I continue from where I left off https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2017/03/06/shabir-ally-proves-muhammad-was-a-terrorist-pt-1b/.
Recall Ally’s second criteria which he uses to determine whether a religious book’s teaching on war is just or not, namely, does the Book present its heroes and models as peaceful individuals? Ally employs this specific criterion to show how specific OT characters, which are associated with violence, are depicted within the Quran as being peaceful individuals, whose violent deeds are not recorded or are considerably toned down. Ally argues that this is evidence that the Quran’s message to Muslims is that they are to strive to live at peace with everyone, including the unbelievers, and should never harm or attack anyone simply because they do not believe in Islam.
We are now going to use Ally’s criterion to prove the exact opposite point by showing how Muhammad took a rather important biblical figure and reshaped his story in such a way as to mimic Muhammad’s view of unbelievers, in order to give the deceptive and misleading impression that all of God’s true prophets treated disbelievers in the exact same way that Muhammad did.
The Quranic Proof
And We verily gave knowledge unto David and Solomon, and they said: Praise be to Allah, Who hath preferred us above many of His believing slaves! And Solomon was David’s heir. And he said: O mankind! Lo! we have been taught the language of birds, and have been given (abundance) of all things. This surely is evident favour. And there were gathered together unto Solomon his armies of the jinn and humankind, and of the birds, and they were set in battle order; Till, when they reached the Valley of the Ants, an ant exclaimed: O ants! Enter your dwellings lest Solomon and his armies crush you, unperceiving. And (Solomon) smiled, laughing at her speech, and said: My Lord, arouse me to be thankful for Thy favour wherewith Thou hast favoured me and my parents, and to do good that shall be pleasing unto Thee, and include me in (the number of) Thy righteous slaves. And he sought among the birds and said: How is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent? I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. But he was not long in coming, and he said: I have found out (a thing) that thou apprehendest not, and I come unto thee from Sheba with sure tidings. Lo! I found a woman ruling over them, and she hath been given (abundance) of all things, and hers is a mighty throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah; and Satan maketh their works fairseeming unto them, and debarreth them from the way (of Truth), so that they go not aright; So that they worship not Allah, Who bringeth forth the hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knoweth what ye hide and what ye proclaim, Allah; there is no God save Him, the Lord of the Tremendous Throne. (Solomon) said: We shall see whether thou speakest truth or whether thou art of the liars. Go with this my letter and throw it down unto them; then turn away and see what (answer) they return, (The Queen of Sheba) said (when she received the letter): O chieftains! Lo! there hath been thrown unto me a noble letter. Lo! it is from Solomon, and lo! it is: In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful; Exalt not yourselves against me, but come unto me as those who surrender. She said: O chieftains! Pronounce for me in my case. I decide no case till ye are present with me. They said: We are lords of might and lords of great prowess, but it is for thee to command; so consider what thou wilt command. She said: Lo! kings, when they enter a township, ruin it and make the honour of its people shame (athillatan). Thus will they do. But lo! I am going to send a present unto them, and to see with what (answer) the messengers return. So when (the envoy) came unto Solomon, (the King) said: What! Would ye help me with wealth? But that which Allah hath given me is better than that which He hath given you. Nay it is ye (and not I) who exult in your gift. Return unto them. We verily shall come unto them with hosts that they cannot resist, and we shall drive them out from thence WITH SHAME, AND THEY WILL BE ABASED (athillatan wahum saghiroona). He said: O chiefs! Which of you will bring me her throne before they come unto me, surrendering? A stalwart of the jinn said: I will bring it thee before thou canst rise from thy place. Lo! I verily am strong and trusty for such work. One with whom was knowledge of the Scripture said: I will bring it thee before thy gaze returneth unto thee. And when he saw it set in his presence, (Solomon) said: This is of the bounty of my Lord, that He may try me whether I give thanks or am ungrateful. Whosoever giveth thanks he only giveth thanks for (the good of) his own soul; and whosoever is ungrateful (is ungrateful only to his own soul’s hurt). For lo! my Lord is Absolute in independence, Bountiful. He said: Disguise her throne for her that we may see whether she will go aright or be of those not rightly guided. So, when she came, it was said (unto her): Is thy throne like this? She said: (It is) as though it were the very one. And (Solomon said): We were given the knowledge before her and we had surrendered (to Allah). And (all) that she was wont to worship instead of Allah hindered her, for she came of disbelieving folk. It was said unto her: Enter the hall. And when she saw it she deemed it a pool and bared her legs. (Solomon) said: Lo! it is a hall, made smooth, of glass. She said: My Lord! Lo! I have wronged myself, and I surrender with Solomon unto Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. S. 27:15-44 Pickthall
The Analysis
This fairy tale provides several key insights into the mindset of Muhammad since it reveals that he had always intended to mount an offensive assault against anyone and everyone who believed in a religion other than Islam.
