[Assam] Do people in Assam take any Holy book as from GOD without reservations? The HOLINESS of one BOOK is being put under very revealing scholarly scrutiny in the article pasted here. Part 2 of the article 2.

Mon Sep 3 02:08:15 CDT 2007

*Who Authored the Qur'an?—an Enquiry*

*Part 2*

*By Abul Kasem <http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/kasem/index.htm>*

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/kasem/quran_origin2.htm

* *

*"If a man will begin with certainties, he shall end in doubts; but if he
will be content to begin with doubts he shall end in certainties"*—Francis
Bacon (1561-1626)  [Quoted from *Milestones of Science* by Curt Suplee, p.70,
published by the National Geographic Society, 2000]

* *

* **[A note of caution: The content of this article may offend some readers.
The writer will not take any responsibility in the event of hurt feeling or
damage caused as result of reading this essay. Read this article at your own
risk]*

* *

*Zayd bin Amr bin Naufal*

During Muhammad's time, a religious movement to counter paganism was taking
shape. Led by a group of 'freethinkers', this group rejected paganism, and
to fulfil their spiritual needs they were searching for an alternative
religion. They were known as Hanifites or simply as Hanifs.

The *Dictionary of Islam* (Hughes Dictionary of Islam, pp.161-162) writes
that the original meaning of Hanif was a convert or a pervert [sort of
apostate--to say].

The other meanings of Hanif are:

1. Any one sincere in his inclination to Islam 2. One orthodox in the faith
3. One who is of the religion of Abraham.

W. St. Clair-Tisdall (*The Sources of Islam*, The Origins of the Koran,
p.289) writes:

'The word Hanif, indeed, originally signified "unclean" or "apostate," and
was so used by the idolatrous Arabs of Zaid, because he abandoned the
worship of gods.'

Muhammad later used the word Hanif, first for the religion of Abraham, then
for any sincere believer of Islam. Thus, the Muslims are supposed to be
Hanifs—and truly speaking, the followers of Zayd! In the same essay W. St.
Clair-Tisdal (ibid)) writes further, "The name pleased the Prophet and was
used by him in a good sense."

According to Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Ishaq, p.99) the most famous of those apostates
(Hanifs) in Mecca during Muhammad's time were:

1.      Waraqa b. Naufal: he became a Christian

2.      Ubaydullah b. Jahsh: he became a Christian after migrating to
Abyssinia. His wife was Umm Habiba d. Abu Sufyan whom Muhammad married later

3.      Uthman b. al-Huwayrith. He later went to the Byzantine emperor and
became a Christian

4.      Zayd b. Amr b. Naufal left paganism saying that he worshipped the
God of Abraham

Waraqa was the cousin brother of Khadijah, Muhammad's first wife. Some
authors suggest that he was a Jew before embracing Christianity. Ubaydullah
was the grandson of Abd al-Muttalib and Uthman b. al-Huwayrith was offered a
high position in the Byzantine court of Syria.

Only Zayd b. Amr remained a diehard Hanif. He used to say (ibid, p.287), "I
worship the god of Abraham," but he blamed his people for having chosen the
evil ways.

According to W. St. Clair-Tisdal (*The Sources of Islam*, The Origins of the
Koran, pp.229-230) Zayd worshipped yearly in a cave near Mecca, and no doubt
influenced Muhammad who used to visit the same place for quiet and lonely
contemplation.

Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Ishaq, pp.99-100) writes that when Zayd b. Amr faced the
Ka'ba he used to say 'Labbaka in truth, in worship and in service.'

When Zayd stood and faced Qibla he would say (ibid), "I take refuge in what
Abraham took refuge."

Zayd also abhorred animal sacrifice to idols and condemned the pagan
practice of burying alive new-born females (this, I believe, was a very rare
practice--as not a single instance of live burial of a female baby is cited
either in the Qur'an or in *Ahadith: *these books vaguely talk about this
pagan practice without citing any specific case of live burial).

Abu Bakr's daughter, Amina once saw a very old Zayd bin 'Amr in Ka'ba. On
this, Ibn Ishaq writes (Ibn Ishaq, pp.99-100):

'Hisham b. Urwa from his father on the authority of his mother Asma d. Abu
Bakr said that she saw Zayd as a very old man leaning his back on the Ka'ba
and saying, 'O Quraysh, By Him in whose hand is the soul of Zayd, not one of
you follows the religion of Abraham but I.' Then he said: 'O God, if I knew
how you wished to be worshipped I would so worship you; but I do not know.'
Then he prostrated himself on the palms of his hands.'

