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“The Koran was not teaching the Quraysh anything new.
Indeed, it constantly claims to be a `reminder’
of things known already, which it throws into more lucid relief.
Frequently the Koran introduces a topic with a phrase like:
`Have you not seen…?’ or `Have
you not considered…?’ The Word of God
was not issuing arbitrary commands from on high, but was entering
into a dialogue with the Quraysh. It reminds them, for example,
that the Ka’baah, the House of Allah, accounted.. for
their success, which was really.. owing to God. The Quraysh
loved to make the ritual circumambulations around the shrine
but when they put themselves and their own material success
into the center of their lives, they had forgotten the meaning
of these ancient rites of orientation. They should look at
the `Signs’ (Aayaat) of God’s goodness and power
in the natural world. If they failed to reproduce God’s
benevolence in their own society, they would be out of touch
with the true nature of things.” (Page 166, A History
of God , Karen Armstrong).
On the contrary, out of arrogance, and in sheer
darkness of ignorance, they became more and more violent and
violative of all norms of morality and standards of humanity.
They felt “that their new wealth had `saved’ them
from the perils of the nomadic life, cushioning them from
the malnutrition and tribal violence that were endemic to
the steppes of Arabia, where each Bedouin tribe daily faced
the possibility of extinction. They now had almost enough
to eat and were making Mecca an international center of trade
and high finance. They felt that they had become the masters
of their own fate and some even seem to have believed that
their wealth would give them a certain immortality... [This
sense of self-sufficiency assumed the form of a `cult’
(Istaqaa)].
“In the rest of Arabia the situation was
also bleak. For centuries the Bedouin tribes of the region
of Hijaz and Najd had lived in fierce competition with one
another for the basic necessities of life. To help the people
cultivate the communal spirit that was essential for survival,
the Arabs had evolved an ideology called `Muruwah’,
which fulfillled many of the functions of religion…
Western scholars often translate `Muruwah’ as `manliness’,
but it had a far wider range of significance; it meant courage
in battle, patience and endurance in suffering and absolute
dedication to the tribe.. In the conventional sense, the Arabs
had little time for religion. There was a pagan pantheon of
deities and the Arabs worshiped at their shrines, but they
had not developed a mythology that explained the relevance
of these gods and holy places to the life of the spirit. They
had no notion of an afterlife but believed instead that `dahar’
which can be translated as time or fate was supreme –
an attitude that was probably essential in a society where
the mortality rate was so high.”
(Karen Armstrong,
A History of God, PP.156-157)
Idolatry
at Mecca:Before the Ka'baah was cleared of
idols by the Prophet (Peace be upon him), after the conquest
of Makkah, there were as many as 360 idols. Following are
mentioned in the Quran:
Jibt & Taaghuut: Anything
worshiped other than the Real God (Allah), i.e. all
the false deities. They may be idol, satan,
grave, stone, sun, star, angel, humanbeing, messenger or saint
(taken in that sense). Sometime Taaghuut means a
false judge who gives a false judgement. (this may
even include an unjust ruler). (Dr M.M.Khan and Dr Al-Hilali,The
Noble Quran, Foot Notes, p. 65 & 121, and Tafsir Ibn Kathir,
Vol-I, p. 512).
According to Jalaaluddin, the above two idols
of the Quraish were also honoured by certain renegade Jews,
in order to please the Quraish.
“Hast
thou not seen those
unto whom a portion of the Scripture hath been
given,
how they believe in idols and false deities ,
(Jibt and Taaghuut),
and how they say of those (idolaters) who disbelieve:
`These are more rightly guided
than those who believe.”4-51
Ba’al:
In Hebrew it means `Lord’. It was the chief deity worshipped
by Syro-Phoenician nations. This idol was worshiped in the
days of Prophet Elisha (Peace be upon him) also. It was a
warrior-god. It was one of the most important deities and
the god at Ugarit, Canaan. It was considered to be son of
either Dagon, the corn-god, or of El, the chief Ugaritic deity.
