Islam Dismantled

by Sujit Das

  The companions of Muhammad were equally greedy. The character which Ibn Ishaq gave to the companions in Sirat Rasul Allah was rarely pleasing. All of them gathered large wealth and lived a luxurious life. As example, Muhammad’s cousin Zubair was found to be having estates of total value of fifty million and two hundred thousand dirham. Fabulous figures are quoted for other companions also. A son of the Caliph Omar had one thousand slaves at the time of his death. Within short decades after Muhammad’s death, Mecca and Medina were transformed from obscure settlements to the religious and political capitals of a mighty empire. A Meccan house which had been purchased in pagan days for a skin of wine was afterwards sold for 60,000 dirham – and this was far below its value (Margoliouth, 1914, pp. 136-7). Huge fortunes were built up out of the plunder which reached Mecca and Medina in camel loads from Persia, Syria and Egypt. Some more examples (Ahmed, 2006, pp. 55-6) would show how much those companions robbed from the countries they invaded.

  1. When the third Caliph Uthman was murdered, he had thousand of thousand and five hundred thousand of dirham and one hundred thousand dinar. This is equal in our today counting several million of dollars.

  2. Al-Zibair Ibn al-Awam had fifty-one thousand of thousand dirham and two hundred thousand dinar. Besides that he had houses and estates in Basra, Alexandria and Kufa. When he died, he left behind him a large garden if it had been sold it would have brought thousand of thousand and six hundred thousand dinar.

  3. When Abd el-Rahman Ibn Awof died, he left gold that others used axes to cut.

  4. Sa’ad Ibn Abi Waqas left behind him two hundred and fifty thousand of dirham.

  5. Ibn Masood left ninety thousand dirham.

  6. Talha bin Abid Allah had in his hand a ring of gold which had diamond in it. His daily income from his land in Iraq was one thousand dirham, or four hundred thousand or five hundred thousand dirham annually. When he died he left two thousand and two hundred thousand of dirham and two hundred thousand of dinar. Moreover he left hundred jars full of gold.

  7. Umar bin al-A’as left behind him seventy jars of pure gold. While he was dying he offered his gold to his sons but they refused to accept it because they believed it had been taken unjustly.

  8. When Zayd bin Harith died he left behind him gold that had been cut by axes.

  Muhammad enjoyed everything whatever he needed in his life, and his companions followed his footstep after his death. Margoliouth (1914, p. 137) wrote, “No empire can be anything other than worldly, the pious Caliphs were as anxious about the revenue as were the impious.” The first Umayyad Caliph was reported to have said that he had enjoyed all that it was possible to enjoy in a lifetime.

  From a destitute orphan to a shepherd, to a parasitic husband of a wealthy woman, to a humble messenger of God, to a desert bandit to one of the richest men of Arabia – Muhammad slowly transformed himself as opportunities came to him. No doubt he was a man of caliber.

  6.9: Who are the Pathetic Losers?

  Though Muhammad and his companions gathered a vast wealth and lived a lavish life and the economy of Mecca and Medina prospered, the conditions of the common Muslims deteriorated with time. There were large scale deaths in warfare leaving women and children of the dead Muslims helpless which neither bothered Muhammad nor those Caliphs. Common Muslims were convinced that Allah loves poverty and illiteracy and hates wealth, prosperity, education and the rich people. According to Ghazali (al-Ghazali, 1993, pp. 2.28, 3.181, 3.201); prayer, a big family and poverty will ensure paradise. To promote further admiration of poverty among the Muslims, Ghazali wrote that Allah and His Prophet praised one who remains satisfied with poverty. He even exhorted Muslims to condemn wealth and to praise poverty; poverty is better than wealth. But he never explained – if Allah really loves poverty, why Muhammad and the early companions gathered so much wealth? For common Muslims, Muhammad said,

  Narrated Abu Huraira: I heard Allah’s Apostle saying, “The example of a Mujahid in Allah’s Cause— and Allah knows better who really strives in His Cause – is like a person who fasts and prays continuously. Allah guarantees that He will admit the Mujahid in His Cause into Paradise if he is killed, otherwise He will return him to his home safely with rewards and war booty . (Bukhari: 4.52.46).

  If you are loyal to this undertaking it will profit you in this world and the next.’ They said, ‘We will accept you as a Prophet under these conditions, but we want to know specifically what we will get in return for our loyalty.’ Muhammad said, ‘I promise you Paradise. ‘ (Ishaq: 205)

  The Believers fight in Allah’s cause, they slay and are slain, kill and are killed. (Q: 9.112).

