PART XI: The Problem of Polytheists Was with Muhammad the Messenger and Not with Muhammad as a Person
Published in February 8, 2020
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
The Belief Is Not In Muhammad But In What Has Descended Upon Muhammad: Those Who Believe In Muhammad Are Disbelievers: PART XI
The problem of polytheists was with Muhammad the messenger and not with Muhammad as a person
Firstly: the stances of polytheists in Arabia regarding hearing the Quranic verses read to them:
Muhammad did not offer himself as a deity for Arabs so that they would believe in him; rather, he read to them the Lord God's Quranic verses so that they may believe in them.
1- The Lord God knows best where to place His Messages; the Lord God has chosen Muhammad Ibn Abdullah Ibn Abdul-Mutalib Ibn Hashem to be the last prophet and a messenger who conveyed the Quranic Message because of his very high moralistic level; he was the most suitable man in Arabia to bear the responsibility of conveying the Quranic Message: the Last Celestial Message to all humanity. Because of his very high moralistic level, Muhammad was admired by all people for his truthfulness, honesty, and integrity. This means that before he received the Quranic revelation, he had no enemies because he never committed injustice, violence, or aggression and he never told lies or betrayed any persons. Yet, once he began to read the Quranic verses to those around him as a messenger of the Lord God who called them to reject their saints/allies, gods/deities, and idols, the deniers of the Quran hated him. Muhammad rejected the polytheistic religion of his people inherited from their ancestors and urged them to reject it. The deniers of the Quran were shocked; they repelled people from the Quran and leveled many accusations against the messenger of the Lord God, i.e., Muhammad, who read the Quranic verses to them. Of course his ministry as a prophet required his reading the Quranic verses to people around him: "Just as We sent to you a messenger from among you, who reads Our Verses to you, and purifies you, and teaches you the Book and Wisdom, and teaches you what you did not know." (2:151).
2- Their stances differed regarding their denying and rejecting the Quran.
2/1: They demanded from Muhammad to change the Quran: "And when Our Clear Verses are read to them, those who do not hope to meet Us say, “Bring a Quran other than this, or change it.” Say, “It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I disobeyed my Lord, the torment of a Tremendous Day.” Say, “Had God willed, I would not have read it to you, and He would not have made it known to you. I have lived among you for a lifetime before it. Do you not understand?”" (10:15-16).
2/1/1: The polytheists desired that Muhammad would be convinced to change the Quranic text to make it match their polytheistic religious culture inherited from their forefathers. This means that they realized the fact that Muhammad received Celestial Revelation from the Lord God, but they hated the Quran and sought to change it. The Lord God refutes them here by asserting that if Muhammad would commit the sin of fabricating hadiths/statements/falsehoods to ascribe the to his Lord God, his punishment would have been very severe: "Indeed, I swear by what you see. And by what you do not see. It is the speech of a noble messenger. And it is not the speech of a poet - little do you believe. Nor is it the speech of a soothsayer - little do you take heed. It is a revelation from the Lord of the Worlds. Had he falsely attributed some statements to Us. We would have seized him by the right arm. Then slashed his lifeline. And none of you could have restrained Us from him." (69:38-47).
2/1/2: The Lord God has commanded Muhammad to announce to his contemporaries that he could never change the Quranic text; he believed in the Quran and followed the Divine Revelation; he fears His Lord God; he lived for years among them before receiving Celestial revelation and they knew that he was not a liar, a falsifier, or a fabricator.
2/1/3: Decades later, the imams and clergymen of the Muhammadans realized the demands of the Qorayish disbelieving polytheists by fabricating and inventing countless hadiths which are deemed as an alternative to the Quran; they make their hadiths supplant and replace the Quranic verses and the Quranic legislations by the Sunnite erroneous notion of Naskh.
2/2: The polytheists in Arabia attacked the Quran itself.