Historical records do not mention clearly what eventually happened to Zayd
b. Amr. However, Ibn Ishaq writes that Caliph Umar's father, al-Khattab
(Umar b. al-Khattab was Zayd's nephew) used to severely harass Zayd b. Amr
and he was finally killed. Who killed Zayd is a complete mystery. Here is
what Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Ishaq, p.102) writes:

"When al-Khattab (Umar's father) harassed Zayd bin 'Amr so much so that he
was forced to withdraw to the upper part of Mecca and he stopped in the
mountain of Hira facing the town. Zayd could visit Mecca in secret only.

Then Zayd left Mecca seeking the religion of Abraham—went through all of
Syria. Then Zayd returned to Mecca but was killed."

As written previously, because of his uncompromising stand on Hanifite
movement and because of his deriding remarks on paganism, the Quraysh
expelled Zayd b. Amr from Mecca and he was forbidden to live there. He was a
severely ostracised person, boycotted and utterly disdained by the larger
section of the Quraysh. He had to live in the cave of mount Hira, opposite
the city. Muhammad, being a forlorn person at that time used to meet Zayd in
the cave of Hira.

Ibn Ishaq also writes that Gabriel used to visit Muhammad at the Hira cave.
When we consider the fact that on many instances Muhammad had confessed that
Gabriel, on many occasions had met Muhammad in the form of human beings it
is quite likely that when Muhammad visited  Zayd b. Amr many times to learn
about the new religion of the 'Hanif' he might have thought Zayd to be the
angel Gabriel. It is also quite probable that Zayd b. Amr took an interest
in teaching Muhammad how to read (and write)—his poetry (or verses) that
later became Qur'anic verses!

Ibn Ishaq (Ibn Ishaq, p.105) writes that Muhammad used to pray in seclusion
in Hira every year for a month to practice 'tahnanuth', a pagan practice
(thus confirming again Muhammad's pagan background). According to the
Quraysh, 'tahannuth' meant religious devotion.

*Sahih Bukhari* confirms that Muhammad had encountered Zayd b. Amr in the
Valley of Hira Mountain.

Muhammad meets Zayd b. 'Amr and offers him meat that was slaughtered for the
idols (*Sahih Bukhari*, 7.67.407, 5.58.169)

*Volume 7, Book 67, Number 407:*

Narrated 'Abdullah:

Allah's Apostle said that he met Zaid bin 'Amr b. Nufail at a place near
Baldah and this had happened before Allah's Apostle received the Divine
Inspiration. Allah's Apostle presented a dish of meat (that had been offered
to him by the pagans) to Zaid bin 'Amr, but Zaid refused to eat of it and
then said (to the pagans), "I do not eat of what you slaughter on your stone
altars (Ansabs) nor do I eat except that on which Allah's Name has been
mentioned on slaughtering."

*Volume 5, Book 58, Number 169:*

Narrated 'Abdullah bin 'Umar:

The Prophet met Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail in the bottom of (the valley of)
Baldah before any Divine Inspiration came to the Prophet. A meal was
presented to the Prophet but he refused to eat from it. (Then it was
presented to Zaid) who said, "I do not eat anything which you slaughter in
the name of your stone idols. I eat none but those things on which Allah's
Name has been mentioned at the time of slaughtering." Zaid bin 'Amr used to
criticize the way Quraish used to slaughter their animals, and used to say,
"Allah has created the sheep and He has sent the water for it from the sky,
and He has grown the grass for it from the earth; yet you slaughter it in
other than the Name of Allah. He used to say so, for he rejected that
practice and considered it as something abominable.

Narrated Ibn 'Umar: Zaid bin 'Amr bin Nufail went to Sham, inquiring about a
true religion to follow. He met a Jewish religious scholar and asked him
about their religion. He said, "I intend to embrace your religion, so tell
me some thing about it." The Jew said, "You will not embrace our religion
unless you receive your share of Allah's Anger." Zaid said, "'I do not run
except from Allah's Anger, and I will never bear a bit of it if I have the
power to avoid it. Can you tell me of some other religion?" He said, "I do
not know any other religion except the Hanif." Zaid enquired, "What is
Hanif?" He said, "Hanif is the religion of (the prophet) Abraham who was
neither a Jew nor a Christian, and he used to worship None but Allah
(Alone)" Then Zaid went out and met a Christian religious scholar and told
him the same as before. The Christian said, "You will not embrace our
religion unless you get a share of Allah's Curse." Zaid replied, "I do not
run except from Allah's Curse, and I will never bear any of Allah's Curse
and His Anger if I have the power to avoid them. Will you tell me of some
other religion?" He replied, "I do not know any other religion except
Hanif." Zaid enquired, "What is Hanif?" He replied, Hanif is the religion of
(the prophet) Abraham who was neither a Jew nor a Christian and he used to
worship None but Allah (Alone)" When Zaid heard their Statement about (the
religion of) Abraham, he left that place, and when he came out, he raised
both his hands and said, "O Allah! I make You my Witness that I am on the
religion of Abraham."

