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Chapter 3: Islam & Intercession

Islam and Human Rights
Chapter 3: Islam and Intercession
Anwar Shaikh

March 8, 2017

Intercession is the product of man's instinctive fear which requires alleviation through mercy, munificence and mellowness of the Supreme Being, who controls the universal phenomenon. It is believed that He listens to prayer only, but not to evervone's supplication. Since He has "beloveds," He readily pays attention to their orison and grants them wishes, no matter, how heinous, hazardous and horrendous they may be. These "beloveds" are usually the men who suffer from theomania i.e. the illusion that they are God and want to be acknowledged as such; they usually call themselves Messengers or Vicars of God, who are so dearly loved by Him that He cannot refuse them any wish. Thus, these messengers and messiahs claim to possess intercessory powers. Therefore, intercession means salvation through a divine intermediary.

Life has been prone to be clanish right from the beginning of civilisation; the unity or a clan was a stronger remedy against the unforseen hazards than the strength of an individual. However, clanish solidarity required a strong element of mutual well-wishing. Respect for the departed kins was held a symbol of tribal reverence and provided a bond of mutual affection. While the living members of the clan could help each other through deeds, welfare of the dead required praying to ease their lives in the next world. This is what bestowed priestly powers on the tribal chief whose prayers amounted to intercession, because he was considered to have influence with God. The concept of intercession was not confined to the primitive cultures; its advanced form was symbolised by the ruler-priests of Babylon and Assyria. They recommended the departed souls to the mercy of God and, in certain cases, could forgive them themselves through their own intercessory powers, which tle Almighty had bestowed upon them out of love. An expression or this fact is found when Christ cries from the Cross:

"Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (St. Luke 23: 34)

These words of Christ serve as the fountain of intercession for the Christians, who invented the lore of intercession to abolish the mosaic Law, which was binding on them:

"For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by JeSus Christ.'' (St. John 1: 17 )

To make intercession a credible doctrine the Church dignitaries had to raise the divine dignity of Jesus Christ sky- high:

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved." (St. John 3: 17)

Thus Jesus is depicted as the Saviour of the world whose only purpose of life was to save the world:

"For God so loved the World that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him, should not perish, but have everlasting life." (St .John 3:16)

With a view to bestowing further divine honour on Christ, crucifixion, is equated with salvation: ".... Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." (St. John 1:29)

What a mythology it is! To secure followers, a man's death is treated as the fountain of redemption. The mere act of believing in, Christ guarantees his intercession leading to salvation. In fact, intercession is the gross contempt of law and morality; it renders practice, piety and perseverance totally irrelevant for sccuring salvation. See for yourself:

1. Christians are not under the law but grace. (Romans 6:14)

2. If you confess Jesus to be your Lord, you shall be saved. (Romans 10: 9)

3. Grace to be grace has got to be irrelevant to works. (Romans 11:6)

4. The life of a just Christian is based on faith. (Gal: 3: 11)

5. Law is a curse, and Christ has liberated us from it. (Gal: 3: 11)

6. Law is not for the righteous but the wicked. (1 Timothy 1: 9 -10)

The whole purpose of preferring faith to morality and law is, that people should salute, supplicate and serve Christ and his lieutenants such as popes, cardinals, bishops and clergies, who used their intercessory powers as a tool to fool and snool the Christendom for centuries. Intercession is the major cause of sin, crime and destruction in this world.

Though Christianity has lost its magic, and the authority of moral conscience is accelerating its tempo, Islamic doctrine of intercession is becoming more tenacious with the growing tyranny, twisting and tantalisation in Islamdom. The reason for this detailed introduction with reference to Christianity is, that Islam has incorporated all the fundamental teachings of the Bible including its concept of intercession. The Christians believe that on the Day of Resurrection, only they will go to heaven and the rest will be thrown into hell. (Rev. 20: 15). Islamic concept is apparently loftier than the Christian notion because it treats the Day of Resurrection as the Day of Judgement, which means that people will be actually judged for salvation on their merits. This is the most beautiful hoax. Why? I shall answer this question in detail because the principle of the Prophetic Intercession has become the major cause of moral decline in the Islamic world leading to what is dreadful, destructive and the least desirable.

