We, the children of Abraham, should unite in peace and build up a culture of our own, instead of fighting each other and feeding the war industries of foreign nations.
We are related by faith and by blood. The different rituals we observe should not lead to enmity between us. Quite the contrary.
The Qur'an says:
"If God had willed, he would have made you one nation, but he may try you in what has come to you. So be ye forward in good works, unto God shall you return altogether, and He will tell you of that whereon you were at variance" [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:53; "The Bee", chapter 16:95].
It is from God that we follow different rituals:
"We have appointed for every nation a holy rite that they shall perform" [Qur'an, "The Pilgrimage", chapter 22:66].
The Qur'an even distinguishes between Abraham, Isaac and Jacob on the one hand, and Ishmael on the other:
"Remember also our servants Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, men of might they and of vision. Assuredly, We purified them with a quality most pure, the remembrance of the Abode, and in our sight, they are of the chosen, the excellent. Remember also our servants Ishmael, Elisha and Dhool Kifl, each is among the excellent" [Qur'an, "The Zad", chapter 38:45-48].
According to these verses, the three Patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are described as purified, chosen and excellent, while Ishmael, although being counted among the excellent, is not mentioned as chosen. The chosen-ness of the three Patriarchs has to do with the Land Covenant which the Lord of All Beings made with them [Tanach, Genesis 15:18, 17:4-8, 26:4, 35:11-12].
While every nation has its own distinctive characteristics, it is exactly this Land Covenant which molds the People of Israel into something distinctive, unique in history.
The Qur'an stresses this repeatedly:
"[Allah] gave you such as He had not given to any being. O My People [the Israelites], enter the Holy Land [Land of Israel] which God has prescribed for you..." [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:24]. "Children of Israel, remember...that I have preferred you above all beings" [Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:44].
Note also the distinction between the calls and levels of Abraham's son Isaac, grandson Jacob and son Ishmael:
"We gave him [Abraham] Isaac and Jacob, and each We made a prophet, and We gave them our mercy, and We appointed to them a tongue of truthfulness, sublime...And Ishmael...was true to his promise, and he was a messenger, a prophet. He bade his people to pray and to give alms, and he was pleasing to his Lord" [Qur'an, "Mary", chapter 19:50-56; "The Prophets", chapter 21:72,85].
The Qur'an does say that Abraham "was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a Muslim of pure faith" (Qur'an, "The House of Imram", chapter 3:60). He "named you Muslim aforetime" [Qur'an, "The Pilgrimage", chapter 22:77-78] and admonished you to "follow the creed of Abraham, a man of pure faith and no idolater" [Qur'an, "The Bee", chapter 16:124].
However, could Abraham have uttered the creed of Islam as it was to be established later on: "There is no God besides God and Muhammed is His prophet"?
The expression "He named you Muslim aforetime" shows that the term "Muslim" is here applied in its etymological sense, meaning "one who submits to God", a God Fearer who followed the universal faith of Noah (Genesis 9) given to all mankind, rather than the member of a specific later religion.
This is brought out also by the ensuing admonition to "perform the prayer and pay the alms and hold fast to God".
It is in this sense that the Qur'an speaks of the prophets of Israel as those who have surrendered to God; i.e., as Muslims (God Fearers) [Qur'an, "The Table", chapter 5:48], despite the fact that they and the People of Israel were commanded to observe ordinances and rites different from those of the descendants of Ishmael.
An example of such differences is the Sabbath. This day of rest and sanctification is for the Children of Israel also a sign of God's covenant with them [Tanach, Exodus 31:13-17].
The Qur'an confirms this and even ridicules Jews who do not observe the Sabbath as "apes" [Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:63]. So far, the Sabbath was not ordained for Muslims. Some claim that Islam is universal, that all people (including Jews) must adopt their own version of it. The above citations show that the etymological designations "Islam" and "Muslim" include there the People of the Sabbath (Israel) as well. This must be so. Otherwise, there would have been no need for Abraham to have two children, Ishmael and Isaac. The statements from the Qur'an quoted above are favorable to the Children of Israel.
The Qur'an does criticize those members of the Children of Israel who do not have faith in God and who do not observe the commandment of the Torah. The Qur'an never condemns the Children of Israel as a whole for not observing the Torah's commandments. Qur'anic criticims of the Children of Israel can never be properly interpreted as abolishing God's Covenant with Israel, nor can they be read as replacing the Torah with the religion of Ishmael.
Nowhere in the Qur'an is there any prophecy that would do away with Israel's special status.
Nowhere in the Qur'an does it state that God's promises to Israel have been annulled. Prophets of the One God cannot contradict one another. The Qur'an is in complete accord with the Tanach. The prophets of Israel, from Moses to Zechariah, rebuke the Children of Israel more harshly for their sins than does the Qur'an. Yet the Israelite prophets always stress God's forgiveness, grace and mercy, and that the Covenant He established with Israel will be fulfilled.