Narrated Asma bint Abi Bakr: I saw Zaid bin Amr bin Nufail standing with his
back against the Ka'ba and saying, "O people of Quraish! By Allah, none
amongst you is on the religion of Abraham except me." He used to preserve
the lives of little girls: If somebody wanted to kill his daughter he would
say to him, "Do not kill her for I will feed her on your behalf." So he
would take her, and when she grew up nicely, he would say to her father,
"Now if you want her, I will give her to you, and if you wish, I will feed
her on your behalf."

The first *Hadis* tells us something about Muhammad's paganism—that, in the
beginning, he probably ate the meat offered to the idols by the pagans (thus
confirming Hisham ibn al-Kalbi—see Part1/5 of this essay), but Zayd b. Amr
steadfastly refused to eat any meat slaughtered in the name of idols.
Muhammad learned from Zayd not to eat the pagans' meat (or *Haram* meat).
The second *Hadis* apparently contradicts the first *Hadis* (7.67.407) on
Muhammad's consumption of 'pagan' or *Haram* meat. However, a little thought
on this *Hadis* evidently shows that Muhammad followed Zayd with respect to
*Halal* meat, and from Zayd he also obtained the idea of Allah to be his
(Muhammad's) God. Can we not, therefore, conclude that the idea of Islam
really came from Zayd? In the biography of Muhammad written by Ibn Ishaq we
find several verses of poetry written by Zayd that are quite similar to some
verses of the Qur'an. Therefore, isn't it sufficient to say that after the
sudden, mysterious and untimely killing of Zayd Muhammad took up his mantle,
philosophy, poetry and the zeal to propagate 'Hanifism'?

Ibn Sa'd (Ibn Sa'd, vol.i, p.185) writes that when Muhammad started his
Islam, a convert told Muhammad about the words of Zayd ibn Amr and Muhammad
replied, "I have seen him in Paradise drawing his skirts." This proves that
Muhammad acknowledged the piety and contribution of Zayd towards the concept
of Islam or Hanifism.

The following excerpts from the Islamic historian Ibn Sa'd (Ibn Sa'd, vol.i,
p.185) demonstrates further that Muhammad got the idea of Islam from Zayd b.
Amr:

"Zayd Ibn 'Amr Ibn Nufayl said: I smelled Christianity and Judaism but I
disliked them. I went to Syria and its adjoining territories till I came to
my strangeness with my people and my abhorrence for idol worship, Judaism
and Christianity. He said to me: I see you are in search of the creed of
Ibrahim. O Makkan brother! You are seeking a creed which is not practiced
now a days. It is the creed of your ancestor, Ibrahim, and it is the true
faith. He (Ibrahim) was neither a Jew nor a Christian. He used to offer
prayers and prostrate towards this house (Ka'bah) which is in your city. So
retire to your city. He will revive the true creed of Ibrahim and he is the
most honoured of the creatures of Allah."

It is highly palpable that Zayd himself wrote few Suras (probably around 30
Suras, but not in chronological order), including those that contain the *
Hanifship* of Abraham.

Some of these verses are:

*002.135 *They say: "Become Jews or Christians if ye would be guided (To
salvation)." Say thou: "Nay! (I would rather) the Religion of Abraham the
True, and he joined not gods with Allah." [The original Qur'an says
Haneefan—my note]
*003.067 *Abraham was not a Jew nor yet a Christian; but he was true in
Faith, and bowed his will to Allah's (Which is Islam), and he joined not
gods with Allah. [The original Qur'an says Haneefan—my note]

*003.095 *Say: "Allah speaketh the Truth: follow the religion of Abraham,
the sane in faith; he was not of the Pagans."[The original Qur'an says
Haneefan—my note]

*004.125 * Who can be better in religion than one who submits his whole self
to Allah, does good, and follows the way of Abraham the true in Faith? For
Allah did take Abraham for a friend. [The original Qur'an says Haneefan—my
note]

