The Bible Undressed

            This sura contains several unusual stories. Muhammad tells one story that parallels one of Jesus’ parables, but the others are just, well, odd. As always he begins:

In the name of God, the Lord of Mercy, the Giver of Mercy.

            Before the first story Muhammad again criticizes those who say ‘God has offspring.’ Now, that might include Christians who hold that Jesus was the Son of God, but it may be directed at Arabs who believed the angels are daughters of God. Yet Muhammad himself believes God created the angels from light. This may be quibbling about words, but if God creates some beings are they not in some sense His offspring? They may not have come into existence as human children do, but they nonetheless are brought into existence by God, and so in some sense I think it is fair to call them His offspring. But Muhammad strongly objects to this idea, saying ‘it is a monstrous assertion.’ Anyway…

            The first story Muhammad tells is The Companions of the Cave. This appears to be based on a Christian myth that most Christians today are not familiar with. In ancient Christian circles it was known as the Seven Sleepers of Ephesus. The Christian version is that a group of youths entered a cave to escape persecution by the Romans around the year 250 CE (AD), and miraculously did not emerge until almost 100 years later. They were astounded to find Christianity then practiced openly. In Muhammad’s version it seems the youths were escaping an “ordeal” caused by pagans. He adds a cute touch: their dog lies down at the entrance of the cave as if to guard them. He has them sleep for about 300 years. The point of the story seems to be the importance of trusting in God over the pagans. He also uses it to show “that God’s promise [of resurrection] is true.” (18:21)

The Seven Sleepers. From Constantinople. 985.
Vatican Library. Rome.

            Before the next story is Muhammad’s usual warning and promise about the afterlife. For the unbelievers: “We have prepared a Fire for the wrongdoers that will envelop them from all sides. If they call for relief, they will be relieved with water like molten metal, scalding their faces. What a terrible drink! What a painful resting place!” (18:29) On the other hand:  “As for those who believe and do good deeds– We do not let the reward of anyone who does a good deed go to waste– they will have Gardens of lasting bliss graced with flowing streams. There they will be adorned with bracelets of gold. There they will wear green garments of fine silk and brocade. There they will be comfortably seated on soft chairs. What a blessed reward! What a pleasant resting place!” (18:30-31)

            Now, can you imagine punishing your enemies in fire, and to make it worse when they call out for relief you pour molten metal down their throats? Would you do anything so cruel, even to your worst enemies?! Yet Muhammad envisions his merciful God as doing so. Now, the believers, those you would think of as spiritual, are enjoying their lives of comfort. If they were truly spiritual people rather than lounging around enjoying their material comforts wouldn’t they be pleading with God for mercy for those who are suffering? Apparently they got their just reward, and that’s all that matters to them. I’m not sure I like this vision of the afterlife, or the people in it.

            So, the next story is one that is similar to a parable of Jesus. In Luke 12:16-21 Jesus tells of a rich man whose land is very productive and instead of being moved to generosity he decides to build bigger barns to store all his stuff, so he can “eat, drink and be merry.” But that very night God demands his soul from him. In Muhammad’s story he has a similar rich man who boasts to his friend that he has more than him and seems quite arrogant. His friend rebukes him for this arrogance and tells him he should be humble before God. Sure enough, the rich man’s water dries up and storms come and his wealth is destroyed, punishing his selfish arrogance. I don’t know if Muhammad’s story is based on Jesus’ story, but the similarity is striking. And they both make a good point about the folly of trusting in worldly wealth.

            Muhammad then tells an odd story about Moses (18:60-82). Moses and a servant go to the place “where the two seas meet” but realize they forgot their fish along the way. When they go back for them they meet a wise man, and when Moses asks to follow this man he is warned, “If you follow me then, do not query anything I do before I mention it to you myself.” Moses agrees. As they travel they get in a boat but the wise man put a hole in the boat. Moses questions this and the man has to rebuke him for asking.

The damaged boat, in a Quran storybook for children.

Then they come upon a boy and the man kills him! Moses questions why he would kill an innocent youth and is again rebuked for asking. They come to a town and the people refuse them food. The man sees a dilapidated wall and he repairs it. Moses points out that he could have demanded payment for this repair. Finally, the man tells Moses this is where they part ways, and he explains his actions. The king was taking every serviceable boat by force, and the boat belonged to poor people who needed it to survive, and so that is why he damaged it (so the king wouldn’t take it). The boy that he killed: he was wicked and disbelieving and his faithful parents deserved a child from the Lord that was “purer and more compassionate.” As for the wall it belonged to two young orphans and their father had buried some treasure under the wall, knowing that later the boys would dig it up and be blessed by it.

            I am not sure what the meaning of this story is intended to be. I think it is a version of “God moves in mysterious ways.” The idea is to trust in the things God does and not question, perhaps. Of course, the alternative view is that random things just happen in this world and you should not try to assign some divine intent to those things. I particularly would not go around killing young boys because you think God will give the parents better ones!

            Next is a story of someone named Dhu ’l-Qarnayn, meaning the “two-horned one.” (18:83-102). This leads some scholars to identify this person as Alexander the Great. Others have suggested Muhammad is referring to Cyrus the Great of Persia. Either way, he ends up building a metal wall to protect some innocent people from the evil tribes of Gog and Magog. Those tribes are mentioned in the Bible, particularly Revelation 20:8 where they align themselves with Satan for the final battle with God. So, this ruler is depicted as just, punishing the wicked and rewarding the righteous, and giving honor to God, so the story may serve as a lesson on power, humility, and divine providence.

Building the wall.
Persian miniature from a book of Falnama (r. 1524–1576),
in the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin.

            After these deep, rather difficult stories Muhammad gets back to the basics. One thing I admire about Muhammad’s teachings is that they are in essence very simple. (But like Christianity, Muslim scholars make it much more complicated and often more perverse than intended.) Consider this near the end of the sura:

Their recompense for having disbelieved and made fun of My messages and My messengers will be Hell. But those who believe and do good deeds will be given the Gardens of Paradise. There they will remain, never wishing to leave. 18:106-108

And then the final verse of the sura:

Anyone who fears to meet his Lord should do good deeds and give no one a share in the worship due to his Lord. (18:110)

This really sums up Muhammad’s basic doctrine that he repeats again and again in sura after sura: believe in the one God and worship Him alone, and do good deeds. If only Islam could keep it that simple. But then Jesus also condensed his doctrine to “love God and love one another” (Mark 12:28-34 and others). And look how complicated theologians have made that religion in the past 1900 years. But the heart of the teachings of both Jesus and Muhammad are quite similar and quite simple. Too bad people prefer to fight over the competing theologies spawned by their teachings rather than peacefully living out the principles at the core of their teachings.

            What is it that drives people to take simple, understandable religion and turn it into complex theology? Why add so many rules that nobody can follow them? Or add doctrines that even faithful believers find difficult to explain? I believe the KISS principle should be applied to all religions: Keep It Simple, Stupid!

(Be sure to add your comments and questions below.)

Thinking exercises:

1. (If you are a believer:) At the judgment do you think Jesus will ask you to explain the Trinity and Transubstantiation, or will he ask you if you lived a life of love?

2. Will Allah ask you if you believe in Him and did good deeds, or will He ask you how many times you prayed each day and whether you kept the women properly covered?

3. Now pretend you are the Supreme Being. How are you going to decide who receives eternal bliss and who gets punished? And how would you decide what punishment would be fitting for people?