Lesson 35, How to Treat Muhammad, and "Satanic" Verses
Today, suras 49-60
Beginning with this lesson, I will dispense with giving you the name of each sura, unless it is truly remarkable. Be assured that every sura is named for a particular reason, even if obscure to us.
Sura 49 commences with directions for the treatment of the prophet. "Do not raise your voice above the voice of the prophet. And do not speak loud to him as you speak loud to one another..." One must imagine the dynamic of standing in a crowd and hearing the prophet himself say these words.
In the next section there is a bit of information that reminds one of the final chapters of the epistles of Paul to Thessalonians, Ephesians, Colossians. Practical, even uplifting rules of conduct. Don't scoff at others. Don't defame anyone. Don't backbite, for "does any one of you love to eat the flesh of his dead brother." Well put.
But for those of us who have trekked this weary journey, this may not be enough to make us forget the vengeful cruelty we have heard for so many miles.
Then we are reminded that true believers perform holy war with their money and their lives. Yes, these are the preferred ways of jihad. Spend. Live. Infiltrate. Teach. And when all else fails, slaughter.
At the end of sura 50, another way to torment the lost. The "garden" will be somehow brought near to hell-sufferers to let them know how it might have been.
And now a word about creation. It was six days after all. Not sure which version Muslims are to believe. This sura was in Mecca, but so was the eight-day version.
Sura 51 takes us once more to Abraham and Lot. In this episode, God is visiting Abraham and giving him a report of what he did to Sodom, including the saving of his nephew. Backwards from the Bible story, and from Muhammad's last accounting.
So over and over the corruption is repeated. Islam accuses Christians and Jews of corrupting their own texts to such a degree that Muhammad had to come and clarify all. But the obvious truth is that the Scriptures were in fine shape, thank you, and this book hacks away constantly at the truths revealed so many centuries before. We pass back the charge.
52. Allah is so insistent that the torment of all infidels is imminent that he swears five times in succession to begin this chapter. By the mountain, by the book, by the "inhabited house", by the thrown sea, and by the raised ceiling, that is, by all of his creation.
Our God has sworn too, but never by something that was created. He can only swear by Himself, His Name, His Word.
53. We come then to the famous "Satanic verses", or what used to be such, in sura 53. I imagine there are several explanations for it all. This is what I have found:
Muhammad was stressed by the pressure of paganism in Mecca. He wanted somehow to compromise with them. So he mentions the names of three of their goddesses, calls them "intermediaries", and states in one of his recitations clearly that their intercession can be very helpful.
Later he changed his mind about all this, and simply stated that the Devil tempted him and he fell. Sorry. The verses were replaced, the explanation recorded, and the Koran moves on.
Which of course brings up the whole question we have asked from the beginning. Where did [the rest of] the Koran come from? Did he listen to the enemy more than once?
Muslims are told later in this sura that, regarding sexual sin, the idea is to avoid the "big" ones. Actual, full blown intimacy. The rest, "your lord is broad in his forgiveness." Once more the Koran fails to set a clear standard. Jesus did it so much better, because He knows the self-righteous games we play in justifying our behavior. So for Jesus, fornication starts with the mind, the desire. Not the temptation, but the entertaining of the temptation. That is sin. That needs repentance and forgiveness.
And our Lord too is broad in His mercy. For a truly repentant man, full-fledged adultery with murder as a cover-up can also be forgiven. Immediately.
Two more principles come to light in 53. "No bearer of a burden bears the burden of another." In Christ, we bear one another's burdens gladly.
And, "the human will have nothing except what he strives for." True enough about worldly progress. Absolutely false about salvation. "By grace you are saved through faith, and even that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God."
Come to think of it, our religion must sound pretty strange to outsiders, too!
Sura 54 begins with a direct quote from a poet. "The hour has approached and the moon has been split." Muslims here want to believe that it was Muhammad that split the moon. It was just poetry, folks. Nobody split the moon. Deeper meaning here...
I like Muhammad's description of the ark in which the waters carried Noah. He calls it "planks and nails."
Remember the Psalm that has repetition all the way through, "His mercy endures forever"? Sura 55 seems to replicate it. "So which of the bounties of your lord will you consider a lie?" Over and over and over. A long list of the bounties, or blessings is enumerated.
More details to heaven in sura 56: Beds made with inlaid gold. Immortal young boys serving as waiters? Wine that does not give headaches poured into goblets and jugs. Fruits and meats. The life of luxury. A continual feast. But the man who knows God here and especially there has that feast within his spirit. Joy unspeakable. Peace like a river. Rivers of living water. I'll go with Jesus' Heaven. There are folks alive today that have already inherited Muhammad's version, right on the earth. Have they nothing better to look for?
In 57, Allah is called the first and the last, a clear theft of Jesus' rank.
