L'Islam pour les Nuls: A Complete Guide to Allah (Abul Kasem)

Abstract
This essay painstakingly analyses Allah, the Islamic God. Allah is at the core of religion of Islam. Every act, every ritual, every Jihad, every Islamic incursion, every Islamic bloodshed, every Islamic law is designed for only one purpose—to please Allah. Who is this Allah? Where did He come from? Where does He live now? What are His daily activities? What is His temperament? What are His likes and dislikes? Does Allah have an Executive Office?—how does that office look like? Does Allah have a Throne? Does Allah have a physical body or is Allah just amorphous—without any corporeal existence –but only an invisible, incomprehensible, a never-to-be-understood entity? These are extremely blasphemous questions. None the less, these questions haunt every Muslim’s mind from the moment he hears Allah’s name to the moment of his last breath. But he never gets any satisfactory answers to these perennial questions. For eternity, Allah would like to remain an enigma to the Muslims. Islamists always advance this mysterious, elusive nature of Allah as the epitome of Islam—Allah has to remain obscure, recondite and ephemeral—this is what makes Islam great—the hide-and-seek game of Allah with His devotees. This essay is an attempt to remove this antediluvian, outdated and irrational method to understanding Allah. The most surprising result of this enquiry about Allah is that: Allah is not at all a mystery. He is just like any one of us—a living and breathing human being, so to speak! Allah is not esoteric; neither is He hiding from us. He lived, yes, with Muhammad, but did not die with Muhammad. Based on irrefutable evidences, this essay will tell the story of Allah and how Muhammad advanced Allah as a deity to be worshipped—just because he wanted to be worshipped—in the name of Allah, in the manner the Pagans worshipped Allah.

Introduction

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The very first two words in every sura (chapter) in the Holy Qur’an, are Bismi Allah (sometimes written as Bismillah or Basmallah) which, translated into English mean: In the name of Allah. The only exception is sura 9 (Sura Baraat or Sura at-Taubat). The reason why these two words (I mean, Bismi Allah) are missing from sura 9 is that it is a continuation of sura 8 (spoils of war)—during compilation of the Qur’an (probably, during Uthmanic compilation), this sura (sura 9) was separated out from sura 8. There are no word/words holier than those two words. In Islamic parlance those two words are of supreme importance in almost all religious rituals. Truly, Bismi Allah are the key words which unravel the mystery of Allah.

Bismi Allah words are routine incantation in Islamic rituals, such as: attending a prayer, marriage, eating, drinking, reading, writing, sleeping, waking up, walking down, sitting down, standing up, running, playing, urinating, kissing, copulating, sitting for an examination, visiting a doctor, setting out on a journey….and what not. These two extraordinarily holy words are also invoked during Islamic beheadings, slaughtering an animal, waging a war (Jihad), defecating and visiting graves. Allahu Akbar, the other two sanctified Islamic words, almost always follows Bismi Allah. Thanks to the Islamist terrorists and the snuff videos on Islamic beheading and decapitation shown in the Internet, I do not have to write much about these two other hallowed words of Islam. The world has already associated these two words (I mean Allahu Akbar) with terror, evil and murder. Curiously, one might notice that the most consecrated words, i.e. Bismi Allah are not announced during the cacophony of Islamic cry for prayer (Azan). Instead, we hear Allahu Akbar (three times) at the beginning and towards the end.

Bismi Allah words are not Muhammad’s invention. The Pagans in Mecca used those two sanctified words, though infrequently, in most of their rituals as they also considered Allah to be their supreme deity or God. They called this ritual Tasmiya. Its probable origin is from the Jewish custom of invoking HaShem when they recited the Torah. It is not clear, who invented this custom—but it is certainly Muhammad who steadfastly instituted this tradition (invoking Bismi Allah) as a compulsory universal practice for the Muslims. As you proceed diligently with this essay, you will understand why Muhammad had made it obligatory to cite Bismi Allah in every occasion I mentioned previously.

Thus, it is important that we meticulously dissect these two valuable words: Bismi Allah, which are the roots of all Islamic acts. This will help us to understand the mindset of Allah, which in turn is the key in understanding the state of mind of Muhammad and his religion, Islam. This is the prime focus of this essay—to decipher an esoteric Allah and His inseparable partner Muhammad.

The readers might find that certain sections are repetitive—to some extent. It happened simply because the Qur’an and ahadith are repetitive. I tried to avoid repetition as far as possible, but in a few cases this (repetition) could not be avoided all together.

Special Thanks
During the last few months I have received many e–mails from readers who were very curious to know why I have been so silent. I am so flabbergasted by their show of sincere warmth, unbound encouragement and good advice, that I shall be doing injustice to these readers if I fail to formally thank them for their genuine love, affection and understanding. I never knew that my writings could move people. I thought my essays were trash—to be thrown in the dustbin of history. The only rewards, so far, I received were hate mails—hundreds of them and threats to kill me—just for speaking my mind. So, when I read e–mails from those readers who truthfully demonstrate their empathy for me, it brings much ardor in me—the ardor to continue with my pen. I feel very emotional reading those heartfelt e–mails. A few readers were concerned about my safety when the Islamist terrorists issued death fatwa to slaughter us. Their list also included I. To these genuine well–wishers, I would like to extend a big thank.—You are the persons for whom I would like to leave all my dedications—so posterity will not forget what we stood up for, –a world devoid of religious anarchy and religious bigotry. You are the harbingers—the fulfillment of the longing for a world free of religious insanity.

Let us now begin with the ‘Beginning’—the nature of Allah.

Allah is for real

Muslims often think of their God, Allah, to be someone who is omnipresent, omnipotent, shapeless, infallible, ever‑awake and rules the world through His absolute commandments as enshrined in the holy Qur’an. According to many Islamist apologists, none could comprehend the nature and extent of Allah, the Islamic God. Many of these erudite scholars write prolix essays filled with Islamic drivels. They will write, extolling various features of the invisible, vacuous, incomprehensible and impenetrable Allah. Imbued with utmost devotion to Allah, many Muslims, five times a day, will seek bounty and forgiveness from Him. What do you think this means? Obviously, there is some kind of contradiction here. On one hand, during conversing loosely, they will portray the concept of Allah as someone who is unreal and ephemeral, while during prayer they will consider Allah to be like a real entity who has eyes to see, ears to hear and has the physical means to deliver to the faithful all their requests. So, what is the correct situation—a non-physical, unreal, unseen, ephemeral Allah or a real, temporal, physical deity? Believe it or not: when we search the Islam’s main sources: the Qur’an, Hadith, Sirah (Muhammad’s biography) and Sharia, we invariably derive one simple conclusion—that Allah, truly is for real, that He, Himself had written the Qur’an with His own hands and that He, truly metes out justice and bounties with His own hands.

To begin with, an impeccable Islamic scholar, Ali Dashti contends that most Islamic scholars believe that just like human beings Allah has limbs and organs (68:42).This means: Allah is anthropomorphic!—with real hands, eyes, ears, legs, feet and body! Quoting from an immaculate Islamic source (Abu ‘Amer), Ali Dashti says that according to real Islam Allah has limbs and organs like a human being. Abu ‘Amer uses verse 68:42 to describe the true nature of Allah. Here is what Dashti writes:

Abu ‘Amer ol–Qorashi, a Moor from Majorca who died at Baghdad in 524/1130, declared that it was heretical to understand the sentence “There is nothing similar to Him” in verse 9 of sura 42(osh–Showra) (this is verse 42:11in the Qur’an translation of Yusuf Ali—author’s note) as meaning what it says; it meant, in his opinion, that nothing resembles God in respect of His divinity, because “God possesses limbs and organs like yours and mine.” As proof of God’s possession of such limbs and organs, Abu ‘Amer ol-Qorashi cited the description of the last judgement in verse 42 of sura 68 (ol-Qalam) “On the day when the leg will be bared and they will he bidden to kneel but cannot,” and then slapped his thigh and said, “God has legs just like mine.” (Dashti, 1994, p.158)

That’s right. Allah has limbs and organs just like us—the human beings, which He had created with His own hands. Here are those two verses which confirm that Allah is truly anthropomorphic.

YUSUFALI: (He is) the Creator of the heavens and the earth: He has made for you pairs from among yourselves, and pairs among cattle: by this means does He multiply you: there is nothing whatever like unto Him, and He is the One that hears and sees (all things). [042.011]
YUSUFALI: The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,- [Q 068.042]

Ali Dashti continues:

Allah is anthropomorphic! According to Ghazali, Mutazillites were infidels and heretics. Allah will step down from His throne—said Ghazali.(Dashti, 1994, p. 157).

Sourcing Imam Ahmad b. Taymiya, one of the highest among the Islamic scholars, Dashti further writes that he (Ibn Taymiya) repudiated Ghazali (the most celebrated Islamic scholar—many Muslims consider Ghazali’s work as next to the Qur’an) who did not have a clear idea about Allah—believing that Allah is not a physical entity. Ibn Taymiya even called Ghazali a heretic. Ibn Taymiya strongly believed that Allah is really anthropomorphic! He will step down from His throne! Dashti writes:

Many Moslems, however, have had rigid minds. Such men only accepted interpretations which are confirmed by Hadiths, and they considered any use of reason in religious matters to be misleading and impermissible. They took the above quoted Qur’anic phrases literally and believed that God possesses a head, mouth, eyes, ears, hands, and feet just like those of human being. In the opinion of Abu Ma’mar al–Hodhali (d. 236/850), a preacher in Baghdad, anyone who denied this belief was an infidel. Adherents of the school of the famous traditionist and lawyer Ahmad b. Hanbal (164/780–241/855) have stuck to the same unthinking literalism ever since. The school’s chief later exponent, Ahmad b. Taymiya, was so fanatical that he called the Mo’tazelites infidels and Ghazali a heretic; on one celebrated occasion, after quoting the Qor’an in a sermon, he said to the congregation as he stepped down from the pulpit of the Great Mosque at Damascus, “God will step down from His throne in the same way as I am stepping down from this pulpit.” .(Dashti, 1994, p. 157)

Dashti also writes that Muslim scholars agree that the Qur’an is not a miracle. Al-Maari wrote an imitation of the Qur’an. He writes:

It is widely held that the blind Syrian poet Abu’l‑‘Ala ol‑Maari (368/979–450/1058) wrote his Ketab ol‑fusul wa’‑ghayat, of which a part survives, an imitation of the Qor’an (Dashti, 1994, p. 48).

Here is another proof that Allah is for real and possesses human qualities (anthropomorphic):

Enoch walked with Allah 19:56-57, 21:85-86 (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.42).

Allah walks with human beings (in Paradise, of course)—this is impossible to believe. But look what the Qur’an says!

YUSUFALI: Also mention in the Book the case of Idris: He was a man of truth (and sincerity), (and) a prophet: [Q 019.056]
YUSUFALI: And We raised him to a lofty station. [Q 019.057]

In foot note 55 of volume vi of Tabari we read:

A Prophet mentioned in the Qur’an as “raised to high station “ by God (19:56f, sec21:85). He is usually identified with the Biblical Enoch (Akhnukh) who “walked with God, and he was not, for God took He” (genesis 5:24).” (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.42).

This means Allah surely has feet, just like humans, to be able to walk with a human being such as Prophet Enoch (Idris).

Further evidence that Islamic God, Allah is a living entity, alive and going about His daily business, like other creatures is glimpsed from a hadith. In Sahih Bukhari we read:

People used to worship Muhammad till he died, Abu Bakr then claimed that Muhammad was dead but if people worshipped Allah then Allah is alive…(Sahih Bukhari, 5.59.733)

Volume 5, Book 59, Number 733:

Narrated 'Aisha:
Abu Bakr came from his house at As-Sunh on a horse. He dismounted and entered the Mosque, but did not speak to the people till he entered upon 'Aisha and went straight to Allah's Apostle who was covered with Hibra cloth (i.e. a kind of Yemenite cloth). He then uncovered the Prophet's face and bowed over him and kissed him and wept, saying, "Let my father and mother be sacrificed for you. By Allah, Allah will never cause you to die twice. As for the death which was written for you, has come upon you."

Narrated Ibn 'Abbas: Abu Bakr went out while Umar bin Al-Khattab was talking to the people. Abu Bakr said, "Sit down, O 'Umar!" But 'Umar refused to sit down. So the people came to Abu Bakr and left Umar. Abu Bakr said, "To proceed, if anyone amongst you used to worship Muhammad , then Muhammad is dead, but if (anyone of) you used to worship Allah, then Allah is Alive and shall never die. Allah said:--"Muhammad is no more than an Apostle, and indeed (many) apostles have passed away before him..(till the end of the Verse)......Allah will reward to those who are thankful." (3.144) By Allah, it was as if the people never knew that Allah had revealed this Verse before till Abu Bakr recited it and all the people received it from him, and I heard everybody reciting it (then).

Narrated Az-Zuhri: Said bin Al-Musaiyab told me that 'Umar said, "By Allah, when I heard Abu Bakr reciting it, my legs could not support me and I fell down at the very moment of hearing him reciting it, declaring that the Prophet had died."

The holy Qur’an also confirms that Allah is a living being—like any other creatures. Here is a verse from the Qur’an:

YUSUFALI: (All) faces shall be humbled before (Him) - the Living, the Self-Subsisting, Eternal: hopeless indeed will be the man that carries iniquity (on his back). [Q 020.111]

One of the most enigmatic episode of Muhammad’s life was his alleged journey from his temporary sleeping place, Umm Hani’s (Muhammad’s cousin sister) bed‑room to the mosque (this is questionable, of course, since no mosque existed at Jerusalem during Muhammad’s time) of Jerusalem, Bait al‑Maqdis and then to Paradise, to meet Allah. Ibn Sa’d writes that on the night of this journey Muhammad went to Umm Hani’s house, offered isha prayer (night prayer) with her, boarded a Buraq, a half‑horse–half–female shaped angel creature and departed for Jerusalem and from there took another flight with this Buraq (or in some version climbed a long ladder) and ascended to Paradise to meet Allah. (Ibn Sa’d, 1972, p. 1.248).

We might laugh at this infantile imaginary travel which could only be conceived by a person in hallucination under the influence of a strong drug. But look! What one of Islam’s principal sources, Sahih Bukhari writes:

The night journey to Bait ul-Maqdis (Isra) was a real sight and not a dream (context of verse 17:60) …(Sahih Bukhari, 5.58.228). This is a lengthy hadith, I am quoting just the relevant part.

