How Did It Come To This

LANGUAGE BARRIER By Brother Ayman (e-mail: [email protected])

26:224. And the poets are followed by the deceived/unreasonable. INTRODUCTION

43:3. We have made it as an Arabic reading, so that perhaps you will be logical. 12:2. We have sent it down as an Arabic reading, so that perhaps you will be logical. How is it that the great reading being in Arabic contributes to logical and reasonable as opposed to unreasonable understanding? What is special about a text being in Arabic or non-Arabic? Or more precisely, at the time that the great reading was descended, what was special about a text being in Arabic or non-Arabic? WHAT IS SPECIAL ABOUT ARABIC? A possible answer may be found in the sign in 16:103. 16:103. And indeed We know that they say: "It is but a human that is teaching him." The language of the one they falsely attribute to is non-Arabic, while this is a clarifying Arabic language. The sign in verse 16:103 refutes the statement "It is but a human that is teaching him" by saying that the language of such human religious teachings is non-Arabic, while the great reading is in Arabic. The sign in 16:103 indicates that at the time the great reading was revealed there was another non-Arabic language that was used for "religious" teachings and that Arabic was not used for "religious" matters. Looking back at archeological evidence from the period before the great reading was descended, we see a very interesting phenomenon. We see plenty of inscriptions in Arabic. However, those inscriptions are mostly informal writings that do not talk about formal religious or political affairs. They are like graffiti written by average people. They talk about average people's issues such as hunting, finding water, tribes and families, the caring for livestock, love, grief, and other normal everyday aspects of desert life. On the other hand, in the same areas of Arabia where those informal Arabic graffiti are found, thousands of Nabataean inscriptions can be found. Nabataean is a close cousin of Aramaic and comes from the same branch of Western Semitic languages. Arabic, on the other hand, comes from the Southern Semitic branch. All the Nabataean inscriptions are very formal and talk exclusively about religious and royal affairs and there are no Nabataean inscriptions talking about the average Nabataean citizen life. Hence, the life of the average Nabataean citizen has remained a mystery. Until recently, archeologists thought that there were two unrelated people using two different languages that lived in that area, the Nabataeans and the Arab nomads. An inscription found near the Negev region changed all that. The inscription talks about a Nabataean king and dedicates the setting up of a statue to him in the Nabataean language. Added to the Nabataean text there is an explanation in Arabic of why the people made the dedication. Here is a translation of the Arabic portion: "For (king) Obodas works without rewards or favor, and when death tried to claim us, when a wound of ours festered, he did not let us perish."

When the subject of the inscription changed from formal religious/royal matters to the common people's explanation of why they loved their king, so did the language. It shifted from Nabataean to Arabic. The conclusion that can be drawn from this is that there weren't two people living in the same region who were using two different languages. They were one people all along who simply used two languages for different purposes. They used Arabic as an informal language for common everyday matters and Nabataean as a language for religious and formal affairs. Most commoners would not have understood the religious language of the elite and this helped the religious and political elite to monopolize power. More importantly, this archeological evidence is confirmed by the sign in 16:103 that clearly points out to Arabic not being the language of religious teachings. So here we have agreement between the evidence from the great reading and archeological evidence. At the time of the prophet, if a Jew wanted to learn religious matters, they would be taught in Hebrew, which like Nabataean, is also a Western Semitic language. If a Christian wanted to learn religious matters, they would be taught in Aramaic or Greek. If a pagan wanted to learn about his Nabataean idols, he would be taught in Nabataean Aramaic. Throughout history, one of the ways that the religious clergy maintained control over the common people has been to erect a language barrier. For example, until the 14th century, the language of religion in England was Latin. Change was brought about by the death of over half of the Latin-speaking clergy during the plague of 1348-54 because they lived in close quarters at monasteries. English speaking commoners replaced these clergy and English services became widespread. Shortly thereafter, English translations of the Bible started to appear and not long afterwards, reformers, such as Protestants, began to challenge the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. The event of the plague had a significant impact on the English language and how it is used. English words and expressions that had no religious connotation started to take a strong religious meaning. For example, expressions such as "your worship", which used to simply be a respectful way to address someone, might now denote a religious ritual. The sign in 16:103 has significant implications on how we can properly understand the great reading and on demolishing the "after-the-fact" dogmatic religious corruptions and the myths surrounding the story of the prophet. In this article an attempt will be made to construct a coherent theory on "pre-quranic" Arabia. The theory will be validated based on evidence from the great reading and archeological evidence. Also, unlike all existing theories we will avoid relying on hearsay or using it to fill in the blanks. JAHILIYA SOCIETY Based on 16:103, we found out that Arabic was not a language of religion but was a language of the common people. This would explain how the term "ummi" which comes from "ummat"/people came to mean "illiterate". This would also explain verses such as 62:2 and 3:75 where the meaning of "illiterate" doesn't make any sense because certainly not all the people of the prophet were illiterate and neither was he. With the interpretation of 16:103 and as confirmed by the archeological evidence, the following meanings of "ummi" converge: 1. Is illiterate in the religious language of the elite, which is the language of the previous books. 2. Is from the common people ("ummat"). It can then be seen that the great reading addresses two audiences: 3:20. So if they debate with you say: "I submitted my direction to The God and so did those who followed me" and say to those who were given the book and the "ummiyin"/common

people who don't know the religious language of the elite: "Did you submit?" So if they submit then they are guided and if they turn away, then only delivery of the message is upon you and The God is seer of the servants. According to the traditionally accepted theory, "those who were given the book" refers to Christians and the descendants of Israel while "al-ummiyin" refers to the illiterate pagans. There are many problems with the traditional theory as can be seen from verses such as 2:78, which describes the descendants of Israel: 2:78. And from them are "ummiyin"/common people who don't know the religious language of the elite who don't know the book except recitation without knowing the meaning and they are but assuming. Verse 2:78 talks about the descendants of Israel. So here we have the term "umiyun" encompassing the descendants of Israel who were either Jews or Christians. This again confirms that "ummi" versus "those given the book" is not a religious or literate versus illiterate division but is a social division of religious elite versus common people. Interestingly, according to Lisan Al-Arab, "not knowing the book except "amany"" means "except recitation". Lisan Al-Arab further explains that Arabs used the expression "someone who "yatamana"" to mean "when someone said what he doesn't know". ‫ وهذا‬، ‫ معناه الكتاب إِل تِلوة نُسهِب إِلى أَنْه القائل إِذا قال مها ل يعلمهه فكأَنهه إِنمها َي َتمَنّاه‬: ‫منههم ُأمّيّونَه ل َي ْعلَمُون الكتاب إِل أَمانيّ قال أَبهو إِسهحق‬ ‫مستَعمل في كلم الناس‬ According to 2:78, much like the many sectarians today who don't know Arabic and instead of using a translation recite the Arabic reading behind their religious elite like a parrot without understanding what they are saying, Jewish and Christian Arabs recited their books in a foreign language without understanding what it means. Those Arabs probably recited the book in a foreign language and not in their own language because they thought that this foreign language was somehow sacred. Because they didn't understand the religious texts, in all likelihood they blindly followed the religious elite. Thus "pre-quranic" Arabia was divided into two major groups. The first group is the religious/political elite of "those who were given the book" and the second group is the common people/"al-ummiyin". According to 59:2, "ahl al kitab" lived in fortified castles so this further confirms that they were not average people but political/religious elite. The advent of the great reading eliminated the differences between those two groups and empowered the common people by bridging the language barrier. 43:31. And they said: "if only this reading had been descended on a great man from the two towns." Verse 43:31 is inconsistent with the sectarian stories about the prophet prior to receiving the message where he is portrayed as someone who is held in high regards and judges between people in matters such as the placement of the three broken black stone idols that are tied together with a strap (which the Sunnis mistakenly call "the Black Stone"). This again confirms that the prophet was not from a prestigious family. Now we can understand why despite the fierce resistance to the message by the religious elite, it spread so quickly. It was in the language of the common people that everybody could understand. The fact that the great reading was not only critical of the established religious dogma but was also in the language of the common people, must have added insult to injury as far as the religious and political elite were concerned. This is because the elite religious and political establishment would have looked down at Arabic as a "common people" language and not a "scholarly" one.

JIHILIYA POETRY According to traditions, alleged Jahiliya Arabic poets were respected and their poems were highly sought after. Traditions contend that powerful political rulers, such as the Ghassanid kings, invited the alleged pagan Arabic poets to court. The Ghassanid courts, such as those of King Nu'man, were supposed to be the venues for the recitation of panegyrics, which are considered in the front rank of Arabic Jahiliya poetry. However, as we saw earlier, the religious and political elite would have looked down on Arabic as a common people language and not a literary and scholarly one. So it is very unlikely that they courted such alleged Arab poets. If one tries to reconstruct the true history without considering the traditional hearsay reports, what is noticeable from physical archeological evidence is that, despite being Arabs, the Ghassanids did not use Arabic in their religious and formal political communications. For example, here is what an archeologist specializing in Byzantine and Arab 6th century archeology recently said about an important Ghassanid church excavation and the religious inscriptions found [I. Shahid, The Sixth-Century Church Complex At Nitl, Jordan. The Ghassanid Dimension]: "Remarkable is the fact that the inscriptions are not in Arabic but in Greek, in spite of the strong Arab sense of identity, that the Ghassanids possessed" Interestingly, some Arabic inscriptions were found on recycled rocks reused to build a church at Umm Al-Rasas in Northern Arabia. The rocks are inscribed in Arabic graffiti with Arab people names. This suggests that the church was built in an area where Arabs lived and that it was catering to Arab parishioners. Despite the parishioners being Arab, as we saw earlier the religious inscriptions were foreign. So here we see a clear contradiction noticed by archeologists. How come the religious inscriptions are not in Arabic despite the very strong Arabic identity of the Ghassanids? Also, if the Ghassanids held Arabic poetry in such high regard, then how come amongst the multitude of Arabic inscriptions there are no inscriptions of any alleged Jahiliya Arabic poem or even of a single verse of one? Again, the sign in 16:103 neatly resolves this contradiction. Arabic was simply not a language of religious or literary teaching. That is why the traditionalists cannot produce even one "prequranic" manuscript or one inscription of even one verse of one alleged Jahiliya poem. It is not as if Arabs didn't write as some traditionalists claim. There are thousands of pre-quranic Arabic inscriptions talking about much less important things than this alleged Jahiliya poetry and yet there is absolutely zero "pre-quranic" evidence of this all important Jahiliya poetry. All the Arabic inscriptions are informal in nature. Poets exist in all cultures so there were "pre-quranic" Arabic poets. Even primitive cultures with no advanced literature have poets because they have songs. Singing is the basic form of poetry. However, singing folk songs and "Mary had a little lamb" is different to the supposed Jahiliya poems allegedly uttered by and for the kings of the Arabs and which gave prestige to whoever has the ability to mechanically utter verses that rhyme. The most prominent alleged "pre-quranic" poet is Imru' Al-Qays. The following is an example of his poetry:

The mere fact that a modern Arabic reader is able to read the above poem without any difficulty raises suspicion about its authenticity. Many of the alleged poets were supposedly from Southern Arab tribes. For example, Imru' Al-Qays was alleged to be from the Southern Arab tribe of Kinda and thus would have spoken and produced poems in an Old Southern Arabic (OSA) dialect such as Sabaic that would have been difficult to understand and not the familiar Northern Arabic dialect of the great reading that we see above. Anyone who has carefully studied alleged Jahiliya poetry knows that Jahiliya poems, including the above, are amongst the least artful works of literature. All one has to do to utter Jahiliya poetry is to follow the rhyme. That is why you can easily take a Jahiliya poem and insert verses in between or rearrange the order of the verses without losing any of the non-existent author personality. Even more shocking is that the passages marked with a red box occur almost word for word in the great reading (54:1, 54:29, 54:31, 54:46, 93:1-2, 21:96, 37:61) and this has given ammunition to detractors of the great reading. Detractors of the great reading claim that the prophet copied from Imru' Al-Qays. They refer to the above alleged Jahilya poem verses and to dubious traditions such as the following: "Fatima (the daughter of the prophet) was repeating a verse and was overheard by the daughter of Imru' Al-Qays, who said: 'O that's what your father has taken from one of my father's poems, and calls it something that has come down to him out of heaven.'" Despite this, traditionalists have not tried to refute that Imru' Al-Qays said such poems and have continued to trust the authenticity of alleged Jahiliya poems. It is time for people to stop trusting alleged Jahiliya poems because there is categorical physical archeological evidence that the most prominent Jahiliya poet, Imru' Al-Qays is a fictional character based on a much earlier real Arab king. This evidence is provided by a famous inscription called the Namara inscription. Here is a translation of the Namara inscription:

"This is the funerary monument of Imru al-Qays, son of ‘Amr, king of the Arabs; and[?] his title of honor was Master of Asad and Madhhij. And he subdued the Asad-s, and they were overwhelmed together with their kings, and he put to flight Ma(dh)hij thereafter, and came driving them into the gates of Najran, the city of Shammar, and he subdued Ma‘add, and he dealt gently with the nobles of the tribes, and appointed them viceroys, and they became phylarchs for the Romans. And no king has equaled his achievements. Thereafter he died in the year 223 on the 7th day of Kaslul. Oh the good fortune of those who were his friends." [Source: Bellamy, J. (1985). "A New Reading of the Namarah Inscription," Journal of the American Oriental Society 105.1, 34.] The inscription talks about a powerful king named Imru' al-Qays who had great achievements and must have been liked by his people. The Nabatean year 223 corresponds to the year 328AD. The alleged Jahiliya poet Imru' al Qays, is reported to have died over 200 years later in the year 540AD. We seemingly have two personalities by the same exact name: Imru' al Qays, and both are famous figures. This is how traditionalists explained away the vast discrepancy in the dates. However, the traditionalist explanation is not possible because the astonishing similarities between the alleged poet and the person described by the inscription do not stop there. The 328 AD real Imru' al Qays (since we have archeological evidence to back up his existence) shares other striking similarities with the fictional 540 AD Imru' al Qays, the alleged prequranic Arabic poet. For instance, both are royals, the 328AD Imru' al-Qays is called the "king of the Arabs" in the inscription and traditionalists allege that the other Imru' al-Qays was the son of the last king of Kinda, an ancient Arabian tribe. When his father was murdered, he too became king. The 328AD Imru' al-Qays fought a tribe called Asad. The other Imru' al-Qays was banished by his father king because of his passionate poetry then his tribe went to war with a rival tribe called: Bani Asad! Who murdered his father! Both Imru' al Qays 1 and 2 defeated their Asad enemies. Both the 328AD Imru' al Qays and the 540AD Imru' al Qays tried to unite the tribes of Arabia. Both the 328AD Imru' al Qays and the 540AD Imru' al Qays made alliances with the Romans to defeat their tribe's enemies. We know that the 328AD Imru' al Qays existed because of the physical archeological evidence of the Namara inscription. We only know about the 540AD Imru' al Qays through stories and poems that were reported in the 8th-9th century AD. Those striking similarities cannot be a coincidence but is exactly what one would expect from the storytellers as the real story of the real Imru' Al-Qays is turned across generations into the legend of Imru' Al-Qays and sprinkled with poetry and embellished to make it more entertaining. This completely demolishes the historicity of the 540AD Imru' Al-Qays and the entire traditional account of the Jahilya period and its poetry. The fictitious Imru' al Qays of 540AD is regarded as the inventor of the "qasida" or classical ode. His poems are considered to be the most prominent, famous, and reliable. He is also considered the greatest poet of the Mu'allaqat, the poems that are worthy of hanging on the alleged Kaaba. Hence, if his historicity turns out to be problematic, this would have far

reaching consequences for the historicity of all Jahiliya poetry and even the alleged proper name Kaaba, since Jahiliya poetry is the only supposed "pre-quranic" source for it. Traditionalists have countered the doubts in the authenticity of Jahiliya poetry by arguing that the oral transmission of Jahiliya poetry was like the transmission of the great reading and hence both are preserved in the same way. Fortunately, those traditionalist arguments are not grounded in reality. Unlike alleged Jahiliya poetry where there is a complete absence of manuscripts and inscriptions, there are many early manuscripts of the great reading that can be dated to the first century of the new era. Some of those manuscripts even show faded text where the same words have been re-written over. Thus, the original text of the great reading can be dated to an even earlier period. Given that there is only a slim probability of survival of such manuscripts, the fact that we have so many indicates that they came from a very large population. Moreover, there are many rock inscriptions of parts of the great reading that are dated to the first century of the new era. More importantly, the great reading itself tells us that it is a "kitab". The word "kitab" means a "written document". Traditionalists have also contended that a vast conspiracy was needed for the fabrication of Jahiliya poetry on such a scale. However, in reality there is no need for a conspiracy. The natural law of supply and demand negates the need for a conspiracy. Hollywood produces movies because there is demand for them not because of any sinister conspiracy. A few hundred years from now some naïve folks that lack common sense may watch such movies and think that they are home movies depicting the lives of actual people. Poetry was told by storytellers for the purpose of entertainment. Hence, unlike later poets, all alleged Jahiliya poets have very interesting and amazing life stories. The poems are weaved into the stories and advance the plot line in such a way so that a poem is always uttered at the opportune moment. Hence, like in a Bollywood movie where the hero and a chorus of singers and dancers is always ready at the right moment in the story to spontaneously delight the audience with a song, alleged Jahiliya poets entertain us with their poems in the exact perfect time in their melodramatic stories. Those are all classical features of fiction and legends and not actual historic accounts. It is amazing that some people still believe that poets such as Imru' Al-Qays (the Hamlet of Arabia), Antara (the Achilles of Arabia), and Qays Ibn Al-Mulawah and Layla (the Romeo and Juliet of Arabia) really existed and they are not a figment of the imagination of Umayyad and Abbasid era storytellers. This is no different than believing that Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet really existed and are not the figment of the imagination of Shakespeare. Traditionalists even accept as Jahiliya poetry poems alleged to be from the time of Ibrahim (a different millennia) or uttered by Adam in the obituary of his son, all said in easy to understand Arabic I might add! Of course, anyone with common sense should doubt that people at the time of Ibrahim even heard of this Arabic, let alone composed poetry in it. If traditionalists want to compare the supposed preservation of so-called Jahiliya poetry to something, then they can compare it to Hadiths. There is evidence from those bodies of literature themselves that they were spread by the Qasassin (the storytellers). Those are entertainers who went from one town to the next telling their stories. Of course, the storytellers had to give the audience what they wanted to hear. Hence, for liberal audiences, they would tell the story of Imru-Al-Qays and his romantic endeavors or Qays Ibn Al-Mulawah and Layla. In more conservative towns, the storytellers would tell the stories of the monotheist poets and tales of courage and valor. Later, the same storytellers propagated Hadiths as the Abbasid theocracy took over and demand for religious programming increased. There is evidence from Bukhari's bibliography that he started out as one of those storytellers himself, traveling from town to town and gathering audiences like the circus. The following extract from Imam Bukhari's biography, recounts one of his performances while traveling to Baghdad:

"People had heard about the Imam Bukhari’s extraordinary memory. They decided to test him to see if the Imam was worthy of the attributes that were being issued to him. One hundred different ahaadeeth were chosen that had their testimonials and text altered. These altered ahaadeeth were to be recited to Imam Bukhari by ten people. By now, a crowd had gathered to witness the outcome of this deliberate test. One by one, each altered tradition was recited. The Imam remarked at the end of each recital: “Not of my knowledge.” After all the traditions had been presented, the Imam demonstrated the power of his memory by correcting the testimonial and text of each tradition in order." Of course, the above tale sounds more like circus entertainment and not the scientific endeavor that traditionalists paint. This unfortunate situation was described here: 31.6. Among the people, there are those who buy distracting sayings, to divert from the path of The God without knowledge, and take it in vain. These have incurred a shameful retribution. In summary, so-called Jahiliya poetry has been proven to be a product of Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties' entertainers and political propagandists, the same social forces that produced Hadiths. The natural law of supply and demand and the storytellers spreading their tales from town to town explains the widespread dissemination of such fabrications without the need for a systematic conspiracy. JAHILIYA HISTORY Unfortunately, historians often rely on Jahiliya poetry to reconstruct the history of the "prequranic" period in Arabia. They also rely on "post-quranic" stories such as those produced by Ibn Is-haq. The most well known turning point in the history of "pre-quranic" Arabia seems to be the alleged Year of the Elephant. This is the year when an Abyssinian expedition under the leadership of Abraha was supposedly defeated while allegedly invading Maka(t). This is also the year when the prophet was supposed to be born. This year is given by traditional historians as the year 570AD. Fortunately, we can objectively investigate the history of Abraha because in this case we have physical archeological evidence in the form of a very detailed inscription written to commemorate his expedition. This large inscription is depicted on a rock near a well in southern Arabia.

