Continued from Part 4/15:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mukto-mona/message/14113


"An Introduction to Real Islam and Jihad (Part 5/15)"


[Readers, please note: the original author of this ‘Book’ sent me the draft for
a review and commentary. Having carefully reviewed and having made some minor
corrections/alterations of the draft , I felt compelled to circulate this basic
book on ‘Real Islam’ in the Internet, so that anyone who is interested in ‘Real
Islam’ and Islamic Terrorism may benefit from its rich content. The original
author prefers to remain anonymous at this stage, until possibly when a
publisher agrees to publish this book at an appropriate time. Due to its prolix
nature, I have divided this ’Book’ into 15 parts. This is part 5/15; the
remaining parts will be posted as they become available. Please feel free to
comment on this ‘Book.’ All comments should be sent to abul88@h.... Happy
reading—Abul Kasem, the reviewer.]


Chapter 8

Yet more Actions which Speak Louder than Words:

We continue our review of the actions that Muhammad took. Talk is very
inexpensive but actions are absolute illustrious. What else did Muhammad
actually do as he came into power?

INCIDENT #8 – Muhammad’s Massacre of the Bani Qurayza Jews Muhammad lived among
various Jewish tribes. He had issued an injunction or edict towards them
expecting them to fulfil certain conditions related to living in Medina. One of
these was that the Jews were not to help Muhammad’s enemies.

During A.H. 5 (i.e. 626, 627 A.D.), an important siege / battle took place, "The
Battle of the Trench". During this time, Muhammad’s enemies (Meccans and their
allies), negotiated with the Jews of the tribe of Banu Qurayza to aid them
against Muhammad. In the end the Jews did not betray Muhammad. They did not
allow the Quraysh to use their land to launch an attack against Muhammad, and
they did not attack Muhammad. Certainly they were not Muhammad’s best friends,
having seen the brutalities and murders he had carried out against so many
people.

The Quraysh eventually lifted the siege and returned to their homes. Following
that, Muhammad claimed that the angel Gabriel came to him and ordered him to
attack the Banu Qurayza. (Notice that it is this spirit "Gabriel" at work again,
motivating Muhammad to attack). By this time the Muslims were well aware that
the B. Qurayza had negotiated with the Quraysh. Though the negotiations did not
result in the feared alliance, still they were of great concern to the Muslims,
and incited hatred towards the Jews. Sa’d b. Muadh, one of Muhammad’s top
lieutenants, who was severely wounded during the Battle of the Trench (or the
Battle of Ahzab), proclaimed that he
did not want to die until he had seen the Jews destroyed. As the confrontation
began, a Muslim who was on good terms with the B. Qurayza told them that
Muhammad intended to massacre the Jews. Muhammad laid a formidable siege on the
beleaguered Jews of B. Qurayza.

Eventually, the Jews could not hold out and they surrendered. Muhammad picked
out one of his men to judge their fate: the very same Sa’d b. Muadh, who had
made the previously mentioned death declaration, which undoubtedly Muhammad was
aware of. Sa’d proclaimed that the adult males (any teenage boy who had started
puberty, i.e. growing of facial/pubic hair, etc.) were to be beheaded, and, the
women and children enslaved. Thus, Muhammad massacred around 800 prisoners of
war and enslaved their women and children.

The Sirat Rasulallah, op cit, page 464, records what one of the Jewish leaders
said:
Huyayy was brought out wearing a flowered robe in which he had made holes about
the size of the finger-tips in every part so that it should not be taken from
him as spoil, with his hands bound to his neck by a rope. When he saw the
apostle he said, 'By God, I do not blame myself for opposing you, but he who
forsakes God will be forsaken.' Then he went to the men and said, 'God's command
is right. A book and a decree, and massacre have been written against the Sons
of Israel.' Then he sat down and his head was struck off.

Muhammad massacred these men, not for making war upon him, not for aiding his
enemies, but only because they were a threat to his further aims. They had
rejected Muhammad and Islam, and they would not follow him as a prophet.
Consequently, they would have to be removed. At this point in time, there were
no more pagan leaders to plead for these Jews (as Ubayy had done for the
Qaynuqa). There were no more Jewish tribes or allies nearby to lend them a hand,
(they had all been expelled). Now Muhammad was free to do what appears he
intended to do from the beginning: massacre those who threatened him and/or
refused to become his followers.