Volume 5, Book 58, Number 228: Narrated Ibn 'Abbas:
Regarding the Statement of Allah"
……………………………………….
"And We granted the vision (Ascension to the heavens) which We made you see (as an actual eye witness) was only made as a trial for the people." (17.60)

Ibn Abbas added: The sights which Allah's Apostle was shown on the Night Journey when he was taken to Bait-ulMaqdis (i.e. Jerusalem) were actual sights, (not dreams). And the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Quran is the tree of Zaqqum (itself).

The verse (17:60) mentioned in this Sahih (authentic) hadith reads:

YUSUFALI: Behold! We told thee that thy Lord doth encompass mankind round about: We granted the vision which We showed thee, but as a trial for men,- as also the Cursed Tree (mentioned) in the Qur'an: We put terror (and warning) into them, but it only increases their inordinate transgression! [Q 017.060]

Those two sources prove that Allah is for real and He really has His residence in Paradise. Had Allah been everywhere, as many Islamists believe, it was not necessary for Muhammad to embark on this trip. Allah could simply manifest Himself to Muhammad in any form and talked to him. Allah could do this in an instant. So why should He waste time and resource to send a Buraq to Muhammad just to accost him?

Therefore, we can safely derive this conclusion: Allah is for real. He is physical and has a fixed residence, wherever it might be.

Allah is human-shaped; He looks like Adam

Muhammad had great difficulty to explain to the illiterate, un‑informed and gullible Bedouin folks his twisted concept of Allah. Those desert folks always associated their concept of god/s to a physical entity. So, when Muhammad introduced the idea of a single, unseen Allah, they were very confused and vehemently questioned his sanity,—since no one had ever seen this Allah (although they believed in a supreme deity whom they also called Allah). Therefore, Muhammad had to associate his Allah with some living creatures; and what could be better than associating the mien of Allah with the first and the original human being, Adam? He told his people that Allah did really look like Adam. Here is a hadith from Sahih Bukhari: Adam was shaped completely like Allah; Adam was 60 cubits (30m) in height...(Sahih Bukhari, 8.74.246)

Volume 8, Book 74, Number 246: Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "Allah created Adam in his complete shape and form (directly), sixty cubits (about 30 meters) in height. When He created him, He said (to him), "Go and greet that group of angels sitting there, and listen what they will say in reply to you, for that will be your greeting and the greeting of your offspring." Adam (went and) said, 'As-Salamu alaikum (Peace be upon you).' They replied, 'AsSalamu-'Alaika wa Rahmatullah (Peace and Allah's Mercy be on you). So they increased 'Wa Rahmatullah' The Prophet added 'So whoever will enter Paradise, will be of the shape and form of Adam. Since then the creation of Adam's (offspring) (i.e. stature of human beings is being diminished continuously) to the present time."

In Sahih Muslim we read:

Adam is the image of Allah… (Sahih Muslim, 32.6325)

Book 032, Number 6325: This hadith has been transmitted on the authority of Abu Huraira and in the hadith transmitted on the authority of Ibn Hatim Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) is reported to have said: When any one of you fights with his brother, he should avoid his face for Allah created Adam in His own image.

To avoid the embarrassment, in the print version of Sahih Muslim, the translator of Sahih Muslim, the Islamist scholar, ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi, in a foot note, writes confusing remarks which could only confirm the absolute perplexity that Muhammad had created with his own concept of Allah. The learned ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi writes:

We have translated Surathi as His image instead of His form as Allah has no definite form and shape. The words that Allah created Adam in his own image do not mean that he has been fashioned after His image or form, as the finite being cannot be fashioned after the pattern of Infinite. Here the words “His image” have been used in order to give an idea of the high dignity of man and of his being the roof and crown of his creation and of His being the vicegerent of the Lord upon the earth. According to some scholars, the pronoun “his” does not stand for God, but for the person who has been beaten on the face. According to this elucidation, the translation of the sentence should be: For Allah created Adam in his shape (the shape in which the victim too has been created). It is therefore the duty of everyone not to beat the face which is a replica of the face of Adam. (Sahih Muslim, 2004, p. 4.1660, foot note 2872).

Note that the translator imposes his own version of concept of Allah, which clearly contradicts the Qur’an’s idea of Allah and the ahadith in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Obviously, Professor ‘Abdul Hamid is as confused as any Bedouin could have been during Muhammad’s time!

Allah noticed the nakedness of Adam and Eve (Ibn Sa’d, 1972, p. 1.22).

Yes, Allah was embarrassed seeing a naked Adam. As Allah looked like Adam, He surely should be! Allah could never be naked. So, He instructed Adam and Eve to be properly dressed. On this, Ibn Sa’d writes:

When Allah noticed the nakedness of Adam and Eve, He commanded him to slaughter a male sheep out of eight pairs which Allah had cast from the heavens. So Adam took the male sheep and slaughtered it. Then he obtained its wool which Eve span (sic). Then Adam along with Eve weaved it. So Adam weaved a garment for himself and a shift and a head‑covering

For Eve. Both of them dressed themselves in their garments and met together on the day of Jam’a and therefore the day was named jam’a; they recognised each other at ‘arafah and so it was named ‘Arafah.

Allah has arms, legs and ears but the idols do not have them

From the previous discussions, we should have very little doubt about this. Muhammad’s Allah, does indeed take after a human being. Since Allah looks like a human being, it then follows logically that Allah must have all the physical features of a human being.

Thus, in the Qur’an we read that Allah has eyes and ears…(42:11).

Allah has hands; He created Adam with His own hands…(38:75, 48:10).

YUSUFALI: (Allah) said: "O Iblis! What prevents thee from prostrating thyself to one whom I have created with my hands? Art thou haughty? Or art thou one of the high (and mighty) ones?" [Q 038.075]
YUSUFALI: Verily those who plight their fealty to thee do no less than plight their fealty to Allah: the Hand of Allah is over their hands: then any one who violates his oath, does so to the harm of his own soul, and any one who fulfils what he has covenanted with Allah,- Allah will soon grant him a great Reward. [Q 048.010]

Commenting on the above two verses, the translator of Sahih Bukhari, Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan writes that those two verses confirm two hands for Allah, but there is no similarity for them. Readers might be confounded at such a convoluted remark, but hold on, Dr Muhsin writes further:

This is not like as some people think that Allah is present everywhere—here, there and even inside the breasts of men (Khan, 1994, p. 1067).

Dr Muhsin Khan has confirmed what I wrote beforehand that Allah is anthropomorphic and He has a fixed residence.

In Sahih Bukhari we read that Allah does have real physical hands. But His hands are so huge that He could grab the entire earth in one of His hands. Perhaps this hugeness of Allah’s hand is the dissimilarity with humans’ hand when Dr Muhsin Khan mentioned Allah has hands but there is no similarity for them. Let us read this hadith.

Allah will hold the whole earth and roll all the heavens up in his right hand...(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.336)

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 336: Narrated Abu Huraira:

I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "Allah will hold the whole earth, and roll all the heavens up in His Right Hand, and then He will say, 'I am the King; where are the kings of the earth?"'

Allah has huge feet. He puts His foot over hell–fire. That’s right. Commenting on verse 50:30, Sahih Bukhari says exactly this. Let us first read verse 50:30.

YUSUFALI: One Day We will ask Hell, "Art thou filled to the full?" It will say, "Are there any more (to come)?" [Q 050.030]

Here are the ahadith from Sahih Bukhari:

50:30 Allah puts his foot over hell fire...(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.371, 373)

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 371: Narrated Anas:
The Prophet said, "The people will be thrown into the (Hell) Fire and it will say: "Are there any more (to come)?' (50.30) till Allah puts His Foot over it and it will say, 'Qati! Qati! (Enough Enough!)'"

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 373: Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "Paradise and the Fire (Hell) argued, and the Fire (Hell) said, "I have been given the privilege of receiving the arrogant and the tyrants.' Paradise said, 'What is the matter with me? Why do only the weak and the humble among the people enter me?' On that, Allah said to Paradise. 'You are My Mercy which I bestow on whoever I wish of my servants.' Then Allah said to the (Hell) Fire, 'You are my (means of) punishment by which I punish whoever I wish of my slaves. And each of you will have its fill.' As for the Fire (Hell), it will not be filled till Allah puts His Foot over it whereupon it will say, 'Qati! Qati!' At that time it will be filled, and its different parts will come closer to each other; and Allah will not wrong any of His created beings. As regards Paradise, Allah will create a new creation to fill it with."

Here are two similar ahadith from Sahih Muslim:

Allah would place his foot on hell when the hell is filled with sinners…(Sahih Muslim, 40.6823, 6825).

Book 040, Number 6823:
Anas b. Malik reported that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said that the Hell would continue to say: Is there anything more, until Allah, the Exalted and High, would place His foot therein and that would say: Enough, enough, by Your Honour, and some parts of it would draw close to the other.

Book 040, Number 6825:
'Abd al-Wahhab b. Ata' reported in connection with the words of Allah, the Exalted and the Glorious: We would say to Hell on the Day of Resurrection: Have you been completely filled up? and it would say: Is there anything -more? And he stated on the authority of Anas b. Malik that Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: (The sinners) would be thrown therein and it would continue to say: Is there anything more, until Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, would keep His foot there- in and some of its part would draw close to the other and it would say: Enough, enough, by Thy Honour and by Thy Dignity, and there would be enough space in Paradise until Allah would create a new creation and He would make them accommodate that spare place in Paradise.

Even the translators of The Noble Qur’an and Sahih Bukhari, Drs al–Hilali and Muhammad Muhsin Khan, having included this hadith in a foot note admits the physical nature of Allah’s foot (Hilali and Khan, 1999, The Noble Qur’an, p. 679, foot note 1).

Embarrassed with such mindless, cock‑and‑bull ahadith many contemporary Islamist scholars twist the meaning of those ahadith and contain that those allusion of the physical attributes of Allah are metaphorical. Here is a comment from none but the hadith scholar Professor ‘Abdul Hamid Siddiqi.

Hand is here used not in the literal sense, but in metaphorical sense. (Siddiqi. 2004, p. 1.151, footnote 388)

In the holy Qur’an (35:41) we read that Allah grasps the sky and the earth firmly lest they move away from their places; only Allah could guarantee the continued existence of the heavens and the earth. This verse clearly depicts the hugeness of Allah’s hand and personifies Allah’s might so much so, that only Allah has the physical strength to keep perfectly the earth in its position of rest.

Here is the verse 35:41

PICKTHAL: Lo! Allah graspeth the heavens and the earth that they deviate not, and if they were to deviate there is not one that could grasp them after Him. Lo! He is ever Clement, Forgiving. Allah does have the physical ability of hearing and seeing. Here is a hadith from Sunaan Abu Dawud:

Sunaan Abu Dawud, Vol. III, Hhadith Number 4710Abu Yunus Sulaim b. Jubair, client of Abu Hurairah, said: I heard Abu Hurairah recite this verse (4:58): “Allah doth command you to render back your trusts to those to whom they are due”…up to “For Allah is He who heareth and seeth all things. He said: I saw the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) putting his thumb on his ear and finger on his eye.
Abu Huraira said: I saw the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) reciting this verse and putting his fingers. Ibn Yunus said that al‑Muqri said: “Allah hears and sees” means that Allah has the power to hearing and seeing.

As usual, embarrassed with such incredulous hadith, the translator of Sunaan Abu Dawud, Professor Ahmad Hasan, in a foot note, vehemently denies the existence of Allah’s physical organs like ears and eyes. He rather blames the Jahmiyyah (heretics) for such an idea. In a foot note, he writes:

The Jahmiyyah did not believe in Divine attributes. This tradition refuted their view. Allah does not have the organs of hearing and seeing, i.e. ears and eyes, but their power. (Hasan, 2001, p. 3.1324, foot note 4121).

Needless to say, this is a prevarication by Professor Hasan to impose his personal opinion on unsuspecting readers.

Let us read what Tirmidhi Hadith says about Allah’s finger. In The Noble Qur’an, Dr Muhammad Taqi-uddin Al‑Hilali and Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan comments on verse 7:143 which talks about Allah’s conversation with Moses. This verse reads as follows:

YUSUFALI: When Moses came to the place appointed by Us, and his Lord addressed him, He said: "O my Lord! show (Thyself) to me, that I may look upon thee." Allah said: "By no means canst thou see Me (direct); But look upon the mount; if it abide in its place, then shalt thou see Me." When his Lord manifested His glory on the Mount, He made it as dust. And Moses fell down in a swoon. When he recovered his senses he said: "Glory be to Thee! to Thee I turn in repentance, and I am the first to believe." [Q 007.143]

Here is the comment by these two impeccable Islamist scholars:

The appearance of Allah to the mountain was very little of Him. It was approximately equal to the tip of one’s little finger as explained by the Prophet when he recited this verse (This Hadith is quoted by At‑Tirmidhi) (Hilali and Khan, 196, p. 225, foot note 1)

Muhammad was so convinced of the anthropomorphic nature of Allah that he even compared the limbs of the idols of the Arab Pagans to those of Allah. Ridiculing the idols of the Bedouin polytheists, he told them that their idols’ limbs were useless, whereas Allah’s hands, eyes and feet are real and workable.

Let us read verse 7:194-196 from the holy Qur’an:

Idols have no legs to walk, no hands to hold, no eyes to see and no ears to hear; you may try in vain to call on them to smite Allah (this means that Allah has feet, hands and ears)…7:194–196:

YUSUFALI: Verily those whom ye call upon besides Allah are servants like unto you: Call upon them, and let them listen to your prayer, if ye are (indeed) truthful! [Q 7.194]
YUSUFALI: Have they feet to walk with? Or hands to lay hold with? Or eyes to see with? Or ears to hear with? Say: "Call your 'god-partners', scheme (your worst) against me, and give me no respite! [Q 7.195]
YUSUFALI: "For my Protector is Allah, Who revealed the Book (from time to time), and He will choose and befriend the righteous [Q 7.196]

Muhammad was adamant that his Allah was for real; that is, Allah does have physical limbs. To strengthen his claim he compared the eye of Dajjal (anti‑Christ) to that of Allah. He claimed that Dajjal is one-eyed, but Allah is not. Here is a hadith from Sahih Bukhari:

Dajjal is one-eyed but Allah is not…(Sahih Bukhari, 4.55.553)

Volume 4, Book 55, Number 553: Narrated Ibn Umar:
Once Allah's Apostle stood amongst the people, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then mentioned the Dajjal saying, "l warn you against him (i.e. the Dajjal) and there was no prophet but warned his nation against him. No doubt, Noah warned his nation against him but I tell you about him something of which no prophet told his nation before me. You should know that he is one-eyed, and Allah is not one-eyed."