Hope has the same significance to humankind what steam has to a locomotive engine, rain to crops and light to eyes. Life without hope is tasteless, twisted and torturous. The concept of Resurrection raises one's hope of everlasting life. Equating Resurrectlon with the Day of Judgement when people will be rewarded or punished according to the quality of their deeds, makes morality the foundation of humanity, thus exalting the human status. Possibly, the greatest aspect of the day of Judgement is the hope of compensation leading to the fulfilment of thwarted desires and the completion of rewards which one could not achieve owing to the usurpative actions of others. This is the Day when everybody will receive justice denied him in the world through folly, fickleness and felony.

It is not Judaism but Zoroasterianism which is the spring of the Day of Resurrection or Judgement. Zoroaster, who died about 551 B.C. was nearly a contemporary of Lord Buddha of India. He was a priest; he claimed to have received a vision from Ahura Mazda, the wise Lord, who appointed him to convey the Divine message to the people. In the eastern traditions, he was thus a Messenger of God.

Zoroaster, also known as Zarathustra, according to the Gathas, the early hymns, mostly written by himself, created an eschatology which emphasises the notion of life-after- death. He asserted that the earthly existence had a direct hearing on the life-to-come, when people would be assembled before the Wise Lord (God) who would judge them according to their deeds including speech and thoughts. After judgement, the good will go to paradise, the place of eternal delight, and the bad will be imprisoned in hell, the region of horrors and darkness. Zoroaster, the Iranian Prophet emphasised the significance of the Bridge of the Requiter (Cinvat) which the soul of every man must negotiate. The righteous, being invigorated by their virtues, would walk into paradise whereas the wicked, being weakened by their vices, would fall into hell beneath them. This idea known to Islam as Pul-Saraat, was incorporated by the Prophet Muhammad in his teachings.

At this juncture, it is interesting to know the Vedic influence on the doctrine of Judgement in terms of heaven and hell. Both these notions were developed in India. The Indian Swarg came to be known as the Middle Eastern paradise and Narg was named as hell. Of course, the Hindus do not believe in resurrection but Karman, the action, which is responsible for man's eventual release or Mukti, though righteousness, according to its magnitude, may lead to a stay in paradise proportionately, and wickedness guarantees a sojourn in hell on the same basis. One should bear in mind that the major vedic gods such as Mitra, Varuna, Indra and the two Nastyas form an integral part of Avesta, the Zoroasterian Scripture. However, with a view to establishing his own distinction, Zoroaster depicted Indra, the chief Indian god, and Nanhaithya, as demons. The latest scholarly studies have confirmed the Zoroasterian influence on the development of Judaism and Christianity including Pythagorianism and Chaldean doctrines of Babylon. These are well-researched facts whose veracity is further attested by the close kinship of the Iranian language with that of Northern India, which shows how the Iranians emigrated from India along with their Vedic cultural inheritance.

The Jews took the idea of Resurrection from Zoroaster, and is explained by the Jewish observance known as Rosh Hashana marked by the sounding of the ram's horn (Shofar) at the synagogue service. The horn-blast is held to acclaim God as Ruler of the universe. It is customary for most Jews to engage in penitential prayers at a river to perform the Tashlikh ("Thou will cast") ceremony symbolises the casting of sins into the river. This reminds one of the old Hindu custom of cleansing one's sins with the holy water of the Ganges.

Islam borrowed the doctrine of Resurrection or the day of Judgement from the Bible. To start with, it is a righteous and reformative idea because it depicts Islam as the champion of justice. Thus, it gives people the hope of Deffered Fulfilment, that is, all those genuine desires which should have been accomplished in this life but failed to materialise owing to injustice, poverty, ignorance or incapacity, would be granted to the good through a fair and honest process of judgement by the Almighty. All decisions are to be based on justice, and not intercession; people shall be able to gather the fruit of what they have cultivated.

