Ah, The History of Religion.
Genesis is from Gilgamesh, written down some 3500 years before the Bible. Noah, the flood, the ark, and surely a story old before being written down.
Ten Commandments are from the Egyptian Book of the Dead, 125 Chapter. Not as Thou shall not, but the soul seeking to be worthy of the after life, speaking, I have not done these things. They too are old.
The main work, is from the Ras Shamran Text, Job, and others, and Ras Shamran was a Temple of Baal, Sun God. He brought Haddad, the storm God, who brought rain withing fifteen miles of the coast, called then and now, Baal Lands.
Since it never rained in Egypt, except near the coast, inland had another view, for a god who brought rain would be useless. So They went Solar, with mixed river gods.
First born children were given to Baal. So Abraham is called to kill a son. He kills a ram instead. He converted, Sabian I think. It was an inland group, so no storm god, but a strong sense of community and moral behavior. Their means of prayer were very like Islam.
This is the root of both faiths. The main difference is, Judism was tribal, only their god for their group.
They had a varaity before, but Monotheism was new and hot during their stay in Egypt. It only lasted a generation there. They took on the gods of others, and created a propritary tribal god.
It is really all Geology. This dates from 1543 BC, Mount Thera, the Isle of Santorni, blew up. Some say ten times Krakatoa, sending a wave that was 600 foot high when it hit the Baal Lands, and ending the dominate religion. Lands to the east and north were covered in two to three meters of ash, Greece, Turkey, Syria. This causes the destruction of Mycenia, Crete, who were the big sea powers of the day.
According to the Bible, they were in the delta, and when the army went to aid flooded people, they looted the place. The Exodus had a point, the army was coming back. Moses had killed their employment advisor, and the rest followed the same path. They would have had to go far up river, lugging stolen goods, and turned left to cross the Red Sea, but due east was the main trade route, which lead to Mount Siani, and the hills back of the coast. It was right there, and dry land.
Mount Thera erupted for a while after the blast, a pillar of smoke by day, and fire by night, it was hard to miss. According to the Bible they pretended to be friendly, traded at the local towns, and one day killed everyone, except virgin girls, took all the metal, and fled into the hills. This worked a few times, but the people of the coast got wise, an when they came, slaughtered them. Such Philistiens!
Egypt was having it's own problems, the Sea People came, and took the delta. Egypt did not object long, for the sea people also joined the coast people, and revived the power of Baal.
The sea was blocked with floating stones. Pumice, Syria had been an olive grove for about 6000 years, and was whipped out, business took a big writeoff, and the coast people shifted west, and founded Carthage. They started new olive groves in Iberia. They were still the only sea power, and hence controlled trade. The Bible mentions their grain ships were 300 cubits long.
Nothing much happens for 800 years, the sea people control trade on the Red Sea too. Greece rises, falls, Rome rises, Christianity rises, Israael trys to overthrow Rome, it does not work out, Western Rome falls, taking everyone down with it.
After the dust settles, in the old Roman Provence of Arabia Felix, comes Muhammed. In his world are fragment of worlds fallen. Greek, Roman, Jews, Sabians, and he is not literate, but the old stories are told. He is a man, just out to make a living.
From what I can gather, it was a while ago, he is not a follower of anything. He is involved in trade, and sees the good and bad in men. He spends a lot of time alone, traveling across the desert, and as there is nothing out there, He concludes that their is one rational force in the universe, and it is unknowable by man. It can not be bought, sold, and yet it controls all.
This leaves man with two choices only. Inventing false paths, gods, religions, and claiming to bribe the one, with first born children, or prayers, make idols, sell magic charms, and to cheat and deceive the one, or to accept things as they are, and Submit.
He is in a world where the works of men, the might of Rome, had fallen to dust. Yet the world went on.
He ponders, and hears a voice. Still a scary thing. It gives him something to remember and recite. He does, he may have just been in the sun too long, he would humor his mind playing tricks, till he found shade, water, food, and all would be better.
He did find these things, but the voice returned. He was told to recite to others, and he did. Many thought he was a poet, it runs strong in Arabic, and they listen well. In a short time he became a performer of sorts, yet the content of his speech was profound, meaningful, and others recited his words as wisdom.
Now comes a hard time for Muhammed, he thinks he is losing it. He is called by the voice, and trys to resist, but no luck. he stands against himself, submit, or a false path. He is still a simple man, so bit at a time, back to reciting to friends, picking up some enemies, who think he should have a permit, of recite their stories, and his friends get the same, but stick with him.
Now come voices that shock Muhammad, the values of moral behavior between men is one thing, but women, widows, orphans, to be cared for and treated kindly, given rights to be enforced? He tries to argue with the voice, "You do not understand, these are Arabs, and the voice says, would you like to make some idols of wood and clay?
Muhammad submits, even though he is fairly sure he will be laughed at or killed. A few laugh, scorn, some do think of killing him, but a lot repeat his words, and find meaning. It does lead to some fighting, loss, driven out, then the two view of life are compared, in the hearts of good people, and they side with Muhammed. He returns in victory, and declares peace on those who had just tried to kill him.
He is still just Muhammad, one of the people. He does not become King, do miracals, and the rest of his life is of little importance, He is the man Muhammad.
Upon his death his companions gather. They liked him, but as The Messenger, he brought them something of merit, so they gather, hire a scribe, Jewish I am told, and they recite what he has taught. when all agree, the verse is written, till the whole of the Quran is written, and those who were with him in llfe all agree, those were the words he spoke. All copies of this person and that, who spoke as best they could are destroyed.
Not one word of the Quran has been changed, Muhammed The Messenger was a true Prophet, as judged by what he said coming to pass, just as prophets before him were judged.
There is no God but God, the ways of God are beyond your understanding, but not beyond your sight, mind, heart. There is one power that directs all things, and it is the only thing worth submitting to.
Some will chose the community of belivers, the Ulmah, and others will chose the path to the lake of fire. You cannot save them from God, but you can join them.
The choice is yours.
Prayer is a way for men to remind themselves who they are, it does not influence God.
Those who submit to what they cannot understand, with a good heart and clean hands, have the best possible deal.
There are teachers and prayer leaders, but no priests. All pray in the same mosque. All are equal before God.
Muhammed said, Study the ways of God, learn them, and then give that knowledge to the people. This caused great developmenmt in Science and Mathematics. The people included those of other faiths.
Iblis misleads some into thinking they are above God, have a deal, are saved, but that is just one of the paths to the lake of fire.
It was well summed up by an Algerian I know, in Algeria Atheists are Islamic. It does not matter if there is a God, if you live a life where if you were wrong about that, you could still stand to be judged on your meriits.
Muhammed's system of caring for widows, orphans, the poor, sick, was copied. In Germany in 1870, something called Social Security, run by the state. 1933 in the USA.
Islam unites people. It is a culture more than what we call religion. It covers all of life.
09 May 2008, 1:19 pm
