[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 two articles here.

Sat Sep 1 05:15:42 CDT 2007

Allahabad tense after 'desecration' of holy book Saturday, 01 September ,
2007, 09:23

http://samachar.com/showurl.php?rurl=http://sify.com/news/fullstory.php?id=14520238

*Allahabad:* Tension prevailed in several parts of the city following
reports of alleged desecration of a holy book, prompting authorities to
impose curfew in the affected areas.

Trouble began late Friday when a mob attacked the Kareli Police Station
alleging that copy of a holy book was found desecrated inside a place of
worship, police said, adding that the rumours soon spread to other areas
evoking similar outbursts.

Police resorted to *lathi* charge and fired in the air to quell the mob even
as curfew was imposed in Kareli, Shahganj, Khuldabad, Kotwali and some parts
of Dhoomanganj police station area to prevent further unrest, Divisional
Commissioner P K Jha told *PTI*.

At least 14 persons have been arrested in connection with the violence which
left at least three police personnel injured, Inspector General of Police,
Allahabad zone, A K D Dwivedi said.

Educational institutions across the city have been ordered closed for the
day as a preventive measure, Jha added.

Heavy deployment of police as well as the Rapid Action Force has been made
in the affected areas where the situation was tense but under control, he
added.

*Who Authored the Qur'an?—an Enquiry*

*Part 1*

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

* *

*Abstract*

This article delves into the very authorship of the Holy Qur'an—a new way of
looking at the Holy Qur'an. An enquiry is made using logical reasoning and
historical references on the authorship of the Qur'an. Thus this methodology
is totally opposed to the blind believers who accept the authenticity of the
Qur'an unquestionably. By analysing, dissecting and carefully interpreting
the contents of the Qur'an, the *Ahadith*, Sirah (Muhammad's biography) the
author has identified several parties who had undoubtedly contributed to the
composition of the Qur'anic verses. It was not Allah who wrote the Qur'an;
it was not even Muhammad alone who did this either. The Qur'an is not the
creation of a single entity or a single person. There were several parties
involved in the composition, scribing, amending, inserting and deleting the
Qur'anic verses. The most important personalities involved in the creation
of the Qur'an were: Imrul Qays, Zayd b. Amr, Hasan b. Thabit, Salman,
Bahira, ibn Qumta, Waraqa and Ubayy b. Ka'b. Muhammad himself was involved
in the make-up of a limited number of verses, but the most influential
person who motivated Muhammad in the invention of Islam and the opus of the
Qur'an was, perhaps, Zayd b. Amr, who preached 'Hanifism'. Muhammad later
metamorphosed Zayd's 'Hanifism' into Islam. Therefore, the assertion that
Islam is not a new religion stands to be true. However, the important
finding is that the Qur'an is definitely not the words of Allah—it is a
human-made scripture which Muhammad simply passed up as Allah's final words
to mankind. Another important aspect of this essay is that among the ancient
religions that the writers of the Qur'an incorporated in it, perhaps the
practices of the Sabeans is crucial. In fact, the rituals of 5 prayers and
the 30 days fasting were actually adapted from the Sabeans. Qur'an, thus, is
a compilation of various religious books that existed during Muhammad's
time. Muhammad, not Allah, simply adopted, picked and chose from various
sources and created the Qur'an. While many parties contributed to the
Qur'an, Muhammad became its chief editor—to say it plainly.

*Introduction*

According to Islam, questioning the Allah's absolute authorship of the
Qur'an is a serious blasphemy. A person may face death sentence simply for
nurturing an atom of doubt on Qur'an's authenticity. The Qur'an is above
all. Nothing in the creation of Allah is holier than the Qur'an. However,
human being what he is—ever inquisitive—I started doubting Qur'an's
authorship in my very childhood--when I was introduced in the recitation of
this Holy Scripture in a very formal manner. I spent a couple of years
learning a few introductory verses under the tutorship of a local 'Hujur'
(Islamic religion teacher) in the local mosque. This 'Hujur' taught the
Qur'an to a group of us by holding a rattan cane that looked quite shiny as
he used to oil the cane every day before his 'Murid' (learners) arrived in
the mosque. I can vouch that none of us ever liked to study the Qur'an—it
was the most boring and the most painful task during our childhood. We
simply memorised like parrots, certain verses without understanding a single
word of them The 'Hujur' also did not know the meanings of those verses.
Whenever we asked any question about any verse, the answer was a few stroke
of the cane from the 'Hujur'. The learning of the recitation of the Qur'an
became associated with corporeal punishment and child-abuse. Thus, we
developed a deep disdain towards the Qur'an recitation in particular a
dislike for the Mullahs in general.

