CHAPTER 3
THE NATURE OF PROPHETHOOD
To understand the nature of prophethood,
one must realise that Polarity is the law of existence. It means that, as
physical being of the universe depends upon the balance of negative and positive
charges, so does the social fabric, which is composed of contradictory forces.
This is the reason that we cannot imagine light without darkness, sweet without
bitter and good without bad. Exactly the same way, Prophethood is the antithesis
of free will. For better comprehension of this statement, I ought to explain the
concept of free will.
What is free will?
Life commences with free will. It is because stones and stars are lifeless
despite their durability and lumination; they simply do not have any desire; nor
can they do anything on their own, and therefore, lack the ability to make
choices, but the lowest organism like an amoeba has desire and the ability to
move as it likes. This is the distinction between an inanimate and animate: this
difference i.e. the desire and ability to make choices is life.
Again, until free will emerges, existence is mechanical i.e. fully commanded
by the law of nature, but free will reduces authority of the natural law and
gives organisms the choice of action, making liberty an integral part of living.
In fact, free will is the ambassador of a new force called "morality,
" which means acting according to one's own volition without external
pressures.
Since making choices or decisions requires consciousness and knowledge, these
two elements are also the branches of free will. This is especially true when we
realise that consciousness (awareness) is an integral part of life.
Thus, we can say that desire, freedom, morality, consciousness and knowledge
are the basic components of free will, which cannot operate successfully unless
its constituting elements get a fair chance to display themselves. Since life
commences with free will, the goal of life is not servitude of any supernatural
power i.e. God through worship or prostration, but purpose of life is
self-elevation, as indicated by free will. This is the reason that we abhor
dictation, injustice and vicious commands.
Since polarity is the law of nature, the concept of free will, which means
moral choice and the liberty to act accordingly, must also have an antithesis.
It is Prophethood, which is the opposite of free will because it seeks to
minimise the operation of free will by reducing the scope of human intelligence
and the liberty to act accordingly; it uses the bridle of faith to check the
human conduct, intellectually, morally and physically. Reason is the light of
humanity; this is what exalts man over the rest of beings; prophethood replaces
it with faith, which is a form of twilight, bordering on darkness. Thus, man
ceases to be a rational being and begins to believe in fairy tales such as Moses
dividing the sea to create a pathway for the escaping Israelites; Jesus had no
physical father and Muhammad broke the moon into two sections as a miracle. This
is how the basic attitudes of life come to be founded on irrationality under the
hypnotising force of faith.
In view of history and man's psychological ambitions, I believe that humanity
is marching towards perfection through self-elevation. Man's ascent from the
status of a savage to the modern cultural stage proves this truth. In fact, man
is destined to be a part of Divinity. Having explained this thesis in my book
"Eternity," I need not go into details here, but must emphasise that
Prophet is a person who imposes his own Godhead on innocent people and thus
deprives them of their own Divine dignity. Why does he adopt this attitude
towards humanity? It is because he is a man of massive ego, which is operated by
dominance-urge:
What is Dominance-Urge?
To stress the importance of dominance-urge, I may add that, as universe is
hierarchical in nature, our social organisation is also hierarchical. The
concept of hierarchy is easily understood with reference to a pyramid which is
broad at its base but becomes narrower as it rises. Likewise, human society is
the widest at the base, constituted by the masses, but as social pattern assumes
ascending order, at the apex appears one person, usually a man, known as king,
dictator, president or prime minister.
What is it that raises a person to the imperial, dictatorial, presidential or
prime ministerial dignity? It is the urge of dominance that motivates a person
to rise above his fellow-beings, and he seeks distinction by imposing his will
on others. This is the act of dominance. Though social order is hierarchical, it
differs from the universal hierarchy; the former is based on a personal ambition
which grows even stronger as one gathers more power but the latter is impersonal
or neutral because it is based on function and not ambition. The sun may be
greater, and life-giving, yet it is not superior to the earth because sun's
grandeur is functional and thus neutral in character. Social hierarchy, on the
contrary, is fuelled by the urge of dominance, which is an expression of a
personal ambition seeking superiority over the rest. Though one can divide it
into many branches, it is mainly of two types:
a. Secular, and
b. Spiritual.
a. Whether it be secular or spiritual hierarchy, it is based on the urge of
dominance. Secular dominance is represented by gubernatorial grandeur such as
the office of a high dignitary of the state, a minister, the king, the president
or the prime minister. The purpose of the dominant or the gubernator is always
the same - telling people how to live by equating morality with the law. At
secular level, the gubernator wants to look public-spirited, that is, someone
who lives for public good at the expense of his own happiness. Thus, he imposes
his will on people through the agency of law, which he uses to suit his own
convenience. For example, to obtain votes, he declares that poverty is the
greatest social evil, and thus practises Robinhoodism, that is, he robs the rich
to pay the poor for gaining their favour. If he were to alleviate the distress
of poverty through the state effort, that is, distribution of wealth, created by
the state itself through its own entrepreneurial zeal, it would be laudable. The
purpose of this exercise is to seek dominance by manipulating people's votes.