Apparently some of these Jews were given the option of becoming Muslims but they
refused. From the only records available, only four Jews are recorded as having
converted – obviously to save their own lives. The Jews believed Muhammad was a
false prophet, hence their leader accepted their massacre instead of yielding to
him.

Edward Gibbon, in his classic history, “The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire” described the aftermath of the assault:
“Seven hundred Jews were dragged in chains to the market-place of the city; they
descended alive into the grave prepared for their execution and burial and the
apostle beheld with an inflexible eye the slaughter of his helpless victims.
Their sheep and camels were inherited by the Musulmans: three hundred cuirasses,
five hundred pikes, a thousand lances, composed the most useful portion of the
spoil.”

Gibbon was a respected historian and not some Zionist. But even the Arab’s own
historians make no pretensions about their military conquests. There was no
benevolence or spreading enlightenment as a motivation. It was all about rape
and plunder. The History of Al-Tabari, written in the 10th century clearly
outlines (pg 166, 175) the slaughter and pillaging and rapacious motivations of
these forces. Even in recent history, the Arab tribes under the direction of
Lawrence of Arabia weren’t motivated to attack the Turks for anything other than
simple plunder and gold.

INCIDENT #9 – The Torture and Death of Kinana Previously we learned that
Muhammad attacked the Jewish settlement of Khaybar following the treaty of
Hudaybiyya. One particularly heinous incident among several stand out. Here is
the material. On page 515 of Ibn Ishaq's "Sirat Rasulallah", (The Life of the
Prophet of God), the events of the conquest of Khaybar are detailed. This event
occurred about 3 years before Muhammad's death due to poisoning. Khaybar was a
large Jewish settlement about 95 miles north of Medina. The Jews there were
primarily farmers. Khaybar was known to have some of the best date palms in the
region. The Jews there were well to do because they had worked hard and earned
it. They had good relations with the surrounding tribes of pagans, Christians,
and Jews.

Prior to Muhammad's conquest of Khaybar, he had just been stopped by the Meccans
from performing a pilgrimage to Mecca. Outside of Mecca, he also signed a
humiliating treaty with the Meccans - a treaty that a number of his leading
followers didn't like. This humiliated and embarrassed Muhammad and his
followers, who then sought redemption in a different course of action.
Apparently, to placate his men, Muhammad claimed to have a "revelation" that God
would give them the possessions of the Jews of Khaybar. Six weeks later he
marched on Khaybar with the intent to conquer and plunder.
Page 515 of the above book reads:
"Kinana al-Rabi, who had the custody of the treasure of Banu Nadir, was brought
to the apostle who asked him about it. He denied that he knew where it was. A
Jew came (Tabari says "was brought"), to the apostle and said that he had seen
Kinana going round a certain ruin every morning early. When the apostle said to
Kinana, "Do you know that if we find you have it I shall kill you?" He said
"Yes". The apostle gave orders that the ruin was to be excavated and some of the
treasure was found. When he asked him about the rest he refused to produce it,
so the apostle gave orders to al-Zubayr Al-Awwam, "Torture him until you extract
what he has." So he kindled a fire
with flint and steel on his chest until he was nearly dead. Then the apostle
delivered him to Muhammad b. Maslama and he struck off his head, in revenge for
his brother Mahmud."
Many might find Muhammad's orders to torture Kinana to obtain "buried treasure"
similar to what criminals do to obtain people's money or possessions. It is not
difficult to picture the organized crime figures beating someone or torturing
him to make him talk. "Talk!, tell us where the money is!, or we'll make your
pain even worse!". Finally, when he is near death, Muhammad has his head cut
off. It appears that Muhammad's greed drove him to torture and then to murder a
man for the sole purpose to obtain money and treasure.

Think about Muhammad's statement, "Torture him until you extract what he has".
This is the prophet of Islam in action when he had the power of the sword with
no threat of external consequence. What kind of a man is this prophet of Islam,
and what does this say about the people who choose to follow him, as all who do
must also choose to justify and support all his deeds? Millions have gone to
their death unwilling to risk their eternity on the man, an even greater number
have hitched their wagons to his destiny. It’s an age-old dilemma and choice
still being forced on many throughout the world today.