The Abraha inscription is an example of the kind of archeological evidence that provides information that totally contradicts the official view of Jahiliya history. Transliteration:

"bi khayl Rahmanan wa masyha malikan Abraha Zybman malik Saba' wa Zuraydan wa Hadramut wa Yement wa r'a rab hamw twadam wa thamat satro zn satran k'ghazow ma'ndam ghazwatn rab'atan b'warkhan Zthbatan Kafa saadu kl bani amrm wa zaki malikn abjabar b ainam kadat wain w basharm bin hasahanm bainm san dam wa mardam wa hadaru qadami jayshan alia bani yamram kadat wail bi wad samrakh wa mardam wa sadam bi wad bi manhaj tarban wa zabahow wa sarw wa ghanamw zaisam wa makhdah malakin bi Halban wa dawn ka zalam maidam wrahanw wa badanahaw nwa sa'aham mw Amram Bin Mazran wa rahanamw bin haw wa sata khalafw ala ma'dam wa qafalw bin hal ( bi)n bi akhayal Rahmanan wa rakhaw zalan salthany w sathya ws." Translation: "With the power of the Almighty, and His Messiah King Abraha Zeebman, the King of Saba'a, Zuridan, and Hadrmaut and Yemen and the tribes (on) the mountains and the coast wrote these lines on his battle against the tribe of Ma'ad (in) the battle of al-Rabiya in the month of "Dhu al Thabithan" and fought all of Bani A'amir and appointed the King Abi Jabar with Kinda and Al, Bishar bin Hasan with Sa'ad, Murad, and Hadarmaut in front of the army against Bani Amir of Kinda. and Al in Zu Markh valley and Murad and Sa'ad in Manha valley on the way to Turban and killed and captured and took the booty in large quantities and the King and fought at Halban and reached Ma'ad and took booty and prisoners, and after that, conquered Omro bin al-Munzir. (Abrha) appointed the son (of Omro) as the ruler and returned from Hal Ban (Halban) with the power of the Almighty in the month of Zu A'allan in the year sixty-two and six hundred." The above inscription describes in detail the expedition of Abraha until his return. As one can clearly see, contrary to the fairy tales that we hear from traditionalists there is absolutely no mention of anything related to elephants, Kaaba(t), or Maka(t). According to the inscription it is Abraha who defeated and returned after conquering the Arab tribes and not the other way around as traditionalists contend. It is not surprising that the inscription doesn't mention elephants. It would have been highly impractical to bring elephants into the desert and carry their weight in water. Moreover, elephants had fallen out of use as battle gear approximately seven centuries earlier. This is for the simple reason that elephants' feet are very sensitive and it is very easy to defeat elephants in battle by placing thorns or any sharp objects in their path. Elephants would have suffered greatly in the scorching sands of the desert without giving an invading army any advantage. Thus, it is very unlikely that Abraha used elephants. Chapter 105 of the great reading doesn't say anything about Kaaba(t), Maka(t), or Abraha. In light of verses such as 11:82 and 15:74 that talk about the punishment of the people of Lot as being hit by "7ijarat min sijjil", the same exact Arabic term in chapter 105, the chapter is more likely to be referring to the people of Lot and not Abraha. Another interesting fact that is confirmed by the great reading is that the southern Arabs at the time of the prophet used to call The God "Al-Rahman" (Rahmanan in Sabiac where the definite article is post-posed as "nan"). We don't find inscriptions in Northern Arabia with the name Rahman while we find it in Southern Arabian inscriptions so this name was used by Southern Arabs. The sign in 17:110 is in perfect agreement with the archeological evidence. We can now see that the opening of "Bism Allah Al-Rahman Al-Rahim" and the whole honorable reading was addressing both Northern and Southern Arabs and not just one tribe or the other. In addition, there are also other interesting linguistic implications to how people living during "pre-quranic" times understood the language of the great reading. The term Al-Rahman is often interpreted in classical Arabic dictionaries to mean "Gracious" or "Beneficent". This is not

in line with how the attribute is used in the great reading, where for example, in 19:45 we hear prophet Ibrahim say to his father, a rejecting idol-worshipper, "I fear you would be struck with the wrath of Al-Rahman." The word Al-Rahman in 19:45 is more likely to invoke fear of retribution as opposed to hope of benefit or grace. The Abraha inscription confirms the meaning of Al-Rahman as used in the great reading to mean an attribute that conveys power: The Almighty. Both physical archeological evidence (as opposed to hearsay) and the great reading are in perfect match on how people at the time of the prophet must have understood the meaning of Al-Rahman. Notice also in the inscription the use of "zaki" to mean "promote" and not "give charity". Joseph Couq "L'Eglise d'Afrique du Nord du IIe au XIIe siecle" (1984) p. 120-1 shows examples of the Bismallah on coins rendered in Latin (76AH/695CE - 98AH/716CE) as "in nomine Dei misericordis" (in the name of God the Merciful). So it seems that only Al-Rahim was translated and the early post-quranic Arabs totally neglected to translate Al-Rahman. We see the same phenomena on bilingual North Arabian papyri, for example in early Arabic-Greek texts the word "Rahman" is not translated [See: H. I. Bell, "The Arabic Bilingual Entagion", Proceedings Of The American Philosophical Society, 1945, Volume 89, pp. 538-539; and Alan Jones, "The Dotting Of A Script And The Dating Of An Era: The Strange Neglect Of PERF 558", in Islamic Culture, 1998, Volume LXXII, No. 4, pp. 95-103]. This proves that even after the revelation of 17:110 the people of Northern Arabia were still confused about the meaning of Al-Rahman and hence didn't translate it. As we have seen, the story of Abraha as told in the inscription is kind of dull and with no happy ending for the Arabs. On the other hand, the hearsay tales from sectarians are filled with amazing details, suspense, and drama. They capture people's imagination with the amazing detail of the character of an old frail man (the fictitious Abd Al-Mutilib) standing in the path of the Army of Abraha. The stories have special effects of amazing creatures (the elephants) and gore (the flesh and blood flowed like water and the skin of Abraha and his soldiers falling off and exposing the bones, etc.). These hearsay stories that the Arabs concocted long after the fact have very high entertainment value and appeal to the masses much as Hollywood flicks often do. However, they have no value for those interested in the truth. The Arabs were very proud of their forefathers as evident from the many inscriptions bearing family lineage and tribal affiliation. Thus, when they became in the seat of power, they rewrote history to turn their forefathers' humiliating defeat at the hands of Abraha into a legendary victory. As a side note, the date on the inscription converts to 552AD. According to traditionalists, the prophet was born in the year of Abraha's expedition and they say that he was born in 570AD. So this pushes back the date of birth of the prophet by about 20 years. This creates a big problem for traditionalists. They now either have to revise the entire story of the prophet or they have to give up all their "Sahih" Hadiths. This is for the simple reason that all the chains of transmission of their Hadiths will now be broken as a result of pushing back the dates by 20 years. As we see, even the most famous and well-known turning point in the history of Arabia, including the date of birth of the prophet, as recounted by traditionalists turned out to be problematic. Moreover, the archeological evidence has significant implications on how words such as "makka(t)" and "kaaba(t) should be understood. MAKKA(T) It is not surprising that the inscription of Abraha doesn't mention or even allude to a town called Maka(t). There is zero evidence for a town named Maka(t) prior to the revelation of the great reading and all sides of the debate on the historicity of Maka(t) agree that the name Maka(t) doesn't occur in any "pre-quranic" inscriptions. Those promoting the historicity of Makka are forced to bring the only one reference by Ptolmey to an insignificant town by the name of Macoraba and not Maka(t) for the simple reason that they know very well that there

are absolutely no references to the supposedly important town of Maka(t). This despite the fact that there are many references, including the above Abraha's inscription, to far less important towns in Arabia than this alleged Makka(t). According to classical Arabic dictionaries, the word "maka(t)" mainly means "destruction/wearing down", among other meanings. It is listed in classical Arabic dictionaries under either MKK or MK. Al-Mohit lists it under MKK, the meaning given is destruction and wearing down which is consistent with the context of standoff in 48:24. It also lists the meaning of TMKK as an adversary's insistence on something, which is also consistent with the standoff in 48:24. Lisan Al-Arab lists it under MK and the meaning of MK(t) is given as "destruction" and TMK as "destroy". Al-Wasit lists it under MK, the meanings given are: sucking everything out, insisting on revenge from an adversary, and the thing, which is worn down or destroyed. Al-Ghani lists it under MKK, the meanings given are: sucking, insisting with demands on an adversary. Here is a translation of 48:24 using Classical Arabic dictionaries and the context of war from the verses to translate the common description "maka(t)": 48:24. And it is He Who has restrained their hands from you and your hands from them in the midst of destruction after that He gave you the victory over them. And Allah sees well all that ye do. I used Yusuf Ali's translation but while he left "maka(t)" un-translated I didn't. As one can see, the clear classical Arabic meaning fits perfectly in the context of the military standoff in verse 48:24. Based on the context from the great reading/"quran", linguistic evidence from Arabic dictionaries, and the lack of any evidence supporting that there was a "pre-quranic" town by the name of Maka(t), the only logical unbiased conclusion is that "maka(t)" is not the name of "pre-quranic" town but is simply a mundane common noun like thousands of others in the great reading/"quran". It is not the purpose of this article to speculate about why or how this lie about the word "makka(t)" took hold. We know that worse lies such as the one about Jesus being the son of god (The God be most exalted above what they describe) took hold and propagated very quickly. So if humans can fabricate such a gross lie, they can certainly fabricate and propagate the much less significant lie about "makka(t)" being the name of a town. The Arab political and religious elite were in the habit of deceiving people by renaming what they themselves built long after the fact to match concepts in the great reading. For example, even traditionalists admit that what is currently named Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa was built during the time of the Umayyads and was named so long after the fact, and acknowledge that it is not "al-masjid alaqsa" talked about in the great reading. KAABA(T) There is absolutely zero evidence of a "pre-quranic" shrine called Kaaba(t). There is an abundance of "pre-quranic" shrines in Arabia and none of them is described as Kaaba(t) in any of the thousands of inscriptions on or around those shrines. In fact, the name Kaaba(t) cannot be found in any "pre-quranic" inscriptions or manuscripts.

We know from the great reading that the "pre-quranic" Arabs adored idols named Allat, Aluzza, and Manwat (see 53:19-20). Those are all Nabataean idols. While Greco-Roman people have always represented their deities with human form, the Nabataeans represented their deities with geometric forms such as square stone blocks, sacred meteorites, or square shapes carved into a stone wall and sometimes enhanced with schematic eyes and nose. Historical sources, such as the Suda Lexicon, state that the Nabataean idol Dhu Al-Shaara's statue is an un-worked square black stone. Maximus of Tyre comments in his book Philosophoumena in the 2nd century AD, that the Arabs had a statue, which was a square stone. There is abundant archeological evidence that stone cubes like the one in the town presently called Maka(t) whose height is slightly longer than the other dimensions is a representation of the idol Dhu Al-Shaara. The pictures below depict some of the archeological evidence in Northern Arabia and Nabataean outposts.