The first thing to notice is that the queen of Sheba is caught totally off guard when the hoopoe delivers and drops Solomon’s letter into her palace, showing that she hadn’t made any threats against Solomon and his people. Rather, she and her people were minding their own business when Solomon allegedly sent a letter threatening her that she and her people had to convert or suffer the consequences.
This is precisely what Muhammad did, namely, send threatening letters to various kings and peoples, telling them to surrender to Islam if they didn’t want to come under his wrath. Muhammad even started off his letters in the same way that he had Solomon begin the letter that he supposedly sent to the Queen of Sheba, namely, by writing “In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful”!
It has been narrated on the authority of Anas that the Prophet of Allah wrote to Chosroes (King of Persia), Caesar (Emperor of Rome), Negus (King of Abyssinia) and every (other) despot inviting them to Allah, the Exalted. And this Negus was not the one for whom the Messenger of Allah had said the funeral prayers. (Sahih Muslim, Book 019, Number 4382 http://searchtruth.com/book_display.php?book=019&translator=2&start=0&number=4382)
And:
The Prophet was commanded to convey Islam to all of mankind. Allaah said (interpretation of the meaning):
“And We have not sent you (O Muhammad) except as a giver of glad tidings and a warner to all mankind”
[Saba’ 34:28]
So the Messenger of Allaah did as he was commanded. He called his people and those who were around him first, and when Islam became established in Arabia, and the Arabs entered the religion of Allaah in crowds, he began to call others, and he sent his messengers and envoys to the kings and rulers.
Muslim (1774) narrated from Anas that the Prophet of Allaah wrote to Chosroes, Caesar, the Negus and to every tyrant, calling them to Allaah. This was not the Negus for whom the Prophet offered the funeral prayer.
Al-Haafiz said in al-Fath:
The Prophet wrote to the Negus who became Muslim and for whom he offered the funeral prayer when he died, then he wrote to the Negus who came to the throne after him and who was a kaafir.
The Prophet sent ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Hudhaafah to Chosroes; Dahyah to Caesar the king of Byzantium; Saleet ibn ‘Amr to Hawdhah ibn ‘Ali in al-Yamaamah; al-‘Ala’ ibn al-Hadrami to al-Mundhir ibn Saawa in Hajar; ‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas to Jayfar and ‘Abbaad, the two sons of al-Jalandi in ‘Ammaan; Shujaa’ ibn Wahb to Ibn Abu Shamir al-Ghassaani; and Haatib ibn Abi Balta’ah to al-Muqawqis. He wrote to the Negus and he became Muslim, and when he died, he wrote to the Negus who succeeded him and sent ‘Amr ibn Umayyah to him.
The Messenger of Allaah called them to Islam and to worship Allaah alone.
See Zaad al-Ma’aad by Ibn al-Qayyim (3/688-697), where he quotes the letters of the Prophet and the responses of those kings.
The text of the letter of the Messenger of Allaah to Heraclius the king of Byzantium was as follows:
“In the Name of Allaah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. From Muhammad the slave and Messenger of Allaah to Heraclius the ruler of Byzantium. Peace be upon those who follow true guidance. I call you with the call of Islam. Become Muslim and you will be safe, and Allaah will grant you a two-fold reward, but if you turn away, upon you will be the sins of the Areesiyyeen (peasants i.e., his followers and subjects who would follow him in kufr).
