Part 4- Jihad, the Call to Engage in “Holy War” by Bringing Death to ‘Infidels’
Note: because of the rise of violent acts committed by adherents to Islam, most people in the west have now heard of the term “Jihad.” Dr. Nabeel Qureshi, a former Muslim and Islamic experts has theorized “that one of the leading causes of violence among Muslims in recent years is due to the spread of information. More Muslims are now able to see the original texts for themselves, including calls to violence.
This rising awareness, though, has also fueled the growth of ‘reformed’ Islam, which is the rejection of the calls for violence in general and abuse towards women. ‘All [of reformed Islam’s] teachings don’t jive with original sources,’ Qureshi said. ‘As far as Islam’s ability to assimilate into other cultures, Muslim rejection of Islam’s violent teachings is a good thing.” Taken from Summit Journal, January 2013, volume 1
- The Quran teaches that Muslims have assurance of eternal salvation if they happen to die while fighting bravely in battle (engaging in Jihad).
Note: “The promise is conditioned on sincerity of intention (fighting for Allah’s sake, not for worldly motives, tribal loyalty, or show).”
Jihad or ‘holy war’ is a component of Islam that calls for the believer to fight and struggle in the service or cause of Allah. Those that obey this call have the assurance of eternal salvation if they happen to die while fighting bravely in such a battle.
The Quran states in Surah Al 'Imran (3:157- 158): "And if you are killed in the cause of Allah or die, then forgiveness from Allah and mercy are better than whatever they accumulate [in this world]. And whether you die or are killed, unto Allah you will be gathered.”
It also states in Surah Al 'Imran (3:195) “Those who migrated or were expelled from their homes, and were persecuted for My sake and fought and ˹some˺ were martyred—I will certainly forgive their sins and admit them into Gardens under which rivers flow, as a reward from Allah. And with Allah is the finest reward!”
Surah 9:111 “Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties [in exchange] for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah, so they kill and are killed. [It is] a true promise [binding] upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Quran. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.”
See also: 3:169–170, 4:74, 61:10–12
- Unbelievers (those who refuse to become Muslims) are subject to being killed simply because they are unbelievers
“When you encounter those who disbelieve, strike at their necks. Then, when you have routed them, bind them firmly. Then, either release them by grace, or by ransom, until war lays down its burdens. Had God willed, He could have defeated them Himself, but He thus tests some of you by means of others. As for those who are killed in the way of God, He will not let their deeds go to waste. 5 He will guide them, and will improve their state of mind. 6 And will admit them into Paradise, which He has identified for them.” Quran 47:4-6
Quran 9:123 says: “O you who have believed, fight those adjacent to you of the disbelievers and let them find in you harshness, and know that Allah is with the righteous (God-fearing).”
“O believers, when you encounter the unbelievers marching to battle, turn not your backs to them. Whoso turns his back that day to them, unless withdrawing to fight again or removing to join another host, he is laden with the burden of God’s anger, and his refuge is Gehenna—an evil homecoming.” 8:15-16
Quran 9:73 and 66:9 tell Muhammad to strive against unbelievers and hypocrites and be harsh with them: “O Prophet, strive against the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and be harsh upon them; their refuge is Hell, and wretched is the destination.”
"Fight in the cause of God those who fight you ... And slay them wherever ye catch them ... And fight them on until there is no more tumult or oppression and there prevail justice and faith in God ..." 2:190-193
Qur’an 8:65 “O Prophet! Motivate the believers to fight. If there are twenty steadfast among you, they will overcome two hundred . . .”
In Quran 5:33 it says the punishment for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and spread corruption on earth can include being killed, crucified, having hands and feet cut off from opposite sides, or being exiled. It also says this is a disgrace in this world and there is a great punishment in the Hereafter. - So why does the Qur’an contain violent speech?
Those who study the Qur’an and the history of Islam note that when Mohammed first began proclaiming the sayings that became the Qur’an, his words were fairly tolerant in tone, primarily in order to gain favor with Christians and Jews. His attitude changed as he was unsuccessful in getting either groups to accept his teachings, as they are not in agreement with the Bible.
As he gained power, he stopped trying to curry favor with these two groups and his messages became much more violent and intolerant, particularly towards the end of his life. This is significantly important as the Qur’an happens to contain periodic contradictory statements, to which the Qur’an says that when a Muslim comes across a contradiction in the writings, the one written later supersedes the earlier writing and the Muslim was to perform the later version, which would mean the more violent ones.
The term for this is Abrogation. This refers to how a new verse can supersede/replace/modify an earlier verse that discusses the same topic. This replacement is usually due to changing circumstances or shifts in the direction of Islamic teachings. - Specific, targeted hatred of Jews and Christians-
Here’s what the New Testament states: “God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that fears him, and works righteousness, is accepted with him.” Acts 10:34-35.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28.
“Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free, but Christ is all and is in all.” Colossians 3:11
The New Testament teaches that thanks to the finished work of Christ on the cross, when a person is a part of the “body of Christ”, a member of God’s kingdom, there are no color lines, ethnicity, economic or social status as God is “no respecter of persons”. - In comparison, particularly regarding Jews and Christians, the Quran singles out these two people groups and states:
"O you who have believed, do not take the Jews and the Christians as “awliya” (allies/friends/guardians). They are [in fact] allies of one another. And whoever is an ally to them among you - then indeed, he is [one] of them. Indeed, Allah guides not the wrongdoing people.” Surah 5:51
“Although the Arabic word awliya is complex and can be translated as “protectors” or “guardians,” the critics’ position is that, in practice, this verse forbids the kind of deep, loyal friendship that could build bridges between communities and undermine the social hierarchy.⁴⁵ It commands Muslims to reserve their primary loyalty for fellow Muslims, effectively ensuring that Christians and Jews are always kept at a distance, as outsiders in their own lands.
Taken together, these elements
—the command to fight for submission in Quran 9:29,
-- the detailed legal code of the Pact of Umar,
-- and the social prohibition on friendship in Quran 5:51—form what the critics present as a complete and interlocking system. It is a theological, legal, and social framework designed to ensure that non-Muslims can never be the equals of Muslims within lands ruled by Islam. This reframes the entire concept of “interfaith relations,” suggesting it is not a dialogue between equals, but a relationship with a system designed to ensure one party’s permanent inferiority.” https://christianpure.com/learn/islam-teach-hate-non-muslims/
Now consider Muhammad reportedly desiring a land with no Jews or Christians:
Sahih Muslim 1767a “I will expel the Jews and Christians from the Arabian Peninsula and will not leave any but Muslim.”
Sahih Muslim 2167a “Do not greet the Jews and the Christians before they greet you and when you meet any one of them on the roads force him to go to the narrowest part of it.”
