The Criterion - Part 3

The year is 570 C.E.

Among the arabs of Makkah it was known as the Year of the Elephant. For a good reason. A self appointed king of Yemen, Abraha al-Ashram (literally, Abraha the Scar-faced!! nice story that), rode into Arabia with the intention of demolishing the Kabaa because some tourist Arab vandalized (and i'm being polite here) one of his city's (and at that time the region's) biggest cathedrals. And he brought along the world’s earliest weapons of mass destruction.... Elephants.

The Makkans were stumped. They’d never even heard of bloody elephants, much less seen one.

But the Kabaa isnt the Arabs’ property. Its called the BaitAllah. The House (of worship) of Allah. Story goes that Abraha's army captured some camels and the owner of the camels came in from Makkah and sought audience with Abraha to take back his property. The King was bemused saying, "I'm about to destroy the Epicenter of your spiritual world and you're worried about your camels?" The old Sheikh says, "I am not the owner of that house. I am the owner of these camels. So I came to protect my property. The owner of that house (you are about to destroy) will protect his property himself.

So how did Allah protect his property? He sent a counter attack to stamp out the Abyssinian army.

Birds. 

Little swallow kinda birds descended from the heavens (Ababeel in Arabic). Flocks and flocks of little swallow like birds. And these birds launched the first aerial military offensive in the history of the world. To be precise, the first carpet bombing technique.

These li’l things carried li’l rocks which were thrown at the army. Literally millions of rocks rained down on the conquering Army. Killing everything !!! See the simplicity of it? Tiny rocks, thrown from high up in the sky, falling for about 5 seconds, accelerate to speeds of up to 49m/s. That's about 176 km/h. Imagine being rained on by millions of tiny projectiles hitting you at that speed. 

The Arabs just stood there, stared at the destruction of the massive army.

Then they looked at each other, shrugged, and went back to eating dates and reciting poetry.

In this year, in the house of the Chief of Makkah, the Sheikh who stood up to Abraha and took his camels back, Abdul Muttalib, a boy was born. The Boy was the Grandson of Abdul Mutallib. The son of his youngest son, Abdullah.

Abdullah had passed away a couple of months before the birth of the boy. Aminah, the widow of Abdullah gave birth to a boy. And on that night, it is said that light shone from her womb, illuminating castles far off. A sign that this was no ordinary boy. He would be the change agent of the entire Arabian peninsula. He would bring the Arabs out of barbarism, and make them a force to reckon with on an international scale in a span of 23years. He would take these lazy lumps of traders and turn them into scholars, educated rulers, judges, philosophers, warriors, scientists, polymaths and make them the first generations of a ummah (nation) which would be known as “Khairal Ummati Uqrijat Lin’naas”... or The Best of Nations evolved for the benefit of Mankind.

Ladies and Gentlemen.. Muhammad Ibn Abdullah (ﷺ) 

Fast-forwarding the narrative, Muhammad PBUH’s mom Aminah died when he was 8.

After a few years his grandfather passed away. The orphan was taken into the house of Abu Talib. Where he grew up a normal boy.

As he grew, his beautiful nature became the talk of Makkah.

In his youth, he was known as Al-Ameen. The trustworthy. He never passed anybody without a smile. He helped anyone and everyone. He was thoroughly honest in anything he did. All in all, one of the most perfect characters in Makkah.

There are many tales of his growing up but will take up quite a lot of time.

So to get to the point, when Muhammad ﷺ was in his 20s or 30s, he did a trade run for an affluent businesswoman of Makkah. Her name was Khadijah Bint Khuwailid(r.a.). She was a widow, running her own businesses. So he did the trade on her behalf, and her hand maiden, who saw him during the entire trade caravan, was majorly impressed with his honesty and his mannerisms of dealing with people. She returned to Makkah and unloaded the entire report to Khadijah (r.a.) , who fell in love with this man. The proposals ran out, and Muhammad ﷺ, married Khadija (r.a.), which was to be one of the best wedding couples ever.