Later, after I left my University and started working, a colleague of mine
presented me with a copy of the translation of the Holy Qur'an by Abdullah
Yusuf Ali. My colleague was a diehard 'Tabligi' (a religious proselytiser)
and exhorted me to read the translation carefully. He vouched that after I
had comprehended the true messages of the Holy Scripture my life will change
for ever—for the better, he insisted. Reluctantly, I started to read the
English translation—verse by verse, passage by passage. The more I read, the
more I was shocked, disturbed, astonished, bewildered and resentful. I could
not believe that a book which is supposed to be the handiwork of the most
compassionate, the most merciful and the most forgiving Allah could contain
such a terrible amount of hate, terror, call for murder, war, vengeance and
most of all a blanket plea for the destruction of all those who do not
subscribe to the Qur'anic view of the world. Of course, there were a few
verses which were very poetical, beautifully crafted, rhythmic and sometimes
rich in spirituality. Apart from those handful 'good' stuff I found the vast
part of the Qur'an simply nonsensical, and not-to-talk about the those
incriminating verses exhorting the believers to murder and wage an
unrelenting war (*Jihad*) against the unbelievers. I started questioning:
how could a merciful, compassionate Allah write such a cranky book that is
nothing more than a trash and a manual of terror, war and plunder? When my
'Tabligi' colleague asked how I was doing with the Qur'an, I simply told him
I was doing fine—elaborating further that I discovered plenty of new
astonishing materials in the Qur'an which I never thought existed in it. He
simply smiled and said, "The Qur'an is wonderful, isn't it?" I replied, "You
said it!"

 A few years later, I started to ponder deeply on the Qur'an. Using the
works of other translators, as well as the *Tafsirs* (explanation), I read
and re-read the Holy Scripture--several times to make sure that what they
translated and explained were absolutely correct. The more I learned about
the Qur'an the more I became distraught, disturbed and angry—angry because I
felt that I was utterly let down by a killer religion which was imposed on
me due to my birth. The stuff I read in the Qur'an jolted me so much that I
wanted to find the answer to my perennial question—who really authored the
Qur'an? It took me a long time and many years of painstaking work to arrive
at the answer of that question. This article tries to answer that question.
I had been planning this essay for a long time, and now, after writing it I
feel it is for you to ponder too—'Who authored the Qur'an?'

During my investigative phase I found that a lot of people were involved in
the compilation and the construction of the Qur'an. Unknown to the vast
majority of Muslims, and buried deep inside the Qur'an, *Ahadith* and Sirah
there are copious evidence to reject, out of hand, the contention that the
Qur'an is the creation of Allah. Making Allah the author of the Quran, I
think, is the prime lie perpetrated on mankind for more than a millennium.
We can, with certainty, say that it was not even Muhammad alone who authored
the Qur'an.In fact, the major part of the Qur'an was actually either
composed by or inspired and written by a few other individuals. Most notable
among them were:

·         Imrul Qays—an ancient poet of Arabia who died a few decades before
Muhammad's birth

·         Zayd b. Amr b. Naufal—an 'apostate' of his time who preached and
propagated Hanifism

·         Labid—another poet

·         Hasan b. Thabit—the official poet of Muhammad

·         Salman, the Persian—Muhammad's confidante' and an advisor

·         Bahira—a Nestoraian Christian monk of the Syrian church

·         Jabr—a Christian neighbour of Muhammad

·         Ibn Qumta—a Christian slave

·         Khadijah—Muhammad's first wife

·         Waraqa—Khadijah's cousin brother

·         Ubay b. Ka'b—Muhammad's secretary and a Qur'an scribe

·         Muhammad himself

There were other parties involved too. They were:

·         The Sabeans

·         Aisha—Muhammad's child bride

·         Abdallah b. Salam b. al-Harith—a Jewish convert to Islam

·         Mukhyariq—a Rabbi and another Jewish convert to Islam

Of course, my list of the possible authors of the Qur'an is not exhaustive.
There may be many other parties involved that I might not have even heard
of. But for a concise discussion the above list should be ample enough, I
guess. In this article I have simply enumerated the contribution of the
above sources in the authorship of the Qur'an.

