by Sujit Das
Allah demands unquestionable obedience, fear, and affection from His slaves. If the slaves fail to please Allah with those emotional needs, Allah is furious and acts like a child. He gets mad and fires His outburst in an uncontrollable manner, and then proceeds to destroy His slaves who made Him angry.
My (Allah) Anger should fall upon you, and upon whosoever My Anger falls has assuredly fallen. (Q: 20.81)
Allah warns you to be cautious of Him, the arrival is to Allah. (Q: 3.28).
Superego is often relentless and cruel on his insistence on perfection (Engler, 2009, p. 48). But this ideal perfection may be quite far from reality or possibility. Allah wants to be perfect. He cannot coexist with other Gods of other religions because in that case He is not the supreme power. Hence, Allah repeatedly said (Q: 3.19, 3.85, 6.153, 12.40) that no other religion except Islam is acceptable to Him. Allah is the most uncompromising God in the history of religions.
Superego’s power to enforce rules comes from its ability to create anxiety in the false self of the Narcissist. The false self observes itself in a realistic light and the superego in a moral light (Britton, 2003, p. 72). Often the rules, demands and wishes of the superego are very unrealistic. Allah made Muhammad’s life miserable. If Muhammad cannot perform well in propagating Allah’s religion, Allah threatens him to send a beast as the final messenger of humankind. This continuous degradation of his false self by his superego made Muhammad a violent person. He was at unrest.
And when the Word falls on them, We will bring out from the earth a beast that shall speak to them: ‘Indeed the people were not certain of Our verses’ . (Q: 27.82)
In the above verse Muhammad was receiving extreme humiliation from his superego; otherwise, this verse is meaningless. How a beast can perform better than a man in preaching a religion? Which beast can speak Arabic? What kind of beast will replace Muhammad? Muhammad also claimed to be the last Prophet of God (Q: 33.40). Therefore if verse 33.40 is right then the verse 27.82 must be wrong. Another Hadith further proves that Muhammad was under tremendous pressure from his cruel superego which was the main reason of his aggressiveness.
Narrated Aisha: Allah’s Apostle never took revenge (over anybody) for his own sake but (he did) only when Allah’s Legal Bindings were outraged in which case he would take revenge for Allah’s sake. (Bukhari: 4.56.760).
The expression “Allah’s Legal Bindings” needs particular attention. Allah, the internalized “judge” of Muhammad haunted him in every moment of his prophetic career. Given the tumultuous history of his prophetic career, with its raids, wars, and assassinations it is undeniable that terror was Muhammad’s legacy. Allah was too rigid and did not care for justice or decency. In fact Allah rewarded him well.
Allah’s Apostle said, ‘I have been made victorious with terror. The treasures of the world were brought to me and put in my hand. ‘ (Bukhari: 4.52.220)
(Muhammad said) ‘Rejoice, Allah has promised us victory after tribulation. This increased the Muslims faith and submission’. When cities were conquered Muslims used to say, ‘Conquer for yourselves whatever seems good to you because all treasures were given to Muhammad’ . (Tabari: VIII.12)
And much booty that they will capture. Allah is ever Mighty, Wise . Allah promised you much booty that ye will capture, and hath given you this in advance, and hath withheld men’s hands from you, that it may be a token for the believers, and that He may guide you on a right path. (Q: 48.19, 20).
If we make a close observation of the doctrine of jihad, we will find that it is a gross insult to the very concept of God because this violent doctrine depicts Him as a bloodthirsty dictator, who allows murder, rape, death and destruction of the infidels on a permanent basis only because of their “crime” of not believing in Him. Such a God cannot be the real creator of the universe. Now we know it was Muhammad’s rigid and punishing superego which had commanded him in such an uncompromising voice and Muhammad mistook it as a divine decree. If Allah hates the non-Muslims, then based on what logic He created them? Why Allah had not created all humans as Muslims to remove the need for such atrocities that His followers are required to commit as jihad? If Allah has to depend on the Muslims to do His bidding, then He cannot be Almighty. As Shaikh (1999, p. 162) wrote, “ Just ponder over the vastness of this universe, which exceeds trillions of stars and planets bound by the authority of an unbending and natural law. If God is the controller of such an immense and wonderful world, He cannot be so mean, miserable and miscreant to terrorize mankind into submission .”
