Symbolism+Paganism+Plagiarism=Religion (Why I Left Islam)

Seeker of Truth · (#1 (**permalink**))

Peace to advocators of truth:

We condemn the Black Christian for being in the white mans religion, but Islam is the white mans religion too. Those Arabs came into Africa conquering in the name of Allah and teaching African people they had been worshipping devils and demons for thousands of years, just like the white Europe Christian did! And both Chrisitianity, Judaism, and Islam are female-hating, slave- tolerating religions (2 key features of all White religions)

A lot of Muslims are good when it comes to exposing the pagan origins of Christianity and the "Jesus Christ" story as it relates to the worship of ancient sun gods. But what about Islam? Do you honestly think your religion is not derived from the ancient mythos of the Semites? You better think again! Ya better learn about that ancient lunar cult in Arabia! Then maybe you Muslims will stop fighting about who has to correct form of Islam. Because to be bluntly honest, all of your versions are grafted from the ancient lunar beliefs of Arabia!

The word Allah was derived from al-ilah which had become a generic title for whatever god was considered the highest god. Each Arab tribe used Allah to refer to its own particular high god. This is why Hubal, the Moon god, was the central focus of prayer at the Kabah and people prayed to Hubal using the name Allah. (Dr. Robert Morey; http://www.cultbusters.com/allah.htm)

"Islam also owes the term "Allah" to the heathen Arabs. There's evidence that it entered into numerous personal names in Northern Arabia and among the Nabatians. It occurred among the Arabs of later times, in theophorous names and on its own." Ibn Warraq, Why I Am Not A Muslim, (Prometheus, Amherst, 1995) p. 42.

The worship of the Moon-god "Suen" (also called Nanna or Asimbabbaar) was the most wide-spread religion in the Middle East (Hall, Mark. 1985, A Study of the Sumerian Moon-god, Nanna/Suen; University of PA)
The symbol of this Moon-god was the crescent moon, and was constantly found on ancient pottery or artifacts of worship. Islam adopted the crescent moon as its religious symbol.
In Mesopotamia the word "Suen" was transformed into the word "Sin" by the Sumerians as their favorite name for the Moon-god by the Sumerians. (Austin Potts, 1971, The Hymns and Prayers To The Moon-god, Sin, Dropsie College, p. 2)

The Old Testament rebuked the worship of the Moon-god (Deut. 4:19; 17:3; II Kings 21:3,5 etc.) because it often caused Israel to commit idolatry.

While the name of the Moon-god was "Sin," his title was "al-ilah" meaning "the deity." "Ilah" is a generic Arabic word for "god" or "deity."
"The god Il or Ilah was originally a phase of the Moon God." (Coon, Carleton S.; 1944. Southern Arabia, Washington D.C.: Smithsonian, p. 398)

The pre-Islamic Arabs shortened 'al-ilah' to Allah. They used 'Allah' in the names of their children. For instance, Muhammed's father and uncle had Allah as part of their names.
"Similarly, under Muhammed's tutelage, the relatively anonymous Ilah, became Al-Ilah, The God, or Allah, the Supreme Being." (Coon, p. 399)
Mohammed never defined "Allah" in the Qur'an because he assumed that the pagan Arabs already knew who Allah was.
Mohammed rejected all the deities of Ancient Arab such as Ilah's wives and daughters. But he kept the black stone which represented Allah.

Islam's origins and practices have been tracked back by scholars to the ancient fertility religion of the moon god of Arabia.
"The moon god was worshipped by praying toward Mecca several times a day, making an annual pilgrimage to the Kabah which was a temple of the moon god, running around the Kabah seven times, caressing an idol of a black stone set in the wall of the Kabah, running between two hills, making animal sacrifices, gathering on Fridays for prayers, giving alms to the poor, etc. These were pagan rites practiced by the Arabs long before Mohammed was born." (Dr. Robert Morey; http://www.cultbusters.com/aorigin.htm)

"The Forms of Pagan Worship... It will be noticed that the sun and the moon and the five planets got identified with a living deity, god or goddess, with the qualities of its own.
Moon worship was equally popular in various forms...It may be noted that the moon was a male divinity in ancient India; it was also a male divinity in ancient Semitic religion, and the Arabic word for the moon (qamar) is of the masculine gender. On the other hand, the Arabic word for the sun (shama) is of the feminine gender. The pagan Arabs evidently looked upon the sun as a goddess and the moon as a god. If Wadd and Suwa represented Man and Woman, they might well represent the astral worship of the moon and the sun...
The Pagan deities best known in the Ka'ba and round about Mecca were Lat, Uzza and Manat...They were all female goddesses." (Yusuf Ali: pgs. 1619-1623)

In his explanation of why the Qur'an swears by the moon in Surah 74:32, "Nay, verily by the Moon," Yusuf Alli comments, "The moon was worshipped as a deity in times of darkness." (fn. 5798, pg. 1644)
Muhammad commanded his followers to participate in these pagan ceremonies while the pagans were still in control of Mecca. (See Yusuf Ali, fn. 214, pg. 78.)
Islam went on to adopt these pagan religious rites.
"...the whole of the [pagan] pilgrimage was spiritualized in Islam..." (Yusuf Ali: fn. 223 pg. 80)

Al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat called "the daughters of Allah". Yusuf Ali explains in fn. 5096, pg. 1445, that Lat, Uzza and Manat were known as "the daughters of God [Allah]".

