[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 3 of the article 2.

Mon Sep 3 02:15:33 CDT 2007

*Who Authored the Qur'an?—an Enquiry*

*Part 3*

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

http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/kasem/quran_origin3.htm

* *

An afterthought: After the posting of Part 2 of this series, some readers
requested me to elicit the verses of Zayd b. Amr's poems which I mentioned
in Part 2 <http://www.mukto-mona.com/Articles/kasem/quran_origin2.htm>. I
wrote that those verses have uncanny similarities with some Qur'anic verses.
Previously, I did not quote those verses just to keep the length of this
essay short and not to bore the readers (as well as not to break the
copyright laws). Here are some sample verses from Zayd's poem. For more
details please refer to ibn Ishaq's biography of Muhammad (see
bibliography).---Abul Kasem

*Ibn Ishaq (pp.100-101)*

Zayd b. 'Amr. B. Nufayl composed the following poem about leaving his people
and the torment he received from them:

Am I to worship one lord or a thousand?
If there are as many as you claim,
I renounce al-Lat and al-'Uzza both of them
As any strong-minded person would.
I will not worship al-'Uzza and her two daughters,
Nor will I visit the two images of the Banu 'Amr.
I will not worship Hubal' though he was our lord
In the days when I had little sense.
I wondered (for in the night much is strange
Which in daylight is plain to the discerning),
That God had annihilated many men
Whose deeds were thoroughly evil
And spared others through the piety of a people
So that a little child could grow in manhood.
A man may languish for a time and then recover
As the branch of a tree revives after the rain.
I serve my Lord the compassionate
That the forgiving Lord may pardon my sin,
So keep to the fear of God your Lord;
While you hold to that you will not perish.
You will see the pious living in gardens,
While for the infidels hell fire is burning.
Shamed in life, when they die
Their breasts will contract in anguish.

*Zayd also said: (143)*

To God I give my praise and thanksgiving,
A sure word that will not fail as long as time lasts,
To the heavenly King—there is no God beyond Him
And no lord can draw near to Him.
Beware, O men, of what follows death!
You can hide nothing from God..
Beware of putting another beside God,
For the upright way has become clear.
Merry I implore, others trust in jinn,
But thou, my God, art our Lord and our hope.
I am satisfied with thee, O God, as a Lord,
And will not worship another God beside thee.
Thou of thy goodness and mercy
Didst send a messenger to Moses as a herald.
Thou saidst to him, Go thou and Aaron,
And summon Pharaoh the tyrant to run to God
And say to him, 'Did you spread out this (earth) without support,
Until it stood fast as it does?'
Say to him 'Did you raise this (heaven) without support?
What a fine builder then you were!'
Say to him 'Did you set the moon in the middle thereof
As a light to guide when night covered it?'
Say to him, 'Who sent forth the sun by day
So that the earth it touched reflected its splendour?'
Say to him, 'Who planted seeds in the dust
That herbage might grow and wax great?
And brought forth its seeds in the head of the plant?'
Therein are signs for the understanding.
Thou in thy kindness did deliver Jonah
Who spent nights in the belly of the fish.
Though I glorify thy name, I often repeat
'O Lord of creatures, bestow thy gifts and mercy upon me
And bless my sons and property.

[(143) Ibn Hisham's note (ibn Ishaq p.713): These verses really belong to an
ode of Umayya b. Abu'l-Salt, except for the first two, the fifth, and the
last verse. The second half of the first verse does not come via I.I.]

Here is another sample verse of Zayd b. Amr (ibn Ishaq, p.102):

And *Zayd said:*

I submit myself to him to whom
The earth which bears mighty rocks is subject.
He spread it out and when He saw it was settled
Upon the waters, He fixed the mountains on it.
I submit myself to Him to whom clouds which bear
Sweet water are subject
When they are borne along to a land
They obediently pour copious rain upon it.

After Zayd b. Amr was killed, his comrade Waraqa b. Naufal b. Asad (i.e.,
Khadijah's cousin brother) composed this elegy over him (ibn Ishaq, p.103):

You were altogether on the right path Ibm 'Amr,
You have escaped hell's burning oven
By serving the one and only God
And abandoning vain idols.
And by attaining the religion which you sought
Not being unmindful of the unity of your Lord
You have reached a noble dwelling
Wherein you will rejoice in your generous treatment.
You will meet there the friend of God, (3)
Since you were not a tyrant ripe for hell,
For the mercy of God reaches men,
Though they be seventy valleys deep below the earth (146)

Footnote (3): The district of which 'Amman was the capital. Ibn Hisham's
note (146): The first two verses of this poem are attributed to Umayya b.
Abu al-Salt and the last verse occurs in one of his odes. The words 'vain
idols' have not I.I..'a authority.