Secular dominance is short-lived, because when a person dies, with him
perishes his dominance-urge. However, it may take the dynastic form after him.
The father may take measures to enable his son to step into his shoes,
perpetuating the family dignity. However, family- dignity owes itself to its
founder and thus all the successors rank next to him unless someone has secured
greater distinction in his own right.
Dominance-urge is not restricted to any particular class of people. Both the
high and low are likely to have the ambition to dominate others. In fact, for
being the means of self-elevation, it is a part of the evolutionary process.
Thus, it is not evil in itself but becomes so, for acting as the tool of
self-promotion at the cost of moral considerations. However, there are occasions
when a dominant person may be sincere and public spirited but it is rare and
serves as an exception and not the rule.
What is an urge? Think of a motor car in relation to fuel. It may be a great
vehicle but it cannot budge an inch without fuel, which serves as its driving
force. This is the meaning of "drive" in psychology, the science of
behaviour. Urge is just another word for drive. An expression of this urge is
found in the dominance-hierarchies found in domestic fowl, birds, baboons,
bumble bees, crabs, etc. It is well explained by what is called "Peck
Order" and is commonly seen among chickens where bird A pecks the weaker
bird B and B pecks the still weaker bird C. In a way, what is called aggressive
behaviour is the manifestation of the urge of dominance. It demonstrates lack of
rationality and seeks superiority through a show of brute force. One can call it
the expression of the law of jungle based on the aphorism: "might is
right." A better example is provided by the "lek behaviour" of
animals. It can be seen during the mating season in a communal area where the
male members fight one another to establish their dominance over their
competitors. Through an aggressive behaviour, the winner settles his claim of
priority to sex, food and water. Thus dominance-urge turns out to be the mania
of self- preference, which is realised through demonstration of ferocity. This
fact is equally noticeable in the members of much lower species: wasps of the
genus Polistes repress the sexual growth of their immediate young through
harassment so that instead of producing their own progeny they must stay around
as servants to care for the young ones of their parents. Termites are yet
another example of this fact; they achieve similar results by chemical
secretions which effectively turn their young ones into slaves for looking after
their freshly hatched offspring.
The most effective way of securing dominance is by arousing someone's fear.
Biologists have provided good examples to this effect. They point to
"presenting," an inclination of the female members of the macaque
monkeys. The term "presenting" refers to the condition of a sexually
receptive female which offers itself to the male for copulation. Such a male is
the symbol of brute force, and thus carries an air of superiority. Invitation to
seduce is certainly the most submissive behaviour which the dominant relishes.
This is the main purpose of dominance-urge, which seeks total surrender and
humiliation of others through force, feigning and ferocity.
The fact that we find mighty conquerors towering over the palace of history,
is owing to the urge of dominance, which prompted them to exploit the human
instinct of fear. The magnitude of their conquests has been compatible with the
stature of their dominance-urge: Alexander the Great, wanted to build a
universal monarchy and Tamburlaine, the Conqueror, declared that, as there was
only one God, this earth could accommodate only one king. To accomplish this
end, Alexander unleashed terror towards those who resisted his rule, and
Tamburlaine devised the policy of building minarets with the decapitated heads
of his victims for frightening entire foreign populations into submission.
Behind this carnage and devastation, lay the personal desire of the
perpetrator to be acknowledged as the greatest. This is the reason that
Alexander the Great wanted to be considered and worshipped as God. History has
recorded that, in November 332 B.C. when Alexander left Praetonium for the oasis
Siwa, where stood the oracle of Amon, venerated as the king of gods, he was
hailed by the priest as the "Son of Amon." Alexander, who had
harboured the dream of divinity for a long time, was rather stunned to be
addressed as the Son of God. It was then, he was told that Philip, the king of
Macedonia, though married to his mother, Olympias, was not his true father,
because his mother's pregnancy had, in fact, been caused by the necromantic
touch of Amon, the god of gods, who wanted to secure the birth of a mighty
prince to release Egypt from the clutches of the Persians. The insight of the
priest, who knew the psychological truth of dominance-urge, worked wonders.
