Islam's Lost Legacy
The spread of the Arab empire along with the religion of Islam during the mid 7th to mid 8th centuries is nothing short of amazing. One could easily say it surpassed that of the Roman Empire. Yet, supremacy on the battlefield often leads to a breakdown of the very foundation that helped to bring about such greatness.
Most people tend to see the spread of the Islamic empire as founded upon religious conviction. Whereas history shows that the more rooted the religious conviction, the more it was actually suppressed by the Arab empire. Perhaps the most telltale event concerns a devout Arab strongly revered by most modern-day Muslims. Hussein ibn Ali son of Ali ibn abi Talib ( حسين ابن علي سن أف علي ابن ابي طالب ) and grandson of the prophet Mohammed bore an image of Mohammed to a martyr’s death. This image is Islam’s Lost Legacy.
It is no accident that Islam’s Lost Legacy spells out the acronym ILL; for it is the lost legacy that creates an ILLness within Islam that is in dire need of a cure. Hussein held the cure and died while trying to inoculate the empire. When the leadership of the empire was at stake, he could have followed the normal operation and gathered together forces strong enough to put him into the khalifate. Instead, he took a course of peace expecting the Muslims to follow the course of his grandfather Mohammed.
Mohammed lived during a very savage time in history and many attribute to him a high degree of savagery. A closer look reveals a clear distinction between his use of force and that of the khalifs that followed him.
Hussein left Mecca and headed toward Kufa looking for a peaceful settlement to the question of succession. His course of action was honorable and protected within the very precepts of the Qur’an and by the words and character of Mohammed. In a very real sense, we see Hussein heading toward Kufa as if he himself was an incarnation of Mohammed, heading toward a people who claimed to profess their faith and allegiance to Mohammed and the Qur’an.
They call Hussein’s engagement with Ubayd-Allah ibn Ziyad and his force of 30,000 as the battle of Karbala. Hussein with members of his family and some of his followers totaled around 72. It certainly could not be considered a battle of arms. Rather, it was a battle for truth and justice.
The slaughter of Hussein epitomizes the ILLness of the Islamic people during that time; an ILLness which continued until the very foundations of the empire crumbled till nothing remained but Muslim factions fighting one another.
The reaction to Hussein’s martyrdom did not follow the peaceful course that Hussein embarked upon. Rather it fostered more hate, violence, and revenge; a course that we continue to see in the modern world.
Today, Qur’an scholars would point out the fact that revenge is an inherent part of the Qur’an. This helps empower the extreme factions of Islam, who are quick to evoke a jihad of violence whenever they feel threatened, injured, or denigrated. If that seems to be the final answer, we must still ask how does the Qur’an explain the peaceful actions of Hussein and many of the merciful and peaceful actions of Mohammed? Is something missing that is causing an ILLness throughout the Muslim world? Is something missing that Hussein was taught by his grandfather Mohammed that so much of the Muslim world suppressed during Hussein’s time? And is this same suppression happening today? If so, just what is Islam’s Lost Legacy?
When someone is ILL and visits a doctor, that doctor will generally try to build a history of a person’s health through a series of questions that will eventually lead to various medical testing and finally and hopefully to a cure. Why does the world see the Muslim world so quickly erupt into violence? Is that a symptom of a disease that requires investigation or is it merely a part of the religion as directed within the Qur’an?
If the lives of Hussein and Mohammed reveal Muslims of health, then we need to consider that today’s Islam is ILL and in need of a cure. A most interesting thing that might help in this investigation is the fact that most Muslims at the time of Hussein and in our own time claim to be peaceful and that Islam is for the most part a religion of peace. The only problem with that position is that no Muslim scholar has ever produced solid supporting evidence for such a peaceful position from the Qur’an, whereas, the violent factions can produce much backing from the Qur’an. The looming question is: with the Qur’an seemingly strongly in favor of the extremists, what accounts for the vast majority of Muslims who reject the extremist position and live lives of peace? Is it merely selfish materialism or is there something much deeper at work?
Like the doctor, we must look at the history of the problem. With Hussein he had a symptom of peace that we know little about other than his relationship as the grandson of Mohammed. Religiously devoted and growing up in the heartland of Islam, he would have been surrounded by many who could have taught him the full character of Mohammed. It is with Mohammed we have to look for our answers. It is with Mohammed we must ask the question: what gives us a clue concerning that part of his nature that was forgiving and peaceful?
The answer lies in the life of Mohammed before the Qur’an was ever written. The ILL nature of modern Islam tends to revere the fearlessness of Mohammed in regard to his military exploits, where he often faced vastly superior numbers. This is where the ILLness begins, an ILLness which is fostered most notably among the extremist groups.
The fearless nature of Mohammed (born AD 570; died AD 632; Qur’an written AD 610-632 )
The truly fearless nature of Mohammed is most evidenced before he ever fought one battle. Mohammed began writing the Qur’an at the age of 40 and continued till his death 22 years later. The Arabian Peninsula was a hotbed of religious activity during Mohammed’s lifetime. Mecca had a history of idolatry, but much Christian discussion was taking place with an emphasis upon monotheism although certain Christian sects were teaching a cultic polytheism. From Mohammed’s writings in the Qur’an, it is clear he was not afraid to engage people on the various religious issues. The Qur’an clearly attacks idolatry with its multiple gods and also the cultic Christian polytheism. Here is where many Muslim scholars appear confused as to how the Qur’an can often speak so well of Christians and then in other areas speak so condemning. They fail to see the distinction that Mohammed saw between the true Monotheistic Christian and the false polytheistic Christian.