INCIDENT #10 – The Murder of a Slave Wife and Mother.
This incident involves a Muslim man who murdered his own slave-wife and mother
of his children. From the Hadith of Abu Dawud [26]. Book 38, Number 4348:
Narrated Abdullah Ibn Abbas:
A blind man had a slave-mother who used to abuse the Prophet and disparage him.
He forbade her but she did not stop. He rebuked her but she did not give up her
habit. One night she began to slander the Prophet and abuse him. So he took a
dagger, placed it on her belly, pressed it, and killed her. A child who came
between her legs was smeared with the blood that was there.
When the morning came, the Prophet was informed about it. He assembled the
people and said: I adjure by Allah the man who has done this action and I adjure
him by my right to him that he should stand up. Jumping over the necks of the
people and trembling the man stood up. He sat before the Prophet and said:
Apostle of Allah! I am her master; she used to abuse you and disparage you. I
forbade her, but she did not stop, and I rebuked her, but she did not abandon
her habit. I have two sons like pearls from her, and she was my companion. Last
night she began to abuse and disparage you. So I took a dagger, put it on her
belly and pressed it till I killed her. Thereupon the Prophet said: Oh be
witness, no retaliation is payable for her blood.

To continue to quote from Abu Dawud. Note #3800 states:
"This shows that even if a Jew or any non-Muslim abuses the Prophethe will be
killed. This is held by al-Laith, al-Shafi'i, Ahmad, and Ishaq." Here we see
here that Muhammad allowed people to murder others simply for insulting him.
Note that a slave women, who was used as a concubine by her Muslim master, paid
for her criticism of Muhammad with her life. The man murdered the mother of two
of his children apparently in the presence of his young, and when the prophet
hears of it he makes a special effort to sanction and justify the brutal act. It
seems the opportunity to establish fear in the hearts of all should they
disparage Muhammad simply could not be passed up.

Now then, was that slave a threat? Were Muslims going to leave Islam because of
a slave women's criticism? Of course not, she was only an irritant to her
husband. But Muhammad could not tolerate for long any personal criticism. His
ego could not allow his credibility undermined by anyone, no matter how
insignificant and powerless he or she is; so he allowed and encouraged his
followers to murder anyone who expressed different views. This incident also
shows that Muhammad allowed his followers to even murder members of their own
families.

INCIDENT #11 – The Murder of the Old Woman from Fazara
This incident involves the actions of Muslims who were sent out by Muhammad on a
raid against the Fazara tribe. The Fazara initially defeated the Muslims. The
wounded Muslim leader swore vengeance. After he recovered he went out and
attacked the Fazara again. One very old woman was captured.
Here is the account from Guillaume, op cit, and page 665:
"....and Umm Qirfa Fatima was taken prisoner. She was a very old women, wife of
Malik. Her daughter and Abdullah Masada were also taken. Zayd ordered Qays to
kill Umm Qirfa and he killed her cruelly (Tabari, by putting a rope to her two
legs and to two camels and driving them until they rent her in two.)

Here, Muhammad's companions went out and attacked people, took some prisoners,
then committed some brutal atrocities against their captives. These men were so
destitute of basic human values that they ripped an old woman in half by using
camels! One wonders how many Muslims are intimately acquainted with the record
of brutal killings by Muhammad himself or explicitly ordered, sanctioned, and
justified. Muhammad and his followers seem in every bit as brutal as the worst
humanity has ever produced.

INCIDENT #12 – The Murder of Abdullah Khatal and his daughter
This incident involves another slave woman who was murdered, upon Muhammad's
command because she had mocked Muhammad some time earlier. From Guillaume, op
cit, page 550, 551:
"Another [to be killed] was Abdullah Khatal of B. Taym b. Ghalib. He had become
a Muslim and the apostle sent him to collect the poor tax in company with one of
the Ansar. He had with him a freed slave who served him. (He was Muslim). When
they halted he ordered the latter to kill a goat for him and prepare some food,
and went to sleep. When he woke up the man had done nothing, so he attacked and
killed him and apostatized. He had two singing-girls Fartana and her friend who
used to sing satirical songs about the apostle, so he ordered that they should
be killed with him."