Alexander, convinced of his numinous stature, demanded to be acknowledged and
worshipped as God throughout his empire. The Egyptians were the first to yield
to this demand, followed by the Greeks, Persians and other conquered nations.
The cult of dominance-urge is more visible among the Roman Emperors. Of course,
they were haughty and powerful but they caught the disease of divinity in Egypt
where every Pharaoh was believed to be the incarnation of God. This is what
influenced the Roman Senate and it introduced the custom of deification i.e.
proclaiming a person as God; the death of each emperor was followed not only by
elaborate funeral rites, but also daunting rituals of apotheosis leading to a
place in the national pantheon, whose sanctity was as inviolable to the Romans
of the past as is their belief in Jesus Christ today.
Why does man want to put on the cloak of divinity? There are two reasons for
it. Firstly, the dominance-urge goads the dominance-seeker to project himself as
the loftiest being. Since God is believed to be the greatest known image, the
dominant wants to be thought of as God directly or indirectly. Secondly,
contrary to the psychological mechanism of the dominance-seeker, *ordinary man
is equipped with Free Will. Thus it is his nature to live a life based on his
own choice, which is not possible without freedom of thought and security of
fundamental human rights. Thus man is born to be free. This is something that a
dominant person dislikes the same way as a dog hates a cat and a cat hates a
rat. It is because if people could maintain
---------
* Of course, a dominant person is also born with a Free Will but he has the
mania of coercing other people's Free Will to maximise his authority.
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their freedom, the dominance-seeker would not be able to impose his hegemony
on them; dominance simply means maximisation of one's own prerogative by the
minimisation of other people's rights. One way of achieving this end is by sheer
brute force such as carnage and destruction of property, but this tact works
temporarily only because man's love of freedom persuades him to resist the
tyrant. Therefore, the dominant has to use some sophisticated ploys which,
despite being vicious, must look virtuous; their power of brainwashing should be
as great as that of a burning lamp, whose lure proves so irresistible to the
moths that they cremate themselves on it without any external pressure.
This is what prompts a gubernator to exploit man's psychological mechanism,
which consists of fear and favour. It is a matter of common observation that
whatever man does, he does out of fear or to gain favour. This is especially
true with regard to hell and heaven; a person adopts a certain faith because he
is afraid of hell, and at the same time wants to go to heaven, which ranks as a
favour. This is the notion which appeals more to the emotions and less to
reason. Yet fear, as one of the basic elements of personality, is the pivot of
morality; it is not only restricting but also the guiding factor in behaviour.
However, when it becomes irrational it serves as the greatest barrier to reason
and thus becomes a source of divergence, deviation and devastation.
Again, fear is the source of both reverence and submission. Therefore, the
best way of achieving dominance is through exploitation of fear, which must form
a part of one's faith and behaviour. This type of fear is like a mellow stream,
perennially fed by melting snow which keeps it flowing year after year, whereas
the fear engendered by brute force is like the periodical torrential rain, which
causes a flood, but disappears after a short while. Thus, secular dominance
cannot be held for longer periods by sheer brute force. It must be given a touch
of spiritual happiness in such a way that people learn to fear it reverently and
obey it without coercion.
b. Members of the gubernatorial class have realised the value of fear and
used it masterfully. This fact brings us to the discussion of the second type of
dominance (hierarchy) which I termed as "spiritual."
In fact, it is a tool of the secular dominance, and the razzmatazz which goes
with it. What makes it spiritual is the tinge of divinity; a person claims the
right to rule and demands submission with reverence on the ground that he is the
mouthpiece of God, Son of God or the reincarnated God. Thus he projects himself
as divine and a cut above other humans. Those people, whose purpose this
assertion serves, back the claimant. Once his divinity is established through
plausibility and a sustained campaign of fairy tales, including violence, his
dominance becomes as attractive to people as that of a burning lamp to the
moths. History is riddled with such examples. I may refer to the Egyptian custom
which is relevant to the nature of this discussion:
In ancient Egypt, the pharaoh (king) was identified with the sky-god, Horus
and the sun-god, variously known as Re, Amon or Aton. This is the reason that a
pharaoh was addressed as Re, Aton and Horus. Scholars have remarked that he
derived these epithets, not from his associations with the various deities, but
because he was considered the incarnation of everything believed to be divine.
