Islam and
Intercession
Islam and Intercession
by Anwar Shaikh
SHAFI-E-MAHSHAR
Man is afraid of death and the Unknown. This human fear has been
exploited by those who project themselves prophets and messiahs to
be remembered, followed and worshipped by ordinary mortals, who
are willing to do so for the promise of paradise i.e. a happy
eternal life.
The Muslims believe that the Prophet Muhammad has binding
intercessionary powers which he will use to force Allah to let his
followers go into paradise because it matters not that a Muslim is
a rapist, a murderer, a thief or a traitor. The Prophet will
intercede on his behalf on the Day of Judgement to save him from
hell and guarantee him a seat in paradise which is a place of
sexual and economic luxury. This is why the Muslims call the
Prophet Muhammad "Shafi-E-Mahshar," the one who will
intercede for them on the Day of Judgement. Without doubt, this is
the greatest attraction to become a Muslim. It is for this reason
that the Muslims of India, Pakistan and Bangladesh have accepted
the mental yoke of the Arabian superiority and prefer Mecca to
Delhi, Karachi and Dacca. By doing so, they are determined to
prove their love for the Prophet because without such a proof he
will not intercede for them.
Intercession means recommendation or wire-pulling. Its usual
purpose is to pervert the course of justice. If Allan is really
God, He must do justice and punish the rapists, the murderers, the
usurpers. I need hardly say what we think of a judge who is
persuaded by recommendation and does not do justice. Such an Allah
cannot quality as the true God.
Anwar Shaikh discusses this issue under the heading of "Islam
And Intercession."
ISLAM and INTERCESSION
Intercession is the product of man's instinctive fear which
requires alleviation through mercy, munificence and mellowness of
the Supreme Being, who controls the universal phenomenon. It is
believed that He listens to prayer only, but not to evervone's
supplication. Since He has "beloveds," He readily pays
attention to their orison and grants them wishes, no matter, how
heinous, hazardous and horrendous they may be. These
"beloveds" are usually the men who suffer from theomania
i.e. the illusion that they are God and want to be acknowledged as
such; they usually call themselves Messengers or Vicars of God,
who are so dearly loved by Him that He cannot refuse them any
wish. Thus, these messengers and messiahs claim to possess
intercessory powers. Therefore, intercession means salvation
through a divine intermediary.
Life has been prone to be clanish right from the beginning of
civilisation; the unity or a clan was a stronger remedy against
the unforseen hazards than the strength of an individual. However,
clanish solidarity required a strong element of mutual
well-wishing. Respect for the departed kins was held a symbol of
tribal reverence and provided a bond of mutual affection. While
the living members of the clan could help each other through
deeds, welfare of the dead required praying to ease their lives in
the next world. This is what bestowed priestly powers on the
tribal chief whose prayers amounted to intercession, because he
was considered to have influence with God. The concept of
intercession was not confined to the primitive cultures; its
advanced form was symbolised by the ruler-priests of Babylon and
Assyria. They recommended the departed souls to the mercy of God
and, in certain cases, could forgive them themselves through their
own intercessory powers, which tle Almighty had bestowed upon them
out of love. An expression or this fact is found when Christ cries
from the Cross: "Father forgive them for they know not what
they do." (St. Luke 23: 34)
These words of Christ serve as the fountain of intercession for
the Christians, who invented the lore of intercession to abolish
the mosaic Law, which was binding on them:
"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by
JeSus Christ.'' (St. John 1: 17 )
To make intercession a credible doctrine the Church dignitaries
had to raise the divine dignity of Jesus Christ sky- high:
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved." (St.
