Was published in Arabic in September 26, 2015
Translated by Ahmed Fathy
We have received this 'important', 'fearful', and 'terrifying' ultimatum from a young man whose first name is ''Abdul-Hussein'' (this name means literally: the slave or worshipper of Al-Hussein). He says in his email message: "… as for the topic of Ahmed Subhy Mansour and his continuous mocking of Imam Al-Hussein who revolted against the tyrant caliph Yazeed Ibn Mu'aweya, Ahmed Subhy Mansour ought to know that Imam Al-Hussein will remain forever the symbol of revolt against tyrants of all ages by his refusal to swear allegiance to Yazeed. As for you and your kind of people, I only ask God's guidance for them or that you will be in Hell with Yazeed for eternity; a human being in this world has only two options to choose from: either to be with Imam Al-Hussein in Paradise or with Yazeed in Hell…"
This was the end of this 'fearful' ultimatum. We reply to it in the following paragraphs:
Firstly: This Shiite Abdul-Hussein and the deification/worship of mortals:
1- In the notions of earthly, human-made creeds fashioned by clergy, human beings are being worshiped and deified. For instance, in Christianity, we find the proper name ''Abdul-Massieh'' in Arab culture of Eastern Orthodoxy. This name means the salve or worshiper of Christ. In the Sunnite creed, in the Arab culture, we find the proper names ''Abdul-Nabbi" and "Abdul-Rasool"; both names mean the salve or worshiper of Prophet Muhammad. In the Sufi creed, we find the proper name "Abdul-Saliheen"; this name means the salve or worshiper of the saints. In the Shiite creed, we find proper names like: "Abdul-Zahraa" (the salve or worshiper of Fatima, the daughter of Prophet Muhammad and wife of Ali Ibn Abou Talib), ''Abdul-Ali" (the salve or worshiper of Ali Ibn Abi Talib), and "Abdul-Hussein"(the salve or worshiper of Al-Hussein, the son of Ali Ibn Abi Talib). This phenomenon signifies the deification of mortals. This is against Islam, i.e., the Quran alone.
2- The Shiite writer of the above-mentioned email message, whose first name is "Abdul-Hussein'' is mad with us and considers our historical analysis of the character historically known as Al-Hussein Ibn Ali Ibn Abou Talib as an attack and satirical piece. He considers that as a sort of blasphemy. He sends us his ultimatum to ''repent''; otherwise, we deserve eternal Hell with Yazeed.
3- We, the Quranists, consider Al-Hussein, his parents, and all the so-called Prophet Muhammad's companions whose names are mentioned in historical accounts in volumes and tomes as merely historical characters. We, Dr. Mansour, reserve to ourselves the right to research and reevaluate them historically. We are qualified to do this in terms of University postgraduate studies in the field of history. We have the right to reevaluate them in terms of religion as long as some people consider them to be symbols/ gods/ deities in Islam. Some people who call themselves Muslims deify/ worship/ revere/ sanctify these historical people and relate them to Islam as a creed. We, the Quranists, do not revere or sanctify any historical characters and we never consider them as part of Islamic faith/creed. If any person denies the veracity or even the existence of caliphs and caliphate history, as well as all the siblings and parents and relatives of Al-Hussein, this does not affect one's faith at all. This person would simply be ignorant of history. That is all. God will not judge us in Doomsday based on our knowledge (or lack of it) of history. He will judge us based on our piety and faith in the testimony of Islam: ''There is no god beside God" as well as our acts of worship and how we deal with our fellow human beings.
Secondly: The problematic issue of "either…or":
1- Because this Shiite writer Abdul-Hussein believes in his deity Al-Hussein, he informs us with his faulty logic of "either…or". His faith contains no deity except Al-Hussein; center of the Shiite faith. Hence, all people from the USA to china have the obligatory choice: either Al-Hussein in Paradise or Yazeed in Hell.