A few more verses regarding the Jews, in these cases speaking of Jews that ignored the Sabbath:
“We changed [the Jews] into detested apes.” Koran 7:166
“We said to them: ‘you shall be changed into detested apes.’” Koran 2:65
“transforming them into apes and swine.” Koran 5:60
It is not hard to see why such language could promote a mentality that is favorable towards taking violent actions based on commands such as these:
“Kill those who join other gods with God (applies to Christians as we believe in the trinity, which according to Islamists are multiple Gods) wherever ye shall find them; and seize them, besiege them, and lay wait for them with every kind of ambush.” Known as the “Sword Verse”. (Surah 9:5)
“Fight those who were given the Book (Jews and Christians) but do not believe in Allah or the Last Day, and who do not follow the religion of truth, until they pay the jizya and are subdued.” Quran 9:29
“Allah’s Apostle said, ‘You (i.e. Muslims) will fight with the Jews till some of them will hide behind stones. The stones will (betray them) saying, O ‘Abdullah (i.e. slave of Allah)! There is a Jew hiding behind me; so kill him’ Hadith Vol. 4, Book 52, Number 176.
“What, do you desire to guide him whom God has led astray? Whom God leads astray, thou wilt not find for him a way (of salvation). They wish that you should disbelieve as they disbelieve, and then you would be equal; therefore take not to yourselves friends of them, until they emigrate in the way of God; then, if they turn their backs, take them, and slay them where ever you find them; take not to yourselves any one of them as a friend or helper.” Quran 4:90 - A primary way that Islamist Apologists try to defend the many violent commands: Islamist apologists will often defend the very violent language within the Quran by stating that the Bible also has violent language. But there is a key difference.
The scriptures that record violent occurrences took place at a specific time, for a specific people, and about specific issues occurring through those people. The violence was only towards those people and groups that the Lord was addressing and warning of judgment. For example, Saul’s command by God to attack the Amalekites prove no threat to any persons living today. There are no commands to engage in physical violence applicable to our time that can be found in the New Testament.
The opposite is true of the commands to commit violent acts in the Quran. These verses are all open-ended commands that have no end date. They also apply to anyone that is not a Muslim. They are repeatedly used by Islamist terrorists to justify their acts of terror, and the reason why “moderate” Muslims rarely condemn such acts. The terrorists can point to numerous commands within the Quran and the life of the Prophet Muhammad as an example.
An additional note: As mentioned earlier, when Mohammed first began preaching, he tried to reach out to Christians and Jews in one way by asking all of those who followed his teaching to pray towards Jerusalem 5 times per day. Once he saw that he was having no success converting Christians and Jews, he then declared that Allah desired for everyone to pray towards Mecca, and his speech towards these two groups became violent as the Qur’an clearly records.
The infamous slaughter of the Jewish males of Bani Qurayza- Also called the battle of the trench-
A particular grievous action against Jews by Mohammed involved the genocidal killing of around 600-800 males of the community of Bani Qurayza, which was a Jewish tribe living in Medina. They were outnumbered, and thus surrendered unconditionally to Mohammed, who by revelation through the judgment of a close associate, ordered trenches to be dug, and the men brought 5-6 at a time to be beheaded and their bodies dumped in the trench. It took an entire day to complete the task. After the job was finished, Mohammed went to solace himself with the charms of Rihana (also called Rayhana), whose husband and all her male relatives had just perished in the massacre. All remaining females and children were forced into slavery.
“Ibn Isḥāq says he chose her for himself, offered her Islam and marriage (which would have freed her and placed her under the rules of hijab), and that she refused, preferring to remain his slave. She stayed in his possession until his death.” - Differences of Mohammed vs. Jesus in treating those that opposed them:
We see a clear contrast in the way Mohammed died and the way Jesus died. In one of his last statements as he lay dying, Mohammed stated “May Allah curse the Jews [and] Christians.” (Bukhari)
This is contrasted in what Jesus said as he was dying on the cross, in tremendous agony, he looked at those who were rejoicing in his pain and said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Luke 23:34.
Mohammed called for death to those he considered his enemies, while Jesus prayed for God to have mercy on those who mocked and crucified him.
After he arrived in Medina, in order to gain financial benefits, Mohammed led or ordered numerous raids against passing caravans that resulted in many deaths, and the taking of plunder. He went on to lead battles of conquest that resulted in the shedding of much blood and the subjugation of those who had previously rejected him.
Deception allowed if it accomplishes their purpose: The Hadith also records occasions where Muhammad ordered his followers to go and slay his opponents, even using deception if need be to accomplish their purpose.
Taqiyya- The Islamic term for ‘the necessity of lying’- “The word ‘Taqiyya’ literally means: ‘Concealing, precaution, guarding.’ It is employed in disguising one's beliefs, intentions, convictions, ideas, feelings, opinions or strategies.
One example is of the time he organized the murder of the poet Ka’b Ibn Al’Ashraf for writing sarcastic verses about him, and his head was cast at Muhammad’s feet with the cry of “Allahu Akbar” (God is great).
“Muhammad bin Maslama got up saying, "O Allah's Apostle! Would you like that I kill him [Ka'b bin Al-Ashraf]?" The Prophet said, "Yes," Muhammad bin Maslama said, "Then allow me to say a (false) thing (i.e. to deceive Kab). "The Prophet said, "You may say it,"” (Hadith Vol. 5, Book 59, #369).
Grok notes: Regarding lying, “it is condemned in both the Qur’an and Hadith, but authentic hadiths list three limited exceptions: - Deception in war
- Reconciling between people
- A husband or wife speaking to please the other
- Some scholars also allow lying (or prefer tawriyah/equivocation) in cases of necessity to protect innocent life or property from unjust harm. These are treated as narrow concessions.”
In contrast, Jesus never attacked or killed anyone, nor did he teach those that followed him to do so. Instead, he promoted and emulated the complete opposite attitude and actions:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Matthew 5:43- 48.
Muhammad specifically ordered crucifixion, amputation, torture, and beheadings.
Grok lists the following examples:
Crucifixion and amputation. Quran 5:33 prescribes, for those who “wage war against Allah and His Messenger” and spread corruption, that they be killed, crucified, have a hand and a foot cut off on opposite sides, or be exiled.
Quran 5:38 orders the hand of a thief cut off. Muhammad applied mutilation in the Urayna case.
Torture. According to one account, after conquering Khaybar, word came to Muhammad that Kenana ibn al-Rabi had custody of the treasure of Banu al-Nadir. Ibn Ishaq says Muhammad asked Kenana where the tribe’s treasure was, but Kenana refused to reveal it. It is then recorded: “When he [Muhammad] asked him about the rest, he refused to produce it, so the apostle gave orders . . . "Torture him until you extract what he has,". Muhammad ordered Zubayr ibn al-Awwam to torture Kenana in order to extract the treasure that was entrusted to him. Zubayr "kindled a fire with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead." After this, Kenana was handed to Muhammad ibn Maslama and was beheaded. That report is early biography, not Bukhari or Muslim.
