Up until its "Golden Age," the whole program of Islam had some real issues to struggle with. Even today, Islam still has to deal with some serious contradictions. Why is this? My college and graduate courses did not offer any explanations. The following reflects a couple of years of research, and a bit of speculation, that I have done to understand the problems. I am not delving directly into the texts of Islamic scriptures, nor do I have access to all of the historical texts referenced here. I have, instead, attempted to create a synopsis of the conclusions that other scholars have drawn. I hope that it helps to clear our perspective. (Sorry for the extended "list" format. It helps me to edit.)
Part One: A first approximation.
1. Muhammad is hardly ever named in the Qur'an, only "the Prophet". And even he didn't think that Jibril was an angel sent to deliver a message from God. He thought he was going mad, troubled by an evil spirit. That is why he asked Kadija, and consulted the Jews, to discern if what he was hearing was true. (This is a convenient fiction, but it clearly explains why Allah and Yahweh don't seem to be the same God. Allah would be a dark angel impersonating a messenger, but speaking for himself, to deceive the Ishmaelites.) The rejection from the Jews and Christians made Muhammad furious, and set off an avalanche of polemics.
2. Muhammad's biography was written 200 years too late. There were no eye witness accounts to consult. This Sira was sifted, adapted and redacted by several generations of politicians and scholars. The first coherent version was rejected and re-edited. The stories we have were published about 833 CE.
3. According to his biography, Muhammad never really went to Jerusalem. It was only a dream. Maybe fabricated as excuse to claim the holiest place, above the Jews and Christians. One story has it that the Jews were building something at the location of the Dome of the Rock, but Abd al-Malik drove them out and confiscated the site. (It could also have been Christians, as they would build a church as an octagon, like St. Peter's church in Capernaum.) Any "original" story may have referred to ibn-Zubayr's acquisition of the Black Stone from Petra, not from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The whole story of a "Mi'raj" really was a mirage. (Umar I, however, did visit Jerusalem during the 7th century, before Abd al-Malik.)
4. The "miraculous" Qur'an is a clumsy example of Scripture:
a. There are too many errors and mistakes, and misrepresentations in the Qur'an for it to be the word of an omniscient god dictated perfectly to a reliable prophet.
b. If you translate it back into the original syro-aramaic language, quite a few of the obscure passages begin to make sense, as borrowing from the hymns sung by the "people of the book." This also explains why Muslims insist that the Qur'an's mediocre poetry is so exquisite.
c. Many verses pander to the base desires and wishes of the prophet and his followers, including the "visions of Paradise." It does not exhort them to become better, more virtuous people. These were likely added later, by Abd al-Malik, as part of his politics of conquest.
d. Islam is more of a political ideology and agenda than it is a religion. It preaches violence against unbelievers, and enforces obedience and oppression of women. Peace and harmony are reserved for the men, and only amongst the believers.
e. The Qur'an is deficient as a guide for morality and the daily practice of Islam. If you want to know how to be a Muslim, you can't even find the five pillars in the Qur'an. That is why Muslims have to look to Muhammad's example and the Hadith to answer so many questions.
f. Muhammad's view of women is borrowed whole cloth from the Oral Torah of Rabbinical Judaism, particularly the demand that they must cover themselves from sight lest they tempt the lusts of men.
5. Mecca did not have any real meaning before 706 CE, there is no mention of it until the qibla starts moving (halfway at first) and no map shows it before 741. It's not old, it's a dusty little nowhere deep in the desert, the home of the Abbasid faction. The oldest qiblas originally pointed to Petra, the home of the Nabateans carved from the rock cliffs in the middle of the desert. There are no old archaeological ruins below the city of Mecca from before the late seventh century.
6. According to Islamic tradition, Muhammad had a secretary. But although he memorized much of the teachings, he never wrote them down. When Muhammad died, there was no Qur'an. Abu Bakr, the first Caliph, requested that all of the people bring to him their notes recording the teachings. Why would a secretary not write down the most important words of his employer? But this is the fiction created for a unifying narrative. The first "Muhammad" was Umar I, who began to collect sayings for the edification of his people, borrowing liberally from his neighbors, assisted by Ali and Salomon al-Farsi. Together, they assembled the first book, called al-Furqan. Abd al-Malik had this re-edited, and named the Qur'an.