Polygamy was a common thing in Makkah those days. But Muhammad PBUH never took another wife. Many years later after Khadijah (r.a.) died, he re-married. But until his death, he never loved any lady as much as he loved Khadijah (r.a.).

What’s that thing about your first love being eternal!!

So well, rewind a bit from her death.

When Muhammad ﷺ was 40, he had an event. He was a sort of a recluse. A very kind and loving person, but every once in a while, he would make some food and go into the mountains to meditate. There were small caves in these mountains and he would stay there, sometimes for 3-4 nights in a row, praying in his own manner, thinking, pondering and in general, meditating about everything around him.

One night, I cannot tell you which night, it was one of the last 5 Odd nights of this month (Ramadan). So it could’ve been the 21st night, 23rd,25th, 27th or like tonight is....the 29th, he was sitting in the cave of Hira on Jebel Al Nur (the Mountain of Light) and he was approached by someone.

It was Gabriel (Jibraeel). The Archangel. The biggest of all angels, the Mr. President of Angels in fact.

And Jibraeel said, “IQRA” (Read)

Muhammad ﷺ said, “I cannot read”. True this was, as he was illiterate. He couldn't read or write.

The Angel once again said, “IQRA”. Muhammad ﷺ replied the same.

The Angel grabbed him and hugged him tight and squeezed the living daylights out of him. So much so that Muhammad ﷺ felt he was gonna die. Just then the angel released him and repeated his command.

“IQRA”

Muhammad ﷺ tried resisting it. Squeeze again!

And then finally the angel said

“Iqra bismi Rabbik allazee qalaq. Qalaqal insaana min Alaq. Iqra wa rabbukal Akram. Allazee allama bil qalam. Allamal insaana ma’lam ya’lam” (Surah al Alaq : 96 Verse 1-5)

“Read, in the name of thy lord. Who created man from a clot. Read and your lord is most generous. Who has taught (by the) pen. Who has taught man what he knows not”

This is the first revelation of what will become a guideline for mankind. A book so perfect in its revelation that even the arabs were mystified by its literary awesomeness. A book which is the Word of Allah, as given to his noble messenger and prophet, whose coming was foretold in probably every culture preceding his birth. This was the first revelation of the Holy Quran.

Armed with this, Muhammad PBUH would change the face of Arabia. This would in turn change the face of the world.

This is the last and final word of Allah. The essential guide to living. As was the nature of the Arabs, when they loved or adored something, they gave it many names. Allah has 99 other names which are his excellent attributes. They had hundreds of names for camels, swords, dates etc. And so did they name the Qur'an.

One of the names of the Qur'an, as it comes within it too, is Al-Furqan.

This means, the Criterion.

It is the criterion of judgement between what is right and what is wrong.

The Qur'an is not just a play of rhyming words and narratives of yore. It holds the guidelines for a society within it. It holds the guidelines for human beings to be more than just animals. It holds the guidelines for not only Muslims of Arabia. But for the entire humanity which came after it.

Until Jesus PBUH, all messengers and prophets were sent to a particular nation or tribe. Muhammad ﷺ was sent as a messenger and prophet to ALL of mankind. Massive responsibility that.

That night, in the cave of Hira, was the revelation for all mankind. The Decree for all mankind. It is known as Layl atul Qadr. The night of Power, The night of Decree.

Tonight might very well be that night. But we will never know for sure right now. The Prophet ﷺ asked us to be awake and in the mode of worship in the last 10 nights (specifically the last 5 odd nights), seeking the night of decree, as praying in this night would be equal to praying the same prayer for a 1000 nights. Do the math. Its a mother load of blessing concentrated into one night. May Allah accept the prayers of all of us who seek it, and guide us, and bless us with this night.

