The second revelation is found in the 93rd surah, not the 74th. It speaks specifically of the multi-year hiatus in divine inspiration. How are we supposed to believe anything Islam's prophet says when he can't keep his own story straight? Further, there are two "enwrapped" surahs, not one, and neither is consistent with Muhammad's recollection. Besides, if Gabriel was sitting on the floating chair, why did Muhammad run home? We're told that he was suicidal because Gabriel was nowhere to be found. He shows up and his messenger flees? No way. And if it really were Gabriel, why do we have to leave Mecca and endure ninety surahs before we're introduced to the alleged source of these recitals? The Qur'an's legitimacy is entirely dependant upon its source. Then it gets worse. We are asked to believe that Allah, who has been too busy being the top dog of the Ka'aba to chat with our hero, finally tracks the panicked prophet down. He tells a grown man, hiding under the covers, that he wants him to go out and warn people. And why is Allah so angry? Why does he need to punish all the little blood clots? He and his prophet are just getting warmed up. We haven't even been introduced. If this is God speaking, why doesn't Muhammad know his name? Remember, all of the early surahs use the title "Lord." And when the spirit finally gets around to introducing himself, he says that he's Ar-Rahman. Maybe we've got the story wrong. Let's check out another Hadith to be sure. Muslim:B1N307/Tabari VI:74 "I asked Abu Salama what was revealed first from the Qur'an. He said: 'The shrouded one enveloped in the cloak.' But I knew better and said: 'Wasn't it "Recite?.' Jabir said: 'I am telling to you what the Messenger told me. He said: "I stayed in the cave for one month and when my stay was completed, I came down and went into the valley. Somebody called me. I looked but I did not see anybody. I was again called but saw nothing. I raised my head, and there on the Throne in the atmosphere he was sitting. I began to tremble because I was afraid of him.' These were Uthman's words, but the correct version is, 'I was terror-stricken by him. Then I came to Khadija and they threw water on me and Allah sent down this: 'You who are shrouded, arise and deliver a warning, your Lord magnify, your clothes cleanse.'"'" At this point all we know for certain is that Muhammad was a pathological liar, he had a poor memory, he was depressed and suicidal, and that he claimed to be demon possessed. Maududi, one of the most famous Qur'an commentators, explains: "After this first Revelation, no Revelation came down to the Prophet for quite some time. The long suspension was such a period of deep grief and distress for him that he started going early to the tops of the mountains to throw himself down from them. But whenever he stood on the edge of a peak, the Angel Gabriel would appear and tell him that he was Allah's Prophet. This would console him and restore his peace of mind." As the author of an esteemed Qur'an commentary, I have elected to place his comments in bold to clearly distinguish orthodox Islamic thought from my own. The Hadith upon which this embarrassing confession is found proves that Islam's lone prophet was suicidal. Tabari VI:76 "The inspiration ceased to come to the Messenger for a while, and he was deeply grieved. He began to go to the tops of mountain crags, in order to fling himself from them; but every time he reached the summit of a mountain, Gabriel appeared to him and said to him, 'You are Allah's Prophet.' Thereupon his anxiety would subside and he would come back to himself." Muhammad explains: "I was walking one day when I saw the angel who used to come to me at Hira. I was terror-stricken by him." If he was comforted by Gabriel every time he wanted to commit suicide, why did his image terrify him? Why didn't the spirit impart a message if he met with his messenger on these occasions? And why are none of these encounters mentioned in the Qur'an? Let's open our Qur'ans to the 73rd surah and see what Islam's spirit had to say. Qur'an 73:1 "O you who have been wrapped in your garments! Who said, 'Cover me, cover me. I'm afraid of the angel.' Keep watch all night except a little. And recite the Qur'an as it ought to be recited, in slow, measured rhythmic tones. Surely We will soon entrust you with Our weighty Word. Surely the night is the most devout way when the soul is most receptive and the words most telling. During the day you already have a busy schedule, an occupation with ordinary business duties." Muhammad's spirit friend wants him to spend the night reciting the Qur'an. Since eighty words have been revealed thus far, that's a pace of eight words an hour. But that is trivial compared to nocturnal devotion. The Qur'an was revealed in darkness, and night is the best time to ponder its meaning. Satan is the Prince of Darkness, and evil loves the night. We have stumbled upon another clue. Qur'an 73:8 "But keep in remembrance the name of your Lord and devote yourself to Him whole-heartedly." How can one remember the name of a Lord who has not yet been named? "Lord of the East and West: there is no ilah but He: take Him therefore for (your) Disposer of Affairs. And bear patiently what they say and avoid them with a becoming avoidance." That would make Muhammad the only messenger who was