Now, to understand the Qur'an and its writer/s, we must, first of all,
recognise the background of Muhammad, purportedly the ultimate and the best
creation of Allah.

* *

* *

* *

*The Pagan origin of Muhammad*

It is an absolute fact that Muhammad was born of pagan parents. His father,
Abdullah and his mother, Amina were both pagans and they used to worship
many idols. His entire childhood (probably up to his teen) was spent in
paganism. To day, many Muslims will find it extremely hard to digest this
fact. However, Muhammad's pagan origin is disclosed by Hisham ibn al-Kalbi.
On page 17 of his important work, *Kitab al-Asnam * (The Book of Idols) he
writes (Hisham al-Kalbi, *Kitab al-Asnam*, p.17):

'We have been told that the Apostle of God once mentioned al-Uzza saying, "I
have offered a white sheep to al-'Uzza, while I was a follower of the
religion of my people." '

In the statement above Muhammad clearly admits his past adherence to
paganism—the then religion of the Quraysh.

Initially, Muhammad even eulogized the important gods (or idols) of the
pagans by agreeing with the Quraysh—at some point that these gods were the
intercessors of Allah. On the same page Hisham ibn al-Kalbi writes:

The Quraysh were wont to circumambulate the Ka'bah and say:

            By Allat and al-'Uzza,

            And Manah, the third idol besides.

            Verily they are the most exalted females

            Whose intercession is to be sought.

These were also called "the Daughters of Allah," and were supposed to
intercede before God. When the Apostle of God was sent god revealed unto him
[concerning them] the following:

*053.019 * Have ye seen Lat. and 'Uzza,
*053.020 * And another, the third (goddess), Manat?

* 053.021 * What! for you the male sex, and for Him, the female?
*053.022 * Behold, such would be indeed a division most unfair!

* 053.023 * These are nothing but names which ye have devised,- ye and your
fathers,- for which Allah has sent down no authority (whatever). They follow
nothing but conjecture and what their own souls desire!- Even though there
has already come to them Guidance from their Lord! (Hisham ibn al-Kalbi,
'Kitab al-Asnam,' p.17)

When Muhammad became an adult and started to attend the annual assembly of
poets at Ukaz he was deeply impressed and moved by the thoughts, eloquence,
sentiment, freethinking and humanism expounded by many of those poets. He
started questioning the idol-worshipping and began to start preaching a new
concept of one God, the creator—similar to the concepts of the Jews and the
Christians of that time. Nonetheless, he was confused as to which God ought
to be his God. Allah, a deity (a moon god--that is why the symbols placed at
every mosque is a crescent moon) at that time, was the supreme God of the
pagans. Their only fault was that besides Allah, they used to worship as the
intercessors for Allah, the supreme other smaller gods/goddesses like:
Hubal, Al-lat, Al-Uzza, Manat…etc. So, in the beginning of his new concept
of an almighty creator Allah was out of his mind. Besides, at that time the
magicians, the soothsayers, the sorcerers, and even the Satan worshippers
used to vow by Allah. Thus, Muhammad found it utterly despicable to make
Allah his God (ilah).

During those pagan days the people of Yemen used to worship another deity
whose name was Ar-Rahman. Muhammad, for a while, adopted the name Ar-Rahman
for God in place of Allah. Coincidentally, Ar-Rahman was also the Jewish
word *Rahmana* which was a name for God in the Talmudic period (Noldeke: *The
Koran*, *The* *Origins of the Koran*, p.53). Muhammad cleverly thought that
by using the word Ar-Rahman he ought to be able to attract to his new
'religion', the Jews as well as some pagans.