Thus, he was God-incarnate in his own right. This belief gave birth to an
effective royal theology, which led to the doctrine of the god-kingdom spanning
two generations; it means that, as long as a pharaoh lived, he ruled as King
Horus but after his death, he became Osiris, the king of the dead. Since all
Egyptians died like other humans, they showed special reverence to their
pharaoh, who also happened to be their ruler in the world-to-come. What a royal
trick it was to make people obey their monarch to the point of worshipping him.
There also grew the tradition of treating pharaoh as God's image, and it was
believed that God addressed him as ^my living image on earth."
This divine cult of the pharaoh was further promoted by festivals which
involved sacrifices, eating, drinking, staging plays, sexual contacts, including
all sorts of merriment, yet retaining their numinous character! Whereas
worshipping the pharaoh formed part of the reverential fear that his divine
power generated, the delight of the fair, counted as the favour for fearing the
pharaoh. Scholars have discovered that the festive spirit of these happy
gatherings became an integral part of the later Hellenistic i.e. Greco- Roman
mystery and salvatory religions including Semitic faiths such as Judaism,
Christianity and Islam.
As "the living image of God," pharaoh in his human capacity was
also believed to be the servant of God, destined to carry out His work on earth.
This is what turned kingship into an institution, which could be termed as
divine viceroyalty. It received a special emphasis in the Arabian peninsula.
This fact is clearly visible in the history of Mesopotamia. In all its empires
such as Sumer, Babylon and Assyria, one finds the prevalence of this doctrine:
whether it be a city, country or the state, its head is God, but the ruler acts
as His "humble" viceroy whose destiny remains the execution of God's
will. However, king's major role was to mediate between God and man.
Moses, as he brought his people out of Egypt, attached special importance to
this doctrine. The Jews had suffered tremendous hardships under the rule of
pharaoh, who was a (visible) God. Since the Jews could not tolerate the idea of
such a God, Moses introduced the concept of an abstract God, who could not be
contacted by ordinary folks directly but it remained "possible" to
approach Him through the agency of Moses, the Viceroy (of God).
This viceregal cloak of sanctity that man has worn for centuries, has proved
a far more effective vehicle of dominance than brute force. Another name for
this spiritual viceroy is "Prophet.'' Since God speaks through him and, may
be contacted through him only, the prophet's word ranks as God's Word, and over
a period of time, his followers begin to worship him instead of God. This fact
shows the climax of dominance-urge, which goads man to claim divinity directly
or indirectly and be worshipped as God. But in the Semitic tradition, a prophet
is the servant of God, who mediates between God and man, and because God reveals
Himself through the agency of the Prophet only, he becomes more important than
God. It is why, if you do not believe in the Prophet, your belief in God and all
your righteous deeds become useless. This is how the prophet begins to rank a
cut above God and, though the prophet may call himself God's servant, it is God
who, in practice, becomes the prophet's factotum. This is the Semitic tradition
and exposes the reality of revelation, which is simply man's spiritual tool of
dominance. It depicts the impetuosity and severity of dominance-urge, which
tempts a man to claim Godhead through the medium of revelation, simply because
he wants to be worshipped, that is, loved and obeyed by mankind.
The difference between secular and spiritual dominance is, that the former
perishes when a dominance- seeker, such as a king or dignitary dies, but the
latter does not expire with the death of the spiritual dominance-seeker, who
commands from his grave by demanding obedience to his laws, and exhibits an
astonishing passion to be adored exclusively by declaring that there will be no
more prophets after him. This passion for adoration is the essence of worship,
which is the worst form of aggression because it requires the worshipper to
humiliate himself through a set of self-debasing rituals, aimed at expressing
his total surrender.
Revelation is the most effective tool of securing this purpose because the
revelationist (Prophet) declares that he has no axe to grind in it; he claims to
do what he is told by God, and being His servant, has no choice but to obey!
The truth is exactly the opposite. It is the prophet who wants to be adored.
God is just a euphemism for the Prophet. Revelation is the device to achieve
this aim.
What is revelation?