*006.161 *Say: "Verily, my Lord hath guided me to a way that is straight,- a
religion of right,- the path (trod) by Abraham the true in Faith, and he
(certainly) joined not gods with Allah." [The original Qur'an says
Haneefan—my note]

*006.079 *"For me, I have set my face, firmly and truly, towards Him Who
created the heavens and the earth, and never shall I give partners to
Allah." [The original Qur'an says Haneefan—my note]

*016.120 *Abraham was indeed a model, devoutly obedient to Allah, (and) true
in Faith, and he joined not gods with Allah: [The original Qur'an says
Haneefan—my note]

*010.105 * "And further (thus): 'set thy face towards religion with true
piety, and never in any wise be of the Unbelievers; [The original Qur'an
says Haneefan—my note]

*022.031 * Being true in faith to Allah, and never assigning partners to
Him: if anyone assigns partners to Allah, is as if he had fallen from heaven
and been snatched up by birds, or the wind had swooped (like a bird on its
prey) and thrown him into a far-distant place. [The original Qur'an says
Hunafaa—my note]

*098.005 * And they have been commanded no more than this: To worship Allah,
offering Him sincere devotion, being true (in faith); to establish regular
prayer; and to practise regular charity; and that is the Religion Right and
Straight. [The original Qur'an says Hunafaa—my note]

*030.030 * So set thou thy face steadily and truly to the Faith: (establish)
Allah's handiwork according to the pattern on which He has made mankind: no
change (let there be) in the work (wrought) by Allah: that is the standard
Religion: but most among mankind understand not. [The original Qur'an says
Haneefan—my note]

As mentioned earlier, Zayd ibn Amr was totally against the pagan practice of
burying live female infants. The Qur'an mentions this rare practice of the
Quraysh in three verses only.

These verses are:

*016.058* When news is brought to one of them, of (the birth of) a female
(child), his face darkens, and he is filled with inward grief!
*017.031 *Kill not your children for fear of want: We shall provide
sustenance for them as well as for you. Verily the killing of them is a
great sin.
*081.008 *When the female (infant), buried alive, is questioned -
*081.009 *For what crime she was killed;

Evidently, the above verses were inspired by Zayd b. Amr and most likely
were written by him too. Later, when Zayd died Muhammad simply passed them
up as Allah's revelations to him.

Those examples demonstrate that Muhammad had copied stories, concepts and
style of Zayd ibn Amr in the composition of the Qur'an.

*Labid*

* *

Labid was another poet whom Muhammad admired a lot. We will now briefly
review the contribution of this poet towards the authorship of the Qur'an.

* *

Labid was the son of Rabiah ibn Jafar al-Amiri. *Dictionary of
Islam*(Hughes Dictionary of Islam,
p.282) reports that Labid died at Kufah in Iraq at the age of 157. As told
before, Labid was one of the 7 magnificent poets of *Muallaqat*. Islamic
historians claim that Labid embraced Islam when he saw the first verse of
Sura al-Bakara (Sura 2) posted up at Ka'ba; he withdrew his verses and
embraced Islam. This claim, of course, cannot be true, as the first verse of
Sura al-Bakara is simply: Alif. Lam. Mim--the cryptic message which even
Muhammad claimed that only Allah knew their meaning. Labid's verse was:
"Know that everything is vanity but God." Muhammad said the same to
Labid—the truest poet.

Even if one accepts the assertion that Labid became a Muslim after reading
Muhammad's verses then it is more palpable that it was indeed Labid who
helped Muhammad to construct poetical verses that were, later, passed up as
messages of Allah via Gabriel. Those verses which Labid wrote on behalf of
Muhammad were mostly the verses dealing with piety, exhortation of good
deeds, some narrations of Arab practices… etc.

In *Ahadith* we find references of Labid. Here are some samples:

*Sahih Bukhari:*

The most true words said by a poet was the words of Labid…5.58.181

*Volume 5, Book 58, Number 181:*

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "The most true words said by a poet was the words of
Labid." He said, Verily, Everything except Allah is perishable and Umaiya
bin As-Salt was about to be a Muslim (but he did not embrace Islam).

A true poetry testifies the indestructibility of Allah…8.76.496

*Volume 8, Book 76, Number 496:*

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "The truest poetic verse ever said by a poet, is: Indeed!
Everything except Allah, is perishable."

This *Hadis,* of course, refers to the poetry of Labid.