Notice that the stone block on the right bears the name "Dusari", which is Dhu Al-Shaara in Greek. The name Kaaba(t) is never found on or associated with any of the "pre-quranic" Arab cubes, on the other hand we see that the name Dhu Al-Shaara is associated with such cubes. This leads us to the conclusion that in "pre-quranic" times the stone cube was not named Kaaba(t) but it was named Dhu Al-Shaara. In the fourth century AD, Epiphanius, the bishop of Salamis, Cyprus wrote a letter describing cults such as the Nabataean cult and their celebration of the festival of the birth of Dhu AlShaara around the winter solstice. It is interesting that the birth celebrations culminated with bringing forth from beneath the earth the image of the male infant idol, which was carried seven times around the inner sanctuary of the pagan temple. [See Langdon, S., Semitic Mythology, The Mythology of All Races, Vol. V. Boston: Archaeological Institute of America, Marshall Jones Company, 1931, page 19.]

By renaming Dhu Al-Shaara to Kaaba, the pagans have managed to continue the practice of spinning seven times around Dhu Al-Shaara to this day under the guise of following the great reading. Like the town presently called Maka(t), the stone cube idol was renamed from Dhu Al-Shaara to Kaaba(t) to match the common noun "kaaba(t)" in the great reading. Like the common "maka(t)", which has a meaning that fits in the context of 48:24, as a common noun "kaaba(t)" has a meaning fits in the context of 5:97. The term "ka3b" is used in Arabic to describe the heel/base of the shoe. In rural areas of Northern Arabia, people still use the expression "ka3b al-wadi" to denote the base of the valley. Hence, the meaning of "kaaba(t) is "base". That meaning fits the context of 5:95 and 5:97: 5:97. The God has made the base the restriction house maintenance for the people and the restriction month and the gift/guidance and the means of control so that you know that The God knows what is in the heavens and the earth and that The God is knowledgeable with everything. The house is the "base" where people can assemble safely. 2:125. And We made the house an assembly for the people and a safety and take from the persistence of Ibrahim a lesson and We made a covenant to Ibrahim and Ismail that cleanse my house for the passers by, and the remaining, and the humbly hearing and obeying. This is a natural non-forced meaning like the house of representatives is the base of legislation where they assemble safely to make laws. Historians differ on what Dhu Al-Shaara is. Some think that it is a mountain in Arabia while others think that it is heavenly body such as the sun or Venus. The Nabataeans were expert astronomers and they even used a calendar based on the Zodiac. They were also sea-faring people who traveled to all corners of the ancient world. Thus, they must have seen many mountains all over the world that are higher and more majestic than any mountain in Arabia. Hence, it is highly unlikely that Dhu Al-Shaara was some mountain in Arabia. Archeologists also have evidence that the idol Al-Uzza was Venus. Thus, this leaves us with the sun as the most likely Dhu Al-Shaara. The celebration of the idol's birth around the winter solstice is also an indication of a relationship to the sun. The present cube structure of Dhu Al-Shaara in Saudi Arabia also has evidence of its pagan purpose. For example, the cube is aligned such that the Southeast corner is in the direction of the winter sunrise. Interestingly, in that corner lies the so-called Black Stone, which is the most revered object by sectarians who love to kiss and fondle it. Facing the winter sunrise during prayer was the common pagan practice. It was also the common Christian practice as evident from early Christian churches such as Hagia Sophia and Hagia Irene. The Jews on the other hand, faced Jerusalem. 1 Kings 8:44 "When Your people go out to battle against their enemy, by whatever way You shall send them, and they pray to the Lord toward the city which You have chosen and the house which I have built for Your name" The Jewish Talmud also has references to facing Jerusalem.

Tosefta Brachot 3:16 "Those in the north face the south, those in the south face the north, those in the east face the west and those in the west face the east so that all Israel prays toward one place" Archaeological evidence confirms that synagogues from the "pre-quranic" era were roughly oriented to face Jerusalem. [For example, see: Avi-Yonah, M., Synagogue Architecture. In Encyclopedia Judaica, vol. 15, New York: Macmillan, 1971.] The niche of early congregational sites such as the one in Fustat in predominantly Christian Egypt was aligned with the direction of the winter sunrise. Similarly, other early congregational sites are oriented in a direction too far north of present day Makka(t) and are closer to Jerusalem, indicating that perhaps they were converted synagogues. Yet other congregational sites such as one recently found in Aqqaba, Jordan (The Oriental Institute News and Notes, No. 141, Spring 1994) and the one in 'Ana's castle in Iraq show that the direction of the niche was haphazard. Thus, two alternative conclusions can be made: The direction of prayer was not important back then as it is now. Hence, people didn't bother to change the niche of early congregational sites that were originally churches or synagogues to face a new location. Some of the early converts only converted superficially but continued in their Christian, pagan, or Jewish practices. By studying the great reading, we already found out that a physical direction is not important (see: What's in the name?). The archeological evidence simply confirms what we already found out. JAHILIYA LANGUAGE As we saw earlier, Arabic was a common people language and not a scholarly or religious one. Thus, any religious meaning attached to an Arabic word is suspect and should be investigated thoroughly before it is accepted. In the great reading, we find an interesting phenomenon. Words with religious connotation in modern English such as "prayer" and "worship" do not occur at all in the great reading. For example, the word "dua'a", which is traditionally understood as "prayer", doesn't have a religious connotation and is used many times in the great reading in mundane usages that have nothing to do with "prayer" (for example, see 28:25). Hence, it is best translated as "calling upon" and not as "prayer". Similarly, the word "'abad", which is traditionally understood as "worship", is better understood as "serve" (for example, see 16:75, 2:221). The term "deen" is traditionally understood as "religion". However, one can see that it is used in many instances to mean "obligation" (for example, see 56:86, 2:282, 4:11-12). The common non-religious Arabic meaning of "obligation" actually fits better in all the occurrence of "deen" in the great reading (see: What's in the name?). The term "hajj" is traditionally understood as "religious pilgrimage". However, a closer study of the great reading reveals that the term has nothing to do with organized clergy-based religious pilgrimages. For example, we hear in 22:27: 22:27. And announce amongst people with the debate. They will come on foot and on every kind of lean transportation. They will come through every unobstructed passage.

In 22:27 that Ibrahim invited people with/"bi" the debate/"al-7ajj" and not to/"li" the debate/"al-7ajj" to witness benefits. Thus, the debate/"hajj" is a tool to attract different people from all over. One could only invite all people with something beneficial and nondiscriminatory. We are told in 28:27 that Moses was hired to work for eight debates/"7ijaj". What was hired to do? Clearly, he was hired to work and tend for sheep (28:23-24) and not for any religious pilgrimage. What does working and tending sheep has to do with the debate/"7ajj"? Naturally, people work and produce so that they can bargain with their products. Bargaining is a kind of debate and it results in witnessing benefits by the seller and the buyer. Thus, the debate/"al7ajj" is like the annual fair where people work all year and then go to sell and/or buy products. Mid summer - early fall is the natural time for such markets because produce and livestock are plentiful (see: Blind Dating Versus Perfect Timing). The large gathering of the debate/"7ajj" provides a good opportunity to remind as many people as possible of The God. It is also an opportunity for the advantaged to donate and provide for the disadvantaged. This is confirmed by 22:28-29 where we are told about the purpose of the debate/"7ajj": 22:28-29. So that they may witness benefits for themselves and remember The God’s name in a few days over what He Has provided for them of the animal livestock. So eat from it and feed the needy and the poor. Then they would complete their duties and fulfill their vows, and would pass by the freeing house. The restriction house is simply the place where people safely assemble to communicate and conduct the debate without fear of oppression. This restriction house helps spread freedom because oppressed people who come there and freely debate experience an environment free of oppression and they take that experience with them to induce freedom in their own communities. Debate is an essential process for accountability and dissemination of the best ideas in any free society. Thus, the concept of debate/"7ajj" has nothing to do with any special holy pilgrimage. It is an entirely common concept. Similarly, we already saw that other concepts such as "salat"/learning connection are common concepts that are not specific to organized clergy-based religions (see: What's in the name?). CONCLUSION In summary, the sign in 16:103 has significant implications on how we can properly understand the great reading. Archeological evidence confirms the information we found by studying the great reading. Thus, a coherent picture of "pre-quranic" Arabia is starting to emerge. Interestingly, while writing this article, a possible solution for an age old puzzle was inadvertently discovered. Many people have wondered about the initials at the beginning of some chapters of the great reading. A closer look at those alleged initials reveals that they are not initials at all but are words. For example, here is how 2:1 is written now as a word: ‫ال‬ Had it been not a word but three initials as some people contend then it would have been written as follows: ‫ا ل م‬ Clearly, there is a big difference.

Also, from Chapter 42 it is clear that the words at the beginning are words and not initials and we can't haphazardly separate them as initials because of the deliberate separation between " ‫ "حم‬and "‫ "عسق‬when they could have been joined and written as: ‫حمسعق‬ Thus, The God deliberately separated the "‫ "حم‬and "‫ "عسق‬while He didn't separate ‫ الم‬into ‫ ا ل م‬in Chapter 2. Thus, this is more confirmation that ‫ الم‬should be considered a word and not three initials. Even chapters that start with single letters should be read out as words and not spelled as initials. Spelling them out would be like spelling the single letter "َ‫ "و‬at the beginning of Chapter 103 as "waw", for example, instead of reading it as "wa". The God gave us the great reading not the great spelling. As we found out, Arabic is a common people language and not a formal religious one. So what do those words mean? In all informal languages of the common people there are words that are either jargon abbreviation of other words or are slang words that people commonly use. As a language of the common people, Arabic would have been no exception. An example in colloquial American English would be words like "OK" and "yo". Interestingly, chapter 20 starts with the word "taha". Here is what the Classical Arabic dictionaries say about the meaning of ‫طه‬:

ِ‫شيّة‬ ِ ْ‫حب‬ َ ‫جلُ بال‬ ُ ‫معناهُ يا ر‬ ‫ إِنها بالحبشية يا رجل‬: ‫طَهْ مجزومة‬ It means "hey man" or the equivalent of "yo" in colloquial American English. The dictionaries attribute this word to the Southern Semitic language of Ethiopic, which is related to Southern Arabic dialects such as Hadramatic and Sabaic. So this slang word could have been borrowed into those Southern Arabic dialects. In light of this information, let's fully translate 20:1-2: 20:1-2. Hey man, We didn't descend on you the reading to make you suffer. As one can see, the meaning perfectly fits in the context of 20:2. Even though scholars and clergy would be shocked at hearing such an informal way of expression in a translation of the great reading, one must keep in mind that the real Classical Arabic at the time of the great reading was a common people informal language and not the formalized language that it is made out to be today. Hence, it is likely that when the clergy at the time of the prophet heard the great reading for the first time in Arabic, they had the same reaction as the present day clergy hearing the above translation. Another example is in chapter 27 where the word "tas"/ ‫ططس‬appears. According to Classical Arabic dictionaries, the word means "delve/sink deep into something", amongst other meanings. Thus, 27:1 could be translated as follows: 27:1. Sink deep into these signs of the reading and a clarifying book.