Let's stop here and examine this paragraph. Muhammad ordered that a man who
apostatized, and his two slave girls, be killed. Khatal was ordered to be killed
not because he killed his male slave, a Muslim, but because he apostatized.
Islamic law does not allow a Muslim man to be put to death for killing a slave.
Muhammad also ordered two slave girls to be killed for singing satirical songs
about him. They sung satirical songs about Muhammad probably at least a year or
more earlier. Now, after Muhammad conquered Mecca, it was his time to pay those
slave girls back. These slave girls were not threats to Islam, or to the new
Islamic State, they were only ordinary slave girls. They were ordered to be
executed only because they sang some silly song about Muhammad. Page 551
finishes the story of the slave girls:
"As for Ibn Khatal's two singing girls, one was killed and the other ran away
until the apostle, asked for immunity, gave it to her." Needless to say, if the
second slave girl did not ask for immunity, Muhammad would have had her murdered
also. Muhammad had her sister killed just for poking a little fun of him in
song. A sense of humor was apparently not one of Muhammad’s strong suits.

INCIDENT #13 – Muhammad’s Attack upon Tabuk
There are many, other violent incidents that could drawn from Muhammad’s
biography. We conclude the incidents section with this event because it shows
Muhammad’s beliefs regarding Jihad and his mission of conquest for Islam. In one
of his latest acts, it seems clear that Muhammad had no intention of living
peacefully, side by side with non-Muslims, even with those who were far from his
community’s borders. The only conclusion that can be drawn is that non-Muslims
were his enemies because they had rejected him. As recorded in the Qur’an,
non-Muslims had these options: become Muslim, pay extortion tax, or fight and
die.

Muhammad heard that the Romans were going to attack him. He marshalled 30,000 of
his troops and they went north to the town of Tabuk to do battle with the
Romans. However, upon arriving, they found that there was no threat at all.
Instead, Muhammad sent a detachment to Ayla, to give them the afore-mentioned
options: convert, pay the extortion tax - jizya, or die. The Christian leader
there decided to pay tribute. Details of the incident can be reviewed at
http://answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life4/chap28.htm, from which the following
is extracted:
"To John ibn Rabah and the Chiefs of Aylah. Peace be on you! I praise God for
you, beside whom there is no Lord. I will not fight against you until I have
written thus unto you. Believe, or else pay tribute. And be obedient unto the
Lord and his Prophet, and the messengers of his Prophet. Honor them and clothe
them with excellent vestments, not with inferior raiment. Specially clothe Zeid
with excellent garments. As long as my messengers are pleased, so likewise am I.
Ye know the tribute. If ye desire to have security by sea and by land, obey the
Lord and his Apostle, and he will defend you from every claim, whether by Arab
or foreigner, saving the claim of the Lord and his Apostle. But if ye oppose and
displease them, I will not accept from you a single thing, until I have fought
against you and taken
captive your little ones and slain the elder.

Think about what exactly is being said here; "Do what me and my associates tell
you, give us your finest merchandise", "If my men are happy, I’m happy, pay me
the money and you’ll be protected, upset me or them and your family will not be
safe". Frankly, Muhammad’s words to John read like a script strait from "The
Godfather".

Summary of the 13 incidents:
We see how Muhammad’s attacks upon these people demonstrate his commitment to
the teachings in Sura 9; "Make war upon the Christians and Jews, unless they
convert or pay the extortion." Real Islam, i.e. Muhammad’s Islam, is clearly
taught in the Qur’an, and demonstrated by Muhammad’s actions. Muhammad’s actions
speak loudly here. Committed near the end of his life, they clearly portray what
he wanted his followers to continue to do:
Attack and conquer non-Muslim people. The vast majority of Islamic theologians
today understand amongst themselves that these final acts and teachings abrogate
all earlier, more conciliatory verses. The fear of many is that the earlier,
more tolerant versus are repeated for western consumption only, so that the frog
might not notice how hot the pot is becoming until it is too late…

Documentation shows many more people suffered a similar fate, but here is a
summary of 10 individual murders committed upon Muhammad's requests or efforts
just outlined.
1) Ibn Sunayna, a Jewish man who was murdered simply because he was a Jew
2) Abu Afak, a 120-year-old man, murdered while he slept
3) Asma Marwan, mother of 5 children, murdered while she slept
4) A slave women, mother of two children, murdered while she slept
5) A one-eyed shepherd, murdered while he slept
6) A very old woman literally ripped in half by Muslims who captured her in a
raid
7) A slave girl, who was murdered because she poked fun at Muhammad
8) Murder of Kab Ashraf, a prominent local who did not believe in Muhammad
9) Murder of Ibn Sunayna (Jewish merchant on good social/business terms with
Muslims)
10) The torture and death of Kinana, to extract money.