  And what though ye be slain in Allah’s way or die therein? Surely pardon from Allah and mercy is better than all that they amass . (Q: 3.157)

  What is the difference between “Allah’s cause” and “Muhammad’s cause”? If the Muslim fighter dies, Muhammad and his companions lose nothing but if he returns with booty and women, Muhammad takes one-fifth share of the booty and the woman of his choice, and the companions’ wealth also grows. Poverty was glorified in Islam for their self-serving purposes. If Muslims remain poor, then Muhammad and his companions could gather more wealth. Muhammad’s thinking was simple – “Fight the infidels, gather booty and capture women for me. Allah will give you much more after your death. If you obey me you will enter Allah’s paradise and if you don’t obey you will go to hell”. For Muhammad, the Muslims were mere instruments. Allah revealed two verses to console the Muslims,

  Whoso is removed from the Fire and is made to enter paradise, he indeed is triumphant. The life of this world is but comfort of delusion. (Q: 3.185)

  … and in the Hereafter there is grievous punishment, and (also) forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure, whereas the life of the world is but matter of delusion . (Q: 57.20)

  If life is a comfort of delusion, why Muhammad and his early companions gathered so much wealth? As Vaknin (1999, p. 115) commented, “ A Narcissist sees no reason in dedicating thought to their needs, wishes, wants, desires and fears. He derails their life with easy and benevolent ignorance ”.

  Muhammad did not recognize the individuality or rights of the poor Muslims; he only recognized himself as human. He never hesitated to tell lie or deceive his devoted followers. Muhammad’s needs were greater than his followers and he denied equal justice and equal opportunity to all. A Narcissist does not realize or accept that the world contains other human beings. He also does not know how to feel sorry for what he does. He does not like to put himself in the shoes of his victims. If we make a careful study of the Qur’an and ahadith we will find there are umpteen number of cases where Muhammad had benefited at the cost of the lives of his followers. There were many instances where common Muslims had laid down their lives in the name of Allah just for a small benefit of Muhammad. Today if a billion plus Muslims adore Muhammad as their Prophet it was possible because of those early brainwashed followers who sacrificed their lives happily to make Muhammad what he is today. Without them, what was Muhammad’s contribution to the success of Islam?

  Muhammad saw those around him as objects, targets, or opportunities or anything but human being. Most probably, he had no true friendship with anybody in his band. He had only partners in crime and victims. As it is going to be shown shortly; his accomplices frequently ended up as victims. For Muhammad the ends always justified the means. There was no place for feelings of remorse, shame, or guilt. Muhammad felt justified in all his actions because he considered himself the ultimate moral judge. Nothing gets in the way of a malignant Narcissist. Life was a superficial game for Muhammad and his followers were pawns on his board.

  6.9.1: The Demoralizing Influence of Muhammad’s Teaching on the Arabs

  Narcissism is such a vile disease that causes others to suffer. It is a mental epidemic and a curse to humankind. Anyone who comes in contact with a Narcissist is bound to be a loser. As Vaknin (1999, p. 11) wrote, “ It is a destructive, evil and torturous disease, whic
h affects not only the Narcissist, but it also infects and forever changes people who are in daily contact with the Narcissist ”. One of the very strange things to deal with after being the victim of a Narcissist is that most people will not want to believe what happened to the victim, even if they saw it with their own eyes! This is the height of the manipulative capability of a Narcissist. Narcissists often reverse the role with the victims. The victim is represented as mentally disordered and the Narcissist – the suffering soul.

  The Narcissist is forever the same; it is the victim who changes. Victims are unable to separate themselves from the Narcissist. For the Narcissist there is no place for feelings of remorse, shame, or guilt. He scapegoats the followers and blames the victims, and the victims allow themselves to carry the guilt and responsibility on their own shoulders (Zayn & Dibble, 2007, p. 105). Blame is a powerful reinforcer of passivity and obedience, producing guilt, shame, terror, and conformity in the followers.