It is also known as the Divine guidance, but in fact, it is the stunning web
of hypocrisy that the human mind could weave. Without doubt, it is the greatest
insult to God:
1. In chapter 2 of the Koran is narrated the dramatic story of Adam, who has
rebelled against Allah's commands because he finds them against the dictates
of his free will. It is a proof of the fact that, man neither likes nor needs
Allah's guidance (which is another description of revelation). As Adam, along
with his wife, is being turned out of the Garden of Eden, Allah says:
"Yet there shall come to you (Adam and his progeny) guidance
(revelation) from Me, and whosoever follows my guidance, no fear shall be on
them, neither shall they sorrow. " ( The Cow, 11- 3 5 )
Allah knows full well that Adam has turned down His guidance despite the
reward of staying in the Garden of Eden where there is no toil, pain or death,
and all the luxuries of life are available just for the asking. Yet, Allah
insists on sending guidance to mankind through His Messengers i.e. Prophets.
It is an insult to God because it shows that He does not have the least
respect for Himself. He has been spurned rudely by man, yet He desperately
wants to send guidance, which has already been proved totally useless. Is
Allah really that ignorant and thick-skinned!
2. From the episode referred to above, it is obvious like daylight that
Allah hates Adam's revolt. Therefore, he would have loved to create an
obedient Adam. The concept of guidance (Prophethood) shows that it is Allah's
attempt to rectify His weakness as the Creator! Thus, revelation is a parody
of God for His imperfection, but a praise for the Prophet, who acts as the
rectifier of Allah's deficiency!
3. If this universe is a creation, then its Creator has got to be PERFECT.
A Prophet is a human, and therefore, imperfect. How can an imperfect mortal
represent the Perfect Creator? And the Allah, who depends upon a Prophet, the
imperfect, is even inferior to man.
I need not repeat all those arguments here that I have advanced in my books
"Eternity" and "Faith And Deception" to expose the hollow
nature of revelation. It is just a political tradition of the Middle East, which
enables a secular ruler to rule in the name of God. Such a God is nothing but a
clever myth, which enables the Prophet to declare God as the real Master and
himself as His humble servant. Thus, he can give his own commands the
supernatural aura to fool and snool people for imposing his dictatorship on
them. This indirect type of government enables him to do what he likes in the
name of God because all his actions count as the Divine Will; he claims that he
has no choice but to act accordingly. Thus, whatever may happen to his subjects,
he remains blameless.
What a device this revelation is! Even Machiavelli looks a toddler in the
Middle Eastern school of politics.
The cornerstone of this political stratagem known as Prophethood is, that God
as an act of mercy sends guidance to people so that they can avoid hell to
qualify for paradise. Another point to note is that certain souls were appointed
as the Prophets even before creation:
"And when God took compact with the Prophets
That I have given you of Book and Wisdom,
then there shall come to you a Messenger confirming
what is with you - you shall believe in him
and you shall help him; do you agree?" He said
"And do you take My load on you on that condition?"
They said, "We do agree." God said "Bear witness
so, and I shall be with you among the witnesses.
Then whosoever turns back after that -
they are the ungodly.
What do they desire another religion than God's
....." (The House of Imran III: 75)
In a nutshell, these verses mean that Allah called a conference of the souls of
Prophets ( before creation ) and took a binding promise from them that they
would declare Muhammad as the greatest and the Last Prophet and must tell their
followers to convert to his religon, which is the true religion of God. Allah
stresses here that all Prophets have been given the same principles of guidance
as contained in the Book of Guidance i.e. the Koran.
It is just a Muhammadan approach for gaining converts. How could there be a
conference of the Prophets before creation? As I explained earlier, according to
the Koran, Muhammad himself was unaware of the Truth and knew nothing of the
Koran until he was forty years old; it is then, he was "made a Prophet
through the agency of Gabriel, who brought him the revelation." Under these
circumstances, how could Allah have declared Muhammad as the greatest and the
Last Prophet when even four decades after his birth he was not a Prophet as yet?
Perhaps, the wiser interpretation of these verses is that Muhammad was never a
Prophet because, as it is obvious from the quotation, he was not invited to
participate in the pre-creation conference, which all the other
"Prophets" attended.
The pivot of Muhammad's prophethood is the Koran, which claims to be the
source of guidance to mankind, but this Koranic enunciation does not hold good
at all.
''Say (Muhammad): O disbelievers
......................................................................
To you your religion and to me my religion."
(The Unbelievers, CIX: 5)
Here it is made quite clear that Muhammad was not sent by Allah with a Definite
Mission because, according to these verses, the non-Muslims are welcome to their
religion, whereas Muhammad and his devotees shall follow their own faith. Thus,
at the time of declaring his prophethood, Muhammad had neither any Divine Code
of Guidance nor any design of preaching the "Truth." These things were
necessitated by the circumstances as he proceeded with his career. See for
yourself:
1. "Thou (Muhammad) art not responsible for
guiding them (non-Muslims) but God guides
whomsoever He will."