Another example that appears at the beginning of multiple chapters is the word "tasam"/‫طسم‬. It appears in chapters 26 and 28. According to Classical Arabic dictionaries, "tasam" used by common people to mean "sharpen" and "study", among other meanings. ‫ أي استحدّها على الطسمة‬.‫والعامّة تقول طسّم الموسى‬ َ‫سمُ طُسُوماً دَرَس‬ ِ ْ‫َيط‬ Thus, 26:1-2 and 28:1-2 could be translated as follows: 26:1-2. Sharpen/study these signs of the clarifying book. The Arabic word "ham"/ ‫حطم‬, which appears in chapters 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46 also has a meaning. According to Classical Arabic dictionaries the meaning is something that is "intended" or "destined": ‫ قضاه وقدّ ره‬:‫ الّ كذا‬-.‫ قصد قصده‬:ُ‫حمّه‬ َ ‫ قُضي؛‬:ُ‫ الَمر‬-: ‫حمّا‬ َ ّ‫حم‬ َ ُ‫حمّ ي‬ ُ (َ‫حمّا( ُقضِيَ وله ذلك ُقدّر‬ َ ) ‫ المْرُ بالضم‬:(ّ‫حم‬ ُ ُ‫صدَه‬ ْ ‫صدَ َق‬ َ ‫حمّهُ( َق‬ َ ّ‫حم‬ َ ‫)و‬ Thus, 40:1-2 can be translated as follows: 40:1-2. It is intended/destined revelation of the book from The God, the Powerful, the Knower. Similarly, 41:1-2, 45:1-2 and 46:1-2 can be translated as follows: 41:1-2. It is intended/destined revelation from the Almighty, the Merciful. 45:1-2. It is intended/destined revelation of the book from The God, the Powerful, the Wise. 46:1-2. It is intended/destined revelation of the book from The God, the Powerful, the Wise. 44:1-3 can be translated as follows: 44:1-3. It is intended/destined and a clarifying book. We descended it in a blessed night for We were warning. In chapter 42, we have two words that have been traditionally considered as initials. We already found out what "ham"/ ‫حطم‬means. According to Classical Arabic dictionaries, the other word "'asaq"/ ‫ عسطق‬means "following closely" and "pollinate/pollination". Thus, 42:1-3 can be translated as follows: 42:1-3. It is intended/destined pollination, like that is how you and those before you are inspired by The God the Powerful, the Wise. Finally, 43:1-3 can be translated as follows: 43:1-3. It is intended/destined and a clarifying book. We have made it an Arabic reading so that perhaps you will be logical.

Interestingly, we started this study with 43:3 and now we came a full circle and ended up with a possible solution for the age-old mystery of what the word in 43:1 means in the context of 43:1-3. Given that Arabic at the time of the great reading was an informal common people language with many slang words, it is not surprising that the first scholars to codify the language were not Arabs but were Persians. No scholar who is a native speaker would codify what they consider to be informal "street talk". Scholars only codify formal languages. Later as the Arabs interacted with other nations and tyrannical leaders and the religious elites revived their symbiotic existence, Arabic was transformed into a formal "religious" language that the common people need the clergy to understand for them. The slang words at the beginning of the chapters defied codification by their very nature because slang by definition doesn’t follow any rules. However, they serve as a sign for us that The God can take inconsistent man-made human communication and use it to compose a consistent and powerful message. They also serve as a reminder that The God is addressing the people directly and that the self-styled religious elite do not have any role in our obligation to The God. To refute the traditionalist theories about the alleged initials, all that had to be done is prove one set of the alleged initials to be a word that has meaning and fits in the context. In this article, not just one but eleven of the sets of initials were proven to be words that have meanings that fit in the context. This leaves us with 18 that are not yet deciphered and for which further research is needed. As our understanding and that of our children improves, we would be able to decipher them with The God's help, unless He wills otherwise.

HOW DID IT COME TO THIS? (PART 1) By Ayman (e-mail: [email protected])

INTRODUCTION 1:7. Guide us the straight path, the path of those You bestowed Your favor on, those who have not earned anger at them and not the strayers. In the article entitled Language Barrier we have seen how even important events in Sira (the biography of the prophet) are problematic, for example, when the prophet was born and where he lived. There is no evidence of a pre-quranic town named Mecca and the evidence shows that the common noun "mecca" (destruction) in 48:24 was appropriated after the great reading was revealed. So naturally, the question arises, where did the prophet really live? Before we try to answer this question, let me say that I don't believe that it is necessarily an important question in itself. Had the answer been important then we would have been given a precise map in the great reading to find it. However, a possible value to answering this question is dispelling some of the traditional myths that surround the prophet's biography. This in turn may help us in some way or another to more clearly understand some aspects of the great reading. WHERE DID THE PROPHET REALLY LIVE? In our quest to find the region where the prophet really lived, we will use a somewhat different approach to previous attempts. We will use an approach based on the orthography of the great reading. In the same way that one can recognize if a scribe is British or American from the style of a person's English hand writing, the use of certain vocabulary and the spelling of certain words, we will try to use orthography to identify where the great reading was originally descended. As we saw in the article "Language Barrier", Arabic was an informal common people language and not a prestigious religious or literary language of the elite. As a result, archeologists have found that up to the Islamic era and the appearance of the great reading, Arabic inscriptions were written in various scripts and there was no specific script associated with the language. Arabic writers simply used the script of prestige of the geographic area where it was written. The script of prestige was the script associated with the language of prestige in the area. In the pre-Islamic era, there were two main scripts used to write Old Arabic: 1.

2.

The Nabataean Aramaic script. This is the script of the Nabataean Aramaic language. The Musnad script. This script is also called Ancient South Arabian script and it is the script associated with the Sabaic language.

While the Musnad script became extinct shortly after the Islamic era, the Nabataean script became the Arabic script that we are all familiar with today. The following map shows the location of Old Arabic inscriptions in the Nabataean script (in red) and Musnad script (in green).

In northern Arabia, southern Syria and southwestern Iraq, up to the fourth century AD, Aramaic was the language of prestige. Thus, we find that the important religious texts were in Aramaic. The distribution in the north of the Peninsula of Old Arabic texts suggests that speakers of the Old Arabic dialect were present throughout the areas where Aramaic had come to be the prestige language. It was therefore natural that when Old Arabic came to be written in these regions, the Nabataean Aramaic script was the chosen vehicle. However, unlike the Ancient South Arabian Musnad script, the late Nabataean script only had twenty-two letters to represent the twenty-eight phonemes of Arabic and thus was largely inadequate for the expression of Arabic. For example, the "B" and "T" are indistinguishable and so are the "Kh", "7a", and "J" and the "Z" and "R". Moreover, letters such as the "B", "Y", and "N" are indistinguishable in the initial and medial positions. Thus, dotting was sometimes used to resolve ambiguities. Despite those major inadequacies, the prestige of the Nabataean Aramaic script outweighed other considerations.[1] While the script of prestige in Northern Arabia was the Nabataean script, the script of prestige in Central Arabia and South Arabia was the Musnad script. Thus, in the Central Arabian town of Qaryat Al-Faw we find that Arabic inscriptions (see example below) were written using the Ancient South Arabian script. We also see the same phenomenon is the South at places such as Najran and Haram.

Arabic inscriptions found in Central Arabia such as the above use the Musnad script. The prestigious script in central Arabia as demonstrated at Qaryat Al-Faw is Sabaic. So the orthography of the great reading negates a central Arabian origin. In central and south Arabia, the Sabaic script remained the prestige script until the Islamic era when it was displaced by the Nabataean Aramaic script of the great reading. In the Roman affiliated Ghassanid provinces of northern Arabia, Greek increasingly became the prestige language of politics and religion starting around the mid fourth century CE and thus took over as the prestige religious script. This is confirmed by two pre-quranic leaves of parchment bearing a part of the Septuagint text of Psalm 78 (LXX, 77) with an Arabic explanation written in Greek script [2]. On the other hand, in southwestern Iraq and the border areas of Northern Arabia, the Lakhmid provinces continued to use Nabataean Aramaic as the script of prestige for writing Arabic. Given the physical archeological evidence above and the fact that there was no specific script associated with Arabic, the great reading was simply written in the script of prestige of the region where it originated. At the late sixth century CE, the Nabataean Aramaic script was the script of prestige in the Northern Arabian Lakhmid provinces and border towns, just as the Musnad script was in central Arabia. So this completely negates that the great reading was originally written in a central Arabian town such as presentday Mecca otherwise it would have been written in the far more suitable Musnad script, which was the script of prestige for that region. This also completely negates that the great reading was originally revealed in a Roman town such as Jerusalem or the Ghassanids towns around it where Greek was the prestige script. The only logical conclusion based on the evidence is that the great reading must have originated in a north Arabian Lakhmid province where Nabataean Aramaic was the prestige script. As an interesting side note, we see in the great reading Nabataean idols such as Manat spelled using the Nabataean spelling with a medial "waw" ("mnwt") as opposed to the Arabic spelling ("mnt"). This further supports that the great reading was revealed in an area where Nabataean Aramaic was the prestige script and hence the scribes adopted the foreign Nabataean spelling of the proper name that they are used to instead of the Old Arabic spelling, which matches the Arabic pronunciation. By connecting the locations of Old Arabic inscriptions in the Nabataean script on the map (see figure below), we get an idea of the general area where the great reading could have been originally written. Given that by the late sixth century CE, the upper parts of that area, such as Avdat and Umm Aljimal would have been under strong Roman influence and Greek would have become the prestige language, this leaves us with towns in the lower part of that area as the most likely candidates for where the great reading originated. This would be somewhere between Hegra and Hira, including towns such as Domat-Al-Jandal,

Tabuk, Tayma, etc. Unlike the isolated and insignificant town later named Mecca, all those towns were significant towns on major trade routes and had diverse multi-faith populations. Thus, any of them would fit much better the description given in the great reading as "umm al-qura" (an expression akin to "mother of settlements" or "the cradle of civilization").