2/2/1: They accused the Quran of being nothing but myths of the ancients: "And when Our Verses are read to them, they say, “We have heard. Had we wanted, we could have said the like of this; these are nothing but myths of the ancients!”" (8:31); "When Our Verses are read to him, he says, “Myths of the ancients!”" (68:15 + 83:13).
2/2/2: They accused the Quran of being nothing but magic/sorcery or fabrication: "When Our Clear Verses are read to them, those who disbelieve say of the Truth when it has come to them, “This is obvious magic!”" (46:7); "And when Our Clear Verses are read to them, they say, “This is nothing but a man who wants to divert you from what your ancestors used to worship.” And they say, “This is nothing but a fabricated lie!” And when the Truth comes to them, the disbelievers say of the Truth, “This is nothing but obvious magic!”" (34:43).
2/2/3: They employed false arguments and empty refutations as their response to hearing the Quranic verses read to them: "When Our Clear Verses are read to them, those who disbelieve say to those who believe, “Which of the two parties is better in position, and superior in influence?" (19:73); "When Our Clear Verses are read to them, their only argument is to say, “Bring back our ancestors, if you are truthful.”" (45:25); "They said, “Are our gods better, or he?” They utter this only for argument. In fact, they are a quarrelsome people." (43:58).
2/2/4: The polytheists urged the Meccans not to listen to the Quranic verses when read to them and to talk loudly to make their voices drown the Quranic verses: "Those who disbelieve say, “Do not listen to this Quran, and talk over it, so that you may prevail.”" (41:26). The same grave sin is being committed by today's Muhammadans who scream loudly in admiration as they listen to the Quranic verses being sung like lyrics of songs.
2/2/5: They fabricated fancy tales to repel others from the Quran which is the Best Discourse and the Absolute Truth.
2/2/5/1: "Among the people is he who trades in distracting tales; intending, without knowledge, to lead away from God’s Path, and to make a mockery of it. These will have a humiliating torment. And when Our Verses are read to him, he turns away in pride, as though he did not hear them, as though there is deafness in his ears. So inform him of a painful torment." (31:6-7). The clergymen and imams of the Muhammadans fabricated countless hadiths of distracting tales to repel others from the Path of the Lord God; i.e., the Quran.
2/2/5/2: "These are God’s Verses which We read to you in Truth. In which discourse, after God and His Verses, will they believe? Woe to every sinful liar. Who hears God's Verses being read to him, yet he persists arrogantly, as though he did not hear them. Announce to him a painful torment. And when he learns something of Our Verses, he takes them in mockery. For such there is a shameful torment." (45:6-9). The clergymen and imams of the Muhammadans fabricated countless hadiths of distracting tales to repel others from the Path of the Lord God; i.e., the Quran.
2/2/6: The polytheists attacked and insulted Muhammad himself when he read the Quranic verses to them: "Those who disbelieve almost stab you with their glances when they hear the message, and say, “He is crazy!” But it is no less than a Reminder to all the Worlds." (68:51-52). Before his ministry as a prophet of the Lord God, no one looked at Muhammad with hatred; their looks of hatred and envy were directed at Muhammad only when he read the Quran to them. This means that their problem was not with their companion Muhammad as a person; rather, their problem was their hatred towards the Quran denied and rejected by them.
2/2/7: The polytheists who hated the Quran also hated the early believers who read the Quranic verses to them; they were about to physically attack them: "And when Our Clear Verses are read to them, you will recognize disgust on the faces of those who disbelieve. They nearly assault those who read to them Our Verses. Say, “Shall I inform you of something worse than that? The Fire! God has promised it to those who disbelieve. And what a wretched outcome!”" (22:72). This means the polytheists did not have a problem when the early believers attend their gatherings; their problem was hating the Quranic verses read to them by those early believers. There was no problem between them and the early believers. The only problem of the polytheists at the time was their denying and hating the Quran itself.