The stars were used as pagan symbols of the daughters of Allah.

The Qur'an at one point told Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat in Surah 53:19-20. Those verses have been "abrogated" out of the present Qur'an. They were called "The Satanic Verses."
The Arab tribes gave the Moon-god different titles: Sin, Hubul, Ilumquh, Al-ilah.

The title "al-ilah" (the god) was used for the Moon-god.

The word "Allah" was derived from "al-ilah."

The pagan "Allah" was a high god in a pantheon of 360 deities worshipped at the Kabah.

Allah was only one of many Meccan gods in the Kabah.

The Muslims placed a statue of Hubul on top of the Kabah, at that time Hubul was considered the Moon-god by the Arabs.

The Kabah was the "house of the Moon-god" and the name "Allah" eventually replaced that of Hubul as the name of the Moon god.

They called the Kabah the "house of Allah."

"Historians like Vaqqidi have said Allah was actually the chief of the 360 gods being worshipped in Arabia at the time Mohammed rose to prominence. Ibn Al-Kalbi gave 27 names of pre-Islamic deities...Interestingly, not many Muslims want to accept that Allah was already being worshipped at the Ka'bah in Mecca by Arab pagans before Mohammed came. Some Muslims become angry when they are confronted with this fact. But history is not on their side. Pre-Islamic literature has proved this." (G.J.O. Moshay, Who Is This Allah? Dorchester House, Bucks, UK, 1994, pg. 138).

"Late Islamic masculinization of the Arabian Goddess, Al-Lat or Al-Ilat - the Allatu of the Babylonians - formerly worshipped at the Kaaba in Mecca. It has been shown that 'the Allah of Islam' was a male transformation of 'the primitive lunar deity of Arabia.' Her ancient symbol the crescent moon still appears on Islamic flags, even though modern Muslims no longer admit any feminine symbolism whatever connected with the wholly patriarchal Allah." -B Walker "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets"

"Shrine of the sacred stone in Mecca, formerly dedicated to the pre-Islamic Triple Goddess Manat, Al-Lat (Allah), and Al-Uzza, the 'Old Woman' worshipped by Mohammed's tribesmen the Kore****es. The stone was also called Kubaba, Kuba, or Kube, and has been linked with the name of Cybele (Kybela), the Great Mother of the Gods. The stone bore the emblem of the yoni, like the Black Stone worshipped by votaries of Artemis. Now it is regarded as the holy center of patriarchal Islam, and its feminine symbolism has been lost, though priests of the Kaaba are still known as Sons of the Old Woman."(Ima/ Imams) -Ibid

Speaking of Muhammad’s tribe the Kore****es, who were named after the goddess Kore, who the Koran was named after also, it's furthermore no coincidence that the Muslims would have their "holy day" or Sabbath on Friday since Friday is named after a female goddess [just like the Chrisitian's Sabath which is on SUN-day].

Bukhari Volume 1, Book 4, Number 234:

Narrated Abu Qilaba:

Anas said, "Some people of 'Ukl or 'Uraina tribe came to Medina and its climate did not suit them. So the Prophet ordered them to go to the herd of (Milch) camels and to drink their milk and urine (as a medicine). So they went as directed and after they became healthy, they killed the shepherd of the Prophet and drove away all the camels. The news reached the Prophet early in the morning and he sent (men) in their pursuit and they were captured and brought at noon. He then ordered to cut their hands and feet (and it was done), and their eyes were branded with heated pieces of iron, They were put in 'Al-Harra' and when they asked for water, no water was given to them." Abu Qilaba said, "Those people committed theft and murder, became infidels after embracing Islam and fought against Allah and His Apostle ."

AND WHERE DID PROPHET MOHAMMED GET THE TIME DURING NIGHT TIME TO GET REVELATIONS FROM ALLAH FOR THAT HOLY BOOK THE KORAN SINCE HE WAS A VERY BUSY MAN AT NIGHT?

Bukari Volume 1, Book 5, Number 282:

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

The Prophet used to visit all his wives in one night and he had nine wives at that time.

(A very busy night-life for the prophet of islam, to say the least. NOTE: he had nine wives at THAT time.)

Bukari Volume 1, Book 5, Number 290:

Narrated Abu Huraira:

The Prophet said, "When a man sits in between the four parts of a woman and did the sexual intercourse with her, bath becomes compulsory."

So, Muslims do you think Muhammad visited all his 9+ wives every night, and then bathed 9+ times every night??? Allah had no chance of revealing anything to Muhammad during the nights!!!

Bukari Volume 1, Book 5, Number 268:

Narrated Qatada:

Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives in a round, during the day and night and they were eleven in number." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet was given the strength of thirty (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven).

Today, Prophet Muhammad would be a pedophile marrying little young girls! Don't believe me huh?

Bukari Volume 7, Book 62, Number 64:

Narrated 'Aisha:

"that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old, and then she remained with him for nine years (i.e., till his death)."

