Common Denominators
The Jews remained the sole custodians of the Divine Message and His Book for almost two millennia — from about 1350 B.C., when Prophet Musa (AS) was given Torah and the Covenant with the Israelites took place at Sinai, to 624 C.E., when the change of qibla from Jerusalem to Makkah symbolically announced the birth of a new Ummah.
The Jews were relegated from their rank because of their transgressions and haughtiness. The Qur’an severely criticizes and upbraids them for their long record of ingratitude and repeated violations of Divine injunctions, and declares them a condemned people. These reprimands were issued by Almighty Allah (SWT) because of the continued failure, on the part of the Jews, to carry out their responsibilities as custodians of the Divine Revelation. From the Second year of Hijrah onwards, the followers of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) were appointed as guardians of the Message of God, as well as His representatives among all nations. Thus, this supreme blessing of Almighty Allah (SWT), i.e., His revealed guidance in the form of a Book, is something common to both the Jews and the Muslims, although the Hebrew scriptures are no longer in their pure and unadulterated state. In this context the following verse appears twice in the Qur’an:
Remember, O Children of Israel, the favors I bestowed on you and made you most exalted among the nations of the world. (Al-Baqarah 2:47 & 122)
Another point of convergence between the Jews and the Muslims is the prominent personality of Prophet Ibrahim (AS), the patriarch who is equally revered by the followers of both faiths. The Jews, of course, are the descendants of Prophet Ishaq (AS), younger son of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). Similarly, the earliest Muslims were Arabs — the descendants of Prophet Ibrahim’s elder son Prophet Isma‘el (AS) — and they constitute today the nucleus of the Muslim Ummah. But irrespective of this genealogical relationship, the whole of the Muslim Ummah has an attitude of veneration and high regard for Prophet Ibrahim (AS), as they consider him to be their spiritual father.
The Difference Between Us and Them
There are two important features which not only distinguish the Muslims from the Jews but also prove the former’s clear superiority over the latter. The first is related to the fact that the present Muslim Ummah is collectively responsible to preach and spread the Message of Almighty Allah (SWT), and to try her utmost for establishing the domination of Islam over the entire globe. This stupendous duty is, in fact, a logical corollary of the culmination of Prophethood.
The most outstanding characteristic of the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is that the institution of prophethood has reached its acme of perfection with his advent. Since the ultimate echelon of prophetic evolution has been reached, it follows that there shall be no more prophets. But the world has not yet ended, and the humanity is still thirsty for the knowledge of the Real and still yearning for a just social system. This can only mean one thing: The Muslim Ummah is now responsible, as a whole, to continue the work of the prophets.
The Qur’an proclaims that the purpose behind the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) is the establishment of the ascendancy and domination of Islam over all aspects of life, all over the world. The following words appear thrice in the Holy Qur’an, defining the manifesto for a global Islamic Revolution:
It is He who sent His Messenger with The Guidance (Al-Qur’an) and the true way of life (Deen-al- Haq), in order to make it prevail over the entire mode of living. (Al-Taubah 9:33; Al-Fath 48:28; & Al- Saff 61:9)
Unlike previous messengers of God, the advent of Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was not just for his own nation, the people of Arabia, but it was also directed towards all mankind in general, for all times to come. Again, unlike the Jews, who were asked only to act in accordance with the Mosaic law, the Muslims have a much extensive and arduous responsibility on their shoulders, that is, they are obliged to guide and lead the entire humanity. Muslims are required to obey the commands of God in their own lives, to preach God’s Message worldwide and in every generation till the end of the world, and to struggle tirelessly with the objective of making Islam dominant as a socio-political order. The previous Muslim Ummah, in contrast, was never required to perform all these duties.
The second point of difference between the Jews and the Muslims is that, in contrast to the former who were a uniracial community (being composed of only the “Children of Israel,” i.e., the descendants of Prophet Yaqoob), the present Muslim Ummah is a multiracial and multinational community. The Jews themselves, or any other nation for that matter, can join the Muslim Ummah anytime they want — by accepting Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the final Messenger of God; their race, color, language, or previous creed notwithstanding.
The Muslim Ummah is basically a diverse group of people belonging to all kinds of different national, ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds. In general, however, the Muslim Ummah can be seen as being composed of two distinct components: the descendants of Prophet Isma‘el (AS), referred to in the Qur’an as ummiyean (the unlettered people), as well as all other peoples and nations, referred to in the Qur’an as aakhereen (those of later time).