‘Say (O Muhammad): “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allaah (Alone), and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allaah. Then, if they turn away, say: “Bear witness that we are Muslims”’
[Aal ‘Imraan 3:64].”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 7; Muslim, 1773.
None of these kings believed except for the first Negus, the king of Abyssinia (Ethiopia), and the king of ‘Ammaan and his brother.
Heraclius would have become Muslim, were it not that he feared what his people would do to him. He was afraid that he would lose his kingdom. The same was true of the others, who preferred the life of this world to the Hereafter, so ultimately they were the losers.
It is narrated in al-Bukhaari and Muslim, in the hadeeth referred to above, that when Heraclius asked Abu Sufyaan about the attributes of the Prophet and the message to which he was calling people, he acknowledged that he was indeed the Messenger of Allaah. He said:
“If what you say is true, then he is a Prophet, and he will soon occupy the place beneath these two feet of mine. I knew that he would emerge, but I did not think that he would be from among you. If I knew that I could reach him definitely, I would have done my utmost to go to meet him, and if I were with him, I would wash his feet.”
This indicates that he knew that he would not be safe from being killed if he were to migrate to the Prophet. It was narrated that he said: “I know that (i.e., what they said about the Prophet) is correct, but I cannot do anything. If I do anything my kingdom will be lost and the Romans (Byzantines) will kill me.” And it was also narrated that he said: “By Allaah, I know that he is a Prophet who has been sent, but I fear the Byzantines and what they will do to me. Were it not for that, I would follow him.”
Ibn al-Qayyim mentions in Zaad al-Ma’aad (3/694) that when Heraclius heard news of the Negus becoming Muslim, he said: “By Allaah, were it not for the sake of holding on to my kingdom, I would have done what he has done.”
His fear for himself and his kingdom prevented him from becoming Muslim and migrating to the Prophet.
But if Heraclius had really understood the words of the Prophet in the letter that he sent to him: “Become Muslim and you will be safe,” and he had understood that in general terms as applying both to this world and the Hereafter, he would have been safe from all that he feared if he had become Muslim. But guidance is in the hand of Allaah. The Negus, the king of Abyssinia, became Muslim and remained in power.
See Fath al-Baari, commentary on hadeeth no. 7; Sharh Muslim by al-Nawawi, hadeeth no. 1773. (Islam Question and Answer, 36861: The letters of the Prophet to the kings https://islamqa.info/en/36861; bold emphasis ours)
The supposed reaction of Heraclius is similar to the queen of Sheba’s alleged response and therefore highlights the fact that, much like the latter’s reaction to Solomon’s threat, the Byzantine emperor was caught off guard by Muhammad’s letter.
All of this indicates that Heraclius and the other leaders to whom Muhammad wrote hadn’t done anything to provoke Muhammad to war. It was Muhammad who started the threats and hostilities with the unbelievers, not the other way around.
This is further confirmed by what Muhammad has Solomon saying in response to the queen’s reply to his threatening letter:
Go thou back unto them [that have sent thee]! For, [God says:] “We shall most certainly come upon them with forces which they will never be able to withstand, and shall most certainly cause them to be driven from that [land of theirs], despicable and humbled! (athilatan wahum saghiroona)!’” S. 27:37 Muhammad Asad
Solomon threatens to attack the queen and her people until they are driven from their land in humiliation in order to show how despicable they truly are.
Compare this with the way the following English versions of the Quran render this passage:
Go back to them, for We shall come to them with armies they can never resist. We shall expel them from it just like the meanest people, and they will be humiliated. T. B. Irving
Go back [and tell] them, that we will come to them with soldiers whom they will be unable to face, and We will expel them from their land in humiliation, and disgrace. Safi Kaskas
Go back to your people: we shall certainly come upon them with irresistible forces, and drive them, disgraced and humbled, from their land.’ Abdel Haleem
Return to them. We will come to them with troops they cannot face and we will expel them from it abased and humiliated. Aisha Bewley
“… Indeed, we will definitely drive them out there from humiliated, and they will be (utterly) belittled.” Muhammad Mahmoud Ghali
Go back to them, and we will bring to them forces they have no power to face, and we will certainly drive them out from there in humiliation while they are disgraced. Muhammad Taqi Usmani
Return to them, for we will surely come to them with soldiers that they will be powerless to encounter, and we will surely expel them therefrom in humiliation, and they will be debased. Sahih International
So go back to them (with your gifts). We shall come with such troops (to invade) them that they will not have (the power) to fight back, and, humiliating them, we shall drive them out from there in such a plight that they will be dishonoured (becoming prisoners).’ Dr. Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri
“… And we shall certainly cause them to be driven therefrom, humiliated and belittled!” Mohammad Shafi
(To the hoopoe, he said,) “Go back to them (and let them know that) we will come to them with forces they cannot imagine. We will evict them, humiliated and debased.” Khalifa
These translations help highlight what Muhammad was really thinking and what he really felt about the unbelievers.