Secondly: the problem of the polytheists was not with their companion Muhammad; their problem was with the Quran itself:
1- We quote, for the second time, these Quranic verses: "And when Our Clear Verses are read to them, those who do not hope to meet Us say, “Bring a Quran other than this, or change it.” Say, “It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I disobeyed my Lord, the torment of a Tremendous Day.” Say, “Had God willed, I would not have read it to you, and He would not have made it known to you. I have lived among you for a lifetime before it. Do you not understand?”" (10:15-16). This means that the polytheists had pinned their hopes that one day, Muhammad, who was their companions for many years, would be convinced to change the Quranic text as per their demands.
2- The Lord God takes this companionship between the polytheists and Muhammad as an argument against the polytheists who denied the Quran; they knew that Muhammad had a very high moralistic level and that he was truthful and honest; how come they accused him of being misguided, astray, or in error when he read the Quranic verses to them: "By the star as it goes down. Your companion has not gone astray, nor has he erred. Nor does he speak out of desire. It is but a revelation revealed." (53:1-4).
3- Because of the fact that the polytheists believed in the Lord God alongside with their other gods/idols and entombed saints/allies, and, at the same time, they knew about the very high moralistic level of Muhammad, who was their companion for many years, in a direct address, the Lord God has told them to stop following their whims in order to ponder deeply about Muhammad: "Say, “I offer you a single advice: devote yourselves to God, in pairs, or individually; and reflect. There is no madness in your friend. He is just a warner to you, before the advent of a severe torment.”" (34:46).
Thirdly: Muhammad's relation with the affluent ones in authority among the Meccans of the Qorayish tribe was the field of struggle between him and them:
1- Muhammad belonged to the powerful Hashemite faction of the tribe of Qorayish; he was not as wealthy and powerful as those affluent ones in authority among the Hashemites; yet, he had a very high moralistic level; this means we should imagine his being – before the Quran was revealed to him as a prophet and a messenger – part of their assemblies and gatherings. We should imagine also that such assemblies and gatherings of the powerful affluent class members of Qorayish turned into occasions to mock ridicule, undermine, and cast doubt on the Quranic verses: "My Verses were read to you, but you turned back on your heels. Arrogant towards it - talked nonsense about it in gatherings - disregarded it." (23:66-67). The same sin is committed by today's Muhammadans; e.g., in funerals, they talk nonsense while listening to the Quranic verses being sung like lyrics of songs.
2- Muhammad attended such gatherings mentioned in 23:67 to try to convince the polytheists to believe in the Quran and to coax them so that they believe in the Lord God within monotheism; yet, the Lord God has commanded him never to attend such gatherings when the Quran was being ridiculed: "When you encounter those who gossip about Our Verses, turn away from them, until they engage in another topic. But should Satan make you forget, do not sit after the recollection with the unjust people." (6:68). This means Muhammad could attend any gatherings, provided that the Quranic verses were not being mocked and undermined; if he heard such gossiping about the Quran, Muhammad should leave at once; of course, once they stopped ridiculing the Quran in their conversations, Muhammad can return to their gatherings.
3- Muhammad had his stature among his tribe of Qorayish since his ancestry is linked to Hashem Ibn Abd-Manaf, the founder of the powerful Hashemite faction of Qorayish, and this familial and social tie allowed the polytheistic Meccans to demand things from Muhammad especially in relation to the Quranic Message he conveyed.
3/1: This began during the early days of Muhammad's ministry as a prophet when he stopped praying and supplicating to gods and deities of the polytheist and began to pray to the Lord God only; some polytheists tried to prevent Muhammad from doing so: "Have you seen him who prevents? A servant when he prays? Do you think he is upon guidance? Or advocates righteousness? Do you see how he disbelieved and turned away? Does he not know that God sees? No. If he does not desist, We will drag him by the forelock. A deceitful, sinful forelock. Let him call on his gang. We will call the Guards. No, do not obey him; but kneel down, and come near." (96:9-19).
3/2: Muhammad was among them (i.e., the Qorayish Meccans) and this means he was similar to them; this is inferred from the following Quranic verse: "And found you misguided, and guided you?" (93:7). This means that the Lord God has guided Muhammad and made him a messenger and a prophet. The disbelievers did their best to convince Muhammad to return to his former acts of worship and polytheism before his being guided (i.e., worshiping idols). The Lord God has commanded Muhammad to tell them the following: "Say, “I am forbidden from worshiping those you pray to besides God.” Say, “I will not follow your desires; else I would be lost and not be of those guided.”" (6:56); "Say, “I was prohibited from worshiping those you invoke besides God, now that clear verses have come to me from my Lord; and I was commanded to submit to the Lord of the Worlds.”" (40:66).
3/3: The polytheists attempted many times to negatively influence Muhammad to make him fabricate other discourse(s) to be added to the Quran as per their whims; their endeavors to negatively influence Muhammad to commit this grave sin were about to succeed, but they failed thanks to divine intervention.
3/3/1: "They almost lured you away from what We have revealed to you, so that you would invent something else in Our name. In that case, they would have taken you for a friend. Had We not given you stability, you might have inclined towards them a little. Then We would have made you taste double in life, and double at death; then you would have found for yourself no helper against Us." (17:73-75).
3/3/2: We quote, for the third time, these Quranic verses: "And when Our Clear Verses are read to them, those who do not hope to meet Us say, “Bring a Quran other than this, or change it.” Say, “It is not for me to change it of my own accord. I only follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I disobeyed my Lord, the torment of a Tremendous Day.” Say, “Had God willed, I would not have read it to you, and He would not have made it known to you. I have lived among you for a lifetime before it. Do you not understand?”" (10:15-16).
4- The divine command addressed to Muhammad about never obeying the disbelieving polytheists is repeated in the Quranic text.
4/1: Within verses revealed in Mecca.
4/1/1: "So do not obey the deniers. They would like you to compromise, so they would compromise. And do not obey any vile swearer. Backbiter, spreader of slander." (68:8-11). This was within the beginning of the Quranic revelation granted to Muhammad; the Lord God has commanded him never to obey the deniers of the Quran.
4/1/2: "It is We who sent down the Quran upon you - a gradual revelation. So be patient for the decision of your Lord, and do not obey the sinner or the disbeliever among them." (76:23-24). The polytheistic deniers of the Quran are sinful disbelievers.
4/1/3: "So do not obey the disbelievers, but strive with them by it, a mighty striving." (25:52). This means Muhammad strove with them using the Quran itself; i.e., by preaching the Quranic Message.
4/1/4: "And content yourself with those who pray to their Lord morning and evening, desiring His Presence. And do not turn your eyes away from them, desiring the glitter of this world. And do not obey him whose heart We have made heedless of Our Reminder so he follows his own desires..." (18:28). Muhammad here has been commanded to adhere to the company of monotheistic believers and to never obey the arrogant deniers who were heedless of the Quran.
4/1: Within verses revealed in Yathreb, we read about other disbelievers and the hypocrites who emerged after Muhammad and the Meccan believers settled in Yathreb. There are repeated Quranic commands, addressed to Muhammad, about never to obey the deniers of the Quran among the Yathreb dwellers: "O prophet! Fear God, and do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites. God is Knowledgeable and Wise." (33:1); "And do not obey the disbelievers and the hypocrites, and ignore their insults, and rely on God. God is a Sufficient Protector." (33:48).
Lastly:
The Quranic verses we have quoted above prove two things as follows.
1- The main issue here is the Quranic Message itself and not Muhammad as a person at all.
2- Muhammad as a mortal human being was not infallible; the only infallibility granted to Muhammad by the Lord God was confined to conveying the entirety of the Quranic text as it is; this means, again, that the main issue is the Quranic Message itself and not Muhammad as a person at all.