by Rit
Nosotro
Thesis:
Summary:
The Surahs
divide the Qur’an (Koran), the Islamic Holy scripture, into
“chapters”. The Surahs are collections of the different sayings
spoken byMohammed,
believed by Muslims to have been channeled him from Allah who made
the original Arabic Qur’an in heaven. Mohammed uttered these
sayings over a period of 22 years from the time of his first
revelation in a cave on Mt. Hira in 610 A.D. until his death (632
A.D.). Mohammed himself did not write them down, being
illiterate,1 but those that heard him wrote down
the sayings on anything available or memorized the sayings. Later,
under the Caliphs Abu and
Ali, copies of the documents were compiled and written down
together. Estimates suggest that two-thirds of the Surahs in the
Qur’an Mohammed spoke or repeated while living in Mecca and the
other one third while living in Medina (after the flight from
Mecca)2. During these 22 years, Mohammed faced some
major changes and these were reflected in the Surahs. Other than a
general change of length, the Medinan Surahs being more prolonged
and extensive than the Meccan ones, the character of the Surahs
also changed. To understand this difference it is vital to
understand the situation in his life both in Mecca and then in
Medina.
Mohammed,
member of the wealthy ruling Quarish tribe, grew up in and around
Mecca. During this time, Mecca was a center of pagan worship, with
the activity revolving around the Kaaba, the main pagan temple,
which the Quarish tribe protected. Mohammed started receiving
visions and though at first he told nobody outside his immediate
family, after his family urged him, he started telling everyone the
“Word of the Lord”. The first Meccan Surahs Mohammed "received"
told him to tell others of Allah’s message. In these Surahs, he
viewed himself as one who should warn the people with a goal
similar to that of the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah3. He
warned the Meccan citizens to leave their idols and wickedness
behind and to follow the one God. During this time in Arabia, there
proved a great deal of Jewish and Nestorian Christian influence and
though Mohammed never read the Bible, he heard much about the
prophets, Jesus and the history of the Jews. He showed respect to
“the people of the Book” and to the Bible in the Meccan Surahs. It
is interesting to observe that the most dramatic change between the
Meccan and Medinan Surahs is concerning the Muslim relationship to
Jews and Christians.
During the
years when Mohammed preached in Mecca, he wanted to attract the
Jews and Christians of the area to the message he was preaching. He
did this by showing the similarities of the other prophets and
himself, and praising and showing that the God of Abraham was the
God of the Jews, Christians and Muslims. This helped him because,
compared to negative reaction of most of the pagan citizens of
Mecca when they were told to destroy their sacred idols, the Jews
and Christians welcomed the Muslims and some of the so-called
“Christians” even converted to Islam and became Mohammed’s closest
companions and followers. However, by the time of his flight to
Medina, his approach differed and the Medinan Surahs show a
different face concerning the Jews and Christians. Predominantly,
the Jews and Christians quietly yet firmly rejected his claim of
being a prophet4. Additionally the change might have
been influenced by a tribe of Jews that refused to help Mohammed
when an army from Mecca besieged Medina in an attempt to kill “The
Prophet”.
The Medinan
Surahs show that though, Mohammed still believed they served the
same God, he started pointing out the fundamental differences of
the Christian and Jewish beliefs to the God of Allah. For example,
read and compare the following three verses:
Surah 29:46 (Meccan) And dispute ye not with the People of the
Book… but say, "We believe in the Revelation which has come down to
us and in that which came down to you; our God and your God is One;
and it is to Him we bow."
Surah 9.30 (Medinan) The Christians say that the Messiah is the Son
of God. That is but a saying with their mouth. They only imitate
what the unbelievers of old used to say. God's curse be upon them!
How they are deluded away from the truth!"
Surah 5:73 (Medinan) They are unbelievers who say, "God is the
Third of Three...No god is there but One God."
Most of the
Medinan Surahs, when speaking of the Jews, speak negatively about
them and how they abandoned “The Book” and the ways of the Lord.
Numerous passages warn Muslims to avoid them or not associate with
them. Though it claims that Allah had chosen Israel5,
the Qur’an says that God left them because of their disobedience
and now blesses and cares for the Muslims. Even though that was the
opinion of Mohammed towards the Jews and Christians, he sanctioned
special better treatment towards them than towards other pagan
people.