Sahih Muslim writes that Allah is not deaf; He can talk and listen and he is really an entity—a physical entity, to be precise, just the likes of a human being.

Let us read this hadith from Sahih Muslim:

Allah is not deaf or absent; the treasure of Paradise is reciting ‘there is no might and no power but that of Allah’…(Sahih Muslim, 35.6528)

Book 035, Number 6528:
Abu Musa reported that he (and his other companions) were climbing upon the hillock along with Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and when any person climbed up, he pronounced (loudly):" There is no god but Allah, Allah is the Greatest." Thereupon Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: Verily, you are not supplicating One Who is deaf or absent. He said: Abu Musa or Abdullah b Qais, should I not direct you to the words (which form) the treasure of Paradise? I said: Allah's Messenger, what are these? He said:" There is no might and no power but that of Allah."

Allah will shake hands. Yes, that’s correct. Allah does have arms to shake hands with the His ardent faithful followers.

Here is a hadith from Sunann ibn Majah:

Sunaan ibn Majah, Vol. I Hadith Nnumber 104‘Ubayy b. Ka’b (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him said, “The first person with whom Allah will shake hands (on the Day of Judgment), will be ‘Umar and he will be the first man to whom Allah will pay salutation (say: Assalamu ‘alaika) and he will be the first man whom he will hold with his Hand and make him enter the Paradise.

According to Al-Zawa’id, its isnad is daif. It contains in it Dawud b. ‘Ata al‑Madani and all the scholars are unanimous about his du’f (weakness). The other transmitters are reliable and sound. As‑Suyuti has said, “Hafiz ‘Imad ud-Din b. Kathir in his Jami al‑Masanid has said: This hadith is highly munkar (disagreeable) and is not far from being a maudu (fabricated) hadith.

In case we are wondering about the content of the second paragraph of this hadith, here is the explanation. According to Ibn Majah, a person, named Dawud b ‘Ata al‑Madani who is one of the narrators of this hadith is not a very reliable narrator of hadith. The other narrators are reliable and the text of the hadith is acceptable, though this might be weak. Another opinion is that this hadith could be fabricated.

The bottom line is: though this hadith might be weak and controversial there is no compelling reason to reject this hadith, out‑of‑hand, or render it totally un‑authentic. At best, it is controversial; at worst it is a weak hadith, but not completely inauthentic.

Here is another proof from the holy Qur’an that Allah does indeed have physical eyes to see what His Prophets are doing. In fact, Allah instructed Noah to construct an arc right in front of His eyes. After inspecting Noah’s accomplishment, Allah vouched the complete annihilation of the wrong-doers.

Here is the verse 011:036-037

YUSUFALI: It was revealed to Noah: "None of thy people will believe except those who have believed already! So grieve no longer over their (evil) deeds. [Q 011.036]
YUSUFALI: "But construct an Ark under Our eyes and Our inspiration, and address Me no (further) on behalf of those who are in sin: for they are about to be overwhelmed (in the Flood)." [Q 011.037]

Allah’s two hands are outstretched

After Muhammad had migrated to Medina, he remained in penury. Many of his followers went hungry for days and depended on peoples’ charity for their daily living. To placate his critics, especially the Jews, Muhammad insisted on the abundance supply form His Allah. This was not forthcoming; so the Jews said that Muhammad’s Allah is, after all, not so rich On this, Muhammad claimed that the Jews had falsely said that "Allah's hand" is tied up; in reality both His hands are outstretched. This means that Allah does have two hands

This claim of Allah’s two physical hands has been recorded in the Quran:

YUSUFALI: The Jews say: "Allah's hand is tied up." Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for the (blasphemy) they utter. Nay, both His hands are widely outstretched: He giveth and spendeth (of His bounty) as He pleaseth. But the revelation that cometh to thee from Allah increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. Amongst them we have placed enmity and hatred till the Day of Judgment. Every time they kindle the fire of war, Allah doth extinguish it; but they (ever) strive to do mischief on earth. And Allah loveth not those who do mischief. [Q 005.064]

With His own two outstretched hands Allah created Adam. Having done so, Allah was greatly dismayed that Iblis, the Satan, refrained from worshipping His own hands’ creation, Adam. The holy Qur’an confirms that Allah indeed created Adam with His own two hands.

Let us read verse 38:75:

PICKTHAL: He said: O Iblis! What hindereth thee from falling prostrate before that which I have created with both My hands? Art thou too proud or art thou of the high exalted? [Q 38:75]

Not only that the holy Qur’an confirms the two physical hands for Allah, it also says that Allah will use His two outstretched hands to fold up the heavens (universe)—much like a person who folds a piece of mat or rug with his two hands. After folding up the heavens with His two outstretched hands, He will then hold them (the universe) in His right hand!

Here is the Qur’an talking about Allah’s Hand.

On the resurrection day, the whole earth will be within the fistful of Allah; He will fold up the heavens (universe) inside His right hand (39:67).

YUSUFALI: No just estimate have they made of Allah, such as is due to Him: On the Day of Judgment the whole of the earth will be but His handful, and the heavens will be rolled up in His right hand: Glory to Him! High is He above the Partners they attribute to Him! [Q 039.067]

Allah’s hand holds the balance of justice

Muhammad insisted that His Allah has hands and with one of His hands, Allah holds the balance of justice. It is much like the picture or sketch one might have seen of a judge who holds a balance of justice in one of his/her hands and a sword in another. Muhammad wanted his followers to have a vivid picture of the uprightness of his Allah. So, he had to use this similarity, which he might have seen in some inscriptions of Roman justice system.

Let us read this hadith from Sahih Bukhari:

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 206: Narrated Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "Allah said, 'Spend (O man), and I shall spend on you." He also said, "Allah's Hand is full, and (its fullness) is not affected by the continuous spending night and day." He also said, "Do you see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and the Earth? Nevertheless, what is in His Hand is not decreased, and His Throne was over the water; and in His Hand there is the balance (of justice) whereby He raises and lowers (people)."

Sahih Bukhari also confirms that Allah has a right hand and a left hand. On His left hand is the balance of justice. Nothing is mentioned what Allah holds in His right hand. One may imagine what He holds in His right hand must be very huge—probably, the earth’s population or a huge sack of money or a bounty. This hadith does not mention the content of Allah’s right hand, except that it is full. Let us read this hadith:

Allah's right hand is full, on the other hand He holds the balance of justice, His throne is over the water...(Sahih Bukhari, 9.93.515)

Volume 9, Book 93, Number 515: Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "The Right (Hand) of Allah Is full, and (Its fullness) is not affected by the continuous spending night and day. Do you see what He has spent since He created the Heavens and the Earth? Yet all that has not decreased what is in His Right Hand. His Throne is over the water and in His other Hand is the Bounty or the Power to bring about death, and He raises some people and brings others down." (See Hadith No. 508)

Allah has shin

Please do not laugh. We already read that Allah has legs, feet, eyes, hands. To confirm further that Allah is truly anthropomorphic, Muhammad insisted that not only Allah has feet, he even has shin. Verse 68:42 of the holy Qur’an says that on the resurrection day Allah will lay bare His shin for the unbelievers to prostrate; but they will fail to do so.

Let us read verse 68:42

YUSUFALI: The Day that the shin shall be laid bare, and they shall be summoned to bow in adoration, but they shall not be able,- [Q 068.042]

A hadith in Sahih Bukhari says that Allah will, indeed, open His Shin to the unbelievers. This hadith is very long; I shall quote only the relevant part:

Volume 9, Book 93, Number 532s: Narrated Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri:
…Then the Almighty will come to them in a shape other than the one which they saw the first time, and He will say, 'I am your Lord,' and they will say, 'You are not our Lord.' And none will speak: to Him then but the Prophets, and then it will be said to them, 'Do you know any sign by which you can recognize Him?' They will say. 'The Shin,' and so Allah will then uncover His Shin whereupon every believer will prostrate before Him and there will remain those who used to prostrate before Him just for showing off and for gaining good reputation. These people will try to prostrate but their backs will be rigid like one piece of a wood (and they will not be able to prostrate). Then the bridge will be laid across Hell." We, the companions of the Prophet said, "O Allah's Apostle! What is the bridge?...

The above hadith says quite unmistakably that on the Resurrection Day there will be no problem in seeing Allah in His physical form; He will be recognized by His shin.

Allah has a very noble, handsome face

We might wonder: with stretched arms, legs feet, bared shin and protruding ears how will Allah look like. This is also described in the holy Qur’an. Just like a handsome and dignified person, Allah also has a majestic, bountiful and honourable face.

Let us read verse 55:26–27.

YUSUFALI: All that is on earth will perish: [Q 055.026]
YUSUFALI: But will abide (for ever) the Face of thy Lord,- full of Majesty, Bounty and Honour. [Q 055.027]

Let us read another verse. This verse confirms that Allah holds His bounties in His hand.

YUSUFALI: "And believe no one unless he follows your religion." Say: "True guidance is the Guidance of Allah: (Fear ye) Lest a revelation be sent to someone (else) Like unto that which was sent unto you? or that those (Receiving such revelation) should engage you in argument before your Lord?" Say: "All bounties are in the hand of Allah: He granteth them to whom He pleaseth: And Allah careth for all, and He knoweth all things." [Q 003.073]

Dr Takiuddin al-Hilali and Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan, the translators of The Noble Qur’an, commenting on this verse, write:

All that has been revealed in Allah’s Book (the Qur’an) as regards the (Sifat) Qualities of Allah the Most high, like the face, eyes, hands, Shins (Legs), his coming, His rising over His Throne (Istawa) and others, or all that Allah’s Messenger qualified Him in the true authentic Prophet’s Ahadith (narrations) as regards His Qualities like (Nuzul), His descent or His laughing and others, the religious scholars of the Qur’an and the Sunnah believe in these Qualities of Allah and they confirm that these are really His Qualities, without Tawil (interpreting their meanings into different) or Tashbih (giving resemblance) or similarity in any specific creatures) or (Ta’til) (i.e., completely ignoring or denying them, i.e., there is no Face, or Eyes or Hands, or Shins for Allah). These qualities befit or suit only for Allah Alone, and He does not resemble any of (His) creatures. As Allah’s Statement (in the Qur’an): (1) “There is nothing like him, and he is the All-Hearer, the All- Seer.” (V.42:11).” (2) “There is none comparable unto Him.” (V.112-4) (Hilali and Khan, 1996, p. 91, foot notes 1 and 2).

I quoted those few words from two impeccable Islamic scholars to be fair. If anything we could conclude from the above comment it will be: the Qur’an is a minefield of ambiguities, incoherence and contradictions. Those two scholars have simply confirmed this truth. You will learn more of Allah’s contradictions in another part of this essay.

Allah shows His face only to the dead Muslims; the unbelievers will not see His face

To confuse the faithful Muslims, Muhammad’s Allah simply avoids to show His Handsome, Majestic Face to the unbelievers. Only the believers (i.e., the Muslims) will see His face.

Let us read verse 83:13–16:

YUSUFALI: When Our Signs are rehearsed to him, he says, "Tales of the ancients!" [Q 83.13]

YUSUFALI: By no means! but on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do! [Q 083.014]
YUSUFALI: Verily, from (the Light of) their Lord, that Day, will they be veiled. [Q 083.015]
YUSUFALI: Further, they will enter the Fire of Hell. [Q 083.016]

The reason why Muhammad had to resort to this marvellous trick to entice people to Islam is not difficult to fathom. This sura is an early Meccan sura, the time when Muhammad was very weak and just had about a score or so followers. The majority pagan Quraysh, when asked Muhammad to describe his Allah, he failed. It was because the pagans already had a version of Allah of their own (more on this in a separate part). They could not accept Muhammad’s description of Allah. Angry and frustrated, Muhammad simply rebuked the pagans for not accepting his Allah and he resorted to cursing them with the denial of Allah’s blessings. Please note: in the previous section, we noted that Allah will show His Shin to the infidels. One might wonder why Allah has to hide His Face to the unbelievers when they could easily view Allah’s naked Shin. This is, yet another enigma of the Qur’an.

Allah speaks like a human

If we believe what the previous two impeccable Islamist scholars (Hilali and Khan) opined about the anthropomorphic nature of Allah, then the Qur’an must be wrong. In several verses of the Qur’an we read that Allah did talk like a human being. He, as a fire, spoke with Moses (27:9). On a spoken command from Allah, Moses’ stick turned into a snake. Frightened, Moses turned tail; but Allah called back Moses (27:9–10, 28:31). How was it possible for Moses to hear Allah’s voice if Allah did not use the same language as a human would to communicate verbally with Moses? If this is not convincing enough, there is more surprises. The holy Qur’an says that a fearful Moses heard a voice from a tree: it was Allah. Allah called Moses in His own voice. No angel or jinn was there to convey Allah’s messages to Moses. Allah Himself spoke with Moses (28:30). On another occasion, the holy Qur’an maintains, that Allah indeed called Moses in the valley of Tuwa (79:15–16).

Let us read those verses from the Qur’an:

YUSUFALI: But when he came to the (fire), a voice was heard: "Blessed are those in the fire and those around: and glory to Allah, the Lord of the worlds. [Q 027.008]
YUSUFALI: "O Moses! verily, I am Allah, the exalted in might, the wise!.... [Q 027.009]

YUSUFALI: "Now do thou throw thy rod!" But when he saw it moving (of its own accord)as if it had been a snake, he turned back in retreat, and retraced not his steps: "O Moses!" (it was said), "Fear not: truly, in My presence, those called as messengers have no fear,- [Q 027.010]

YUSUFALI: But when he came to the (fire), a voice was heard from the right bank of the valley, from a tree in hallowed ground: "O Moses! Verily I am Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.... [Q 028.030]
YUSUFALI: "Now do thou throw thy rod!" but when he saw it moving (of its own accord) as if it had been a snake, he turned back in retreat, and retraced not his steps: O Moses!" (It was said), "Draw near, and fear not: for thou art of those who are secure. [Q 028.031]

YUSUFALI: Has the story of Moses reached thee? [Q 079.015]

YUSUFALI: Behold, thy Lord did call to him in the sacred valley of Tuwa:- [Q 079.016]

Here is a hadith from Sunaan Abu Dawud, which tells us that Allah indeed spoke directly with Moses without any messengers between them. The funny part is: this was revealed by Adam to Moses when they were arguing in Paradise. Let us read this hilarious hadith:

Sunaan Abu Dawud, volume 3, hadith number 4685:‘Umar b. al-Khattab reported that Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: Moses said: My Lord, show us Adam who caused us and himself to come out from Paradise. So Allah showed him Adam. He asked: Are you our father, Adam? Adam said to him: Yes. He said: Are you the one into whom Allah breathed of His spirit, taught you all the names, and commanded angels (to prostrate) and they prostrated to you? He replied: Yes. He asked: Then what moved you to cause us and yourself to come out from Paradise? Adam asked him: And who are you? He said: I am Moses. He said: You are the Prophet of Banu Israi’l to whom Allah spoke from behind a screen, appointing no messenger between you and Him. He said: Yes. He asked: Did you not find that that was decreed in the Book (records) of Allah before I was created? He replied: Yes. He asked: then why do you blame me about a thing for which Divine had already passed before me? The apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: So Adam got the better of Moses in argument (peace be upon them).