If those descriptions shock you, consider that we are able to present the
stories using the only source available, … the ‘Islamic friendly’ written
history of the events. Now there are always two sides to every story, but the
victims’ side in these cases is simply not available. One can only imagine just
how far the truth may have been massaged to make the official record more
palatable, or what additional important information has been omitted. The only
thing that is certain is that the official account was never at risk of being
challenged, … dead people generally don’t talk too much. No one knows if other
factors were at play beyond the data presented by those who wrote this history,
but it certainly seems safe to say that we are not getting the full story. Even
so, to most reasonable people, no further information is needed to deplore the
actions of Muhammad and his followers in relation to those events. However, if
we had the power to interview those people and get their perspective on the
events, they would undoubtedly be understood to be even more deplorable and
inhumane.

Thus far information has been presented in a chronological sequence. The
following chapter presents a small and limited selection of Qur’anic verses that
relate to this books theme.


REFERENCES:

[1] http://answering-islam.org/Silas/
[2] Mir, Mustansir, "Dictionary of Qur’anic Terms and Concepts", Garland,
New York, NY, 1987.
[3] Jeffery, Arthur, "Islam: Muhammad and His Religion", Bobs Merril
[4] "Encyclopaedia of Islam", published by Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands.
[5] http://answering-islam.org/Silas/mo-death.htm
[6] Kassis, Hanna, "Concordance of the Qur’an", University of California
Press, Los Angeles, CA, 1983.
[7] "Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam", edited by H.A.R. Gibb, published by
Brill, Leiden, The Netherlands.
[8] Ibn Kathir, "Tafsir of Ibn Kathir" published by Al-Firdous, New York,
NY, 2000.
[9] "Reliance of the Traveler", (A Classic Manual of Islamic Sacred Law), by
Ahmad al-Misri, translated by Nuh Ha Mim Keller, published by Amana
publications, Beltsville, Maryland, USA 1991
[10] Muslim, Abu’l-Husain, "Sahih Muslim", translated by A. Siddiqi,
International Islamic Publishing House, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, 1971.
[Internet version is available at
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/muslim/]
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volume 8, State University of New York Press, 1997.
[12] Ibn Ishaq, (d.782), "Sirat Rasulallah", compiled by A. Guillaume as
"The Life of Muhammad", Oxford, London, 1955
[13] Sell, Canon, "The Historical Development of the Qur’an", published by
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and Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan, published by Maktaba Dar-us-Salam, PO Box
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[16] Dawood, N. J., "The Koran", Penguin, London, England, 1995
[17] Watt, W. M., "Muhammad at Mecca", Oxford University Press, London 1952.
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England, 1997
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Major Classes), translated by S. Moinul Haq, Pakistan Historical Society
[21] Dashti, Ali, "23 Years: A Study in the Prophetic Career of Mohammad",
Mazda, Costa Mesa, CA, 1994. Translated by F.R.C. Bagley
[24] Wensinck, A., "Muhammad and the Jews of Medina", pub. by K. S. V.
[25] http://www.answering-islam.org/Books/Muir/Life3/chap13.htm
[26] Abu Dawud, Suliman, "Sunan", al-Madina, New Delhi, 1985, translated by
A. Hasan. [Internet version is available at
http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/fundamentals/hadithsunnah/abudawud/
[27] Ayoub, Mahmoud, "The Qur’an and Its Interpreters" vol. II - The House
of Imran, Albany, N.Y.; State University of New York Press, 1992
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Maryland, USA, 1989 [Internet version is available at
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[29] Asad, Muhammad , "The Message of the Qur’an", Dar Al-Andaulus,
Gibraltar, 1980
[32] Payne, Robert, "The History of Islam", Dorset Press, New York, 1990
[33] Fregosi, Paul, "Jihad", Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York, 1998
[35] Rehman, Afzal, "Subject Index of the Holy Qur’an", published by
Classical Printers, Delhi, India, 1987


This essay continues in part 6/15