In Part 1,
we have seen how Rodwell thinks that Quran arrangement is gibberish, and he
sets out to correct it. In Part 2, we have seen how Jeffrey
attempts to discredit the authenticity of the Quran that we presently have,
claiming that it has been tempered like other scriptures.
In this part, we shall try to understand what
exactly they are trying to do, what might be their motives, and how these
relate to surahs al Mu’awwidhatayn.
Let’s try to uncover their motive first. One Internet site by the name answering-islam.org seems to provide at least some of the clues.
On the topic, Contradictions in the Quran, the opening paragraph of the above
site says:
We do not reject the Qur'an
because of this list of contradictions. There are many reasons of much more
substantial nature why we do not believe the Qur'an to be from the one true
God... This page is not intended as an attack on the Qur'an. Sadly, many
Muslims have become unnecessarily aggravated because they did not understand
the purpose of this collection.
Sounds good so far, but the author of the above
article (who wish to remain anonymous) does have an issue with the
Muslims. He says:
Muslim web sites abound
in articles and collections attacking the integrity of the Bible by means of
contradiction lists. Many have the attitude that "because the Bible is
riddled with contradictions, errors, absurdities and problems, there is no need
for me to make the effort to understand it." With such an attitude no real
dialog can develop.
Now we know what is the issue. The above author does not like our "attitude." He then proceeds by delineating the problems that he
has with this “attitude,” which for the sake of brevity, need not be
quoted. The author then continues:
If both sides can come
to the recognition that their own book, the scripture which is the basis of
their faith, be it the Bible or the Qur'an, contains some very difficult
passages which might even look like plain errors or logical contradictions
(depending on the level of hostility employed when looking at it), then we
might be more forgiving towards the other and be motivated to not judge
prematurely but to make a serious effort to understand each of the books and
the essential teachings of the respective faith in a deeper way before we come
to a decision why we do or do not believe them. (1)
Ah, it is not really about our "attitude" then. The bone of contention is our refusal to recognize our Holy Scripture to be flawed, just like theirs.
But anyone who is familiar with the Bible Study
would know that the Bible has been proven NOT to be the words of God. The Christian scholars have already admitted
as much. They still believe Bible to be
the words of God, though, but not the exact words of God, for the Bible has
been tempered with scribal errors over time.
In other words, they believe the meaning and the intent of the Bible are
what God has intended, although its words are not exactly His.
The above author is irritated and incensed
because, not only that the Muslims refuse to recognize that the passages in
Bible are indeed what God has intended, although its wordings may not have been
exactly how God has worded them, but the Muslims are also adamant in claiming
that their Quran contains the exact Words of God, has not been tempered with,
and without any contradiction whatsoever.
It sounds more like being envious, is it not?
Since the Bible has been tempered with, and there
is no way they can prove that it contains the genuine words of Gods, much less
to correct it, because the Original has been lost, the Quran too, must be the
same. Any claim to the contrary only
shows that the Muslims are incorrigible, arrogant, and incapable of admitting
that the Quran too has been tempered with human errors, though none of these is
done with ill intention.
If we ponder about it, we must say that they
have every reason to be envious. They
know that they cannot claim the words in their Scripture to be authentic, exactly
as revealed by God Himself, but we can.
And they have admitted that their Scripture has been tempered with
during the compilation, but we have no ground to admit as such, because we know
that the Quran has been preserved as it should have been preserved, the way God
has intended. Since they are humble
enough to admit scribal or whatever errors have crept into their Scripture,
they are quick to label us as being arrogant when we insist that our Quran
contains no error.
It is this envy that has led them to attempt to discredit
Islam by reducing Quran to the status of their Bible in the most subtle way. In the process, they have managed to gain
some influence among the so-called Muslims, which is why Allah asks us to seek
refuge with Him so as to be protected from their envy and their conspiracy.
Which is what al Mu’awwidhatayn is all about.
In al Falaq, Surah 113, Allah says:
Say: "I seek refuge
in the Lord of Daybreak, [1] From the evil of that which He created; [2] From
the evil of the darkness when it is intense, [3] And from the evil of the
witchcrafts when they blow in the knots, [4] And from the evil of the envier
when he envies.” [5]
In an Nas, Surah 114, Allah says
Say, “I seek refuge with
the Lord of mankind, [1] The King of mankind, [2] The God of mankind, [3] From
the evil of the whisperer who withdraws, [4] The one who whispers in the hearts
of mankind, [5] From among the Jinn or Mankind.” [6]
Surah al Falaq is about seeking protection from
the witchcraft or from the envier who envies.