Allah had talked face to face to a jihadist

As per the Islamic rule, when a suicide bomber gives up his life in a killing mission he goes straight to Paradise. He does not need to wait for the Judgment Day, linger for Allah’s decision and then be sent to his rightful abode. After his death, the jihadist (in this case the suicide bomber) instantly meets Allah and Allah talks to him face to face. This proves that Allah speaks like a human being and accosts the diehard jihaditsts just the way we do in this world. Here is a hadith from Ibn Majah:

Sunaan ibn Majah, Vol I, Hadith number 190:Talha b. Khirash is reported to have said, “I heard jabir b. ‘Abdullah (Allah be pleased with him) as saying: As Abdullah b. ‘Amr b. Haram was killed on the day of Uhud (battle), Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) met me and said, “O Jabir should I not tell you what Allah said about your father?” Yahya in his hadith has reported (these words): O Jabir, what is the matter that I see you broken‑hearted…?” He said, “I told him: Allah’s Messenger, my father has been martyred and he left behind some dependants and a debt.” He (the Holy Prophet) said, “Should I not give you the glad-tidings of that with which Allah met your father?” He said, “Yes, Allah’s Messenger.” He (the Holy Prophet) said, “Allah has never talked with anyone but from behind a curtain, but he talked with your father face to face and said, “O My bondsman, desire from Me, I shall grant you.” He said, “My Lord, (I wish) that You give a new life to me and I am killed for Thine sake for the second time. Upon this, the Lord, Hallowed be He said: It has already been decided by me that he will not return to it (a new life.” He said, “My Lord, so convey (this) to those left behind me.” The narrator said that Allah sent down (the verse): Never, they are living with their Lord, they are given provision (3:16).
As‑Samadi said, “This hadith has not singularly been transmitted by Ibn Majah: neither in text nor in isnad. Tirmidhi has transmitted it in at‑Tafsir (i.e. chapter concerning the interpretation of the Qur’anic verses and suras and then has held it as a hasan gharib hadith. We do not know it except from the hadith of Musa b. Ibrahim from whom the eminent scholars of hadith have narrated it.

To reinforce the contention that Allah grants special audience to the jihaditsts, Allah meets them in person immediately after their holy death. Here is another hadith from Sahih Bukhari. This hadith tells us that those Muslims slaughtered at Bir Mauna met Allah; it was in the Qur’an; later this verse was removed (Sahih Bukhari, 4.52.299)

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 299: Narrated Anas:
The people of the tribes of Ril, Dhakwan, 'Usiya and Bani Lihyan came to the Prophet and claimed that they had embraced Islam, and they requested him to support them with some men to fight their own people. The Prophet supported them with seventy men from the Ansar whom we used to call Al-Qurra' (i.e. Scholars) who (out of piety) used to cut wood during the day and pray all the night. So, those people took the (seventy) men till they reached a place called Bi'r-Ma'ana where they betrayed and martyred them. So, the Prophet invoked evil on the tribe of Ril, Dhakwan and Bani Lihyan for one month in the prayer.

Narrated Qatada: Anas told us that they (i.e. Muslims) used to recite a Quranic Verse concerning those martyrs which was:-- "O Allah! Let our people be informed on our behalf that we have met our Lord Who has got pleased with us and made us pleased." Then the Verse was cancelled.

When those young jihaditsts died at Bir Mauna, Gabriel informed Muhammad that the jihaditsts met Allah, they were pleased with Him and Allah was pleased with them; a verse was released on this; later the verse was cancelled (Sahih Bukhari, 4.52.57)

Volume 4, Book 52, Number 57: Narrated Anas:
The Prophet sent seventy men from the tribe of Bani Salim to the tribe of Bani Amir. When they reached there, my maternal uncle said to them, "I will go ahead of you, and if they allow me to convey the message of Allah's Apostle (it will be all right); otherwise you will remain close to me." So he went ahead of them and the pagans granted him security. But while he was reporting the message of the Prophet, they beckoned to one of their men who stabbed him to death. My maternal uncle said, "Allah is Greater! By the Lord of the Kaba, I am successful." After that they attached the rest of the party and killed them all except a lame man who went up to the top of the mountain. (Hammam, a sub-narrator said, "I think another man was saved along with him)." Gabriel informed the Prophet that they (i.e. the martyrs) met their Lord, and He was pleased with them and made them pleased. We used to recite, "Inform our people that we have met our Lord, He is pleased with us and He has made us pleased” Later on this Quranic Verse was cancelled. The Prophet invoked Allah for forty days to curse the murderers from the tribe of Ral, Dhakwan, Bani Lihyan and Bam Usaiya who disobeyed Allah and his Apostle

Those two ahadith tell us that the verse containing this episode was later removed from the Qur’an. We might wonder why? Here is the reason: in this (I mean the cancelled verse) verse the martyrs are talking and not Allah. Read the hadith carefully. If the Qur’an contained such a verse spoken by a human jihadist, the entire credibility of the Qur’an as the Words of Allah and consequently, the entire edifice of Islam will tumble. Muhammad was astute enough to understand this truth. So he acted accordingly—expunged the offending and potentially damaging verse from the Qur’an.

A similar, but a longer version of this hadith can be read in Sahih Bukhari 5.59.421.

Volume 5, Book 59, Number 421: Narrated Anas bin Malik :
The Prophet invoked evil upon those (people) who killed his companions at Bir Mauna for 30 days (in the morning prayer). He invoked evil upon (tribes of) Ril, Lihyan and Usaiya who disobeyed Allah and His Apostle. Allah revealed a Quranic Verse to His Prophet regarding those who had been killed, i.e. the Muslims killed at Bir Ma'una, and we recited the Verse till later it was cancelled. (The Verse was :) 'Inform our people that we have met our Lord, and He is pleased with us, and we are pleased with Him."

Please note that to meet a physical Allah non-jihaditst Muslims have to die and wait till the Resurrection Day.

Here are a few Qur’anic verses on this:

On the resurrection day Allah will descend with ranks (row after row) of angels...89:22

YUSUFALI: And thy Lord cometh, and His angels, rank upon rank, [Q 089.022]

When they meet Allah the believers’ salutation will be ‘peace’...33:44
YUSUFALI: Their salutation on the Day they meet Him will be "Peace!"; and He has prepared for them a generous Reward. [Q 033.044]

On the resurrection day, Allah Himself will reply all questions…40:16
YUSUFALI: The Day whereon they will (all) come forth: not a single thing concerning them is hidden from Allah. Whose will be the dominion that Day?" That of Allah, the One the Irresistible! [Q 040.016]

Please reflect on verse 40:16: who do you think is talking here—Allah or Muhammad?

To dispel all the mumbo-jumbo of the apologist Islamic scholars, here is a hadith (sahih quoted partly because of its length) from Sahih Bukhari (8.76.577) which tells us unmistakably, that on the Resurrection Day the sun worshippers will follow the sun, the moon worshippers will follow the moon, the idol worshippers will follow their deities; Allah will appear to the Muslims in a shape and will lead them to cross the bridge over fire, then the wrong doers will be sent to hell and the true believers will be sent to Paradise.

Volume 8, Book 76, Number 577: Narrated Abu Huraira:
…Then Allah will come to then in a shape they know and will say, "I am your Lord.' They will say, '(No doubt) You are our Lord,' and they will follow Him. Then a bridge will be laid over the (Hell) Fire." Allah's Apostle added, "I will be the first to cross it…

Here is another hadith which tells us that Allah is anthropomorphic—He does posses a shape and will be an entity—just like a flesh–and–blood being.

You will definitely see Allah with your own eyes...(Sahih Bukhari, 9.93.530, 531)

Allah is seated on a Throne with His angels guarding Him

When we read the Qur’an describing the attributes of Allah, we are amazed that Muhammad had taken extreme care to describe his Allah. He compared Allah to a human king—just like the kings in many countries, seated on a huge throne and conducting His affairs from this throne (more on Allah’s throne in a later part of this essay). The Qur’an even tells us that Allah created His throne and then He walked to it and rose over it to take His seat. Read the following verses from the Qur’an.

Allah created the heavens (first) and (then) the earth in six days then he rose over His throne...7:54

007.054
YUSUFALI: Your Guardian-Lord is Allah, Who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and is firmly established on the throne (of authority): He draweth the night as a veil o'er the day, each seeking the other in rapid succession: He created the sun, the moon, and the stars, (all) governed by laws under His command. Is it not His to create and to govern? Blessed be Allah, the Cherisher and Sustainer of the worlds!

Allah created the heavens (first) and (then) the earth in six days and (then) He firmly established himself on His throne (i.e. He moved to His throne from somewhere else)...57:4

YUSUFALI: He it is Who created the heavens and the earth in Six Days, and is moreover firmly established on the Throne (of Authority). He knows what enters within the earth and what comes forth out of it, what comes down from heaven and what mounts up to it. And He is with you wheresoever ye may be. And Allah sees well all that ye do. [Q 057.004]

The angels (eight) will be by the side of Allah's throne (octagonal in shape?)...69:17

YUSUFALI: And the angels will be on its sides, and eight will, that Day, bear the Throne of thy Lord above them. [Q 069.017]

Like a security guard Allah watched Muhammad, Noah and other Prophets

Allah watches Muhammad when he prays alone or in congregations…26:218-219

YUSUFALI: Who seeth thee standing forth (in prayer), [Q 26.218]
YUSUFALI: And thy movements among those who prostrate themselves, [Q 26.219]

YUSUFALI: For it is He Who heareth and knoweth all things. [ Q 026.220]

Those few verses will give us the impression that Allah really lives above us and glances over all His creations—similar to the astronauts in an orbit who, from their windows of their spacecraft, glance on the mother planet (earth). Here are few more verses from the holy Qur’an on the visual glances of Allah high above from space.

Allah is like a guardian on a watch-tower—always watchful...89:14

YUSUFALI: For thy Lord is (as a Guardian) on a watch-tower. [Q 089.014]

Allah has two eyes; with His two eyes He saw Noah’s ark…54:13–14

YUSUFALI: But We bore him on an (Ark) made of broad planks and caulked with palm-fibre: [Q 054.013]
YUSUFALI: She floats under our eyes (and care): a recompense to one who had been rejected (with scorn)! [Q 054.014]

A hadith in Sunaan Ibn Majah tells us that Allah does indeed glance from above:

Sunaan Ibn Majah, Vol. I, Hadith Number 184:

Jabir b. ‘Abdullah (Allah be pleased with both of them) reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “When the inmates of Paradise will (enter) into their blessings, a light will suddenly shine upon them. Upon this, they will raise their heads (and see) that their Lord is glancing them from above. He (the Lord) will say, “Assalamu ‘alaikum (peace be upon you), O the inmates of the Paradise!” He said, “This refers to Allah’s words: The word from the Merciful Lord is: Peace (36:58).” He will look towards them and they will look towards Him and will not pay any attention to anything of the Divine favors as long as they will keep looking towards Him till He will hide (Himself) from them and His Light and His Blessings will last on them in their houses.

In a foot note, Ibn Majah casts some doubt on the authenticity of this hadith. I quoted this hadith just to demonstrate that Muhammad did try to convince his followers about the watchful nature of his Allah. Even without this hadith, there are a number of verses in the Qur’an which unmistakably tell us that Allah has the ears to hear all conversations. Here is such a verse:

Allah heard the complain that a woman brought to Muhammad regarding her husband; Allah hears all conversations…58:1

058.001
YUSUFALI: Allah has indeed heard (and accepted) the statement of the woman who pleads with thee concerning her husband and carries her complaint (in prayer) to Allah: and Allah (always) hears the arguments between both sides among you: for Allah hears and sees (all things).

Witnessing a physical Allah is as certain as the observation of the sun and the moon

There are many ahadith which tell us very clearly that Allah is a visible being, though one has to die to see Allah. Here are summaries of a few such ahadith. Readers are requested to verify these ahadith either with the online version of these ahadith or with the print version. Please note that there is no online version of Ibn Majah (or at least, I am yet to see one) and not all ahadith of Sunaan Abu Dawud are available on line. These ahadith, I have quoted in full.

On the resurrection day you will see Allah like you see the sun or the moon on a clear sky …(Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.105)

People will see Allah like a moon...(Sahih Bukhari, 9.93.529)

Background to 50:39: when Muhammad looked at the full moon and said that you would see Allah just like you see the full moon…(Sahih Bukhari, 1.10.529, 547)

You will see Allah as clearly as you see the moon and the sun; hooks will be used to punish the unbelievers; Muhammad, along with his followers will be the first to cross the bridge of hell; some sinners will stay in hell temporarily, some forever ... (Sahih Bukhari, 1.12.770)

Sunaan ibn Majah, volume 1, hadith number 178:

Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Do you crowd (and push one another) to see the moon of the night of the full moon?” they (the audience) said, “No,” whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said, “Similarly, you will not crowd to see your Lord on the Day of Resurrection.”