In fact, what makes this verse all the more relevant in unveiling Muhammad’s view of the unbelievers, and what he was planning to do to them once he had the upper hand, is that the very word for humiliate, belittle etc., which appears here, namely saghiroona, is also found in Q. 9:29, which happens to be the very passage where Muhammad called for the humiliation and subjugation of Jews and Christians!
Here are a couple of translations of that particular text:
Fight those who neither believe in Allah nor the Last Day, who do not forbid what Allah and His Messenger have forbidden, and do not embrace the religion of the truth, being among those who have been given the Book (Bible and the Torah), until they pay tribute out of hand and have been humiliated (saghiroona). Hasan Al-Fatih Qaribullah
From those to whom the Knowledge (Book) has been given, fight those who do not believe in Allah and the life to come (beyond death), who do not consider unlawful what Allah and His Rasul have made forbidden, and who do not embrace the understanding of the Religion of Truth (the knowledge of the reality and sunnatullah) until they are humbled and give the jizyah (the cost of persisting on a false belief) willingly. Ahmed Hulusi
What makes this even more interesting is that this Arabic word saghir is employed in the context of Allah disgracing and humiliating Satan for disobeying his command:
(Allah) said: “(O Iblis) get down from this (Paradise), it is not for you to be arrogant here. Get out, for you are of those humiliated and disgraced (al-saghireena).” S. 7:13 Hilali-Khan
Hence, Muslims are to treat unbelieving Jews and Christians in the same way that Allah treats Satan!
Ally’s Dilemma
Thanks to Ally’s own criterion we have come to discover that Muhammad was indeed a violent man who had always intended to attack the unbelievers in order to force them to become Muslims or, in the case of the Jews and Christians, pay a sum of money as a sign that they had been subjugated/humiliated/abased/disgraced by Muhammad and his hordes. As one renowned Muslim scholar and commentator put it:
Paying Jizyah is a Sign of Kufr AND DISGRACE
Allah said…
<until they pay the Jizyah>, if they do not choose to embrace Islam…
<with willing submission>, in defeat and subservience…
<and feel themselves subdued.>, DISGRACED, HUMILIATED AND BELITTLED. Therefore, Muslims are not allowed to honor the people of Dhimmah or elevate them above Muslims, FOR THEY ARE MISERABLE, DISGRACED AND HUMILIATED. Muslim recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said…
<<Do not initiate the Salam to the Jews and Christians, and if you meet any of them in a road, FORCE THEM TO ITS NARROWEST ALLEY.>>
This is why the Leader of the faithful `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, demanded his well-known conditions be met by the Christians, THESE CONDITIONS THAT ENSURED THEIR CONTINUED HUMILIATION, DEGRADATION AND DISGRACE. The scholars of Hadith narrated from `Abdur-Rahman bin Ghanm Al-Ash`ari that he said, “I recorded for `Umar bin Al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him, the terms of the treaty of peace he conducted with the Christians of Ash-Sham:
‘In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. This is a document to the servant of Allah `Umar, the Leader of the faithful, from the Christians of such and such city. When you (Muslims) came to us we requested safety for ourselves, children, property and followers of our religion.
We made a condition on ourselves that we will neither erect in our areas a monastery, church, or a sanctuary for a monk, nor restore any place of worship that needs restoration nor use any of them for the purpose of enmity against Muslims.
We will not prevent any Muslim from resting in our churches whether they come by day or night, and we will open the doors [of our houses of worship] for the wayfarer and passerby.