Volume 7, Book 62, Number 65:

Narrated 'Aisha:

"that the Prophet married her when she was six years old and he consummated his marriage when she was nine years old. Hisham said: I have been informed that 'Aisha remained with the Prophet for nine years (i.e. till his death)." what you know of the Quran (by heart)' ".

Bukari Volume 8, Book 73, Number 151:

Narrated 'Aisha:

"I used to play with the dolls in the presence of the Prophet, and my girl friends also used to play with me. When Allah's Apostle used to enter they used to hide themselves, but the Prophet would call them to join and play with me. (The playing with the dolls and similar images is forbidden, but it was allowed for 'Aisha at that time, as she was a little girl, not yet reached the age of puberty.)"

I don't know about you guys, but I hear someone screaming "Michael Jackson!"

Al Hadis, Vol. 2, p. 692:

Ibn Ma`sud reported from the Messenger of Allah who said, "A woman is like a private part (sex organ). When she goes out (walking) the devil casts a glance at her (in lust)."

Well, this clearly gives us an insight into Muhuammad's "pure" mind. To him women were nothing but walking vaginas to be used as objects for sexual fulfillment. Now you know he wanted women to be covered. Even a woman lips were too erotic form those perverted Arabs so they had the woman cover her face too.

From Sahih Muslim Hadith:

Chapter 619: Selling a cat, selling a dog (unless it is a working dog), and earning of prostitutes (unless they are non-muslims),... are all forbidden.

Come on what kind of $h!t. This is your holy Prophet of Islam? This verse encourages the Muslim invaders to convert women of other faith into prostitutes for their own enjoyment as prostitution by non-muslims is NOT forbidden. We can see plenty of examples of this throughout history, especially Indian history. I recall reading Ayi Kwei Armah book "2000 Seasons" and how the Arabs use to place warm dates in African womens vagina and eats them out!

Koran Chapter 52: Verse 24:

And there will go round boy-servants of theirs, to serve them as if they were preserved pearls.

Koran Chapter 56: Verse 17:

They will be served by immortal boys.

Koran Chapter 76: Verse 19:

And round about them will (serve) boys of everlasting youth. If you see them, you would think them scattered pearls.

Is this why there was talk of Michael Jackson becoming a Muslim?

One Zero Seven · (#2 (**permalink**))

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful...the Best Knower.

It's ironic that a "Seeker of Truth" would post half-truths and outright lies to get his/her point across.

Allah willing, I will respond to this garbage (the post, itself)in the near future, and expose it for what it is...deception.

The Qur'an by itself is enough to disprove the claims made in this post.

We really need to examine our Motives...WHY we do what we do.

RM

boyrevel · (#3 (**permalink**))

Psalm 118:8(King James Version)
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Muhammad was a man. Jesus is the Lord.

Seeker of Truth · (#4 (**permalink**))

Peace to advocators of truth:

Allah: Islamic name for God. Is derived from Semitic El, and [Allah] originally applied to the Moon; he [Allah] seems to have been preceded by Ilmaqah, the Moon-god. Allat is the female counterpart of Allah. (Everyman’s Dictionary of Non-Classical Mythology, Egerton Sykes, Godspeed, Allah)

The Bedouin's astral beliefs centred upon the moon, in whose light he grazed his flocks. Moon-worship implies a pastoral society, whereas sun-worship represents a later agricultural stage. In our own day the Moslem Ruwalah Bedouins imagine that their life is regulated by the moon, which condenses the water vapours, distils the beneficent dew on the pasture and makes possible the growth of plants. On the other hand the sun, as they believe, would like to destroy the Bedouins as well as all animal and plant life. (History Of The Arabs, Philip K. Hitti, 1937, p 96-101)

There are stories in the Sira of pagan Meccan praying to Allah while standing beside the image of Hubal. (Muhammad's Mecca, W. Montgomery Watt, Chapter 3: Religion In Pre-Islamic Arabia, p26-45)

"The relation of this name, which in Babylonia and Assyrian became a generic term simply meaning ‘god’, to the Arabian Ilah familiar to us in the form Allah, which is compounded of al, the definite article, and Ilah by eliding the vowel ‘i’, is not clear. Some scholars trace the name to the South Arabian Ilah, a title of the Moon god, but this is a matter of antiquarian interest" (Islam, Alfred Guillaume, 1956, p 6-7)

"The first pre-Islamic inscription discovered in Dhofar Province, Oman, this bronze plaque, deciphered by Dr. Albert Jamme, dates from about the second century A.D. and gives the name of the Hadramaut moon good Sin and the name Sumhuram, a long-lost city....The moon was the chief deity of all the early South Arabian kingdoms—particularly fitting in that region where the soft light of the moon brought the rest and cool winds of night as a relief from the blinding sun and scorching heat of day. In contrast to most of the old religions with which we are familiar, the moon god is male, while the sun god is his consort, a female. The third god of importance is their child, the male morning star, which we know as the planet Venus...The spice route riches brought them a standard of luxurious living inconceivable to the poverty-stricken South Arabian Bedouins of today. Like nearly all Semitic peoples they worshipped the moon, the sun, and the morning star. The chief god, the moon, was a male deity symbolized by the bull, and we found many carved bulls’ heads, with drains for the blood of sacrificed animals." (Qataban and Sheba, Wendell Phillips, 1955, p. 227)