Any of those towns in the Lakhmid provinces and border areas would also fit much better the clearly multifaith environment where the great reading was revealed. Between the fourth and sixth century CE, Roman Christians have been persecuting other faiths such as Jews and even other Christian sects that they viewed as heretic such as Nestorians and Monophysites. As a result, those groups increasingly moved to the Lakhmid areas were they were tolerated and welcomed as a result of their opposition to the Romans. Thus, unlike Roman Christians, the Nasara are never described as being Trinitarians. In 5:72-73 we see that the term Nasara doesn't occur. The passage condemns as unappreciative/rejecters/"kuffar" Monophysites (5:72) and Roman Trinitarians (5:73). On the other hand, 9:30-33 describes the Nasara as "mushrikeen" (setting up partners) for claiming that Jesus is son of The God. The Nestorians fit this description because they rejected the Trinity and emphasized the humanity of Jesus. We know from archeological evidence that the Lakhmid areas were the main center for Nestorians. Unlike the Roman provinces where intolerance towards other religions was rampant, it seems that paganism as well as a multitude of faiths were tolerated and continued to flourish under the Lakhmids. This plus the Christian and Jewish scholarship in the area provides the context of the multi-faith environment that the great reading was revealed in (see 22:17). The area where the prophet originally lived was likely a cosmopolitan north Arabian trading border town that maintained a somewhat neutral disposition and tolerant attitude for commercial reasons. This way, they could serve as a hub and trade with the Persians, the Romans, and any other political entity in the region. Business came first. This cosmopolitan influence is clear and hence we can see loan words into the Arabic of the great reading that have been borrowed directly from Middle Persian. Some examples are: "istabraq": brocade (76:21)

"kanz": treasure (9:35, 9:34, 11:12, 18:82, 25:8, 18:82, 26:58, 28:76) "dirham": silver coin (12:20) "jund": army/soldiers (36:28, 36:75, 38:11, 44:24, 67:20, 19:75, 37:173, 48:4, etc.) Unlike the great reading, pre-quranic inscriptions in the Musnad script use the South Arabian word "jaysh" not "jund" for army/soldiers. Given that the Lakhmids had military alliances with the Persians, this is consistent with the great reading being revealed in a Lakhmid province or border town where Persian influence on the local Arabic dialect in the domain of military lingo would be stronger than central/south Arabian influence. As we saw above, based on the orthographic evidence from the great reading itself and physical archeological evidence, the great reading must have originated in a north Arabian Lakhmid province or border town and not in a central Arabian area such as the area later known as Mecca. So if Mecca was not the town where the great reading was originally descended and the prophet lived, why did it take on this myth? WHY MECCA? To understand what really happened, we need to know that the examples that The God gives us in the great reading are directly relevant to our lives. In all the examples, the majority of people reverted to paganism and their misguided ways after they had received guidance. We know from the great reading that the people of the prophet venerated idols called Allat, Aluzza and Manat (53:19-20) and this is confirmed by archeological evidence. We also need to know that there is nothing in the great reading that even remotely suggests that paganism was eradicated in Arabia and the fact that paganism continued to flourish under the Arab kingdom is confirmed by the evidence from manuscripts of independent non-Islamic sources. With this in mind, let's observe what is going on in present day Mecca. If you go to Mecca, you will see that people are spinning seven times around a stone cube dressed in a black garment ("kiswah"). The focal point of the stone cube is what the pilgrims call the "Black Stone". It is set in the southeast corner of the stone cube precisely facing the winter sunrise. You will see the pilgrims compete to kiss the Black Stone. If you stop any of the pilgrims and ask them why they are performing the above rituals, they will answer that by performing the above rituals, their sins will be forgiven and they will return as if they are newborns. The precise alignment of the Black Stone with the winter sunrise is not coincidental. Allat, the main idol of the prophet's people, was a fertility goddess and this is confirmed by archeological evidence from Nabataean sites. As typical of such fertility goddesses their symbols and rituals are related to the sun. In this case, the direction of the winter sunrise marks the location where the sun is "reborn". Now if you take a closer look, you will see that the enclosure of the Black Stone is in the shape of a dilated female vulva and the Black Stone is in the shape of the crown of the head of the newborn baby deity as it is coming out of the vulva. Come closer yet and you will see that people are kissing the head of the newborn baby deity. Kissing the head is an ancient Arab tradition for asking for forgiveness. So kissing the top of the head of the newborn idol as traditionally done to ask for forgiveness, results in the pagan's sins being wiped out as if he or she was a newborn. Hang around for a while and you will observe that people spin seven times around the Black Stone. A prequranic manuscript written by Epiphanius in the fourth century CE describes the ritual of spinning seven times as part of the birth festivals of the Nabataean idols Allat and Dhushara around the winter solstice. The number seven was considered sacred in Arab and pagan symbolism in general because of the five sacred planets plus the sun and the moon that the ancients venerated. To this day many people in the Arab world

celebrate what is termed in Arabic Subu', which is a traditional festival that takes place on the seventh day after the birth of a newborn and on the seventh day after a pilgrims' return. Like the pagan pilgrimage that we observed and Epiphanius described, as part of the Subu' birth celebrations, people traditionally go around the house seven times while carrying the newborn baby. Observe the pilgrims some more and you will see some of them running between two hills. Ask one of them why they do it and he or she will answer that this ritual is symbolic for looking for water for a newborn child. In all the above empirical observations, one can immediately see the strong connection between ideology, rituals and symbols that form concerted pagan celebrations of a fertility goddess giving birth. Those pagan rituals and symbols were simply appropriated into the new popular religion. As a goddess of fertility, this would make Allat equivalent to the Greek goddess Aphrodite. This would also make her equivalent to the Roman goddess Venus, the Semitic goddess Astarte/Ashtoreth, the Mesopotamian Ishtar, the Vedic goddess Kali, the Anatolian Cybele, and Frigga in the Norse mythos. Such fertility mother goddess was worshipped all over the ancient world under various names. Interestingly, black stones like the one in Mecca are commonly associated with such goddesses. For example, the following picture shows a black stone that was venerated at the Temple of Aphrodite, near Paphos, Cyprus.

Black stone of Aphrodite Black phallic stones were also widely associated with the cult of Cybele, the ancient Anatolian fertility goddess; and similar egg-shaped black stones are, to this day, revered in Indian temples to the Hindu fertility goddess Kali, who is also known as Black Mother. Interestingly, according to Greek mythology Aphrodite's beauty is kept in a black cube. Allat has a particularly strong association with Aphrodite because Aphrodite is the Hellenized Allat. In post-quranic times we hear from Roman Christian sources about Aphrodite being worshipped by Arab pagans as late as the 8th century, long after the death of the prophet[3]. So paganism was not eradicated in Arabia as traditions contend but remained and reemerged. Cyprus, the island of Aphrodite is also home to the highly venerated Hala Sultan Tekke shrine (many consider it the third holiest shrine of Islam). Like the shrine in Mecca, it too has a black rock, said to have fallen as a meteorite as part of the tritholon over the shrine. The shrine is also to a woman named Umm Haram, the alleged foster mother of the prophet. Another interesting common thread that runs through several of those idols is that they all had association with Friday. For example, Ashtoreth is connected to Friday. So is Venus, where the Romans named Friday after her as "dies veneris". The very name Friday is derived from the Norse goddess, Frigga. When the Germanic tribes invaded England they imposed their goddess upon the day meant to honor Venus. The day was called Frigedaeg, which gradually became "Friday". I don't think that it is a coincidence that Friday

also became the "holy day" for sectarians who venerate Allat/Aphrodite and her black cube and Black Stone. Also another interesting commonality is that such fertility goddesses were often veiled. Like the fertility goddess Cybele's veil, which covered her whole body, Allat's stone cube was also veiled with a black "dress". This practice of veiling the stone cube of the female goddess (and females in general) with a black dress continues to this day. There is nothing particularly unique or amazing about what I am saying. All prior nations have reverted to paganism to one degree or another shortly after the death of their prophet. We can see this, for example, in Christianity's appropriation of pagan symbols and festivals such as Christmas. This is human nature. To think that we are somehow unlike other humans is nothing more than arrogant denial. This is in line with what the great reading tells us: 12:106. And the majority of them do not have faith in The God except while they are idolaters. If we believe in 12:106, then we must know that the majority of people who have faith in The God are idolaters who associate idols such as Allat with The God as we saw above. If those idolaters who are the majority wanted to maintain their illogical and indefensible pagan symbols and rituals while avoiding logical criticism, then what better way than to claim that the prophet himself did like they do and that their pagan symbols are mentioned in the great reading? By hijacking the common noun "maka(t)"/destruction in the great reading (48:24) an insignificant town with a small pagan temple became the rallying center of paganism. Sometime in the late Umayyad - early Abbasid era is when this location seems to have gained importance and the reintroduction of Allat's beloved pagan symbols and rituals under the guise of the new religion was completed. How were billions of men and women who profess to trust in The God and the great reading tricked into serving Allat by adoring her stone symbols and performing her rituals? In a twist of irony, as many of those men and women aged and estimated that death is near, they hastened to go to Allat believing that kissing her newborn's stone head or even just waving at it and spinning seven times around her stone cube would make them sinless. They believed that by doing those mindless rituals and honoring those inert objects they were doing something good. They thought that they would die in peace and go to heaven. Alas, in reality they were committing unforgivable idolatry and buying their way to unavoidable hell. Those people are not nameless and faceless. They are most of our forefathers, our grandparents, our parents, our loved ones, us and probably our children. How did it come to this? Indeed, this is the question we need to try to answer next from the great reading so that perhaps we can protect them from a fire whose fuel is people and stones, if The God willed. To be continued... IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: 2:2. This is the book no doubt in it, a guidance for the forethoughtful. This article reflects my personal interpretation of the verses of the reading as of January 5, 2006. I will try to improve my understanding of the great reading and the universe, except if The God wills and perhaps my Lord guides me to what is nearer in rationality. Please verify all information within for yourself as commanded in 17:36, and remember that simply "none" is the forethoughtful answer to 45:6. If The God willed, the outcome of this article will be beneficial.

------------------------NOTES

MCA Macdonald, "Reflections on the linguistic map of pre-Islamic Arabia." Arabian arch. epig. 2000: 11: 28–79. [1]

The fragment was first published in Violet B. Ein zweisprachiges Psalmfragment aus Damascus and was recently restudied by M.C.A. Macdonald who has demonstrated that it dates to the preIslamic period. [2]

For example, see: Hoyland, R., Seeing Islam as others saw it, The Darwin Press: Princeton, NJ, 2001: 105-106, 485-486. [3]

HOW DID IT COME TO THIS? (PART 2) By Ayman (e-mail: [email protected])

INTRODUCTION In part 1 we saw that billions of sectarian Muslims across generations idolize the symbols of the Arab pagan goddess Allat and perform rituals that are meant for celebrating the rebirth of the fertility idol. In this part 2, we will be looking at a possible explanation from the great reading itself of how this (and all such lies) happened. When I started writing this article, it was solely about the location of where the great reading was originally revealed and exposing the sectarians' pagan rituals and symbols. As The God helped me progress, I realized that "what happened" or "where it happened" is not as important as fundamentally "how it happened". I am writing this introduction about half way through Part 2 and there are some unanswered issues still remaining. I would venture to say that, even at this stage, I feel that the findings here are far more important than Part 1. It is as if through the billions of sectarian Muslims who committed unforgivable idolatry, The God somehow provides guidance to us. WHAT IS ALLAT? Let's look in the great reading for answers. Since as we saw, the symbols and rituals are connected with the idol Allat, let's find out what information we are given about her in the great reading. In chapter 53 we hear about the belief of the pagans in Allat, Aluzza and Manat: 53:19-28. Have you seen Allat and Aluzza and Manat, the third one? Do you have the male and He has the female? This is a false division. These are but names that you and your forefathers named. The God never authorized such. They follow conjecture and what the selves fantasize, while the guidance has come to them from their Lord. Or will the human have what he wishes for? To The God are the ending and the beginning and how many controllers in the heavens their intercession doesn't benefit anything except after The God permits for whom He wills and approves. Those who don't have faith in the ending have named the controllers feminine names and they had no knowledge about this. They only follow conjecture and conjecture doesn't benefit anything of the truth.