A brief history of Allah
When we study Allah seriously, the important feature to learn is that Allah has quite a fascinating history. In ancient Arabia, during biblical time, many millenniums before Muhammad was born, Allah was worshipped by the desert Bedouins of Arabia. The ancient Arabs associated Allah with the moon which shone clearly in the night sky of the vast and wild desert for most of the year. The reason why Allah was treated as a moon god is not difficult to understand. The Bedouin Arabs had a nomadic life. Living in a harsh, barren, desert-land, devoid of any perennial river for irrigation and incapable of sustaining an agricultural society, the Bedouin Arabs belonged to a pastoral society. They were half-starved anarchic tribes (Rodinson, 2002, p. 17). Their meagre livelihood grossly depended on grazing and tending cattle, conducting frequent raids and plunder on other tribes or on the passing caravans. Rodinson writes that the unruly Arabs vendetta is the pillar of Bedouin society (Rodinson, 2002, p. 14). The Bedouins during those days also had a life of unceasing cycles of plunder and revenge. Day-time travel was nearly impossible due to the unbearable heat of the sun. Most journeys were undertaken at night, on moonlight and beneath a sky bedecked with glittering stars. They marvelled at the exquisitely beautiful night sky with the moon at its centre of beauty. To them the emergence of the graceful moon was the appearance of the king of the night sky. That is why those indigent Bedouin Arabs were so intimately connected with the moon and its phases. Their lives were literally governed by the moon.

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To them, the moon was their life-sustainer. They based their primitive calendar on the movement of the moon; their religious and communal ceremonies were all arranged according to the moon's position and phases. No wonder, that those desert Arabs considered moon as their highest deity-Allah Taalaa-the supreme God. Professor of Arab History, the late, Phillip K. Hitti, writes that the moon-worshipping is principally a pastoral society and the sun-worshiping is chiefly an agricultural society (Hitti, 2002, p. 97). To the Arab Bedouin folks, moon was an absolute holy entity to be worshipped and revered with utmost zeal. After Muhammad forced, at the point of sword, Islam on these desert Arab indigents, these neo-Muslim Bedouins still continued with the practice of their age-old belief that their life was regulated by the moon.

Even today, we find that this obsession with the Arab Bedouin moon is strongly prevalent in Islam. Islam is intimately connected with the moon. All its rituals are based on the sighting of the moon or on the moon calendar. No matter how much Islam advocates that it shuns idolatry or Paganism, it has not shed off its past connection with Paganism and idolatry. The truth is: Islam is still symbolised with the moon, especially the crescent shape. Look at the spires of any mosques; you are bound to witness a dazzling crescent moon, sometimes along with a star as well. Later, I shall provide the historical reason why the star is also a symbol of Islam. To explicate further, look at the symbol of Red Cross in Islamic Paradises. It is, of course, a crescent-the symbol of Islam, which was the ubiquitous emblem of the moon god of the Arab Pagans. Even the flags of many Islamic countries show either the crescent moon and star together, or the crescent moon alone. Have a look at the national flags of a few Islamic states, such as: Algeria, Pakistan,Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan (shows the full moon), Malaysia, Mauritania, Brunei, Turkey-etc. As for idolatry and stone-worshipping, please remember that the holiest object in Islam is the stone of Ka'ba. This stone (or stones-presumably three broken pieces of rocks, as reported by many historians) was also the stone of worship by the Pagan Arabs. Even Muhammad kissed hugged it in his chest it with deep reverence, Caliph Umar did the same and the Muslims are supposed to do this at least once in their life times.

We will now briefly review the history of Allah (see the stone-carved Pagan Allah here).

Historians believe that that the Arabian Allah originated in Syria. The Aramaeans inhabited Syria around 1300 BC. These Syrians used to worship passionately a few deities, the principal among them were the storm-god Hadad; the sky-god Alaha and the goddess Athargatis. The Syrians probably got Allah (in some form of image) from the Sumer in the ancient city of Babylon. According to many historians, Alaha is the Syrian name of Allah (Walker, 2004, p. 20). To them, Allah was a male God, the supreme God, who had three daughters, Allat, Uzza and Manat. The Nabateans, the first-born son of Ismail around Sinai Peninsula, were the first to bring Allah to Arabia from Syria (Walker, 2004, p. 22) The Nabateans probably worshipped Allah in other names as well, such as: Elh and Alh (ibid). Besides Allah, the Nabateans also brought from Syria Hubal, a huge male idol. This Hubal was later placed in the precinct of Ka'ba. Hubal was the greatest of all idols in and around Ka'ba. The massive statue of Hubal was made of red agnate in the form of a man with right hand broken off. The Quraysh received Hubal in this form from Khuzaymah ibn Mudrikah, a Meccan who brought it from Syria. Later, the Quraysh made for it a hand of gold. Hubal stood in front of Ka'ba. The Pagan Quraysh considered Ka'ba for Hubal only (Rodinson, 2002, p. 54). They used divination arrows to determine the legitimacy of a newly born child (Al-Kalbi, 1952, p. 23). Many historians believe that Hubal was the physical representation of Allah at Ka'ba. In his youth Muhammad helped with the ritualistic preparations being ardently made for the ceremonial installation of Hubal in Ka'ba (Walker, 2004, p. 42). Muhammad's biographer, Martin Lings, a Catholic convert to Islam, agrees that Hubal was from Syria (Lings, 1983, p. 5, 11). Arab Historians believe that the mighty Hubal was actually an ancient variation of Allah (Walker, 2004, p. 31). The word (Hubal) is derived from the Semitic word Hu, which means 'He' or 'He is' with the suffix El, which, of course, is another name for Allah. The deified name of Hubal was ceremoniously invoked by the Quraysh during war cry (ibid). Gradually, the concept of Allah, the God spread all around Arabia. An inscription found in south Arabia bears the name of Allah. Allah is Hallah in the Safa inscription. This was five centuries before Islam. The Arabs used to invoke Allah during times of special peril. This all-powerful Allah gradually became the supreme tribal deity of the Quraysh. Even the holy Qur'an confirms this in verses 6:109,6:136, 10:22, 31:22,and 31:29 (Hitti, 2002, pp. 100-101). Other names by which Allah was known are: the Babylonian and Assyrian Ilu, the Canaanite El, the Hebrew Elohim and Ilah of central Arabia (Walker, 2004, p. 420).

Another name of Allah was Wadd-the moon god which stood at the head of the Minaean Pantheon. Allat, Uzza and Manat were the three daughters of Allah for this Wadd (Hitti, 2002, pp. 97-98).

An additional version of Allah came from Hadramawt in south Arabia. There, Allah was known as Sin, the moon god. A famous south Arabian ancient city was Saba, where the queen of Saba or queen Bilqis ruled. The Sabaeans also worshipped Allah. People there called Allah as Almaqah (Hitti, 2002, p. 60). In the Qur'an we find the reference of queen of Saba in sura 27 (sura an-Naml), where this ancient biblical city is called Sheba and the queen Bilqis is referred simply as queen Sheba. Sabaean religion was based on planetary astral system in which the cult of the moon was prevalent. Invariably, the Sabaeans worshipped Allah as a moon God. However, unlike the Pagan Arabs, they had no clear picture of their Allah and thought Him to be a shapeless, male deity of supreme power. On this deity, Benjamin walker writes:

         A shadowy ineffable deity, Allah was not represented by any image, nor did he enjoy popular cult adoration, as did the lesser gods and goddesses. To distinguish him from the other gods, he was given the title of Allah Taala, 'God Most High' (Walker, 2004, p. 42).

Besides Allah and other Gods, the Nabateans also worshipped two other gods (probably lesser to Allah), namely; ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim. Both ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim were devoutly worshipped together in conjunction with honor and prestige. The Qur'an, surprisingly, retains the names of these two Pagan deities, though claiming that these two names belong to Allah. The very first sura of the Qur'an (sura Fatiha) mentions these two names, just during the beginning. Furthermore, sura 19 (sura Maryam) is dominated by the names of these two deities.

According to Professor Hitti, the Pagan Nabateans of north Arabia first introduced ar-Rahman and ar-Rahim probably from southern Syria. Later these two names of Pagan gods found their place in the pantheons of South Arabian temples (Hitti, 2002, p. 105). Muhammad's competitor, Maslama (or Musaylima) preached in the name of ar-Rahman, the south Arabian Allah (Rodinson, 2002, p. 67, 119). This could probably be the reason why Muhammad, later abandoned ar-Rahman and adopted the Allah of the Meccan Pagans as his only God.

According to Arab historians, Petra (north Arabia, close to Syria, the home of the Nabateans), had a kind of Ka'ba with Dushara (Dusares), worshipped under the form of a black rectangular stone, at the head of the pantheon (Hitti, 2002, p. 72).

This very short history of Allah is not complete without Jehovah (Yahwa), the Allah of Moses (read the description of Jehovah depicted in a German coin). Islam claims Moses worshipped the same Allah as the Muslims. If the Qur'an is true then simple logic says: Jehovah = Allah.
As per historical records, Jehovah was a desert Allah, simple and austere. His abode was a tent (Hitti, 2002, p. 40). Although the Jews admit that Jehovah is their Lord, the Hebrew Allah, they avoid every mention of it. Jehovah also means: "The great and terrible", and that is the reason why the Jews refrain from mentioning the name Jehovah (Hughes, 1994, p. 226). Instead, Rabb-Lord, stands in the relative position of the Jehovah (Ibid, p. 141). So, as far as the Qur'an goes, if Jehovah is Allah then He must be the terrible Allah of the Jews.

As for the Jewish Rabb, Muhammad had his version too: his Allah is also known as ar-Rab-the Lord, the Sustainer, the Supreme: 'Allah is my Lord and your Lord (3:51)'; 'Our Lord (Rabb) is the Lord (Rabb) of the heavens and the earth (18:14); occupies the place of Hebrew Jehovah (Hughes, 1994, p. 531).

The Bedouin Arabs' primary concern was with the moon Allah, their supreme deity and His daughters, Allat, Uzza and Manat. As explicated before, the moon is the central religious theme in a pastoral society. The illiterate, half-starved and ill-informed Bedouin Arabs associated the moon with strength, vitality, force, power and everything to do with masculinity. As such, the moon (and Allah) was really a male God; there should be very little doubt on this (you will read more on this later). So, how about the sun? Had the sun any position as god in the Pagan society? The answer is yes. The Bedouins also worshipped a sun god. Its name was Baal. Curiously, the Syrians and the Phoenicians also worshipped Baal-Lord, an idol. It is believed that Baal was worshipped in the days of Prophet Elisha (Hughes, 1004, p. 35). The Egyptians adopted Baal as their Lord (or sun Allah). Baal (see Baal here) was represented as a man with pointed beard and with horned helmet. He was a god of war, sky, storm, fertility and good harvest. In Qur'an we find the mention of Baal when Prophet Elias admonished his people for worshipping Baal (the sun Allah), instead of the moon Allah, the best of creators (37:125). A contradictory version of the sun god is that the sun was a goddess, called Shams (Rodinson, 2002, p. 23). Oddly, there is a sura in the Qur'an (sura 91, a Meccan sura) whose title is Shams or the Sun. Muhammad clearly preferred Shams to Baal, the Egyptian sun god. Not surprisingly though, there is also a sura in the Qur'an titled Qamar or the moon (sura 54, a Meccan sura).

Why Muhammad had a profound dislike for the sun Allah, Baal? The answer is quite simple. The sun is the principal source of an agricultural society. Therefore, it is natural that an agricultural society will adopt the sun Allah, Baal as its principal deity. That was why, Egypt, an agrarian society adopted Baal. Muhammad, who belonged to a pastoral society, was not interested in agriculture (more on this later)-so, why should he bother about Baal? Thus, Baal, the sun Allah was not that popular in Muhammad's Arabia.

Clearly, the Meccan Pagans were very familiar with their moon Allah (read more on this below). They were so used to their moon Allah that they practiced to divide their offerings of crops to Allah and other idols, like: Ammanas in the Khaulan country (6.136) (ibn Ishaq, 2001, p. 37). It was a customary religious system for the Pagan Arabs that they had practiced for generations. Then Muhammad started preaching, exhorting the Meccan Quraysh to worship Allah only (kind of only Allah's monotheism). Muhammad had now his own version of Allah, which the Pagan Arabs found very confusing and distressing. He started admonishing them for sharing their crop with other deities besides Allah, Muhammad's variety of Allah, to be specific. But the Meccan Quraysh were tolerant. They let Muhammad preach whatever he wished. The trouble came when Muhammad wanted to hit the Quraysh's principal source of revenue, the pilgrimage and the tourism which were closely connected with the visit of their pantheon of many gods and goddesses. The Meccan Pagans even had the images of Abraham, Jesus and Mary-just to attract Christian and Jewish tourists. During Muhammad's time, according to Phillip Hitti, the eminent Arab historian, Mecca had a colony of Abyssinian Christians (Hitti, 2002, p. 106).

Thus Mecca pilgrimage-tourism was a great source of income (Ibid, p. 64). In the beginning, the Meccan Pagans did not want to disrupt severely their flourishing tourism's attractiveness by creating anarchy with Muhammad's followers. Despite Muhammad's harangues and tirades they left him alone. Even the eminent historian al-Tabari admits that Muhammad had very little sufferings from the Meccan Pagans. According to Tabari, Muhammad's followers were largely young men, some of whom were sons and younger brothers of the leading merchants. Muhammad had very little suffering in the hands of the Quraysh, apart from little annoyance. Abu Talib's (Muhammad's uncle) protection had saved Muhammad from personal harassment (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.43).

The main reason for the opposition of Muhammad was the requirement of generosity which would diminish the profit of the greedy Meccan merchants. These merchants also felt that Muhammad was probably threatening their political control of the Meccan affairs. The Quraysh were not particularly hostile to Muhammad until he mentioned their idols. In particular, the rejection of Allat, one of the daughters of Allah, affected the business of Taif merchants (Ibid, pp. 6.42, 43).

The daughters of Allah
We read that the moon Allah was a male deity. Did this Allah have a wife or a female partner?

This question will infuriate many diehard believers of Islam. But historical evidences, especially epigraphical proof is too compelling to reject. From the cuneiform writings of the Sumerian (of Babylon), it stands out that Allah did have a consort (a wife, perhaps) and her name was Lilith. The conjecture is that Allat was the product of union of Allahand Lilith. Allat resembled Lilith, her mother, who is depicted in the Sumerian epigraphs with two huge breasts and a gigantic vulva. Phillip Hitti, in his authoritative book, History of the Arabs shows the image of Allat in a bronze coin of the Nabateans (Hitti, 2002, p. 86). This image of Allat has the striking resemblance of the goddess Saraswati, the Hindu goddess of learning. It is also possible that the other two daughters of Allah; namely; Uzza and Manat were from Lilith, or possibly from other concubines of Allah. These goddesses are referred to in the Qur'an as the daughters (Satanic verses, 53:19-20) of Allah. When Muhammad was utterly disappointed with the meager success of his mission, he sought reconciliation with the Pagan Quraysh. He extolled these three daughters of Allah and wanted their exalted blessing. However, Muhammad was quick to recognize his folly and claimed that all Prophets, at times, were inspired by the Satan. Then he cancelled those verses from the Qur'an. Those verses were 15:19-23. Let us read the verses, as they are currently in the Qur'an:

         015.019
YUSUFALI: And the earth We have spread out (like a carpet); set thereon mountains firm and immovable; and produced therein all kinds of things in due balance.
015.020
YUSUFALI: And We have provided therein means of subsistence,- for you and for those for whose sustenance ye are not responsible.
015.021
YUSUFALI: And there is not a thing but its (sources and) treasures (inexhaustible) are with Us; but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures.
015.022
YUSUFALI: And We send the fecundating winds, then cause the rain to descend from the sky, therewith providing you with water (in abundance), though ye are not the guardians of its stores.
015.023
YUSUFALI: And verily, it is We Who give life, and Who give death: it is We Who remain inheritors (after all else passes away).

We might wonder: these verses have nothing to do with Allat, Uzza or Manat. How could they be called satanic verses? The answer to this enigma is that these are the latest verses which Muhammad had implanted in the Qur'an after Allah rebuked him for being under the influence of Satan. Muhammad duly complied with Allah's instruction. He replaced the original verses with these new verses. So what were the original verses?-we might be curious to know.

According to William Montgomery Watt, one of the most distinguished writers of Muhammad's biography and Islamic history, the original verses of 15:19-23 ran thus (Watt, 1999, p.21; also see ibn Ishaq, 2001, pp. 165-166):

Have you considered Allat and al-'Uzza
And Manat, the third, the other?
Those are the swans exalted;
Their intercession is expected;
Their likes are not neglected.

Hisham al-Kalbi, the author, of Kitab al-Asnam (The Book of Idols), writes about these three daughters of Allah:

Allat: She stood in al-Taif. She was more recent than Manah. She was a cubic rock. 'Attab ibn Malik of the Thaqif was her keeper. They built an edifice over her. The Quraysh and all Arabs used to worship her and name their children after her. She stood on the left side of the present mosque at Taif. Verse 53:19 mentions her. Mughirah ibn Shu'bab destroyed her and burnt her temple to the ground.

Ibn-Hajar, swearing by Allah said, "By Allat and 'Uzza and those who in them believe, and by Allah verily He is greater than both" (ibn al-Kalbi, 1952, p. 15).

Uzza: Uzza is more recent than Allat or Manah. The Arabs named their children after her.
Zilim ibn As'ad introduced al-Uzza. She was situated in a valley in Nakhlat called Hurad-to the right of the road from Mecca to al-Iraq, above Dhat-Irq. Zilim built a house over her calling it Buss. People received divine messages there. Children were named-Abd-al-Uzza. She was the greatest among the Quraysh. They used to seek her favors through sacrifice. Muhammad had offered a sacrifice, a white sheep to al-Uzza. The Quraysh circumambulated Ka'ba saying:

By Allat and al-Uzza,
And Manah, the third idol besides
Verily they are the most exalted females
Whose intercession is sought.

These verses were abrogated and replaced by verses 53:19-20 and 17:75-76.
Allat, al-Uzza and Manah were called the daughters of Allah.

Al-Uzza had a place of sacrifice called al-Ghabghab. Arabs used to sacrifice cattle there. After sacrifice they used to divide the meat among those present at the ceremony. The Quraysh venerated her above all other idols (ibn al-Kalbi, 1952, p. 17).

Having watched a Television documentary on the ruins of Arabia Petra, situated at north-western Saudi Arabia, it is my conjecture that the Meccan goddess Uzza probably resembled Kali, the Hindu goddess of destruction.

Manah (alternative spelling of Manat): It was the most ancient idol. The Arabs named their children after it. She was at Qudayd, between Medina and Mecca. They used to sacrifice before her-particularly Aws and Khazraj as well as the inhabitants of Medina and Mecca. At the end of pilgrimage, when about to return home, people would set out to the place of Manah, shave their heads and stay there for a while. The pilgrimage was not complete until they visited Manah.
Manah is mentioned in 53:20. She was the goddess of the Hudhayl and the Khuza'ah. Ali demolished her, took all her treasures and took them to Muhammad-two swords-presented to Manah by al-Harith ibn Abi-Shamir al-Ghaassan, the king of Ghassan. These swords were called Mikhdam and Rasub. Muhammad gave these two swords to Ali. Dhu-al-Faqr was one of these swords. It was the sword of Ali. However, another version of this destruction story says that Ali found these two swords in the temple of al-Fals, the idol of Tayyi (ibn al-Kalbi, 1952, pp. 13-14).
Here are a few more comments on the three daughters of Allah: Allat, Uzza and Manat.
Allat was the goddess of war, Uzza, the goddess of sacrifice and Manat, the goddess of destiny or fate (Walker, 2004, p. 45).
Allat was connected with the moon, Uzza with the planet Venus and Manat with the star Sirius (Ibid, p. 46).
The above information will clarify why Islam's symbol is the crescent and a star. Clearly, Paganism in Islam is still inherent, if we have to interpret these symbols: Crescent-for Allah and the star (Venus)-for His daughter Uzza.The third daughter of Allah, Manat is represented by the star Sirius. Even the Qur'an says that Allah is the Lord of the Alpha Sirius. Here is the Qur'anic verse on the star Alpha Sirius (Manat). Needless to say, the Islamist scholars have a different version of interpretation of these symbolism of Islam (Islam is supposed to be devoid of any symbolism, whatsoever)-the star for five prayers, crescent, beginning of the new moon-signifying the growth of Islam. I am yet to read any verses in the Qur'an and any ahadith which support this interpretation of the crescent and the star.
Let us read what the Qur'an says.

         God is the Lord of the galaxies (Alpha Sirius, the brightest star visible from earth)-53:49
YUSUFALI: That He is the Lord of Sirius (the Mighty Star);
PICKTHAL: And that He it is Who is the Lord of Sirius;
SHAKIR: And that He is the Lord of the Sirius; [Q 053.049]

In a foot note on this verse, Abdullah Yusuf Ali writes:

The tenth aphorism refers to a mighty phenomenon of nature, the magnificent star Sirius, which is such a prominent object in the skies, in the early part of the solar year, say from January to April. It is the brightest star in the firmament and its bluish light causes wonder and terror in Pagan minds. The Pagan Arabs worshipped it as a divinity. But God is the Lord, Creator and Cherisher, of the most magnificent part of creation, and worship is due Him alone (Ali, 1983, p. 1450, foot note 5119).

The learned Abdullah Yususf Ali probably wanted to avoid the embarrassing truth. Nowhere in the Arab history tell us that the Meccans were scared of the appearance of the star Sirius. They always thought of Sirius as a goddess, just as they thought of the moon as the god Allah. It was Muhammad who wanted to twist their long-held belief.

In this verse, Allah clearly says that He is the Lord of Sirius, which, according to the Sumerian epigraph, is none but Manat, one of the daughters of Allah.
The goddesses of the 'satanic' verses were located at Taif, Nakhla and at al-Mushallal, very close to Mecca (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.42).

Allat, identified by Herodotus with Aphrodite Urania, was the chief female deity. That is, Allat was the Arabic version of the Greek goddess Aphrodite Urania (Hitti, 2002, p. 72).
Al-Uzza was a Greek Aphrodite (Ibid, .p. 79).

Al-Uzza was the counterpart of the Greek goddess Aphrodite. A son of al-Harith was offered as a sacrifice to al-Uzza. Ten years later, al-Harith took his revenge and slew his Lakhmid enemy in a battle in the district of Qinnasrin. This battle is known as the "Day of Halimah" of Arabic tradition. Halimah was the daughter of al-Harith, who, before the battle, perfumed with her own hands the hundred Ghassanid champions ready for death and clad them in shrouds of white linen in addition to coats of mail (suicide squad?) (Ibid). Note: the italicized words are mine.

Al-Lat was in Taif. Muhammad offered a sacrifice to al-Uzza. Al-Uzza, the mightiest was Venus, the morning star. Her sanctuary consisted of three trees. Human sacrifice characterized her cult. Al-Rahman (the compassionate), RHM occurs as the name of a deity in pre-Islamic Sabaean inscription. Shirk-south Arabia inscription, worship of one Supreme Being with who other minor deities were associated (Ibid, p. 99).

Manah was the goddess of fate. She was in a sanctuary of black stone in Qusayd on the road between Mecca and Yathrib. Still today the Arabs believe in the power of her. Hubal was the chief deity of Ka'ba in human form. Hubal was imported from Mesopotamia (Ibid, p. 100).

Did Allah have a son? Of course, the Christians do believe this. We are fully aware of the Islam's unshakable stand that Allah never had a son. How far this is true? Let us read the following verses from the Qur'an.

Mary guarded her chastity (sexual organ); Allah breathed into her His spirit (Ruh) and thus Allah made her and her son (Jesus is Allah's spirit?) a sign for all people...21:91.

Mary was the daughter of Imran; she guarded her chastity (sexual organ) and was a virgin before she became pregnant through Allah; Allah breathed His spirit into Mary's body...66:12.

Those verses refer to the birth of Jesus by a Virgin Mary. A representative of Allah, in the shape of a man (Archangel, possibly, Gabriel), met Mary when she was living alone in a temple. This representative of Allah told Mary that he had with him the Ruh or the 'spirit' (in simple language this could mean the Seed of Allah) to impregnate her with. Then this man (Archangel Gabriel) blew through the upper garment of Mary to let this Seed of Allah(Ruh) travel all the way to her uterus and caused her the pregnancy.

We will surely find this interpretation impossible to believe.

Let us read what the most celebrated scholar of the Qur'an, ibn Kathir says on this type of induced pregnancy (artificial insemination?).

On the interpretation of verse 21:91, ibn Kathir writes:

`Isa and Maryam the True Believer
Here Allah mentions the story of Maryam and her son `Isa, just after mentioning Zakariyya and his son Yahya, may peace be upon them all. He mentions the story of Zakariyya first, followed by the story of Maryam because the one is connected to the other. The former is the story of a child being born to an old man of advanced years, from an old woman who had been barren and had never given birth when she was younger. Then Allah mentions the story of Maryam which is even more wondrous, for in this case a child was born from a female without (the involvement of) a male. These stories also appear in Surah Al `Imran and in Surah Maryam. Here Allah mentions the story of Zakariyya and follows it with the story of Maryam, where He says:

[وَالَّتِى أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا]

                     (And she who guarded her chastity,) means, Maryam (peace be upon her). This is like the Ayah in Surah At-Tahrim:

[وَمَرْيَمَ ابْنَةَ عِمْرَانَ الَّتِى أَحْصَنَتْ فَرْجَهَا فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا]

                     (And Maryam, the daughter of `Imran who guarded her chastity. And We breathed into it [her garment] through Our Ruh) [66:12].

[وَجَعَلْنَـهَا وَابْنَهَآ ءَايَةً لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ]

                     (and We made her and her son a sign for the nations. ) means, evidence that Allah is able to do all things and that He creates whatever He wills; verily, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, "Be'' -- and it is! This is like the Ayah:

[وَلِنَجْعَلَهُ ءَايَةً لِّلْنَّاسِ]

                     (And (We wish) to appoint him as a sign to mankind) [19:21]

[إِنَّ هَـذِهِ أُمَّتُكُمْ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً وَأَنَاْ رَبُّكُمْ فَاعْبُدُونِ - وَتَقَطَّعُواْ أَمْرَهُمْ بَيْنَهُمْ كُلٌّ إِلَيْنَا رَجِعُونَ - فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِنَ الصَّـلِحَـتِ وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلاَ كُفْرَانَ لِسَعْيِهِ وَإِنَّا لَهُ كَـتِبُونَ

The above interpretation means that the angel (Gabriel) implanted the seed (Ruh) of Allah inside the womb of Mary. It might seem incredible but let us read ibn Kathir 'sinterpretation of verse 66:12.

                     (And Maryam, the daughter of `Imran who guarded her chastity (private part).) meaning, who protected and purified her honor, by being chaste and free of immorality,

[فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا]

                     (And We breathed into it (private part) through Our Ruh,) meaning, through the angel Jibril. Allah sent the angel Jibril to Maryam, and he came to her in the shape of a man in every respect. Allah commanded him to blow into a gap of her garment and that breath went into her womb through her private part; this is how `Isa was conceived. This is why Allah said here,

[فَنَفَخْنَا فِيهِ مِن رُّوحِنَا وَصَدَّقَتْ بِكَلِمَـتِ رَبَّهَا وَكُتُبِهِ]

                     (And We breathed into it through Our Ruh, and she testified to the truth of her Lords Kalimat, and His Kutub,) meaning His decree and His legislation.

[وَكَانَتْ مِنَ الْقَـنِتِينَ]

Even ibn Kathir admits that Jesus carried Allah's seed (sperm or Ruh?). So why Islam must reject the Christians' assertion that Jesus was, after all, the son of Allah (or God)? Seems the Christians are correct in asserting Jesus is the son of Allah.
Here ends the brief history of Allah. In a later part, you will learn more about Allah's abilities with obstetrics and gynecology.

Allah frequently changes His residence
From the very short history of Allah narrated above, we can draw the following conclusions about different versions of Allah. Here is a short list of Allahs' (plural!) and their probable places of residences.

The Sumerian Allah: (Sumer, Babylon; and then Mecca).
The Alaha Allah: (Syria, then Mecca).
The Elh Allah: (Syria, then Mecca).
The Ilah Allah: (Syria, then Mecca).
The moon Allah: (south Arabia, then Mecca).
The sun Allah (Baal): (Egypt, then probably Mecca).
The Hubal Allah: (Syria, then Ka'ba, Mecca).
The Jehovah Allah: (probably, Palestine, then Mecca).
Elohim Allah: (central Arabia, then Mecca).
Ila Allah : (central Arabia, then Mecca).
The ar-Rahman Allah: (north Arabia, south Arabia, then Mecca).
The ar-Rahim Allah: (Yemen, then Mecca).
Sin Allah: (Hadramawt, then Mecca).
Hallah Allah: (Syria, then Mecca).
Ilu Allah: (Babylon, Syria and then Mecca).
El Allah: (Palestine, then Mecca).
Wadd Allah: (Minaean, then Mecca).
Almaqah Allah: (City of Saba, then Mecca).
Allah Taa'la, the most high Allah: (Ka'ba, Mecca).

We might be amazed at so many different versions of Allah. But hold on. Does not the Qur'an say that Allah has many names? If fact, the Islamic scholars insist that Allah has ninety-nine names (including Allah, this makes it a century, to be precise). Although we do not find any verses in the Qur'an which specifically spells out this number (ninety-nine), we should not be surprised at so many names (in reality, different versions) of Allah. The only problem is: if we read the Qur'an carefully, cover to cover, several times, we might find many more names of Allah than the ninety-nine as claimed by the Islamist scholars. We should not be amazed if we note that there are around three hundred (yes, three hundred) descriptions of Allah-to be exact.

What should be most startling is that all those Allahs (plural!) lived at different locations but only within the boundaries of Arabia, Syria, Palestine, Mesopotamia, Babylonia and Iraq. Why should Allah choose only these places (Arab lands, to say it bluntly) to live when the entire universe is His? This question is not hard to answer when we figure out the depth of geographical knowledge of those ancient Arabs, Sumerians and Babylonians. The fascinating point is: having lived in those territories for many millenniums, Allah suddenly changed His mind with the birth of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam. Islam claims that Allah made Ka'ba 2 000 years before He created Adam (Ghazali, 1993, p. 1.190). There is evidence to suggest that Allah did, at least for a while, live in Mecca. An inscription found during the digging of Ka'ba foundation by Muhammad's grandfather Abdal Muttalib read, "I am Allah, the Lord of Bakka-" ( ibn Ishaq, 2001, p. 85).

Having travelled through all those desert lands, finally, when Allah learned about the birth of Muhammad, He determined to settle permanently in Mecca, at Ka'ba, to be specific. This should not surprise anyone. Because the other name of Ka'ba is Bait Allah (Allah's residence).
Therefore, it will be quite correct to say that Allah does have a permanent physical abode (at least a temporary one) on earth, and it is Ka'ba. Every year millions of Muslims travel to Ka'ba just for this reason-to meet Allah in person, in the Ka'ba stone.

Here are a few verses from the Qur'an which confirm that Allah decided finally to permanently settle in Mecca when Muhammad was in Mecca.

During Muhammad's time in Mecca, Allah lived in Mecca; He was the Lord of Mecca; Muhammad is commanded to serve the Lord of the city (of Mecca) and to be of those who submit to Islam-27:91.

The Quraysh should adore Allah for giving them the security and importance of Ka'ba (i.e., K'aba is the abode of Allah)...106:1-3.

Ka'ba is the house of Allah; visit Allah there at any time-pilgrimage or not...2:158.

Readers should understand that here we are talking of Muhammad's Allah. The Pagans of Arabia, for a long time before Muhammad started his preaching, knew that Allah, along with His consorts, daughters and companions lived in Mecca. What they could not accept was Muhammad's complete rejection of the associates of Allah, the numerous idols which the Pagans believed interceded with Allah. Thus, they betook Muhammad's Allah as a new brand of God which they rejected out of hand.

Allah lived in a cave during Moses' time

So, where precisely Allah lived before He sent Muhammad to Mecca? Since Arabia in particular and the Middle East in general, are mountainous, we should not be surprised that Allah loves mountains, especially the mountains of Arabia and its neighbouring areas. No wonder, we find many verses in the Qur'an which say that Muhammad's Allah indeed lived in caves, before Muhammad was born. Here are a few verses from the Qur'an.

When Moses was close to the fire, a voice praised Allah and those surrounding the fire-27:8.

Muhammad was not present when Allah gave the command to Moses on the western side of the Mountain-28:44.

Allah is a country-destroyer; He loves to dwell in cities

Allah always has a great fascination for large cities like Mecca. He cares very little about rural or suburban areas. Nowhere in the Qur'an do we find examples that He ever cared for the rural folks. This is understandable when we realise that Allah does actually reside in a metropolitan city such as Mecca. This is the birth-place of Muhammad, Allah's greatest friend and compatriot. Naturally, Allah would never like to depart from this location. Allah's interest in huge cities never ends. Some times He likes to destroy and redeem big cities. Here are some sample verses from the Qur'an which tell us that Allah sends messengers and warners only to cities.

Allah will not destroy a population until an apostle is sent to a major city (Allah sends His messenger only to a major town) as a warner-28:59.

Allah sent an Arabic Qur'an to Muhammad to warn the people in the neighbourhood of the city of Mecca (Islam is only for the Meccans, the city dwellers)...42:7.

Even today, Allah's deep interest in gigantic cities lives on. That is why he sends His soldiers to destroy mega cities like New York, London, Madrid, Istanbul, Delhi, Baransi, Dhaka, Cairo-and so on to redeem their inhabitants from their calumnies and to fully Islamise these cities.

Allah has competitors-other creators compete with Him

Islam preaches that Allah is the only owner of the universe; He has no want (31:26), no penury and no competitors. Incredibly though, we read in the Qur'an that Allah does have competitors. In verse 23:14 Allah says that He is one of the best of creators. Allah used this verse to convince the Pagan Arabs that there could be no comparisons between Allah and other creators. Let us read the verse:

YUSUFALI: Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!
PICKTHAL: Then fashioned We the drop a clot, then fashioned We the clot a little lump, then fashioned We the little lump bones, then clothed the bones with flesh, and then produced it as another creation. So blessed be Allah, the Best of creators!
SHAKIR: Then We made the seed a clot, then We made the clot a lump of flesh, then We made (in) the lump of flesh bones, then We clothed the bones with flesh, then We caused it to grow into another creation, so blessed be Allah, the best of the creators. [023.014]

I included three translations for the readers to judge that these three translations indicate the same meaning; that is, Allah does compete with His competitors.

Here is another verse to confirm that we get the correct meaning. In this verse Allah admonished the Baal worshippers. This is simply because Baal, the sun Allah of the Egyptians competed with the moon Allah of Arabia.

YUSUFALI: "Will ye call upon Baal and forsake the Best of Creators,-
PICKTHAL: Will ye cry unto Baal and forsake the Best of creators,
SHAKIR: What! do you call upon Ba'l and forsake the best of the creators, [037.125]

Allah is a King

Muhammad always hated kings and rulers. When the Pagans told Muhammad that his Allah is not as powerful as Tubba, the title of the Himyarite king (Hitti, 2002, p. 60) Muhammad was furious. He asserted that his Allah was far more powerful and mightier than the Tubba of the Himyarite , the south Arabian king. His argument was that His Allah was not only the King of kings, but that Allah was the King of the entire universe. He said Allah is the Lord of the Kingdom, Malikul-Mulk (Hughes, 1994, p. 312).

Allah confirmed Muhammad's declaration in verse 67:1.

YUSUFALI: Blessed be He in Whose hands is Dominion; and He over all things hath Power;- [067.001]

Allah is a Bachelor

The brief history of Allah demonstrated with ample epigraphic evidences that Allah had consort/s and children. This was the version of moon Allah that the Bedouin Arabs believed firmly. But Muhammad wanted to stand out from the crowd Pagans. So he claimed that Allah never had any wives or children. In essence, his claim meant that Allah is a perpetual bachelor.

Let us read verse 2:116.

YUSUFALI: They say: "Allah hath begotten a son" :Glory be to Him.-Nay, to Him belongs all that is in the heavens and on earth: everything renders worship to Him. [002.116]

Dr Muhammad Taqiuddin al-Hilai and Dr Muhammad Muhsin Khan, the translators of The Noble Qur'an comment on this verse by quoting this hadith from Sahih Bukhari.

Volume 6, Book 60, Number 9: Narrated Ibn Abbas:
The Prophet said, "Allah said, 'The son of Adam tells a lie against me though he has no right to do so, and he abuses Me though he has no right to do so. As for his telling a lie against Me, it is that he claims that I cannot recreate him as I created him before; and as for his abusing Me, it is his statement that I have offspring. No! Glorified be Me! I am far from taking a wife or offspring.' "

This hadith confirms Muhammad's claim that Allah is a Bachelor, void of wives, concubines or

children.

Here are a few more verses from the Qur'an which tell us that Muhammad's Allah prefers to remain wifeless and childless.

Allah neither has a son nor a daughter; He has no preference for daughter-37:153-154.
If Allah had a son, Muhammad would still be the first to believe in Him and refute the claim that Allah has a son...43:81.
It is not true that humans have sons and Allah has only daughters...53:21.

Allah bestowed children to Satan but not to Himself

Though Muhammad's Allah prefers to remain a Bachelor, He has no qualm to bestow his implacable foe, Satan, with children-plenty of them. Here is a verse from the Qur'an in which Allah confirms his bequeath of children to Satan.

Do not follow the progeny (Satan has children or offspring) of Satan...18:50.

Allah does not have the personality of a weak female, He is a male.

Even when Allah is a Bachelor He still prefers male children-if He would ever like to have them. Allah considers females to be weak and, therefore would not like to be associated with anything resembling a female character. Here is verse 43:18 in which Allah tells us that He would never like to have daughters.

The weak personality of females cannot be associated with Allah; Allah does not like daughters...43:18.

Allah has His signs (insignia) on earth: they are Safwa and Marwa

Here are a few ahadith which say that Allah does have symbols (just like the Pagan idols).

The early Muslims were reluctant to run between Safwa and Marwa like the Pagans did; but Allah decreed that Safwa and Marwa were two sacred places (2:158)-(Sahih Bukhari, 2.26.706,710).

Muhammad wanted to continue with the Pagan tradition, so Allah revealed (2:158) that Safa and Marwa were two symbols of Allah. So it is all right to ambulate (Tawaf) between them- (Sahih Bukhari, 6.60.22).

When the Ghassan asked Muhammad about circumambulation between Safa and Marwa Allah revealed, "Verily al-Safa' and al-Marwa are among the Signs of Allah"- (Sahih Muslim, 7.2927, 2928).

Not only that Safwa and Marwa, the two mountains in Mecca are two physical symbols of Allah, the moon and the sun are also Allah's symbols. The Pagans had been correct al along, Muhammad confirmed. Let us read this hadith.

The Sun and the Moon are the two signs of Allah; they do not prostrate because of someone's death- (Sahih Bukhari, 4.54.424, 426).

Circumambulation, running between Safwa and Marwa, and casting stones at the pillars are for the remembrance of Allah- (Sunaan Abu Dawud 2.10.1883).

The online version of Sunaan Abu Dawud does not contain this hadith. So I shall quote this hadith from the print version of Sunaan Abu Dawud.

Sunaan Abu Dawud, vol.ii, Book 7, hadith number 1883:'Aishah reported the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) as saying: Going round the House of (the Ka'ba), running between al-safa' and lapidation of the pillars are meant for the remembrance of Allah.

Allah will give tongue and eyes to Ka'ba

The Islamists will find it extremely tough to digest what is written in the above caption. But a careful study of the most authentic sources of Islam reveal a great secret-Islam is deeply mired in idolatry. As written before, no matter how much Muhammad had tried, he could not, shake out his Pagan origin. He believed in the stones having life, in the speaking powers of inanimate objects and in the ability of some rocks (i.e. the rocks of Ka'ba) to become alive, with hands and eyes.

The most eminent Islamic scholar, Imam Ghazali (many Muslims consider his writings as next to the Qur'an and ahadith) wrote that the Blackstone (of Ka'ba) is a jewel from Paradise. It will be raised on the resurrection day. It will have two eyes and one tongue with which it will speak. It will bear witness for everyone who kissed it and testified its truth (Ghazali, 1993, p. 1.190).

A hadith in Ibn Majah confirms Ghazali's claims.

Here is the hadith.
Ka'ba will have Allah's eyes ..(ibn Majah, 4.2944).

Please note that Sunaan ibn Majah is not available online. I am quoting from the print version of this hadith book.

Sunaan ibn Majah,Vol.IV,Hadith number 2944:
Sa'd b. Jubair (Allah be pleased with him) is reported to have said, "I heard Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) saying that Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings Allah be upon him) said, "This Stone must come on the Day of Resurrection and it will have two eyes to see with and a tongue to talk with bearing witness for him who caressed it with Truth (Islam)."

Not only that Muhammad was a believer in the supernatural power of restoring the power of life to Ka'ba stones, he also declared that touching Ka'ba stones is akin to touching the Hands of Allah. And to confirm that what he said was an absolute truth, he kissed the stones of Ka'ba.

Here are two ahadith from Sunaan ibn Majah.
Please note that this hadith is quite lengthy. I shall quote only the relevant section. Interested readers are requested to read the full hadith from the reference/bibliography.

Touching Ka'ba is touching hands of Allah (Ibn Majah, 4.2957).

Sunaan Ibn Majah, Vol IV, Hadith number 2957:
This is a hadith narrated by Ibn Hisham
-When we reached Rukn Aswad (the Black Stone) he said, "O Abu Muhammad, "What (command) has reached you regarding this (sic)
Black Stones?" Ata' said: Abu Huraira (Allah be pleased with him) related to me that he heard Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) saying, "He who touches it in fact touches the Hand of the Merciful (Allah)."-

Here is another hadith from Ibn Majah.

Muhammad caressed and hugged the Ka'ba stone- (Ibn Majah, 4.2962).

Sunaan Ibn Majah, Vol IV, Hadith number 2962:
'Umar b. Shu'aib (Allah be pleased with him) reported his father to have said on his grandfather's authority, "I performed tawaf alongwith (sic) 'Abdullah b. 'Amir (Allah be pleased with him): As we concluded our seven circuits (around the Ka'ba), we offered two rak'ats (prayer) at the back of Ka'ba. I said, "Do we not seek refuge from Allah against the Hell-Fire?" He replied, "I seek refuge from Allah against the Fire." He (the narrator) said, "Then he went and caressed the Black Stone. Then he stood between the Black Stone and the Gate and pressed his bosom, his hands and his cheek against it. He then said, "I saw Allah's Messenger (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) doing that."

Similar ahadith are found in Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim. Readers are requested to consult online version the following ahadith.

Umar kissed the Ka'ba stone because Muhammad did it likewise... (Sahih Bukhari,2.26.667, 675, 679, 680).
Muhammad kissed the corner of the black stone in Ka'ba... (Sahih Bukhari, 2.26.673).

Muhammad kissed the black stone in Mecca; background to 2:199---'then hasten on from where the people hasten----'- (Sahih Muslim, 7.2806, 2807).

Muhammad touched the corner of Ka'ba and then kissed his hand- (Sahih Muslim,7.2910).

Umar kissed the black stone of Ka'ba because Muhammad did so- (Sahih Muslim,7.2912, 2913, 2914, 2915).