However, when he declared himself to be the messenger of Ar-Rahman, the
Meccans, too, were at a loss and confused. The Meccans did not know of any
Ar-Rahman other than the Ar-Rahman of al-Yamamah (some writers say Ar-Rahman
was at Yemen). To verify Muhammad's claim the Quraysh sent a delegation to
Medina Jews, as they thought that Ar-Rahman, truly, was a deity in Yemen or
Yamamah. Islamic Historian Ibn Sa'd (Ibn Sa'd, vol.i, pp.189-190) writes:

"The Quraysh sent al-Nadr Ibn al-Harith Ibn 'Alaqamah and 'Uqbah Ibn abi
Mu'ayt and others to the Jews of Yathrib and told them to ask them (Jews)
about Muhammad. They came to Medinah and said to them (Jews): We have come
to you because a great affair has taken place amidst us. There is a humble
orphan who makes a big claim, considering himself to be the messenger of
al-Rahman, while we do not know any al-Rahman except the Rahman of
al-Yamamah. They said: Give the description before us. They gave his
description, on which they asked them who were his followers. They said: The
lowly people among us. Thereupon a scholar of from them laughed and said: he
is the Prophet whose attributes we find mentioned in our Scriptures; we also
know that his people will be most inimical to him."

When we read, with an unbiased mind, the first 50 Suras (in chronological
order) of the Qur'an we note Muhammad's confusion regrading Lord, Allah and
Ar-Rahman. He was quite unsure of whom he should consider as his God (ilah).
Here is a summary of the first 50 Suras regarding Muhammad's idea of his
God:

Only Lord—68, 92, 89, 94, 100, 108, 105, 114, 97, 106, 75 (11 Suras)

Ar-Rahman, Lord—55, 36 (2 Suras)

Ar-Rahman, Allah, Lord—20

Allah, Lord—96, 73, 74, 81, 87, 53, 85, 50, 38, 7, 72, 25, 35, 56, 26, 27,
28, 17 (18 Suras)

This demonstrates Muhammad's initial vacillation, confusion and ignorance of
the affairs of his God (ilah).

The Qur'an also confirms that when he started to preach his brand of faith
Muhammad was lost, confused and did not know much of religion. Here is what
the Qur'an writes:

Muhammad was lost, then Allah guided him 93:7

*093.007 * And He found thee wandering, and He gave thee guidance.

In the past Muhammad was heedless 12:3, 42:52

*012.003 * We do relate unto thee the most beautiful of stories, in that We
reveal to thee this (portion of the) Qur'an: before this, thou too was among
those who knew it not.
*042.052 * And thus have We, by Our Command, sent inspiration to thee: thou
knewest not (before) what was Revelation, and what was Faith; but We have
made the (Qur'an) a Light, wherewith We guide such of Our servants as We
will; and verily thou dost guide (men) to the Straight Way,-

So, how did Muhammad learn the basics of his new religion? Enter Imrul Qais
and Zayd Ibn Amr.

*Imrul Qays*

In ancient Arabia poetry was a passion. Poets were highly regarded in
society, and the words of many accomplished poets were regarded as next to
god's words. In a desert land, bereft of much entertainment and natural
relaxation, the ancient Arabs used to find solace, peace, tranquillity and
even the raging emotion of war and revenge through the mesmerising words of
their poets. Poets supplied the Arabs with their mental food. Seven such
poets had their verses permanently posted on the walls of Ka'ba. These
verses were known as *Muallakat* or suspended.

*The Dictionary of Islam* (Hughe's Dictionary of Islam, p.460) writes that
those verses were also known as *Muzahhabat* or the golden poems because
they were written in gold. The authors of those poetical verses were:
Zuhair, Trafah, Imrul Qays, Amru ibn Kulsum, al-Haris, Antarah and Labid.