[The reason of my quoting the elegy of Waraqa is to demonstrate the strong
camaraderie between Zayd b. Amr and Waraqa which had propelled Muhammad to
develop a deep respect and appreciation of what Zayd b. Amr sincerely
believed, resolutely stood and eventually died for. He was determined to
emulate Zayd b. Amr, the great confidante' of Waraqa and hence Khadijah.
Remember? Khadijah was Muhammad's first wife and his only support.---Abul
Kasem]* *
 ------------------------------

Hasan b. Thabit

Hasan b. Thabit was Muhammad's own official poet. He wrote the Diwan, the
anthology of ancient Arabian poetry. When Muhammad migrated to Medina he
made Hasan b. Thabit his own poet. Nonetheless, Hasan b. Thabit had his
idiosyncrasies. Even though he was the personal poet of Muhammad he had a
deep dislike for the Muslims. On page xxviii of Sirat Rasul Allah, the
translator, Professor Alfred Guillaume writes, "Hasan b. Thabit disliked the
growing number of Muslims. He considered the vagrant Muslims as unmitigated
nuisance. He did not house any of the Muhajirin, nor was a brother to one of
them."

Most likely, Hasan b. Thabit was a hired poet (a kind of journalist) of
Muhammad—paid to compose poetry as per Muhammad's specifications. This can
be confirmed from Ahadith. Here are some examples:

*From Sahih Bukhari: Muhammad approved Hassan b. Thabit to recite poetry in
a mosque…4.54.434*

*Volume 4, Book 54, Number 434: *Narrated Sa'id bin Al-Musaiyab: 'Umar came
to the Mosque while Hassan was reciting a poem. ('Umar disapproved of that).
On that Hassan said, "I used to recite poetry in this very Mosque in the
presence of one (i.e. the Prophet ) who was better than you." Then he turned
towards Abu Huraira and said (to him), "I ask you by Allah, did you hear
Allah's Apostle saying (to me), "Retort on my behalf. O Allah! Support him (
i.e. Hassan) with the Holy Spirit?" Abu Huraira said, "Yes." This Hadis,
unmistakably shows that Hasan used to construct poems for Muhammad to be
recited in the mosque. Can those poems not be some of the Suras of the
Qur'an?

*Muhammad instructed Hassan, the poet to lampoon the pagans…4.54.435*

*Volume 4, Book 54, Number 435: *Narrated Al Bara: The Prophet said to
Hassan, "Lampoon them (i.e. the pagans) and Gabriel is with you." This Hadis
demonstrates that Hasan b. Thabit used to compose poems as per Muhammad's
likes and dislikes—just the way the Qur'an is composed of Allah's
revelations via Gabriel. Hassan b. Thabit lampooned the infidels excluding
Muhammad…4.56.731 Volume 4, Book 56, Number 731: Narrated 'Aisha: Once
Hassan bin Thabit asked the permission of the Prophet to lampoon (i.e.
compose satirical poetry defaming) the infidels. The Prophet said, "What
about the fact that I have common descent with them?" Hassan replied, "I
shall take you out of them as a hair is taken out of dough." Narrated 'Urwa:
I started abusing Hassan in front of 'Aisha, whereupon she said. "Don't
abuse him, for he used to defend the Prophet (with his poetry)." Here are
further evidence that Hasan b. Thabit was a paid scribe—a Qur'an composer of
Muhammad Muhammad asked his poet Hassan to abuse the B. Qurayzah Jews
through his poetry...Sahih Bukhari: 5.59.449

*Volume 5, Book 59, Number 449: *Narrated Al-Bara: The Prophet said to
Hassan, "Abuse them (with your poems), and Gabriel is with you (i.e,
supports you)." (Through another group of sub narrators) Al-Bara bin Azib
said, "On the day of Quraiza's (besiege), Allah's Apostle said to Hassan bin
Thabit, 'Abuse them (with your poems), and Gabriel is with you (i.e.
supports you).' " This Hadis demonstrates further that Muhammad commissioned
Hasan b. Thabit to compose poems as per his stipulations.

