Muhammad and Islamic ethics
Summary: Islam, unlike Christianity, believes in a revealed law. However, because Muhammad did not accept the authenticity of the Torah, and believed that only he had a true revelation, Islam does not accept the way of God or Imitatio Dei as the source of its ethics. Islamic ethics is therefore based on the words of the Quran and the reported behavior and words of Muhammad. Because man rather than God has become the model for all ethical behavior, atrocities can be committed in Allahs name. Islamic law does not aim to create a utopia in this world but prepares a Muslim for bliss in the World to Come. By default, creating utopia in this world has been left to Judaism.
The present-day conflict between Judaism and many of the adherents of Islam could be taken straight from the pages of the Bible. Which means that it is also a conflict of Biblical proportions. Jews are often surprised at the attention the Palestinian problem receives on the world stage, particularly in the UN, at the same time as more pressing issues are ignored because of it. However, the inordinate attention received by the Palestinians is not surprising given that the Palestinian people are an integral part of this Biblical conflict, and that this conflict has consequences for the entire globe.
Of course, it could be argued that most Muslims are not from the progeny of Ishmael, and therefore should have nothing to do with the Biblical story. This is true. On the other hand, Muhammad identifies Ishmael as being the progenitor of some of the Arabian people, and some Muslims from the Arabian Peninsula may be his descendants.1 In addition, many of the features of Islam are strongly identified with Saudi Arabia. Muhammad was from the Arabian Peninsula, the Quran was initially composed for his countrymen, and Islams holiest shrine the Kaaba is in Arabia. The words of the Bible may therefore have a lot to tell us about this conflict.
First, however, some words about Muhammad and the religion he founded.
The reflections of Muhammad in a cave
Muhammad had come to his usual cave on Mount Hira overlooking the city of Mecca to do what he had been doing for many years in this cave think and plan.
Seven years ago in this very cave he had received his first communication from Allah. He, Muhammad, was now a prophet of God and in the same league as the Jewish Moses and the Christian Jesus. Even more than this. He prophecies were more authentic than theirs.What greater privilege than this could Allah have bestowed on him?
Allah had chosen him to bring knowledge of the One true God to Arabia and lead the Arab people towards to a more ethical life. Arabia would no longer be a country of petty fighting and intrigue, but a country united in serving Allah and engaged in prayer, giving charity, and caring for the widow and the orphan. He also had been an orphan and he knew what it was like to be dependent on the goodness of others.
He had made good progress. He knew he was a forceful speaker and a convincing leader, and he already had a large group of devoted followers here in Mecca.But he could feel the antagonism of the leaders of the city. They were fearful of him that he would take over their holy Kaaba and the trade that went with it from the annual pilgrimage and that he would interfere with the way they ran their lives. They were right of course. One day he would do all this. But not yet. He was not powerful enough.
He knew that it was only a matter of time before he would have to leave Mecca and establish a new base. He knew already this would be in Medina 130 miles to north of Mecca where there was a large group of influential converts.And he knew already that to come back to Mecca, he would have to fight the Qurayshi tribe.
Fighting for Allah was not what he had intended doing when he first started preaching four years ago. However, if this is what Allah wanted from him he was ready to fulfill His word.
Muhammad from Mecca to Medina
Muhammad (570-632 CE) was born in Mecca, the main city of the Arabian Peninsula, and was a member of a clan of the large Qurayshi tribe. His father died when he was 6 and he was raised by his paternal grandfather, and when he died by an uncle. At twenty-five, he married a wealthy widow, Khadijah, who recognized his spirituality and his business acumen, the latter being helpful for her trading business. Together, they had two boys (both of whom died) and four girls.
Arabia was then a pagan country, whereas much of the Middle East was monotheistic or Zoroastrian. The Arabians worshipped an ill-defined chief god called Allah and also his offspring. The central shrine of the country was in Mecca and was called the Kaaba. The building containing a large black rock and the statues of their many gods, and the Bedouin would come on pilgrimage to this holy site once a year.
Muhammad was familiar with Judaism and Christianity having visited their faith communities during his travels in the large cities of the Middle East as a camel trader. He had also befriended Jews in Arabia who told him about the Jewish belief in one God and about their laws. They also engaged him with wonderful stories from their Torah - about Abraham and his son Ishmael who was almost sacrificed by his father, Adam and Eve the first created man and woman, a flood that destroyed the entire world except for one righteous individual, and the prophet Moses who delivered the Jews out of slavery and brought them from Egypt to their Promised Land.2 The Christians too had their stories about their prophet Jesus. Muhammad also learnt about their belief in resurrection and the World to Come. All this was new to him as the Arabians did not believe in a life after death.