John 3: 17)
Thus Jesus is depicted as the Saviour of the world whose only
purpose of life was to save the world:
"For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten
Son that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have
everlasting life." (St .John 3:16)
With a view to bestowing further divine honour on Christ,
crucifixion, is equated with salvation: ".... Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (St. John
1:29)
What a mythology it is! To secure followers, a man's death is
treated as the fountain of redemption. The mere act of believing
in, Christ guarantees his intercession leading to salvation. In
fact, intercession is the gross contempt of law and morality; it
renders practice, piety and perseverance totally irrelevant for
sccuring salvation. See for yourself:
1. Christians are not under the law but grace. (Romans 6:14)
2. If you confess Jesus to be your Lord, you shall be saved.
(Romans 10: 9)
3. Grace to be grace has got to be irrelevant to works. (Romans
11:6)
4. The life of a just Christian is based on faith. (Gal: 3: 11)
5. Law is a curse, and Christ has liberated us from it. (Gal: 3:
11)
6. Law is not for the righteous but the wicked. (1 Timothy 1: 9
-10)
The whole purpose of preferring faith to morality and law is, that
people should salute, supplicate and serve Christ and his
lieutenants such as popes, cardinals, bishops and clergies, who
used their intercessory powers as a tool to fool and snool the
Christendom for centuries. Intercession is the major cause of sin,
crime and destruction in this world.
Though Christianity has lost its magic, and the authority of moral
conscience is accelerating its tempo, Islamic doctrine of
intercession is becoming more tenacious with the growing tyranny,
twisting and tantalisation in Islamdom. The reason for this
detailed introduction with reference to Christianity is, that
Islam has incorporated all the fundamental teachings of the Bible
including its concept of intercession. The Christians believe that
on the Day of Resurrection, only they will go to heaven and the
rest will be thrown into hell. (Rev. 20: 15). Islamic concept is
apparently loftier than the Christian notion because it treats the
Day of Resurrection as the Day of Judgement, which means that
people will be actually judged for salvation on their merits. This
is the most beautiful hoax. Why? I shall answer this question in
detail because the principle of the Prophetic Intercession has
become the major cause of moral decline in the Islamic world
leading to what is dreadful, destructive and the least desirable.
Hope has the same significance to humankind what steam has to a
locomotive engine, rain to crops and light to eyes. Life without
hope is tasteless, twisted and torturous. The concept of
Resurrection raises one's hope of everlasting life. Equating
Resurrectlon with the Day of Judgement when people will be
rewarded or punished according to the quality of their deeds,
makes morality the foundation of humanity, thus exalting the human
status. Possibly, the greatest aspect of the day of Judgement is
the hope of compensation leading to the fulfilment of thwarted
desires and the completion of rewards which one could not achieve
owing to the usurpative actions of others. This is the Day when
everybody will receive justice denied him in the world through
folly, fickleness and felony.
It is not Judaism but Zoroasterianism which is the spring of the
Day of Resurrection or Judgement. Zoroaster, who died about 551
B.C. was nearly a contemporary of Lord Buddha of India. He was a
priest; he claimed to have received a vision from Ahura Mazda, the
wise Lord, who appointed him to convey the Divine message to the
people. In the eastern traditions, he was thus a Messenger of God.
Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, according to the Gathas, the
early hymns, mostly written by himself, created an eschatology
which emphasises the notion of life-after- death. He asserted that
the earthly existence had a direct hearing on the life-to-come,
when people would be assembled before the Wise Lord (God) who
would judge them according to their deeds including speech and
thoughts. After judgement, the good will go to paradise, the place
of eternal delight, and the bad will be imprisoned in hell, the
region of horrors and darkness. Zoroaster, the Iranian Prophet
emphasised the significance of the Bridge of the Requiter (Cinvat)
which the soul of every man must negotiate. The righteous, being
invigorated by their virtues, would walk into paradise whereas the
wicked, being weakened by their vices, would fall into hell
beneath them. This idea known to Islam as Pul-Saraat, was
incorporated by the Prophet Muhammad in his teachings.