*Sahih Muslim*

*Abu Talha gave his valuable property to his relatives, viz. Hassan b.
Thabit and Ubayy b. Ka'b…5.2186*

*Book 005, Number 2186:* Anas reported that when this verse was revealed:"
You will not attain righteousness till you give freely of what you love,"
Abu Talha said: I see that our Lord has demanded from us out of our
property; so I make you a witness, Messenger of Allah. that I give my land
known as Bairaha' for the sake of Allah. Upon this the Messenger of Allah
(may peace be upon him) said: Give that to your relatives. So he gave it to
Hassan b. Thabit and Ubayy b. Ka'b. That was how Muhammad rewarded Hasan b.
Thabit for composing Qur'anic verses (via his poems, and helped by Gabriel)
for Muhammad.

*After Hassan b. Thabit went blind he used to spend time at Aisha's quarter.
Aisha admired him as he used to write satirical rebuttal on be half of
Muhammad…31.6077*

*Book 031, Number 6077: *Masruq reported: I visited 'A'isha when Hassin was
sitting there and reciting verses from his compilation: She is chaste and
prudent. There is no calumny against her and she rises up early in the
morning without eating the meat of the un- mindful. 'A'isha said: But you
are not so. Masruq said: I said to her: Why do you permit him to visit you,
whereas Allah has said:" And as for him among them who took upon himself the
main part thereof, he shall have a grievous punishment" (XXIV. ll)?
Thereupon she said: What tornient can be more severe than this that he has
become blind? He used to write satire as a rebuttal on behalf of Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him). That was how Hasan b. Thabit saved
Muhammad and his Qur'an!

Here is another Hadis from Sahih Muslim that even claims that *Hasan b.
Thabit's poems were helped by divine power (Ruh-ul-Quddus) and were similar
to certain Qur'anic verses:*

*Book 031, Number 6081:* 'A'isha reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace
be uport him) said. Satirise against the (non-believing amongst the)
Quraish, for (the satire) is more grievous to them than the hurt of an
arrow. So he (the Holy Prophet) sent (someone) to Ibn Rawiha and asked him
to satirise against them, and he composed a satire, but it did not appeal to
him (to the Holy Prophet). He then sent (someone) to Ka'b b. Malik (to do
the same, but what he composed did not appeal to the Holy Prophet). He then
sent one to Hassan b. Thabit. As he got into his presence, Hassan said: Now
you have called for this lion who strikes (the enemies) with his tail. He
then brought out his tongue and began to move it and said: By Him Who has
sent you with Truth, I shall tear them with my tongue as the leather is
torn. Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Don't be
hasty; (let) Abu Bakr who has the best know- ledge of the lineage of the
Quraish draw a distinction for you in regard to my lineage, as my lineage is
thesame as theirs. Hassan then came to him (Abu Bakr) and after making
inquiry (in regard to the lineage of the Holy Prophet) came back to him (the
holy Prophet) and said: Allah's Messenger, he (Abu Bakr) has drawn a
distinction in vour lineage (and that of the Quraish) By Him Who has sent
you with Truth, I shall draw out from them (your name) as hair is drawn out
from the flour. 'A'isha said: I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon
him) as saying to Hassin: Verily Ruh-ul- Qudus would continue to help you so
long as you put up a defence on behalf of Allah and His Messenger. And she
said: I heard Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) saying: Hassan
satirised against them and gave satisfaction to the (Muslims) and disquieted
(the non-Muslims). You satirised Muhammad, but I replied on his behalf, And
there is reward with Allah for this. You satirised Muhammad. virtuous,
righteous, The Apostle of Allah, whose nature is truthfulness. So verily my
father and his father and my honour Are a protection to the honour of
Muhammad; May I lose my dear daughter, if you don't see her, Wiping away the
dust from the two sides of Kada', They pull at the rein, going upward; On
their shoulders are spears thirsting (for the blood of the enemy) ; our
steeds are sweating-our women wipe them with their mantles. If you had not
interfered with us, we would have performed the 'Umra, And (then) there was
the Victory, and the darkness cleared away. Otherwise wait for the fighting
on the day in which Allah will honour whom He pleases. And Allah said: I
have sent a servant who says the Truth in which there is no ambiguity; And
Allah said: I have prepared an army-they are the Ansar whose object is
fighting (the enemy), There reaches every day from Ma'add abuse, or fighting
or satire; Whoever satirises the Apostle from amongst you, or praises him
and helps it is all the same, And Gabriel, the Apostle of Allah is among us,
and the Holy Spirit who has no match. Muhammad rewarded this mercenary poet
of him by awarding him a pretty, young damsel Sirin, who, along with
Marriyah Kibtia was presented to Muhammad by Muyaqis, the then governor of
Alexandria. Muhammad kept for himself Marriyah, the prettiest lass and
donated Sirin to Hasan b. Thabit to be used as his sex-slave. Ibn Ishaq (Ibn
Ishaq, p.652) writes that Sirin and Marriyah were sisters.
Salman the Persian