In other words, the Muslim Ummah is made up of a nucleus or a core of Arabs, surrounded by non- Arab nations, whether they be Kurds or Turks, Persians or Indian, Afghans or Muhgals, Black of African origin or Whites of European descent. The common element or the binding force that brings all of them together and keeps them united — at least in theory — is obviously their faith and ideology, that is, Islam.
It is rather gratifying to learn that we Muslims enjoy a two-fold superiority over the Jews. But it doesn’t take a genius to realize that being superior also means that we have to fulfill many more responsibilities and obligations. The Jews were repeatedly punished for their collective crimes, but if we were to follow in their footsteps then this would make us liable to a chastisement much more severe than what they received.
Similarly, the most prominent part of the Muslim Ummah — the Arabs — also enjoy a form of superiority vis-à-vis other Muslims; this is because Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was one of them, and because God’s final Message was revealed in their own language. But, as we have described above, the fact is that the more privileged you are, the greater is your responsibility. The Arab Muslims have, in general, failed to live up to their exceptionally privileged position as the primary custodians of Divine Message, thereby making themselves liable to Divine retribution. It follows that the main impact of any major episode of Divine punishment, that might befall the Muslims, will have to be endured by the Arabs. This was foretold by Prophet Muhammad (SAW), as we shall see later on.
A Backward Glance
We now turn to the history of Jews, in the hope that the Muslims might learn something from their ups and down.
By the time when the Qur’an was being revealed to Prophet Muhammad (SAW), the Jews had already passed through two phases of rise and two phases of decline. In general, they enjoyed material prosperity and political domination as long as they acted righteously, and suffered from misery and slavery and persecution whenever they rebelled against the Divine commands. The Jews were invited, through the Qur’an — and that invitation is still open — to accept Prophet Muhammad (SAW) as the last Messenger of God and to repent for their collective sins. They were clearly warned that rejecting Prophet Muhammad (SAW) and the Qur’an would mean that their humiliation will continue. The Qur’an proclaims:
We announced to the Children of Israel in the Book: “You will surely create disorder twice in the land, and become exceedingly arrogant.” So, when the time of the first prediction came, We sent against you Our creatures full of martial might, who ransacked your cities; and the prediction was fulfilled. Then We gave you a chance against them, and strengthened you with wealth and children, and increased your numbers (and said): “If you do good, you will do so for your own good; if you do evil, you will do it for your own loss.” So when the time of the second prediction came, (We roused against you another people) to ravage you, and to enter the Temple as they had done the first time, and to destroy utterly what they conquered. Your Lord may haply be merciful to you. But if you repeat (the crime), We shall repeat (the punishment). (Al-Isra 17:4-9)
In order to comprehend these historical events, alluded to in the above verses, and to appreciate their significance with regard to the Muslims of the world, we must go back in time.
As mentioned before, Jews are the descendants of Prophet Yaqoob (AS) — also known as Israel — son of Prophet Ishaq (AS), son of Prophet Ibrahim (AS). Prophet Ibrahim (AS) had migrated, nearly 4000 years ago, from the city of Ur in the Euphrates Valley (now Iraq) to Cannan (now divided between Jordan and Israel), along with his wife Prophet Sarah (SA) and nephew Prophet Lut (AS). Prophet Ibrahim (AS) acquired a second wife, Hajrah (SA), who bore him Isma‘el, when he was 86 years old. Then, at the ripe old age of 100, Sarah (SA) gave birth to his second son, Ishaq. Prophet Ibrahim (AS) established two centers for the spread of God’s word, one in Makkah where he settled Hajirah (SA) and her son Prophet Isma‘el (AS), and the other in Palestine where he settled Sarah (SA) and her son Prophet Ishaq (AS). This gave rise to the birth of two great nations, Banu Isma‘el and Banu Israel, as promised by Almighty Allah (SWT). According to the Old Testament:
God said to Abraham: “Look up at the sky, and count the stars, if you can. So many will your descendants be.” (Genesis 15:5)
Early Jewish History
Prophet Yousuf (AS) — the grandson of Prophet Ishaq (AS) — was able to rise to the top in the kingdom of Egypt, after being sold there as a slave because of a malevolent sibling rivalry. Prophet Yousuf (AS) then invited his father and his eleven brothers and their families — 70 strong — to Egypt, and helped them settle in a hospitable and congenial country. This most probably happened during the period of the Hyksos dynasty.