Part Two: The evidence.
1. Of the many mosques built from 624 to 706, all qiblas are facing Petra. The Dome of the Rock, built in 691, has no quibla because it's not a mosque. The first mosque with a qibla pointing to Mecca was built in 727, in Pakistan. The qibla was not mandated finally toward Mecca until 876 CE, to resolve a dispute (rebellion). Eight pointed halfway (Medina?), and ten parallel the line between Mecca and Petra. This was finally settled 250 years after Muhammad supposedly told them what to do.
3. The coins in the Arabian regions were, of course, a mixture of those in circulation from their neighbors on both sides, the Byzantines and the Persians. It was not until after rumors of an Arabic Prophet started up that there was any unification of the Ishmaelites, or Hagarenes, as the called themselves. Only when efforts to create an Arab state began did any distinctive coins get minted, and the earliest, in the 7th century, made no mention of Muhammad.
4. In a debate in 720 AD, the Byzantine King, Leo III "the Isaurian," comments that the al-Furqan was written by Umar I, Ali abuTurab, and Salman al-Farsi. He apparently wants a copy, so he can see what kinds ot sayings have been borrowed from Christian and Persian sources. Coincidentally, the Alawite Book lists the authors of the al-Furqan as Muhammad, Ali ibn Talib, and Saloman al-Farsi. This is an obvious connection.
5. There are no ruins under Mecca to suggest that it had ever been a hub of trade. Indeed, its location is too far out of the way to even have been a distribution depot, so this was probably not the original site of the Mecca described in the Qur'an. Even the description of Mecca in the Qur'an and Hadith is wrong, Mecca has no springs nor any signs of a previous oasis, but it does match the location and amenities of Petra, which was a busy market in the 7th century, and sacred for the Umayyad Caliphate (661 - 749). The last Petra-aimed qibla was built in 772 CE.
Part Three: Background situation.
(The Standard Islamic Narrative, S.I.N.)
a. The sayings of a religious prophet have been circulating from the Hijaz to Petra. He has only few followers.
b. However, the prophet's name "Muhammad" is virtually unknown (even in Arab sources) until the late 7th century.
c. There are few whole collections of his words. There are various bits and pages saved among his followers.
d. Little is known about his life, except that he was allowed to govern the city of Medina, where he transformed his teachings into a political program to conquer and unify all of Arabia for Allah.
e. Caliph Uthman ibn Affan, 644 - 656, has a manuscript of the prophet's words. This becomes the basis of the authoritative Qur'an. (Is this the same person as Umar I? Or did he receive it from Umar I? Now it's just part of the standard narrative?)
Part Four: Governing a troublesome empire.
1. Abd al-Malik, Umayyad Caliph (685-705), in Damascus wants to strengthen his hold over the vast territory the Arabs have recently conquered (1st Fitna), but his nomadic desert people have little to no experience with cities and government. He is delegating too much power to friendly Jews and Christians.
2. Abdullah ibn Zubayr, governor of Petra is a follower of the prophet's (Umar I?) son-in-law, Ali. He thinks the empire needs a religious foundation, and wants the prophet's revelation and family to lead it. He resents the "Rashidun" Caliphs and their foreign civil service, especially when some are assigned to "assist" him. (This is the Ali who, along with Umar I and Salomon al-Farsi, helps to collect the al-Furqan.)
3. The first coins to mention the prophet Muhammad were minted by ibn Zubayr, and then shortly after his defeat, by Abd al-Malik. They were used to promulgate the power of the rulers of the Arabian Empire, presumably to assert the passing of the baton to the next rightful Caliph.
4. And with the coins went out the newly authorized Qur'an, arranged and copied by Uthman, the last Rashidun Caliph (S.I.N.). This was after the King, Abd al-Malik, revised and edited it into a single unified codex, now a manual of conquest, to be the supposed final version of the Prophet's revelation. All of the earlier contradictory variants were to be burned and forgotten, by the King's command.
Part Five: Civil War (2nd Fitna).