From the above passage, we can see that those who believed in Allat and her consorts thought that they were controllers ("malaika"). We know from archeological evidence that Allat was a fertility goddess. So the prophets' people specifically believed that Allat controls fertility. We also hear that they were following conjecture and their own fantasies. In reality they were not serving the controllers but they were serving the "jinn" as we are told here: 34:40-41. And on the day He gathers them all and then He says to the controllers: "Were these serving you?" They say: "You be exalted, you are our ally without them, they were serving the "jinn", most of them have faith in them. Those who serve Allat by venerating her symbols and performing her rituals are actually serving the "jinn". So Allat is actually a "jinn". This is further confirmed by the following passages: 6:100. And they made for The God partners the "jinn" and their creation and they made up for Him sons and daughters without knowledge, be He exalted and He is above what they describe. 37:158-159. And they made between Him and the "jinn" a kinship while the "jinn" know that they are summoned. The God be most exalted above what they describe. We also hear from other passages that the "jinn" are the fuel of fire: 72:15. And as for the deviators, they are the fuel of hell. By connecting 72:15 and 34:40-41 to 21:98, which says that the gods that the idolaters serve are the fuel of hell, we can see that people who serve the "jinn" take them as gods: 21:98. You and what you serve other than The God are the fuel of hell, you are entering it. Had those been gods, they wouldn't have entered it and all are forever in it. But by applying 17:36, we know from our empirical observations that Allat is nothing more than the figment of imagination of people. In other words, she is just someone's fantasy. So now we can empirically verify that 25:43 and 45:23 are connected to 21:98 and 34:40-41 and complement them: 25:43. Have you seen the one who took his god as his fantasy? So would you be a guardian on him? 45:23. Have you seen the one who took his god as his fantasy and The God misguided him despite his knowledge and sealed his hearing and his heart and distorted his sight? So who guides him after The God? Don't you remember? WHAT ARE THE "JINN"? By putting all the above passages together, we can clearly see that the "jinn" are in fact equivalent to the "fantasy". This is confirmed by 6:71: 6:71. Say: "Do we call upon other than The God what doesn't benefit or harm us and we get turned on our heels after that The God guided us? Like the one who those exceeding in rebellion fantasized him in the earth, confused he has companions inviting him to guidance: "Come to us."" Say: "The God's guidance is the guidance and we are commanded to comply to The Lord of the worlds." As we can see above, it is those exceeding in rebellion ("shayateen") that fantasize humans in the earth. So now we can go back and translate "jinn" in the above passages as "fantasies" and see if it fits:

34:40-41. And on the day He gathers them all and then He says to the controllers: "Were these serving you?" They say: "You be exalted, you are our ally without them, they were serving the fantasies, most of them have faith in them. 37:158. And they made between Him and the fantasies a kinship while the fantasies know that they are summoned. 6:100. And they made for The God partners the fantasies and their creation and they made up for Him sons and daughters without knowledge, be He exalted and He is above what they describe. Notice that in 6:100, the partners that the idolaters made are said to be the fantasies and their creation. This is exactly what Allat is. It is someone's fantasy and the physical idols (the stone cube and the Black Stone in its corner) are the creation of that fantasy. This is confirmed by 29:17 where Ibrahim describes a situation similar to that of present day sectarians: 29:17. But what you serve other than The God are idols and you create falsehood. What you serve other than The God do not control for you any sustenance, therefore seek the sustenance at the God and serve Him and be grateful to Him; to Him you shall be returned. Notice that Ibrahim in 29:17 says that those idols do not control any sustenance for his people. So clearly his people believed that those idols control for them their sustenance, in other words, they believed that they are controllers exactly as 34:40-41 was describing. There is no doubt that similar to what Ibrahim faced, anyone who destroys Allat's stone cube and Black Stone will face painful torture and probably death at the hands of the sectarians. So for all intents and purposes a "jinn" is our hidden fantasy, our imagination. Our purpose both is to serve The God: 51:56. And I didn't create the fantasies and the humans except to serve. Controlled fantasies drive beautiful designs and beneficial inventions. On the other hand, if we let our fantasies have power over us, then they become exceeding in rebellion ("shaytan") and they misguide us away from the path of The God. As can be seen from passages such as 7:18, 11:119, 32:13, 38:85, both the humans and the fantasies that are exceeding in rebellion will fill hell. Stone idols such as Allat are the physical expression of those exceeding in rebellion fantasies. Hence, we are also told that humans and stones are the fuel of hell (see 2:24. 66:6). The story of Solomon gives us an example of what happens when fantasies are made to obey The God and are properly controlled. 27:17. Assembled for Solomon were his soldiers from the fantasies and the humans and the flying creatures and they were organized. 38:37-38. And those exceeding in rebellion every builder and excavator and others who are linked in chains. In the same way that uncontrolled fantasies make people create stone idols such as Allat, when chained (controlled) they can also make people create building and excavation machinery. In the same way that stone idols are the physical expression of the fantasies that are increasing in rebellion, beneficial inventions such as building and excavating machinery are the physical expression of the controlled fantasies. We can use those building and excavating machineries to make useful things:

34:12-14. And for Solomon the wind, its coming one full-moon and its going one full-moon and we flowed for him the fountain of molten metal and from the fantasies are those who work within his power with the permission of his Lord and whoever deviates from our order, we make him taste from the torment of burning. They make for him what he wills from private rooms and models and containers like deep wells boilers built into the ground. "Work appreciatively family of Dawood and a small number of my servants are appreciative." So when we decreed death on him, nothing showed them his death except a creeping creature of the earth eating his staff so when he fell the fantasies realized that had they known the hidden, they wouldn't have remained in the disgracing torment. Another passage that we can now better understand is 27:39: 27:39. One from the fantasies who stirs up the sand said: "I bring it to you before you cease from your situation and I am on it strong and trusty." According to Classical Arabic dictionaries, the Arabic word 3"/‫عفففر‬afar" means "to stir up the sand". Therefore, the word "3ifrit" in 27:39 would mean something like "one who stirs up the sand". We know from other passages that Solomon was taught the logic of flying creatures: 27:16. And Solomon inherited from Dawood and said: "People, we have been taught the logic of flying creatures and we were given from everything, indeed this is the revealing favor." By connecting 27:16 and 27:39, we can see that Solomon combined the knowledge about the logic of flying creatures with controlled fantasies to perhaps create one from the fantasies who stirs up the sand (this could be a flying machine, perhaps some kind of a helicopter, a rocket, or a hovercraft that stirs up the sand as it takes off or moves). The lesson learned here is that by combining knowledge with controlled fantasies, we can produce beneficial things. For all intents and purposes, such inventions can be considered the physical representation of the fantasies. On the other hand, when we follow our fantasies without knowledge, in other words we let our fantasies and the fantasies of others have power over us, then we are misguided: 30:29. But those who are unjust followed their fantasies without knowledge, so who guides the one who The God misguides and they don't have supporters? Our hidden fantasy is linked to us. On the day of the account, people's hidden fantasies that are linked to them will be readily apparent to everyone. 50:23. And The one who is linked to him said: "This is what I readily have." If we don't control the hidden fantasy then it becomes exceeding in rebellion and we will go astray as we saw above in 30:29: 50:27-29. The one who is linked to him said: "Our Lord, I didn't cause him to transgress but he was far astray". He said: "Do not quarrel at Me and I had already gave you the warning. The saying is not changed with me and I am not unjust to the servants." And We say to hell: "Are you full?" And it says: "Is there more?" See also 4:38 and 41:25: 41:25. And we assign to them linked companions so they decorate for them what is between their hands (the present) and what is behind them (the past). And the saying is true on them in nations that passed before them from the fantasies and the humans that they are losers.

We control the fantasy by remembering the Almighty: 43:36-38. And whoever withdraws from remembering The Almighty, we assign to him one who is exceeding in rebellion so he becomes linked to him. And they hinder from the path and deduce that they are guided. Until when he comes to us, he says: "I wish the distance of the two sunrises was between you and me (i.e., you were on the other side of the earth), what a miserable one who is linked." The Arabic word "jinn" is also related to the word "majnoon", which is used to mean "crazy", in other words, someone whose mind is in the fantasy world and detached from reality. The word is used in two passages that talk about what the prophet saw at the highest/revealing horizon, namely 53:1-18 and 81:2223. The passages share a particular refutation for the companions of the prophet: 53:2-3. Your companion did not go astray and deviate and he doesn't speak from the fantasy. 81:21. Your companion is not crazy. Notice that the first passage starts with saying that "your companion did not go astray and deviate and he doesn't speak from the fantasy" and the second passage starts with "your companion is not crazy (his mind is in a fantasy)". Now we can see that those two passages are actually refuting an overlapping assertion by the companions of the prophet. This is because speaking from the fantasy is related to being crazy/"majnoon" (someone whose mind is in a fantasy). As further confirmation of the present understanding, let's apply the same meaning of "fantasy" in different kinds of occurrences of the word "jinn" and its derivatives. For example, here we apply it to 15:27: 15:27. And the fantasy, we created it previously from smokeless fire (energy?). Scientists have learned for sometime now that there are certain dominant brainwave patterns associated with imagination. Brainwaves are energy. The information given to us in 15:27 and 55:15 could perhaps be interpreted to mean that the fantasy was created from energy. Another passage where "jinn" is mentioned in a different context is 27:10: 27:10. And throw your staff, so when he saw it shake like a fantasy, he turned back... In 28:31 and 27:10, we are told that Moses saw his staff shake as if it was a fantasy. One can readily see that the meaning of "fantasy" fits in those passages as the staff was shaking as if one is imagining it. Now when we read passages such as 55:56 and 55:74, it can be understood that they are giving allegories of things in heaven that no human or fantasy has ever touched (i.e., has ever been able to understand). In other words, they are things that are far better than what we can comprehend in the familiar physical world and even what we can imagine and fantasize about: 55:74. No human or fantasy previously touched. Similarly, 17:88 can be understood as saying that something like this reading cannot be produced by humans and their fantasy/imagination. 17:88. Say: "If the humans and the fantasies assembled together to bring the like of this reading, they wouldn't bring like it, if even had they been supporters for each other."