Now, let us have a look al the Islamic view of justice:

"Lo! Allah loveth the equitable." (Private Apartments: 9)

Since Allah, the Islamic God, loves the just, He himself is the model of justice, and no matter who may a person be, including Muhammad, Allah shall not deviate from the course of justice. This is the reason that the Prophet states categorically as per command or Allah:

"Say, lo! none can protect me from Allah, nor can I find reruge beside Him (Allah)." (The Jinn: 22)

It is quite evident if Allah is not prepared to spare Muhammad in the field of justice, he will not listen to intercession in respect of anyone else. Again, intercession is a form of gross deviation; it is the major source of injustice, the biggest crime, because it persuades Allah, the greatest judge, to bend the rules of fairness at the request of a saint or prophet. It is sheer wickedness and gross mockery of the concept of justice. Again, how a righteous person known as prophet can even think of persuading God to do what is unjust, and hence vicious and sinful. This is the way of crooks, criminals and conmen. How such a God, who is Himself bent, can expect people to be straight? Exactly, the same remarks apply to a prophet or a saint. What will you call a barrister who perverts the course of justice owing to his personal relationship with the guilty client, and the judge who approves of it knowingly? Therefore, intercession is the doctrine, devised to insult both the Prophet and God. This is especially true when rapists, murderers, thieves, cheats, robbers, thugs, traitors, etc., shall be rewarded with paradise just as a result of intercession. These are the people who deserve hell. If not, then the entire idea of God, prophets, saints, piety, righteousness, justice, etc., turn out to be a sheer hoax, and must be condemned, because it mocks human dignity.

May be, to uphold the Divine dignity, the Koran states right in the beginning:

"(Allah is the) Master of the Day of Judgement." (The Opening: 3)

Thus, the Day or Resurrection turns out to be the Day of Judgement, whose only purpose is dispensation of justice by God absolutely independently. If He listens to intercession, He ceases to be the Master of the Day of Judgement. The Koran confirms this point of view:

"Ask pardon for them, or ask not pardon for them; If you ask pardon for them seventy times, God will not pardon them." (Repentance: 80)

To the Koranic God, intercession on the Day of Judgement, seems an irrelevance:

"Do you know what is the Day of Judgement? That is the day when no one shall be able to benefit else; the command shall belong unto God." (The Splitting: 15)

So far the Koran conforms to the most desirable standard of justice, which according to the international juristic doctrine, is neutral. It means that no verdict is just or lawful unless the judge decides on the merit of the case without fear or favour. This is the notion which has caused the separation and independence of judiciary from the executive and legislature throughout the civilised world. Hence, the principle that unless justice is neutral, it is not natural. To qualify as natural justice, it has got to be free from all elements of corruption such as fear, favour, bias, recommendation, bribe and unfairness.

Islam appears to be aware of this standard of justice and thus bases salvation on evidence and refuses to acknowledge the concept of intercession (Shafaat) in judgement. Therefore, the Koran declares that everything a person does, is recorded:

"He (Allah) sends recorders over you (people) till,
any one of you is visited
by death, our messengers take him
and they neglect not ... His (Allah)
is the judgement; He is the
fastest of " Censors." (Cattle: 60)

It is on the strength of these verses, the Muslims believe that everyone of them is constantly attended by two angels until death, for recording their deeds. They are, therefore, called "recorders."

To provide a system of evidence, the Koran goes further:

"Surely, it is We (Allah) who bring the dead to life
and write down what they have forwarded
and what they have left behind, everything
We have numbered in a clear register."
(Ya Sin: 10)

It means that Allah has a Record Office where a register of deeds is maintained in respect of each person. This fact is further confirmed:

"With Us (Allah) is a book recording." (QAF: 1)

The Koran repeatedly states that nobody is wronged by Allah, and this principle shall be strictly observed on the Day of Judgement. So that nobody can complain of injustice and wrong-doing by Allah, everybody shall be presented with his/her book of record and told:

" Read thy book. "
(The Night Journey: 10-15 170 also Resurrection: 10)

So far the Koran seems to be the Champion of Justice by strictly sticking to the ideal of testimony. It goes so far as to state that on the Day of Judgement, a person's own limbs such as tongue, hands, feet, will give evidence about him! (Light: 10 and Distinguished: 15)

The Islamic doctrine of justice, so far, appears to be perfect for totally rejecting the concept of intercession, which denotes undue influence of a prophet or messiah on God to pervert the course of justice. Take for instance the Muslims who believe that the Prophet Muhammad's intercession shall guarantee them entry into paradise because:

a. He is the mercy (blessing) for all beings, and b. being God's beloved, the Almighty himself cannot turn down his intercession.