Those Muslims who come as guests, will enjoy boarding and food for three days.
We will not allow a spy against Muslims into our churches and homes or hide deceit [or betrayal] against Muslims.
We will not teach our children the Qur’an, publicize practices of Shirk, invite anyone to Shirk or prevent any of our fellows from embracing Islam, if they choose to do so.
We will respect Muslims, MOVE FROM THE PLACES WE SIT IN IF THEY CHOOSE TO SIT IN THEM.
We will not imitate their clothing, caps, turbans, sandals, hairstyles, speech, nicknames and title names, or ride on saddles, hang swords on the shoulders, collect weapons of any kind or carry these weapons.
We will not encrypt our stamps in Arabic, or sell liquor.
We will have the front of our hair cut, wear our customary clothes wherever we are, wear belts around our waist, refrain from erecting crosses on the outside of our churches and demonstrating them and our books in public in Muslim fairways and markets.
We will not sound the bells in our churches, except discretely, or raise our voices while reciting our holy books inside our churches in the presence of Muslims, nor raise our voices [with prayer] at our funerals, or light torches in funeral processions in the fairways of Muslims, or their markets.
We will not bury our dead next to Muslim dead, or buy servants who were captured by Muslims. We will be guides for Muslims and refrain from breaching their privacy in their homes.’
When I gave this document to `Umar, he added to it, `We will not beat any Muslim. These are the conditions that we set against ourselves and followers of our religion IN RETURN FOR SAFETY AND PROTECTION. If we break any of these promises that we set for your benefit against ourselves, then our Dhimmah (promise of protection) is broken and you are allowed to do with us what you are allowed of people of defiance and rebellion.’” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Q. 9:29 http://www.qtafsir.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2566&Itemid=64; capital and underline emphasis ours)
This is why Muhammad deliberately reshaped Solomon’s character to resemble his own, recasting this true prophet and anointed Israelite king to mimic Muhammad’s own attitude and treatment of unbelievers. Muhammad obviously did this in order to convince his followers that this has always been the way that God’s true emissaries have dealt with the disbelievers.
Yet in painting Solomon in this manner, Muhammad revealed his true attitude and desires, exposing the fact that right from the very beginning his intention had been to attack the unbelievers until he had total control over them so he could then impose his will upon them.
Therefore, if Ally is going to be consistent and honest he has no choice but to accept the fact that per his own criterion, Muhammad was an evil tyrant whose desire had always been to violently subjugate the unbelievers since he could not tolerate the fact of people following a religion other than his own.
Thus, instead of vindicating Muhammad Ally’s methodology actually condemns him as an unjust and wicked impostor whose idea of peace meant that everyone either had to become Muslim or come under his total control and dominance. In Muhammad’s mind, this was the only way that true peace could be obtained and become a reality.
We therefore want to personally thank Ally for arbitrarily coming up with a criterion that ended up helping us expose his false prophet for being the evil, vile human being that he truly was. We truly appreciate Ally’s assistance in strengthening our case against his prophet, and do hope he continues his indirect jihad against Muhammad since we will be right here waiting for him to come with more arguments for us to use against his false prophet.
Related Articles
Muhammad – I am all the Prophets http://www.answeringislam.net/Quran/Sources/allprophets.html
Is Islam a Religion of Peace? http://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/na_debate.htm
Muhammad and the Meccans: Who Antagonized Whom? http://answeringislam.net/Shamoun/antagonizing.htm
Muhammad the Antagonist Still! http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/mo_antagonizer.html
Banu Qurayza – A Tribe Betrayed http://answeringislam.net/Responses/Osama/zawadi_banu_qurayza.htm
Reexamining Muhammad’s Treachery Against the Banu Qurayza http://answeringislam.net/authors/shamoun/rebuttals/zawadi/mo_qurayza.html
The Prophet of Terror and Mayhem Pt. 1 https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/27/the-prophet-of-terror-and-mayhem-pt-1/, Pt. 2 https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/the-prophet-of-terror-and-mayhem-pt-2/, Pt. 3 https://answeringislamblog.wordpress.com/2016/12/28/the-prophet-of-terror-and-mayhem-pt-3/
IHS