One night, and this would be called the Night of Destiny or Night of Power, Muhammad at age 40 had a mind-shattering revelatory experience that would change the direction of his life. He was then aged forty. Muslim tradition tells us that on this night was revealed to him the first verses of the Quran conveyed to him through the heavens by the angel Gabriel. The Quran relates:
We sent it [Muhammads revelation] down on the Night of Destiny. And what will make you comprehend what the Night of Destiny is? The Night of Destiny is better than a thousand months, on that night, the angels and the Spirit come down by the permission of Allah with His decrees for all matters; it is all peace till the break of dawn! (Surah 97).
Muhammad was terror-stricken from this experience. However, in the comfort of his home, his wife and relatives assured him that he must have experienced a genuine revelation.
His next revelation was eighteen months later. One of Muhammads colleagues tells us what Muhammad told him:
While I was walking all of a sudden I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up and saw the same angel who had visited me at the cave of Hira, sitting on a chair between the sky and the earth. I got scared of him and came home and said: Wrap me in [blankets]. And then Allah revealed the following holy verses [of the Quran]: O thou wrapped up [in a mantle]! Arise and deliver thy warning! And thy Lord do thou magnify! And thy garments keep free from stain! And all [other goods] shun!2
Muhammad was reassured by Allah that he was not becoming delusional, that he should lead a pure life, and should now begin proclaiming His message to the people and leaders of Mecca. From this point on, he had frequent revelations from the angel Gabriel.These revelations were called an ayah (sign of God) and were considered the verbatim words of God. They were later transcribed by his colleagues to form the basis of the Quran.
Muhammad believed that he was the last of the prophets to be elected by God and that he was communicating a primordial faith previously revealed to Moses and Jesus. However, their communications from God had been received incorrectly or misinterpreted. Rather, his prophecies were the final and authentic words of God and superseded any prophecies previously communicated to others.
Gradually people from Mecca became aware of his experiences and began following him. Three years after his first revelation, he and his followers began publicly preaching his message. However, this was met with considerable resistance from the Qurayshi leaders, to the extent that many of his followers had to leave Mecca because of the threat of violence. Muhammads message involved a different understanding of Allah than they were familiar with, risked alienating their gods, and was totally at odds with their lifestyle. Informed about a threat to his life, Muhammad and his followers fled to an oasis called Yathrib, 150 miles to the north of Mecca, where he had previously been successfully proselyting. This immigration is known as the hijira and marks a major turning point in Islam.
Yathrib or Medina as it was renamed by Muhammad was not a town but a number of villages and forts around an oasis where lived two pagan tribes and three smaller Jewish tribes. Muhammad was invited to run the area which was then immersed in conflict and he began to initiate there the agenda described in the Quran - the elimination of idols, obligatory prayer, and a social program with prohibition against alcohol, gambling, usurious interest rates, spousal abuse and mistreatment of orphans. He also introduced the zekat (charitable) requirement for the poor.3
Muhammad realized that the Meccans would not permit him to continue living in Medina and he decided to strike first by attacking Meccan caravans as a recompense for the properties his followers had left behind when fleeing Mecca.4 An engagement at Badr Springs began as a caravan raid but escalated into a full-scale battle when the Meccans brought in reinforcements. Although outnumbered, Muhammad had a resounding victory that he ascribed to Gods intervention as described in the Quran:
Say to those who deny the truth: You shall be vanquished and driven into hell an evil resting place! There was a sign for you in the two groups that met face to face [at Badr], one party fighting for the cause of God and the other made up of those who deny the truth. They [unbelievers] saw with their own eyes that the others [believers] were twice their number; but Allah strengthens with His succor whom He wills. In this there is indeed a lesson for all who have eyes to see (Surra 3:12-13).
During the last 9 years of his life, the Muslims were involved in numerous military campaigns.5 The Meccans eventually realized that they would not be able to defeat Muhammed and under treaty the Muslims were allowed to enter Mecca for the Hajj pilgrimage. Muhammad eventually moved against the city facing no resistance, purified the Kaaba and removed all its idols. All non-Muslims were expelled from Arabia in 635 CE.
In a speech he gave before his death, Muhammad summarized aspects of his religious program:
O people, listen to me in earnest, worship Allah, say your five daily prayers, fast during the month of Ramadan, and give your wealth in Zakat. Perform Hajj if you can afford to. You know that every Muslim is the brother of another Muslim. You are all equal. Nobody has superiority over another except by piety and good action. Remember, one day you will appear before Allah and answer for your deeds. So beware, do not go astray from the path of righteousness after I am gone. O people, no prophet or messenger will come after me and no new faith will be born. Reason well, therefore, O people and understand my words which I convey to you. I leave behind me two things, the Quran and my example, the Sunna, and if you follow these you will never go astray. All those who listen to me shall pass on my words to others and those to others again; and may the last ones understand my words better than those who listen to me directly. Be my witness, O Allah, that I have conveyed your message to your people.6
After Muhammads death, Bedouin warriors enthused with the notion of jihad burst into Syria and Iraq in a series of military campaigns and overthrew the established order. This was followed by the conquest of Egypt, and by 650 CE the heartlands of Islam, namely the area between Egypt on the west and the Iranian plateau on the east, plus the Arabian Peninsula were ruled by Muslims. Five years later, under the Umayyad dynasty centered in Syria, the Muslims conquered Central Asia and Afghanistan to the north-east, Pakistan and parts of India to the south-east, to the north Armenia and the Caucasus, and to the west North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula. Their military successes were achieved because of the weakness of the Byzantine and Sasanian Empires, the unifying force of Islam, the warriors anticipated rewards from jihad, their agile military tactics, and their taking on areas that were poorly defended.7 Nevertheless, they were unable to take over Constantinople from the Byzantines and their advance into France was halted. Conversion was not forced on the people of the countries they conquered, but their victories created the conditions favorable for the widespread adoption of Islam.
The fundamentals of Islam
As do Judaism and Christianity, Islam recognizes God as the Creator of the universe and believe that He is involved, rather than remote, from the world He created.
The Five Pillars are the fundamentals of Islamic personal behavior. One is the basic creed (shahada) in which I testify that there is no God but Allah and I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God, and this is repeated at all prayer services. The second is prayer. This is recited in Arabic and contains verses from the Quran. At the beginning of Muhammads missionary work he advocated praying three times a day towards Jerusalem (as does Judaism) in order to attract Jews to his new religion, but this was changed to five times a day and towards Mecca when it became clear to him that the Jews of Medina wanted nothing to do with his faith. It would also have been a political statement regarding his desire to obtain control of the Kaaba. Number three is charity. This is a religious duty as it is in Judaism and even has the same name Sadaqah. The other two pillars of Islam are fasting during the month of Ramadan from dawn to dusk as a means of drawing close to Allah and perfecting ones behavior, and fifthly taking a pilgrimage to Mecca (called the hajj) at least once in ones lifetime for those possessing the means to do this. Other features of Islam initially added to attract Jews and subsequently maintained are the restriction on eating pork, ritual slaughter, and Friday being the main day of prayer.
Muhammed initially envisaged Islam as a religion of peace. He assumed his countrymen would be convinced about his message of monotheism, that Islam would take over the Kabba, and all of Arabia would accept Islam. But this was not how it turned out. He already realized in Medina that to accomplish his goal of converting all of Arabia to Islam he would need to resort to force. This was when he developed the concept of jihad.
Jihad means a struggle in Arabic, although this translation does not encompass the full implications of the word. An accepted meaning is warfare with spiritual significance. Jihad is usually authorized by a legitimate representative of the Muslim community for the sake of an issue universally recognized to be of critical importance for the entire community and against a recognized enemy of Islam.8 However, the more recent struggles of Radical Islam may not fully meet this definition.
The nature of the arrangement between Allah and His fighters is evident from the following passage from theQuran:
Allah has bought from the believers their lives and their wealth in return for the Garden [Paradise]; they fight for the cause of Allah, and they kill, and they get killed. It is a promise binding on Him from the Torah, the Gospel, and the Quran; and who is truer to His promise than Allah? Rejoice, then, at the bargain you have made. That is the supreme achievement (Surah 9:111).
The aim of jihad is to persuade pagans to adopt Islam. (The forbidden months discussed in the following Quranic passage are months designated in Arabia for non-combat so that pilgrims could travel safely to the Kaaba):
When the forbidden months have passed, kill the idolators wherever you find them. Take them captive and besiege them, and lie in wait for them at every place of ambush. But if they repent and take to prayer regularly and pay the alms [i.e., take on the strictures of Islam], then let them go their way. Allah is forgiving and merciful (Surah 9:5).
Jews and Christians were considered to be people of the book and were not required to convert, but they were obligated to pay a special poll tax, to not spread their religion, nor to criticize Islam. This paradigm would govern the relationship between Muslims and the other monotheistic faiths living in Muslim territories for many centuries:
Fight those from among the people of the book [i.e. Jews and Christians] who believe neither in God, nor in the Last Day, nor hold as unlawful what God and His messenger have declared to be unlawfu , nor follow the true religion [Islam} until they pay the tax willingly and agree to submit (Surah 9:29).
Hadiths indicate that jihad continued to be accepted among the faithful after Muhammads death. An hadith is a later tradition than the Quran and is based on the reported actions or words of Mohammed. The following hadith is one example among many on the subject of jihad:
There is a man who fights in the path of Allah and does not want to kill or be killed, but is struck by an arrow. The first drop of blood [dripping] from him is atonement for every sin he has committed; for every drop he sheds he gains levels in Paradise. The second type of man is one who fights desiring to kill but not to be killed and is struck by an arrow. The first drop of blood [dripping] from him is atonement for every sin; for every drop he sheds he gains a level in paradise until he bumps Abrahams knee [on the top level]. The third type of man is one who fights in the path of Allah desiring to kill and be killed, and is struck by an arrow. The first drop of blood [dripping] from him is atonement for every sin; he will come to the Day of Resurrection with a drawn sword [able to] intercede.9
Commenting on the importance of violent jihad in Islam, David Cook writes:
Whereas the Quran suffices with generalities and encouragement to fight, the hadith materials take us into a full-blown description of warfare with a heavy spiritual content. It is clear from even the cursory overview above that the subject of militant jihad was of critical concern to Muslims during the formative first three centuries of Islam, and there is no indication from any of this material that the jihad being described is anything other than military.10
Another definition of jihad as a spiritual form of struggle or striving in the path of Islam. This non-military definition is much preferred by Islamic apologists and some non-Islamic commentators. It is described in the following Quranic passage:
Strive (jahidu) for the cause of Allan as you ought to strive (haqq jihadihi). He has chosen you and laid on you no burden, the faith of Abraham, your forefather. In this, as in former scriptures He has given you the name of Muslims so that the messenger may be witness over you, and so that you may be witnesses over mankind. Therefore, say your prayers regularly and pay the zakat and hold fast to Allah. An excellent Master and an excellent Helper! (Surah 22:78).
However, it is doubtful that this definition accords with how Islam viewed jihad during the time of Muhammad and how it was practiced in the centuries after his death:
Those believers who stay behind, apart from those forced by necessity, are not equal to those who fight with their goods and their persons. Allah has given those who fight with their goods and their persons a higher rank than those who stayed behind. Allah has promised all a good reward; but far greater is the recompense of those who fight for him. (Surah 4:95).
An aim of all Muslims is to achieve a blissful existence in the World to Come through belief in the fundamentals of Islam and by leading a life as directed by Allah. The importance of the World to Come is evident from these two Quranic quotations:
Believers! Shall I guide you to a profitable course that will save you from a painful punishment. You should believe in Allah and His messenger and strive for Allahs cause with your possessions and your lives. That will be better for you if you only knew. And He will forgive you your sins and admit you into Gardens [Paradise] with rivers flowing under them. That is indeed the supreme achievement (Surah 61:10-12).
As for those who are mindful of Allah, they shall surely triumph. Theirs shall be gardens and vineyards, and young maidens of equal age and overflowing cups [in Paradise]. They shall not hear any idle talk or any untruth. All this will be a recompense, a gift, that will suffice them, from your Lord, the Sustainer of the heavens and the earth and all that lies between them, the most gracious and none shall have it in their power to raise their voices to Him. On the day when the spirit and the angels stand in ranks, no one will speak, except for those to whom the Lord of Mercy gives permission, and who will say only what is right. That day is sure to come, so whoever wishes to, let him take the path that leads towards the Lord (Surah 78:31-39).
The gift (rather than reward) in Paradise described here will be very physical and pleasurable and have no particular spiritual significance other than being in proximity to Allah. Closest to Allah in this ranking will be Muhammad, his early companions and helpers, martyrs and extraordinary believers. Plenty of beautiful maidens will also be in attendance:
The third to the fore [of three groups] shall be the foremost. They shall be the nearest to Allah. They will dwell in the Garden of Bliss; a large group of the earlier believers, and a lesser number from the later generations.Seated on couches wrought in gold and encrusted with precious stones reclining on them facing each other they will be waited on by ageless youth carryinggoblets and ewers and cups filled with the purest wine, neither causing headaches, nor intoxication, along with fruits of their choice and the meat of any bird that they may desire; and fair maidens with large, lustrous eyes like the pearls in their shells shall be their recompense for their deeds. They will not hear therein any vain or sinful talk only the worlds of peace and tranquility (Surah 56:10-26)
Sinners and non-believers, on the other hand, are destined for grievous punishment:
On the day when the earth shall be changed into another earth, as shall be the heavens, they will all appear before Allah, the One, the Most Supreme. On that day you shall see the guilty bound in chains, their garments shall be of pitch and the fire shall envelope their faces. Allah will requite each soul according to its deeds. Swift is Allahs reckoning (Surah 14:49-51).
In Islamic thought, all of ones thoughts, words and deeds are recorded by angels. To mark the onset of the World to Come an archangel will blow the first trumpet blast. Everyone will die and everything will be obliterated. On the Day of Judgment (Yawm Din) all the dead will be resurrected.Everyone will be judged and every persons intentions and deeds will be weighed in the balance. Sinners will fall into an abyss of flames and eternal punishment. The notion of a burning hell for sinners was taken from Christianity, but in its beginnings was a Greek idea.
Ishmael in the Bible
The Torah is a prophetic book and its descriptions of Ishmael will have prophetic implications.
There are three passages in Genesis that discuss Ishmael and his offspring. The story so far is that God promises Abraham he will have a child but does not reveal who will be the mother. Sarah and Abraham are infertile. Sarah therefore decides to take matters into her own hands, and offers her servant (or more likely her slave) Hagar to Abraham so shecan be built up through her. Such an arrangement was not unusual in those days.10 Hagar becomes pregnant and now sees herself in a less servile relationship to Sarah, which upsets Sarah considerably. Abraham gives his wife a free hand to deal with Hagar as she feels fit and Sarah begins treating her harshly to demonstrate her authority to the extent that Hagar flees from the home. An angel of God finds her in the desert:
An angel of YHVH found her by the spring of water in the desert, at the spring on the road to Shur. And he said: Hagar, maidservant of Sarai, where have you come from and where are you going?And she said: I am running away from Sarai my mistress. And an angel of YHVH said to her: Return to your mistress, and submit yourself to her domination. And an angel of YHVH said to her: I will greatly increase your offspring, and they will not be counted for abundance. And an angel of YHVH said to her; Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, because YKVK has heard your affliction.And he shall be a wild ass of a man:his hand will be upon all, and everyones hand upon him (yado bekol, veyad kol bo); and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brothers(Genesis 16:7-12).
The angel of God addresses Hagar three times. A midrash suggests that there were three angels who talked to Hagar.11 Alternatively, it may be written in this way to emphasize that all three statements are of equal importance. Her future sons name will be Ishmael, this name being derived from the Hebrew verblishmoa, which meansto listen, andEl,which means God.Hence, God is listening to Hagar because she is being oppressed, and as we shall soon see, He will also listen to Ishmael when he is in distress.
A midrashic explanation of Ishmael being a wild ass is that he will live in the wilderness.12 Another midrash views Ishmael in a more negative way.The combination of beingwildand having his handagainst everyonemeans that he will be a murderous thief, an explanation picked up by the Biblical commentator Rashi.13 However, this explanation fits poorly into the plain meaning of the text. Is Hagar really expected to return to Abrahams household so that Ishmael can grow up to become a bandit? As instructed, Hagar returns to Abrahams household to give birth to her son, and Abraham calls his newborn son Ishmael.
Yonatan Grossman suggests another way of looking at this passage.14The characteristic of a wild ass is that it is totally free and impossible to domesticate.Nothing can restrain it.It has this meaning in a passage in Job:Who set the wild ass free, and who loosened the bonds of the wild donkey, for whom I designated the desert as his home, his habitats in arid land?(Job 39:5-10). Hence, it is not so much the place of Ishmaels habitation that is being emphasized but his freedom.
Other interpretations exist also for the second phrase.It is not that he will be against everyoneand everyone will be against him but that he will be intoeveryones affairs and everyone intohis.This meaning accords well with the Hebrew:"his hand will be in everything and everyones hand into his"(yado bakol, veyad kol bo).Hence, the commentator Chizkuni writes: His hand shall be in everything in all types of wares, and everyones hands against him in haggling over the wares.The Second Temple commentator Onkelos writes:He would be dependent on other nations and they would be dependent on him.
In return for going back to Sarah, Hagar is guaranteed that her son will obtain freedom, that he will be financially secure, and that he and his progeny will live in their own autonomous territory.
Nevertheless, there may well be deliberate ambiguity in this passage.Hagar will no doubt have heard the positive message.Readers of the Bible, on the other hand, could hear a more negative message.This is because there are both positive and negative aspects about being unrestrained.Being of a different mold to everyone else can lead to new and positive directions for civilization, whereas a reluctance to fit into the norms of civilized society can create discord. Beinginto everythingis positive with respect to global trade, but quite the opposite when related to violence and mayhem.
In a second passage related to Ishmael, Abraham is informed by God to circumcise himself and his household, and the following promise is made about his son Ishmael:
And regarding Ishmael I have heard you; behold I shall bless him and make him fruitful and make him very greatly numerous, he will bear twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation(Genesis 17:20).
In a third passage about Ishmael, it becomes evident that God not only listens to Hagar but also to Ishmael as his name implies. A son called Isaac is born to Abraham through Sarah. At a party for his weaning, Sarah sees Ishmael scoffing, and realizes that these two sons cannot inherit together (Genesis 21:9).God tells Abraham to accede to Sarahs request and with much anguish on Abrahams part, Hagar is banished from the home. She wanders in the desert around Beersheba and when her water runs out, weeping, she casts off her child beneath a tree so as not to see him die. God hears the cry of the youth and calls out to her:
And Elohimheard the cryof the youth, and an angel of Elohim called to Hagar from heaven and said to her: What troubles you, Hagar? Fear not, for Elohimhas heard the cry of the youth in his present state. Arise, lift up the youth and grasp your hand upon him, for I will make a great nation of him(Genesis 21:17-18).
Two important points are being made in these passages. Firstly, because Isaac and Ishmael are both children of Abraham they will both have equal blessing - except for one respect. Hence, both Isaac and Ishmael are named by God and Abraham then gives them this name. This implies that the implications of these names are important for then and for the future. Both children are promised nationhood. Twelve princes or tribes will come from Ishmael and twelve tribes will come from Isaacs son Jacob. Both children experience a near-death experience as a result of Abrahams actions, Ishmael because of his mother being banished from the home and in the case of Isaac because of being almost sacrificed by his father. Both children are rescued by an angel of God. The one difference is that a Covenant will be bestowed only to the offspring of Isaac, and with it comes the promise of the Land of Canaan. The second point, and this follows from the promise of the land, is that Ishmael and his offspring will need to separate from Isaac since Ishmael cannot inherit with Isaac (Genesis 21:10).
Another issue. When God first speaks to Hagar through an angel of God, the name of God is YHVH, since Hagar is still part of the household of Abraham (even though she has fled). YHVH is the God who provides providence to Abraham and his family, and in the future to the tribes of Israel and finally to the nation of Israel. However, the next time that God speaks to Hagar, she has already been banished from the household. She is now under the care of a different aspect of God, Elohim, the God of all humanity. The Muslims will call this God Allah.
Jewish non-acceptance of Islam
There were substantial Jewish communities in the Arabian Peninsula at the time of Muhammed. The Jews of Yemen date from early as King Solomon. Also, in the 5th century, Jews from Persia migrated across the Gulf. By the dawn of Islam, Jews dominated the economic life of Arabia. In Medina they constituted at least half its population and owned its best agricultural land. The Jews of Medina would have been highly suspicious of Muhammed when he took over the town, and in some instances decidedly hostile. This did not endear him to them and to Jews in general and they would be eventually expelled from the country. The males of one antagonistic Jewish tribe were massacred, their women and children put into slavery, and their land given to his supporters who had fled from Mecca.
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Muhammed initially assumed that Jews would be interested in his new Abrahamic religion, and he included practices he thought would be attractive to them, such as the prohibition against eating pork, the use of ritual slaughter, turning to Jerusalem for prayer, and praying three times a day. He would soon discover how mistaken he was.
The Jews could not accept that Muhammad was a prophet of God. It is also a Jewish belief that their Covenant with God is eternal and their laws cannot be added, altered or removed at will. Muhammads idea that Moses had received a faulty transmission or that he had wrongly interpreted the words of a primeval Torah was also unacceptable.For all these reasons, it was impossible for them to believe that the Quran contained the words of God. If there were discrepancies between the Quran and the Torah it was the Quran that was inaccurate and not the Torah.
Muhammad was fascinated by the Biblical stories of Genesis, and he included them in his Quran. He may not have been aware, however, that some of the stories he was told, such as the stories about Abraham, were embellished with midrashic explanations. In this way, bits of midrash made their way into his Quran. In many instances, these Biblical stories were changed to reflect the priorities and interests of Muhammad. In at least one instance, in the story of Noah, Muhammad seems to have writen himself into the story.
This is the outline of the story of Noah as found in the Quran:
Noah tells the people that if they persist in worshiping their ancestral gods they will be destroyed.
For various reasons the people refuse to believe him.
Rumors reach Noah that the leaders are conspiring to stone him.
With the increase in threats, Noah prays to God that He should wipe them off the face of the earth so that potential believers would not be misled.
Enduring the mockery of the people, he builds an ark and collects animals.
God commands him to enter the ark with the few people who believe in him.
His wife and one of his sons drown after they decide not to join him.
Noah is told that his true family will not be his blood relations but those who submit to Gods will.
There are many fascinating differences between this version and the Biblical story. The sin of the generation of the Flood was hamas in Hebrew and not idolatry. A good translation of this word is unrighteousness - And the earth had become corrupt before God; and the earth had become filled with unrighteousness (hamas) (Genesis 6:11). This noun is also used in a Biblical verse about false testimony: You shall not bear a meritless [or false] report, do not put your hand with an evil person to be a witness of unrighteousness (hamas) [or fraudulent witness] (Exodus 23:1). The Bible is prepared to destroy the world because of a complete breakdown in civil society but not because of paganism. Muhammads struggle, on the other hand, is against Arabian paganism.
The rumors reaching the Qurans Noah about leaders wishing to stone him is, also, more or less what the leaders of Mecca wanted to do to Muhammad. The Biblical Noahs message about a pending flood elicited skepticism among the people, but there is no mention of any threat of violence against Noah. The Biblical Noah also did not pray that disbelievers would be wiped off the face of the earth, since this would have been a decision for God and not for him. Noahs wife and one of his sons did not die in the Biblical story, and Muhammed may be confusing them with the death of Lots wife and his sons-in-law during the destruction of Sodom and Gomorra. The Biblical Noah also relies on family to promote his message, and not on a group of male supporters. The role of family is crucial to the Jewish story, which is about a family who will survive the flood and bring righteousness to the world through the descendants of Noahs son Shem.
Muhammad was also fond of stories about Abraham. In the Quran, he proposes that Abraham visited the Kaaba in Mecca and made it a shrine to God. Hence Muhammads wish for it to again become a shrine for monotheism.
The Quran contains the following story about Abraham:
He [Abraham] broke them [the idols] all into pieces, except for the biggest one of them, so that they might return to it [for enquiry]. Who has done this to our deities? He must be a wrongdoer. Some said: We heard a young man called Abraham talking about them. They said: Then bring him here in the sight of all the people, so that they may act as witnesses. They said: Abraham, was it you who did this to our deities? He answered: Rather this biggest one of them did it. Ask them if they can speak. Then they turned to one another and said: It is you yourselves who are in the wrong. Then they hung their heads and said: O Abraham! You know they cannot speak. Abraham said: So, do you worship something instead of Allah that can neither benefit you nor harm you? Shame on you and on whatever you worship instead of Allah. Can you not understand? They said: Burn him and help your deities, if you are resolved to something. But We said: Fire! Be cool and means of safety for Abraham. They had sought to do him harm, but We frustrated them (Surah 21:58-70).
This version is similar to the well-known story about God rescuing Abraham from a furnace after smashing his fathers idols. However, this story is not found in the Torah but in a midrash.15 Midrash is a commentary on the Torah that seeks to fill in gaps in the Torah in this instance, to explain the qualities of Abraham that justified him being chosen by God. Some consider midrashim to be the product of Divine inspiration, but this is far from being generally accepted. There has never been a suggestion that they are the words of God. Hence, they cannot be part of a primeval Torah.
Summary
Judaism and Islam have a different approach to ethics. Judaism believes in the concepts of societal justice and righteousness and that God is the model for all ethical behavior. Therefore, a Jew should attempt to walk in Gods ways and to imitate Him (or Imitatio Dei). Muhammed rejected the Torah and considered it a distorted transmission of Gods word and regarded his prophecy only as being authentic. Because of this, the Quran, and Muhammads own behavior and his reported words to his colleagues that were transmitted through the hadiths became the source of ethics for Muslims. Because man rather than God is the source of all Islamic ethics, this allowed for the possibility of terrible distortions of ethical behavior to be perpetrated in the name of Allah. Moreover, although Islam believes in tzedakah, the giving of alms, it does not hold to the full expression of righteousness and hesed, or loving kindness.
There is also no concept in Islam of attempting to produce a utopia on this earth. The practice of ethical behavior in Islam is in order to inherit the World to Come. Islam also took the path of Christianity and created its utopian vision in the World to Come. In so doing, it like Christianity left the messianic vision in this world for the Jewish people.
If one does not believe that there is a Divine Covenant with the Jewish people that includes all the Land of Israel, then the conflict between the Jewish people and the Palestinians is no more than a real estate disagreement, and like all such disagreements it should be open to negotiation and compromises. Palestinian leaders, however, such as Amin al-Husseini, were well aware that this was far more than a real estate disagreement but a religious conflict that went to the core of Islam.
In a religious conflict, generous compromises are not helpful. This is because the other side will interprets these compromises as merciful assistance from the hand of God, and this has the effect of prolonging the conflict and not shortening it. This happened in the south of Lebanon and in the Gaza Strip anywhere in fact from where Israel withdrew. Ironically, this means that Palestinian intransigence regarding this conflict has actually been helpful, since it prevents a generous final stage solution on the part of Israel that would have the effect in the end of actually exacerbating the conflict.
There cannot be an Islamic state within the Land of Israel because this is a land designated for justice and righteousness.16 Which is not to say that the Jewish people will always act in this way. In fact, throughout history they have not. However, at the very least, they have a head start by virtue of their texts, which is something that Islam does not have. This was also why Hagar and Ishmael had to be ejected from Abrahams home. This does not mean that less blessing is designated for them. To the contrary, the Torah makes it clear that as the descendants of Abraham, Isaac and Ishmael are equal in all respects. What it does mean is that Ishmaels blessings will be received in a place other than the Land of Israel.
Lest there be any confusion as to what I am saying here, I am not advocating for the expulsion of Arabs from the State of Israel and Judea and Samaria. All that I am saying is that on religious grounds, there cannot be an independent Islamic state practicing its own form of ethics within this territory.
References
1. The relevant Torah passage is They [Ishmael and his people] dwelt from Havila to Shur which is near Egypt towards Assyria,over all his brothers he dwelt(Genesis 25:18). Havila and Shur are mentioned several times in the Bible. Both have been identified as being in Arabia, although other locations are also possible (see Wikipedia for Havila and Shur)
2. Quoted in The Revelatory Time and the Messenger in Opening the Quran. Introducing Islams Holy Book by Walter H. Wagner, p122. University of Notre Dame, 2008.
3. The Narrative about Muhammad: Hijra and the Beginning of the Muslim Era in Opening the Quran. Introducing Islams Holy Book by Walter H. Wagner, p129. University of Notre Dame, 2008.
4.Ibid, p130.
5. Quran and Conquest in Understanding Jihad by David Cook, p6, University of California Press, 2015.
6. Quoted from The Narrative about Muhammad: Victory and Death in Opening the Quran. Introducing Islams Holy Book by Walter H. Wagner, p136. University of Notre Dame, 2008. The text was taken from the Alim, the Messengers Last Sermon.
7. The Early Conquests: Theory to Practice in Understanding Jihad by David Cook, p11, University of California Press, 2015.
8. This definition is taken from Introduction in Understanding Jihad by David Cook, pp2-3, University of California Press, 2015.
9. Quoted in Quran and Conquest in ibid, p15 from reference 12, from Ibn al-Mubarak, Jihad, pp104-5 (no.125).
10. Nahum Sarna in Hagar the Concubine in Understanding Genesis. The Heritage of Biblical Israel, p126, provides an interesting perspective on this arrangement based on a marriage contract found during archeological excavations in the ancient Mesopotamian city of Nuzi: [Miss] Kelim-ninu has been given in marriage to [Mr]shennima If Kelim-ninu does not bear, Kelim-ninu shall acquire a woman of the land of Lulu [i.e. a slave girl] as a wife for Shennima. It would seem from this that the first wife had the responsibility for finding a new wife for her husband in the event of her infertility. This could explain Sarahs activism in this matter.
11. Bereishis Rabbah 45:7. Also Rashi to 16:9. Verses 9 and 10 should otherwise have said and he said.
12. Bereishis Rabba 45:9, Pirkei DeREliezer and Rashi to 16:12.
13. Tanchuma, Shemos 1. Commentary of Rashi to Genesis 16:12 and also to 21:20.
14. The Suffering of Hagar and the Enslavement in Egypt by Yonatan Grossman in Parashat Lekh Lekha in the Virtual Beit Midrash (http://www.vbm-torah.org/parsha.58/03lech.htm).
15. Midrash Rabba 38:13.
16. Nachmanides to Genesis 26:5. Also Rashi to Deuteronomy 11:18 and Sifrei 43.
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