JEWISH REJECTION
OF MUHAMMAD AND OF THE QUR'ANlC PROHIBITION OF RIBA LEAD TO THE CREATION
BY ALLAH OF A NEW UMMAH (RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY)
The chronological sequence
of Qur’anic revelations as they pertain to the change in Qiblah
(direction of prayer), the promulgation of compulsory saum (fasting), the
promulgation of Qital (fighting), the denunciation of the Jews
for consuming riba, and the Qur’anic revelation prohibiting riba,
appear all to be chronologically related to the Jewish response towards the
Prophet (s) and his message.
On arrival in Madinah after
the Hijrah, the blessed Prophet (s) did two things which
were profoundly significant for Christians and Jews. Firstly he performed his
prayers (salaat) while facing in the direction of Jerusalem, and ordered all
his followers to do likewise. The Jews held Jerusalem to be their spiritual
capital (and Qiblah). The Christian attachment to Jerusalem was so
profound that Euro-Christianity waged, in the medieval age, several crusades (holy
wars) in an attempt to wrest control of the city from Muslims. In establishing
Jerusalem as the first Qiblah of the Muslims. Prophet Muhammad (s)
dramatically impressed upon the Jews and Christians his link with the following:
·
David and Solomon who,
as Prophet-Kings, had established the holy city of Jerusalem.
·
The Temple built by
Solomon (masjid al-aqsa),
· The Rock (sakhrah)
which Jews find Christiana held to be sacred because of their (erroneous)
belief that it was associated with Abraham’s momentous sacrifice (the original
reason for it being sacred appears to have been because it was selected by Allah
the Most High, Himself to function in the same capacity as the black stone at
the kaaba).
·
The Truth which had been
preached by Abraham, David, Solomon, Moses, Jesus, etc. (Allah's blessings be upon them)
Secondly the Prophet (s)
fasted with the Jews on those days when they fasted. And he fasted in
accordance with the law of the Torah. Thus as stated earlier, the fast
commenced after the night prayer and did not end until the next night. And
during the time of fasting food, drink and sex were prohibited.
The Jewish law can still be located
today in Leviticus (3:26-32) where, in respect of the Day of Atonement (youm
kippur), the Torah states as follows:
It shall be a sabbath of
complete rest for you and you shall practice self-denial (i.e. fasting); on the
ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall observe
this your sabbath.
The decision by the Prophet (s)
to fast with the Jews served to reinforce the previous decision (to pray in the
direction of Jerusalem) in impressing upon the Jews in Madinah (and Christians
in Palestine, Syria, South Arabia and Abyssinia) that he recognized the Torah
as divine revelation.
Our assessment is that these
acts of the Prophet (s) were supposed to facilitate Jewish assessment
and acceptance of his claim to be the Prophet of Allah the Most High, whose
advent was prophesied by Moses (s). And Allah the Most High, knows best!
Shortly after the arrival of
the Prophet (s) in Madinah the Jewish rejection of his Prophethood
became manifest. The event which triggered their open hostility and which
exposed in public what was concealed in their hearts for some time, was the
conversion to Islam of their learned Rabbi, Husain ibn Salaam, Rabbi of the
Jewish tribe of Banu Qainuqa.
Husain Ibn Salaam, who was
renamed Abdullah ibn Salaam by the Prophet (s), came with his entire
family to the Arab Prophet (s) and took the shahadah, thus recognizing
Muhammad (s) as the awaited Messenger of Allah the Most High, whom the
Jews were expecting. In doing so he affirmed, of course, that Allah the Most
High, had chosen, as His final messenger, one who was not a Jew. The
implication of this was that Allah the Most High, in His final chapter of revealed
Truth. i.e. the appointment of the last Prophet and the revelation of the last
scripture, had turned away from the Jews on account of their wickedness. With
the acceptance of the prophethood of Muhammad (s), the Arab, by their
own learned Rabbi, the moment of truth had arrived for the Jewish people. And this
was the bitter truth. Allah the Most High, had fulfilled His promise to Abraham
- I will make thee an Imam (leader) to mankind. Abraham had responded by
asking whether that promise would also include his progeny. And to that question
Allah the Most High, had responded with the statement: My promise will
certainly not extend to the wicked (from your progeny). (Qur’an
al-Baqarah;- 2:124).
Allah the Most High, turned
away from the Jews when appointing His last Prophet (s), and it was this
which was so unpalatable. i.e. the fulfillment of the warning: My promise
will not embrace the wicked (from your offspring), (2:124). The majority of
the Jewish people had committed enormous acts of wickedness. Allah the Most
High, recounted some of those acts of wickedness:
We
commanded them: Transgress not in the matter of the Sabbath. And We took from
them a solemn covenant. They have incurred divine displeasure in that they
broke their Covenant; that they rejected the Signs of Allah; that they slew the
Messengers (of Allah) in defiance of right; that they said; Our hearts are
wrappings (which preserve Allah's Words - We need no more); - nay Allah has set
a seal on their hearts because of their blasphemy and little is it they
believe.
That
they rejected faith; that they uttered against Mary a terribly false charge, (i.e.
that she fornicated and as a consequence, that Jesus was a bastard child!)
That
they said (in boast): We killed Christ Jesus the Son of Mary, the Messenger of
Allah . . . (i.e. the bastard child of Mary the fornicator, who dared to claim
that he was the Messiah).