These are very naive assumptions because they slander both Allah and the Prophet. How? It is because Resurrection is the Day of Judgement, when justice shall be dispensed according to one's deeds. It is not the day of showing mercy. Again, wilful mercy to the cheats, thugs, murderers, robbers, rapists, molesters, tyrants, thieves, etc., is a sign of further cruelty to their countless victims, who desperately need the justice that they failed to secure in former life. Not only such an unjust Allah becomes the target of human condemnation, the Prophet himself loses the appellation of "Mercy for all beings." Why? Because through his intercession wrong-doers are to be set free, their casualties are going to feel even more torne, tortured and tantalised. If the Prophet is really the Divine Ambassaor of Mercy, then he cannot and must not intercede; his intercession becomes the source of pleasure to the few and fountain of persecution for the countless who have been waiting for justice so long, and believe in the Day of Judgement for this reason only.

This is why the Koran repeatedly rejects the theory of intercession. In fairness, I should further quote from the Koran:

Having stated the principle of no-intercession in The Cow: 48, 123 and 254, it is stated in 281:

"Then every soul will be paid in full that which it earned, and they will not be wronged."
However, in the Cow: 284, it is asserted:

"He will forgive whom He will and He will punish whom He will. Allah is able to do all things."

It is obvious that both punishing and rewarding are the prerogatives of Allah, and intercession has nothing to do with it. However, Allah cannot exercise this prerogative unjustly because He is committed not to wrong anyone. If His act of pardoning or punishing is proved to be perverse, then He eases to be Allah for being puerile, petty-minded and a persecutor.

One should also remember the Divine rule:

"Allah loveth not wrongdoers." (The Family of Imran: 57)

It is obvious that if Allah rewards the wrongdoers with the greatest blessing known as paradise just on the Prophetic intercession, then what more can He offer to the good? Intercession is certainly an insult to piety and God-fearing. In fact, Allah blurtly rejects the idea of intercession:

"It is no concern at all of thee (Muhammad) whether
He pardon them or punish them; for they are evil-doers."
(The Family of Imran: 128)

The Koranic Order claims to be based on justice:

"Say: My Lord enjoineth justice." (The Heights: 29)

and it is in addition to asserting that Allah is the greatest of all judges in "The Fig" 8.
Intercession is another name for manipulation and wire- pulling. The judge who succumbs to temptation through fear or favour is exactly the opposite of the dispenser of justice.

There is still a lot more evidence available in the Koran to this effect but I think, I have sufficiently argued my case. In fact, I may have overdone it owing to the delicacy and significance of this issue. It is delicate because the Muslims are likely to find it offensive that the doctrine of intercession is injurious to the dignity of judicial doctrine as well as to the holiness of Allah who claims to be the greatest of all judges, including the righteousness of the Prophet who asserts to be the ambassador of virtue. Of much greater importance than delicacy, is the significance of this issue to the Muslims all over the world. Why?

The Muslim nations are (psychologically) conditioned to the name of the Prophet Muhammad through a persistent preaching of centuries. He has been projected as the Saviour, whose intercessory powers are too great to be ignored by Allah. Therefore, once the Prophet has told Allah tnat an evil-doer must be pardoned, He has no choice in the matter. Further, his followers believe that the Prophet is the greatest object of love.

If a person has ment oned the name of Muhammad affectionately even once in his/her life-time, he will intercede for him/her to secure him/her a place in the paradise.

This conditioning to the name of Muhammad; has reached fantastic proportions in the world of Islam for the following reasons:

a. Though there is an exception to every rule, generally speaking, all Muslim countries are members of the Third World which is infested with poverty, disease, injustice and ignorance. People's honour and legitimate aims seldom reach the point of realisation; their individual desires bleed with frustration; justice is something to be talked about and not to be practiced; simply to get-by, people have to forge and lie; the bigger the liar, the cleverer he is thaught of; thieving and backbiting are considered as hobbies; the meaning of sincerity and honesty are becoming harder to understand. Nothing can be achieved without resorting to bribing and sycophancy. People still live under feudal conditions which are the characteristic of the Islamic System, though against all evidence, they are told that the Koran is an ardent advocate of democracy and human rights. To be able to earn a loaf of bread, is a sign of good luck, and finding medicine for the ailing loved ones is a miracle.