It is difficult to imagine that the God of humankind acts like a terrorist. God has to be merciful, loving and liberal. We, human beings, need God’s mercy and understanding owing to our inborn weaknesses. Allah is merciful only in theory. He even expects a share of booty from Muhammad.
And know that whatever ye take as spoils of war, lo! A fifth thereof is for Allah, and for the messenger. (Q: 8.41)
Allah divided the booty stolen from the first caravan after he made spoils permissible. He gave four-fifths to those He had allowed to take it and one-fifth to His Apostle . (Ishaq: 288)
According to Freud (1979, p. 297), what the false self regards as danger and respond to with an anxiety-signal is that the superego may be angry with him or it will punish him or cease to love him. The biggest fear of the false self is that his superego may die (i.e., stop interacting). This is what the Narcissist is even scared to think. His false self is on absolute dependence on the superego, more specifically, on the authorization of the superego. The Narcissist is merely acting as a robot. If the superego dies, the false self will immediately collapse.
Now, let us understand Muhammad with the above Freudian analysis. If Allah cannot survive as a God, in other words, if no one worships Allah, Islam will collapse. If Islam collapses, then what would be the value of Muhammad? Who would accept Muhammad as a Prophet? A Prophet has no stand without a God. On the day of battle of Badr (March 13, 624), Muhammad cast a glance at the mighty infidel army. The vastly numerical superiority of the enemy terrified him. He then prayed to Allah to grant him victory.
It has been narrated on the authority of ‘Umar b. al-Khattab: When it was the day on which the Battle of Badr was fought, the Messenger of Allah cast a glance at the infidels, and they were one thousand while his own Companions were three hundred and nineteen. The Holy Prophet turned (his face) towards the Qibla. Then he stretched his hands and began his supplication to his Lord: ‘O Allah, accomplish for me what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah, bring about what Thou hast promised to me. O Allah, if this small band of Muslims is destroyed. Thou will not be worshipped on this earth’ . (Muslim: 19.4360).
Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: The Prophet, while in a tent (the battle of Badr) said, ‘O Allah! I ask you the fulfillment of Your Covenant and Promise. O Allah! If You wish (to destroy the believers) You will never be worshipped after today’. Abu Bakr caught him by the hand and said, ‘This is sufficient, O Allah’s Apostle! You have asked Allah pressingly’ . (Bukhari: 4.52.164)
Though it appears strange that a man is telling his God what would happen if He does not listen to him, it is not odd at all. Muhammad’s concern was not for Allah but for his own selfish interests. In the above quotes, a Narcissist was expressing his fear that his superego might sink into oblivion if the battle was lost. If the superego fails to exist, who would give authority to the false self, and how the false self would survive? Let us analyze another two ahadith.
Narrated ‘Abdullah: The Prophet said, “… And there is none who likes to be praised more than Allah does . (Bukhari: 9.93.500)
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger said, ‘If anyone did not supplicate to Allah, Hallowed be He, Be becomes angry with him. ‘ (Sunaan Ibn Majah: V.3827)
All these phrases e.g., “praise to Allah” and “supplicate to Allah” were not for God but for Muhammad himself. His survival depended on Allah’s survival. Allah was a paper tiger, no better than a scarecrow – impotent and powerless. The more Allah
is praised and supplicated, the stronger He becomes. The simple formula – the stronger the God is, the stronger the Prophet is.
The punishing superego sometimes crosses the limit in its cruelty so much that the false self cannot tolerate it anymore. As Britton (2003, p. 73) commented, the superego is “an internal object hostile to the ego – an enemy within – not simply a tyrant”. Allah often became so ruthless and uncompromising with Muhammad that at different points in his carrier he abandoned the unity of God (i.e., the Narcissist disobeyed the command of his superego) and his claim to the title of the Prophet (Warraq, 2000, p. 340). Undoubtedly, this is an unacceptable image of Muhammad. Viewed from psychology, it was the withdrawal symptom of the Narcissist. On one hand, Muhammad had to accept the authority of Allah by disregarding the fact that Allah was cruel and ungodly; on the other hand, he confronted his cruel superego, by defying the sovereignty of Allah. As Freud (Riviere et al, 1960, p. 61) explained, “ The ego [false self] gives itself up because it feels itself hated and persecuted by the superego, instead of loved. To the ego, therefore, living means same thing as being loved – being loved by the superego. When the ego finds itself in an excessive real danger which it believes itself unable to overcome by its own strength, it is bound to draw the same conclusion. It sees itself deserted by all protecting forces and lets itself die”.
