Bahá’í World/Volume 2/A Modern Interpretation of Muḥammadanism
A MODERN INTERPRETATION OF MUḤAMMADANISM
The following letter was written to a Clergyman who, in giving a very liberal course of lectures on the Religions of the World, showed, however, some apprehension as to Muḥammadanism and its historic growth.
BY
HENRIETTA C. WAGNER
I HAVE heard your two lectures on Muḥammadanism and rejoice to see the effort that is being made towards appreciation and mutual understanding, in lieu of the old idea that the Muḥammadans were heathen, their religion false, and ours the only true one.
I have been something of a student of Muḥammadanism for many years, and, through contact with people reared in the Muḥammadan faith, I have gained a new angle or point of view. In the first place, as we would not wish Muslims to judge of Christianity by the late spectacle of the Christian nations slaughtering each other, so we should not judge Muslims by the acts of some of their leaders.
To go back to the time of Muḥammad: I think history will bear me out in the statement that Muḥammad did not take up the sword to defend Himself and His followers until it was plain that His enemies meant to exterminate His religion. If their plan had been to kill Him alone, He would doubtless have given up His life joyfully, as Jesus did. But He was dealing with a different class of people, the lawless, bloodthirsty Arab tribes, who made war upon each other and stole their women and children. And, by the way, the custom of veiling the women antedated the time of Muḥammad, when the Arabs veiled their wives and daughters as a protection against their enemies. These people to whom Muḥammad was sent were so vicious that it has been said our American Indians were civilized compared with them. They buried their infant daughters alive, considering the birth of one a disgrace; a man could have a woman by throwing his cloak over her; he could throw her aside on any provocation, and he could have a thousand women if he wished.
Muḥammad finally organized these people into families, limiting them to four wives, and only this number if they were able to support them. It would have been impossible at that time to have made monogamists of these people, and thus the divine wisdom was manifested in leading them gradually into a better life. Today, through the example of a Great Soul in the Orient, who was a monogamist and set the example of a beautiful home life, many thousands of Muḥammadans are becoming monogamists.
Speaking of the sword, we must remember that that day was the day of the sword. Did not Jesus Himself say, “I came not to bring peace, but a sword?” By this He did not mean that He came to make trouble, but that His day, or dispensation, was not the day of peace—that was to come later. His day or dispensation was to be one of warfare, of bloodshed. He gave His peace to His disciples, but not to the world, for the world was against Him, and He knew the awful suffering and turmoil and unrest [Page 254]
that must transpire before the people of the earth would turn their faces to God. Muḥammad knew the same thing.
I am not one of those who believe that Muḥammad obtained His knowledge of Jesus Christ from any written literature, or even by contacting with Christians, however wise or ignorant they may have been. He has been called the “ignorant camel driver.” It is certain that He was not taught in schools, but received His knowledge from divine inspiration, even as Jesus did, and the very fact that there is the same thread of heavenly wisdom running through the Qur’án as through the Bible and other sacred books of the world, proves that they were all of divine origin, inspired by one and the same God. Muḥammad is spoken of as the “Seal of the Prophets”—that is, the last of the line of Prophets “before the great and awful day of the Lord,” and He speaks of Jesus continually as the “Spirit” or the “Son of God,” and makes, as you know, frequent reference to all the Prophets of God who came before Him.
No, I believe that, even as the Angel Gabriel appeared to Joseph and Mary, he also appeared to Muḥammad, as He said, at various times, and dictated the Qur’án in sections, the original being written upon palm leaves and the dried bones of sheep and camels. As you say, parts of the Qur’án are illuminating, “other parts not so much.” Is this not true of our Bible also? I have heard agnostics say the Bible was not fit to be read, and they would point to certain things that Abraham and Solomon did. We might well say to those people, “Why don't you read the Sermon on the Mount, instead of the passages you refer to?”