Against these most painful social conditions, one must think of human desire for pleasure. It is natural for a person living in hell (which the present social conditions imply) dream of heaven. Since the Prophet being the saviour, is the guarantor of paradise, the place of the highest pleasures, his followers find him the most praiseworthy, adorable and holy. As he is the sole medium of realising their frustrated desires in the world-to-come, they will do anything in his name without any reference to morality. Why worry about the demands of ethics when the conveniences of immomlily can guarantee salvation through the sheer force of faith?

b. Secondly, the Muslim priest and politician, find the Muhammadan conditioning of greatest financial and political advantage. They know that the force of faith has paralysed people's faculties of reasoning, and thus it is easy and convenient to exploit them in the name of Muhammad. This method of exploitation has become so effective that the Islamic doctrines are habitually misinterpreted. This is the reason for political and social unrest and revolutions in most Islamic countries.

Exploiting the name of Muhammad in different ways has become the business doctrine. Take journalists, for instance; they are usually aethists or unbelievers, yet they fill up their journals and newspapers with quotations from the Koran and hadith, and highly exaggerated narratives extolling the virtues of Muhammad; they know full well that their papers would end up in the lavatories, yet they do it for their gain, which is usually against the national and religious interests. What a hypocrisy it is!

The Koranic attitude towards judgement has been adorable so far, but now I regret to add that like all Scriptures, the Koran is an aggregate of contradictory principles. Having advocated the doctrine of no-intercession emphatically, it suddenly preaches the precept of intercession:

"There is no intercessor except with His (Allah's) permission ... " (Jonah: 3)

This rule is again repeated:

"On that Day no intercession availeth except (that of) him unto whom the Beneficient hath given leave and whose He accepteth." (TA HA: 109)

Now the Prophet declares: "I will be the first intercessor and the first person whose intercession will be accepted (by Allah)" (Sahih Muslim: Vol. 4: 5655)

To express the enormity involved in the collapse of No-Intercession doctrine, I may point out certain facts:
An authoritative hadith says: "I (Muhammad) sought permission (of Allah) to beg forgiveness for my mother, but He did not grant it to me ... " (Sahih Muslim Vol:11: 2129)

When the Prophet was asked if his prayer for his uncle Abu Talib, who defended him valiantly, had benefited him (the uncle) in any way, the Prophet said: "Yes; he would be in the most shallow part of the Fire (Hell): and if it were not for me, he would have been in the lowest (deepest) part of Hell." (Sahih Muslim Vol. 1: 408)

If the Prophet cannot save his own mother and the fatherly- uncle, especially when they both were of good character, how will he guarantee paradise to the countless murderers, rapists, robbers, cheats and liars?

The truth is that the previous utterances of the Prophet show that he was conscious of the concept of justice, and thought of intercession as a device of deviation leading to vice, virulence and venality. Here is a hadith to demonstrate it:

The Makhzumia lady committed theft which involved the Koranic punishment of cutting hands. When Usama pleaded with the Prophet, he said: "Do you intercede (with me) to violate one of the legal punishments of Allah?" Then he got up and addressed the people, saying, "O People! the nations before you went astray because if a noble person committed theft, they used to leave him but if a weak person among them committed theft, they used to inflict the legal punishment on him. By Allah, if Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad committed theft, Muhammad will cut off her hand." (Bukhari Vol. 8: 7&2(1))

Muhammad was human. If he had sufficient courage to rebuff the interceder, God, who is considered the creator of this infinite universe, must be bold enough to show contempt for intercession to maintain the dignity of justice. Again, no human can command God to be unfair; this is exactly what intercession is. Mortals are afraid for their own salvation, and beg God to forgive them. How dare they intercede for others? Being a mortal, Muhammad is no exception: this fact is confirmed by the Prophet's death.