Though Muhammad’s prophetic life was full of contradictions, undoubtedly, this was the time when he contradicted himself the most. Muhammad was on the path of recovery through self-realization and was very close to free himself from the tyranny of his superego which he mistook a God. But no, he could not. If he could, then certainly Islam would have died shortly after this, but he dived deep into his sick narcissistic world in persuasion of further narcissistic supply sources and Islam survived.
5.6: Conclusion
“Do not pray in my school and I won’t think in your Mosque.”
Unknown
“There can be but little liberty on earth while men worship a tyrant in heaven.”
Robert Green Ingersoll (1833 - 1899)
Superego is the unconscious wish of a malignant Narcissist, which is projected back at him. Allah was “everything” what Muhammad wanted to be. Since they were parts of the same sick mind, they were often identical. They thought alike and their preferences were also similar. They also commanded together. The pivot of Islamic faith is the political genius Muhammad, not Allah.
If ye obey him, ye will go aright. But the messenger hath no other charge than to convey (the message) plainly. (Q: 24.54)
If ye do love Allah, Follow me (Muhammad): Allah will love you and forgive you your sins: For Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (Q: 3.31)
Allah’s Apostle said, ‘Whoever obeys me, obeys Allah, and whoever disobeys me, disobeys Allah, and whoever obeys the ruler I appoint, obeys me, and whoever disobeys him, disobeys me.’ (Bukhari: 9.89.251)
Allah expresses all his wishes through Muhammad. While the Narcissist Muhammad projected his false self to the outside world, his superego Allah directed itself to him (i.e., his false self). Since Muhammad could not prove his prophethood, his Allah also could not prove that He was the real God. Muslims can attribute anything to Allah, but Allah was a dummy, a clever myth. Neither a dummy has the power to throw anyone in hell nor can it reward anyone with paradise. Longing for praise and greatness is human weakness and it does not fit to a true God.
When Muhammad felt a sexual desire for Aisha, a child of only six years old, or to Zaynab, his daughter-in-law; his God sanctioned it. Why Allah did not scold him for his abnormal desires? Why Allah made special laws of sexual enjoyments for him to the total exclusion of other Muslims? It is this exclusivity that cancels out Muhammad’s claim that he was the behavioral model for his followers. Though Muhammad did not follow Qur’anic instructions and on occasions placed himself in a position higher than Allah, he is still an “excellent example” (Q: 33.21) and “great morality” (Q: 68.4). This is confusing, but a quote (Riviere et al, 1960, p. 48) from Freud scatters all doubts, “ The superego owes its special position in the ego, or in relation to the ego, to a factor which must be considered from two sides.” Now let us read the above quote again from an Islamic perception. Allah granted divine dispensation for Muhammad because, “ The Allah (superego) owes its special position in the Prophet Muhammad (ego, false self), or in relation to the Prophet Muhammad, to Islam (a factor) which must be considered from two sides ”.
The strange relationship between false self and superego does not remain same throughout the life of a Narcissist. As the false self matures with continuous input of narcissistic supplies, his perception of his superego also changes considerably. This is one main reason; Allah was such a confusing God. The morality of the Qur’an, its anachronism, and its many unethical commandments make an unprejudiced reader doubt that Qur’an was Muhammad’s own composition. If the Surahs are arranged chronologically (in order of their composition) and compared with the events in Muhammad’s life, we see that there is much truth in the statement that the passages were – not, as Muslims say, revealed, but – composed from time to time, as occasion required, to sanction each new departure made by Muhammad.