It is the triumph of His grace that will bring the nations to praise His Name:
"Praise the Lord, all you nations, praise him, all you people, for his grace did prevail over us, and the Lord's truth is for ever. Praise you the Lord" [Tanach, Psalm 117].
Hatred of Israel does not honor Allah's name, submitting to his prophets does. Hatred is a black hole. Once opened, it devours everything coming near to it.
This is verified by recent history. Today's Jihad fanatics want to outdo one another in their derision of Israel. They compete and even fight with one another for the position of Supreme Jew-Hater!
These Jihad fanatics view Jews as the embodiment of cosmic evil. In so doing, they replace the Islamic confession, "There is no God besides God" with a dualistic world view which is pure idolatry. Muslims should beware of these perverted teachings. They will have dire consequences.
I do not indulge in propaganda. Let us again consult the Qur'an:
"Have you considered? If it be from God, and you disbelieve in it, and a witness from among the Children of Israel bears witness to its like, and believes, and you wax proud, God guides not the people of the evildoers" [Qur'an, "Sand Dunes", chapter 46:8-9].
Four historic examples prove my point.
1. King Cyrus, founder of the Medeo-Persian Empire, recognizing the injustice done by the Babylonians to the Jews, allowed them to return to their homeland. He ordered and financed the building of the Second Temple. In the Book of Isaiah, God calls Cyrus "His messiah," the anointed of the Lord [Tanach, Isaiah 45:1, Ezra 1:1-3]. In the Qur'an, Cyrus is mentioned honorably as "Dhool-Quarnain" [Qur'an, "The Cave", chapter 18:83-98. The term "Dhool-Quarnain" literally means "the Lord of Two Horns". According to Maulana Abu'Ikalam Azad, a recent Minister of Education in India, this term does not refer to Alexander the Great, as often thought, but to Cyrus' kingship of the Medeo-Persian double Monarchy (see Tanach, Daniel 8:3,20)], which means that the Qur'an regards Cyrus as an example worthy to be emulated.
2. Caliph Omar, who liberated Jerusalem from the Byzantine Christians in 638 C.E., six years after the death of Muhammed in 632 C.E., revoked Hadrian's 500 year old ban on Jewish settlement in Jerusalem, which the Byzantines had kept in force. Omar welcomed the Jews back to Jerusalem. The returning Jews built the Bet HaMenorot Synagogue (named for the menorahs drawn on its walls), excavated in 1998 by Professor Naveh Mazar of the Hebrew University.
3. Salah-e-Din, the great Kurdish Muslim Sultan who liberated Jerusalem from the Crusaders in 1187 C.E., suggested to Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, who was Salah-e-Din's doctor) that he urge Jews to return and resettle Jerusalem (as recorded by another Jewish scholar of those times, Rabbi Yehuda al-Harizi). The famous Nachmanides Synagogue in Jerusalem's Old City, built by the returning Jews several decades later during the period of Mameluk Muslim rule, bears witness to this return.
4. Dahr-el-Omar, the sheikh who conquered Galilee from the Turks in the 18th century, told leading rabbis in Constantinople and Morocco that the period of the Jewish exile was over and that the Jews should return to their homeland and rebuild it. From that time on, the Movement of Return to the Land gained momentum.
Many Muslim scholars from earlier times can be quoted. They would have been banished or murdered by the Jihad fanatics of today. Muslims should not accept automatically the detest of Israel preached by some of their leaders.
The Qur'an says:
"God is our Lord and your Lord. We have our deeds, and you have your deeds, there is no argument between us and you. God shall bring us together, and unto Him is our homecoming" [Qur'an, "The Counsel", chapter 42:14].
Repentance is always possible. According to the Qur'an, even Pharaoh, when he saw his army drowning, came to his senses and admitted:
"I believe that there is no God but He in whom the Children of Israel believe. I am of those that surrender" [Qur'an, "Jonah" chapter 10-90].
ABRAHAMS' PRAYER
When told by the Lord that in spite of their high age he would get a son from Sarah, Abraham prayed [Bere****/Genesis 17:18]:
"O that Ishmael might live before thee!"
Abraham loved both Ishmael and Isaac, therefore he had to be told:
"Take now thy son, thine only whom you have loved, even Isaac..." [Bere****/Genesis 22:2]. The specification "even Isaac", was to tell him which one of the two beloved sons he should bring to Mount Moriah.
Abraham did not merely pray "that Ishmael might live". He was not concerned that Ishmael would be threatened by Isaac, and would need a special prayer for the protection from the latter.
Abraham was concerned that Ishmael, biologically the firstborn, might try to bring the whole heritage unto himself, and deprive Isaac of the Divine promise.
Abraham prayed that Ishmael might live before the Lord. This prayer should encourage and guide him to let his spiritual Abrahamic inheritance get the upper hand so that he would be alive in the Divine spirit, and consequently recognize also Isaac's call.
The two brothers and their descendants should not fight over the inheritance but "compete in good works" as the Qur'an, Ishmael's guide book, says so aptly.
In the spirit of our father Abraham, let us , the Children of Ishmael and the Children of Israel, pray together:
"O that both of us -- Ishmael and Israel -- might live before Thee!"
SUMMARY
The ruling wing of Islam has severed its original ties with the "Book" (the Tanach, Hebrew Bible) and the "People of the Book", Israel.
It plays out the idea of Jihad, and the quest of Jerusalem.
In the Islamic view, a Jihad can end only with a complete victory or else with an unreserved admittance that its whole concept was wrong from the start.
The Qur'an itself suggests the latter, and can help paving the way to mutual understanding and co-operation:
1. It stresses the continued validity of the "Book" - Jonah 38; Table 52; Cow 172; Believers 56; Bee 45-47; and others
2. It recognizes the teachings of the Prophets, even of the rabbis -- Table 48 (notwithstanding Repentance 30-35)
3. It recognizes the peculiarity of Israel and the unparalleled gifts to its people (including the land promise) -- Hobbling 15; Cow 60, 247
4. The Land of Israel is prescribed for the Children of Israel -- Table 23
5. Allah settled the Children of Israel in the Land of Israel -- Jonah 93
6. The Children of Israel are rebuked for not fighting for the Land of Israel -- Cow 60, 247
7. David's Kingdom (Zion) and Psalms confirmed, and he being acknowledged as Divine viceroy on earth - Zad 19,25; Cow 252 [cf Is. 28:16]
8. The Psalms and Prophets speak of Israel's return to the land and Jerusalem, and so does the Qur'an -- Bani Israel 8,105
9. Israel often harshly rebuked in the Qur'an, but there is no cancellation of the Covenant or of the Promises
10. On the contrary, the words of the Prophets shall surely be established -- Greeks 5; Hobbling 31; Believers 76
11. Abraham is called a true Muslim - Imram 60; Pilgrimage 77; Cattle 162; and so are the Prophets -- Table 48, notwithstanding their keeping Shabbat and their direction of prayer toward Jerusalem [cf. I Kings 8:30,42]
12. Abraham established a) Mount Moriah in Jerusalem for Israel -- Genesis 22:2, II Chronicles 3:1 b) The Kaaba in Mecca for Ishmael -- Cow 119, 123
13. Qiblah (direction of prayer) for Muslim to Mecca, and for Jews to Jerusalem -- Cow 140, 143 (cf. I Kings 8:29,30)
14. The Qur'an admits different religious rites, and urges all of us to compete in good works - Cow 143, Table 53, Pilgrimage 66
15. Allah wants to be honored by forgiveness and love - Table 15-17, Woman Tested 7, Counsel 14
It is the words of the Prophets which provide the base for true peace.
Arab and Muslim political leaders and some of the Ulema (clergy) misled their own people when they taught that Islam prohibited them from recognizing the State of Israel or having peaceful relations with it.
The authentic teachings of the Qur'an are quite different.
In "The Cow" Allah says that Jews and Muslims have their own special directions of prayer (Jerusalem for Jews and Mecca for Muslims) [Qur'an, "The Cow", chapter 2:140].
Allah Himself is saying that Jerusalem is as important to Jews as Mecca is to Muslims.
Nevertheless, most Muslim leaders continue to claim that Islam prohibits Muslims from recognizing the right of the Jewish People to the Land of Israel. It is our duty to stop this false propaganda.
We must follow the example of the martyr Anwar Sadat, the noble leader, who showed us how to look to the future with a positive attitude and learn from past mistakes. May Allah have Mercy upon him!
Muslims and Jews must recognize each other as brothers, descendants of Abraham, the messenger to the world of ethical monotheism. To do this we must be prepared to forgive past faults and understand that those who follow the ways of peace and forgiveness walk in the shadow of Allah. We must remember Joseph's forgiving attitude to his brothers, the children of Jacob/Israel, and follow his example by telling our Muslim brothers:
"This day let not reproach be cast on you, Allah will forgive you, since He is the Most Merciful of those who show mercy" [Qur'an, "Joseph", chapter 12:92].
My goal is to see that we do not turn the precious teachings of our prophets into theological battle swords that cause hatred and violence. These teachings should guide us to humility and understanding of the destiny that we Muslims and Jews must fulfill for our own benefit and ultimately for the benefit of all humanity.
Shalom/Salaam
GLOSSARY
"Dar-es-Salam" (Realm of Peace)
"Dar-el-Hareb" (Realm of War)
"Dhimmi" (second class citizenship accorded to Christians and Jews in Muslim lands)
"Hadith" (oral tradition of the sayings of Muhammed)
"Hegira" (Muhammed's escape from Mecca to Medina)
"Jihad" (Original Meaning: Performing Divine Commandments that involve hardship. Current Meaning: "Holy War")
"Qur'an" (Muslim Holy Scriptures)
"Tanach" (Jewish Holy Scriptures consisting of the Torah, Prophets and Writings)
"Torah" ("Divine Instruction", i.e. the Five Books of Moses)
"Ulema" (Muslim clergy)
