Lies disguised as gospel truth

It was an unmitigated calumny unfolding. Fareed Paracha of the Jamaat-e-Islami and Maulana Sialvi of the Sunni Tehreek got away clean on television after misquoting the Quran to suit their agenda of lies. I cannot find fault with scientist Dr Pervez Hoodbhoy or others on the panel for not being able to contradict Paracha and Sialvi when they started their misquotations, as they are not hafiz-e-Quran (someone who’s learnt Quran by heart).

But the show’s host, who is a visibly pious hijab-wearing lady, was ignorant of the Quranic ayaat and was not able to contradict them either. Given the topic and the guest list, she had to have known that Paracha and Sialvi would be quoting the Quran to support their argument of killing the gustakh-e-rasool (blasphemer). It was, therefore, her responsibility to research the topic, but she had not done that. Instead, she interjected “bilkul theek”, “bilkul durust” (quite right) and “exactly” repeatedly. Not having conducted research, she did not have the holy book at hand to check the facts. She ended up facilitating the propagation of lies and the poisoning of millions of viewers’ minds.

TV viewers are becoming the victims of lies being spread by people like Fareed Paracha and Maulana Sialvi on a daily basis, thanks to the ignorance, laziness and unprofessionalism of TV show hosts.

And now, to the actual calumny committed on the programme by Paracha and Sialvi: Paracha recited the first two ayaat (verses) from Surah Ahzab (six of which I have quoted below) and then jumped to the last ayat (verse), saying, “Agay farmaya hai (after this it is said)”, to build the web of lies that no one could contradict at that point in time. The three ayaat in the middle that he skipped provide the actual context for the last ayat. An illuminating demonstration of this show by a concerned citizen makes very clear what happened on the show.

“God and His angels send blessings on the Prophet: O ye that believe! Send ye blessings on him, and salute him with all respect” (33:56).

“Those who annoy God and His Messenger — God has cursed them in this world and in the hereafter and has prepared for them a humiliating punishment” (33:57).

“And those who annoy believing men and women undeservedly, bear (on themselves) a calumny and a glaring sin” (33:58).

“O Prophet, tell thy wives and daughters, and believing women, that they should cast their outer garments over their persons (when abroad): that is most convenient that they should be known (as such) and not molested. And God is Oft-Forgiving and most Merciful” (33:59).

“Truly, if the hypocrites, and those in whose hearts is a disease, and those who stir up sedition in the city, desist not, We shall certainly stir thee up against them: then will they not be able to stay in it as thy neighbours for any length of time” (33:60).

“They shall have a curse on them: whenever they are found, they shall be seized and slain (without mercy)” (33:61).

It is abundantly clear from 33:56 and 33:57 that the believers should treat the Prophet (PBUH) with respect and those who annoy God and His Messenger (by disrespecting the Prophet (PBUH)), for them God has prepared a humiliating punishment and that God does not ask anyone to kill such people.

Ayat 33:58 talks about those who annoy believing men and women; 33:59 is about the protection of the Prophet’s (PBUH) wives and daughters and other believing women against molestation by such people. Ayat 33:60 then talks about the hypocrites, and those whose hearts are diseased, and those that stir sedition, saying that if they do not desist from their activities, then God will stir the Prophet (PBUH) and his followers against them.

Finally, 33:61 refers to those mentioned in 33:60 — hypocrites and diseased hearts — that they should be slain wherever found.

If not already clear, then to understand who hypocrites and those with diseased hearts are, any well-known and respected tafseer (exegesis) of the Quran can illuminate that these terms refer to the ahzab or confederates, “who tried to surround and annihilate the Muslim community in Medina” with bodily injury, persecution, boycott, insult and underhanded intrigues (A Yousaf Ali).

Because of persecution by the Quraysh, Muslims migrated to Medina. After two armed conflicts and their aims frustrated, the Quraysh went back to intrigues and alliances and laid siege to Medina whereby the Muslims suffered from “hunger, cold, (and) an unceasing shower of arrows”. At this time, the hypocrites within the city started to spread defeatist rumours and pretended to withdraw from battle for the defence of their homes. They would have joined the battle on the Quraysh’s side had the Quraysh been able to penetrate the city. It is all these people together, who were waging war in different ways on Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and the Muslim community of Medina, not those showing disrespect to the Prophet (PBUH).

And now onto Maulana Sialvi who joined in with an even more blatant lie: “Surah Taubah ayat 13 also means the same” (i.e. gustakh-e-rasool ought to be killed). I shall quote the ayat here and, if still in doubt, leave my readers to look up the preceding ayaat and the commentaries by scholars for themselves:

“Will ye not fight people who violated their oaths, plotted to expel the Apostle, and took the aggressive by being the first (to assault) you? Do ye fear them? Nay, it is God Whom ye should more justly fear, if ye believe!” (9:13).

Given Paracha and Sialvi’s lies, I urge my readers to ask what these ‘defenders’ of Islam profit by perverting God’s word, especially in light of the following ayaat from Surah Bakr:

“An ye (O ye men of Faith) entertain the hope that they will believe in you, seeing that a party of them heard the Word of God, and perverted it knowingly after they understood it?” (2:75).

“Know they not that God knoweth what they conceal and what they reveal?” (2:77).

“Those who conceal God’s revelations in the Book, and purchase for them a miserable profit, they swallow into themselves naught but fire: God will not address them on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify them. Grievous will be their penalty” (2:174).

“(Their doom is) because God sent down the Book in truth but those who seek causes of dispute in the Book are in a schism far (from the purpose)” (2:176).

While these ayaat also have specific historical contexts (e.g., 2:75…2:77 refer to the Jews of Medina, and 2:174…2:176 to what was ordained as haraam (forbidden)), the guiding principle clearly laid out by the Quran that perverting the word of God is a grave sin, cannot be denied. A Yousaf Ali’s translation and commentary is at pains to point out the general principles to be gleaned after having explained the specific context.

For example on (2:176) he writes, “From the mere physical regulation we are at once lifted up into the sphere of morals and faith….If we are constantly carping at the wholesome regulations, we shall do nothing but cause division and schisms among the people, and ordered society would tend to break up.”

People like Paracha and Sialvi go further than just carp at regulations. They invent regulations by deliberately misquoting to peddle influence and throw ordered society into chaos by driving schisms into society.