If we look at the ninety-nine names of Allah, we will find many abusive names; e.g., Al-Mutakabbir (The Proud One), Al-Jabbar (The Dictator), Al-Qahhar (The Subduer), Al-Khafid (The Abaser), Al-Mudhell (The Humiliator), Al-Mumit (The Death Giver), Al-Muntaqim (The Avenger), Ad-Darr (the Creator of the Harmful), khairul Makirin (The Best Deceiver) and Al-Warith (The Inheritor). These are not divine qualities. This can be explained by Freudian analysis. The implication in Freud’s thinking is that the superego is a more primitive mental structure than the false self. The superego of a malignant Narcissist takes the same place equal to that of a small child’s view of parental authority. If the parents are tyrannical, these are the same terms the small child attributes to his parents, while having the harshness and arbitrariness that a small child would have as a judge. Also, though a Narcissist’s sense of self-worth is totally at the mercy of the superego, he can make a judgment on his own conscience even though still subjected to the reproaches of the superego (Britton, 2003, pp. 72-3). This explains why in spite of being such a cruel mass-murderer, some of the Qur’anic verses have moral standards. Muhammad was perfectly capable of differentiating between good and bad, but he was not capable to control his behavior.
One does not need a scholastic review of Allah to disprove Him. Qur’an exposes Allah quite nicely – a real God cannot sponsor rape, incest, thievery, kidnapping for ransom, the slave trade, mass murder, and worst of all, world conquest by way of sword and deception. Also, God does not need to plagiarize. He would know history and science and thus would not have made such a fool of Himself. There was nothing genuine in Muhammad’s claims. This malignant Narcissist led nearly all of his own people astray and the evil progressed through generations. Human can follow in the footprints of a human, but cannot measure up to the conduct of someone who occasionally gives the impression of a man but often claims the privileges of a God. In this case both the claimant and the God are frauds.
Chapter 6: Islam: The Purpose-built Religion of a Malignant Narcissist
“The more I study religions the more I am convinced that man never worshipped anything but himself.”
Sir Richard Francis Burton (1821 - 1890)
“Religion cannot be overriding morality. Man, for instance, cannot be untruthful, cruel or incontinent and claim to have God on his side”.
M. K Gandhi (cited Rao, 1990, p. 54)
Religion not only teaches morals and guidelines to follow through life, but also teaches hope. Through religion people feel more comfortable with the fact that one day everyone will die because they believe they are going to a better place. People fear the unknown because it is just that, unknown. No one knows what to expect; it could be good or bad. All the world religions thrive in this uncertainty.
6.1: The Purpose of Creation of Islam
“ Islam was not a torch, as has been claimed, but an extinguisher. Conceived in a barbarous brain for the use of a barbarous people, it was – and it remains – incapable of adapting itself to civilization. Wherever it has dominated, it has broken the impulse towards progress and checked the evolution of society ”.
Andre Servier (French Writer)
The entire purpose of this divine planning, what we call Islam, was to install Muhammad as the holiest of holies. His entire leadership under the authority of Allah was a sick game played ultimately for the sake of himself. For the Narcissists, what matters is power. It is their ultimate goal to achieve supremacy. More power means more victims for narcissistic needs, because the more power they have, the more freely they can diminish others to keep themselves inflated (Hotchkiss, 2003, p. 14). Sometimes, the Narcissist looks for the weak points of his potential victims, and then project himself (his delusions) in such a clever manner that his grandiosity may seem to offer something that is missing from their lives. Sometimes his hunger of admiration makes him want to please the targets which the unsuspected victim may feel like real love. Therefore; narcissism and religion go well together (Vaknin, 1999, p. 147). He wants to feel unique and a “purpose-built” religion permits him to feel unique.
Religious supremacy and pretended divine authority allows the Narcissist to exercise his control over his followers openly and unabated. He can taunt and torment his followers, bully and punish them, berate them, abuse them spiritually, or even sexually. He can also extort money by some pretence. With religious authority, he can easily obtain obedient and unquestioning slaves upon whom he can exercise his capricious and wicked mastery. He can transform even the most harmless and pure religious sentiments into cultish rituals and a virulent hierarchy. In sum, his followers become his prey. He preys on the gullibility of the innocents and his own followers, at last, become his hostages. Following table demonstrates how religion is viewed by a normal healthy person and by a malignant Narcissist.