Ali Sina - Understanding Muhammad

Understanding Muhammad
Let not your dislike of Hitler obfuscate the importance of these words.
We must give credit where credit is due. Hitler explains the power of the big lie
and how it can fool millions, like a true philosopher.
Another good statement is that of George Orwell, author of Politics and
the English Language. He wrote: “Political language ... is designed to make lies
sound truthful and murder respectable and to give an appearance of solidity to
pure wind.” 291
Big lies are so outlandish that they often startle the listener. Most people
are not equipped to process them adequately. When the lie is colossal, the
average person is left to wonder how anyone can have the audacity, the
impudence to say such a thing. You are left with the difficult decision between
three extremes: The person, who is saying this, must be either insane, a charlatan
or he must be telling the truth. Now, what if for any reason, such as your
reverence for this person, his charisma, or your commitment to him, you can’t
bear the thought of repudiating him and accept the fact that maybe he’s indeed
insane, a quack Then you force yourself to believe in whatever he tells you
even if what he says makes no sense.
The big lie offsets the scale of our commonsense. It is like loading a scale
that is made to weigh kilos with tons. It stops showing the correct weight. The
indicator may even stop at zero. Hence, as Hitler has rightly pointed out the big
lie is often believed more than a small lie.
When Muhammad recounted his tale of ascending to the seventh heaven,
Abu Bakr was at first taken aback. He did not know what to make of it. This
sounded utterly mad. He had two choices: either to admit that his trusted friend,
whom he respected so much, had sacrificed his wealth and honor for, and by
following him had endured ridicules is a crackpot, or believe in his fantastical
tales and whatever else he might say. There was no middle ground for him.
Ibn Ishaq says when Muhammad made his vision known, “many Muslims
gave up their faith. Some people went to Abu Bakr and said, ‘What do you think
of your friend He alleges that he went to Jerusalem last night and prayed there,
and came back to Mecca!’ He replied that they were lying about the apostle, but
they said that he was in the mosque at that very moment, telling people about it.
Abu Bakr said, ‘If he says so, then it is true. And what is so surprising in that
He tells me that communication from Allâh, from heaven to earth, comes to him
in an hour of a day or night, and I believe him. That is more extraordinary than
that at which you boggle!’” 292
291 Politics and the English Language 1946 http://www.resort.com/~prime8/Orwell/patee.html
292 Sira Ibn Ishaq:P 183
182