The Israelites continued to grow during the next 400 year, and developed their famous twelve tribes. Initially they enjoyed a life of prosperity and were respected by the locals. However, after the decline of the Semitic Shepherd kings in about 1550 B.C., they were increasingly seen as aliens, and therefore a security risk, by the nationalist Pharaohs of the nineteenth dynasty. As a result, the rulers started to abuse and exploit them as slaves, and even adopted a policy of ethnic cleansing towards them.
Their miseries continued until Almighty Allah (SWT) raised Prophet Musa (AS) as His messenger. He rose as a charismatic leader of the Israelites, and, after a long struggle with the Pharaoh, freed them from bondage. The migration of the Israelites from Egypt, called the “Exodus,” most probably took place around 1350 B.C.. The Holy Qur’an reminds the Jews of Allah’s benevolence thus:
Remember, We saved you from the Pharaoh’s people who wronged and oppressed you and slew your sons but spared your women. In this was a great trial from your Lord. Remember, We parted the sea and saved you, and drowned the men of Pharaoh before your very eyes. (Al-Baqarah 2:49,50)
Prophet Musa (AS) led the Israelites into the Sinai peninsula, at the Northern tip of which lays Mount Sinai — or Jebel Musa — the present day site of St. Catherine’s Monastery. It was here that Almighty Allah (SWT) gave him the guidance for his people in the form of Torah. The famous Covenant with Israelites also took place, when they promised to obey Allah’s commands and, in return, they were promised constant care, prosperity, and victory over their enemies.
Prophet Musa (AS) and his people then went about a hundred and fifty miles north of Mount Sinai, into the wilderness of Paran, at the Southern border of what was then called Cannan. According to the Old Testament, Almighty Allah (SWT) said to Prophet Musa (AS): “Send men out to explore Canaan, the land which I am going to give to the Israelites.” (Numbers 13:2).
Twelve spies were sent, one from each tribe, and they returned after forty days to report that the Promised land was flowing with milk and honey. However, except for two of them — Joshua and Caleb — they weren’t willing to go to war, saying that the towns were fortified, their inhabitants formidable and of gigantic stature. Hearing such discouraging reports, the Israelites simply refused to fight, despite all attempts to persuade and convince them. The Bible vividly portrays the scene of their refusal:
The whole Israelite community cried out in dismay and the people wept all night long. Everyone complained against Moses and Aaron: “If only we had died in Egypt or in the wilderness!” they said, “why should the Lord bring us to this land, to die in battle and leave our wives and our dependents to become the spoils of war? It would be better for us to go back to Egypt.” And they spoke of choosing someone to lead them back there. (Numbers 14:1-4)
As a result of their cowardliness and lack of faith, the Promised Land was withheld from the Israelites for a period of forty years. Almighty Allah (SWT) condemned the Israelites to wander in the wilderness of Sinai for a full generation. The Holy Qur’an narrates this whole incidence as follows:
(Musa said) “Enter, O my people, the Holy Land that God has ordained for you, and do not turn back, or you will suffer.” They said: “O Musa, in that land live a people who are formidable; we shall never go there until they leave. We shall enter when they go away.” Then two of the men who feared (God), and to whom God was gracious [i.e., Joshua and Caleb] said to them: “Charge and rush the gate. If you enter, you will surely be victorious. And place your trust in God if you truly believe.” They said: “O Musa, we shall never, never enter as long as they are there. Go you and your Lord to fight them; we stay here.” (Musa) said, “O Lord, I have control over none but myself and my brother; so draw a dividing line between us and these, the wicked people.” (And God) said: “Then verily this Land is forbidden them for forty years, and they shall wander perplexed over the earth. So do not grieve for these, the wicked people.” (Al-Ma’ida 5:21-26)
Israel’s Golden Age
The men who had set out from Egypt under Prophet Musa (AS) were utterly devoid of any sense of honor or self-respect, and they lacked the necessary courage and fortitude to face their enemies in battle. The reason for their low morale was obviously their centuries long slavery and persecution in Egypt. During their forty years wandering, however, the older generation perished and was replaced by a new generation that grew up in an environment of total freedom. As a result, this fresh generation had a strong enough character to invade the Holy Land under the leadership of Joshua, the successor of Prophet Musa (AS). The Israelites were thus able to conquer most of the cities, despite the fact that their enemies had fortified towns, advanced weapons, and swift chariots.
