Remember when Abraham said, ‘Lord, make this town safe!
Preserve me and my offspring from idolatry,
Lord, the [idols] have led many people astray!
Sura 14:35, 36
Thus we have the title of this sura. Of course, it starts with the usual:
In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy
In this sura Muhammad is concerned with turning people from idolatry to worship the One True God, and once again Muhammad draws upon characters in the Bible to make his point. Early on he makes this interesting statement:
We have never sent a messenger who did not use his own people’s language to make things clear for them. But still God leaves whoever He will to stray, and guides whoever He will: He is the Almighty, the All Wise. (14:4)
In the previous sura he said that the purpose of the Qur’an was to give the Arabic people scriptures in their own language. (13:37) Now, that’s a nice idea that God would give each people the Scriptures in their own language. I have had a Muslim tell me that to fully appreciate the Qur’an it needs to be read in its original Arabic form. The problem is, the vast majority of people in the world do not read Arabic. The Jewish scriptures were written in Hebrew, and few people read that language. The New Testament was written in Greek, which was the common written language in the Roman Empire at that time (1st Century CE), but outside that Empire who could read it? There were all kinds of languages scattered throughout Asia, and Africa, and Eastern and Western Europe. Not to mention the civilizations in the Americas, unknown in the 1st Century and still unknown in Muhammad’s time. So, most of the people in the world never got to read the Word of God in their own language. In the West, eventually the Bible was translated into English so at least the minority who were literate could read that form of it, but at quite a cost: William Tyndale was strangled and burned at the stake in 1536 for translating the Bible into English. The church was not very tolerant of those who challenged their control over the Scriptures and who could read and study them. So, if people want to read ‘the Scriptures’ they have to read a translation and hope that the translators got it right. Makes one wonder why God didn’t follow through on Muhammad’s idea. He could have inspired people in each area of the world to write down Scriptures in their own languages, rather than trusting that some foreigners speaking unknown languages were telling them the true Word of God. And when those missionaries are accompanied by superior armies, what can one do other than go along with their ‘Scriptures?’ It seems that the Supreme Being could have implemented a better system.
Muhammad receiving revelation from the angel Gabriel.
Before getting to Abraham Muhammad cites another Bible figure:
And so Moses said to his people, ‘Remember God’s blessing on you when He saved you from Pharaoh’s people, who were inflicting terrible suffering on you, slaughtering your sons and sparing only your women––that was a severe test from your Lord! Remember that He promised, “If you are thankful, I will give you more, but if you are thankless, My punishment is terrible indeed.” ’ And Moses said, ‘Even if you, together with everybody else on earth, are thankless, God is self-sufficient, worthy of all praise.’ (14:6-8)
And then also Noah, along with ‘Ad and Thamud that he has mentioned in previous suras. And as in the previous sura Muhammad points out that people ask why they should believe this new message and abandon their ancestral traditions without some clear sign from God. I think that’s a valid question. Of course, Muhammad would point out the signs given through Moses, and the Great Flood that vindicated Noah’s preaching, but that was contained in ancient stories that could not be verified later, and what similar signs could Muhammad claim for his own preaching? He threatens them with Hell, but why not just supply some evidence rather than resorting to threats?
Then he gets to Abraham:
Remember when Abraham said, ‘Lord, make this town safe! Preserve me and my offspring from idolatry, Lord, the [idols] have led many people astray! Anyone who follows me is with me, but as for anyone who disobeys me– You are surely forgiving and merciful. Our Lord, I have established some of my offspring in an uncultivated valley, close to Your Sacred House, Lord, so that they may keep up the prayer. (14:35-37)
A few verses later he mentions Abraham’s first two sons: “Praise be to God, who has granted me Ishmael and Isaac in my old age: my Lord hears all requests!” (14:39)
It is typically thought that Isaac was to be the one through whom the Jewish people descended, and Ishmael was the one through whom the Arabic people were descended. In fact, Islamic tradition has it that Abraham took Ishmael and his mother Hagar to Mecca and helped construct the Kaaba there, the most holy Muslim shrine. (Whether it be the Kaaba or the temple in Jerusalem or the local church or cathedral it seems that people always want a material place on earth to worship their immaterial god in heaven.)
The Kaaba in Mecca
(‘Kaaba’ is ‘cube’ in Arabic)
Abraham prays for his descendants, and again warns of retribution for those who refuse to believe. Muhammad is very concerned about what he sees as polytheistic idolatry among the Arab people, and so repeatedly speaks of the one true God and encourages pagans to leave their idolatry and worship Him alone. But alas, no sign was given them, other than Muhammad’s repeated warnings:
[All will be judged] so that God may reward each soul as it deserves: God is swift in His reckoning. This is a message to all people, so that they may be warned by it, and know that He is the only God, and so that those who have minds may take heed. (14:51, 52)
In Islamic tradition Abraham was prepared
to sacrifice Ishmael, not Isaac.
I still find it curious that Muhammad repeatedly uses Bible characters and stories in his recitations, but he clearly has a problem with the Jews, from whom these stories arose. I understand his problem with the Christians, as they elevate Jesus to the level of God and Muhammad sees that as polytheism and blasphemy. But the Jews, like the Muslims, believe in only one God to be worshipped. You’d think they could discuss their differences in their understanding of this one God in peace, but apparently not. If Muhammad is right that all will be judged by God, I wonder how He is going to feel about those who chose to fight over their interpretations of His word rather than discussing them in peace and humility.
If you’d like to know more about what the Bible says about Abraham there are two posts in the Bible section about him: See Bible Undressed posts 4 & 5. (Man of God, or psychopath?)
(scroll down to make comments and ask questions)
Thinking exercises:
1. If you have a Muslim friend ask him or her what the problem is with the Jews, since they worship the one true God, the God of Abraham and Moses?
2. Do you think Muhammad and Jesus had good reasons for refusing to give people signs to show that they really were speaking for God? Or is it simply that they could not produce any convincing signs?
3. If God does not force Himself on anyone but allows each person to make their own choices, whether right or wrong, why do those who claim to follow Him so often try to force their beliefs on others?