We must also remember that, as our Bible is subject to interpretation, so also the Qur’án is subject to interpretation, and it is difficult for a Western mind to grasp, but that may be partly due to faulty translations. Speaking for myself, I have a copy of the Qur’án that I have had for fifteen years. At one time I set myself religiously the task of reading it, chapter by chapter. In this way I have read it over half through, but it was the hardest reading I ever did.*
It may be, as you say, that the Qur’án seems to be fatalistic, but that would seem to be due,also, to the character of the people to whom Muḥammad came and to the methods which it was necessary to take with them. It was necessary to take those vicious people by the heels and hold them over the burning lake of hell fire. He was constantly speaking of the wrath of God and hell fire, the Day of Judgment and the torment that awaited those who disobeyed the commands of God. Of course we know that these terms are only symbols.
In regard to Muḥammad’s attitude towards women, I refer to the oath of Muḥammad, which He required His followers to take. I have not a copy of this oath at hand, but it was to the effect that if a Muḥammadan married a Christian woman, He should treat her with kindness, He was not to interfere with her belief, but allow her to worship as she wished, and when she died her body was to be buried with her people. Also, it has been verified that Muḥammad took into His home many women and girls as a protection, who served in various capacities, and with even some it is said that He even went through a form of marriage, but to those who truly knew the man it was evident that He had one love and that was His beloved wife Kadeesha, the mother of Fatima, who married ‘Alí, His cousin and right-hand man. Through these two holy souls the spiritual descendants of Muḥammad, the twelve Imáms proceeded. These Imáms were mostly, if not all, put to death, and the religion fell into the hands of the corrupt caliphs, who saw an opportunity to propagate the religion for worldly gain, carried it into other countries at the point of the sword, and continued to hold Jerusalem,
[*No good translation of the Qur’án exists in English. In the French translation one finds the Qur’án much more readable.—EDITORS.]
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the Holy City, until the expiration of the time prophesied in our Bible, twelve hundred and sixty years.
So it is evident that the Western idea of Muḥammadanism is gained from the operations of these corrupt caliphs, not from the remnant of truly holy souls in every dispensation who have not “bowed the knee to Baal.”
I was hoping to hear you speak of the contribution which the Muḥammadans have made to science and art, and of its value, particularly during the “dark ages.” In a little book of excerpts which I have gathered for many years, I find the following. I do not know its origin, but I think it is from an encyclopedia:
“It is well known that many of the sciences and arts enjoyed today were introduced into Europe during the ‘middle ages’ through a Muḥammadan seat of learning, Cordova, Spain.
“The Arabs and Moors were an industrious people and the agriculture of Spain was in a most flourishing condition during their occupation of the country. They introduced plantations of sugar, rice, and cotton.
“The Moors of Spain made the finest paper manufactured in Europe, and their carpets and silks, gold and silver embroidery, manufactures in steel and leather, were long unrivaled.
“We are indebted to the Saracens of Spain for the elements of many of the useful sciences, especially chemistry. They introduced the simple Arabic figures which we use in arithmetic. They taught mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and medicine, and were so superior in knowledge to the Christian nations of Europe that many Christians of all nations went to be educated in the Arabian schools of Cordova.”*
Muḥammad taught that the earth revolved around the sun hundreds of years before the fact was discovered by Copernicus.
Referring again to Muḥammad’s attitude towards women, it is claimed by the Muslim women themselves that the degradation of the past centuries cannot be attributed to Him or His teachings, but rather to the aforesaid corrupt leaders who thus kept the people in subjection. Thank God, a New Day has dawned and our Muslim sisters throughout the Orient are becoming enlightened and educated, are laying aside their veils and breaking away the shackles that have bound them for centuries.
I wish you much success in your work of breaking down the prejudices which have kept God’s people apart. I feel that the dawn is truly breaking and that a New Day of unity, co-operation, mutual understanding and love is being ushered in.
- Sincerely yours,
- HENRIETTA C. WAGNER
[*Seignobos, in his Histoire de la Civilization devotes many pages to the contributions of Muḥammadan culture to medieval Europe.—EDITORS.]