Aisha reported: "Allah's Messenger at the time of breathing his last was reclining against her chest and she was leaning over him and listening to him as he was saying: O Allah, grant me pardon, show mercy to me, enjoin me to companions." (Sahih Muslim Vol. 4: 5986)
It is obvious that a person who himself needs mercy and begs for it, is in no position to intercede for others.
Yet the truth is, that the Prophet eventually claimed to have intercessory powers. Why did he do so? The answer to this puzzle can be painful, punitive and petrifying. Yet someone has to take this risk in the interest of human dignity and its spiritual survival. I believe in a philosophy which briefly stated means: Man is God and God is man; spiritual evolution from humanity to divinity is attainable through moral conscience and philanthropy only. Since the corcept of intercession is opposed to it, I am inclined to explain it briefly:

Some people suffer from dominance-urge which prompts them to rule their fellowmen by hook or by crook. In some, this urge is so great that they want to be adored as God long after they are dead and buried. To achieve this end, the Semitic device: Revelation, known as prophethood, is very fruitful indeed, because it enables a person to attain Godly prestige without claiming himself to be God. This contrivance is effective because the prophet claims that he has no personal axe to grind in the matter. In fact, he expresses his humility by declaring himself to be the servant of God and stresses that he is acting as God's vicar under God's command, and has no personal wish to do so. Whereas the truth is that he quietly attains all God's traits, and then a stage is reached when he begins to dominate God Himself. Look at the following facts and decide for yourself:

1. God has ninety-nine holy names, and so has Muhammad.

2. Just belief in Allah does not make a person Muslim; he must believe in Muhammad as well.

3. Allah and Muhammad command together, and a Muslim must obey them jointly.

4. God's law is what Muhammad says it is. The doctrine of intercession is an example in point.

5. Allah is nearer to man than his jugular vein and the Prophet is nearer to the faithful than their selves.

6. Allah does what suits Muhammad and acts as his factotum. For example, a Muslim can have four wives at a time but Allah broke this law and authorised Muhammad to have nine wives simultaneously. There are many other instances which I have narrated in my book, "Islam, the Arab National Movement."

7. According to the Koran, Prophet is a mortal and hence subject to all human conditions:

a. "You art mortal; and they are mortal; then on the Day of Resurrection before your Lord you shall dispute." (The Companies: 475)

It means that the Prophet is a human like all other people and shdll be resurrectecd accordingly. This is true because the Prophet is also buried in his grave.

b. Not only that, he is subject to God's punishment like all other mortals:
"Set not up with God
another God, or you (Muhammad)
will be cast into Gehenna (Hell), reproached
and condemned."
(The Night Journey: 40)

For thirteen long years the Prophet preached to secure followers and after a good deal of trouble, he was able to convert some seventy people. This was not enough. A prophet is the person who wants the maximum possible number of followers to be adored as if he were God:
"I hope that I will have the greatest following on the Day of Resurrection." (Muslim Vol. 1: 283)
It is for this reason that the Prophet abolished all other religions including Judaism and Christianity. Thus "People of the Book" have no substance, and serve just as a convenience. See for yourself:

"... he who amongst the community of Jews or
Christians hears about me, but does not affirm his
belief in that with which I have been sent (i.e.
Koran) and dies in this state (i.e. as non-Muslim),
(Muslim, Vol. 1: 284)

Now, one can see the significance of believing in Muhammad the mortal; this is the only way that he can be treated as God. In fact, a prophet is in competition with God, and wants to be acknowledged as His superior in practice, but keeps glorifying Him apparently. Observe the following:

"Those who believe, they love Allah more than anything else." (Baqara, 2: 165)

The faithful are invited to treat Allah as the sole object of love, but why? Herein lies the answer:

"Say, if you do love Allah, follow me, (Muhammad) Allah will love you and forgive you your sins.." (Al-Imran, 3: 31)

As nobody can contact Allah, the Prophet becomes a substitute for Him, and people begin to show him the same reverence as if the Prophet possesses some supernatural prerogatives. This is the reason that the Prophet declared that he had the intercessory powers. Though it was against what he had preached for seventeen years, by now he had established himself the ruler of Arabia. It was certainly a at achievement and resulted from his magnetic personality ebullient with greatness. It was sufficient to convince the Arabs, who had touched the political and social nadar, that the Prophet did possess intercessary powers, and nobody was fussy enough to criticise his previous claims. One should remember that success came to the Prophet during the last ten years of his life when he was settled at Medina; Islam gripped Arabia even later, that is, diuring the last five years.