It is on the battlefront of religion that we see the most fearless nature of Mohammed. He was not afraid to engage the most prominent enemy of his day which was the idolaters with their many gods and the polytheistic Christians. To do this, he displayed his courage by learning about these religions and confronting them in verbal battle. He was molded and shaped by these confrontations, all of which contributed to becoming an integral part of the Qur’an.
What is discounted in most Muslim circles today, but which is essential to truly understanding the Qur’an and to understanding the character of Mohammed and Hussein is that Mohammed was not alone in his religious battles. His focus upon the false notion of many gods was fully supported by the Monotheistic Christians. Mohammed had many discussions with these Christians. From these interactions, we see many Bible stories and characters incorporated within the Qur’an. Mohammed talks about the Bible as the Glorious Book, he talks about the Torah (first five books of the Bible) as given by God, about the Bible story of the virgins with no oil in their lamps, and of the Book given to the Israelites (which would be the entire Old Testament). In the Qur’an Mohammed mentions such Bible people as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, King David, King Solomon, Isaac, the High Priest Aaron, Elias, Lot, Jonah (who was swallowed by a whale), Job, Jacob, Ishmael, Elisha, Ezekiel, Joseph, and Mary the mother of Jesus.
In a sense you might say that Mohammed was somewhat of a Biblical scholar. Mohammed definitely saw the Bible as a supporting document. He clearly embraced the Bible for understanding the context for the many Biblical elements within the Qur’an. Mohammed was fully aware that a true and full understanding of the Qur’an was directly tied to an understanding of the Bible. It is only from the inclusion of the Bible narrative within the Qur’an that we are able to truly understand the full character of Hussein and Mohammed.
When the Muslim world is taught to avoid the Bible then they have given the upper hand to the extremist view. They are left with no basis for truly understanding how both Hussein and Mohammed elicited peace, mercy, and forgiveness. Various sectaries hold onto hopes of a promised Mehedi who would usher in a reign of peace and justice and many even look for the return of Jesus to help usher in a new and brighter future. But, for modern day Muslims there appears no basis for holding a peaceful position as held by Hussein. By abandoning the fearless religious character of Mohammed, they are unable to hear the words that Mohammed heard. For it is primarily and most clearly through the Bible that Mohammed would have been knowledgeable of such things as:
Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you
and persecute you;
Ye have heard that it hath been said,
An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil:
but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also.
The major battlefield for Muslims today is not in the rugged mountains of Afghanistan. It is not in the Gaza strip. It is not against the imposition of western imperialism. Rather it is within Islam’s own ranks. It is a battle to follow the fearless warriors like Mohammed and Hussein. It is the battle to truly understand the Qur’an. It is the battle for truth. Those who oppose truth oppose that which helped to shape the character of Mohammed and Hussein. Those who oppose truth oppose the reading and study of the Bible. Those in opposition are the cowards in battle. They might be willing to strap on explosives with the banner of hate and vengeance, but they run in fear from where the Qur’an and the Bible intersect, from the teachings of peace, forgiveness, and justice.
The Cure for the ILLness
Mohammed and Hussein had a foundation that helped to build within them the character of peace, forgiveness, and justice. They embraced this foundation fearlessly. Hussein was martyred with the banner of peace, forgiveness, and justice rising above his fallen body.
Most Muslims would never have a Bible in their home. They would be afraid to even touch the Bible. To open a Bible and begin to read it would be considered by many a pathway to Hell itself. Violence could easily erupt if anyone ever openly carried a Bible into a mosque or ever attempted to read from the Bible in the mosque.
Both Mohammed and Hussein would be ashamed of those cowards. They would cry out to all Muslims to denounce those who would run from the Bible in fear. They would call for jihad against all cowards who ran from the truth; all cowards who refused to embrace the totality of the Qur’an. Truth has nothing to fear. The Bible should never cause a true Muslim to fear or run away. Rather, it is the Bible that provides the cure for Islam’s ILLness.
The Qur’an comes in partnership with the Bible. Mohammed knew that and so did Hussein. To break that partnership leaves Islam crippled; fettered with a destructive ILLness. To embrace the Bible for a true understanding of the Qur’an will restore the foundation of peace, forgiveness, and justice among all Muslims. Martyrdom is one of the highest ideals within Islam. What kind of martyr do you desire? To be like the warring factions who are afraid of the Bible and die for the cause of hatred and revenge. Or to be like Hussein, who was fearless on the battlefield of truth and died for peace, forgiveness, and justice?
Hussein, just prior to his martyrdom said:
“… Don’t you see that the truth is not put into action and the false is not prohibited?
The believer should desire to meet his Lord while he is right.
Thus I do not see death but as happiness, and living with tyrants but as sorrow.” Wikipedia
Hussein, to the very death, followed well the teachings of his grandfather Mohammed. He and his brave followers were true martyrs. Truth and courage were their banner. That banner is still there today. It only needs an army to fall within its ranks. Will you run away in fear or boldly stand for truth and justice?
For what is a man profited,
if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?
or what shall a man give
in exchange for his soul? Bible
References: Most historical information taken from the book The Empire of the Arabs by Sir John Glubb.
Some information comes from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Husayn_ibn_Ali
Names: The following names have various English renditions. This writing uses the first rendition.
Hussein : Husayn, Hussain, …
Mohammed : Muhammed, Muhammad, Mohamed, …
Qur’an : Qur’an, Koran