(The Cow, II: 275)
"Thou (Muhammad) art only a warner,
and God is the guardian over everything."
(Hood, II: 15)
"Your Lord knows you (Muhammad) very well;
if He will, He will have mercy on you,
or, if He will, He will chastise you;
We (Allah) sent thee not to be a guardian
over them." (The Night Journey, XVII: 55)
Here one can clearly see that Muhammad has nothing to do with guidance. In fact,
these verses show Muhammad as an ordinary person, who himself is at the mercy of
Allah for guidance. This was his attitude when he was weak and politically a
non-entity: then he preached:
"No compulsion is there in religion."
(The Cow, II: 255)
But when he became powerful, he declared in the name of Allah:
"The true religion with God is Islam."
(The House of Imran, III: 15)
Then came further messages:
"Whoso desires another religion than Islam, it shall
not be accepted of him; in the next world he shall be
among the losers." (The House of Imran, III: 75)
Since Islam is the only acceptable religion to Allah, He declares:
"It is He (Allah) who has sent His Messenger
(Muhammad) with the guidance and the religion of
truth, that He may uplift it above every religion."
(Victory, XLVIII: 25)
Now, as Islam is declared the only True religion, it has to be lifted above all
religions. Therefore, those who do not embrace it, stand condemned by the
Almighty Allah:
"Surely the worst of beasts in God's sight
are the unbelievers." (The Spoils, VIII: 57)
Even one's parents come within this category if they are not Muslims:
"O believers, do not treat your fathers and
mothers as your friends, if they prefer unbelief
to belief; whomsoever of you takes them
for friends, they are evil-doers."
( Repentance, IX: 20 )
Since parents are the fountain of love and mercy for their children, the
religion that preaches hatred for them on the ground of belief is not the source
of guidance but misguidance. This is further proven by the fact that now Allah
changes His attitude altogether and declares the revolutionary principle of
JEHAD for forced conversion of the non-Muslims:
"God has bought from the believers their selves
and their possessions against the gift of paradise;
they fight in the way of God; they kill, and are
killed; that is a promise binding on God..."
( Repentance, IX: 110 )
A Muslim is God's soldier, whose life has been bought by Allah in return for
paradise. Jehad means killing and robbing non-Muslims if they do not accept
Islam when invited to do so. Jehad is considered the best principle of Guidance:
prayers, charity, morality, service to the Muslim community, etc. are far
inferior forms of guidance. It is the highest symbol of surrender to God (Eman)
because a Mujahid ( God's soldier ) feels no qualms in carrying out Allah's
commands even when they involve murder, rape, robbery, injustice, or usurpation
of human rights and people's sovereignty.
Following Allah's guidance leads to Paradise, the ultimate goal of a Muslim's
dreams. This is the main tool of the Islamic propaganda for attracting converts.
Without this charm, hardly anyone will pay attention to this
"religion." Since calling people to paradise is the mainstay of
Prophethood, the reality of paradise, also exposes the nature of Prophethood.
Thus, one is eagerly inclined to know what paradise is:
Paradise is the largest and the sweetest carrot that was ever dangled before
the Arabs. Just compare the description of paradise with the burning sands of
Arabia, without water, trees, pastures, rivers and gardens. Worse still, Arabia
did not have plentiful women, and this is what made the Arabs hanker after the
feminine gender. Look at the following verses from the Koran which point to the
sexual appeal of Islam:
"...... for them (the Muslims) is reserved a definite
provision, fruit and a great honour in the Gardens of
Bliss reclining upon couches arranged face to face, a
cup from a fountain being passed round to them,
white, a pleasure to the drinkers .....
and with them wide-eyed maidens
flexing their glances
as if they were slightly concealed pearls."
(The Rangers: 40-45)
Whereas the Chinese prefer flat-chested women, the Arabs are fond of rising
bosoms. So, the Koran declares:
"Surely for the God-fearing
awaits a place of security,
gardens and vineyards
and maidens with swelling bosoms."
(The Tidings: LXXVIII: 30)
The attraction of paradise is made more impelling when wine is made a part of
paradisiac living:
"Surely the pious shall be in bliss,
upon couches gazing:
You find in their faces the shining bliss
as they are offered to drink of wine sealed,
whose seal is musk ... and whose mixture
is Tasnim, a fountain at which to drink
those brought nigh." (The Stinters: LXXXIII: 20-25)
For better illustration of the point under discussion, I may refer to Hadith
Tirmzi, volume two (p. 35-40) which gives details of houris, the ever-young
virgins of paradise:
1. A houri is a most beautiful young woman with a transparent body. The narrow
of her bones is visible like the interior lines of pearls and rubies. She
looks like red wine in a white glass.
