Friday 30 August 2019

ONE AGAINST ALL Muhammad the Greatest


What sword? Where was the sword? The Muslim trader did the job. His good conduct and moral rectitude achieved the miracle of conversion. "All what you say seems incontrovertible, Mr. Deedat," says the Christian controversialist, "but we are talking about Islam at its very beginning, the way in which your prophet converted the pagans to his faith! How did he do it if not with the sword?"

ONE AGAINST ALL?
We can do no better than to allow Thomas Carlyle himself to defend his Hero Prophet against this false charge; - - -

"THE SWORD INDEED: BUT WHERE WILL YOU GET YOUR SWORD! EVERY NEW OPINION, AT ITS STARTING, IS PRECISELY IN A MINORITY OF ONE. IN ONE MAN'S HEAD ALONE, THERE IT DWELLS AS YET. ONE MAN ALONE OF THE WHOLE WORLD BELIEVES IT; THERE IS ONE MAN AGAINST ALL MEN. THAT HE TAKE A SWORD, AND TRY TO PROPAGATE WITH THAT, WILL DO LITTLE FOR HIM. YOU MUST FIRST GET YOUR SWORD! ON THE WHOLE, A THING WILL PROPAGATE ITSELF AS IT CAN. WE DO NOT FIND, OF THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION EITHER, THAT IT ALWAYS DISDAINED THE SWORD, WHEN ONCE IT HAD GOT ONE. CHARLEMAGNE'S CONVERSION OF THE SAXONS WAS NOT BY PREACHING." 
Heroes and Hero-Worship. p. 80

At the age of forty when Muhammad {pbuh} declared his mission from heaven, there was no political party, or royalty, and certainly no family or tribe to back him up. His people - the Arabs, immersed in idol-worship and fetishism were not by any means a docile people, they were no easy meat. They were a very volatile people. given to internecine and fratricidal wars: subject to "all kinds of fierce sincerities - " {Carlyle}. 

One man, single handed, to wean such a people required nothing short of a miracle. A miracle did happen. God alone could have made Islam and Muhammad {pbuh} to triumph through with flimsy, gossamer support. God fulfilling His promise:

And have We not raised high the esteem in which thou O Muhammad are held? 
 Holy Quran 94:4

To Be Continued....

Friday 23 August 2019

CHARGE OF "THE SWORD"


CHARGE OF "THE SWORD"  

The greatest crime, the greatest "sin" of Muhammad (pbuh} in the eyes of the Christian West is that he did not allow himself to be slaughtered, to be "crucified" by his enemies. He ably defended himself, his family and his followers; and finally vanquished his enemies. Muhammad's (pbuh} success is the Christians' gall of disappointment: he did not believe in any vicarious sacrifice for the sins of others. He believed and behaved naturally.

IN THE STATE OF NATURE, EVERY ONE HAS A RIGHT TO DEFEND HIS PERSON AND POSSESSIONS, AND EXTEND HIS HOSTILITIES TO A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF SATISFACTION AND RETALIATION," says Gibbon, the master historian in his "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire." His struggle and victory over the forces of unbelief and evil made the editors of the Encyclopedia Britannica to exclaim, Muhammad (pbuh} to be - - - "THE MOST SUCCESSFUL OF ALL RELIGIOUS PERSONALITIES." How can the enemies of Islam account for Muhammad's phenomenal achievements except to decry that he spread his religion at the point of the sword? He forced Islam down peoples' throats!? 
 
"HISTORY MAKES IT CLEAR HOWEVER, THAT THE LEGEND OF FANATICAL MUSLIMS SWEEPING THROUGH THE WORLD AND FORCING ISLAM AT THE POINT OF THE SWORD UPON CONQUERED RACES IS ONE OF THE MOST FANTASTICALLY ABSURD MYTHS THAT HISTORIANS HAVE EVER REPEATED." De Lacy O'Leary in "Islam at the Crossroads'' London, 1923, p.8 

You do not have to be a historian like O'Leary to know that the Muslims ruled Spain for 736 years. The longest the Christians ever ruled over Muslims was 500 years in Mozambique, a territory captured from an Arab governor by the name of Musa-bin-baique, a name they could not properly pronounce, hence the name Mozambique. Even today, after five centuries of Christian overlordship the country is still 60 percent Muslim. However, after eight centuries in Spain the Muslims were totally eliminated from that country so that not even one man was left to give the Azan {the Muslim call to prayer}. If the Muslims had used force, military or economic there would not have been any Christian left in Spain to have kicked the Muslims out. One can blame the Muslims for exploitation if you like but one cannot charge them with using the sword to convert Spaniards to the Islamic religion.