Muslims that do not spend for the sake of Allah are criticized, and an invitation is given to lend to Allah. He will receive double his investment, and that is considered generous.
Tongue cannot tell the reward promised for the brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ, the adopted sons of God. For what? Suffering a little? Dying? Sacrificing "stuff" to gain eternity? The interest rate on our "loan" cannot be calculated by human bankers.
Muhammad attempts in this same sura to tell the story of the wise and foolish virgins. The bad girls are accused of "sedition", doubt, deception, and pride. I suppose so. But it has a curious ring to it, this story.
Then Jesus is mentioned. Allah gave Him the Gospel, and compassion and mercy was in His followers. Well and good. But then, they invented the monastic life. Now most of them are transgressors. So much for Christianity.
I understand the monastic thing, don't you? But there were some good monks. Augustine. Luther. Those who seek the Lord will find Him, no matter where they begin.
A strange injunction in sura 58. A man who wants to take a divorced wife back again must free a slave. Failing that, he can fast for two months, and if that doesn't work out, he can feed sixty poor men.
Muhammad rushes to his own protection again later in this chapter. "When you talk privately, so do not talk privately in sin and transgression and disobedience toward the messenger... when you go to confer in private with the messenger, so give alms before your private talk..."
Don't talk about me behind my back. Don't talk to me face to face without an offering. He has become a king.
Remember Jesus' response to doubting Thomas, who "behind Jesus' back" said He would not believe unless he saw? Not a fair example I guess. You can't really talk behind Jesus' back. And did Nicodemus or the woman at the well have to pay a fee for a private conversation with the Lord of all the universe?
Sura 59 speaks of temporal judgment of unbelief, and of course contradicts all we know about our God, who sends the rain on the just and the unjust. The Psalmist (Psalm 73) was so discouraged to see the wicked flourishing but then remembered their end. With Muhammad it is judgment now and daily. He talks of all who have been made homeless, banished for their infidelity. This "merciful" Allah... Our God is patient, waiting for any possible movement toward Him before He calls it quitting time.
The same theme is picked up in sura 60, "Do not take my enemy and your enemy as friends." In Christ, they are still enemies, but they are loved, and often cease being God's enemies because of that love.
Sura 60 and today's work concludes with immigrant non-Muslim women that show up among the faithful. They are to be tested for their faith and never returned to the infidels. Yes, you may marry them if you pay them their wages. Translator Dakdok indicates that this sort of marriage is of the temporary contractual sort, not long term commitment. Hopefully this sort of arrangement was for another time and place. But it was still seriously immoral as a practice.
Lesson 36, Final Suras and Conclusion
Today, suras 61-114
Today we walk quickly through 44 suras, most of which are very small, and have no new material for us to ponder.
Sura 61 finds us back in Medina, putting words into the mouth of the prophet Isa, whom we are supposed to believe is our Jesus. "O children of Israel, surely I am a messenger of Allah to you... to give you the good news of a messenger who will come after me. His name is Ahmad [Muhammad]."
It is clear that the Bible does not predict Muhammad. So any prediction will have to be placed in the Koran. Here it is. Bold and brash, as so many of the claims of this religion.
Messengers have come after Jesus. In one sense, you and I are His messengers. So is the Holy Spirit. Elijah the prophet will come. But no other person is called by name. Surely not one who doesn't even believe the message. The message of salvation, the message of atonement... Surely not Muhammad.
Friday as a special day of prayer is alluded to in Sura 62.
In sura 65, a special rule for divorce is given. In order to "depart from them in kindness," you are to divorce them during their menstrual period.
Also in 65, we learn that Allah has created not only seven heavens, as opposed to the Bible's three, but seven earths also.
Matters from Muhammad's personal life are dealt with in sura 67. He is told that since some of his wives were really bad, he is justified in divorcing them, and should not be so hard on himself. "Why do you forbid what Allah has made lawful to you?" Allah promises that he will give Muhammad better wives in exchange.
Next, another Medinan call to jihad against infidels. "Be harsh against them," is added to this one. And for examples of how infidels ought to be punished, he brings up the hitherto-unknown fact that not only Lot's wife, but Noah's, too, was an infidel. Both entered the fire of hell. But Pharaoh's wife got the message and was actually saved.
Sura 67 lets us in on the secret of the stars. Stars are actually "missiles for the satans."
Another word of encouragement comes to the prophet in sura 68. "You are not demon-possessed," says Allah to his messenger, "and surely you have great morals."
In chapters 73 and 74, Muhammad is addressed as the "wrapped" one and the "cloaked" one, alluding to the fact, possibly, that Muhammad was extensively covered during his times of receiving revelations. Some say he went into convulsions during these times, a state not unlike the reports we have heard of occult manifestations.
At the end of 75, Muhammad is chided for reciting too fast, and "you neglect the hereafter." Take your time. Be sure they get every word of what I am saying.