At this juncture, it is interesting to know the Vedic influence on
the doctrine of Judgement in terms of heaven and hell. Both these
notions were developed in India. The Indian Swarg came to be known
as the Middle Eastern paradise and Narg was named as hell. Of
course, the Hindus do not believe in resurrection but Karman, the
action, which is responsible for man's eventual release or Mukti,
though righteousness, according to its magnitude, may lead to a
stay in paradise proportionately, and wickedness guarantees a
sojourn in hell on the same basis. One should bear in mind that
the major vedic gods such as Mitra, Varuna, Indra and the two
Nastyas form an integral part of Avesta, the Zoroasterian
Scripture. However, with a view to establishing his own
distinction, Zoroaster depicted Indra, the chief Indian god, and
Nanhaithya, as demons. The latest scholarly studies have confirmed
the Zoroasterian influence on the development of Judaism and
Christianity including Pythagorianism and Chaldean doctrines of
Babylon. These are well-researched facts whose veracity is further
attested by the close kinship of the Iranian language with that of
Northern India, which shows how the Iranians emigrated from India
along with their Vedic cultural inheritance.
The Jews took the idea of Resurrection from Zoroaster, and is
explained by the Jewish observance known as Rosh Hashana marked by
the sounding of the ram's horn (Shofar) at the synagogue service.
The horn-blast is held to acclaim God as Ruler of the universe. It
is customary for most Jews to engage in penitential prayers at a
river to perform the Tashlikh ("Thou will cast")
ceremony symbolises the casting of sins into the river. This
reminds one of the old Hindu custom of cleansing one's sins with
the holy water of the Ganges.
Islam borrowed the doctrine of Resurrection or the day of
Judgement from the Bible. To start with, it is a righteous and
reformative idea because it depicts Islam as the champion of
justice. Thus, it gives people the hope of Deffered Fulfilment,
that is, all those genuine desires which should have been
accomplished in this life but failed to materialise owing to
injustice, poverty, ignorance or incapacity, would be granted to
the good through a fair and honest process of judgement by the
Almighty. All decisions are to be based on justice, and not
intercession; people shall be able to gather the fruit of what
they have cultivated.
Now, let us have a look al the Islamic view of justice:
"Lo! Allah loveth the equitable." (Private Apartments:
9)
Since Allah, the Islamic God, loves the just, He himself is the
model of justice, and no matter who may a person be, including
Muhammad, Allah shall not deviate from the course of justice. This
is the reason that the Prophet states categorically as per command
or Allah:
"Say, lo! none can protect me from Allah, nor can I find
reruge beside Him (Allah)." (The Jinn: 22)
It is quite evident if Allah is not prepared to spare Muhammad in
the field of justice, he will not listen to intercession in
respect of anyone else. Again, intercession is a form of gross
deviation; it is the major source of injustice, the biggest crime,
because it persuades Allah, the greatest judge, to bend the rules
of fairness at the request of a saint or prophet. It is sheer
wickedness and gross mockery of the concept of justice. Again, how
a righteous person known as prophet can even think of persuading
God to do what is unjust, and hence vicious and sinful. This is
the way of crooks, criminals and conmen. How such a God, who is
Himself bent, can expect people to be straight? Exactly, the same
remarks apply to a prophet or a saint. What will you call a
barrister who perverts the course of justice owing to his personal
relationship with the guilty client, and the judge who approves of
it knowingly? Therefore, intercession is the doctrine, devised to
insult both the Prophet and God. This is especially true when
rapists, murderers, thieves, cheats, robbers, thugs, traitors,
etc., shall be rewarded with paradise just as a result of
intercession. These are the people who deserve hell. If not, then
the entire idea of God, prophets, saints, piety, righteousness,
justice, etc., turn out to be a sheer hoax, and must be condemned,
because it mocks human dignity.
May be, to uphold the Divine dignity, the Koran states right in
the beginning:
"(Allah is the) Master of the Day of Judgement." (The
Opening: 3)
Thus, the Day or Resurrection turns out to be the Day of Judgement,
whose only purpose is dispensation of justice by God absolutely
independently. If He listens to intercession, He ceases to be the
Master of the Day of Judgement. The Koran confirms this point of
view:
"Ask pardon for them, or ask not pardon for them; If you ask
pardon for them seventy times, God will not pardon them."