From that night, it took 23years for the Qur'an to be revealed, bit by bit, verse by verse, into its complete form. In these 23 years that the Qur'an came, the man who brought it brought about a transformation which to this day remains the most rapid transformation in the history of any civilization. He changed the way the entire society functioned. In 23 years, he changed the Physical, Mental, Spiritual, Political, Psychological, Social and Developmental attributes of the entire Peninsula (And by extension, the whole world's). He changed how people lived, died, loved, hated, studied, ran their homes, ran their governments, ran their armies and caravans, how they washed, how they prayed, how they ate, how they slept, how they ruled and how they should be when ruled. No one has affected such a shift like this ever until or since Muhammad ﷺ .

I wish I could tell you what the Qur'an is. But its an ocean with unfathomable depth. You will have to read it yourself to find out.

What I can tell you is this.

This book, brought by this excellent man, changed the face of Arabia forever. It brought them knowledge, wealth, power, sophistication, and led to the dawn of the golden age of islam. Which many scientists till date regard as the best part of the middle ages.

This book contains information of science which wasn't even known until recent to be accurate. That is standing proof that this book was not written by any human mind. No sir. The Qur'an contains descriptions of geography, astronomy, biology, the animal kingdom, the plant kingdom, our atmosphere and most awesomely, the human body. One of the most signature aspects of the Qur'an’s definition of science is the sheer accuracy with which it describes Embryology. The growth of Human beings from clots into full functional crying, cooing and pooing bits of cuteness.

The book contains the rules of behaving and running a society. I can go on and on about why and how it is so awesome. But you will never get its awesomeness until you read it for urself. This book is like swimming. I can give you lectures and demonstrations forever on how to paddle, stay afloat or the different strokes involved....but you will never get anywhere near understanding me unless you step into the water for yourself.

Misconceptions in the world think that this is a book of hate. Its a book teaching how to systematically murder and conquer. Its a book on how to beat and subjugate your women. Balderdash !! This book is a book of truth, justice and love. It is a book which teaches you how to bring social order and discipline in a world of chaos (and trust me our world is in absolute chaos right now). Its a book which liberates women and gives them rights much before anyone else did. Its a matter of perception how you look at it. You will ask me, There is no smoke without fire right, so if the people say all that about the Qur'an, there is gotta be something there that talks similar stuff right?

And i’ll say, of course there is. But you will never hear it from what the world talks about it in the media and the papers. You will learn if you open the pages and read. And don't stop at reading. Question the book. The book is a challenge for everyone on the planet to take up.

This is my invitation to all of you to give this book a read. It will challenge you, it will make you think, it will surprise you, it will astound you, it will make you question, it will make you seek answers, it will make you wonder and it will not stop at that. It will change your life...... FOR THE BETTER !!!! There are not many things I can promise you in this world, but the thing about this book changing your life for the better.....Thats a Sureshot promise.

Just read it with your heart in the right place ;)

All Questions welcome

If not, then Thanks for reading May Allah bless you.

The Criterion (Part 2)

So,

Where were we.

Right, the Arabs and their language skills.

So here we are in present day Arabia, (we’ve just time travelled back to about half a century after Christ’s time)

And well, the Arabs in Makkah were really doing great. They were following the Abrahamic creed and all was fine. But then something went wrong. They lost the creed and went bonkers. For your reference, the Abrahamic creed as it is known as is the monotheistic creed. Abraham PBUH, the grand papa of the Arabs and the Jews, struggled to find truth in his life, and he ended up finding it (Boss level Achievement for which he got the title "Khaleelullah - The Friend of Allah". A true friend in the highest of places!) 

He realized the reality of One God. Allah. The supreme ruler of the universe. Wasn’t easy dawning on him, but the story of how he found his path is a long one, and it would be a tangent. But bottom line is that he realized that it is One Allah who created and controls the entire universe, and we’ll proceed with that.

So among the Arabs, there is brought forth a new idea which sort of destabilizes the whole idea of monotheism. Islam says, One Allah. One God. Whatever you want, ask HIM. No one else. Direct line of contact from the heart of the being to Allah. But one trader comes along and says Nooooooo. Here’s a shortcut. There are angels who are daughters of Allah, and they are your intercession to gain his favours. So butter them, and they will lead you to Allah. Slowly, the worship split between Allah and his so called daughters, who were idolized. And idolizing was not part of the Abrahamic creed. So in effect, the whole creed and ideology was falling apart. So were the rules and regulations of society.