Now, we can see why love for Muhammad becomes even more important than love for Allah:

"No person attains faith, till I am dearer to him than the persons of his household, his wealth and the whole of mankind." (Muslim, Vol. 1:70)

Gradually, the Prophet exalts himself over Allah Himself:

"God and His angels pray peace to the Prophet, O believers, do you also bless him, and pray him peace." (The Confederates: 55)

Formal blessing and praying peace are the ritualistic forms of worshipping. This fact can be seen in the prayers of the Muslims all over the world. They actually worship Muhammad but apparently bow before Allah.

After the Prophet has established himself as the object of devotion of Allah, the angels and the Muslims, it is quite easy for him to declare:

"Truly this is the word of a noble Messenger having power, with the Lord of the Throne secure, obeyed, moreover trusty." ( he Darkening: 15 - 20)

These verses constitute the foundation of the Islamic belief that the Prophet will share the Throne of Justice with Allah on the Day of Judgement. He will sit on the right-hand side and his intercession will be binding on Allah. As a result, all Muslim rapists, thugs, murderers and thieves will go into paradise and all non-Muslims, no matter how pious, will be thrown into hell for not believing in Muhammad.

Has ever anybody reflected that the Prophet is buried in his grave like everybody else? How will he intercede for others?

"And (on the Day of Judgement) the Trumpet is blown and lo! from the graves they hurry unto their Lord." (Ya Sin, 51)

Even if one believes in the myth of the Day of Resurrection, it is logical to think that the Prophet being human, will be subject to the same physical conditions as other people because in this world he was born and brought up like all other humans; he felt thirsty and hungry; he became ill and needed medication; he had wives and required sex; he died and was buried as other mortals. Being rational, we cannot assess him by faith only; humanity demands that his status is judged by reason.

The Prophet gave himself intercecsory powers to look even superior to Allah: first, he claims that both Allah and angels worship him and demands of his followers to do the same, and then he claims to share the Throne of Justice with Allah who wants him to intercede with Him and whose intercession He will accept readily. What God is so bent that He will punish the righteous if they are non-Muslims, but He will pardon the miscreants if they are Muslim. Obviously, it is Muhammad who decides and Allah is just his puppet. What a low dignity Allah commands in relation to Muhammad!

This viewpoint which is certainly the core of the Islamic faith; raises a very serious point; it proves my contention that Revelation (Wahi, Nabbuwat, Risaalat) is a Semitic device which enables a person to be treated as God but indirectly. Having discussed it in my books "Eternity" and "Islam, the Arab National Movement," I shall not go into details here. Speaking frankly, Islam is not the antagonist of Shirk but its protagonist, though it claims to be founded on monotheism, that is, Oneness of God (Wahdat):

"There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is His servant and Messenger."

This is called Shahada, and is said to be the fundamental doctrine of Islam. It may be a good theory but the practice, as I have stated, is exactly the opposite. Muhammad is not the servant but the Master. This is the real purpose of Revelation. Christ was a prophet but he ended up as God. The same is true about Muhammad. In the Koranic language, equating someone with Allah or showing him the reverence which is due to Allah, is considered as shirk, which is unforgivable, though every other sin may be remitted:
"Verily! Allah forgives not that a partner should be ascribed unto Him. He forgives all other sins to whom He wishes, and whoever ascribes partners to Allah has indeed invented a tremendous sin." (Women, 4: 48)

"If you ascribe partners to Allah, all your deeds will be fruitless, and definitely you will be one of the losers." (Az-Zumar, 39: 65)

The truth is that a person is his own saviour through piety of action and service to fellowmen. I have discussed this doctrine in my book, "Eternity."

Finally, I should ask the faithful to show respect for the Koran by arguing their case in the Koranic way:

"Bring your proof if you are truthful." (The Cow: 111) Next page

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