In chapter 72, we hear that a group of the fantasies listened to the great reading. Since, as we saw above, fantasies are inherently linked to humans, so this means that those were the fantasies of a group of humans that were listening. The fantasies are paraphrased as saying that they were amazed by the reading and realized upon hearing it that The God did not have a female companion or children. They continue by saying that they believed that the humans and the fantasies would not say lies about The God (i.e., that the humans would not fantasize lies about The God). The same event is recounted differently in 46:29-32 so we know that those descriptions are not literal quotes but are paraphrasing what is to be learned from the passage. Now, one might ask: how can our fantasies listen, have conversations and so on? It is in the same way that mountains can choose (33:72) and our hands and legs can talk and testify (36:65). All creatures have a hidden side that we are unaware of. We are only aware of mountains and brainwaves but not their hidden side. Interestingly, 17:78 gives special importance to reading at dawn by saying that it is witnessed. Scientists have found out that when we had just woken up at dawn, the associated brainwave pattern (called Alpha) is a state of relaxed alertness that is good for inspiration and learning. The passage continues in 72:6 by paraphrasing the fantasies as saying that men from the humans used to seek refuge in men from the fantasies so they increased them in hardship. This is what one would expect since unlike "one who stirs up the sand from the fantasy" in 27:39, "men from the fantasies" like an imaginary friend cannot be realized and really help with anything and if one seeks help from them as if they are real this will likely lead to psychological disorder. The next part is perhaps one of the most puzzling in all of the great reading. It talks about the fantasies "touching" the heaven and finding it filled with guards and bombardments. A similar passage is in 55:33-35 and 37:7-10 so perhaps those can shed light on this puzzle. 55:33-35. O consorts of fantasies and humans if you can pass through the casings of the heavens and the earth, then pass through. You will not pass through without authority. So which of your Lord's marvels do you deny? He sends on both of you projectiles from fire and sparks so you don't prevail. We can see from 55:33-35 that The God sends on both (dual) the fantasies and the humans projectiles of fire and sparks if they try to pass through the casings of the heavens and the earth. Since given our present state of knowledge, scientists haven't been able to know what would happen to an object that passes through regular space (into what is commonly known as hyperspace), let's focus on what we know, which is the earth. We know that even with all the scientific advancements today, no one has ever been able to penetrate beyond a few miles into the earth. Scientists predict that in the earth is encased an inner core that has a temperature of 7000 degrees Celsius and a pressure of 45 million pounds per square inch (or about 3.5 million times atmospheric pressure). So indeed passing through the earth would be impossible for humans and the fantasies. The immense pressures and temperatures will surely destroy anyone or any creation of our fantasies (such as an earth penetrating machine) that tries to pass through. The passage in 34:14 makes it clear that the fantasies do not know the hidden: 34:14. So when We decreed on him death, nothing indicated to them his death except a mover of the earth eating his staff. So when he fell, it was revealed to the fantasies that had they known the hidden, they wouldn't have stayed in the degrading suffering. Perhaps we can understand the suffering of the fantasies in 34:14 by understanding the opposite of their suffering, which is their enjoyment: 6:128. And at the time when He gathers them together, "O consorts of fantasies you took a lot of the humans" and their protectors from the humans said: "our Lord, we enjoyed one another and we reached our term that You appointed for us." He said: "The fire is your abode, everlasting in it, except what The God willed, your Lord is wise, knowledgeable.

We know that for humans uncontrolled fantasies are indeed enjoyable. People generally enjoy indulging in uncontrolled fantasies about wealth, power, and lust. So according to 6:128, humans enjoy uncontrolled fantasies and likewise the fantasies get enjoyment when the humans let them be uncontrolled in that way. So Solomon has caused the fantasies that were exceeding in rebellion to suffer by the degradation of controlling them and preventing them from getting enjoyment. It is interesting to note that shortly upon the death of all prophets, most of their people have returned to their misguided ways. Let's continue to apply the same meaning of "fantasy" in other kinds of occurrences of the word "jinn": 6:112. And like this we made for each prophet enemies, those exceeding in rebellion from the humans and the fantasies, they inspire one another with fancy sayings out of arrogance and had The God willed, they wouldn't have done it. So leave them and what they make up. We can now see that 6:122 is talking about an empirically verifiable fact. Namely, false but "fancy" sayings come from the inspirational interaction between humans and their fantasies/imagination. A certain antecedent fantasy is described in several places in the great reading as taking part of an important turning point: 2:34. And when We said to the controllers: "Obey Adam so they obeyed except Iblis/"iblis?" refused and was arrogant and was from the unappreciative. 7:11. And we had created you then shaped you then said to the controllers obey Adam so they obeyed except Iblis/"iblis" was not from those who obey. 15:30-31. So all the controllers obeyed except Iblis/"iblis?" refused to be with those who obey. 17:61. And when We said to the controllers obey Adam so they obeyed except Iblis/"iblis?", he said: "Do I obey who you created as mud?" 18:50. And when We said to the controllers obey Adam so they obeyed except Iblis/"iblis?" was from the fantasies so he deviated from the command of his Lord. So do you take him and his descendants as protectors other than Me while they are your enemy? Miserable is this substitution for the unjust. 20:116. And when We said to the controllers obey Adam so they obeyed except Iblis/"iblis?" refused. 38:73-74. So all the controllers together obeyed except Iblis/"iblis?" was arrogant and was from the unappreciative. As can be seen from the above, Iblis (which as a common noun means: "one who is stuck") was supposed to obey the human Adam. In the same way that we are descendants of Adam, our fantasies are the descendants of Iblis/"one who is stuck" (see 18:50). Another piece of information that can be seen from the above passages is that this antecedent fantasy was one of the controllers/"malaika". Contrary to popular belief, the word "malaika" doesn't mean "angels". The Arabic word "malaika" is the plural of "malak". The word "malak" means "one who controls/owns", i.e. a controller. According to 3:26, "mlk"/control is a status that can be given and taken away by The God: 3:26. Say: "O The God, controller of control, You give control to whom you will and take away control from whom you will and you give power to whom you will and you make powerless whom you will, goodness is with your hand (i.e., your power), You are capable over everything.

From 3:26, it can be seen that control is given to anyone and taken away from anyone by The God at any time. 3:26 makes it clear that being one from the "malaika"/controllers is a status, not some kind of mythical creature flying around in a white robe with a halo over the head. Thus, the controllers can be any creature that The God gave this status to. As long as they obey The God, they remain in that status. If one of them chooses to disobey The God, as Iblis/"one who is stuck" did, then The God takes from him this status and he is no longer a controller. Connecting the passages such as 2:34 above with what we learned so far about controlling the fantasies and not letting them control us, we can see that if we make the fantasies obey us as their ancestor should have done in the above passages then we both can fulfill our purpose to serve The God as stated in 51:56. 51:56. And I didn't create the fantasies and the humans except to serve. CONCLUSION We started out this article by asking "how did it come to this?" We tried to get to the root cause of the symptoms that we can see around us. The great reading provides a unique link between symptoms and hidden root causes. Those are links that we can all empirically verify and personally relate to. Going through the process of getting to our findings is at least as important as the findings themselves. Personally, going through this process has had a profound effect on me and my life and has increased my trust in The God's message. In this process, we examined empirical observations in the world around us. For example, we looked at what sectarians do today at the place that their predecessors named Mecca and we looked at physical archeological evidence. We then looked at the evidence from the great reading and compared it to empirical observations. It is thus that we were able to find out what "jinn" means. We can even test our understanding with any such "symptom", past or present. For example, sectarians today fantasize that the prophet can intercede on their behalf and can control who goes to heaven. Thus, one may think that they idolize the prophet. However, upon closer examination of the root cause of this symptom, one can see that they are in fact not idolizing the real prophet but they are idolizing an imagined prophet, i.e. a fantasy. So when they implore this fantasized prophet they are in fact serving nothing more than a fantasy. Another example is Jesus. What Christians actually idolize and serve is not Jesus but in fact is an imagined Jesus, i.e. a fantasy. In fact, you can test this understanding by applying it to all such symptoms of setting partners with The God and you would always get to the same fundamental root cause. It is also a fact that in all such tests, you would never get to the root cause as being reptilians/snakes as the Bible contends or ghosts as sectarian mythology contends. As a side note, the word "jinn" is also related to the word "jannat", which means a garden. However, one can now see that it is not just any garden but a fantastic garden. As an interesting side note, while the "jinn"/fantasies are the fuel of hell, there is no evidence in the great reading of any "jinn"/fantasies in the fantastic garden ("jannat"). Those who go to heaven, by The God's mercy, will have free will. As we can see from passages such as 16:31, they simply will something and they get it: 16:31. Gardens of residence, they enter it, the rivers flow beneath it, for them in it what they will, like that The God reimburses the forethoughtful. Of course, if someone simply wills something and gets it then there is no need to fantasize it. So fantasies become unnecessary and are not needed in the fantastic garden/"jannat". On the other hand, "jinn"/fantasies being the fuel of hell would imply that hell is the realization of our worst fantasies or the worst thing that we can even imagine.

With this understanding we can see how everything in the great reading including Iblis and the "jinn" interrelates to our lives and the empirical realities that we can observe. Moreover, we can now see that the great reading provides us with simple yet extremely powerful guidance. We can see that we simply have to control our fantasies and not let them or those of others control us. There are so many new doors that open as a result of this improved understanding of "jinn" and if The God willed, this will help us to better understand the great reading and the world. For example, we can better understand the following passage: 4:78-79. Wherever you are, death will reach you even if you were in fortified towers. And if good comes to them, they say: "This is from The God". And if bad comes to them, they say: "This is from you". Say: "All is from The God", so what is the matter with those people they almost can't understand any saying? What comes to you from good is from The God and what comes to you from bad is from yourself and We sent you to humankind as a messenger and The God suffices as a witness. We can empirically see that what bad that may come, for example the death of a loved one, although it may be bad for you, it is actually good when we look at the big picture. Death in general serves as a good reminder that this low life is not important and that it is the hereafter that matters. If the person served The God, The Truth, then they will enter the fantastic garden and this is good. On the other hand, if the person served the fantasies then death would indeed have been a bad thing for him/her but the badness came from him/herself not from The God. Indeed, when we hear that all comes from The God and good comes from The God, this means that all that comes from The God is good. Also, we can now see from the first chapter of the great reading that The God can guide us to the straight path (a good thing) by contrasting it with the path of the strayers. So, in a way, The God can accomplish good even from the strayers who spin seven times around an idol and kiss the crown of the re-born idol head. Perhaps, without their misguidance, we wouldn't have improved our understanding of what "jinn" means. 1:7. Guide us the straight path, the path of those You bestowed Your favor on, those who have not earned anger at them and not the strayers. IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: 2:2. This is the book no doubt in it, a guidance for the forethoughtful. This article reflects my personal interpretation of the passages of the great reading and of physical archeological evidence as of February 18, 2006. I will try to improve my understanding of the great reading and the universe, except if The God wills and perhaps my Lord guides me to what is nearer in rationality. Please verify all information within for yourself as commanded in 17:36, and remember that simply "none" is the forethoughtful answer to 45:6. If The God willed, the outcome of this article will be beneficial.