  Even after all the miseries caused to the victims, still there is something more terrible. Narcissism is a contagious disease; it spoils the lives of the victims even when their Narcissist leader is no more. The influence is really that much. Slowly, the victims absorb the Narcissist’s way of destructive thinking. It means, though the Narcissist leader is dead or has abandoned his victim, the force of narcissism will still haunt the followers. The Narcissist is still alive deep inside the traumatic memories waiting for an opportunity to act out. The victims are modified and they are not even aware of it as we read in the science fictions of alien snatching the human bodies. As a summary, any sane person who has put a single grain of trust on his Narcissist leader is destined to suffer.

  Almost everyone who came in direct contact with Muhammad had suffered miserably. The early Arabs, though illiterate, hotheaded and superstitious, were generally innocent. They had high sense of self-respect for which they were ready to die. But when they came within the narcissistic grip of Muhammad, they became murderous and greedy. Now they are ready to die for Allah’s cause instead of dying for the preservation of self-respect. Now they are the mental slaves of their leader – fanatics of no honor, no self-respect.

  With the deterioration of their character, the early Arabs not only lost their property and self-respect but also the lives of their children, relatives even their own. At the end of the day those disappointed and disillusioned pathetic losers returned with empty hands. Almost all of them died a dog’s death. Muhammad had invaded their mind and changed their attitude completely, and modified them by his powerful force of narcissism, so much so that now they are nothing but a shadow of their former selves. Now they have contacted the disease of narcissism. They have been infected and poisoned; they have been branded.

  I cannot say for sure when demoralizing influence of Muhammad’s teaching began to be felt, but in all probability, it started when Muhammad became the head of a criminal gang. From this time Muhammad began introducing errors in the thought process of the Muslims through his poisonous teaching which slowly made it dysfunctional. It was then those Muslims who had never broken an oath were convinced that they might evade their obligations, and to those Muslims, to whom the blood of their clan had been as their own, began to shed it with impunity in the “cause of Allah”. Also, lying and treachery in the cause of Islam received Allah’s approval. Muslims learned that raiding and murdering innocents, enslaving their children and raping their wives were godly acts which please God. Muslims also learned from their Prophet that by committing all these brutal acts they would enter paradise. No doubt, initially many of his followers became suspicious about the true divine origin of the revelations but slowly they absorbed Muhammad’s way of destructive thinking. The mindset of the Muslims changed as they lost their self-worth and honor.

  Booty is always easy money. When the Muslims were addicted to this source of easy money, they lost their productivity, ethics and the sense of moral obligation to the society. They were so much changed that even after Muhammad’s death, the force of his narcissistic maneuverability was still conning them. The malignant Narcissist was still alive deep inside the memories of the companions waiting for an opportunity to act out. In sum, the early victims of Muhammad were modified even without being aware that they were victimized by their master.

  Here I wish to discuss about some prominent companions of Muhammad, e.g., Abu Bakr, Omar, Uthman, Ali and Fatima to show how the force of Muhammad’s narcissism ruined them all. Abu Bakr, the closest male friend of Muhammad, was the first of the so-called four “rightly guided” Caliphs. He ruled for two years and then died. Other three Caliphs; Uthman, Omar and Ali were murdered. Fatima, the daughter of Muhammad, died some six months after Muhammad. Because of their closeness to Muhammad they were more open to Muhammad’s narcissistic grips. No doubt they were the most devoted Muslims and put their complete trust on Muhammad but Allah gave them nothing in return. Qur’an says,

  He is the one who has strengthened you and the believers with His help through putting affection in their hearts. If you had spent all that is in the earth, you could not have so united their hearts; but Allah has united them. He is Mighty, Wise. O Prophet! Allah is all-sufficient for you and for the believers who follow you . (Q: 8.61-64)

  However, instead of uniting those people, God cursed them by bringing them divisions and hatred. When Muhammad died, he had left a huge wealth which he had earned by all sorts of criminal activities. Before death, Muhammad proclaimed that he would not be leaving inheritance to his family members (Muslim: 19.4355). But the very next day of Muhammad’s death, greed overcame all the people, and nasty and hateful events began to transpire. Fatima, along with Ali and Al-Abbas, demanded her share in the inheritance, but Abu Bakr refused (Muslim: 19.4349). She left angrily and did not talk to him till her death (Tabari: IX.196, 197). After Abu Bakr’s death, Omar became Caliph, but Ali and Abbas had never allowed the dispute to die out – they still wanted the money. Greed for Muhammad’s wealth was equally displayed by his wives also (Muslim: 19.4351).