(Repentance: 80)
To the Koranic God, intercession on the Day of Judgement, seems an
irrelevance:
"Do you know what is the Day of Judgement? That is the day
when no one shall be able to benefit else; the command shall
belong unto God." (The Splitting: 15)
So far the Koran conforms to the most desirable standard of
justice, which according to the international juristic doctrine,
is neutral. It means that no verdict is just or lawful unless the
judge decides on the merit of the case without fear or favour.
This is the notion which has caused the separation and
independence of judiciary from the executive and legislature
throughout the civilised world. Hence, the principle that unless
justice is neutral, it is not natural. To qualify as natural
justice, it has got to be free from all elements of corruption
such as fear, favour, bias, recommendation, bribe and unfairness.
Islam appears to be aware of this standard of justice and thus
bases salvation on evidence and refuses to acknowledge the concept
of intercession (Shafaat) in judgement. Therefore, the Koran
declares that everything a person does, is recorded:
"He (Allah) sends recorders over you (people) till,
any one of you is visited
by death, our messengers take him
and they neglect not ... His (Allah)
is the judgement; He is the
fastest of " Censors." (Cattle: 60)
It is on the strength of these verses, the Muslims believe that
everyone of them is constantly attended by two angels until death,
for recording their deeds. They are, therefore, called
"recorders."
To provide a system of evidence, the Koran goes further:
"Surely, it is We (Allah) who bring the dead to life
and write down what they have forwarded
and what they have left behind, everything
We have numbered in a clear register."
(Ya Sin: 10)
It means that Allah has a Record Office where a register of deeds
is maintained in respect of each person. This fact is further
confirmed:
"With Us (Allah) is a book recording." (QAF: 1)
The Koran repeatedly states that nobody is wronged by Allah, and
this principle shall be strictly observed on the Day of Judgement.
So that nobody can complain of injustice and wrong-doing by Allah,
everybody shall be presented with his/her book of record and told:
" Read thy book. "
(The Night Journey: 10-15 170 also Resurrection: 10)
So far the Koran seems to be the Champion of Justice by strictly
sticking to the ideal of testimony. It goes so far as to state
that on the Day of Judgement, a person's own limbs such as tongue,
hands, feet, will give evidence about him! (Light: 10 and
Distinguished: 15)
The Islamic doctrine of justice, so far, appears to be perfect for
totally rejecting the concept of intercession, which denotes undue
influence of a prophet or messiah on God to pervert the course of
justice. Take for instance the Muslims who believe that the
Prophet Muhammad's intercession shall guarantee them entry into
paradise because:
a. He is the mercy (blessing) for all beings, and b. being God's
beloved, the Almighty himself cannot turn down his intercession.
These are very naive assumptions because they slander both Allah
and the Prophet. How? It is because Resurrection is the Day of
Judgement, when justice shall be dispensed according to one's
deeds. It is not the day of showing mercy. Again, wilful mercy to
the cheats, thugs, murderers, robbers, rapists, molesters,
tyrants, thieves, etc., is a sign of further cruelty to their
countless victims, who desperately need the justice that they
failed to secure in former life. Not only such an unjust Allah
becomes the target of human condemnation, the Prophet himself
loses the appellation of "Mercy for all beings." Why?
Because through his intercession wrong-doers are to be set free,
their casualties are going to feel even more torne, tortured and
tantalised. If the Prophet is really the Divine Ambassaor of
Mercy, then he cannot and must not intercede; his intercession
becomes the source of pleasure to the few and fountain of
persecution for the countless who have been waiting for justice so
long, and believe in the Day of Judgement for this reason only.
This is why the Koran repeatedly rejects the theory of
intercession. In fairness, I should further quote from the Koran:
Having stated the principle of no-intercession in The Cow: 48, 123
and 254, it is stated in 281:
"Then every soul will be paid in full that which it earned,
and they will not be wronged."