Additional note: So how does the story of the conquest of Khaybar end? The citizens, mostly Jews, could work the lands that now belonged to Islam by conquest, but they had to turn over half of the resources to Muhammad and his special Muslim recipients indefinitely.
Torture and Mutilation: The site Answering-Islam.org records: “Some Arab tribesmen visited the prophet and at some time converted to Islam. But they fell sick in the uncongenial climate of Medina. So Muhammad told them to follow a shepherd outside of the city, recommending to them an old folk belief: drinking the milk and urine of a camel, rather than his healing them through the power of Allah. Subsequently, they are reported to have felt better.
However, for some reason, they killed the shepherd, turned apostate, and drove off the camels for themselves. This news reached Muhammad, and he ordered them to be hunted down and brought before him. He decreed that their hands and feet should be cut off.
Then he added these excesses on top of the others:
Then he ordered for [sic] nails which were heated and [the tribesmen] were branded with those nails, their eyes, and they were left in the Harra (i.e. rocky land in Al-Madina). And when they asked for water, no water was given them till they died . . . . (Bukhari, Book of Jihad, no. 3018; also In Sahih al-Bukhari 233–234 and 6802, and Sahih Muslim 1671,
Commenter: Muhammad actually pierced their eyes with nails (one version says with needles). Then their bodies were thrown on stony ground, dying of dehydration. One version says they died from the battering they suffered from being thrown on rocky ground; another says they died from loss of blood, for Muhammad did not cauterize their amputated limbs. It is not hard to imagine their screams. Regardless of the specific cause of their unnatural deaths, torturing them is excess multiplied by excess, and this is never just.”
https://www.answering-islam.org/Authors/Arlandson/torture.htm
Beheading. Quran 8:12 tells the angels, about the unbelievers at Badr, “strike above their necks,” and 47:4 says that “when you meet the disbelievers ˹in battle˺, strike ˹their˺ necks until you have thoroughly subdued them”.
Muhammad’s own order is clearest at Qurayza: he accepted Sa'd’s ruling that the men be killed, and the sira describes them beheaded in the market of Medina, (this is also know as the battle of the trench, because a trench was dug for all the bodies to be thrown into). It is estimated that around 600 men were beheaded that day.
Part 5- Slavery: an Institutionalized Component of Islam
While the bible does acknowledge the practice of slavery, it was never something that was promoted, and the Old Testament law limited it to terms no longer than 7 years and for the repayment of debt (basically, indentured servitude). There are cases of those individuals and people groups that remained in slavery for the remainder of their lives due to sinfulness, but these tended to be exceptions, and the Old Testament does not record slavery as being a prominent part of the lives of His chosen people Israel.
The New Testament gives strong condemnation of slave trading in 1 Timothy 1:9, “The law is for people who are sexually immoral, or who practice homosexuality, or are slave traders, liars, promise breakers, or who do anything else that contradicts the wholesome teaching.”
It was verses like this along with the teachings of Jesus who called for us to do unto others as we would have them do unto us (the famous ‘golden rule’ found in Matthew 7:12 & Luke 6:31), and the 2nd greatest commandment being that we are to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” (Matthew 22:39 & Mark 12:31), and that God is “no respecter of persons” as He does not view one person or race as any more or less loved by Him than another, that give clear premises for a person to disdain slavery in any form.
These fundamental principles greatly influenced Christians to work against slavery and subsequently change the course of history both in America and in other nations regarding an institution that has been around since the beginning of time.
Even today, Christians remain at the forefront of the movement to liberate the estimated 39+ million people that are currently living as slaves (the majority of which are enslaved in Islamic nations).
This is not the case in Islam as it “institutionalized slavery”.
The following is an excerpt from the website: http://www.answering-islam.org/Silas/slavery.htm
Slavery in Islam
Muhammad began to take slaves after he moved to Medina, and began to gain power. Slaves were usually taken in raids on nearby Arab tribes, or as prizes for the victors of a battle, either through offensive or defensive actions. Islam allows the taking of slaves as "booty", or reward for fighting. This has led to numerous "jihads" by Muslim states and tribes to attack other non-Muslim groups and obtain slaves. Islamic jurisprudence laid down regulations for the proper treatment of slaves. However, abuses have occurred throughout history.
Most people in the West are familiar with the history of slavery in the new world. It was sinful and terrible, and it lasted for several hundred years. It was abolished mainly through the efforts of Christians in England (by such men as William Wilberforce and Thomas Clarkson) and America (the Abolitionist movement made up primarily of Protestant believers). What we in the U.S. refer to as the “Civil War,” opened up the opportunity to declare emancipation for those enslaved was the culmination that helped bring it to an end here in the U.S.
However, few people in the west know how prominently Islam figured in the history of slavery. Most would be surprised to learn that Islam authorizes the taking of slaves as spoils of war. From the days that Muhammad drew his sword to rob and conquer non-Muslims to this very day, Muslims have been taking non-Muslims, and even other non-Arabic (particularly African) Muslims, as slaves.
Compared to the terrible period of slavery that took place here in America that lasted for a few hundred years, Slavery has been an established practice throughout the Islamic world for over 1,400 years and is still firmly rooted today in many parts of it (such as Sudan). Some nations have recently abolished it, like Saudi Arabia which finally got around to abolishing slavery in 1962 and The Islamic Republic of Mauritania in 1981, well over 100 years after it was outlawed in the U.S.
Muslims were enslaving black Africans long before any European slave ships sailed for the New World. For centuries, Muslims were capturing and taking African, Middle Eastern, and European slaves from all the lands they had conquered. Later, when European slave ships began arriving on African shores, often, a Muslim slave broker had the human cargo all ready to go. European slavers rarely had to go inland to capture slaves as they were already waiting there, courtesy of some Muslim ruler, and/or slave broker! In many cases, if the black slaves were not sent to the New World, they were sent to the Mideast to be enslaved by Arabs, or kept by other black Muslims as slaves.
Compared to the terrible period of slavery that took place here in America that lasted for a few hundred years, Slavery has been going on in the Islamic world for over 1,400 years and is still firmly established today in many parts of it (such as Islamic Sudan).
What the Quran says about slavery
To begin with, the Quran justifies slavery, and often mentions slaves. Here are some relevant things that come from the referenced verses:
- Muslims believe that taking slaves in war was a God-given right. These slaves were considered 'booty' or the spoils of war. As the saying goes: to the victors go the spoils. (33:50)
- Muslim males are allowed to have sexual relations with their wives and slave girls. Implicit in this is that Muslim males had slave-concubines. (70:30 is basically a repeat of 23:5.)
