A Rejoinder with Proofs: Islam, Quran and Controversies
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
10 May 2022
Bashar Ke Zehan Pe Qarnon Se Jo Musallat Hain/Badal Raha Hoon Gumaanon
Mein Un Yaqeenon Ko
-Shabbir Hasan Khan 'Josh' Malihabadi
(I’m turning the so-called truths into doubts that have clouded the
human minds for ages).
I usually
refrain from replying, let alone hitting back, lest the decorum of a debate or
a discourse should degenerate into a state of outright mud-slinging and
shambles. But, I felt constrained to reply to Mr Naseer Ahmed's long drivel
that amounts to zilch and smacks more of a personal attack. At the outset, let
me make it clear that my rejoinder ain't a personal attack. It's an educated
man's courteous reply to a gentleman who cannot see beyond his religion and its
scriptures, whom he considers as oracular, nay Gospel, truths.
Well, I
don't resort to translations of Quran. I know enough Arabic to write articles
in this Semitic tongue. That's why, I can dare say that Quran is NOT a monoglot
screed. I'm sure, Mr Naseer Ahmed doesn't know Arabic like a native speaker and
writer. So, I suggest that he must read Christoph Luxenburg's ' The Syriac-Aramaic
Version of the Quran.' A serious reader
or researcher can comprehend once it's conceded that many of Quranic words are
Syriac-Aramaic rather than Arabic. The quintessential example being: The
rewards of a “martyr" in paradise: when rendered and redacted, the
heavenly offering consists of sweet white raisins rather than virgins!
Now tell
me, isn't a classic Catch-22 situation for a (devout) Muslim? If he argues that
no, it's virgin, then is Allah so frivolous as to tempt you like a human with
something so fleshy and carnal and if it's indeed 'sweet white raisins', what's
so great about it?
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Also
Read: Let's Scrutinise
Certain 'Facts' In the Al-Furqan
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Furthermore,
your self-detonating 'crusaders' of Islam have been blowing themselves off for
mere 'sweet white raisins'? What a humungous let down! When there's so much
ambiguity in deciding whether one gets virgin Houries or just Kishmish
in heaven for killing Kafirs, shouldn't the Book be criticized for such
semantic confusions and conundrums? And when Quran speaks about virgins, I
wonder, is their hymen forever intact despite the interminable sessions of
love-making with Mujahids? Or else, what does a virgin mean? On the verge, but
not in? In short, the fact remains that Islam's core claim-to be unimprovable
and FINAL-is at once preposterous and unalterable.
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Also
Read: The Al Furqan Prevails As It Must
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Its many
warring and discrepant sects, from Ismaili to Ahmadi, all agree on this
indissoluble claim. The Quran claims that God is absolute. He doesn't include
anyone in his scheme of things. There's not a single interpolation and all that
jazz. Yet, I'm afraid, Muslim scholars acknowledge that at least fifty of the
second caliph Umar's own ideas were incorporated into the Al-Furqan. These
include ordering women to wear veils, which was a custom copied and percolated
from the Byzantine Christians, and other doctrines that have had an emphatic
impact on Islam. In spite of these anomalies, the Quran declares itself to be
free from discrepancies.
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Also Read: Qur'an 5:51 - A Humanistic Interpretation
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Many of the
'revelations' in the Quran are there to suit Mr. Muhammad's own agenda. The Quran
itself tells us that some of Mr. Muhammad's followers regarded his meddling with
the revelations as nothing less than forgery. And what about the rampant
misogyny in the 'Holy' Book? All too often, textual reality (the Quran) matches
up with the historical reality of seventh— century Arabia. Gender inequality
and oppression in the Quran reflect the culture of seventh century desert
nomads. A couple of examples are enough to give you a peek into the
misogynistic mind of Allah or Muhammad: The Quran in Sura (Chapter) 2:223 says:
Your women are your fields, so go into your fields whichever way you like . . .
. (MAS Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford UP, 2004) We should make no mistake
about this verse. It includes sexual positions. In a footnote to this verse,
Haleem says that Muslims in Medina heard from the Jews that 'a child born from
a woman approached from behind would have a squint.' Slave—girls are sexual
property for their male owners. The Quran in Sura 4:24 says: And forbidden to
you are wedded wives of other people except those who have fallen in your hands
[as prisoners of war] . . . (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 319). And what about Mr. Muhammad’s scandalous love affair with Mariyah the Copt who was one of the
prophet’s wives’ maids. Mr. Muhammad slept with her without any ceremony, which
caused uproar among his wives and had to be settled through the “Divine
intervention.”
I don't
believe in stretching my arguments a tad too far. Ergo, I rest my case. Don't
we say, if you try to dig out earthworms, snakes will come out, venomous at
that? So, we had better stop here before things get too murky and volatile for
all to digest. Beware of the fury and wisdom of a patient man. Never provoke
anyone without doing proper homework. Remember, people who live in glass houses
ought not to throw stones at others. Lastly, thanks, Mr Naseer for stirring my
erudition. Please learn a lesson in humility and acceptance from Messrs Sultan
Shahin and Ghulam Mohiyuddin. Stop being a zealot.
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Also Read: According
To Quran 5:51, Can Muslims Not Accept Non-Muslims As Friends?
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Well,
before I forget, I must mention that I didn't study religions to make fun of
them. I studied them (religions) to know their cumulative ill-effects on
mankind. Scriptures of all the man-made faiths are already funny. They
invariably make even a sullen person laugh. I'm no exception. I'm an apatheist.
I've gone beyond theism and atheism. Religion and god make NO sense to me.
----
An
occasional columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in
comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed
articles to world's premier publications in several languages including
Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-pluralism/furqan-humanistic-interpretation-quran/d/126969
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