Because
of the wickedness of the Jews We have made unlawful for them (many) good things
which previously had been lawful for them. (We have done this also) because
they obstructed (and led astray) so many from the Path of Allah.
And
(because) they took usury (riba) although they were prohibited from doing so;
and because they cheated people of their wealth (through a system of legalized
theft )...
(Qur’an: al-Baqarah; 2:154-161)
When Abdullah ibn Salaam
recognized Muhammad (s) as the Prophet of Allah the Most High, he was
able to swallow national pride and embrace the divine verdict against the Jews.
The Qur’an affirms that the Jews also, were all able to recognize that which
their Rabbi affirmed;
The
people of the Book know this (that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah} as they
know their own sons.
(Qur’an : al-Baqarah.-2:146)
The Jew's could not
reconcile themselves to the fact that the long-awaited Prophet was not a Jew from
Banu Israil. He was an Arab. What must have truly shaken them was the verdict
that their wickedness had caused this. And the Qur’an declared the Jewish consumption
of riba to be one of their many acts of wickedness.
When Abdullah ibn Salaam
took the shahadah (declaration of faith in Islam) and recognized Muhammad (s)
as the Prophet of Allah the Most High, he expressed his fear to the Prophet (s}
that the Jews would accuse him of being a liar if they were to learn that he had
become a Muslim. The Prophet (s) waited until some Jews came to him and
he then questioned them concerning their Rabbi. They replied: He is the best
amongst us and he is our chief and the son of our chief. The Prophet (s)
then asked: What would you think if Abdullah bin Salaam embraced Islam? They
replied: May Allah the Most High, protect him from this! Then Abdullah came out
before them and announced: I testify that none has the right to be worshipped
but Allah the Most High, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah the Most
High. The Jews then said: Abdullah is the worst of us and the son of the worst
of us and cursed their Rabbi, insulted him, vilified him and in doing so, poured
out all their pent-up and concealed hatred for Muhammad (s) and for the Qur’an.
The Jews not only made
manifest their rejection of Muhammad (s), the Prophet, and the Qur’an,
the Word of Allah the Most High, but their hostility led them to now conspire
for the destruction of Islam. Allah the Most High, responded to the Jewish
rejection of, and hostility to the Prophet (s) with revelations of great
significance indeed. First of all He condemned them in very harsh language:
Will
you then, O Jews, every time a prophet comes to you with what you yourselves do
not like, you take to false pride and arrogantly reject some and kill others?
They rationalize and seek to excuse themselves by admitting to dimness of
vision. Allah, however, curses them for their disbelief. Little are they
convinced of the Truth. And when the Book which came from Allah and which
confirmed their own scripture was - brought to them and invoked for their own
benefit, they denied it. Hitherto they were boasting of such revelation and
deriding the disbelievers (who did not believe in One God, for example) for not
receiving any. Now that the same Truth which they had known beforehand has come
to them from Allah, they reject it. Allah's curse will surely fall upon the
disbelievers (who reject the Qur’an).
(Qur’an: al-Baqarah 2:87-89)
It was shortly after this,
in the month of Shaban in the year 2 H, after the Muslims had prayed in
the direction of Jerusalem for seventeen months that Allah the Most High, sent
down the revelation ordering the Muslims to pray in the direction of the ka’aba
in Makkah. Allah the Most High, explained the purpose of the change in Qiblah:
We
decreed your former Qiblah only in order that We might shift the true followers
of the Messenger of Allah from the apostates and deceptors.
(Qur’an: al-Baqarah:-2:143)
And so a new ummah
was born. And it excluded those who rejected Muhammad (s) and clung to
Jerusalem as the Qiblah. At this time also, Allah the Most High, made
fighting (al-qital) compulsory. And then, in order to teach the lesson
that power must first he acquired internally before it can be projected
externally on the battlefield. Allah the Most High, sent down the compulsory
fast of Ramadan. Then, in a revelation located immediately after the revelation
which promulgated the fast of Ramadan and which therefore came down in the
month of Shaban in the year 2H. Allah, the Most High repeated His
warning to the Muslims in connection with the economic oppression caused by riba
for which He had just condemned the Jews:
And do
not (through riba and other form of fraudulent transactions) wrongfully acquire
the wealth of others nor employ legal artifices with a view to devouring
sinfully and knowingly, anything that by right belongs to others.
(Qur’an al-Baqarah- 2:188)
And so our conclusion is
that the Jewish rejection of the Qur’anic prohibition of riba and
the Jewish insistence on the consumption of riba played a major
role in their rejection of the prophethood of Muhammad (s). And as a
direct consequence of their rejection of Muhammad (s) Allah the Most
High, responded by creating a last new religious community (ummah) which would
be among other things. a riba -free model unto mankind. Allah,
the Most High, also warned the Blessed Prophet (s) and the Muslims
concerning the Jews and the distinct possibility that they will seek to seduce
Muslims away from the Truth, such as the Qur’anic prohibition of riba:
Take care lest they sway
you away from some of the revelations made to you. If they turn away from you,
know that Allah in pushing them for some of their misdeeds. Most of them are
immoral ....
(Qur’an: al-Mai’dah 5:49-50)
It
must therefore be recognized that the embrace of riba by the contemporary
ummah constitutes the ultimate betrayal of Islam!
to be continued . . . .