1. After the death of Ali's son, Husein, Zubayr stole the black stone, the symbol of his prophet's authority, from the Ka'aba in Petra & fled into the desert. (The actual hajj toward Yathrib, the present location of Medina?)
2. When Zubayr rested in "Medina" the new mosques built their qiblas pointed there, halfway to Mecca. Zubayr was killed in battle at Medina in 692. Discord lessens, but still simmers.
3. Petra suffers an earthquake in 713, badly damaging the old Ka'aba. Some compromise is required, as the prophet's influence among all of the factions is greater than expected at the Caliph's court, and Petra appears to be out of favor.
4. In order to achieve peace, al-Malik agreed to let the Shi'a faction move the Black Stone. The Baghdad Abassids are their supporters, and their sacred place is deep in the Hijaz. They prefer one of their own villages, and renamed it as Mecca, so the black stone was moved there, in order to end the war.
Part Six: The King's Response.
1. Abd al-Malik needs to create a unified Arab identity. There is too much conflict over religion and internal politics. Plus, he doesn't really want to depend on the Christians and Jews to run his empire (Libya to Persia).
2. He decided to use the story of the prophet Muhammad to serve the interests of his expanding empire. So he claims to be the servant of Muhammad's God, with a mandate to rule a global Empire. (BTW, Abd al-Malik means "slave of the King," so he is essentially claiming to have his authority from God.)
3. He makes Arabic an international language via Arabs in civil service, using the text of the Qur'an as the basis of education throughout the Caliphate.
4. He builds the Dome of the Rock, in 691, on the top of Mount Moriah to dominate the Jews and Christians. This he justifies by the story of Muhammad's "Mi'raj" dream. Its inscription denies the deity of Jesus, and gives the name of Muhammad for the first time. (Muhammad is actually just a title, meaning "the Praised One," or the "Temple.")
5. He mints coins with the "shahada" on them, for the first time ever in history, in 692.
6. He adopts a book of verses prized by his predecessor Uthman ibn Affan, the collected sayings of the prophet Muhammad, and re-edits to make it the purpose for jihad. "God declares war on the infidels," for the first time in actual history, whereas before it had been only a conflict against heresies. The peaceful early verses are kept, but then abrogated by later jihadi commands. When confronted with contradiction, scholars say that Allah wishes to deceive the infidels until it is time to assert control.
7. Personal manuscripts begin to proliferate, as the Ishmaelites still venerate the "hadiths" originating among desert hermits. These often recommend peaceful coexistence or asceticism, which undermines the milieu of continual war and conquest. So official copies are continually collated and corrected, up to the 9th century. The book is declared finished, and sealed, and the final authorized text is established. Disagreeing versions are gathered to be burned. Authorized versions of the Hadiths are ordered to be standardized.
8. Eventually, history is revised and redacted to say that the "true" Qur'an dates back to the text codified by Uthman, who burned all the variant copies and notes. Only this official "history" may be taught. This is the new Standard Islamic Narrative, and the only authorized version of history.
9. The Qur'an was only finally canonized in 1924. There are still 31 different Arabic variants extant.
Part Seven: Conclusions.
1. Islam is a human invention, meant to support an Arabic Empire. Islam did not drive the Arab armies to create the Caliphate, but the Caliphate created the institutions of Islam to support its own authority and consolidate the unity of the Empire.
2. Islam was proclaimed by an Arab sheik, Umar I, who tried to promote some spiritual truths. He collected popular sayings from all of the surrounding cultures, Christian, Jewish and probably Persian, to create a "Book of Salvation" (al-Furqan) for the Arabs. When the now consensual Ishmaelites needed political unity, Abd al-Malik used this book to promote his agenda of conquest, and establish his authority to govern an empire. This explains the difference between the Mecca suras and those of Medina. His newly edited Qur'an was adopted by his peers, from rivalry and a bit of jealousy, to combat the theological and moral claims of Judaism and Christianity.
3. The central motivation of Islam is the conquest of the whole world, to be ruled by Muslims. It never claims to have any sure path to Heaven, except that of martyrdom in the pursuit of jihad to spread Islam. Muslims must work out their own salvation by their good works outweighing the bad. However, Allah is not bound by any justice but his own, and baldly states that He may choose to deceive some people. The following are some of Islam's unique features:
a. A legendary prophet.
b. A new book in Arabic.
c. A previously unknown sanctuary.
d. The Sira (biography) introduced in 833.
e. The Hadith, published in 870.
f. The Tafsir, an official interpretation, in 923.
g. Promoting violence against unbelievers.
h. Allah brags of being a deceiver.