Salman, the Persian was originally a devout Zoroastrian from Isfahan,
Persia. Then he converted to Christianity. Later, he was sold as a slave to
a B. Qurayza Jew of Medina. When Muhammad arrived at Medina Salman met him
there. Some 3 years later, with the help of Muslims he purchased his freedom
from his master and converted to Islam--becoming an ardent companion of
Muhammad. During the battle of Ahzab (the battle of the ditch) the trench
digging was his idea. He was well acquainted with the books of the Persians
(i.e., Zoroastrianism), the Greeks and the Jews. Ali said about him
(Reliance of the Traveller, p.1093), "He was a man of us and for us, the
line of prophetic house, and in relation to you as the sage Luqman, having
learned the first knowledge and the last, read the first scripture and the
last: an exhaustive sea."

Undoubtedly, Muhammad cleverly utilised Salman's extraordinary talent to
compose many verses of the Qur'an that deal with historical tales of the
ancient Egypt, the Greek, the Romans and the Persians. As Salman was
formerly a Zoroastrian, Muhammad learned, in detail many of their beliefs
and practices and incorporated them in his Qur'an. Muhammad's description of
Paradise and hell are stunningly similar to that of the Zoroastrians. So
those verses dealing with the punishment in Hell and the prize in Paradise
were surely contributed by Salman, the Persian. It is interesting to note
that Salman became a close member of Muhammad's family. Aisha reports that
Muhammad used to spend countless hours with him-- discussing various
religious issues, so much so, that Aisha thought that Salman would spend the
night with Muhammad.

Those who have read the Qur'an up close—many times, will be profoundly
surprised with Muhammad's absolute pre-occupation with the description of
Paradise and hell. There are many verses in the Qura'an that, time after
time, deal with this particular topic—that is, the purely sensual rewards of
Paradise for the believers and the sadistic, odious punishment for the
unbelievers. Most of these verses, no doubt, were inspired by Salman, the
Persian and later, written down by Muhammad's scribes at his dictate—passing
them up as Allah's revelations. Here I am citing just a few of such verses.
To save space I have cited only the main message in the verse. For details
please refer to the verse number quoted.

The Qur'anic Paradise If the believers do not commit the most heinous (major
sin) of the forbidden (idolatry) then God will forgive other sins and admit
them in paradise...4:31 The believers will have easy life and will dwell in
paradise forever…7:42 In paradise there will be no jealousy, all will
glorify God for guiding them…7:43 The paradise dwellers will enquire about
the appalling condition of the hell dwellers…7:44 God promises paradise
(beautiful mansions in the garden of Eden) to the believing men and
women…9:72 Gardens (many gardens in paradise?) of eternity (Eden), beneath
river flowing, adorned with bracelets of gold, green garments, fine silk;
comfortable furnishing...18:31 God promises paradise (beautiful mansions in
the garden of Eden) to the believing men and women…9:72 In paradise there
are two gardens of grape fruit surrounded by date palms and a corn field in
between them...18:32 In paradise there is no nonsense; only salutation of
peace, sustenance in the morning and in the evening...19:62-63 Believers
will be admitted to the gardens (many gardens in paradise?) beneath which
river flows; they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls and
their garments will be of silk...2.23 People have no idea of how much joy
and happiness God has reserved in paradise for the believers…32:17 The
believers will be in gardens of eternity (many gardens in paradise?); they
will be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls and their garments will be
of silk…35:33 For the sincere and devoted servants of God there will be
sustenance (in paradise), fruits, honor, dignity, garden of felicity, they
will face each other on thrones, pass around a cup from a clear flowing
fountain, crystal white delicious drink, no headache, no intoxication,
chaste women…36:41-50 In paradise there will be every kind of fruit and
there will be peace and security...44:55 There will be no taste of death in
paradise for the believers except their first death...44:56 Slain Jihadists
will be in paradise…47:6 God will readily offer paradise to the
believers…50:31 Near the boundary of Lote tree is the paradise…53:15 Class3
Those nearest to God in the garden of bliss (upper paradise)...56:11-12 The
width of a garden in paradise is the width of heaven and earth...57:21 If
you repent then God will remove ills and send you to paradise under which
rivers flow; the believers' light will radiate in front of them and on to
their right side...66:8 God will reward the righteous with a garden
(paradise) and garments of silk will be theirs for their patience...76:12
The believers will recline in garden (paradise) on raised thrones, no
excessive heat of the sun; no excessive cold of the moon...76:13 The
residents of paradise will enjoy wine mixed with Zaanzabil (zinger?)…76:17
The fountain in paradise is called Salsabil...76:18 Passed around will be
vessels of silver and goblets of crystal; they will be served by youths
(boys) of perpetual freshness like pearls...76:19 There will be peace and
tranquillity everywhere in paradise…76:20 Green garments of fine silk and
heavy brocade, adorned with bracelets of silver; God will give everyone to
drink a pure holy wine...76:21