  Muhammad’s dead body was barely cold and here they were demanding their share of inheritance. There was no real period of mourning, no spiritual reflection or drawing close together of Muhammad’s near and dear ones. Instead, people were moving on the money right away as if they were waiting for Muhammad to die. Their minds were completely filled up by greed and hatred and they started calling one another a “ sinful, treacherous, dishonest, liar!” (Muslim: 19.4349). No doubt, a number of dark and powerful negative sentiments were at work there. The hatred continued for a long time and ultimately it resulted in bloodshed.

  There was another dispute. At the time of his death, Muhammad did not declare a successor. There was strong disagreement about who should be the next ruler. On Muhammad’s death, his most intimate friends, Abu Bakr and Omar abandoned the corpse and left it without a burial place in a hurry to ensure his political succession (Warraq, 2000, p. 182). This resulted in strong arrogance and rebellion. Ali wanted to be the Caliph but Abu Bakr became a Caliph because Omar supported him. Seeing this, Al-Zubayr drew his sword, saying, “ I will not put it back until the oath of allegiance is rendered to Ali.” (Tabari: IX.188, 189). However Abu Bakr became Caliph without bloodshed. Ali was compelled to give a token pledge of allegiance to Abu Bakr though in his heart he rejected him.

  When Abu Bakr became Caliph, Abu Sufyan was very unhappy. He hated Abu Bakr, because Abu Bakr was coming from a lowly clan of Mecca. Sufyan hated to take orders from this lowly nobody, and even agreed to a future bloodshed if it would be required to rid this perceived wrong (Tabari: IX.199). He was a shrewd politician and had his eye on power. At the time of Muhammad’s death, the Muslim community was not at all unified; rather, they were nearly at each other’s throats.

  After deep hatred and greed; next came, ambivalence, moral corruption and murder. When Abu Bakr died, Omar became the Caliph but he was murdered by one of his slaves who claimed to have been cheated by him. Uthman was the next Caliph. Under his lead
ership, life became more difficult for Muslims. There were charges of clan partiality, financial mismanagement, corruption and elitism against Uthman (Tabari: XV.143, 162, 167). Soon a large Muslim army rose up in arms against him and three large bodies of men, from Egypt, Kufa, and Basra, moved against him and marched on Medina (Tabari: XV.186, 187). Even his own adopted son rose against him. The dark attitudes that were implanted in the Muslim’s hearts and minds by Muhammad’s force of narcissism found an opportunity to grow, spread roots, and now more blooms of Islam’s real fruit started blossoming.

  Uthman called for help from his various governors, but nobody came. The tribesmen of Uthman did little or nothing to defend their Caliph. They knew that if he fell, they could perhaps be the next Caliph (Tabari: XV.185). Ultimately Uthman was murdered and one of his murderers was Muhammad b. Abi Bakr (Abu Bakr’s son). Tabari recorded how cruelly Uthman was killed,

  He [the murderer] came over to him with a broad iron headed arrow and stabbed him in the head with it…. They gathered round him and killed him . (Tabari: XV.190, 191).

  Uthman was stabbed nine times, throttled and one of his hands was severed. After killing him, one of the murderers rejoiced at his death,

  By Allah, I have never seen anything softer than his throat. By God, I throttled him until I saw his soul shaking in his body like the soul of a jinn . (Tabari: XV.205).

  So at each progressive step in the history of Islam, the picture becomes darker and darker. In less than fifteen years, the Islamic community began to become corrupt. Within a generation of Muhammad’s death, the true fruit of Islam ripens. Now the most precious Islamic blood is being spilt, and that at the hands of the best Muslims. Muhammad’s companions were now murdering one another. The Islamic community’s heart had become so full of sin that their emotions were now giving way to brutal actions. Men that stood with Muhammad through thick and thin, lived through poverty with him and fought side-by-side in the most difficult days of Islam are now clashing violently against each other. The Islamic empire is now beset with moral, political, and financial corruption from Medina to its outskirts. Muhammad’s best friend’s son has just butchered the supreme ruler of the Islamic empire in his own home and the Islamic community was nowhere to be found. They turned a blind eye, or turned their backs on their ruler, indulgent as he was. They desired power, wealth, and vainglory, and for this they betrayed and murdered one another. In less than one generation the Islamic community had become a pack of dogs set on devouring one another. Spiritual corruption had established itself from the Caliphate on down and now this spiritual death bore its fruits in the physical realm.