Unmasking Islam: The Embarrassment of Satanic Verses

Unmasking Islam: The Embarrassment of Satanic Verses

Traditional Islamic sources admit that Muhammad was at one time inspired by Satan to put some verses into the Qur'an.

When Muhammad first began preaching in Mecca he thought that the Meccans would accept his religion. But the Meccans were not receptive to him. This made Muhammad angry and he started taunting them for years by insulting their religion and Gods. Meccans refused all dealings with him and his followers. Eventually to appease the Meccans, Muhammad recited the following Qura’nic verses, “Have you then considered the al-Lat and al-Uzza and Manat, the third, the last ... these are the exalted Gharaniq (a high flying bird) whose intercession is approved” (Q: 53.19-20) Al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat were some of the local idols worshiped in Mecca.

Previously Muhammad had spoken against them in his monotheist preaching but now he recited that their "intercession is approved".

This made the Meccans very pleased and the boycott was lifted shortly.

Soon Muhammad realized that by acknowledging the local idols al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat he had made a terrible blunder. He had undermined his own position that as the sole intermediary between Allah and the people and by doing so he made his new religion indistinguishable from pagan beliefs and hence redundant. So he retracted and said the two verses acknowledging pagan idols were satanic verses i.e., the verses inspired by Lucifer, the Biblical Satan.

This is Muhammad’s most embarrassing moment.

Islam crumbled in the wake of the Prophet’s satanic indulgence. Muhammad desperately tried to make amends for the satanic verses and recited the following verse.

“Surely Allah does not forgive setting up partners with Him; and whoever associates anything with Allah, he indeed strays off into remote error. They call but upon female deities.

They call but upon Satan, the persistent rebel!” (Q: 4.116) Subsequently, the relevant verses were also modified with the final form what is now in the modern Qur'an:

“Have ye thought upon Al-Lat and Al-'Uzza. And Manat, the third, the other?

Are yours the males and His the females? That indeed were an unfair division!” (Q: 53:19-22).

Many of the Muhammad’s followers left him on this account realizing that Muhammad was making up the Qur’an (Sina, 2008, p. 16). Muhammad had to run away from Mecca in shame.

The shame of defeat was so much that Muhammad and Abu Bakr had to flee through window. On their way out of town, both had to hide in a cave for fear the Meccans would find them (Winn, 2004. p. 587).

“When the Messenger decided upon departure, he went to Bakr and the two of them left by a window in the back of Abu’s house and went to a cave in Thawr, a mountain below Mecca”. (Ishaq: 223)

“The Messenger came back to Mecca and found that its people were more determined to oppose him and to abandon his religion, except for a few weak people who believed in him”. (Tabari: VI. 118)

However, after this blunder Muhammad was more careful not to make the mistake again.

He just hammered a nail into his own Prophetic coffin.

Muslims are very uncomfortable with the satanic verses episode and this had been the subject of endless and bitter controversy (Walker, 2002, p. 111). But if we have to believe the authentic Muslim sources there is no reason to reject this occurrence. This incident was recorded by devout Muslims like Al-Wikidi, Al-Zamakshari, Al-Baydawi, Al-Tabari, Ibn Ishaq, Ibn Hisham, Ibn Sa'd and Bukhari. It is unthinkable that such a story would have been fabricated by all of them.

While this event is well documented in Islamic sources, current day Islamic leaders rarely tell Muslims or the general public about it.

We can make three logical conclusions from this satanic verses incident.

Firstly, a Qur’anic verse can be modified or deleted at a later date.

Secondly, it casts a shadow over the veracity on Muhammad’s entire claim to be a Prophet.

Finally, Satan proves that Qur’an is not a miracle. Qur’an challenges “bring a Sura like it”. (Q: 2.23) and Satan took the challenge and did it.

Did Muhammad carefully planned a ploy to win the hearts of the Meccans, or was it his subconscious that had suggested to him a sure formula which provided a practical road to unanimity?