- Ibn Sa'd's "Tabaqat", gives a clear description of Muhammad having "relations" with at least one of his slave girls. Muhammad had sexual relations with Mariyah, his Coptic slave. Mariyah and her sister, Sirin were slaves given as gifts to Muhammad. Muhammad gave Sirin to Hasan Thabit, the poet.
Ibn Sa'd says that Muhammad "liked Mariyah, who was of white complexion, with curly hair and pretty." [Taken from Ibn Sa'd's "Kitab al-Tabaqat al-Kabir" (Book of the Major Classes), p151].
Ibn Sa'd also writes that Mariyah bore Muhammad a son named Ibrahim. He died 18 months later. Sa'd writes: "If he had lived, no maternal uncle of his would have remained in bondage", p164. This shows that there were other Coptic slaves owned by the Muslims.
Bukhari’s Hadith and Slavery
There are hundreds of Hadith that deal with slavery. Whole chapters of Hadith are dedicated to dealing with the taxation, treatment, sale, and jurisprudence of slaves. In addition to this, numerous Hadith mention slaves, and their relation to their Muslim masters. Here are a few:
- (Vol. 7-#137) Here, Muslims had taken (captured through battle) female slaves, and had sex with them. Muhammad approved of this. He only admonished them not to practice coitus interruptus.
- (Vol. 5-#459) Here, the Muslims attacked the Banu Mustaliq, and took slaves. The female slaves were distributed as booty to the Muslim soldiers. Being away from home, the soldiers became horny, and want to have sexual relations with the newly captured female slaves. They went to Muhammad and asked about coitus interruptus. He told them not to practice that, but to complete the sexual act with the slaves. Related Hadith show that they didn't want to get the women pregnant because they wanted to be able to sell them later on. Under Islamic law they were not allowed to sell pregnant female slaves. In effect, Muhammad okayed the rape of female prisoners.
- (Vol. 3-#765) Here a woman frees a slave girl, but Muhammad says that she would have gotten more (heavenly) reward if she had given the slave to one of her uncles, thus keeping the slave in slavery.
The rights of slaves under Islam
According to the Hughes Dictionary of Islam, slaves had few civil or legal rights. For example:
a) Muslim men were allowed to have sex anytime with females slaves - Sura 4:3, 4:29, 33:49.
b) Slaves are as helpless before their masters as idols are before God - Sura 16:77
c) According to Islamic Tradition, people at the time of their capture were either to be killed, or enslaved. Shows you that they were at the bottom of the barrel to start with.
d) According to Islamic jurisprudence, slaves were merchandise. The sales of slaves was in accordance with the sale of animals.
e) Muhammad ordered that some slaves who were freed by their master be RE-ENSLAVED!
f) It is permissible under Islamic law to whip slaves. Grok: “Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī 5204 records the Prophet saying: “None of you should flog his wife as he flogs a slave and then have sexual intercourse with her later that day.” The comparison treats flogging a slave as an established practice and objects to treating a wife that way, not to flogging the slave.
Jurists placed private discipline under taʿzīr (discretionary punishment). A common limit they cited is the report in Bukhārī and Muslim: no more than ten lashes except for a divinely fixed ḥadd. Manuals such as discussions in Nayl al-Awṭār treat beating a slave for training or disobedience as allowed within that kind of limit, and hadith collections instruct that if a servant is beaten, the face is to be avoided.”
g) According to Islam, a Muslim could not be put to death for murdering a slave. Ref. 2:178 and the Jalalayn confirm this.
h) According to Islam, the testimony of slaves is not admissible in court. Ibn Timiyya and Bukhari state this.
i) According to Islamic jurisprudence, slaves cannot choose their own marriage mate. - Ibn Hazm, vol. 6, part 9.
j) According to Islamic jurisprudence, slaves can be forced to marry who their masters want. - Malik ibn Anas, vol. 2, page 155.
Muhammad personally owned African/black slaves
Grok (AI) lists the following: “Sahih Hadith collections record that Muhammad owned or received slaves described as black (aswad), including named individuals and an exchange involving two black slaves.
Key Hadith references:
Sahih al-Bukhari 6161 (Book of Good Manners):
Narrated Anas bin Malik: Allah’s Messenger was on a journey and he had a black slave called Anjasha who was driving the camels (very fast, with women riding them). Allah’s Messenger said, “Waihaka (May Allah be merciful to you), O Anjasha! Drive slowly the camels with the glass vessels (women)!”
(Arabic: ghulām lahu aswad yuqālu lahu Anjasha — a black slave-boy of his called Anjasha.)
Sahih al-Bukhari 7263 (Accepting Information Given by a Truthful Person):
Narrated ‘Umar: I came and behold, Allah’s Messenger was staying on a mashraba (attic room) and a black slave of Allah’s Messenger was at the top of its stairs. I said to him, “(Tell the Prophet) that here is ‘Umar bin al-Khattab (asking for permission to enter).” Then he admitted me.
(Arabic: ghulām li-rasūli Allāh aswad ‘alā ra’s al-daraja.)
Sahih Muslim 1602 (Book of Musaqah; also in other collections such as Tirmidhi 1239, Nasa’i 4184):
Jabir reported: A slave came and pledged allegiance to Allah’s Apostle for migration; the Prophet did not know that he was a slave. His master came and demanded him back. The Prophet said, “Sell him to me.” He bought him for two black slaves. Afterwards he did not accept anyone’s pledge until he had asked whether the person was a slave (or free).
(Arabic: fa-shtarāhu bi-‘abdayn aswadayn.)
This indicates Muhammad had (or controlled) black slaves available for the exchange.
Sunan Abi Dawud 2711 (graded Sahih by al-Albani; similar reports in Muwatta Malik, Nasa’i 3827, and related material in Bukhari):
Abu Hurayrah said: We went out with the Messenger of Allah in the year of Khaybar. We did not get gold or silver as booty except clothes, equipment, and property. A man (Rifa‘a ibn Zayd) presented a black slave called Mid‘am (or Midam) to the Messenger of Allah. While at Wadi al-Qura, Mid‘am was unsaddling/unloading a camel belonging to the Messenger of Allah when a stray arrow killed him. People said he would go to Paradise; the Prophet replied that a cloak Mid‘am had taken from the (undistributed) spoils of Khaybar would burn him with fire.
He is described as a gift accepted by the Prophet and performing personal service (handling the Prophet’s camel/luggage)
Conclusion: These reports come from the major canonical Sunni Hadith collections (Bukhari and Muslim are the highest grade; the others are graded authentic by later scholars).
Slavery was an established institution in pre-Islamic Arabia and the wider ancient world; Islamic sources record Muhammad acquiring slaves through gifts, purchase, and war captives.”
Just who enslaved more?
It is estimated that between 490,000- 600,000 Africans were brought to North America through the slave trade. Over 10 million were taken to South & Central America, as well as the islands of the Caribbean primarily by the Spanish and Portuguese.