Today, Islam is still spreading all over the world and Muslims have NO sword!! The Muslims were also the masters of India for a thousand years, but eventually when the subcontinent received independence in 1947, the Hindus obtained three quarters of the country and the Muslims the balance of the one-quarter. Why? Because the Muslims did not force Islam down the Hindus' throats! In Spain and in India, the Muslims were no paragons of virtue, yet they obeyed the Qur'anic injunction to the letter
LET THERE BE NO COMPULSION IN RELIGION: FOR TRUTH STANDS OUT DISTINCT FROM ERROR. Holy Quran 2:256

The Muslim conquerors understood from this command that "compulsion" was incompatible with true religion: because
(a} Religion depends on faith and will, and these would be meaningless if induced by force. Force can conquer but cannot convert.
(b) Truth and Error have been so clearly shown up by the Mercy of God that there should be no doubt in the minds of any person of goodwill as to the fundamentals of faith.
(c) God's protection is continuous and His Plan is always to lead us from the depths of darkness into the clearest light.
[(a), (b} and (c) are Yusuf Ali's comments on verse 256. Obtain his translation with over 6000 explanatory footnotes from the IPCI.] Except for some eccentrics here and there, the Muslims as a whole adhered to the commandment of God in the lands over which they held sway. But what can the enemy say about countries where no single Muslim soldier had set foot?

(i) INDONESIA: It is a fact that over a hundred million Indonesians are Muslim, yet no conquering Muslim army ever landed on any of its over two thousand islands.
(ii} MALAYSIA: The overwhelming number of its people in this country are Muslims yet no Muslim soldier had landed there either.
(iii} AFRICA: The majority of the people on the East coast of Africa as far down as Mozambique, as well as the bulk of the inhabitants on the West coast of the continent are Muslims, but history does not record any invading hoards of Muslims from anywhere. 

To Be Continued....


Friday 16 August 2019

CHARGE OF SINNING

 
CHARGE OF SINNING

"FAULTS? THE GREATEST OF FAULTS, I SHOULD SAY, IS TO BE CONSCIOUS OF NONE. READERS OF THE BIBLE ABOVE ALL, ONE WOULD THINK, MIGHT KNOW BETTER. WHO IS CALLED THERE 'THE MAN ACCORDING TO GOD'S OWN HEART'? DAVID, THE HEBREW KING HAD FALLEN INTO SINS ENOUGH; BLACKEST CRIMES; THERE WAS NO WANT OF SINS. [This is the Jewish and Christian concept of God's prophets. They charge their prophets with incest, adultery and even murder. They impure horrendous crimes to them on the authority of the Holy Bible.] 

AND THEREUPON THE UNBELIEVERS SNEER AND ASK, IS THIS YOUR MAN ACCORDING TO GOD'S HEART? THE SNEER, I MUST SAY, SEEMS TO ME BUT A SHALLOW ONE. WHAT ARE FAULTS, WHAT ARE THE OUTWARD DETAILS OF A LIFE; IF THE INNER SECRET OF IT, THE REMORSE, TEMPTATIONS, TRUE, OFTEN BAFFLED, NEVER ENDED STRUGGLE OF IT BE FORGOTTEN? 'IT IS NOT IN MAN THAT WALKETH TO DIRECT HIS STEPS.' OF ALL ACTS, IS NOT, FOR A MAN, REPENTANCE THE MOST DIVINE? THE DEADLIEST SIN, I SAY, WERE THE SAME SUPERCILIOUS CONSCIOUSNESS OF NO SIN; THAT IS DEATH; THE HEART SO CONSCIOUS IS DIVORCED FROM SINCERITY, HUMILITY, AND FACT; IS DEAD: IT IS 'PURE' AS DEAD DRY SAND IS PURE." Heros and Hero-Worship. p. 61


To Be Continued....

Friday 9 August 2019

CHARGE OF FALSITY


CHARGE OF FALSITY
 
a. "A FALSE MAN FOUND A RELIGION? WHY, A FALSE MAN CANNOT BUILD A BRICK HOUSE! IF HE DOES NOT KNOW AND FOLLOW TRULY THE PROPERTIES OF MORTAR, BURNT CLAY AND WHAT ELSE HE WORKS IN, IT IS NO HOUSE THAT HE MAKES, BUT A RUBBISH HEAP. IT WILL NOT STAND