"...a people of Arabia, of the race of the Joktanites...the Alilai living near the Red Sea in a district where gold is found; their name, children of the moon, so called from the worship of the moon, or Alilat." (Gesenius Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament Scriptures, translated by Samuel Prideaux Tregelles, 1979, p. 367)

Allat, according to recent study of the complicated inspirational evidence, is believed to have been introduced into Arabia from Syria, and to have been the moon goddess of North Arabia. If this is the correct interpretation of her character, she corresponded to the moon deity of South Arabia, Almaqah, `Vadd, `Amm or Sin as he was called, the difference being only the oppositeness of gender. Mount Sinai (the name being an Arabic feminine form of Sin) would then have been one of the centers of the worship of this northern moon goddess. Similarly, al-`Uzza is supposed to have come from Sinai, and to have been the goddess of the planet Venus. As the moon and the evening star are associated in the heavens, so too were Allat and al-`Uzza together in religious belief, and so too are the crescent and star conjoined on the flags of Arab countries today. (The Archeology Of World Religions, Jack Finegan, 1952, p482-485, 492)

Foundational Principles

1. We can all agree on this common ground: the Qur'an is literature.

2. Our interpretation of the Qur'an is subject to the same rules of analysis and exegesis that govern the interpretation of any other piece of literature: grammar, syntax, literary context, historical context, and cultural context.

3. One literary rule is that when a book refers to things without explaining them to the readers, the author is assuming that these things are so well known that no explanation is needed.

4. The Qur'an refers to gods, people, places, and things which are nowhere explained or defined within the Qur'an itself.

5. The authors of the Qur'an assumed that everyone already knew of these things and thus no explanation was needed.

6. There are many passages in the Qur'an which would be unintelligible if we did not go outside of the Qur'an to the historical and cultural context of pre-Islamic Arabia. Such surahs as "The Blind Man" (80), "The Elephant" (105), etc. are unintelligible if recourse is not made to historical sources.

7. All scholars use pre-Islamic history to explain the contents of the Qur'an.

8. What kind of literature is the Qur'an? Is it rational discourse or historical narative? Is a book of songs or poems? What is it? The authors of the Qur'an tell us that it is primarily composed of "pretty stories." Indeed, if we removed all the "pretty stories" from the text of the Qur'an, it would be reduced to a few pages of threats and warnings.

We relate to you the most pretty
stories in what we reveal to you
in this Qur'an. (Surah (12:3)

9. From where did these "stories"originate? Were they "brought down" from heaven or were they derived from old myths and legends?

Many scholars are agreed that the stories found in the Qur'an were derived from the legends and myths of Arabs, Jews, Persians, and Christians. In other words, they did not come from heaven but from earth. Their source is not Allah but human story tellers. This is why many scholars view the Qur'an as a fanciful book of ancient tales.

This will not come as a surprise to anyone who actually reads the Qur'an. It is primarily composed of old fables and myths which convolute the names, dates, events, and places of biblical and secular history into incoherent fantasies. Such fantastic stories as the youths in the cave, the she camel, the monkey people and the night journey are only faint garbled reflections of the original tales.

Example: Yusuf Ali's translation and commentary on the Qur'an is well known and accepted all over the world. In his comments on the text, he traces the stories of the Qur'an back to the original Arab, Jewish, Persian or Christian legends from which they were derived. He does not deny the earthly sources of the Qur'an. Instead, he documents them!

If the Qur'an is a confused and jumbled record of ancient "stories" drawn from the various nations conquered by the Arabs, this becomes the most serious threat to Islam's claim of divine revelation. Maududi was right. Once we identify the sources of the Qur'an, it is no longer a revelation.

Yusuf Ali's Translation and Commentary

Surah

verse

Source of story according to the footnotes and comments in Yusuf Ali's Translation and Commentary of the Koran.

2

60

Jewish And Arab legends

65

Jewish legends

125

Arab legends

158

Arab legends

189

Arab legends

194

Arab legends

196

Arab legends

197

Arab legends

198

Arab legends

200

Arab legends

259

Jewish legend

3

49

Christian legend

7

65

Arab legends

73

Arab legends

85

Arab legends

11

59

Arab legends

18

9

Christian legend

110

Persian source

74

32

Arab legends

10. It is thus proper and appropriate to apply the question of sources to the god of Islam. Did Islam derive its god from revelation or from previously existing sources?

General Questions

Is it possible to believe that you are worshipping the true God when you are actually worshipping a false god? Yes.

Do most religions have sacred books which claim that the God, gods or goddessesrevealed in their books are true? Yes.

Does merely claiming that you worship the true God prove that you are in fact worshipping the true God? No.

Does the Qur'an claim that Allah is the true God? Yes.

Is it possible that the Qur'an could be in error and thus Allah is a false god? Yes.

Is it possible that Islam derived the name "Allah" from pre-Islamic sources? Yes.