Other than
the attitude change towards the “People of the Book”, Mohammed’s
visions also altered concerning himself. He starts receiving
visions more similar to one like in Surah 33:56 “Allah and His
Angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye who believe! Send ye
blessings on him, And salute him With all respect.” Mohammed seems
to take on a role of more than just a humble prophet announcing the
revelations of Allah to the people. This probably had its origin in
his change of position in Medina compared to Mecca. While in Mecca,
though part of the ruling tribe, Mohammed was one of the poorest of
the tribe and so not considered very special. The Meccan Surahs
spoken over that time period reflect him as merely a speaker,
prophet and servant of Allah and his Word. When he fled to Medina,
he was welcomed by new Muslims living there and many of his
followers also came from Mecca. Because it was not a major center
of paganism like Mecca, Islamic teaching found a better reception
and soon Medina became somewhat Muslim. This elevated Mohammed and
he became a prince and ruler in Medina as well as a spokesman for
God. Around this time the Surahs contain many more references to
him as a more important person, “The Prophet of God”. Also, the
number of Muslims started to grow and so most of the Medinan Surahs
begin or contain the phrase similar to one of these: Hear ye all
true followers of Allah! or Oh ye who believe!
Another
very interesting change is that the only title given to Jesus
(every prophet was given special titles) in the Koran is Messiah.
No reason is given to this title but it only appears in the Medinan
Surahs. “The most plausible explanation is that Muhammad was
unaware of the title until he moved to Medina and, as his contacts
with Christians and Jews increased, so he came to learn of the
unique appellation given to Jesus and, being unaware of its meaning
but seeing no reason to reject it, simply adopted it himself and
included it in the quran QurŸan [Quran] without any further
ado.”6 “It was very well known that the Christians
worshipped al masih al-Masæø[Messiah]. This name is attested in
Arabia before Mohammed's time…”7
Because he
now is the leader of the Muslim people instead of just the prophet
of Allah, his Surahs become much more detailed in how to conduct
oneself and laws to control what the Muslims can and cannot do
instead of merely asking them to return to righteousness. As
already mentioned, he now considers himself the ruler and leader of
Islam. By revelation, Allah now gives permission to Mohammed to
take as many wives as he wants and special rules apply to
associating with him or his possessions.
Though
these differences within Koran cause much debate and Muslims use
these different sides to support their own views, for example about
Christian-Muslim relations, Mohammed made it very clear that
contradictions can occur because God sends down newer revelations
which improve or replace the older revelations. Surah 2:106 says:
“We do not abrogate a verse or let it be forgotten without bringing
a better or similar one. Do you not know that Allah has power over
all things?” This is very vital to understand, that even though you
can clearly find the differences in the Muslim Holy Book, Mohammed
predicted and talked of such possibilities and in the opinion of
many Muslims this does not change the sanctity or meaning of the
Koran.
Another
very vital point to consider is that this essay shows the GENERAL
change over time of the Surahs but not all the Surahs follow this
pattern. It is noticed that among some of the long Surahs
(Medinan), a topic may be mentioned from a Meccan viewpoint and
visa versa. For example, one of the Meccan verse speaks of Allah
not begetting (a son) (112:3) and a Medinan verse, (Surah 2:62)
speaks well of Jews and Christians.
However,
though this essay compares the Qur'an and its changes, the Bible
very clearly shows that it is the Word of God to man for all
generations. Neither God nor His plan for man changes with time.
The Holy Book of Islam specifically contridict each other
reguarding the nature of Jesus Christ. In the Qur’an, Surah 7:75,
it proclaims “Christ, the son of Mary, was no more than a
Messenger…”. Conversely, in John 10:30 Jesus says, “I and my Father
[God] are One.” And though the Qur’an agrees with the Injil (New
Testament) about Jesus being the Word of God7, it
doesn’t tell that Jesus is the only way to
heaven.8 John 6:47 says “Most assuredly, I say to
you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.” That is a
guarantee spoken by the Almighty God.
