One of the cardinal beliefs of the Muslims is this: The Quran is the only Religious Book that was not written by any human, and that all of its messages had come down to Muhammad in Allah’s own words.

My research into the Quran proves that the above claim is false. Here is what its verse 16:51 says, and what I have understood from it.

“Allah has said: “Take not (for worship) two gods: for He is just One Allah: then fear Me (and Me alone).””

If we need a specific verse from the Quran that irrefutably proves that it also contains Muhammad’s words and statements, this is it!

Not only the first three words and the construction of the statement prove that the speaker of the statement was Muhammad; even the nuances of the Arabic grammar that govern the use of punctuation marks make it absolutely clear that it was Muhammad, and not Allah, who spoke those words of the verse.

The verse, previous to this one, ended with a big circle (a full stop in English) along with an instruction to the reader to bow his or her head after reaching its end. In other words, verse 51 is independent of verse 50 and that we should judge it solely on the basis of its contents.

Approaching the contents of the verse from the above standpoint, we find that the speaker of the words “Allah has said” were the words that came from Muhammad’s mouth. There is no way that Allah could have expressed Himself in those words, as doing that would have made Him not only batty, but also a subject of ridicule and contempt.

The sooner Muslims accept this fact, the better it will be for them. The realization of the truth by them will herald a new era in which the people of other religious denominations would not only be able to talk to them on social and economic issues, but also on their religion and its varied doctrines, without fear of being assaulted or lynched by them.

If any thing most Muslims respect and love more than their own lives is the Quran. This is a psychological disorder the root of which runs to a belief that tells them that what their Religious Book contains were spoken by none but Allah Himself. Despite the fact that the Quran contradicts this belief, Muslims do not want to consider even the possibility of it having words that could also have come from Muhammad’s mouth.

Muslims’ belief that all the words of the Quran are from Allah makes it an extremely sacred Book. To preserve its sacredness, they are willing to do anything, including killing themselves, if it becomes necessary. This behavior of the Muslims is known as ‘fundamentalism.’ Also known vicariously as ‘Islamic Fundamentalism,’ which espouses violence, causes death and destruction, it has become today the major problem of our world.

It is not true that only the illiterate or half-literate Muslims are guilty of fundamentalism, even the scholars of Islam harbor it in their heart. This is discernible from the efforts that they have been making, for hundreds of years, for defending what is indefensible. Here is an example of how a reputable Muslim scholar avoided telling his readers the truth that lies behind the Quran’s authorship.

“Allah is Most High, Most Wise: man is, in spite of his high destiny, often the lowest of the low (95:5). Yet Allah, out of His infinite Mercy and Grace, has bestowed His revelation on man. How does it come about? Three ways are mentioned: (1) W’ahyun, Inspiration; (2) from behind a veil; and (3) by sending of a Messenger.

W’ahyun, Inspiration, is interpreted to be of two kinds: (1) a suggestion thrown by Allah into the heart and mind of man, by which man understands the substance of the Message, whether it is a command or prohibition, or an explanation of a great truth; and (2) verbal or literal inspiration, by which the actual words of Allah are conveyed in human language. Orthodox opinion admits the existence of both kinds, though the latter (“recited,” matlu) is held to be of a superior degree, only vouchsafed to the greater Prophets, while the former (“other than recited,” gair-matlu) may be given not only to the greater Prophets but to the other men of spiritual insight who have not attained the degree of Prophethood. If we accept the theory of verbal inspiration, it would also cover the Messages brought by the angel Gabriel.”[1]

It is clear from the Quran itself that it is the bearer of messages that had come supposedly from Allah to Muhammad in two forms. One of them came in the form of inspiration, which Allah Himself ‘threw’ into Muhammad’s heart.[2] The second came through the medium of angel Gabriel, who, too, put it down to his heart by Allah’s Will.[3]

In both the cases, no direct words from Allah were involved. Muhammad received the messages either directly from Allah or through angel Gabriel ‘into his heart and mind,’ and then expressed them to his followers in his own words. This is what the Quran implies, and also, this is what the learned scholar has said indirectly in his commentary.

The Muslim scholars’ unwillingness or desire to speak clearly on the authorship of the Quran is a reason that leads all Muslims to believe that all of its contents came directly from Allah, and in His own words. Therefore, they are not only extraordinarily sacred to them, they are also infallible.

This dogmatic belief has made the Muslims not only excessively reverent of the Quran; it has also made them highly sensitive to any criticism that is made by those who hold differing views on its authorship.

Given the state of mind with which almost all Muslim children grow up and lead their lives, we are not likely to see a peaceful world until steps are taken to debrief them on the Quran and its contents. And this can be done only through the Muslim scholars and preachers.

We do not know how Muslim scholars and preachers can be made to change what they have been preaching to their readers and listeners, but this is something that we need to do, if we want to see a less dogmatic and placid community of Muslims to emerge in our midst sometime in future.

Insofar as the question of two gods spoken of in the verse is concerned, the concept of two gods had actually originated in ancient Persia much before Judaism, Christianity and Islam took their birth. Not only did the Persians of the yore believe in Resurrection after death as well as Free Will for man to choose between good and bad, they also believed that there were two gods; one of which, known as Ahura Mazda, Lord of Wisdom, Supreme Ruler of the World, was the Creator of all good things. The other, called Angra Manyu, the Evil Spirit, created all that is evil in the world.

The ancient Persians, also known as Zoroastrians, therefore, worshipped Ahura Mazda so that he could continue to favor them with all the good things of the world. The presence of Angra Manyu in their midst reminded them of the evil things, which they needed to shun in their lives.

The tradition of having two gods was also prevalent among the Meccan Pagans of Muhammad’s time, but with a difference. To them, both the gods were good, hence worthy of veneration and worshipping.

In keeping with this tradition, they had two statues of the gods Isaf and Naila installed on the hills of Safa and Marwa. When performing their annual hajj rituals, the Pagans ran from one hill to another, each time stopping briefly only to touch the idols.

Muhammad retained the Pagans’ practice of running between the two hills seven times in Islam, but without the idols. Though the Pagans’ practice carried some sense, Muslims replicating it during their annual hajj does not.

What people, not familiar with the hajj rituals, should make of millions of Muslims, who run between the two hills without, unlike the Pagans, a logical cause or ostensible reason?

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[1] Abdullah Yusuf Ali, op. cit. Vol. 2, p. 1321.

[2] Cf. The Quran, 4:163.

[3] Cf. The Quran; 2:97.