In practice, these two are generally inseparable. The witchcraft is usually performed by a
witchdoctor upon the request from the envier who envies with what his friends,
adversaries or competitors have.
As we know, the black magic works on mind and
perception, which has the effect on the body.
In the surah above, they recite whatever mantra required and blow in the
knots, pretty much like the witchcraft or voodoo as currently performed. The Surah asks us to seek refuge from this
evil by reciting it.
As al Mu’awwidhatayn are said to be revealed
together, there is a remarkable connection between these two surahs as far as
our current observation is concerned.
While Surah al Falaq talks about the black
magic, Surah an Nas talks about the “white magic.” The “white magic” in question is the Arabic word
“waswas”, translated as “whisper” in Verse 5 above. “Waswas” of course is not “white magic.” It is generally translated as “whisper” or “conspire”
with the intent to create doubt, but its effect has been magical, as we shall see shortly.
The Malays also use this word in their
vocabularies, but with a very confined meaning.
When they are not sure whether something has already been done, or
already happened, or in fact hasn’t, then they are in the state of doubt. This state of doubt is called “waswas.” For instance, they are being “waswas” (in the
state of doubt) about the number of cycles in their prayer, whether they have
performed three or four cycles already.
And they attribute this forgetfulness to the “whisper” of the Devil who put doubts
into their hearts.
This is one meaning of “waswas,” but a very
confined one. The harm in that is
minimal, and concerns mostly an individual.
A more harmful “waswas” is the active effort of creating doubt in the
hearts and minds of the Muslims by the Orientalists and the enemies of
Islam. Among such works are the ones made
by Rodwell, as we have seen in Part 1, and Jeffrey, in Part 2, of this series.
While the crafts employed by Rodwell and Jeffrey
do not involve blowing the knots, they still use the mantra, either spoken or
in writing, with the intent to blow the mind and create a set of perceptions which
eventually lead to certain type of behaviour.
What motivates them to do this would be anyone’s
guess, but envy is definitely one of the reasons. Since their scriptures cannot be proven to be
the actual Words of God, then might as well make the Holy Scripture of Islam to
be tempered with human errors as well.
Since Christianity has been successfully secularized after the
Renaissance, then might as well secularize Islam as well, as their kinds have
been doing with much success for the last few centuries.
Their “white magic” has succeeded in confining
Islam to a mere set of beliefs or rituals.
Their works have succeeded in desanctifying and secularizing the daily
life of the Muslims, which should have been governed by Syariah or Islamic
Law. Many portions of the Words of Gods
and the Prophetic Traditions that govern the laws of their daily lives are
abandoned, on the pretext that these are unsuitable to the modern times.
That, at least, is the impression one can gather
from Surah al Falaq and an Nas combined together.
We can seek refuge from the effect of the black
magic by reciting Surah al Falaq. We can
also seek refuge from the effect of temporary doubt and forgetfulness (ordinary
“waswas”) by reciting an Nas. The harmful
effects of “white magic,” devised by those who are envious and hostile to Islam,
can only be sought by understanding the inherent meaning of these two surahs. A mere recitation of them would bring no
desired result.
Incidentally, among the famous arguments made by
these whisperers is that al Mu’awwidhatayn are not part of the Quran. They are just invocations to seek refuge, as
we have mentioned in the IntroductoryRemarks. But they mention only one part
of the story. It seems that there are
spurious reports containing Ibn Mas’ud’s allegation, that Surah al Falaq and
Surah an Nas are not part of the Quran.
What they do not tell is that the same spurious reports also indicated that Ibn Mas’ud had made an error, and later
repented, as Sayyid Qutb explains in his famous commentary. Al Azami devotes a whole chapter on this
issue in his book, The History of the Quranic
Text: from Revelation to Compilation, in case you are interested in the
subject.
This concludes our remarks and observations on
al Mu’awwidhatayn as well as the series of the Four Quls.
Note:
Quotations above taken from: http://answering-islam.org/Quran/Contra/
Very well elaborated, beautifully explained. Ambrina Agha.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks.
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