*Sahih Muslim*

The true word in Arabic poetry is "Labid". Apart from Allah everything is
vain…28.5604

*Book 028, Number 5604:*

Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying:
The truest word spoken by an Arab (pre-Islamic) in poetry is this verse of
Labid:" Behold! apart from Allah everything is vain."

I think Muhammad, in the beginning, wanted to be a famous poet by simply
mimicking the style, the vocabulary and the rhythm of the poets of his time.
However, his illiteracy proved to be the major stumbling block, until he met
Zayd ibn Amr and Labid—his mentors who would completely change his course.

In the beginning and before his marriage to Khadijah, Muhammad was probably
more inclined to be a poet. He deeply admired the above three personalities,
two of them were poets and the third (Zayd b. Amr) a humanist in to-day's
language. Nonetheless, after his marriage to Khadijah, and when he came in
contact with several personalities related to her who were well-versed in
religions other than paganism, Muhammad changed his mind. Now, he thought of
introducing a new belief system. In fact, the Qur'an narrates that the
Quraysh considered that Muhammad was trying to be a poet, but Allah scolded
the Quraysh for their wrong assumption.

Here are some sample verses on the 'poetship' of Muhammad:

Some people thought that Muhammad was a poet...52:30

*052.030 *Or do they say:- "A Poet! we await for him some calamity (hatched)
by Time!"

People thought that Muhammad was a dreaming poet; they wanted him to show
them some miracles like the old prophets did...21:5

*021.005* "Nay," they say, "(these are) medleys of dream! - Nay, He forged
it! - Nay, He is (but) a poet! Let him then bring us a Sign like the ones
that were sent to (Prophets) of old!"

Muhammad does not recite any poetry; the Qur'an is a clear message…36:69

*036.069 *We have not instructed the (Prophet) in Poetry, nor is it meet for
him: this is no less than a Message and a Qur'an making things clear:

Muhammad is not a poet possessed but he confirms the messages of apostles
sent before him…37:36-37

*037.036 *And say: "What! shall we give up our gods for the sake of a Poet
possessed?"
* 037.037 *Nay! he has come with the (very) Truth, and he confirms (the
Message of) the messengers (before him).

The Qur'an is neither the words of a poet nor that of a
soothsayer...69:41-42

*069.041 *It is not the word of a poet: little it is ye believe!
* 069.042 *Nor is it the word of a soothsayer: little admonition it is ye
receive.

* Bibliography*

* *

*"The Holy Qur'an*," the internet version of three English translations can
be read at: http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/]<http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/%5D>

Ali, Abdullah, Yusuf, *"The Holy Qur'an: Translation and Commentary,"* Amana
Corp., Brentwood, Maryland, 1983.

al-Bukhari, Muhammad b. Ismail, *"Sahi Bukhari,"* translated in English by
Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan:
[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/
] <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/bukhari/>

Muslim, Abu al-Hussain b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushairi, *"Sahi Muslim,"* translated
in English by Adul Hamid Siddiqui:
[http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/
] <http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/>

Hughes, Patrick Thomas, *"A Dictionary of Islam;"*  first published in 1886;
latest reprint by Kazi Publications Inc,, Chicago, 1994.

*"The Origins of the Koran,*"edited by Ibn Warraq, Prometheus Books,
Amherst, New York, 1998.

Ibn Ishaq, Muhammad b. Yasr, *"Sirat Rasul Allah,"*  translated in English
by A. Guillaume; first by published by Oxford University Press, London in
1955; fifteenth reprint by Oxford University Press, Karachi, Pakistan, 2001.

Ibn Sa'd, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad, *"Kitab al-Tabaqat,"* vol i, translated in
English by S. Moinul Haq, Kitab Bhavan; 1784, Kalam Mahal, Daraya Ganj, New
Delhi, India, 1972.

Ibn Sa'd, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad, *"Kitab al-Tabaqat,"* vol ii, translated
in English by S. Moinul Haq, Kitab Bhavan; 1784, Kalam Mahal, Daraya Ganj,
New Delhi, India, 1972.

Ibn al-Kalbi, Hisham, *"The Book of Idols (Kitab Al-Asnam),"* translated in
English by Nabih Amin Faris, Princeton University Press, 1952. [
http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Al-Kalbi/index.htm ]

al-Misri, Ahmed ibn Naqib, *"Raliance of the Traveller ('Umdat
al-Salik),"*revised edition, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, Amana
Publications,
Bettsville, Maryland, 1999.

Abul Kasem writes from Sydney.
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