Ishtar, goddess of battle, was the consort of Ba'al. His daughters
were Mist and Dew. It destroyed its enemies, including Mot,
god of dryness and death, although its brief submission to
Mot brought drought to earth. It was, however, revived as
rain god. This serves as an example as to how ‘divinity’
is manufactured or fabricated out of falsehood and legend.
Laat: It was the chief idol of
Banu-Saqiif at Taaif.
Uzzaa: It has been identified
with Venus. It was, however, worshiped under the form of an
`acacia tree'. It was the deity of Banu-Ghatafaan.
Manaat: It was a large sacrificial
stone worshiped by Banu Khuzaa'ah and Banu Huzail.
Wadd: It was worshiped by Banu
Kalb in the form of man, representing heaven and manly power.
Suwaa: A female deity of Banu
Hamdaan, in the shape of a woman representing qualities of
mutability and beauty.
Yaghuus: It was the deity of
Banu Mazhij, in the form of a lion (or bull), representing
brute strength.
Ya'uuq: It was an idol of Banu
Muraad in the form of a horse, representing swiftness.
Nasr: It was worshiped by Himyar
in the image of an eagle, or vulture or falcon, representing
quality of sharp sight and insight.
The commentators are of the opinion that, above
last five idols were originally persons of eminence in very
ancient times, who after their deaths were worshiped in the
form of idols. “The five names mentioned in 71-23 represent
some of the oldest pagan cults, before the Flood as well as
after the Flood, though the names themselves are in the form
in which they were worshiped by local Arab tribes.”(Abdullah
Yusuf Ali, Translation, p.1538,App-X.)
Hubal:
It was the chief of minor deities, in the image of a man.
As a great image it stood over the well or the hollow within
Ka'baah. Offerings and other treasures were preserved in the
cavity beneath. It is believed that it was originally brought
from Syria. When, under the command of the Prophet (Peace
be upon him), the great image of Hubal was hewn down and it
fell with a crash to the ground, he exclaimed in the words
of the Quran:
"Truth
hath come, and falsehood hath vanished."17-81
Isaaf: It
was the idol on Mount As-Saffas .
Naailah: It was an image on the Mount Al-Marwah.
Isaaf and Naailah were part of the rites of the
pilgrimage.
Habbah: It was a large sacred stone on which camels
were sacrificed.
For historical
examination of different concepts about divinity, see Appendix-2.
Creation
and the Creator:The Quran puts some explicit
questions and further clarifies their position:
"Were they created of nothing? or
were they the creators of themselves?"(35)
"Created
they the heavens and the earth?
Nay, they have no faith."(36)
"Or are the treasures of your Lord with them,
or
are they managers (of affairs)?” (37) 52-35
to 37
These verses
raise very fundamental questions which have remained subject
of interest of all well known philosophers, scholars, scientists
and theologians, alike. Everything that we can perceive with
our senses has been created. Nothing created can itself be
a creator. The Creator has to be different from and superior
to all such things perceived, conceived and compassed within
the limited `scope’ of the non perfect imagination,
limited sensory applications and understanding. In this regard
Harun Yahya observes: “Modern research in many different
fields of science points to a very different understanding
and creates serious doubt about our senses and the world that
we perceive with them.”
Sense
Perception and Its Implications:God is invisible
to the mortal man. There are physical and comprehendability
limitations of man. But His Existence and Attributes are revealed
in all existence. Those who disregard or disbelieve in this
factuality
remain in ignorance from the actuality of
`creation’ and its Creator. The mistake lies in the
concepts about characteristics and nature of matter as to
whether it is in its file or real existence, i.e whether
it exists or not or it is file or real? Some scholars attempt
to find some explanations in modern science and philosophy
also.
Harun Yahya in his book ‘The Truth of the
Life of this World’,(pp. 139-140), has quoted different
scholars and discussed some aspects of the subject matter.