In contrast the estimate by experts has the number of people enslaved by Muslim slave traders over the last 1,000 years to be between 9 to 20 million. Robert Segal, Author of “Islam’s Black Slaves: The Other Black Diaspora”, in speaking about the Muslim world that “the casualties involved in enslavement wars were absolutely unspeakable.”
Slavery was so widespread in Islamic societies so much that “even small shopkeepers owned slaves.”
By comparison, slavery in the U.S. was confined to the Southern states and less than 10 percent of the southern population owned slaves, (AI puts the number of slave owners in the South at less than 4%).
Contrary, in the Islamic world, it was seen as a status symbol to own slaves with the wealthy collecting concubines “the way people in the West collect motorcars,” with one ruler owning 14,000. To guard their harems, it typically fell to young black male slaves to be forced to undergo the castration process to become the eunuchs they preferred to stand guard. Castration of male slaves was very common, even typically the norm.
For further reading on this topic, refer to the chapter entitled “Was America Uniquely Guilty for the Crime of Slavery?” from the book by Michael Medved, “The 10 Big Lies About America: Combating Destructive Distortions About Our Nation”
A List of Islamic nations that legalized slavery, and the year they ended the practice from the documentary:“Christian vs Muslim World Slave Trades - Forgotten History”:
- Zanzibar ended slavery in 1909,
- Morocco ended slavery in 1922,
- Turkey and the post-Ottoman Empire in 1924,
- Iran and Jordan ended slavery in 1929,
- Bahrain ended slavery in 1937,
- Kuwait in 1949,
- Qatar in 1952,
- Yemen and Saudi Arabia in 1962
- Oman followed with abolishing slavery as late as 1970.
- Mauritania became the last nation to abolish slavery in 1981
- in 1990 the Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam declared that "no one has the right to enslave another human being."
The Documentary noted that “Slavery in the Muslim world did not end due to a comparable Age of Reason or Enlightenment period pushing moral religious and social pressures as had happened in Europe. Open legal slavery only ended because the Western industrialized nations would not do business with them; in many cases
and these nations found that being a pariah state was not conducive to good international relations, let alone business.
Also, all of these nations listed were at some point in time former colonial possessions or mandates of the major European powers, especially the former possessions of the Ottoman Empire until after World War I and their influence was critical to achieving
freedom for tens of millions as condition for the possession being granted independence.
But believe it or not even today there is still a thriving slave trade in Libya and Sudan where government control does not exist and there is no international action or condemnation. Today Isis and other Islamic groups still take slaves usually operating in lawless regions where no central governments exist.”
Taken from: https://youtu.be/1_tcH0lP03k
Final note: an interesting study involves the history of the Islamic “Barbary Pirates”. From the 1500’s thru the early 1800’s the Northern African nations we now know as Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, and Libya were referred to as the Barbary Coast or States. Muslims in this area gained access to ships and began an amazing time of piracy that involved the attacking of ships and the raiding of the coastlines of Europe for booty and slaves.
History records times when hundreds of miles of coastline would be deserted from Italy, Spain, Portugal, France, and on up into England even as far as Iceland because so many people had been captured and those that weren’t had fled further inland. Anyone they captured was forced into immediate slavery. It is recorded that between 800,000 to 1.25 million Europeans were put into slavery during this time by these Muslim pirates. The power and influence of these pirates during this time was such that nations including the U.S. paid tribute in order to stave off their attacks.
Part 6- A Comparison of Jesus and Mohammed Taken from: http://www.carm.org/islam.htm
The Following is a chart to that shows some of the strong differences between Jesus and Mohammed. The Muslims revere Mohammed as the greatest of prophets. Yet, Jesus clearly demonstrated greater authority, teaching, and miracles than Mohammed ever did.
Why would anyone want to follow Mohammed over Jesus when Jesus claimed to be divine, performed many miracles, said he alone was the truth, raised people from the dead, and rose from the dead himself while Mohammed, in comparison, did none of these things.
Mohammed did however, have people killed, spread his religion through war, married a very young girl and had relations with her when she was nine years old, and taught hatred of Jews and Christians.
We can clearly characterize major failures in the Life and teachings of Muhammad in seven particular areas:
- He made himself above his directives- For example, He directed that Muslims should marry no more than 4 wives, but he himself had at least 9 (some accounts say at least 11), with some experts stating the number was actually over 20. Jesus cannot be found to have violated any one facet of his teachings.
- He institutionalized slavery- The Qur’an has a LOT to say about slavery, and Muhammad advocated not only the taking of slaves, but also was a slave owner himself according to the Qur’an (Surat Al-'Aĥzāb 33:50) and the Hadith (Vol. 7-#734, Vol. 7-#344, Vol. 5-#541, Vol. 5-#512).
Contrarily, the Bible forbids the taking of slaves in I Timothy 1:9-10, and clearly, Jesus did not own slaves nor promote the practice.
- He shed a tremendous amount of blood- Not only did Muhammad lead or give the order for many raids and battles (at least 65) and engaged in genocidal killings, but he also orchestrated the murders of particular individuals that opposed him. There are numerous examples in the Qur’an of violence being advocated, and even elevating one’s death while engaging in Jihad as the one sure guarantee of going to Heaven according to the Qur’an (Surah 3:169, Surah 4:74).
Jesus clearly did not kill anyone nor advocate such. He commanded his disciples to go and preach the gospel, not spread it by means of force. - He engaged in a tremendous amount of sexual activity with many different women- Not only did Muhammad have a great many wives, but he also had numerous concubines or female sex slaves. Islamic experts such as the Coptic priest Zakaria Botros have placed the number of women that he had sexual activity with to be 66 that are individually identified through the writings (Which are just the ones we know of). These included women that were forced to engage in sex acts once they were captured in battle as they were considered prizes of the battle.