However, in the Cow: 284, it is asserted:
"He will forgive whom He will and He will punish whom He
will. Allah is able to do all things."
It is obvious that both punishing and rewarding are the
prerogatives of Allah, and intercession has nothing to do with it.
However, Allah cannot exercise this prerogative unjustly because
He is committed not to wrong anyone. If His act of pardoning or
punishing is proved to be perverse, then He eases to be Allah for
being puerile, petty-minded and a persecutor.
One should also remember the Divine rule:
"Allah loveth not wrongdoers." (The Family of Imran: 57)
It is obvious that if Allah rewards the wrongdoers with the
greatest blessing known as paradise just on the Prophetic
intercession, then what more can He offer to the good?
Intercession is certainly an insult to piety and God-fearing. In
fact, Allah blurtly rejects the idea of intercession:
"It is no concern at all of thee (Muhammad) whether
He pardon them or punish them; for they are evil-doers."
(The Family of Imran: 128)
The Koranic Order claims to be based on justice:
"Say: My Lord enjoineth justice." (The Heights: 29)
and it is in addition to asserting that Allah is the greatest of
all judges in "The Fig" 8.
Intercession is another name for manipulation and wire- pulling.
The judge who succumbs to temptation through fear or favour is
exactly the opposite of the dispenser of justice.
There is still a lot more evidence available in the Koran to this
effect but I think, I have sufficiently argued my case. In fact, I
may have overdone it owing to the delicacy and significance of
this issue. It is delicate because the Muslims are likely to find
it offensive that the doctrine of intercession is injurious to the
dignity of judicial doctrine as well as to the holiness of Allah
who claims to be the greatest of all judges, including the
righteousness of the Prophet who asserts to be the ambassador of
virtue. Of much greater importance than delicacy, is the
significance of this issue to the Muslims all over the world. Why?
The Muslim nations are (psychologically) conditioned to the name
of the Prophet Muhammad through a persistent preaching of
centuries. He has been projected as the Saviour, whose
intercessory powers are too great to be ignored by Allah.
Therefore, once the Prophet has told Allah tnat an evil-doer must
be pardoned, He has no choice in the matter. Further, his
followers believe that the Prophet is the greatest object of love.
If a person has ment oned the name of Muhammad affectionately even
once in his/her life-time, he will intercede for him/her to secure
him/her a place in the paradise.
This conditioning to the name of Muhammad; has reached fantastic
proportions in the world of Islam for the following reasons:
a. Though there is an exception to every rule, generally speaking,
all Muslim countries are members of the Third World which is
infested with poverty, disease, injustice and ignorance. People's
honour and legitimate aims seldom reach the point of realisation;
their individual desires bleed with frustration; justice is
something to be talked about and not to be practiced; simply to
get-by, people have to forge and lie; the bigger the liar, the
cleverer he is thaught of; thieving and backbiting are considered
as hobbies; the meaning of sincerity and honesty are becoming
harder to understand. Nothing can be achieved without resorting to
bribing and sycophancy. People still live under feudal conditions
which are the characteristic of the Islamic System, though against
all evidence, they are told that the Koran is an ardent advocate
of democracy and human rights. To be able to earn a loaf of bread,
is a sign of good luck, and finding medicine for the ailing loved
ones is a miracle.
Against these most painful social conditions, one must think of
human desire for pleasure. It is natural for a person living in
hell (which the present social conditions imply) dream of heaven.
Since the Prophet being the saviour, is the guarantor of paradise,
the place of the highest pleasures, his followers find him the
most praiseworthy, adorable and holy. As he is the sole medium of
realising their frustrated desires in the world-to-come, they will
do anything in his name without any reference to morality. Why
worry about the demands of ethics when the conveniences of
immomlily can guarantee salvation through the sheer force of
faith?
b. Secondly, the Muslim priest and politician, find the Muhammadan
conditioning of greatest financial and political advantage. They
know that the force of faith has paralysed people's faculties of
reasoning, and thus it is easy and convenient to exploit them in
the name of Muhammad. This method of exploitation has become so
effective that the Islamic doctrines are habitually
misinterpreted. This is the reason for political and social unrest
and revolutions in most Islamic countries.