And the Qur'anic Hell The preachers of idolatry will be cut off from their
followers and will be sent to hell...2:166 God casts terror in the hearts of
unbelievers; they will reside in hell...3:151 Hell is a woeful
refuge...3:162 The dwellers of hell will be covered with shame; there are no
helpers for them...3:192 Hell is a burning fire; so is envy...4:55
Unbelievers will be cast in fire, their skins roasted often, skin changed
often for more roasting...4:56 The unbelievers will drink boiling water in
hell...6:70 Each new entrant of hell will blame his ancestors for leading
him to hell; the penalty of hell fire is doubled for those who mislead
others...7:38 Allah has made many men and Jinns for hell; they are worse
than cattle...7:179 The unbelievers will burn in hell...14:29 There are
seven gates in hell each of special class...15:44 Hell is a prison (dungeon)
for the unbelievers...17:8 When someone wants material things, God will
bestow this first; then He will gather them in Gehenna (hell) to be burnt
forever)...17:18 Unbelievers will be lying face down, will be dumb and deaf
on the judgment day; God will increase the fierceness of hell fire...17:97
Hell is an entertainment for the unbelievers...18:102 Those who are gathered
in hell will lay face down...25:34 Zaqqum, the bitter tree in hell is for
the unbelievers…37:62 Zaqqum springs out of bottom of hell fire…37:64 The
unbelievers will be led to hell in crowds; gates will be opened, the keepers
will ask questions regarding the messengers sent…39:71 The people of Pharaoh
will be brought in front of hellfire in the morning and in the
evening...40:46 Those in hellfire will beg the keepers of hell to lighten
the penalty at least for a day...40:49 The keepers of hell will admonish the
inmates of hell for disobeying the messengers sent to them while they were
in earth…40:50 God will taunt the Christians in hell saying: Where are all
my partners that you used to believe in?...40:73 The unbelievers will ask
Malek, the keeper of hell to kill them with God's permission; but Malek will
promise them to keep them in hell forever…43:77 One day God will ask hell if
it is full or not; the hell will ask more inmates in it...50:30 Unbelievers
will be entertainment with boiling water and their will be burned in
hellfire...56:93 The only food in hell will be bitter ones; filth and
pus…69:35-37 To escape hell fire, the sinners will offer to sacrifice their
children, wives, brothers.....everything on earth; but these will not be
acceptable to Allah, and the fire will be plucking out right to the
skull...70:11-16 Non-Muslim Jinns and the idolaters will be the fuels of
hell fire...72:15 Hellfire changes skin colour...74:27-29 For the
disbelievers, Allah has prepared shackles, chains and a blazing
hellfire…76:4 No coolness and drink in hell (gehenna)...78:24

For brevity's sake I did not include the historical references in the Qur'an
that were undoubtedly told to Muhammad by Salman. Please spend some time
searching the Qur'an and you will surely discover that they were purely
man-made stories—not the stories told by Allah.

*Bibliography*

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

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/  ]

Muslim, Abu al-Hussain b. al-Hajjaj al-Qushairi, "Sahi Muslim," translated
in English by Abdul Hamid Siddiqui: [
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.

*This essay continues in Part 4/5*

Abul Kasem writes from Sydney.
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