Jesus made it clear that anyone that had sex with a person other than their spouse was engaging in adultery. Jesus even went so far as to warn that it was a sin to even think lustful thoughts in one’s heart towards another. We have no record that Jesus ever engaged in sexual activity of any sort. - Muhammad married a 6 year old girl, and then consummated the marriage when she was just nine years of age
Narrated 'Aisha: “Allah's Apostle said to me, "You were shown to me twice (in my dream) before I married you. I saw an angel carrying you in a silken piece of cloth, and I said to him, 'Uncover (her),' and behold, it was you. I said (to myself), 'If this is from Allah, then it must happen.'” Sahih Bukhari 7012
Narrated Hisham's father: “Khadija died three years before the Prophet departed to Medina. He stayed there for two years or so and then he married 'Aisha when she was a girl of six years of age, and he consumed that marriage when she was nine years old.” Sahih Bukhari 3896
Narrated 'Aisha: that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death). Sahih Bukhari 5133
Narrated Aisha, Ummul Mu'minin: "The Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him) married me when I was seven or six. When we came to Medina, some women came. according to Bishr's version: Umm Ruman came to me when I was swinging. They took me, made me prepared and decorated me. I was then brought to the Apostle of Allah (peace be upon him), and he took up cohabitation with me when I was nine.” Sunan Abu Dawud 4933 - Muhammad gave husbands permission to beat/strike/scourge their wives:
Shakir translation: “Men are the maintainers of women because Allah has made some of them to excel others and because they spend out of their property; the good women are therefore obedient, guarding the unseen as Allah has guarded; and (as to) those on whose part you fear desertion, admonish them, and leave them alone in the sleeping-places and beat them; then if they obey you, do not seek a way against them; surely Allah is High, Great. ) Surah 4:34
Note: Pickthall translation: Scourge them
Sahih Internation translation: Strike them
Yusuf Ali Translation: Beat them (lightly)
“Quran 4:34 Instructs men to beat their wives if they fear nushūzahunna, a word commonly understood to mean "their disobedience" or "their rebellion", though the exact meaning of the word is unclear (see Quran 4:128, which gives instructions to women who fear nushūzan from their husbands). The word 'beat' in the Arabic is daraba.[1]
Although a small number of modern Islamic scholars, apologists, and activists have argued that the word daraba in the verse does not mean 'beat', the overwhelming majority stand with the Islamic tradition and the unimpeachable linguistic case that is made in agreeing that 'beating' is what the verse instructs.
No Arabic dictionary or serious scholar has dissented from this consensus.” https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Wife_Beating_in_Islamic_Law
Note: The word "lightly" does not appear in the original Arabic version, but is added in some translations. - Muhammed actually hit his wife Aisha in the chest hard enough to cause her pain:
Sahih Muslim Book 4, 2127 (Abdul Hamid Siddiqui; Sunnah.com's source translation):
“He said, Was it the darkness (of your shadow) that I saw in front of me? I said, Yes. He struck me in the chest which caused me pain, and then said, Did you think that Allah and His Apostle would deal unjustly with you?”
The Arabic word translated "He struck me" (فَلَهَدَنِي) is lahada , which means 'he pushed violently' or 'he struck her chest'
See this account also in, Sahih Muslim 974b, and Sunan al-Nasa'i 2039
Note: It is important to note that the popular hadith website Sunnah.com, drastically altered this phrase from the original translations they used for the Sahih Muslim and Sunan al-Nasa'i collections, presumably to present Muhammad and Islam in a more positive light, changing it in both cases to "He gave me a nudge on the chest which I felt"
Conclusion:
Clearly, Mohammed is inferior to Christ Jesus in a number of serious ways, and we do well to catch the significance of this.
Media Team: this is where Pastor Trey will turn the podium over to Pastor Lance. Play the video about Muhammad not having any miracles here:
Part 8- The “Convenient” Revelations of Muhammad
Taken from: https://wikiislam.net/wiki/Convenient_Revelations
1. Exemption from limit on wives
Allah revealed to Muhammad that Muslim men are permitted to marry up to four women.
"And if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly with the orphan-girls, then marry (other) women of your choice, two or three, or four but if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one or (the captives and the slaves) that your right hands possess." Quran 4:3
Muhammad was granted an exception in this respect to be allowed to marry an unlimited number of wives:
"O Prophet (Muhammad)! Verily, We have made lawful to you your wives, to whom you have paid their Mahr (bridal money given by the husband to his wife at the time of marriage), and those (captives or slaves) whom your right hand possesses -- whom God has given to you, and the daughters of your 'Amm (paternal uncles) and the daughters of your 'Ammah (paternal aunts) and the daughters of your Khâl (maternal uncles) and the daughters of your Khâlah (maternal aunts) who migrated (from Makkah) with you, and a believing woman if she offers herself to the Prophet, and the Prophet wishes to marry her; a privilege for you only, not for the (rest of) the believers." Quran 33:50
2. One-wife limit for son-in-law
Although Allah allowed men to marry up to four wives, Muhammad allowed only one wife for his son-in-law Ali who was married to Muhammad's daughter Fatima. When Ali desired to take a second wife, Muhammad insisted he first divorce Fatima before taking a new wife.
Narrated Al-Miswar bin Makhrama:
I heard Allah's Apostle who was on the pulpit, saying, "Banu Hisham bin Al-Mughira have requested me to allow them to marry their daughter to Ali bin Abu Talib, but I don't give permission, and will not give permission unless 'Ali bin Abi Talib divorces my daughter in order to marry their daughter, because Fatima is a part of my body, and I hate what she hates to see, and what hurts her, hurts me." Sahih Bukhari 5230
3. Exemption from equal treatment of wives
In Quran 4:3 is an injunction to treat all wives equally, with the requirement that: "if you fear that you shall not be able to deal justly (with them), then only one...".
Muhammad initially gave each of his multiple wives equal attention and time with him, visiting a different wife each night. With time, however, he developed favorite wives who garnered more attention and affection than others. This created a great deal of tension among the ladies, and jealousy, and often rage, ensued. Muhammad then received a revelation absolving him from the earlier admonition to treat all wives as equals and deal with them justly, and allowed him to select his favorite wives according to his desires:
"You (O Muhammad) can postpone (the turn of) whom you will of them (your wives), and you may receive whom you will. And whomsoever you desire of those whom you have set aside (her turn temporarily), it is no sin on you (to receive her again), that is better; that they may be comforted and not grieved, and may all be pleased with what you give them. God knows what is in your hearts. And God is Ever All-Knowing, Most Forbearing."
Quran 33:51
Aisha, the favorite wife of Muhammad, was expressly suspicious about this sort of revelation. After Muhammad received the verse above, Aisha commented, "I feel that your Lord hastens in fulfilling your wishes and desires."[2]
4. No one can marry Muhammad's wives after he dies
...You should not offend the Apostle of Allah, nor may you ever marry his wives after him. Indeed that would be a grave [sin] with Allah. Quran 33:53
This means that all of his wives were to remain widows upon his death. This undoubtedly most likely impacted Aisha the most as she was only about 18 years of age when he passed, and easily the youngest of his wives.
Regarding one of Muhammad’s wives, “what many don’t realize is that Sura 4:128 was actually composed in relation to Muhammad’s mistreatment of his wife Sauda bint Zamah because she had become old and unattractive. The late Sunni scholar and exegete Ibn Kathir wrote:
Making peace is better than separation. An example of such peace can be felt in the story of Sawdah bint Zam'ah who WHEN SHE BECAME AGED, THE PROPHET WANTED TO DIVORCE HER, but she made peace with him by offering the night he used to spend with her to A'isha so that he would keep her. The Prophet accepted such terms and kept her.
Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded that Ibn ‘Abbas said, "Sawdah feared that the Messenger of Allah might divorce her and she said, ‘O Messenger of Allah! Do not divorce me; give my day to 'A'ishah.’ And he did ...” Taken from: https://www.answering-islam.org/Shamoun/sauda.htm
5. Permission to wed adopted son's ex-wife
Media Team: Play this video entitled: “Muhammad married his Son's wife, David wood”: https://youtu.be/0DHK9r1hnfg?si=NQNMTO3J7QlTq9O-
Zaynab was initially married to Zaid ibn Haritha, Muhammad's adopted son. One day Muhammad paid a visit to Zaid's house to consult with him about a matter, but he was not home. Not expecting Muhammad to be at the door, Zaynab answered the door instead, dressed in a revealing garment. At this moment, Muhammad developed a desire for her. When Zaid learned of his adopted father's infatuation, he divorced Zaynab so that Muhammad could marry her. This turned into a scandal among the Arabs, who equated Muhammad's actions with incest. Soon thereafter, Muhammad received the following revelation:
“And (remember) when you said to him (Zaid bin Hârithah; the freed-slave of the Prophet ) on whom God has bestowed Grace (by guiding him to Islâm) and you (O Muhammad too) have done favour (by manumitting him) "Keep your wife to yourself, and fear God." But you did hide in yourself (i.e. what God has already made known to you that He will give her to you in marriage) that which God will make manifest, you did fear the people (i.e., Muhammad married the divorced wife of his manumitted slave) whereas God had a better right that you should fear Him. So when Zaid had accomplished his desire from her (i.e. divorced her), We gave her to you in marriage, so that (in future) there may be no difficulty to the believers in respect of (the marriage of) the wives of their adopted sons when the latter have no desire to keep them (i.e. they have divorced them). And God's Command must be fulfilled.” Quran 33:37
Another passage related to this topic and to Muhammad's marriage to Zaynab in commentaries (such as Tafsir al-Jalalyn here and Tafsir Ibn Kathir here and here) is the following:
“Allah has not made for a man two hearts in his interior. And He has not made your wives whom you declare unlawful your mothers. And he has not made your adopted sons your [true] sons. That is [merely] your saying by your mouths, but Allah says the truth, and He guides to the [right] way. Call them by [the names of] their fathers; it is more just in the sight of Allah. But if you do not know their fathers - then they are [still] your brothers in religion and those entrusted to you. And there is no blame upon you for that in which you have erred but [only for] what your hearts intended. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful.”
Quran 33:4-5
Despite adopted sons not being treated as real sons in Islam, another legal fiction was at one time endorsed according to hadiths. Adult Suckling was a practice which allowed an unrelated male to become a woman's mahram until that ruling was later abrogated.
6. Permissions regarding concubines
The passage below is somewhat ambiguous. Classical scholars interpreted it as describing Muhammad's rights to take unlimited concubines, while Islamic modernists see it as giving him permission to marry his concubines.
The words translated "what Allah has returned to you" (wamā [...] afāa l-lahu ʿalayka) mean Muhammad's share of the spoils of war, since the same language is mirrored in Quran 59:6-7 with that meaning. Those verses twice mention "what Allah has returned to his messenger" (wamā afāa l-lahu ʿalā rasūlihi).
“O Prophet, indeed We have made lawful to you your wives to whom you have given their due compensation and those your right hand possesses from what Allah has returned to you [of captives] and the daughters of your paternal uncles and the daughters of your paternal aunts and the daughters of your maternal uncles and the daughters of your maternal aunts who emigrated with you and a believing woman if she gives herself to the Prophet [and] if the Prophet wishes to marry her, [this is] only for you, excluding the [other] believers. We certainly know what We have made obligatory upon them concerning their wives and those their right hands possess, [but this is for you] in order that there will be upon you no discomfort. And ever is Allah Forgiving and Merciful
You, [O Muhammad], may put aside whom you will of them or take to yourself whom you will. And any that you desire of those [wives] from whom you had [temporarily] separated - there is no blame upon you [in returning her]. That is more suitable that they should be content and not grieve and that they should be satisfied with what you have given them - all of them. And Allah knows what is in your hearts. And ever is Allah Knowing and Forbearing.
Not lawful to you, [O Muhammad], are [any additional] women after [this], nor [is it] for you to exchange them for [other] wives, even if their beauty were to please you, except what your right hand possesses. And ever is Allah, over all things, an Observer.”
Quran 33:50-52
7. Permission to have relations with concubine despite promising otherwise
Muhammad used to take turns among his wives, visiting a different one each night. One night during the time allotted for Hafsa, she had to take care of an urgent need involving another family member and so was not at home. Muhammad instead had intimate relations with Mary, a Coptic slave that had been given to him. Muhammad was not married to Mary the Copt.
It was narrated from Anas, that the Messenger of Allah had a female slave with whom he had intercourse, but 'Aishah and Hafsah would not leave him alone until he said that she was forbidden for him. Then Allah, the Mighty and Sublime, revealed: "O Prophet! Why do you forbid (for yourself) that which Allah has allowed to you." until the end of the Verse.
Grade: Sahih (Darussalam)
Sunan an-Nasa'i 4:36:3411
When Hafsa found this out and questioned him, Muhammad promised (on oath) not to touch Mary again if Hafsa would keep the occurrence a secret, and promised that Umar (Hafsa's father) and Abu Bakr (Aisha's father) would be his successors. Hafsa, however, did not keep quiet and told Aisha about this event. As a result Muhammad had no interactions with any of his wives for a full month during which he lived with Mary alone.[4] In response, Aisha and Hafsa conspired with the rest of the prophet's wives against Muhammad and isolated him from physical relations.
Regarding his actions with Mary, Muhammad received the following revelation:[5]
O Prophet! Why do you disallow [yourself] what Allah has made lawful for you, seeking to please your wives? And Allah is all-forgiving, all-merciful.
Quran 66:1
And he is specifically sanctioned to break oaths by God.
Allah has certainly made lawful for you the dissolution of your oaths, and Allah is your master and He is the All-knowing, the All-wise. Quran 66:2
Allah then proceeded to chastise Aisha and Hafsa for getting upset with Muhammad for having sex with Mary, and seems to subtly threaten them with divorce and the opportunity of Muhammad to marry better wives should they gossip again:
“And (remember) when the Prophet disclosed a matter in confidence to one of his wives (Hafsah), so when she told it (to another i.e. 'Aishah), and God made it known to him, he informed part thereof and left a part. Then when he told her (Hafsah) thereof, she said: "Who told you this?" He said: "The All-Knower, the All-Aware (God) has told me". If you two (wives of the Prophet , namely 'Aishah and Hafsah) turn in repentance to God, (it will be better for you), your hearts are indeed so inclined (to oppose what the Prophet likes), but if you help one another against him (Muhammad), then verily, God is his Maula (Lord, or Master, or Protector, etc.), and Jibrael (Gabriel), and the righteous among the believers, and furthermore, the angels are his helpers. It may be if he divorced you (all) that his Lord will give him instead of you, wives better than you, Muslims (who submit to God), believers, obedient to God, turning to God in repentance, worshipping God sincerely, fasting or emigrants (for God's sake), previously married and virgins."
