“Archaeologists investigating the mystery of two perfectly preserved 3000-year old skeletons found on a Scottish island have discovered that they may have been made up of several different people. The skeletons excavated in Cladh Hallan are said to be the first evidence that Britons preserved their dead using mummification but scientists believe they were made from body parts of several different people, the Daily Mail reported.” (The Times of India, September 25, 2012, p. 13)
If what scientists believe after investigation is true, it is a clear case of deception. Two skeletons are made up of several different people! This age- old practice of making- up is not peculiar to the Westerners alone but they are the ones who hasten to accuse Islam of being a made- up religion. (Vide Radiance, 16-22 September 2012, p. 32) It may be a way of saying that Islam is not a plant planted by the Heavenly Father simply because it has a non-Jewish origin! To such people, Islam appears as a made-up religion, or a clear case of deception in religion, and they say so.
Such a statement may be one of the most effective ways to keep people from Islam. If it is repeated, it may have Goebbel’s effect. It may satisfy one’s desire to abuse and avenge. After all, isn’t Islam a rival religion competing to win souls for God? Religious rivalry has come to such a sorry pass that the only way to remove a rival religion is to call it names and demonise it, by making a fetish of a fundamental right – freedom of expression. Doubting the divine provenance of Islam is a dubious manoeuvre, indeed. The accusation is extremely damaging because what is made- up of disparate elements will be a product of surpassing ugliness. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein was made- up like that and the consequences were there for all to see.
Not all made- up products are ugly. In fact, some are acclaimed as eclectic. Selecting and using what are considered to be the best elements of all systems like philosophy, medicine, architecture, etc. are not looked down upon but fervently advocated. An eclectic system is lauded for its wide range. A great Moghul Emperor, thoroughly exposed to several rounds of inter- faith dialogues, was convinced that no religion was perfect and sought to secure perfection through the eclectic method and came up with the concept of Deen- e- Ilahi, ‘a divine religion’ comprising the ‘best’ elements of different religions. The world did not appreciate such a ‘perfect’ religion. As a result, his life and his religion became conterminous. A made-up religion has a very low rate of survival. Islam has survived for more than a thousand years in spite of a sustained and intensely acrimonious propaganda against it, and even violent attempts to eliminate it, and is still spreading steadily and globally. The salutary impact of the leadership of Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be to him) is spectacularly visible on millions of Muslims throughout the length and breadth of the world when he is no longer there and centuries have passed without his physical presence. Doesn’t this phenomenon disprove the presumption that Islam is a made-up religion?
When leading scholars of the West, whom Dan Snow prefers to describe as ‘the world’s leading scholars,’ say that Islam is a made-up religion, they say so not in the eclectic sense. They say that all the sources of Islam can be traced to Judaeo- Christian tradition. All doctrines and beliefs and practices of Islam have their origin in the western religious tradition. To put it in other words, the Western scholars allege that Prophet Muhammad (Allah’s blessings and peace be showered on him) was ‘a plagiarist’ (Nauthu billah) and the Qur’ān is at best a bowdlerised edition of the Bible, as the Qur’ān does not accuse men of God of incest.
It does not occur to the eminent scholars of the West that the Authority behind Moses, David and Jesus (peace be to them all) is the Authority behind Prophet Muhammad too. To them, Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) cannot be a Prophet because he is not a Jew and they believe that there exists no possibility for the advent of another Prophet after Jesus. With such a bias and with claims of monopoly of scholarship, it becomes impossible for them to assess and accept Islam as the Religion of Truth objectively and dispassionately.
According to Islam, Jesus the son of David (St. Matthew, 22: 42) is the last Prophet of the Jews and there will be no Messiah after him among them. Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) did not say ‘I am the Christ’ (St. Matthew 24: 5) to the Jews. Prophet David (peace be to him) cannot call his descendant, Jesus, ‘my Lord’ (Psalm 110:1) and so this may be a reference to Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) who was not a descendant of David and the prediction is about a non-Jewish Prophet. The Gospel according to Saint Barnabas, chapter 43, says as much. If the world’s leading scholars deign to examine this suggestion, the ends of scholarship will be met.
Jesus Christ quotes passages from the Old Testament. One example from St. Matthew is given in the preceding paragraph. Repeating passages from the preceding scriptures cannot be described as an act of plagiarism, because the source is acknowledged. Moreover, Jesus Christ (peace be to him) came not to abolish but to confirm and fulfil the Prophets. Quoting them is to confirm them. “I am not come to destroy but to fulfil.”(St. Mathew 5:17)
If there are passages in the Qur’ān, similar to the Bible and more eloquent in some respects, the world’s leading scholars jump to the conclusion that these are examples of plagiarism because Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) was not a Jew and so had no right to quote them. They forget that the Qur’ān is not his composition. They do not prefer to look upon such references in the Qur’ān as examples of the confirmation of the preceding Scriptures. Alas! They do not realise that the Qur’ān is the Truth from the Lord of the worlds.
The Qur’ān does not avoid references to Torah (revealed to Moses), to Zabur (Psalms, revealed to David), to Injeel (‘heard’ by Jesus, St. John 8:26, 40). Instead, it refers to them whenever necessary. Vide 4:163, 5:44, 5:46, 9:111, 48:29, 87:18,19.
All succeeding Prophets confirm and corroborate the message of the preceding Prophets. Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) is true to this Prophetic tradition when he confirms the Prophets who preceded him and believes in them. The act of confirmation places Islam in the illustrious tradition of the Semitic religions and sanctions the Qur’ān a right to be heard in the first instance. The Qur’ān confirms previous Scriptures. “Has there not come to them a Book containing the teachings of the previous Scriptures?” (20:133) “(O Prophet), nothing is said to you but what was already said to the Messengers before you.” (41:43) In the light of these statements, can the Qur’ān be still accused of plagiarism and not credited with confirmation?
Apart from confirmation, the Qur’ān functions in different ways too. It contradicts or modifies or denies certain statements. It confirms that God created the universe in Six Days but denies that God took rest on the Seventh Day. It denies that God has a son. It confirms that Jesus performed incomparable miracles but denies that Jesus was crucified.
The Qur’ān omits Jewish history and genealogy and certain statements which are not historically accurate. For example, the Bible mentions the occupations of Cain and Abel but the Qur’ān does not. The king of Egypt in Prophet Joseph’s time did not have the title of ‘Pharaoh’.
The Qur’ān adds certain statements which are necessary for the narrative. For example, the Bible says, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother.” (Genesis, 4:8) The Bible does not tell what they talked. The Qur’ān shows what exchange took place between them and the characters come alive through the conversation. The critical judgment which led to the omission of the dialogue in the Bible differs from the critical judgment that included the dialogue in the Qur’ān. Can superior narration be described as an act of plagiarism? One should not overlook the fact that Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless and greet him) was unlettered.
By using confirmation, contradiction/ modification, omission and addition, the Qur’ān functions as an instrument of improvement. It will be possible only if God makes use of His knowledge to do so. “Know this Book (Qur’ān) is revealed with the knowledge of Allah.”(11:14) “Surely We have brought them a Book which We expounded with knowledge; a guidance and a mercy to those who believe.” (7:52)
It is very likely that ‘dear, angry, mad people’ may not have more knowledge than Dan Snow’s world’s leading scholars but the Qur’ān asks: “Who has greater knowledge, you or Allah?” (2:140) “And above all those who know is the One Who truly knows.” (12:76) Felicity of expression demands that the phrase “A made-up religion” be replaced by the phrase “A Divinely Fine-Tuned Religion,” as it will be closer to truth.