The conquest of the Promised Land, however, remained incomplete. Instead of destroying the numerous nations inhabiting Palestine, as they were told to do, the Israelites fell victim to tribal parochialism. They failed to establish a single unified kingdom of their own, and divided the Land among themselves. Thus, losing their political and military strength, the Israelites were forced to live side by side with the corrupt and idolatrous communities of their time. This not only resulted very soon in their adopting all the moral evils of Amorites, Jebusites, and Canaanites, etc., but also in their being driven out from a major part of Palestine by the incessant attacks of the unconquered nations, especially the Philistines.
At last the Israelites felt the need to preserve their independence and regain their unity. A delegation of elders from each tribe gathered and requested their prophet — Samuel — to appoint for them a ruler, who chose Saul (or Taloot) as the king of Israelites. This episode of Jewish history is also mentioned in the Holy Qur’an (Al-Baqarah 2:243-248), and took place around 1020 B.C.. Taloot was later succeeded by Prophet Dawood (AS) and Prophet Suleman (AS), and under the rule of these three great kings, the Israelites were able to transform themselves from a small group of quarreling tribes into the most powerful kingdom between the Nile and Euphrates. During the years 1020 B.C. and 922 B.C., Israel reached the zenith of its territorial size and political power, enjoying an era of peace and affluence. Culture, trade, and industry flourished, especially during the reign of Prophet Suleman (AS). The famous Temple was also built for the first time in Jerusalem.
First Period of Decline
The death of Prophet Suleman (AS) — or King Solomon, as he is called in the Bible — marks the beginning of the first period of decline for the Israelites. The united monarchy disappeared, and in its place arose two kingdoms — Israel in the north and Judah in the south. The people of the northern kingdom crowned Jeroboam, an official who had rebelled against King Solomon and taken refuge in Egypt, and he made Shechem his royal city. The southern kingdom continued to be ruled by the Davidic dynasty, its first monarch being Rehoboam, son of Solomon, with its center at Jerusalem.
Although both kingdoms were strife-ridden from the very beginning, Israel was especially turbulent because of its large population which seldom agreed on anything. Politically unstable, the northern kingdom suffered a prolonged period of internal warfare until 876 B.C., when an army officer Omri got hold of the throne and built a new capital at Samaria. He, however, adopted a policy of compromise with paganism, as a result of which the common people began to assimilate various polytheistic practices of the neighboring communities. The rise of paganism became especially serious under Omri’s son Ahab, who married a Phoenician princess, Jezebel. She started a ruthless campaign to wipe out Israel’s traditional monotheism, and to replace it with the Canaanite fertility cult and the worship of Baal. Two prophets, Prophet Elias (AS) or Elijah and Prophet Al-Yasa (AS) or Elisha, rose and tried their best to warn their people, and to check their growing inclination towards paganism, but the cult of Baal and the associated rituals of licentious dances remained irresistibly attractive for the austere Israelites.
At last, Almighty Allah’s anger manifested itself in the form of Assyrians from the north, whose takeover of Israel started gradually but ended with severe subjugation. Initially, the kings of Israel were forced to pay tribute money to Assyria, but in 721 B.C., the Assyrian armies, under king Sargon, attacked and plundered Samaria, killing thousands of her inhabitants. According to an Assyrian inscription, King Sargon carried away 27,290 Israelites into captivity, and scattered them in his eastern provinces, terminating the existence of the northern kingdom as an independent nation.
On the other hand, the history of the southern state of Judah displays a relatively slower degeneration in beliefs and morality. However, they too started to indulge in idol-worship and transgressions of the Divine Law, becoming more and more corrupt with every passing generation. Prophet Isaiah rose and tried to reform his people during the period 740 B.C. to 700 B.C.. His warnings and prophecies — which were collected in the “Book of Isaiah” of the Old Testament — clearly testify to the moral decadence of his times.
Here are a few statements from his sermons:
You sinful nation, a people weighed down with iniquity,
a race of evildoers, children whose lives are depraved,
who have deserted the Lord, spurned the Holy One of Israel,
and turned your backs on him!
Why do you invite more punishment, why persist in your defection?
Your head is all covered with sores, your whole body is bruised; (Isaiah 1:4,5)
Your rulers are rebels, associates of thieves;
every one of them loves a bribe and chases after gifts;
they deny the fatherless their rights
and the widow’s cause is never heard. (Isaiah 1:23)
Once again the Lord spoke to me; he said:
Because this nation has rejected the waters of Shiloah,
which flow softly and gently,
therefore the Lord will bring up against it
the mighty flood waters of the Euphrates.
The river will rise in its channels and overflow all its banks.
In a raging torrent mounting neck-high it will sweep through Judah.
With his outspread wings
the whole expanse of the land will be filled
for God is with us.
Take note, you nations; you will be shattered.
Listen, all you distant parts of the earth:
arm yourselves, and be shattered;
arm yourselves, and be shattered.
Devise your plans, but they will be foiled;
propose what you will, but it will not be carried out;
for God is with us. (Isaiah 8:5-10)
Then came Prophet Jeremiah, who tried to shake his people out of their perverted ways, idolatry, and apostasy, during the period 627 B.C. to 587 B.C.. His sermons, however, met with an intense opposition from a corrupt society that was addicted to idol-worship to the point of fanaticism. His teachings were later collected as the “Book of Jeremiah” in the Old Testament, from which the following excerpts are taken:
Listen to the words of the Lord, people of Jacob, all you families of Israel.
These are the words of the Lord:
What fault did your forefathers find in me,
that they went so far astray from me,
pursuing worthless idols
and becoming worthless like them;
that they did not ask, “Where is the Lord,
who brought us up from Egypt
and led us through the wilderness,
through a barren and broken country,
a country parched and forbidding,
where no one ever traveled,
where no one made his home?
I brought you into a fertile land to enjoy its fruit
and every good thing in it,
but when you entered my land you defiled it
and made loathsome the home I gave you.
The priests no longer asked, ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who handled the law had no real knowledge of me,
the shepherds of the people rebelled against me;
the prophets prophesied in the name of Baal
and followed gods who were powerless to help. (Jeremiah 2:4-8)
Stop before your feet are bare and your throat is parched.
But you said, ‘No, I am desperate.
I love foreign gods and I must go after them.
As a thief is ashamed when he is found out
so the people of Israel feel ashamed,
they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,
who say to a block of wood, ‘You are our father’
and cry ‘Mother’ to a stone.
On me they have turned their backs
and averted their faces from me.
Yet in their time of trouble they say,
‘Rise up and save us!’
Where are the gods you made for yourselves?
In your time of trouble let them arise and save you.
For you, Judah, have as many gods as you have towns. (Jeremiah 2:25-28)
Israel, I am bringing against you a distant nation,
an ancient people established long ago, says the Lord,
a people whose language you do not know,
whose speech you will not understand;
they are all mighty warriors,
their jaws are a grave, wide open,
to devour your harvest and your food,
to devour your sons and your daughters,
to devour your flocks and your herds,
to devour your vines and your fig trees
They will beat down with the sword
the walled cities in which you trust. (Jeremiah 5:15-17)
Despite all these explicit and unambiguous warnings — delivered to the inhabitants of Judah by two of their great prophets — there was no sign of any remorse or repentance whatsoever. Instead, the Israelites stubbornly continued in their pagan practices and disobedience of Divine injunction, thereby inviting the wrath of Almighty Allah (SWT).
Divine punishment first appeared in the form of Babylonian forces marching into Judah in 604 B.C., when King Jehoiakim acquiesced without any struggle and agreed to pay heavy tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylonia. He, however, rebelled against his Babylonian overlords in 601 B.C., resulting in the first siege of Jerusalem that lasted three months. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar entered the Holy City on March 15, 597 B.C., and plundered the Temple of Solomon. They decimated the society by deporting the new King Jehoiachin (Jehoiakim’s son), his family, noblemen, and thousands of influential citizens, soldiers, and skilled craftsmen as captives to Babylonia. Nebuchadnezzar then placed the king’s uncle Zedekiah on the throne of Judah. Soon Zedekiah also became involved in a conspiracy against Babylonia, resulting in the second siege of Jerusalem. This time the city remained under siege for 18 months, and the conditions deteriorated to such an extent that some of the inhabitants were forced to eat human flesh.
Finally, the wall of Jerusalem was breached on July 9, 587 B.C.. The rebellious vassal king was captured and was forced to watch as his sons were slaughtered. Then he was blinded and taken in chains to Babylonia, where he later died in prison.
Nebuchadnezzar decided to make an example of the city, and his orders were carried out with cruel thoroughness. The city walls were demolished. The Temple and the palace were stripped of all valuables and burned to the ground. Thousands were killed, and a large part of the population was taken as captives to Babylonia, more than 500 miles away. The kingdom of Judah itself became a Babylonian province, which presented at that time a deeply scarred look. Everywhere, towns were ransacked and burned, crops destroyed, and villages deserted.
Part 4 of 10 will be posted shortly:
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