A Rejoinder with Proofs

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 19 May 2022 Bashar Ke Zehan Pe Qarnon Se Jo Musallat Hain/Badal Raha Hoon Gumaanon Mein Un Yaqeenon Ko -Shabbir Hasan Khan 'Josh' Malihabadi (I’m turning the so-called truths into doubts that have clouded the human minds for ages). I usually refrain from replying, let alone hitting back, lest the decorum of a debate or a discourse should degenerate into a state of outright mud-slinging and shambles. But, I felt constrained to reply to Mr Naseer Ahmed's long drivel that amounts to zilch and smacks more of a personal attack. At the outset, let me make it clear that my rejoinder ain't a personal attack. It's an educated man's courteous reply to a gentleman who cannot see beyond his religion and its scriptures, whom he considers as oracular, nay Gospel, truths. Well, I don't resort to translations of Quran. I know enough Arabic to write articles in this Semitic tongue. That's why, I can dare say that Quran is NOT a monoglot screed. I'm sure, Mr Naseer Ahmed doesn't know Arabic like a native speaker and writer. So, I suggest that he must read Christoph Luxenburg's ' The Syriac-Aramaic Version of the Quran.' A serious reader or researcher can comprehend once it's conceded that many of Quranic words are Syriac-Aramaic rather than Arabic. The quintessential example being: The rewards of a “martyr" in paradise: when rendered and redacted, the heavenly offering consists of sweet white raisins rather than virgins! Now tell me, isn't a classic Catch-22 situation for a (devout) Muslim? If he argues that no, it's virgin, then is Allah so frivolous as to tempt you like a human with something so fleshy and carnal and if it's indeed 'sweet white raisins', what's so great about it? --------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Let's Scrutinise Certain 'Facts' In the Al-Furqan --------------------------------------------------------------- Furthermore, your self-detonating 'crusaders' of Islam have been blowing themselves off for mere 'sweet white raisins'? What a humungous let down! When there's so much ambiguity in deciding whether one gets virgin Houries or just Kishmish in heaven for killing Kafirs, shouldn't the Book be criticized for such semantic confusions and conundrums? And when Quran speaks about virgins, I wonder, is their hymen forever intact despite the interminable sessions of love-making with Mujahids? Or else, what does a virgin mean? On the verge, but not in? In short, the fact remains that Islam's core claim-to be unimprovable and FINAL-is at once preposterous and unalterable. --------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: The Al Furqan Prevails As It Must --------------------------------------------------------------- Its many warring and discrepant sects, from Ismaili to Ahmadi, all agree on this indissoluble claim. The Quran claims that god is absolute. He doesn't include anyone in his scheme of things. There's not a single interpolation and all that jazz. Yet, I'm afraid, Muslim scholars acknowledge that at least fifty of the second caliph Umar's own ideas were incorporated into the Al-Furqan. These include ordering women to wear veils, which was a custom copied and percolated from the Byzantine Christians, and other doctrines that have had an emphatic impact on Islam. In spite of these anomalies, the Quran declares itself to be free from discrepancies. --------------------------------------------------------------- Also Read: Qur'an 5:51 - A Humanistic Interpretation --------------------------------------------------------------- Many of the 'revelations' in the Quran are there to suit Muhammad's own agenda. The Quran itself tells us that some of Muhammad's followers regarded his meddling with the revelations as nothing less than forgery. And what about the rampant misogyny in the 'Holy' Book? All too often, textual reality (the Quran) matches up with the historical reality of seventh— century Arabia. Gender inequality and oppression in the Quran reflect the culture of seventh century desert nomads. A couple of examples are enough to give you a peek into the misogynistic mind of Allah or Muhammad: The Quran in Sura (Chapter) 2:223 says: Your women are your fields, so go into your fields whichever way you like . . . . (MAS Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford UP, 2004) We should make no mistake about this verse. It includes sexual positions. In a footnote to this verse, Haleem says that Muslims in Medina heard from the Jews that 'a child born from a woman approached from behind would have a squint.' Slave—girls are sexual property for their male owners. The Quran in Sura 4:24 says: And forbidden to you are wedded wives of other people except those who have fallen in your hands [as prisoners of war] . . . (Maududi, vol. 1, p. 319). And what about Muhammad’s scandalous love affair with Mariyah the Copt who was one of the prophet’s wives’ maids. Muhammad slept with her without any ceremony, which caused uproar among his wives and had to be settled through the “Divine intervention.” I don't believe in stretching my arguments a tad too far. Ergo, I rest my case. Don't we say, if you try to dig out earthworms, snakes will come out, venomous at that? So, we had better stop here before things get too murky and volatile for all to digest. Beware of the fury and wisdom of a patient man. Never provoke anyone without doing proper homework. Remember, people who live in glass houses ought not to throw stones at others. Lastly, thanks, Mr Naseer for stirring my erudition. Please learn a lesson in humility and acceptance from Messrs Sultan Shahin and Ghulam Mohiyuddin. Stop being a zealot. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Also Read: According To Quran 5:51, Can Muslims Not Accept Non-Muslims As Friends? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Well, before I forget, I must mention that I didn't study religions to make fun of them. I studied them (religions) to know their cumulative ill-effects on mankind. Scriptures of all the man-made faiths are already funny. They invariably make even a sullen person laugh. I'm no exception. I'm an apatheist. I've gone beyond theism and atheism. Religion and god make NO sense to me. ---- An occasional columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to world's premier publications in several languages including Persian. URL: https://newageislam.com/islam-pluralism/furqan-humanistic-interpretation-quran/d/126969 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism