A Critical Analysis of 'Real Islam'. Its People ... - Bukti dan Saksi

Chapter 2
‘Real Islam’ from the Religious Texts
"Real Islam" is the way of living the ‘Messenger of Allah’ (Muhammad) practiced and taught, as it is
understood by the majority of Muslims today. To understand how Muslims think and what they really
believe today, we need to look carefully at the material they have been taught from. One can also look at
the history of the different sects within Islam, but all real Islamic philosophy is fully contained in its
recognized scripture. By Muslim belief and understanding, no prophet can or will follow Muhammad, and
so no further scripture will ever be offered to challenge or replace the existing works. Within several
centuries of Muhammad’s death, Muslim theologians and jurists, Sunni (including all four main schools
of jurisprudence), Shiite, and Sufi (both Sunni and Shiite), constructed from Qur’anic verses, the hadith
collections, and the sacred biographies of Muhammad (the Sira). These foundational texts of Islam
contain Muhammad’s words and deeds over a 23-year period, the Qur’an being dominant in Islamic
theology. But even the Qur’anic suras are not given equal weight. As will be shown, the most applicable
part of Islamic theology is based more heavily upon Muhammad’s final teachings and deeds than earlier
writings. This work endeavors to uncover these most important final teachings, exactly as recorded in the
Qur’an, using chronology and context identified by the Hadith (the traditions and sayings of Muhammad),
and the biographical material in the Sira.
In studying the scripts, it needs to be remembered that many of his words are understood to apply
only to a specific people for a specific time or event. It appears that as Muhammad’s circumstances
changed, his words, teachings, commands, and attitudes also sometimes changed. Thus, as situations
changed over time, Muhammad’s words and teachings morphed to accommodate them, and so real Islam
also changed over time. In the end, at Muhammad’s death, the philosophy and conduct of Islam and its
followers solidified to a more stable and recognizable form. Therefore, to determine what real Islam
teaches regarding Jihad and violence, we must examine these text’s chronology, context, scope, and
applicability. It is either mistaken or dishonest to take one passage out of context and apply it to a set of
circumstances for which it was not meant.
What we are going to do is examine a number of Qur’anic passages related to Jihad and violence.
Citations obtained from related Islamic texts (the Hadith and Sira) are also presented to provide
background, context, and chronology. Additionally, various references and commentary from early
Islamic scholars’ (tafsir) will be presented. When appropriate, quotations will be presented by other
historians, scholars or experts on Islam, be they Muslim, Christian, or secular.
After this, we are going to go a step further. We are also going to examine Muhammad’s actions.
Actions ever speak louder than words; therefore, let us lend an ear to hear what it is that his deeds speak
about the man. A wise sage said, "A man is defined by what he does." Thus, Muhammad’s works must be
thoroughly scrutinized, for surely they truly portray his heart and show us who he was, and what he truly
believed. This is all the more important in our study because Muslims relationship with the God they
worship is by and through the words and example of their beloved prophet. The absolute truth accepted
by all Muslims is that Muhammad was the ‘seal’ of the prophets, or the last and final representative of
God. Essentially, they believe that God completed his delivery of all revelation and instruction to men by
the words and example of His final ‘Messenger’, and that new revelations or prophets are no longer
possible. So the works mentioned, which contain the teachings and example of Muhammad, is all there is
for Muslims to follow and pattern their lies after.
We will also briefly review what Muhammad’s closest "companions" understood to be his final
wishes, which direction they believed were the commands of God to His messenger or apostle. We will
refer to the four "rightly guided" Caliphs: Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman, and Ali. These four hold a special
place in Islamic theology and history. If anyone knew what Muhammad truly wanted, they did. Following
Muhammad’s death, they continued to fulfill and obey his commands, as they understood his final clear
directions and wishes. They loved Muhammad, obeyed his commands, and put their lives on the line for
him time and again. Hence, we can safely assume that their actions accurately depict their understanding
of how Muhammad wanted them to carry on Islam (i.e. real Islam).