Jahiliyyah - Part 4

[Guest guest]

('Jahiliyyah' - traditionally translated " Time of Ignorance " , and used to apply

to the pre-Islamic period in Arabia, but in the Muslim sources its primary

meaning is violent and explosive irascibility, arrogance, tribal chauvinism.

[Muhammad Prophet For Our Time Glossary pg. 217].)

 

 

Jahiliyyah - Part 4

 

(p.66) For three years, Muhammad kept a low profile, preaching only to carefully

selected people, but somewhat to his dismay, in 615 Allah instructed him to

deliver his message to the whole clan of Hashim [i.e., the Meccan clan within

the Quraysh tribe to which Muhammad belonged] [22]. " The task is beyond my

strength, " he told 'Ali, but he went ahead and invited forty elders to a frugal

meal. The meagre fare was a message in itself; there was to be no more excessive

hospitality. [23] Luxury was not simply a waste of money but ingratitude, a

thankless squandering of Allah's precious bounty. When the elders arrived, they

were nonplussed [completely perplexed] when 'Ali served them a simple leg of

mutton and a cup of milk. When he told the story later, 'Ali made it sound like

Jesus' miracle of the loaves and the fishes: even though there was scarcely

enough for one person, everybody ate his fill. After the meal, Muhammad rose to

address the gathering, told them about his revelations, and started to expound

the principles of his religion of islam, but Abu Lahab, Abu Talib's

half-brother, rudely interrupted him: " He's put a spell on you! " he cried, and

the meeting broke up in disorder. Muhammad had to invite them back the following

day and this time he managed to finish his presentation: " O sons of 'Abd

al-Muttalib, I know of no Arab who has come to his people with a nobler message

than mine. " He concluded, " God has ordered me to call you to Him. So which of

you will cooperate with me in this venture, as my brother, my executor, and my

successor? "

 

There was an awkward silence, and the elders looked at one another in

embarrassment. They could all remember Muhammad as a little boy, living on the

charity of his relatives. How dared he claim to be the prophet of Allah? Even

Muhammad's cousin Ja'far and his adopted son Zayd were reluctant to speak, but

finally 'Ali, a gawky thirteen year old, could bear it no longer: " O prophet of

God, " he cried, " I will be your helper in this matter! " (p.67) Muhammad laid his

hand tenderly on the boy's neck: " This is my brother, my executor, and my

successor among you, " he said. " Hearken to him and obey him. " This was too much.

The spell was broken and the elders burst out laughing. " He's ordered you to

listen to your son and obey him! " they cried derisively to Abu Talib as they

stormed out of the house. [24]

 

Undeterred by this humiliating failure, Muhammad continued to preach more widely

in the city, but with very little success. Nobody criticized his social message.

They knew that muruwah [the Bedouin chivalric code] required them to share their

wealth with the poorer members of the tribe; it was one thing to 'be' selfish

and greedy, but quite another to 'defend' these attitudes. Most people objected

to the day of reckoning. This, they argued, was simply an old wives' tale. How

could bodies that had rotted away in the earth come to life again? Was Muhammad

seriously suggesting that their venerable ancestors would rise from their graves

to " stand before the lord of all beings " ?[25] The Qur'an replied that nobody

could 'prove' that there was no life after death, and that if Allah could create

a human being out of a tiny drop of semen, he could easily resurrect a dead

body. [26] It also pointed out that the people who poured scorn on the idea of a

final reckoning were precisely those who had no intention of changing their

oppressive, selfish behavior: [27] When faced with the insistent questioning of

the Qur'an about the ultimate value of their life, they took refuge in denial

and levity. But despite their skepticism, most of the Quraysh were content to

leave Muhammad alone. (p.68) They were businessmen who had little taste for

ideological debate, and they knew that a serious internal conflict would be bad

for trade. In any case, this little band of slaves, angry young men, and failing

merchants was no real threat and their movement would surely peter out.