Exploiting the name of Muhammad in different ways has become the
business doctrine. Take journalists, for instance; they are
usually aethists or unbelievers, yet they fill up their journals
and newspapers with quotations from the Koran and hadith, and
highly exaggerated narratives extolling the virtues of Muhammad;
they know full well that their papers would end up in the
lavatories, yet they do it for their gain, which is usually
against the national and religious interests. What a hypocrisy it
is!
The Koranic attitude towards judgement has been adorable so far,
but now I regret to add that like all Scriptures, the Koran is an
aggregate of contradictory principles. Having advocated the
doctrine of no-intercession emphatically, it suddenly preaches the
precept of intercession:
"There is no intercessor except with His (Allah's) permission
... " (Jonah: 3)
This rule is again repeated:
"On that Day no intercession availeth except (that of) him
unto whom the Beneficient hath given leave and whose He accepteth."
(TA HA: 109)
Now the Prophet declares: "I will be the first intercessor
and the first person whose intercession will be accepted (by
Allah)" (Sahih Muslim: Vol. 4: 5655)
To express the enormity involved in the collapse of
No-Intercession doctrine, I may point out certain facts:
An authoritative hadith says: "I (Muhammad) sought permission
(of Allah) to beg forgiveness for my mother, but He did not grant
it to me ... " (Sahih Muslim Vol:11: 2129)
When the Prophet was asked if his prayer for his uncle Abu Talib,
who defended him valiantly, had benefited him (the uncle) in any
way, the Prophet said: "Yes; he would be in the most shallow
part of the Fire (Hell): and if it were not for me, he would have
been in the lowest (deepest) part of Hell." (Sahih Muslim
Vol. 1: 408)
If the Prophet cannot save his own mother and the fatherly- uncle,
especially when they both were of good character, how will he
guarantee paradise to the countless murderers, rapists, robbers,
cheats and liars?
The truth is that the previous utterances of the Prophet show that
he was conscious of the concept of justice, and thought of
intercession as a device of deviation leading to vice, virulence
and venality. Here is a hadith to demonstrate it:
The Makhzumia lady committed theft which involved the Koranic
punishment of cutting hands. When Usama pleaded with the Prophet,
he said: "Do you intercede (with me) to violate one of the
legal punishments of Allah?" Then he got up and addressed the
people, saying, "O People! the nations before you went astray
because if a noble person committed theft, they used to leave him
but if a weak person among them committed theft, they used to
inflict the legal punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatima, the
daughter of Muhammad committed theft, Muhammad will cut off her
hand." (Bukhari Vol. 8: 7&2(1))
Muhammad was human. If he had sufficient courage to rebuff the
interceder, God, who is considered the creator of this infinite
universe, must be bold enough to show contempt for intercession to
maintain the dignity of justice. Again, no human can command God
to be unfair; this is exactly what intercession is. Mortals are
afraid for their own salvation, and beg God to forgive them. How
dare they intercede for others? Being a mortal, Muhammad is no
exception: this fact is confirmed by the Prophet's death.
Aisha reported: "Allah's Messenger at the time of breathing
his last was reclining against her chest and she was leaning over
him and listening to him as he was saying: O Allah, grant me
pardon, show mercy to me, enjoin me to companions." (Sahih
Muslim Vol. 4: 5986)
It is obvious that a person who himself needs mercy and begs for
it, is in no position to intercede for others.