There came a point when they had ignored the holy laws and made up their own laws entirely. Sorcery was rampant. They made important decisions based on how arrows would fall out. Casting the arrows, was a mystic tradition which came from some guy who smoked too much of desert grass. They had 3 arrows in a basket, one had the word YES, other had the word NO, and the third one was 50-50. So if the third one came up, it meant you had to cast the arrows again until you got a definitive Yes or No and add some side-penalty. So if the 50-50 option came up more than 10 times, the magician was getting a nice bonus. Anyway, major decisions were made with the help of these arrows. The “Priests” would cast them for the decisions after conferring with their mystic imaginary God of arrow casting (who probably was named Luc -EeD- Raw)

Imagine this, you are a trader with 5 kids, and business is bad. And you go to the priest to ask for divine help. Islamic wisdom says, Call onto Allah. But then, it was easier to have faith in a guy who sits in the Kabah and casts arrows than believe in something you haven’t seen right?? Well that is what Faith is. And that is what the Arabs lacked then.

So you, the trader tell the priest, “Holy Dude, my business is messed up. Halp !!!”

The priest, says, “Sure thing, give me a donation” (wait where’ve we heard that before)

And he would draw arrows, and say, “Arrite, sacrifice your third son at the altar of so-n-so god and your business will pick up”

And trust me, if you really were the trader back then, you’d do it. Else you’d be annoying the God. And trusting the religious hack like you did, you knew you didn't want that.

Here’s a few more small points you might want to consider.

You have about 50 camel right? You’re a millionaire in Arab terms. And one day, one camel of yours, whom you have lovingly named Camel, grazes into another guy’s land. I mean, come on, Camel doesn’t know which grass belongs to who right?? No lane departure warning on the ships of the deserts back then. Camels gotta eat. So what happens, War breaks out.

No seriously I kid you not. War would break out between the guy and me because my Camel had a snack in his yard and our entire clans are at it now!! 

Jokes apart, The society had come to such a despicable position where it was considered a major shame to have a daughter as a first born in your home. Among some, it was considered a matter of pride to bury your infant alive.

Take a moment and imagine the monstrosity of this event.

Imagined?? You see what I mean here. You see why this period was called the Jahilliyah (The Barbaric era)??

You waged wars with someone who pricked your inflated ego with a pinch because the social norm dictated it.

You didn’t bend down to pick your fallen brother because the social norm dictated it.

You enslaved POWs in your home to bathe you and cloathe you and literally worship you because the social norm dictated it.

You sacrificed your kids at the altars of man made laws because social norm dictated it.

You usurped the properties of orphans and widows because the it showed how big a daredevil you were, which you had to show off, because the social norm dictated it.

You sold women in marriages to each other because social norms dictated it.

You didn’t give women any rights of inheritance and treated them like a trade-able commodity

You didn’t let women live, killed them at birth................because the social norm dictated it.

So yeah The society in Makkah was shambles. And thats when Allah decided it was time.

Then he sent the Best of the Best to sort it all out!

- To be Continued

The Criterion (Part 1)

Disclaimer, This is not an intended Religious Sermon or a book-thumping session of any sort. This is just awareness which I’m encouraged to bring out in response to the call of the times.

From ever since man has existed, Religion has existed alongside.

There can be long debates as to which one was the first and which is the latest or whatever. But I’ll give you an Islamic perspective of things.

Allah (God), created man from clay, and from his rib, fashioned the woman. Which is why in Islamic wisdom, a man is told not to put a woman on his head (to rule him) nor at his feet (to be a slave to him), but to be treated in the rightful manner as to her origin, under the protection of his arm, and closest to his heart (RIB PEOPLE, NEAR THE RIB !!), So this is a metaphorical slap-answer to the super-feminists and the weirdos out there who say Islam calls for the subjugation of women.

Okay back on topic.