“We never think that the `external’ world could
be anything other than that which our senses present to us,
as we have been dependent on only these senses since birth...
The notion of an `external world’, shaped in our brain,
is only a response created in our brain , vga, 1978, p.6).
The famous philosopher, George Berkeley commented on the subject
as follows: `We believe in the existence of objects just because
weby electrical signals. Frederick Vester explains the point
that science has reached on this subject: `Statements of some
scientists posing that `man is an image,
everything experienced is temporary and deceptive, and this
universe is a shadow,’ seems to be proven by
science in our day’-(Frederick Vester, ‘Denken,Lernen,
Vergessen see and touch them, and they are reflected to us
by our perceptions. However, our perceptions are only ideas
in our mind. Thus, objects we captivate by perception are
nothing but ideas, and these ideas are essentially in nowhere
but our mind…Since all these exist only in the mind,
then it means that we are beguiled by deceptions when
we imagine the universe and things to have an existence outside
the mind. So, none of the surrounding things have
an existence out of our mind.’(George Politzer, ‘Principles
Fundamentaux de Philosophie’, Editions Sociales , Paris,
1954, pp.38-39)....Distinguished philosopher Bertrand Russel
wrote: `As to the sense of touch, when we press the table
with our fingers, that is an electric disturbance on the electrons
and protons of our fingertips, produced, according to modern
physics, by the proximity of the electrons and protons in
the table. If the same disturbance in our fingertips
arose in any other way, we should have the sensations, in
spite of there being no table'.
(Bertrand
Russel, ‘ABC of Relativity’, George Allen and
Unwin, London, 1964, p. 161-162).”
Such perceptions
were presented purely in logic and philosophy, by the earlier
Greek philosophers also. Science is now opening windows on
such subjects through different fields of observation and
experimentation. Thus there are different approaches to understanding
the reality or the truth. Whether this world is a file
reality or a reflection or an image, the fact is
that everything that exists or seems to exist in the same
frame or plane of existence, obeys the same set of laws as
an entity and in relation to each other – i.e. in this
world of `relative reality’. The objects
and concepts in `relative existence’,
appear to `be’ real because they obey observable or
conceivable laws in the same frame of existence. Similarly
matter and space-time seem to be `real’ in their relative
existence and not the absolute one. They follow the set course
of laws collectively and in relation to each other. Generally
it is in this sense and in the frame of reference that the
material world is perceived or known to be `real’.
Like all the divine religions, the Quran explains
that Only God is the Absolute, Who Alone has true and independent
Existence:
“All
that lives on earth ,or in the heavens is bound to
pass away, but
forever will abide thy Sustainer’s Self–
Full of Majesty and Glory.”28-88
Mosaic
of World Religions:From above discussion,
the mosaic of religions laid on the map of this planet shows
that (i) There were lot many sorts of religious beliefs and
cults with no common ground. (ii) Idol, image, icon, imagination
- all creation of man's own mind, were assigned powers of
creation including man's own and further potential for other
creations also! (iii) There were conceived to be separate
gods for different functions and phenomena. (iv) The created
things and objects were worshiped as gods, goddesses, spirits,
etc; out of awe, fear and fantasy. (v) Those who rejected
concept of God (atheists), even they went to the extreme to
carve out their own ideas and imagination as idols and elevated
them to the status of gods (e.g. state and its organs). (vi)
Theologians, theists, theosophists and even some of the so
called monotheists had no common concept of One God, e.g.,
even Pharoahs developed the concept of `monotheism’
in the form of `Akhenaten’ for geo-political reasons.
(vii) There were as many philosophies and concepts of god
as could be conjectured or conceived. (viii) Even the universal
concept of One God was variously tainted and fractured in
the geo-political fissures of the globe, e.g., in Greek, Roman,
Egyptian philosophy, they developed some universal concept
of one super-god but he was not considered as The God of all
creation and sustenance, of all existence.(ix) There were
pantheons (Greek), Di Deaque (Roman) and plethora of local,
regional and national gods and their hierarchies, families,
groups and even `groupings' and gangsterism. (x) Custom, tradition
and ritual had in fact shrouded any clear idea about God.