Quran 66:3-5
Stewart (2024) notes the further threatening analogies to his wives at the end of the surah (Quran 66:10-12).
The history of prophets in the Qur'an is presented within a typological frame-work of interpretation. The examples of the past salvation history are not just of antiquarian interest but have immediate relevance to the contemporary situation of the Prophet Muhammad and his immediate audience. The various situations earlier prophets faced in the past are seen to mirror, prefigure, and provide insight into the situations faced by the Prophet Muhammad and his community. The regular pattern of prophetic missions in history makes it possible to predict the contours of the Prophet Muhammad's mission, or, to put it somewhat differently, fulfill predictions embodied in those earlier examples from salvation history.
A clear instance of this type of analogical reasoning is seen in surat al-Tahrim (Q66) which blames the wives of the prophet for divulging confidence and for committing some other unnamed infraction. Examples of commendable women are presented: Mary the mother of Jesus and the wife of Pharaoh. Examples of blameworthy women are presented: the wife of Noah and the wife of Lot.
The point is not just historical, for an analogical argument is being made about the present. Just as Muhammad is parallel to messengers of the past, so too are his wives parallel to the wives of past messengers. If his wives persist in their bad behavior, they will meet the fate met by the wives of Noah and Lot. No immunity is granted to wives of prophets on account of their close ties to God's chosen messengers: they will not escape punishment just because they are married to or revered and spiritually outstanding figures. This type of analogical, typological argument is made in dozens of Qur'anic suras but is often not stated directly. In some passages, an analogical argument is made explicit though specific hints and comparative statements, but in others, it remains implicit. This typological framework remains in the background of all Qur'anic passages that present narratives of prophets of the past.7
8. Excusing the Satanic Verses
Main Article: Satanic Verses (Gharaniq Incident)
Pre-Islamic Mecca was a center of paganism and polytheism. It is said 360 idols surrounded the Ka'aba, with additional idols stored inside, and that these were worshipped as gods. Thus, it is storied in the hadith that when Muhammad first began preaching monotheism and denouncing other gods, he met resistance and hostility.
In an what was apparently an attempt to appease the Meccans, buy some time and bring relief to his followers from hostility, Muhammad one night had a revelation found in Surah 53:19-22 which originally read, "Have you thought of al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat the third, the other?; these are the exalted Gharaniq whose intercession is approved." [6] Al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat were three female deities, known as daughters of Allah, who were considered especially important by Arabs in the region. By this revelation Muhammad acknowledged these deities as extant, worthy of worship, and as entities whose intercession in heaven was to be sought. Acknowledging these deities had the effect of rendering the Arabs accommodating towards Muhammad, who reportedly fell into prostration in approval upon hearing the acceptance of these deities. Later, the angel Gabriel chastised Muhammad for uttering these verses and informed him that Satan, not Allah, had put these words in Muhammad's mouth. Thus, these verses became known as the Satanic Verses (al-Ayaat al-Shaytaniyyah). Later, Islamic theologians would have tremendous difficulty reconciling this grievous error, which amounted to shirk (polytheism), with Muhammad's status as the infallible and perfect man (uswa hasana).
Muhammad then received another revelation absolving him of responsibility for the verse:
"Never did We send an apostle or a prophet before thee, but, when he framed a desire, Satan threw some (vanity) into his desire: but God will cancel anything (vain) that Satan throws in, and God will confirm (and establish) His Signs: for God is full of Knowledge and Wisdom."
Quran 22:52
Christian and Jewish polemicists would later mount criticism of Islam on the basis of this story, citing the fact that no such instance of prophets succumbing to Satan's trickery and pronouncing false revelations was found in either the Bible or in Jewish literature. Indeed, Christian and Jewish scripture (scriptures recognized by the Qur'an as containing the words of other prophets) were quoted by these polemicists to the contrary:
'But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.” Deuteronomy 18:20 NIV
9. Permission to violate sacred months with military activity
Four months of the year were considered sacred to early Arabs. During these months no warfare was allowed and bloodshed was completely forbidden. The months which the Arabs held sacred were al Mu'harram, Rajab, Dhu'l Qaada, and Dhu'l Hajja; the first, the seventh, the eleventh, and the twelfth in the year. Muhammad adopted this custom of the Arabs and codified it in the Quran: Quran 2:194 and Quran 5:97.
In one of the earliest raids on a trade caravan by warriors dispatched by Muhammad, a convenient revelation is received regarding the sacred months. Muhammad's men spotted the caravan passing by on the last day of a sacred month. According to ibn Ishaq:
"The raiders took council among themselves, for this was the last day of Rajab, and they said, 'If you leave them alone tonight they will get into the sacred area and will be safe from you and if you kill them, you will kill them in the sacred month' so they were hesitant and feared to attack them." [7]
In the end they decided to attack the caravan and capture its goods, thereby violating the prohibitions against warfare in the sacred month. When Muhammad learned of it, he at first admonished them for violating the sacred month, but then received a new revelation:
"They ask you concerning fighting in the Sacred Months (i.e. 1st, 7th, 11th and 12th months of the Islâmic calendar). Say, "Fighting therein is a great (transgression) but a greater (transgression) with God is to prevent mankind from following the Way of God, to disbelieve in Him, to prevent access to Al-Masjid-al-Harâm (at Makkah), and to drive out its inhabitants, and Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And they will never cease fighting you until they turn you back from your religion (Islâmic Monotheism) if they can. And whosoever of you turns back from his religion and dies as a disbeliever, then his deeds will be lost in this life and in the Hereafter, and they will be the dwellers of the Fire. They will abide therein forever. Quran 2:217
10. Condemnation of lingering house guests
Muhammad's followers were at one point staying too long in and around his house and talking to his wives, to Muhammad's chagrin. Muhammad thus received a verse condemning this behavior on the part of his companions.
“O you who believe! Enter not the Prophet's houses, except when leave is given to you for a meal, (and then) not (so early as) to wait for its preparation. But when you are invited, enter, and when you have taken your meal, disperse, without sitting for a talk. Verily, such (behaviour) annoys the Prophet, and he is shy of (asking) you (to go), but Allah is not shy of (telling you) the truth. And when you ask (his wives) for anything you want, ask them from behind a screen, that is purer for your hearts and for their hearts. And it is not (right) for you that you should annoy Allah's Messenger, nor that you should ever marry his wives after him (his death). Verily! With Allah that shall be an enormity.” Quran 33:53