Specific Questions

Does the Qur'an define the word "Allah"? No.

Was the name "Allah" revealed for the first time in the Qur'an? No

Does the Qur'an assume that its readers have already heard of "Allah"? Yes

Should we look into pre-Islamic Arabian history to see who "Allah" was before Muhammad? Yes.

What religion was his family and tribe? Pagans

What was the name of his pagan father? Abdullah (Abd + Allah)

Did Muhammad participate in the pagan ceremonies of Mecca? Yes

Did the Arabs in pre-Islamic times worship 360 gods? Yes

Did the pagans Arabs worship the sun, moon and the stars? Yes

Yusuf Ali: pgs. 1619-1623 "The Forms of Pagan Worship." It will be noticed that the sun and the moon and the five planets got identified with a living deity, god or goddess, with the qualities of its own.
Moon worship was equally popular in various forms...It may be noted that the moon was a male divinity in ancient India; it was also a male divinity in ancient Semitic religion, and the Arabic word for the moon (qamar) is of the masculine gender. On the other hand, the Arabic word for the sun (shama) is of the feminine gender. The pagan Arabs evidently looked upon the sun as a goddess and the moon as a god.
If Wadd and Suwa represented Man and Woman, they might well represent the astral worship of the moon and the sun...
The Pagan deities best known in the Ka'ba and round about Mecca were Lat, Uzza and Manat...They were all female goddesses.

In his explanation of why the Qur'an swears by the moon in Surah 74:32, "Nay, verily by the Moon," Yusuf Alli comments, "The moon was worshipped as a deity in times of darkness"(fn. 5798, pg. 1644).

Did the Arabs built temples to the Moon-god? Yes

Did different Arab tribes give the Moon-god different names/titles? Yes

What were some of the names/titles? Sin, Hubul, Ilumquh, Al-ilah.

Was the title "al-ilah" (the god) used of the Moon-god? Yes

Was the word "Allah" derived from "al-ilah?" Yes

Was the pagan "Allah" a high god in a pantheon of deities? Yes.

Was he worshipped at the Kabah? Yes.

Was Allah only one of many Meccan gods? Yes

Did they place a statue of Hubul on top of the Kabah? Yes.

At that time was Hubul considered the Moon-god? Yes.

Was the Kabah thus the "house of the Moon-god"? Yes.

Did the name "Allah" eventually replace that of Hubul as the name of the Moon god? Yes.

Did they call the Kabah the "house of Allah"?

Did the pagans develop religious rites in connection with the worship of their gods? Yes.

Did the pagans practice the Pilgrimage, the Fast of Ramadan, running around the Kabah seven times, kissing the black stone, shaving the head, animal sacrifices, running up and down two hills, throwing stones at the devil, snorting water in and out the nose, praying several times a day toward Mecca, giving alms, Friday prayers, etc.? Yes.

Did Muhammad command his followers to participate in these pagan ceremonies while the pagans were still in control of Mecca? Yes (See Yusuf Ali, fn. 214, pg. 78).

Did Islam go on to adopt these pagan religious rites? Yes.

...the whole of the [pagan] pilgrimage was
spiritualized in Islam..." (Yusuf Ali: fn. 223 pg. 80).

Were al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat called "the daughters of Allah"? Yes.

Yusuf Ali explains in fn. 5096, pg. 1445, that Lat, Uzza and Manat were known as "the daughters of God [Allah]"

Did the Qur'an at one point tell Muslims to worship al-Lat, al-Uzza and Manat? Yes. In Surah 53:19-20.

Have those verses been "abrogated" out of the present Qur'an? Yes.

What were they called? "The Satanic Verses." Yes.

Was the crescent moon an ancient pagan symbol of the Moon-god throughout the ancient world? Yes.

Was it the religious symbol of the Moon-god in Arabia? Yes

Were stars also used as pagan symbols of the daughers of Allah? Yes

Did Islam adopt the pagan crescent moon and stars as it religious symbol? Yes.

As Islam developed over the centuries, did it adopt pagan names, pagan ceremonies, pagan temples and pagan symbols? Yes

Is it possible that most Muslims do not know the pagan sources of the symbols and rites of their own religion? Yes.

Are they shocked to find out the true sources of their ceremonies and stories? Yes

What then is Islam? A modern version of one of the ancient fertility cults.

"The name Allah, as the Qur'an itself is witness, was well known in pre-Islamic Arabia. Indeed, both it and its feminine form, Allat, are found not infrequently among the theophorous names in inscriptions from North Africa."
Arthur Jeffrey, ed., Islam: Muhammad and His Religion (New York: The Liberal Arts Press, 1958), p. 85.

"Allah" is a proper name, applicable only to their [Arabs'] peculiar God."
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, I:326.

"Allah" is a pre-Islamic name. . ."
Encyclopedia of Religion, I:117.

"Allah is found. . .in Arabic inscriptions prior to Islam."
Encyclopedia Britannica, I:643.

"The Arabs, before the time of Muhammad, accepted and worshipped, after a fashion, a supreme god called Allah."
Encyclopedia of Islam, eds. Houtsma, rnold, Basset, Hartman (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1913), I:302

"Allah was known to the pre-Islamic Arabs; he was one of the Meccan deities."
Encyclopedia of Islam, ed. Gibb, I:406.

The name Allah goes back before Muhammed."
The Facts on File: Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, ed. Anthony Mercatante (New York, The Facts on File, 1983), I:41.

"The source of this (Allah) goes back to pre-Muslim times. Allah is not a common name meaning "God" (or a "god"), and the Muslim must use another word or form if he wishes to indicate any other than his own peculiar deity."
Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics (ed. Hastings), I:326.

"The name Allah is also evident in archeological and literary remains of pre-Islamic Arabia."
Kenneth Cragg, The Call of the Minaret (New York: Oxford University Press, 1956), p. 31.

"Along with Allah, however; they worshipped a host of lesser gods and "daughters of Allah.""
Encyclopedia of World Mythology and Legend, I:61.

"Allah was the name of a god whom the Arabs worshipped many centuries before Muhammed was born."
The World Book Encyclopedia, (Chicago, 1955), Vol. 1, p. 230.

The life of the pre-Islamic Arabs, especially in the Hijaz depended on trade and they made a trade of their religion as well. About four hundred years before the birth of Muhammad one Amr bin Lahyo bin Harath bin Amr ul-Qais bin Thalaba bin Azd bin Khalan bin Babalyun bin Saba, a descendant of Qahtan and king of Hijaz, had put an idol called Habal on the roof of the Kaba. This was one of the chief deities of the Quraish before Islam.
It is said that there were altogether three hundred and sixty idols in and about the Kaba and that each tribes had its own deity...The shapes and figures of the idols were also made according to the fancy of the worshippers. Thus Wadd was shaped like a man, Naila like a woman, so was Suwa. Yaghuth was made in the shape of lion, Yauq like a horse and Nasr like a vulture..Besides Hodal, there was another idol called Shams placed on the roof of the Kaba...The blood of the sacrificial animals brought by the pilgrims was offered to the deities in the Kaba and sometimes even human beings were sacrificed and offered to the god... Besides idol-worship, they also worshipped the stars, the sun and the moon."
Muhammad The Holy Prophet, Hafiz Ghulam Sarwar (Pakistan), p. 18-19.

"The Beduin do not seem to have had much time for religion. They were realists, without a great deal of imagination. They believed the land was peopled by spirits, the jinns, who were often invisible but appeared also in animal form. The dead were thought to live on in a dim and ghostly state. Offerings were made to them and stelae and cairns of stones erected on their graves. Certain trees and stones (especially meteorites and those shaped to resemble human forms) housed spirits and divinities. Divinities dwelt in the sky and some were actually stars. Some were thought to be ancient sages made divine. The list of these divine beings, and above all the importance with which was regarded, varied from one tribe to the next; but the chief of them were to be found all over the peninsula. This was especially true of Allah, 'the God, the Divinity', the personification of the divine world in its highest form, creator of the universe and keeper of sworn oaths. In the Hejaz three goddesses had price of place as the 'daughters of Allah'.
The first of these was Allat, mentioned by Herodotus under the name of Alilat. Her name means simply 'the goddess', and she may have stood for one aspect of Venus, the morning star, although hellenized Arabs identified her with Athene. Next came Uzza, 'the all-powerful'; whom other sources identify with Venus. The third was Manat, the goddess of fate, who held the shears which cut the thread of life and who was worshipped in a shrine on the sea-shore. The great god of Mecca was Hubal, an idol made of red cornelian...Homage was paid to the divinity with offerings and the sacrifice of animals and perhaps, occasionally, of human beings. Certain sanctuaries were the object of pilgrimage (hajj) at which a variety of rituals were performed, consisting notably of ceremonial processions around the sacred object. Certain prohibitions had to be observed during these rituals, such as in many cases abstention from sexual relations. Magic was common. People feared the evil eye and protected themselves with amulets."
Mohammed, Maxime Rodinson, (New York), pgs. 16-17.

Seeker of Truth · (#5 (**permalink**))

Peace to advocators of truth:

Photo of the black stone in the kaaba:

Occhigrosso (1996) affirms the moon God association and the astronomical basis of the black stone: "Before Muhammad appeared, the Kaaba was surrounded by 360 idols, and every Arab house had its god. Arabs also believed in jinn (subtle beings), and some vague divinity with many offspring. Among the major deities of the pre-Islamic era were al-Lat ("the Goddess"), worshiped in the shape of a square stone; al-Uzzah ("the Mighty"), a goddess identified with the morning star and worshiped as a thigh-bone-shaped slab of granite between al Talf and Mecca; Manat, the goddess of destiny, worshiped as a black stone on the road between Mecca and Medina; and the moon god, Hubal, whose worship was connected with the Black Stone of the Kaaba. The stones were said to have fallen from the sun, moon, stars, and planets and to represent cosmic forces. The so-called Black Stone (actually the color of burnt umber) that Muslims revere today is the same one that their forebears had worshiped well before Muhammad and that they believed had come from the moon. (No scientific investigation has ever been performed on the stone. In 930, the stone was removed and shattered by an Iraqi sect of Qarmatians, but the pieces were later returned. The pieces, sealed in pitch and held in place by silver wire, measure about 10 inches in diameter altogether and several feet high; they are venerated today in patched-together form.)" (Peter Occhigrosso, 1996 The Joy of Sects)

Muslims touch and kiss the black stone during Hajj but non-Muslims are strictly forbidden to even touch it. The stone has been attacked many times and is now composed of several pieces and fragments, bound together by a silver ligature. It is semicircular and measures about ten inches horizontally and twelve inches vertically.

Kissing of black stone:

* Narrated Salim that his father said: I saw Allah's Apostle arriving at Mecca; he kissed the Black Stone Corner first while doing Tawaf and did ramal in the first three rounds of the seven rounds (of Tawaf). (Sahih Bukhari 2.673)
* Narrated 'Abis bin Rabia: 'Umar came near the Black Stone and kissed it and said "No doubt, I know that you are a stone and can neither benefit anyone nor harm anyone. Had I not seen Allah's Apostle kissing you I would not have kissed you." (Sahih Bukhari 2.667, Sahih Bukhari 2.675, Sahih Bukhari 2.676, Sahih Bukhari 2.679, Sahih Bukhari 2.680)
* The reason behind this is that the pagan Arabs had the same ritual. Muhamamd kept the same practice, and Umar did feel repugnant about the practice. However, he followed the practice of Muhammad.

Sit al-Banal · (#6 (**permalink**))

boyrevel wrote:

Quote:

Psalm 118:8 (King James Version)
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man.

Muhammad was a man. Jesus is the Lord.

Quote:

Ok!....PROVE IT!

Quote:

By the way this>>>"Psalm 118:8 (King James Version)
It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man. " Isn't proof.

Seeker of Truth · (#7 (**permalink**))

Peace to advocators of truth:

Alberto Rivera
How the Vatican created Islam
Tue Dec 11 00:58:39 2001

How the Vatican created Islam. The astonishing story from an ex-Jesuit priest, Alberto Rivera, which was told to him by Cardinal Bea while he was at the Vatican.

From "The Prophet":
http://www.choosinglife.net/Islam.htm

The Prophet, Muhammad

This information came from Alberto Rivera, former Jesuit priest after his conversion to Protestant Christianity. It is excerpted from "The Prophet," published by Chick Publications, PO Box 662, Chino CA 91708.

Since its publication, after several unsuccessful attempts on his life, he died suddenly from food poisoning.

His testimony should not be silenced. Dr. Rivera speaks to us still...

"What I’m going to tell you is what I learned in secret briefings in the Vatican when I was a Jesuit priest, under oath and induction.

"A Jesuit cardinal named Augustine Bea showed us how desperately the Roman Catholics wanted Jerusalem at the end of the third century.

"Because of its religious history and its strategic location, the Holy City was considered a priceless treasure. A scheme had to be developed to make Jerusalem a Roman Catholic city.

"The great untapped source of manpower that could do this job was the children of Ishmael. The poor Arabs fell victim to one of the most clever plans ever devised by the powers of darkness.

"Early Christians went everywhere with the gospel setting up small churches, but they met heavy opposition. Both the Jews and the Roman government persecuted the believers in Christ to stop their spread. But the Jews rebelled against Rome, and in 70 AD, Roman armies under General Titus smashed Jerusalem and destroyed the great Jewish temple which was the heart of Jewish worship…in fulfillment of Christ’s prophecy in Matthew 24:2.

"On this holy placed today where the temple once stood, the Dome of the Rock Mosque stands as Islam’s second most holy place.

"Sweeping changes were in the wind. Corruption, apathy, greed, cruelty, perversion and rebellion were eating at the Roman Empire, and it was ready to collapse. The persecution against Christians was useless as they continued to lay down their lives for the gospel of Christ.

"The only way Satan could stop this thrust was to create a counterfeit "Christian" religion to destroy the work of God. The solution was in Rome. Their religion had come from ancient Babylon and all it needed was a face-lift. This didn’t happen overnight, but began in the writings of the "early church fathers."

"It was through their writings that a new religion would take shape. The statue of Jupiter in Rome was eventually called St. Peter, and the statue of Venus was changed to the Virgin Mary. The site chosen for its headquarters was on one of the seven hills called "Vaticanus," the place of diving serpent where the Satanic temple of Janus stood.

"The great counterfeit religion was Roman Catholicism, called "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth." Revelation 17:5. She was raised up to block the gospel, slaughter the believers in Christ, establish religions, create wars and make the nations drunk with the wine of her fornication as we will see.

"Three major religions have one thing in common – each has a holy place where they look for guidance. Roman Catholicism looks to the Vatican as the Holy City. The Jews look to the wailing wall in Jerusalem, and the Muslims look to Mecca as their Holy City. Each group believes that they receive certain types of blessings for the rest of their lives for visiting their holy place.

"In the beginning, Arab visitors would bring gifts to the "House of God," and the keepers of the Kaaba were gracious to all who came. Some brought their idols and, not wanting to offend these people, their idols were placed inside the sanctuary. It is said that the Jews looked upon the Kaaba as an outlying tabernacle of the Lord with veneration until it became polluted with idols.

"In a tribal contention over a well (Zamzam) the treasure of the Kaaba and the offerings that pilgrims had given were dumped down the well and it was filled with sand – it disappeared. Many years later Adb Al-Muttalib was given visions telling him where to find the well and its treasure. He became the hero of Mecca, and he was destined to become the grandfather of Muhammad.

"Before this time, Augustine became the bishop of North Africa and was effective in winning Arabs to Roman Catholicism, including whole tribes. It was among these Arab converts to Catholicism that the concept of looking for an Arab prophet developed.

"Muhammad’s father died from illness and sons born to great Arab families in places like Mecca were sent into the desert to be suckled and weaned and spend some of their childhood with Bedouin tribes for training and to avoid the plagues in the cities.

"After his mother and grandfather also died, Muhammad was with his uncle when a Roman Catholic monk learned of his identity and said, "Take your brother’s son back to his country and guard him against the Jews, for by god, if they see him and know of him that which I know, they will construe evil against him. Great things are in store for this brother’s son of yours."

"The Roman Catholic monk had fanned the flames for future Jewish persecutions at the hands of the followers of Muhammad. The Vatican desperately wanted Jerusalem because of its religious significance, but was blocked by the Jews.

"Another problem was the true Christians in North Africa who preached the gospel. Roman Catholicism was growing in power, but would not tolerate opposition.

"Somehow the Vatican had to create a weapon to eliminate both the Jews and the true Christian believers who refused to accept Roman Catholicism. Lookng to North Africa, they saw the multitudes of Arabs as a source of manpower to do their dirty work.

"Some Arabs had become Roman Catholic, and could be used in reporting information to leaders in Rome. Others were used in an underground spy network to carry out Rome’s master plan to control the great multitudes of Arabs who rejected Catholicism. When "St Augustine" appeared on the scene, he knew what was going on. His monasteries served as bases to seek out and destroy Bible manuscripts owned by the true Christians.

"The Vatican wanted to create a messiah for the Arabs, someone they could raise up as a great leader, a man with charisma whom they could train, and eventually unite all the non-Catholic Arabs behind him, creating a mighty army that would ultimately capture Jerusalem for the pope.

"In the Vatican briefing, Cardinal Bea told us this story:

'A wealthy Arabian lady who was a faithful follower of the pope played a tremendous part in this drama. She was a widow named Khadijah. She gave her wealth to the church and retired to a convent, but was given an assignment. She was to find a brilliant young man who could be used by the Vatican to create a new religion and become the messiah for the children of Ishmael.

'Khadijah had a cousin named Waraquah,, who was also a very faithful Roman Catholic and the Vatican placed him in a critical role as Muhammad’s advisor. He had tremendous influence on Muhammad.

'Teachers were sent to young Muhammad and he had intensive training. Muhammad studied the works of St. Augustine which prepared him for his "great calling." The Vatican had Catholic Arabs across North Africa spread the story of a great one who was about to rise up among the people and be the chosen one of their God.

'While Muhammad was being prepared, he was told that his enemies were the Jews and that the only true Christians were Roman Catholic. He was taught that others calling themselves Christians were actually wicked impostors and should be destroyed. Many Muslims believe this.

'Muhammad began receiving "divine revelations" and his wife’s Catholic cousin Waraquah helped interpret them. From this came the Koran. In the fifth year of Muhammad’s mission, persecution came against his followers because they refused to worship the idols in the Kaaba.

'Muhammad instructed some of them to flee to Abysinnia where Negus, the Roman Catholic king accepted them because Muhammad’s views on the virgin Mary were so close to Roman Catholic doctrine. These Muslims received protection from Catholic kings because of Muhammad’s revelations.

'Muhammad later conquered Mecca and the Kaaba was cleared of idols. History proves that before Islam came into existence, the Sabeans in Arabia worshiped the moon-god who was married to the sun-god. They gave birth to three goddesses who were worshipped throughout the Arab world as "Daughters of Allah" An idol excavated at Hazor in Palestine in 1950’s shows Allah sitting on a throne with the crescent moon on his chest.

'Muhammad claimed he had a vision from Allah and was told, "You are the messenger of Allah." This began his career as a prophet and he received many messages. By the time Muhammad died, the religion of Islam was exploding. The nomadic Arab tribes were joining forces in the name of Allah and his prophet, Muhammad.

'Some of Muhammad’s writings were placed in the Koran, others were never published. They are now in the hands of high ranking holy men (Ayatollahs) in the Islamic faith.'

"When Cardinal Bea shared with us in the Vatican, he said, These writings are guarded because they contain information that links the Vatican to the creation of Islam.

"Both sides have so much information on each other, that if exposed, it could create such a scandal that it would be a disaster for both religions.

"In their "holy" book, the Koran, Christ is regarded as only a prophet. If the pope was His representative on earth, then he also must be a prophet of God. This caused the followers of Muhammad to fear and respect the pope as another "holy man."

"The pope moved quickly and issued bulls granting the Arab generals permission to invade and conquer the nations of North Africa