So ever since man was created (not evolved from Monkeys), its been a constant development phase (read GROWTH). You know the route it took, stone age, metal age, feudal age, imperial age, industrial age, information age etc.

So well, Allah sent guidance to Man through all these ages. He didn’t just put us on the planet n say, “Go wild guys !!”

Nope, every age had guidance, in fact the Islamic wisdom goes to say that every tribe, ever community had guidance. These came in the form of messengers, angels etc. These people were special clues which helped man to understand many things. The type of guidance came according to the age and developmental stage of the human society.

For example, in the time of Moses (PBUH), Ancient egypt was full of mystical stuff. Royal Magicians would turn crocodiles into soft fluffy blankets, and turn a camel into a vase of mayonnaise, that sort of thing. So what did Allah choose as a weapon for Moses’ (PBUH)? A staff which turned into a snake. When the Royal magicians saw that, they handed in their resignations to the big kahuna (Pharoah Wazzisface the III). Phar (as his imaginary friends knew him) had them killed but they died believers so....WIN!

In the same manner, in the time of Jesus (PBUH), the language of Miracles was profound, and Jesus (PBUH) performed some real awesome miracles. I mean he conducted a grand luncheon out of a handful of bread and fish. If there were Event organizers in that day, they'd fold their business and travel off to Scotland (I don't know I've heard its nice there)

Likewise, when the time of Muhammad ﷺ dawned, the Arabs of Makkah, to whom he was sent, were a totally chilled out tribe. They spent their days letting someone graze their camels and sheep. And since Makkah was the hub of the peninsula, the yearly caravans passed through the city, so business came to them, and if you hear the tales of the caravans consisting of hundreds of camels, you can assume that Makkah was the silicon valley of the day and age. So they had a lot of time on their hands. And trust me when I say A LOT. They had so much time, that they sat around and developed Language.

Try that, develop a language, to sit and decide upon words, phrases, usages, similes, metaphors, puns and the intricate grammar that every Arabic student dreads. Arabic word formulation is just mind-blowing by the way. Its like a literary mathematics (Yeah scary I know). I blow a capillary trying to decide a place to go for the weekend with my friends and these guys just sat down and built one of the finest languages in the history of humanity. Obviously then, these guys were masters of Arabic. One of the Arabs most prominent skills was Poetry and memory. It was not just a skill, it was a super skill. Check this out, you could sit down under a cool tent, sipping date juice with your pal and go, “Hey Bro, lissen to this awesome verse I just made up.”

And you go off rattling a 100 verse poem, at the end of which your pal would go, “Woah… that’s real sweet bro, I'll be retweeting that"

And he would. Just like that, he’d remember the 100 line poem just like that, after hearing it once, and will recite it with amazing flair at the next falconry meeting or something. 

Arabs just had to hear one part of a poem and complete the other part purely because they had owned the skill. They were the Ronaldos & Messis of poetry, and not just one or two, almost every one of em.

There's a story about a merchant, who was ambushed by highway robbers. They took everything he had, but the old Sheikh had a trick up his kandoora sleeve. He told the Head of the Thieves (Aladdin?) that as a request, if he could deliver his last words to his daughter. The Sheikh insisted the head of the thieves does it himself as a favor. The man accepted. The old Sheikh recited a line of poetry which probably made the criminal CEO roll his eyes. But Arabs no matter where, do not give their word lightly. So despite having killed the old Sheikh, the head went to his village and found the old Sheikh's house, knocked and told the daughter he knew her father and he had passed away. As she grieves, the robber tells her the last words of the father. That brings about a sudden change in her. She asks the robber to make himself comfortable and she'll just be back. Expecting hospitality (another things Arabs are famous for), he obliges. The girl returns with her clan's warriors (or the Police of the day). Mr. Robber is stunned. Don't know if someone told him, but the poetry line from the dying father was incomplete. The verse completing it implicated the man bringing the verse. The old Sheikh had pointed a finger at his killer by using the killer's own finger!! 

So I guess it would be safe to say, that the stupid highway robber, carried his own death “sentence”. (Haa !)

- To be Continued