told to avoid his audience. A Hadith says: Ishaq:115 "Now Muhammad did not want his secret to be divulged before he applied himself to the publication of his message." In other words, he needed time to create enough of these rhyming surahs to make his claim seem believable. Qur'an 73:11 "Leave Me (alone to deal with) the rejecters, the possessors of ease and plenty. I respite them a little. We have heavy fetters with Us (to bind them), and a roaring furnace (to burn them), and food that chokes, sticking in the throat and a painful torment." While we haven't been introduced, Muhammad's spirit seems all too familiar. The Bible speaks of the Lord of the fire, of a spirit that chokes the life out of men, binding them to sin. Muhammad's Lord is the spitting image of Satan. Before we press on, I'd like to bring your attention to the fact that nothing religious has been revealed thus far. The Qur'an is but a paragraph long and its prophet has been told to avoid discussing it. Therefore, Muhammad is being rejected, not his message. This rejection preceding "possessors of ease and plenty" tells us that the wannabe prophet is tormented by his relative poverty. Covetous of what belongs to others, his inward anguish turns sadistic. The heavy fetters, roaring furnace, and choking torments are a way of lashing out at those he envies. At this early juncture there is no other plausible explanation. Either Muhammad was deeply disturbed, wanting to torture men without justification, or his deity was unjust and perverted. As such, the "Enwrapped" surah unravels Islam's moral authority. Portions of the 93rd surah were revealed second, chronologically. Ishaq:155 "The revelations stopped for some time so that the Apostle was distressed and grieved. Then Gabriel brought him the 'Morning.' in which he swore that he had not forsaken him and did not hate him." The following insight is from Maududi: "The surah's theme is to console the Prophet and remove his anxiety, which had been caused by the suspension of revelation. By swearing an oath by the morning and night, he was reassured. Then, he was given the good news that the hardships he was experiencing in the initial stage of his mission would not last long. Soon, Allah would bless him so abundantly that he would be pleased." This is nonsense. Muhammad hadn't suffered any hardships on account of his mission thus far because there had been no mission. All that had happened was a bout in a cave with an angry spirit, a nonsensical revelation, some panic, Khadija's scheme, a blind man's blessing, and a little boasting around town. But Muslims, needing an excuse for their Prophet's morose and suicidal behavior, were willing to contradict Allah's revelation to give their hero an alibi. Let's dive into the surah so you'll see what I mean. Qur'an 93:1 "I swear by the early hours of the day, and the night when it covers with darkness. Your Lord hath not forsaken thee, nor doth He despisith thee." Whoa. Time out. Why the King James 17th century English? Do you suppose the words "thy, hath, forsaken, thee," and "doth despisith" are being used in these translations to make the Qur'an seem Biblical? Just speculation on my part, but for readability sake, I'll endeavor from now on to make the "Lord's. words more intelligible. Let's move on, now that we doth verily know that the Lord doth swearith but hath not forsaken. Although it beith a mystery why he doth despisith thee not and why he lovith the darkness. But here's a clue: Satan is the Morning Star, the Prince of Darkness. Qur'an 93:4 "Surely what comes after is better for you than the present or that which has gone before. Soon will your Lord give you so much you shall be well pleased. Did He not find you an orphan and protect you? And find you lost and perplexed and show you the way? Did He not find you poor and made you rich?" Times can't be so bad God has to bribe prophets. He can't really think that the blood-clot revelation was direction. Muhammad could barely find his way home. And if the Lord had already enriched Muhammad, why is his present so bleak? Or better question, since Muhammad had the childhood from hell, how was he protected? Is God's memory failing? Or is Muhammad's spirit endorsing Khadija's Profitable Profit Plan? "He found you poor and made you rich?"
In this light, let's examine the remainder of the second revelation of the Profitable Prophet Plan. Qur'an 93:9 "Therefore, treat not the orphan with harshness, or oppress him. Nor repulse the beggar. As for him who asks, do not chide him. But as for the favor your Lord has now bestowed upon you, Muhammad, announce it!" This also sounds suspicious. Islam's first two religious covenants are specific to Muhammad. He was an orphan, treated with harshness. He was oppressed, probably molested, as we shall learn later, and had to beg. He was chided as a child and as a man. These things haunted him. It was why he had his god tell those who treated him poorly that it wasn't nice. But he would get even because his dark spirit was going to make him rich and them poor. Then in a less-than-godly blunder, Muhammad's Lord tells his prophet to announce their business relationship before introducing himself or telling us anything about his nature or purpose. He even contradicted himself. The 73rd surah told Muhammad to avoid such announcements. |