Incredible though it might sound, even today, the single most revered object in Islam is a piece of stone-the stone of Ka'ba. Faithful Muslims turn towards it every day-five times, to worship-in the name of Allah. This was exactly what the Pagan Arabs did-worship stones and idols.

The Pagans of Mecca knew Allah very well.

We learned before that the concept of one-moon Allah was nothing new to the Pagans of Mecca. They were absolutely familiar with this all-powerful, almighty, benevolent (at times) and utterly destructive (at times) nature of Allah. When the Islamist scholars talk about Allah, they would like to give the impression that Allah was something unique that Muhammad alone knew about. What the Pagans of Mecca did not like about Muhammad was that he imposed on the easy-going, secular-minded gullible Pagans his own idea about this powerful moon deity, Allah. With his invention of a new Allah, Muhammad tried to ridicule the Allah these Pagans knew about for millenniums. They used to name their children with Allah's name. Even Muhammad's father's name was Abd Allah. Here are a few comments from eminent scholars and from the primary sources of Islam which irrefutably prove that the Pagans were ever cognisant about Allah, that Muhammad simply confused those Meccans.

Muhammad did not invent the concept of the unity of Allah; this concept was not new-38:5.
Many Pagans had heard the story of resurrection from past tales; it was nothing new to them-23:83.
Ask the unbelievers to whom belongs the earth and they will answer it is Allah...23:84-85.
Ask the unbelievers under whose hand is the sovereignty and against whom there is no protector and they will answer it is Allah; so how could they deceive and turn away from Allah-23:88-89.
The Pagans thought that the angels were females and they (the angels) are the daughters of Allah; Allah vehemently rejects this idea-37:149-150.
The unbelievers do agree that almighty Allah created the universe-43:9.
The Pagans thought that it was ar-Rahman's (Allah) wish that they should worship the partners of ar-Rahman (Allah)-43:20.
If the unbelievers accept Allah as the creator of the universe then why should they deviate from His message?-43:87.
The Pagans in Mecca, during Muhammad's time, believed that Allah was a high
God . (29:61-65).
Other deities interceded with Allah on behalf of their worshippers (39:38).
Other deities interceded with Allah, 10:18, 36:23, 43:86 (Tabari, 1988, p. 6. xxii).

When Abd al-Muttalib and his companions found an inscription by digging in the desert they cried out, "Allah Akbar"( ibn Ishaq, 2001, p. 63).

The Quraysh used to cry, "Allah Akbar." When Abd al-Muttalib dug Zamzam he cried, "Allah Akbar" (Ibid, p. 62).

Abd al-Muttalib, Muhammad's grandfather was a very handsome man. He was also very wealthy. Abd al-Muttalib had many wives. He prayed to Allah to bless him with ten sons. His prayer was granted. He promised to sacrifice one of his sons to Allah. His youngest son was Abd Allah. Abd al-Muttalib loved Abd Allah the most (Lings, 1983, p. 12).

When the Quraysh made it difficult for Abd al-Muttalib to dig Zamzam, he vowed that if ten sons were born to him and they reached puberty, he would sacrifice one of them.

Allah fulfilled his desire of having ten sons. The lot fell on Abdallh b. Abd Muttalib. Abd Al-Muttalib asked Allah if he should sacrifice Abdullah or 100 camels instead. He cast lots and the lot fell on 100 camels (Tabari, 1988, p. 6.2).

Allah does not necessarily mean the monotheistic Allah. Abd Al-Muttalib stood beside Hubal while praying to Allah (Ibid, foot note 4).

Abd Al-Muttalib took a large knife, took Abdallah to Isaf and Nailah, the idols of the Quraysh to sacrifice him (Ibid, p. 6.4).

While the custodian was casting lot, Abd Al-Muttalib stood beside Hubal praying to Allah. The lot fell against Abdullah (Ibid).

When Abdullah was taken for sacrifice, Abd al-Muttalib stood by Hubal and prayed to Allah. During the visit to the woman sorceress, Abd al-Muttalib prayed to Allah. A spirit used to visit this woman. She used to get inspiration from this spirit (ibn Ishaq, 2001, p. 67).

When the Quraysh were carrying out the sorceress' instructions Abd al-Muttalib was praying to Allah (Ibid, p. 68).

The polytheists believed in the existence of one supreme deity- (Sahih Muslim, 7.2671).

Sahih Muslim, Book 007, Number 2671:
Ibn 'Abbas (Allah be pleased with them) reported that the polytheists also pronounced (Talbiya) as: Here I am at Thy service, there is no associate with Thee. The Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said: Woe be upon them, as they also said: But one associate with Thee, you possess mastery over him, but he does not possess mastery (over you). They used to say this and circumambulated the Ka'ba.

In a foot note on this hadith, the translator of Sahih Muslim, 'Abdul Hamid Siddiqi writes:

The polytheists believed in the existence of One Supreme Deity but they also believed that there were some other deities also who were to be worshipped besides them (Siddiqi, 2004, v.2, p. .704, foot note 1596).

All those references prove, without any doubt, that the Pagans of Mecca had no problem with Allah. They were very much devoted to their Allah without any trouble whatsoever. They did not do any acts for which Muhammad should despise them and declare war on them. So why was it that Muhammad had to be so vicious towards them, to force them to believe in his version Allah? The answer to this question is that Muhammad craved attention and praise. With his lowly background and nothing to offer to the Quraysh he was searching for a method-a pretext to ridicule, despise, insult and blaspheme the Meccan Pagans and their religions to grab attention. A waif, deprived of love, affection, care and protection during childhood, he simply hankered for those exceedingly powerful human emotions.

Muhammad, therefore, turned to Allah to seek His love and absolute attention. He declared himself to be the greatest friend and confidante (as if, Allah, too, hankered for his love and care) of the Allah of the Pagan Arabs, whom all the Pagans revered with utmost ardour. This was a failsafe method by which Muhammad could get what he missed out in his dejected, lonely and featureless childhood.

Sahih Bukhari provides the reason why, all on a sudden, Allah decided to hate and deplore the Pagan Meccans. It was simply because Allah was in love with Muhammad, while the Pagans did not love him. So Allah had to abandon these Bedouin folks in favour of Muhammad. Muhammad became Allah's most favourite person. Let us read this hadith.

Volume 2, Book 26, Number 725: Narrated Muhammad bin Jubair bin Mut'im:
My father said, "(Before Islam) I was looking for my camel." The same narration is told by a different sub-narrator. Jubair bin Mut'im said, "My camel was lost and I went out in search of it on the day of 'Arafat, and I saw the Prophet standing in 'Arafat. I said to myself: By Allah he is from the Hums (literally: strictly religious, Quraish were called so, as they used to say, 'We are the people of Allah we shall not go out of the sanctuary). What has brought him here?"

The above hadith tells us that there was absolutely no reason for Allah to be angry with the Quraysh. They were utterly devoted to Him. The trouble only started when Muhammad received his claimed special love of Allah for him. Suddenly, Allah turned his face away from the Meccan; Allah became obsessed with Muhammad, abandoning the Meccan Pagans.

Allah frequently changes His name, only Muhammad was allowed to change Allah's name.

As told before, the ancient Arabs knew Allah as well as they knew their palms. They were consistent with the Allah they were devoted to- never changing His name or His attributes. On the contrary, after Muhammad came in the scene, he claimed that Allah has ninety-nine names (59:22-24). The Pagans of Mecca were not convinced because they never had the authority to change the name of Allah at their will. To this, Muhammad's response was that Allah authorised only him to change His name. This was because Allah had special love, adore and mercy for Muhammad.

Let us read the following hadith from the print version of Sunaan Abu Dawud.

Sunaan Abu Dawud, Vol. I. Hadith number 1472:
Ubayy b. Ka'b reported: The Prophet (may peace be upon him) said: Ubayy, I was asked to recite the Qur'an. I was asked: In one mode or two modes? The angel that accompanied me said: Say in two modes. I said: In two modes. I was again asked: In two modes or three? The angel that was in my company said: Say, in three modes. So I said: In three modes. The matter reached up to seven modes. He then said: each mode is sufficiently health-giving, whether you utter "all-hearing and all-knowing" or instead "all-powerful and all-wise". This is valid until you finish the verse indicating punishment on mercy and finish the verse indicating mercy on punishment.

Here is the crux. Muhammad changed, at will, his taste even when Gabriel, Allah's postman brought from Allah instructions with stipulated specifications. Why? The answer is provided in a foot note by Professor Ahmad Hasan, the translator of Sunaan Abu Dawud. In a foot note on this hadith, he writes:

The Prophet (may peace be upon him) was allowed to make minor change in the name of Allah at the end of the verses. But ordinary persons cannot be allowed to do so ('Awn al-Ma'baf, I, 551) (Hasan, 2001, v.1. p. 387, foot note 819).

After changing at will, Allah's name, Muhammad claimed that whoever believes in their meanings and acts accordingly will enter Paradise (Sahih Bukhari, 8.75.419). Muhammad even went to the extent of claiming that just by learning those ninety-nine names of his Allah one could be in Paradise (Sahih Bukhari, 3.50.894).

Curiously, some names by which Muhammad called his Allah were actually the names of Pagan idols. Benjamin Walker writes:

Thus Wadd, a moon god was assimilated into and survived in al-Wadud, 'the Loving'; Munim, worshipped in north Arabia survives in al-Mani, 'the Withholder'; Salm, a deity of Tayma, in al-Salaam, 'the Peace'; Kaus or Kayis, regarded as the consort of Manat, is retained in al-Kawi, 'the Strong'; Aziz of north Arabia is preserved unchanged is al-Aziz, 'the Mighty'.The pre-Islamic designations of God, al-Rahman, 'the Merciful', and ar-Rahim, 'the Compassionate', remain conspicuous in Islam (Walker, 2004, p. 43).

Allah loves to be known as a deity (god or goddess).

Once we grasped what the above quote, from an eminent historian means, we should have no qualm in realising that Allah loves to be known as a deity (god or goddess). The Qur'an confirms this.

Let us read the following verses from the Qur'an

YUSUFALI: And your Allah is One Allah: There is no god but He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful. [002.163]
YUSUFALI: It is He Who is Allah in heaven and Allah on earth; and He is full of Wisdom and Knowledge. [043.084]

A hadith in Sunaan Abu Dawud talks about these verses. This hadith is not available online. I shall quote from the print version of Sunaan Abu Dawud.

Sunaan Abu Dawud, vol.1, hadith number 1491:
Asma' daughter of Yazid reported the Prophet (may peace be upon him) as saying: Allah's Greatest Name is in these two verses: "And your deity is one deity: there is no deity but He, the Compassionate and the Merciful, and the beginning of Surah Al-Imran, "A.L.M, Allah there is no deity but He, the living, the eternal."

In the beginning Muhammad was not sure of his Allah.

When we learn what Muhammad was up to with his Allah, we can derive only one conclusion: confusion and hesitancy. In the beginning, In the beginning Muhammad was not so sure who should be his Allah-ar-Rahman, ar-Rahim, Allat, Uzza, Wadd, Hubal, Aziz-or any other numerous deities that the Meccan Pagans used to worship. Besides Hubal, Allah, Allat, Uzza, Manat-each tribe in Arabia, had their own favorite idol or deity. This is confirmed from the Sirah (biography) of ibn Ishaq. As an example, he writes that Hudhayl b. Mudrika b. Ilyas b. Mudar adopted Suwa. Suwa was at Ruhat, a place near Yanbu. Kalb b. Wabra of Quba adopted Wudd in Dumat al-Jandal (ibn Ishaq, 2001, p. 36).

Even in the Qur'an we read the obsession of the Arabs with idols. Here are two verses from the Qur'an which tell us about the worshipping of various idols by the people of Noah.

Noah complained to Allah that people with money and children were the most corrupt on earth and they refused to abandon their idols Wadd, Suwa, Yaguth, Yau'q and
Nasr -71:21-23.

With so much idolatry in practice and with so many deities around, Muhammad, in the beginning of his career as a Prophet, was utterly indecisive. He tried a few other brands of Allah; was disappointed with the response from his audience and changed his mind several times. In the end, he realized that all the Pagans, despite their numerous idols, had one aspect in common: all of them were wholly devoted to their moon God, Allah, because they believed that Allah had the wherewithal to inflict punishment as well as rewards. This last reason propelled Muhammad to turn to Allah to be his succor. This worked wonderfully, since no Arab could reject their variety of Allah, even tough they were also totally confused with the new version of Allah that Muhammad was pushing to them.

Here are a few comments on the hesitancy and confusion in Muhammad about his Allah.

First we read the Qur'an:

None but Allah (Muhammad uses another name, Rahman) protects during day and at night-21:42.

Muhammad has no knowledge of Allah but he only gives warning plainly and publicly; angels only bring Allah's messages to him-38:67-70.

Muhammad believed in all scriptures but he is commanded to judge between other people's books; Muslims' Allah and the Allah of the people of the Books (the Jews and the Christians) are same...42:15.

No Book was sent to the Pagans of Arabia to testify their claims of ascribing partners to ar-Rahman-43:21.

Then we read hadith.

Muhammad considered himself to be the messenger of ar-Rahman. The Meccans did not know of any ar-Rahman other than the ar-Rahman of al-Yamamah. (ibn Sa'd, 1972, p. 1.189).

The word 'ar-Rahm (womb)' derives its name from ar-Rahman (i.e., one of the names of Allah) and Allah said- (Sahih Bukhari, 8.73.17, 18).

And, finally, comments from a few eminent writers:

Was Muhammad, a warner, an admonisher or the messenger of Allah (Tabari. 1988, p. 6. xxxix)?

The word "Allah" does not occur in the earliest passages of the Qur'an or does so only rarely. The Jews and the Christians, when speaking about Allah in Arabic, presumably used the word, "Allah" (Ibid, p. 6.33).

Regis Blanchere did the latest attempts of the chronological order of the Qur'an in his French translation in 1949. In the first 17 suras, the word Allah occurs only three times namely: (91:130, 10 (95:8), 16 (87:7). Instead of Allah, we find "your Lord (rabbuka) in 96:13 or "we" in 94:14, The Satanic verses indicate the confusion between Allah conceived monotheistically and Allah as a "high Allah" (Ibid, p. 6.34).

Ar-Rab-the Lord, the Sustainer, the supreme. 3:44 (Allah) Allah is my Lord and your Lord. 18:14 Our Lord Rabb is the Lord (Rabb) of the heavens and the earth; occupies the place of Hebrew Jehovah (Hughes, 1994, p. 531).

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