2. She is of white colour, and free from the routine physical disabilities
of an ordinary woman such as menstruation, menopause, urinal and offal
discharge, child-bearing, and the related pollution.
3. She is a woman characterised by modesty and flexing glances; she never
looks at any man except her husband, and feels grateful for being his wife.
4. A houri is a young woman, free from odium and animosity. Besides, she
knows the meaning of love and has the ability to put it into practice.
5. A houri is an immortal woman, who does not age. She speaks softly and
does not raise her voice at her man; she is always reconciled with him. Having
been brought up in luxury, she is a luxury herself.
6. A houri is a girl of tender age, having large rising breasts which are
round, and not inclined to dangle. Houris dwell in palaces of splendid
surroundings.
Now add to this description of houris, what Mishkat, volume three says on pages
83-97:
7. If a houri looks down from her abode in heaven onto the earth, the whole
distance shall be filled with light and fragrance.....
8. A houri's face is more radiant than a mirror, and one can see one's
image in her cheek. The marrow of her shins is visible to the eyes.
9. Every man who enters paradise shall be given seventy-two houris; no
matter at what age he had died, when he enters paradise, he will become a
thirty-year-old and he will not age any further.
10. Tirmzi, volume 2 states on page 138:
A man in paradise shall be given virility equal to that of one hundred men.
It should be noted that men who are so potent, shall not be inclined to do
anything except love-making. This is the reason, that according to Islam, sexual
gratification is the ultimate goal of life. This is the true Islamic idea of
salvation.
To what has been said above, I may add a bit more about the surroundings of
paradise to depict its appeal to the faithful:
Paradise is constructed in such a way that every brick of gold is followed by
a brick of silver; instead of mud or cement, saffron is used to hold them
together; even its pebbles are diamonds and rubies. He who enters paradise,
shall be free from grief: he will live there forever, remain eternally young and
will never die.
Paradise is generously dotted with streams of milk, honey and wine; its
climate is neither cold nor hot but just nice. The inhabitants of paradise shall
be given winged horses created out of rubies which will take the rider wherever
he wishes.
The inhabitants shall live in palaces and pavilions constructed from the most
precious and beautiful diamonds, and every man shall have eighty thousand
servants to serve him!
One is inclined to think that the above description of paradise is quite
tempting to invite people to Islam. With a view to sharpening the appeal of his
message, the Prophet used the device of contradistinction to compare heaven with
hell for arousing human instincts of pain and pleasure to secure submission of
ordinary man. It cannot be a Divine approach because the God who is so desperate
for gaining devotees by such sadistic ploys, lacks the dignity behoving His
lofty station. It is a human weakness to be adored and worshipped, and its
fountain lies in man's inherent weakness and imperfection, which seek redress
through other people's submission, surrender and supplication. This is the pivot
of dominance urge, which is satisfied by pleas, petitions and prayers of the
vanquished and subordinates to convince the dominant of his greatness, glitter
and grandeur, which is really not there because man is mortal and intrinsically
so vulnerable that he can be humbled any time by disease, death or disaster. It
is just vanity, and a form of make-believe, for any man to pretend to be God or
live as such through the memory of one's fellow-beings. The true God is too
great to concern himself with the prayers or curses of man.
Having painted the lustiest-picture of paradise, the Prophet proceeds to
delineate the sketch of hell:
We are told in the Spider, XXIX: 65 that Gehanna or hell is the place for
unbelievers i.e. those who do not acknowledge the divine Duality of Allah and
Muhammad. Hell is the most tormenting and terrible place (Salvation, XXV: 65).
Why? See for yourself:
''The dweller of Gehenna is given to drink oozing pus, the which he gulps, and
can scarce swallow, and death comes upon him from every side, yet he cannot
die; and still beyond him is a harsh chastisement." (Abraham, XIV: 20)
"Surely those who disbelieve in Our signs - We (Allah) shall certainly
roast them at a Fire; as often as their skins are wholly burned, We shall give
them in exchange other skins, that they may taste the punishment.