Another "repeating" sura is number 77. Echoed every few lines is : "Woe on that day to those who consider it [the recitation] a lie!"
Reading, reading, I find nothing new from here until sura 98, where there is a new comment on the people of the book. Those Christians and Jews who become infidel will not only "abide in the fire of hell forever," but "those are the worst of the creatures."
This is how a true Muslim must view his world. All but Muslims are lost forever. And of these, the worst are the children of Israel and believers in the Jewish Messiah. Is there any question as to what the Middle East is about? Lots of "true Muslims" over there. And coming here.
Reading, reading. Sura 105 is worthy of note. Flocks of birds are seen throwing rocks made of clay onto the "companions" of elephants. That's the literal. We can hope there is a deeper meaning in the interpretation.
In 108, whoever hates a Muslim will be childless.
I find in 109 a verse that I can only imagine is quoted in the West quite a bit, and no doubt clung to by those who want only peace: "Infidels, I do not serve what you serve, and you do not serve what I serve... to you your religion and to me is my religion."
Fair enough. But you and I have now read the Koran. We know that that verse, written in Mecca, has been abrogated long ago. Tolerance, co-existence, that's only for the Muslim in minority, struggling for a foothold. We know what Muslims are told to do when they are on the other side of power.
Why, in the very next sura, 110, written in Medina, there is talk of the coming conquest. All out jihad. And of course Islamic victory worldwide.
Even in Mecca, be careful. Even if you are family. Sura 111. Muhammad's uncle Abu Lahab would not accept Islam, and became a serious threat to Muhammad. So, says Allah, "Perish the two hands of Abu Lahab, and he will perish... he will roast in a flaming fire, and his wife will be a carrier of firewood..."
Is there no light at the end of this tunnel? We approach the end of the Koran, sura 112. "Allah does not birth, neither was he birthed, and there is no one equal to him." Islam must ignore the statement of Jesus, "I and My Father are one." No, no light here.
Sura 113? Here Allah is called the "lord of the daybreak," but also the creator of evil.
No, nothing in the final sura, either. Muhammad in both of these sections is seeking refuge in Allah. We are left to wonder if he ever found it.
For us, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
So we end our survey of the Koran. I did not make you a scholar. I'm not one either. This was a bit of an experiment for me. Can I go into the unknown armed only with the Word of the living God? Can I recognize error because He has taught me truth? I believe so.
I'm sure that if a Muslim discovers my work, he will tell me I must become an expert in Arabic and that I must study with a Muslim to discover the truth. But I have already discovered the truth, Jesus, and He is enough.
I certainly have grave respect for the apologists among us who have entered this struggle from the academic point of view. What I read of them lets me know that I have nothing to fear in terms of truth from challenges of Islam.
I simply wanted to see for myself what it said, and pass that info to you. God's sheep will hear God's voice. We cling to Jesus and His Word.
Nevertheless, with so many people in the world who give lip-service to this faith, it certainly is wise to know what it says from its original sources.
Some of you may be a bit disappointed that I did not cover those parts of the Koran that seem to be manifested in modern Islam. The fact is, much of modern Islam is based on the "hadith", the documents that tell the stories of the life of Muhammad, and not on the Koran.
The study of the hadith is tricky beyond measure. They were written hundreds of years after the fact. There were no eyewitnesses. They contradict the Koran at times. They contradict each other!
I will not even attempt to tell you how many there are, because Islam disputes that. Different denominations of Muslims have different collections they consider valid. Some honor only the Koran, and no hadith at all.
No one accords to the hadith the Divine character of the Koran, yet for many, the reality is close thereto. Some hadith make Muhammad nearly Divine himself.
Anyway, for a person who wants a fuller picture of Islam, I strongly suggest a comprehensive biography of Muhammad by a Muslim scholar who is generally accepted throughout the Islamic community. Such an author will surely incorporate those hadith that are generally the most helpful.
So what have we learned in these 36 lessons? Better to address that question with positive Christian teachings that will counter Islam's errors:
1. Our Bible is the very Word of the living God. Nothing can be added or subtracted.
2. Jesus is the Son of that living God. Jesus is God the Son.
3. Salvation is by grace, through faith.
4. God wants all people to be saved. Really.
. 5. Our mission is spiritual, not military.
6. Marriage is for one man and one woman.
7. Fornication is absolutely forbidden.
8. There is no condemnation in Jesus Christ.
9. Jesus is the first and the LAST.
10. Anyone who preaches any other gospel, though it be an angel from heaven, is accursed.
As you see, most of the foundational subject matter of our faith is assailed by Islam. There is no way the challenge this religion presents can be ignored. I ask you to pray seriously, and perhaps become a part of the reaching of Muslims with the love of God. You can imagine how much some of them will appreciate being delivered from this darkness and hate.