FOR TWELVE CENTURIES,[Now, fourteen centuries] TO LODGE A HUNDRED-AND EIGHTY MILLIONS; [A thousand million today.] IT WILL FALL STRAIGHTAWAY . SPECIOSITIES ARE SPECIOUS [Specious: Having the ring of truth or plausibility but actually false.]. . . IT IS LIKE A FORGED BANK NOTE; THEY GET IT PASSED OUT OF THEIR WORTHLESS HANDS: OTHERS, NOT THEY, HAVE TO SMART FOR IT. NATURE BURSTS-UP IN FIRE-FLAMES, FRENCH REVOLUTIONS AND SUCH-LIKE, PROCLAIMING WITH THE TERRIBLE VERACITY THAT FORGED NOTES ARE FORGED." Heros and Hero-Worship ), p.58
b."IT GOES GREATLY AGAINST THE IMPOSTER THEORY, THE FACT THAT HE LIVED IN THIS ENTIRELY UNEXCEPTIONABLE, ENTIRELY QUIET AND COMMON PLACE WAY, TILL THE HEAT OF HIS YEARS WAS DONE. HE WAS FORTY BEFORE HE TALKED OF ANY MISSION FROM HEAVEN . . ALL HIS 'AMBITION,' SEEMINGLY, HAD BEEN, HITHERTO, TO LIVE AN HONEST LIFE; HIS 'FAME,' THE MERE GOOD OPINION OF NEIGHBOURS THAT KNEW HIM..." Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 70

"AMBITION? WHAT COULD ALL ARABIA DO FOR THIS MAN; WITH THE CROWN OF GREEK HERACLIUS, OF PERSIAN CHOSROES, AND ALL THE CROWNS IN EARTH; - WHAT COULD THEY ALL DO FOR HIM? IT WAS NOT OF THE HEAVEN ABOVE AND OF THE HELL BENEATH. ALL CROWNS AND SOVEREIGNTIES WHAT- SOEVER, WHERE WOULD THEY IN A FEW BRIEF YEARS BE? TO BE SHEIK OF MAKKAH OR ARABIA, AND HAVE A BIT OF GILT WOOD PUT INTO YOUR HAND, - - - WILL THAT BE ONES SALVATION? I DECIDEDLY THINK, NOT, WE WILL LEAVE IT ALTOGETHER, THIS IMPOSTER HYPOTHESIS, AS NOT CREDIT- ABLE: NOT VERY TOLERABLE EVEN, WORTHY CHIEFLY OF DISMISSAL BY US." Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 72/3

To Be Continued....

Friday 2 August 2019

'AL AMEEN. THE FAITHFUL' Muhammad the Greatest


 'AL AMEEN. THE FAITHFUL
 
a. "A MAN OF TRUTH AND FIDELITY; TRUE IN WHAT HE DID, IN WHAT HE SPAKE AND THOUGHT. THEY NOTED THAT HE ALWAYS MEANT SOMETHING. A MAN RATHER TACITURN IN SPEECH; SILENT WHEN THERE WAS NOTHING TO BE SAID; BUT PERTINENT WISE, SINCERE, WHEN HE DID SPEAK; ALWAYS THROWING LIGHT ON THE MATTER. THIS IS THE ONLY SORT OF SPEECH WORTH SPEAKING!" Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 69

b. "MAHOMET NATURALLY GAVE OFFENCE TO THE KOREISH, KEEPERS OF THE KAABAH, SUPERINTENDENTS OF THE IDOLS. ONE OR TWO MEN OF INFLUENCE HAD JOINED HIM:
  1. “THE THING SPREAD SLOWLY, BUT IT WAS SPREADING, NATURALLY HE GAVE OFFENCE TO EVERYBODY."[The Jews hated the Prophet: the Christians hated the Prophet: the mushriks (the Polytheists) hated the Prophet, and the Munafiqeen (the hypocrites) hated the Prophet. It is the nature of Falsehood to hate the Truth. Light dismisses Darkness, but darkness does not take kindly to light. ] Heros and Hero-Worship, p. 77 c.

"NOT A MEALYMOUTHED MAN! A CANDID FEROCITY, IF THE CASE CALLS FOR IT, IS IN HIM; HE DOES NOT MINCE MATRERS! THE WAR OF TABUC IS A THING HE OFTEN SPEAKS OF: HIS MEN REFUSED, MANY OF THEM, TO MARCH ON THAT OCCASION; PLEADED THE HEAT OF THE WEATHER, THE HARVEST, AND SO FORTH; HE CAN NEVER FORGET THAT. YOUR HARVEST? IT LASTS FOR A DAY. WHAT WILL BECOME OF YOUR HARVEST THROUGH ALL ETERNITY? HOT WEATHER? YES, IT WAS HOT; 'BUT HELL WILL BE HOTTER!' SOMETIMES A ROUGH SARCASM TURNS UP: HE SAYS TO THE UNBELIEVERS, YE SHALL NOT HAVE SHORT WEIGHT!" Heros and HeroWorship, p.95/6.

Remember, Thomas Carlyle uttered these words, and many more to a shocked and bewildered Christian audience in England, a hundred and fifty years ago. History did not record for us the lively arguments and debates which his lecture must naturally have caused. He kept to his promise: "I mean to say all the good of him (his Hero Prophet) I justly can'" and he went on in his talk to I defend Muhammad (pbuh) against the false charges, slander and calumnies of his enemies:

To Be Continued....