Among those seven immortal poets the most famous was Imrul Qays, the
undisputed 'king' or the legend of Arabic poetry. He was a prince as his
father was an Arab tribal king. Through his passionate devotion to love and
poetry he irked his father and was banished from the palace. Thereafter, he
lived a solitary life by tending the sheep and keeping alive his undying
dedication to poetry. Eventually, he became a wanderer and led a melancholic
life when his tribe was almost eliminated in a tribal war. He travelled
around and finally arrived at Constantinople.  It is said that he was put to
death by the Roman ruler of Constantinople because he won the heart of a
Roman princess through love and poetry. He died around the year 530-540 A.D.,
before Muhammad's birth. His matchless verses were on the lips of many
Arabs, and surely Muhammad had memorised many of his superb works. Muhammad
is said to have declared Imrul Qais the greatest of Arab poets. No doubt
then that he was keenly motivated to emulate Imrul Qais in the very early
verses of the Qur'an.

The chroniclers' of the Qur'an usually list Sura al-Alaq (the clot, Sura 96)
as the first revelation of Allah to Muhammad. However, a systematic study of
the Qur'an may reveal that that may not be the case at all. In fact,
the *Dictionary
of Islam* (Hughes Dictionary of Islam, p.485), citing Islamic sources,
writes that some earliest Suras (before the first revelation, Sura 96) are
most likely to be:

99—az-Zalzalah (the Earthquake)

103—al-Asr (the Declining Day)

100—al-Adiyat (the Chargers)

1—al-Fatiha (the Opening)

Those Suras were, short, deep in spirituality and enthralling. It may be
worthwhile to examine two such short Suras; namely:

*Sura 99 (the Earthquake)*

*099.001 *When the earth is shaken to her (utmost) convulsion,
*099.002 *And the earth throws up her burdens (from within),

* 099.003 *And man cries (distressed): 'What is the matter with her?'-
*099.004 *On that Day will she declare her tidings:
*099.005 *For that thy Lord will have given her inspiration.
*099.006 *On that Day will men proceed in companies sorted out, to be shown
the deeds that they (had done).
*099.007 *Then shall anyone who has done an atom's weight of good, see it!
*099.008 *And anyone who has done an atom's weight of evil, shall see it

*Sura 103 (the Declining Day)*

*103.001 *By (the Token of) Time (through the ages),
*103.002 *Verily Man is in loss,
*103.003 *Except such as have Faith, and do righteous deeds, and (join
together) in the mutual teaching of Truth, and of Patience and Constancy.

W. St. Calir-Tisdall, the author of the famous essay *The Origin of
Islam*(The Origins of the Koran,
pp.235-236), by comparing two passages from the *Sabaa Mu'allaqat,* finds
close similarity with the verses from the Qur'an. Some of these verses are:

*054.001 *The Hour (of Judgment) is nigh, and the moon is cleft asunder.

*093.001 *By the Glorious Morning Light,

Commenting on verse 54.1 W. St. Clair-Tisdall writes:

'It was the custom of the time for and orators to hang up their compositions
upon the Ka'aba; and we know the seven *Mu'allaqat* were exposed. We are
told that Fatima, the Prophet's daughter, was one day repeating as she went
along the above verse. Just then she met the daughter of Imrul Qays, who
cried out, "O that's what your father has taken from one of my father's
poems, and calls it something that has come down to him out of heaven;" and
the story is commonly told amongst the Arabs until now.'

Thus, the relationship between Imrul Qays' poems and some of the early
verses of the Qur'an is pretty obvious. In this connection, W. St.
Clair-Tisdall elaborates (The Origins of the Koran, p.236) further:

 "The connection between the poetry of Imra'ul Qays and the Koran is so
obvious that the Muslims cannot but hold that they existed with the latter
in the Heavenly table from all eternity! What then will he answer? That the
words were taken from the Koran and entered in the poem?—an impossibility.
Or that their writer was not really Imra'ul Qays, but some other who, after
the appearance of the Koran, had the audacity to quote them there as they
now appear?—rather a difficult thing to prove!"

In fact, the word Allah is found in *Muallaqat* as well as in the *Diwan *of
poet Labid. So when the Muslims claim the Qur'an to be the words of Allah,
do they mean Allah copied the Qur'anic verses from Imrul Qays?

We shall now briefly review the contribution of Zayd ibn Amr to the
authorship of the Holy Qur'an.

*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.

*Who Authored the Qur'an?—an Enquiry*

*Part 2*

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