophet Muhammad could not have been fighting against disbelief.
Indeed, there is no verse of the Quran that commands fighting against
disbelief. The only justification for fighting in the Quran is to end
oppression. This is covered in my articles:
1.
The Much discussed and debated Medinian Verses Relating
to Fighting
2.
The
Story of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (Pbuh) In the Qu’ran (Part 4): The
Medinian Period
3.
The Story of the Prophetic Mission of Muhammad (pbuh) in
the Qu’ran (Concluding Part) Summary
4. The Principles of War from the Quran
The fourth false belief follows from the
previous false beliefs. It is the belief that the Mushrikin of Mecca had only
two choices after being defeated in battle which was to either accept Islam or
get killed even though some of them may not have ever been hostile to the
Muslims. This is again a false belief discussed in my following articles:
5. The Correct Understanding of the So Called ‘Sword’ Verses
of Surah Taubah
6. The Ahadith That Distort The Message Of The Quran - Part
I
Based on
the four false beliefs, the Meccan Mushrikin are demonized by the Muslims in
every discussion forgetting that the kafirin among them were only a few, and
the rest were considered worthy enough by Allah to bestow on them belief in Him
and who subsequently spread His Deen far and wide. Many of them will be among the foremost ranks
on the Day of Judgment. These false beliefs are also responsible for using
disparaging words to describe the non-Muslims today.
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Also Read: The Ahadith That Distort The Message Of The Quran – Part
Two
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The four
beliefs described above are pervasive and shared by even moderates such as
Javed Ghamidi and Maulana Wahiduddin Khan. These beliefs are false because
these do not have any basis in the Quran and are contrary to its clear Message.
False beliefs are kufr and must be shed, or else, nauzobillah, we may be
judged as kafir on the Day of Judgment.
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A frequent contributor to
NewAgeIslam.com, Naseer Ahmed is an Engineering graduate from IIT Kanpur and is
an independent IT consultant after having served in both the Public and Private
sector in responsible positions for over three decades. He has spent years
studying Quran in-depth and made seminal contributions to its interpretation.
URL:
New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic
Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism