A Revelation - Abu Lahab
Prophet Mohammed (pbuh&hf) had an uncle by the name of Abu Lahab. This man hated Islam
to such an extent that he used to follow the Prophet around in order to discredit him. If
Abu Lahab saw the Prophet (pbuh&hf) speaking to a stranger, he would wait until they
parted and the would go to the stranger and ask him, "What did he tell you? Did he
say, 'Black'? Well, it's white. Did he say 'morning'? Well, it's night." He
faithfully said the exact opposite of whatever he heard Mohammed (pbuh&hf) and the
Muslims say. However, about ten years before Abu Lahab died, a little chapter in the
Qur'an (Surah al-Lahab, 111) was revealed about him. It distinctly stated that he would go
to the fire (i.e., Hell). In other words, it affirmed that he would never become a Muslim
and would therefore be condemned forever. For ten years all Abu Lahab had to do was say,
"I heard that it has been revealed to Mohammed that I will never change - that I will
never become a Muslim and will enter the Hellfire. Well, I want to become Muslim now. How
do you like that? What do you think of your divine revelation now?" But he never did
that. And yet, that is exactly the kind of behavior one would have expected from him
since he always sought to contradict Islam.
In essence, Mohammed (pbuh&hf) said, "You hate me and you want
to finish me? Here, say these words, and I am finished. Come on, say them!" But Abu
Lahab never said them. Ten years! And in all that time he never accepted Islam or even
became sympathetic to the Islamic cause.
How could Mohammed (pbuh&hf) possibly have known for sure that Abu
Lahab would fulfill the Qur'anic revelation if he (i.e., Mohammed) was not truly the
messenger of Allah? How could he possibly have been so confident as to give someone 10
years to discredit his claim of Prophethood? The only answer is that he was Allah's
messenger; for in order to put forth such a risky challenge, one has to be entirely
convinced that he has a divine revelation.
The Flight
Another example of the confidence which Mohammed (pbuh&hf) had in his own Prophethood
and consequently in the divine protection of himself and his message is when he left Mecca
and hid in a cave with Abu Bakr during their emigration to Medina. The two clearly saw
people coming to kill them, and Abu Bakr was afraid. Certainly, if Mohammed (pbuh&hf)
was a liar, a forger and one who was trying to fool the people into believing that he was
a prophet, one would have expected him to say in such a circumstance to his friend,
"Hey, Abu Bakr, see if you can find a back way out of this cave." Or "Squat
down in that corner over there and keep quiet." Yet, in fact, what he said to Abu
Bakr clearly illustrated his confidence. He told him, "Relax! Allah is with us, and
Allah will save us!" Now, if one knows that he is fooling the people, where does one
get this kind of attitude? In fact, such a frame of mind is not characteristic of a liar
or a forger at all.
So, as has been previously mentioned, the non-Muslims go around and
around in a circle, searching for a way out - some way to explain the findings in the
Qur'an without attributing them to their proper source. On one hand, they tell you on
Monday, Wednesday and Friday, "The man was a liar," and on the other hand, on
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday they tell you, "He was crazy." What they refuse
to accept is that one cannot have it both ways; yet they need both theories, both excuses
to explain the information in the Qur'an.
An Encounter with a Minister
About seven years ago, I had a minister over to my home. In the particular room which we
were sitting there was a Qur'an on the table, face down, and so the minister was not aware
of which book it was. In the midst of a discussion, I pointed to the Qur'an and said,
"I have confidence in that book." Looking at the Qur'an but not knowing which
book it was, he replied, "Well, I tell you, if that book is not the Bible, it was
written by a man!" In response to his statement, I said, "Let me tell you
something about what is in that book." And in just three to four minutes, I related
to him a few things contained in the Qur'an. After just those three or four minutes, he
completely changed his position and declared, "You are right. A man did not write
that book. The Devil wrote it!" Indeed, possessing such an attitude is very
unfortunate - for many reasons. For one thing, it is a very quick and cheap excuse. It is
an instant exit out of an uncomfortable situation.
As a matter of fact, there is a famous story in the Bible that mentions
how one day some of the Jews were witnesses when Jesus (pbuh) raised a man from the dead.
The man had been dead for four days, and when Jesus arrived, he simply said, "Get
up!" and the man arose and walked away. At such a sight, some of the Jews who were
watching said disbelievingly, "This is the Devil. The Devil helped him!" Now
this story is rehearsed very often in churches all over the world, and people cry big
tears over it, saying, "Oh, if I had been there, I would not have been as stupid as
the Jews!" Yet, ironically, these people do exactly what the Jews did when in just
three minutes you show them only a small part of the Qur'an and all they can say is,
"Oh, the Devil did it. The devil wrote that book!" Because they are truly backed
into a corner and have no other viable answer, they resort to the quickest and cheapest
excuse available,
The Source of the Qur'an
Another example of people's use of this weak stance can be found in the Meccan's
explanation of the source of Mohammed's message. They used to say, "The devils bring
Mohammed that Qur'an!" But just as with every suggestion made, the Qur'an gives the
answer. One verse (Surah Al-Qalam 68: 51-52) in particular states: "And they say,
'Surely he is possessed [by jinn],' but it [i.e., the Qur'an] is not except a reminder to
the worlds."
Thus it gives an argument in reply to such a theory. In fact, there are
many arguments in the Qur'an in reply to the suggestion that devils brought Mohammed
(pbuh&hf) his message. For example, in the 26th chapter Allah (SWT) clearly affirms:
"No evil ones have brought it [i.e., this revelation] down. It would neither be
fitting for them, nor would they be able. Indeed they have been removed far from
hearing." (Surah ash-Shu'ara 26:210-212)
And in another place (Surah an-Nahl 16:98) in the Qur'an, Allah (SWT)
instructs us: "So when you recite the Qur'an seek refuge in Allah from Shaytan, the
rejected."
Now is this how Satan writes a book? He tells one, "Before you
read my book, ask God to save you from me?" This is very, very tricky. Indeed, a man
could write something like this, but would Satan do this? Many people clearly illustrate
that they cannot come to one conclusion on this subject. On one hand, they claim that
Satan would not do such a thing and that even if he could, God would not allow him to;
yet, on the other hand, they also believe that Satan is only that much less than God. In
essence they allege that the Devil can probably do whatever God can do. And as a result,
when they look at the Qur'an, even as surprised as they are as to how amazing it is, they
still insist, "The Devil did this!"
Thanks be to Allah (SWT), Muslims do not have that attitude. Although
Satan may have some abilities, they are a long way separated from the abilities of Allah.
And no Muslim is a Muslim unless he believes that. It is common knowledge even among
non-Muslims that the Devil can easily make mistakes, and it would be expected that he
would contradict himself if and when he wrote a book. For indeed, the Qur'an states (Surah
an-Nisa 4:82): "Do they not consider the Qur'an? Had it been from other than Allah,
they would surely have found therein much discrepancy."
Mythomania
In conjunction with the excuses that non-Muslims advance in futile attempts to justify
unexplainable verses in the Qur'an, there is another attack often rendered which seems to
be a combination of the theories that Mohammed (pbuh&hf) was crazy and a liar.
Basically, these people propose that Mohammed was insane, and as a result of his delusion,
he lied to and misled people. There is a name for this in psychology. It is referred to as
mythomania. It means simply that one tells lies and then believes them. This is
what the non-Muslims say Mohammed (pbuh&hf) suffered from. But the only problem with
this proposal is that one suffering from mythomania absolutely cannot deal with
any facts, and yet the whole Qur'an is based entirely upon facts. Everything contained in
it can be researched and established as true. Since facts are such a problem for a mythomaniac,
when a psychologist tries to treat one suffering from that condition, he continually
confronts him with facts.
For example, if one is mentally ill and claims, "I am the king of
England," a psychologist does not say to him "No you aren't. You are
crazy!" He just does not do that. Rather, he confronts him with facts and says,
"OK, you say you are the king of England. So tell me where the queen is today. And
where is your prime minister? And where are your guards?" Now, when the man has
trouble trying to deal with these questions, he tries to make excuses, saying "Uh...
the queen... she has gone to her mother's. Uh... the prime minister... well he died."
And eventually he is cured because he cannot deal with the facts. If the psychologist
continues confronting him with enough facts, finally he faces the reality and says,
"I guess I am not the king of England."
The Qur'an approaches everyone who reads it in very much the same way a
psychologist treats his mythomania patient. There is a verse in the Qur'an (Surah
Yunus 10:57) which states: "O mankind, there has come to you an admonition [i.e., the
Qur'an] from your Lord and a healing for what is in the hearts - and guidance and mercy
for the believers."
At first glance, this statement appears vague, but the meaning of this
verse is clear when one views it in light of the aforementioned example. Basically, one is
healed of his delusions by reading the Qur'an. In essence, it is therapy. It literally
cures deluded people by confronting them with facts. A prevalent attitude throughout the
Qur'an is one which says, "O mankind, you say such and such about this; but what
about such and such? How can you say this when you know that?" And
so forth. It forces one to consider what is relevant and what matters while simultaneously
healing one of the delusions that facts presented to mankind by Allah can easily be
explained away with flimsy theories and excuses.
New Catholic Encyclopedia
It is this very sort of thing - confronting people with facts - that had captured the
attention of many non-Muslims. In fact, there exists a very interesting reference
concerning this subject in the New Catholic Encyclopedia. In an article under
the subject of the Qur'an, the Catholic Church states: "Over the centuries, many
theories have been offered as to the origin of the Qur'an... Today no sensible man accepts
any of these theories!!"
Now here is the age-old Catholic Church, which has been around for so
many centuries, denying these futile attempts to explain away the Qur'an. Indeed, the
Qur'an is a problem for the Catholic Church. It states that it is revelation, so they
study it. Certainly, they would love to find proof that it is not, but they cannot. They
cannot find a viable explanation. But at least they are honest in their research and do
not accept the first unsubstantiated interpretation which comes along. The Church states
that in fourteen centuries it has not yet been presented a sensible explanation. At least
it admits that the Qur'an is not an easy subject to dismiss. Certainly, other people are
much less honest. They quickly say, "Oh, the Qur'an came from here. The Qur'an came
from there." And they do not even examine the credibility of what they are stating
most of the time.
Of course, such a statement by the Catholic Church leaves the everyday
Christian in some difficulty. It just may be that he has his own ideas as to the origin of
the Qur'an, but as a single member of the Church, he cannot really act upon his own
theory. Such an action would be contrary to the obedience, allegiance and loyalty which
the Church demands. By virtue of his membership, he must accept what the Catholic Church
declares without question and establish its teachings as part of his everyday routine. So,
in essence, if the Catholic Church as a whole is saying, "Do not listen to these
unconfirmed reports about the Qur'an," then what can be said about the Islamic point
of view? If even non-Muslims are admitting that there is something to the Qur'an -
something that has to be acknowledged - then why are people so stubborn and defensive and
hostile when Muslims advance the very same theory? This is certainly something for those
with a mind to contemplate - something to ponder for those of understanding!
Testimony of an Intellectual
Recently, the leading intellectual in the Catholic Church - a man by the name of Hans -
studied the Qur'an and gave his opinion of what he had read. This man has been around for
some time, and he is highly respected in the Catholic Church, and after careful scrutiny,
he reported his findings, concluding, "God has spoken to man through the man,
Mohammed." Again this is a conclusion arrived at by a non-Muslim source - the very
leading intellectual of the Catholic Church himself!
I do not think that the Pope agrees with him, but nonetheless, the
opinion of such a noted, reputed public figure must carry some weight in defense of the
Muslim position. He must be applauded for facing the reality that the Qur'an is not
something which can be easily pushed aside and that, in fact God is the source of these
words.
As is evident from the aforementioned information, all of the
possibilities have been exhausted, so the chance of finding another possibility of
dismissing the Qur'an is non-existent.