4. Muhammad's Qur'an was the answer to a civil war. It was originally collected by sheikh Umar I, his son-in-law Ali, and friend Salomon al-Farsi, and written as Syro-Aramaic poetry. It was then claimed and re-edited by Abd al-Malik to promote his empire, and later consolidated by court supported scholars. An Arab identity is thus established by a new "Religion of the Book" in which their "Allah" commands them to conquer the world and destroy all who will not believe or submit.
There was no historical Muhammad, at least not the way his biography is written. The real Muhammad was probably the sheikh Umar I, who collected popular sayings from their "people of the book" neighbors. The legend was fabricated for a purpose, to quell a civil war. His sayings were purposely expanded by Abd al-Malik to include world conquest.
5. The Qur'an contains no moral law. The Sharia has been pieced together from the anecdotal sayings of Muhammad found in the Hadith, and reflects the milieu of Arabic culture in the seventh century. Moreover, if Muhammad is to be revered as a paragon, and emulated, the preserved stories about him reveal a very strange person. No truly moral person in the 21st century could say that everything he did was right without violating their own conscience.
This all makes sense now. Islam was a response to Christianity and Judaism. But it was a heretical sect, invented by a leader of the "god-fearering" Ishmaelites, who had for a millennium been lingering in the deserts surrounding Judaea/Palestine. At the time, the local bishops in Petra were Arians, and the Pharisaic sect was representing Judaism, so they thought that the real ideas about God had been corrupted. They opted for a strictly uncompromising form of monotheism.
The "Standard Islamic Narrative" was developed centuries later, to elevate their book and their prophet to semi-divine status, but it's all mythology like "the hero's journey" and only very loosely based on forgotten history.
What really happened was a Nabatean sheikh, Umar I, from Petra, collected a bunch of syro-aramaic sayings popular among his Ishmaelite people, which they had absorbed from their "people of the book" neighbors. He decided that this would be a distinctive book of "readings for salvation" (al-Furqan) for his own people, because they didn't have one of their own. But he included lots of Arian ideas and apocalyptic warnings, likely from Persian Zoroastrianism, and excluded the pointedly Christian and Jewish ideas that no one understood or wanted to follow.
This Umar I of the 7th century was also called "ibn al-Khattab" (Son of the Book) and "Al-Farooq" (the Saviour), so it seems clear that he is the original "Muhammad" (Praised One, a title given to a religious leader) who was later recast as the Prophet.
This "Furqan" book was then picked up by Abd al-Malik, who re-edited it to include a political program of conquest by jihad, including the motivations of honor, booty and paradise, and then had it all translated into arabic... apparently a poor translation that left a lot of confusion for what it originally meant. He renamed it as the Qur'an, and had all of the old source materials burned.
Later, by another hundred years or so, the Saracens (Muslims) realized that their practices were mostly based on traditions that were not spelled out in the Qur'an. So they began to compose a biography of "Muhammad" to support a story of where their Book came from, and assembled a myriad of scraps of purported "conversations with the prophet" to explain and support the way they practiced their faith (to which by now they had finally become strongly committed). These scraps would have to be collated and edited into several collections of "hadiths" and ranked for credulity and authority.
All of this development finally began to simmer down toward the end of the tenth century. I wonder how much the competition and cooperation between the two Caliphates, Cordoba and Babylon, affected the results.
Sources: YouTube videos
1. The unknown history of Islam, 01- 06
2. The Truth Behind the Emergence of Islam
3. Political Islam, Dr. Bill Warner
4. Acts17 Apologetics, Dr. David Wood
5. PfanderFilms, Dr. Jay Smith, Jul 12, 2021
These sources do not contradict the several college level and graduate courses that I took to study Islam, but they do reveal how our established educational systems bow to the safer course of political correctness, not only in our day but also in early Muslim history. We should be wary of whitewash, if we would really seek to know the Truth.