 

Muhammad himself was anxious to avoid an open rift. He had no desire to damage

Mecca, the " mother of cities. " He knew that some of the Quraysh thought that he

wanted to become king--an abhorrent idea to the Arabs, who were deeply

suspicious of monarchy. But Muhammad had no political ambitions. As if to

reassure his critics, God told him firmly that he must not aspire to public

office. He was simply a 'nadhir', a messenger with a warning, and should

approach the Quraysh humbly, avoid provocation, and be careful not to attack

their gods. This is what the great prophets had done in the past. [28] A prophet

had to be altruistic; he must not trumpet his own opinions egotistically or

trample on the sensibilities of others, but should always put the welfare of the

community first. A prophet was first and foremost a 'muslim', one of " those who

have surrendered themselves unto [Allah]. " [29] In his desire to avoid a serious

dispute, Muhammad did not, at this stage, emphasize the monotheistic content of

his message. Like the hanifs, [*] he was convinced that Allah was the only God,

but he did not at first condemn the worship of the stone idols round the Kabah

or the cult of the three gharaniq. [**] Like most of the great religious sages,

he was not much interested in orthodoxy. [30] Metaphysical speculation tended to

make people quarrelsome and could be divisive. It was more important to practice

the " works of justice " than to insist on a theological position that would

offend many of the people he was trying to win over.

 

[*] hanif--Originally a pre-Islamic monotheist. In the Qur'an, the word refers

to a person who followed the 'hanifiyyah', the pure religion of Abraham, before

this split into rival sects. (Glossary, p.216).

 

[**] gharaniq--The three goddesses Al-lat, Al-Uzza, and Manat. " Daughters of

Allah, " who were compared to beautiful " cranes " . (Glossary, p.216)

 

But tension was growing. In 616, some of the Quraysh attacked the Muslims while

they were performing their ritual prayers in one of the glens outside the city.

The incident shocked everybody in Mecca, and both sides desperately tried to

reach a modus vivendi [temporary compromise]. This may have led to the notorious

incident of the " satanic verses. " [31] The episode is recounted by only two of

Muhammad's early biographers, and some scholars believe it to be apocryphal,

though it is hard to see why anybody would make it up. Both historians emphasize

the desire for reconciliation in the city at this time. Ibn Sa'd starts his

account by saying that in his desire to avoid an irrevocable breach with the

Quraysh, Muhammad " sat down by himself, wishing that nothing be revealed to him

that would drive them away. " [32]

 

Tabari begins,

 

When the apostle saw that his people had turned their backs on him and he was

pained by their estrangement from what he had brought them from God, he longed

that there should come to him from God a message that would reconcile his people

to him. Because of his love for his people, and his anxiety over them it would

delight him that the obstacle that made his task so difficult could be removed;

so he mediated on the project and longed for it, and it was dear to him. [33]

 

(p.69) One day, Tabari continues, Muhammad was sitting beside the Kabah with

some of the elders, reciting a new surah, in which Allah tried to reassure his

critics: Muhammad had not intended to cause all this trouble, the divine voice

insisted; he was not deluded nor inspired by a jinni; he had experienced a true

vision of the divine and was simply telling his people what he had seen and

heard. [34] But then, to his surprise, Muhammad found himself chanting some

verses about the three " daughters of God " : " Have you, then, ever considered what

you are worshipping in Al-Lat and Al-Uzza, as well as Manat, the third, the

other? " Immediately the Quraysh sat up and listened intently. They loved the

goddesses who mediated with Allah on their behalf. " These are the exalted

gharaniq, " Muhammad continued, " whose intercession is approved. "

 

Tabari claims that these words were put on his lips by the 'shaytan'