(xi) There was no purity and sanctity about gods, their `relationships',
adventure, etc. They were even described as cheats and sinners
along with their entire imaginative families, friends, consorts,
concubines etc, etc. For example they were accused of cheating,
theft , adultery etc, etc. (xii) These gods and idols were
the creation of very strange fables and fiction. In many cases
fiction appears not only fantastic but funny also! (xiii)
Even man himself assumed `divinity, as an `office' (e.g. divine
kingship) or `ministry' (e.g. priesthood), with divine claims,
during life, after death and in heirship (e.g., Egyptian divine
kingship). (xiv) There was always myth or mystery surrounding
idols and gods - in fact, myth and mystery made gods. (xv)
In broader terms, creation, form, figure, attributes etc.,
of these idols and gods were determined by two major factors,
which constitute the very physical frame of existence of man
and matter in the universe: i.e. (a) they are limited by the
same material dimensions, conforming to the three dimensions
of the created things, in their form and figure, as known
to man, and (b) the flight of his imagination has always remained
limited by these factors. (xvi) Like any other area of human
activity and endeavour (and since they were the creation of
man’s own imagination), they were always subject to
change, reform, advancement and progress: e.g., with changing
powers, geographies, intellectual and attitudinal development
of man, the concepts and images of gods and idols also changed.
(xvii) There is no specific and concrete evidence of the `truth'
of their creation, because of being mere `myth'. Legends in
each case were created at a much later stage referring to
the past, usually distant past, which was not verifiable.
Such legends were mixed up with popular stories and folk lore.
In this regard specially following factors played main role:
hero worship, natural phenomena, usually catastrophes, subjugation
by the absolute monarch, and ignorance.(xviii) Myth surrounded
not only the `godhead' but the whole thought process and the
very concepts about creation of man and matter. Here, an example
of Judaism, in elaboration of above, may be quoted from Dictionary
of Religions (p.177): “Kabbalah is "the `received
tradition' of Jewish mysticism, particularly those forms of
mystical teachings which were developed in the Middle Ages
in South-West Europe, and later on in the Galilean city of
`Safed' in Palestine. The main text of the Kabbalah is the
Zohar, written down in 13th-century Spain
[about 2800 years after the teachings of Moses (Peace be upon
him)]. Unlike exoteric Judaism the Kabbalah teaches that creation
of the world took place through a series of emanations from
the Godhead or Ein Sof." (xix) From above it
would be clear that generally speaking these ideas not only
reflect psychological urge of man for religion but also social,
economic, political and historical conditions seem to be responsible
in the environment of his existence to fabricate and fashion
a godhead for him. (xx) The `Divine Word', whenever received,
was mixed up and corrupted linguistically (e.g. violation
of the instruction `Hittatun') and liturgically (form of prayer
e.g. prostration changed or limited in Judaism and Christianity
from its original prescription). Corruption crept in mainly
through ritual (pilgrimage, before Islam, is one of the glaring
examples), superstition: (e.g. with celestial bodies), exaggeration
(e.g., epic, poetry, and veneration of prophets and priests,
besides bigotry and zealotry), and suppression of real and
projection of false as suited the vested interest of the time
(e.g., presentation and partial application of provisions
of `Taurat’ in juridical matters). (xxi) The main doctrine
somehow slipped into mysticism, gnosticism and many more `schisms'
e.g., in Judaism, Christianity, etc. Such damaging influences
on muslim thinkers are also quite visible. (xxii) Systems
were evolved and developed for exploitation of masses and
perpetuation of oppressor's power and his rule. This blocked
all free and scientific reflection into phenomena of nature,
development of human society, culture and civilization, constituting
the dark ages!
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