Yet the truth is, that the Prophet eventually claimed to have
intercessory powers. Why did he do so? The answer to this puzzle
can be painful, punitive and petrifying. Yet someone has to take
this risk in the interest of human dignity and its spiritual
survival. I believe in a philosophy which briefly stated means:
Man is God and God is man; spiritual evolution from humanity to
divinity is attainable through moral conscience and philanthropy
only. Since the corcept of intercession is opposed to it, I am
inclined to explain it briefly:
Some people suffer from dominance-urge which prompts them to rule
their fellowmen by hook or by crook. In some, this urge is so
great that they want to be adored as God long after they are dead
and buried. To achieve this end, the Semitic device: Revelation,
known as prophethood, is very fruitful indeed, because it enables
a person to attain Godly prestige without claiming himself to be
God. This contrivance is effective because the prophet claims that
he has no personal axe to grind in the matter. In fact, he
expresses his humility by declaring himself to be the servant of
God and stresses that he is acting as God's vicar under God's
command, and has no personal wish to do so. Whereas the truth is
that he quietly attains all God's traits, and then a stage is
reached when he begins to dominate God Himself. Look at the
following facts and decide for yourself:
1. God has ninety-nine holy names, and so has Muhammad.
2. Just belief in Allah does not make a person Muslim; he must
believe in Muhammad as well.
3. Allah and Muhammad command together, and a Muslim must obey
them jointly.
4. God's law is what Muhammad says it is. The doctrine of
intercession is an example in point.
5. Allah is nearer to man than his jugular vein and the Prophet is
nearer to the faithful than their selves.
6. Allah does what suits Muhammad and acts as his factotum. For
example, a Muslim can have four wives at a time but Allah broke
this law and authorised Muhammad to have nine wives
simultaneously. There are many other instances which I have
narrated in my book, "Islam, the Arab National
Movement."
7. According to the Koran, Prophet is a mortal and hence subject
to all human conditions:
a. "You art mortal; and they are mortal; then on the Day of
Resurrection before your Lord you shall dispute." (The
Companies: 475)
It means that the Prophet is a human like all other people and
shdll be resurrectecd accordingly. This is true because the
Prophet is also buried in his grave.
b. Not only that, he is subject to God's punishment like all other
mortals:
"Set not up with God
another God, or you (Muhammad)
will be cast into Gehenna (Hell), reproached
and condemned."
(The Night Journey: 40)
For thirteen long years the Prophet preached to secure followers
and after a good deal of trouble, he was able to convert some
seventy people. This was not enough. A prophet is the person who
wants the maximum possible number of followers to be adored as if
he were God:
"I hope that I will have the greatest following on the Day of
Resurrection." (Muslim Vol. 1: 283)
It is for this reason that the Prophet abolished all other
religions including Judaism and Christianity. Thus "People of
the Book" have no substance, and serve just as a convenience.
See for yourself:
"... he who amongst the community of Jews or
Christians hears about me, but does not affirm his
belief in that with which I have been sent (i.e.
Koran) and dies in this state (i.e. as non-Muslim),
he shall be but one of the denizens of Hell-Fire."
(Muslim, Vol. 1: 284)
Now, one can see the significance of believing in Muhammad the
mortal; this is the only way that he can be treated as God. In
fact, a prophet is in competition with God, and wants to be
acknowledged as His superior in practice, but keeps glorifying Him
apparently. Observe the following:
"Those who believe, they love Allah more than anything
else." (Baqara, 2: 165)
The faithful are invited to treat Allah as the sole object of
love, but why? Herein lies the answer:
"Say, if you do love Allah, follow me, (Muhammad) Allah will
love you and forgive you your sins.." (Al-Imran, 3: 31)
As nobody can contact Allah, the Prophet becomes a substitute for
Him, and people begin to show him the same reverence as if the
Prophet possesses some supernatural prerogatives. This is the
reason that the Prophet declared that he had the intercessory
powers. Though it was against what he had preached for seventeen
years, by now he had established himself the ruler of Arabia. It
was certainly a at achievement and resulted from his magnetic
personality ebullient with greatness. It was sufficient to
convince the Arabs, who had touched the political and social nadar,
that the Prophet did possess intercessary powers, and nobody was
fussy enough to criticise his previous claims. One should remember
that success came to the Prophet during the last ten years of his
life when he was settled at Medina; Islam gripped Arabia even
later, that is, diuring the last five years.
Now, we can see why love for Muhammad becomes even more important
than love for Allah:
"No person attains faith, till I am dearer to him than the
persons of his household, his wealth and the whole of
mankind." (Muslim, Vol. 1:70)
Gradually, the Prophet exalts himself over Allah Himself:
"God and His angels pray peace to the Prophet, O believers,
do you also bless him, and pray him peace." (The
Confederates: 55)
Formal blessing and praying peace are the ritualistic forms of
worshipping. This fact can be seen in the prayers of the Muslims
all over the world. They actually worship Muhammad but apparently
bow before Allah.
After the Prophet has established himself as the object of
devotion of Allah, the angels and the Muslims, it is quite easy
for him to declare:
"Truly this is the word of a noble Messenger having power,
with the Lord of the Throne secure, obeyed, moreover trusty."
( he Darkening: 15 - 20)
These verses constitute the foundation of the Islamic belief that
the Prophet will share the Throne of Justice with Allah on the Day
of Judgement. He will sit on the right-hand side and his
intercession will be binding on Allah. As a result, all Muslim
rapists, thugs, murderers and thieves will go into paradise and
all non-Muslims, no matter how pious, will be thrown into hell for
not believing in Muhammad.
Has ever anybody reflected that the Prophet is buried in his grave
like everybody else? How will he intercede for others?
"And (on the Day of Judgement) the Trumpet is blown and lo!
from the graves they hurry unto their Lord." (Ya Sin, 51)
Even if one believes in the myth of the Day of Resurrection, it is
logical to think that the Prophet being human, will be subject to
the same physical conditions as other people because in this world
he was born and brought up like all other humans; he felt thirsty
and hungry; he became ill and needed medication; he had wives and
required sex; he died and was buried as other mortals. Being
rational, we cannot assess him by faith only; humanity demands
that his status is judged by reason.
The Prophet gave himself intercecsory powers to look even superior
to Allah: first, he claims that both Allah and angels worship him
and demands of his followers to do the same, and then he claims to
share the Throne of Justice with Allah who wants him to intercede
with Him and whose intercession He will accept readily. What God
is so bent that He will punish the righteous if they are
non-Muslims, but He will pardon the miscreants if they are Muslim.
Obviously, it is Muhammad who decides and Allah is just his
puppet. What a low dignity Allah commands in relation to Muhammad!
This viewpoint which is certainly the core of the Islamic faith;
raises a very serious point; it proves my contention that
Revelation (Wahi, Nabbuwat, Risaalat) is a Semitic device which
enables a person to be treated as God but indirectly. Having
discussed it in my books "Eternity" and "Islam, the
Arab National Movement," I shall not go into details here.
Speaking frankly, Islam is not the antagonist of Shirk but its
protagonist, though it claims to be founded on monotheism, that
is, Oneness of God (Wahdat):
"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His servant and
Messenger."
This is called Shahada, and is said to be the fundamental doctrine
of Islam. It may be a good theory but the practice, as I have
stated, is exactly the opposite. Muhammad is not the servant but
the Master. This is the real purpose of Revelation. Christ was a
prophet but he ended up as God. The same is true about Muhammad.
In the Koranic language, equating someone with Allah or showing
him the reverence which is due to Allah, is considered as shirk,
which is unforgivable, though every other sin may be remitted:
"Verily! Allah forgives not that a partner should be ascribed
unto Him. He forgives all other sins to whom He wishes, and
whoever ascribes partners to Allah has indeed invented a
tremendous sin." (Women, 4: 48)
"If you ascribe partners to Allah, all your deeds will be
fruitless, and definitely you will be one of the losers." (Az-Zumar,
39: 65)
The truth is that a person is his own saviour through piety of
action and service to fellowmen. I have discussed this doctrine in
my book, "Eternity."
Finally, I should ask the faithful to show respect for the Koran
by arguing their case in the Koranic way:
"Bring your proof if you are truthful." (The Cow: 111)
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