( " tempter " ). This is a very alarming notion to Christians, who regard Satan as a

figure of monstrous evil. The Qur'an is certainly familiar with the story of the

fallen angel who defied God: it calls him Iblis (a contraction of the Greek

'diabolos': " devil " ). But the shaytan who inspired this gracious compliment to

the goddesses was a far less threatening creature. Shaytans were simply a

species of jinn; they were " tempters " who suggested the empty, facile, and

self-indulgent yearnings that deflected humans from the right path. Like all

jinn, the shaytans were ubiquitous, mischievous, and dangerous, but not on a par

with the devil. Muhammad had been longing for peace with the Quraysh; he knew

how devoted they were to the goddesses and may have thought that if he could

find a way of incorporating the gharaniq into his religion, they might look more

kindly on his message. (p.71) When he recited the rogue verses, it was his own

desire talking--not Allah--and the endorsement of the goddesses proved to be a

mistake. Like any other Arabs, he naturally attributed his error to a shaytan.

 

Muhammad had not implied that the three " daughters of God " were on the same

level as Allah. They were simply intermediaries, like the angels whose

intercession is approved in the same surah. [35] Jews and Christians have always

found such mediators compatible with their monotheism. The new verses seemed a

truly propitious gesture and their effect on the Quraysh was electrifying. As

soon as Muhammad had finished his recitation, he prostrated himself in prayer,

and to his astonishment, the Qurayshan elders knelt down beside him, humbly

pressing their foreheads to the ground. The news spread like wildfire through

the city: " Muhammad has spoken of our gods in splendid fashion! He alleged in

what he recited that they are the exalted gharaniq whose intercession is

approved! " [36] The crisis was over. The elders told Muhammad: " We know that

Allah kills and gives life, creates and preserves, but these our goddesses pray

to Him for us, and since you have now permitted them to share divine honors with

Him, we therefore desire to unite with you. " [37]

 

But Muhammad was troubled. This was too easy. Were the Quraysh really going to

amend their behavior, share their wealth with the poor, and be content to become

the humble " slaves " of God? It did not seem likely. He was also disturbed by the

jubilant words of the elders: he had certainly not meant to imply that the

goddesses " shared divine honors " with Allah. While everybody else was

celebrating, Muhammad went home, shut himself away, and meditated. (p.72) That

night Gabriel, the spirit of revelation, came to him: " What have you done,

Muhammad? " he asked. " You have recited to those people something I did not bring

you from God and have said what He did not say to you! " [38] Muhammad's wish for

a compromise had distorted the divine message. He was immediately contrite, but

God consoled him with a new revelation. All the previous prophets had made

similar " satanic " mistakes. It was always a struggle to make sense of the

revelations and all too easy to confuse the deeper current of inspiration with a

more superficial idea of one's own. But, the revelation continued, " God renders

null and void whatever aspersion the shaytan might cast, and God makes his

messages clear in and by themselves. " [39] An important principle had been

established. God could alter his scriptures at the time that they were being

revealed to a particular prophet. Revelation was progressive: We might say that

Muhammad sometimes saw fresh implications in his message that qualified some of

his earlier insights.

 

Now Muhammad had to go back to the Quraysh with a new verse that amended the

" satanic " ones. Once again God asked: " Have you, then, ever considered what you

are worshipping in Al-lat and Al-Uzza, as well as in Manat? " But this time his

answer was scathing. Why did they attribute daughters to Allah, when they

themselves preferred sons? These so-called goddesses were simply " empty names, "

human projections fabricated by the Quraysh and their forefathers. Those who

worship them follow " nothing but surmise and their own wishful thinking. " [40]

This was a slap in the face that not only eliminated the gharaniq but insulted

the revered ancestors. (p.73) Why did the Qur'an find it impossible to

accommodate these three goddesses alongside the angels? Why ruin the chance of

peace with this uncompromising rejection of an apparently harmless devotion?

 

After four years of Islam, Muslims could no longer take the traditional religion

seriously. For most of the Quraysh, Allah was still a remote high god, who did

not impinge on their daily lives. But this was no longer true for Muhammad's

converts. The beauty of the Qur'an had made Allah a vibrant, indeed overwhelming

reality. When they listened to their scripture, " a chill creeps over the skins

of those who fear their Lord, and after a while, their skins and hearts soften

at the remembrance of God. " [41] The word of God was experienced as a powerful

reality that could shatter the world: " Had We bestowed this Qur'an from on high

upon a mountain, " God told Muhammad, " thou wouldst see it humbling itself,

breaking asunder for awe of God. " [42] Allah was now completely different from

the deity worshipped by the Quraysh and the " satanic verses " were wrong to

suggest that Islam was the same as the old religion. It was ludicrous to imagine

that the three stone idols of the gharaniq could influence the God of Islam.

 

The Qur'an now began to make this distinction clear. The other deities were as

helpless and ineffective as dangerously weak tribal chiefs. They could not

provide food for their worshippers, as Allah did, and they would not be able to

intercede on behalf of their devotees on the day of reckoning. [43] Nothing was

on a par with Allah. Shortly after the repudiation of the " satanic verses, " the

Surah of Sincerity was revealed:

 

Say he is God, one

God forever

Not begetting, unbegotten,

and having as equal none. [44]

 

Muhammad (Prophet For Our Time)

Chapter 2, 'Jahiliyyah', p. 66-74

Karen Armstrong

Harper Perennial - London, New York, Toronto and Sydney

ISBN-13 978-0-00-723248-2

ISBN-10 0-00-723248-9

 

Notes:

 

[22] Qur'an 26:214.

 

[23] Qur'an 17:26-27.

 

[24] Abu Ja'rir at-Tabari, 'Ta'rikh ar-Rasul wa'l Muluk', 1171 in Guillaume,

'Life of Muhammad', 117-118.

 

[25] Qur'an 83:4, 37:12-19.

 

[26] Qur'an 45:23, 36:77-83.

 

[27] Qur'an 83:10-12.

 

[28] Qur'an 6:108, 27:45, 10:71-72. Mohammed A. Bamyeh, 'The Social Origins of

Islam, Mind, Economy, Discourse' (Minneapolis, 1999), 180-184.

 

[29] Qur'an 10:72.

 

[30] Wilfred Cantwell Smith, 'Faith and Belief' (Princeton, 1979), 44-46;

Toshihiko Izutsu, 'Ethico-Religious Concepts in the Qur'an' (Montreal and

Kingston, ON, 2002), 132-133.

 

[31] Tor Andrae, 'Muhammad: The Man and His Faith', trans. Theophil Menzel

(London: 1936), 22-35; W. Montgomery Watt, 'Muhammad's Mecca: History in the

Qur'an' (Edinburgh, 1988), 69-73; Watt, 'Muhammad at Mecca', 103-109; Bamyeh,

'Social Origins of Islam', 208-9.

 

[32] Ibn Sa'd, 'Kitab at-Tabaqat' 8i, 137, in Bamyeh, 'Social Origins of Islam',

208.

 

[33] Tabari, 'Ta'rikh ar-Rasul, 1192, in Guillaume, 'Life of Muhammad', 165.

 

[34] Qur'an 53:12.

 

[35] Qur'an 53:26.

 

[36] Tabari, 'Ta'rikh ar-Rasul', 1192, in Guillaume, 'Life of Muhammad', 166.

 

[37] Ibn Sa'd, 'Kitab at-Tabaqat', 137, in Andrae, 'Muhammad', 22.

 

[38] Tabari, 'Ta'rikh ar-Rasul', 1192, in Guillaume, 'Life of Muhammad', 166.

 

[39] Qur'an 22:52.

 

[40] Qur'an 53:19-23, in Muhammad Asad, trans. and ed., 'The Message of the

Qur'an' (Gibraltar, 1980).

 

[41] Qur'an 39:23, translation by Izutsu, 'Ethico-Religious Concepts', 197.

 

[42] Qur'an 59:21, Asad translation.

 

[43] Qur'an 29:17, 10:18, 39:43.

 

[44] Qur'an 112, Sells translation.