And those that believe ..We shall admit them to gardens underneath which
rivers flow, therein dwelling forever and ever, therein for them shall be
spouses purified." (Women, IV: 55-60)
The Koran tells us about the normal food and drink of the unbelievers (Rangers,
XXXVII: 60): there is a gigantic tree called Ez-Zakkoum, which sprouts in
"the root of Hell:" its spathes are like the heads of satans; the
dwellers of hell eat it and are given a brew of boiling water to drink.
The terror, LVI: 50, further adds that after eating of Zakkoum, they drink
boiling water, "lapping down like thirsty camels.
Just note the further description of hell:
It is the roaring fire of God lit over the hearts in
stretching columns. (The Backbiter, CIV)
The theme of Ez-Zakkoum is further continued in
"Smoke, XLIV: 45:"
"Behold the Tree of Ez-Zakkoum
is the food of the-wicked,
like molten copper, bubbling in the belly
like the bubbling water .....
".... As for the unbelievers,
for them garments of fire shall be cut,
and there shall be poured over their heads
boiling water
Whereby whatsovever is in their abdomens
and their skins shall be melted; for them await
hooked iron rods;
as often as they desire in their anguish to come
forth
from it, they shall be restored into it .."
(The Pilgrimage, XXII: 20)
The Prophet's mastery of contradistinctive description reaches its best when he
compares the delights of heaven with the doles of hell consecutively: for
example, in the "Tiding, LXXVIII: 20-30," he says:
"Behold, Gehenna (Hell) has become an ambush,
for the insolent a resort,
There in .... tasting neither coolness nor any drink
save boiling water and pus .....
Surely for the Godfearing (believers) awaits
a place of security, gardens and vineyards
(paradise) and maidens with swelling breasts, like of
age, and a cup overflowing .. "
I do not think that there is further need for quoting from the books of hadith
to make readers feel the terror of hell.
The fascination of paradise shall be incomplete without noting the following
Koranic verses:
a. " ...... God has .... provided them radiancy
and delight
and recompensed them for their patience
with a Garden, and silk;
therein they shall see neither sun nor
bitter cold;
near them shall be its shades, and its clusters
hung meekly down,
and there shall be passed around them
vessels of silver, and large drinking
cups of crystal,
Crystal of silver measure
very exactly,
And therein they shall be given to
drink a cup whose ingredient is ginger;
therein a spring whose name is Salsabil
Immortal youths shall go about them;
when thou seest them, thou supposest them
dispersed pearls,
when you see them you see the divine
happiness and a great kingdom.
Upon them shall be clothing of silk
and brocade; they are embellished with
bracelets of silver, and their Lord shall
give them to drink a pure draught.
Behold this is a reward for you, and
your toiling is thanked." (Man, 10-25)
b. These ever-young boys are again mentioned in
(Mount, LII: 20)
"While they hand therein a cup one to another
Wherein is no idle talk, no cause of sin,
and there go round them youths, their
own, as if they were concealed pearls."
From the above it is clear that besides the most beautiful virgins, there are
also boys in paradise:
a.
1. They are immortal i.e. do not age at all.
2. They are so beautiful that they look like "dispersed pearls."
3. They wear clothes of silk.
4. They are embellished with silver bracelets,
And
b. Mount, LII: 20 makes it clear that the concept
of sin does not apply to the paradisiac life.
Therefore, the cause of wrong-doing does not
exist there: whatever the paradise-dwellers do
is unquestionable!
Whenever the Muslim divines are asked to explain the purpose of boys in
paradise, they say that they are servants of the faithful. One wonders why a
servant has to be ever- young, beautiful like pearls, dressed in brocades and
bracelets.
A servant can surely be old, ugly and poorly dressed. Let the reader come to
his/her own conclusion.
How Allah is desperate for believers! He bribes man with the paradisiac
luxuries, and if man does not fall for it, He frightens him with the most
sadistic torture of hell. Yet, Allah calls Himself Independent, Absolute and
Disinterested!
Allah who has created heaven and hell to gain abject submission of man is
extremely selfish, and therefore driven by intense desires. The Koran testifies
to this fact:
" .... thy Lord accomplishes what He desires."
(Hood, XI: 105)
Worship is the worst type of flattery. Allah, whose greatest pleasure is
sycophancy and who is driven bt desires, cannot be divine. He is simply a myth.
The creator of such a wonderful universe cannot be measured in terms of human
fantasy, fear and fanaticism.
Since this is the type of God that the concept of Prophethood proposes,
Prophethood cannot be a fact but a fiction.
As we have seen earlier, Prophethood is an insult to Godhead. This is what
prompts an enquiry into the Purpose of prophethood and one wants to know what a
Prophet really wants.
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