2- The big problem is that this Shiite young man sends us an ultimatum as if he were the keeper of the keys to the gates of Hell and Paradise. We are to enter into the political party of Al-Hussein to enter into Paradise; the party of Yazeed's leads only to Hell. Mr. Abdul-Hussein forgets that God is the Master of the Day of Judgment (see the Quran 1:4). God says in the Quran: "They have not esteemed God as He ought to be esteemed. The entire earth will be in His grip on the Day of Resurrection, and the heavens will be folded in His right. Immaculate is He, and Transcendent He is beyond the associations they make.And the Trumpet will be sounded, whereupon everyone in the heavens and the earth will be stunned, except whomever God wills. Then it will be sounded another time, whereupon they will rise up, looking on.And the earth will shine with the Light of its Lord; and the Book will be put in place; and the prophets and the witnesses will be brought in; and Judgment will be passed among them equitably, and they will not be wronged. And every soul will be fully compensated for what it had done. He is well aware of what they do. "(39:67-70)
3- There is another ''serious'' problem with the vast majority of human beings since Adam until the end of the world: those who do not know at all about Al-Hussein and Yazeed. We have the right to ask anxiously about the fate, in the Afterlife, of those who lived and died in ancient times before the birth of Al-Hussein, who knew nothing of him at all. Are they condemned to Hell, promised by Paradise, or will remain forever in-between in the purgatory?
4- If a Western person heard of the controversial argument about Yazeed and Al-Hussein, this person might think them both to be two presidential hopefuls. When this person would know that both Yazeed and Al-Hussein died 14 centuries ago, this person might give the Shiites the finger, laugh in a hoarse voice to mock them, or swear in expletives of four-lettered words!
5- Another ''serious'' problematic issue is faced by our Shiite young man: the Bible and the Quran do not mention the name of Al-Hussein at all. Adam and Eve and their progeny were told nothing at all about Al-Hussein and were never warned against Yazeed.
6- Our Shiite young man makes all humanity face the ''fearful'' test: the tyrannical choice between Yazeed and Al-Hussein that is akin to the choice between Hell and Paradise, with no third alternative at all.
7- Alternatives are countless worldwide; yet, in the faith and belief of our Shiite young man, there is no third alternative. He directs his ultimatum to us, and we say to him that all alternatives of mortal gods and human deities are countless to choose from, why we are to choose from two deities. We will choose neither Yazeed nor Al-Hussein; we can choose any Pop music icon, a hot actress, any philosopher dead or alive, popular TV anchors. We are free in our choice and selection; this is nobody's business.
Thirdly: The philosophy of (either…or) in the real Islam (i.e., the Quran) and in the earthly, human-made creeds:
1- The stance of our Shiite young man of (either…or) is to be found in real Islam (i.e. the Quran alone) and in fabricated human-fashioned creeds. The following lines with explain the difference.
2- In the true religion of God, i.e. the Quran, one either worships God alone without partners; otherwise, one disbelieves in God. That God is the only Creator of all existing matter with no other deities, idols, and gods is the absolute Quranic truth. Any statements that contradict this are falsehoods. We read in the Quran: "Such is God, your Lord-the True. What is there, beyond the truth, except falsehood? How are you turned away? "(10:32). In the true religion of God, the Quran, one is to believe in only one discourse in one book: the divine revelation of the Quran; we are not to believe other books/discourses in matters of faith. We read the following verses in the Quran: "In what discourse, beyond this, will they believe?" (77:50), "Which discourse, besides this, will they believe in?" (7:185), and "These are God's Verses which We recite to you in truth. In which discourse, after God and His revelations, will they believe?" (45:6).
2- The stance of (either…or) is found as well in fabricated creeds fashioned by clergy in all times and climes. In Christianity, one is either to worship and deify Christ or be considered an infidel, a blasphemer, and an unbeliever. The same applies in the Sunnite creed: one has either to believe in Al-Bokhary or be considered an infidel, a blasphemer, and an unbeliever. In the Sufi creed, one has to either believe in Al-Ghazali, the greatest imam in their ''Islam'', or be considered an infidel, a blasphemer, and an unbeliever. In the Shiite creed, one has either to believe in Al-Hussein and curse Yazeed or be considered an infidel, a blasphemer, and an unbeliever.
3- The true religion according to Quranists is the Quran alone. We, Quranists, believe that anyone who believes in other deities alongside with God the Almighty Our Creator is an infidel, a blasphemer, and an unbeliever. The testimony of Islam "La Ilaha Illa Allah" i.e. literally: There is no god but God. Implies the faith in God alone and denying other deities that include mortal human beings who are deified after their death. Earthly creeds fashioned by clergy condemn deniers of their 'holy' notions and things and people as infidels, blasphemers, and unbelievers. In all human-made creeds fashioned by clergy, there is always a central figure among mortals whom is being worshipped and revered, and if this central figure is denied its divine stature, one is condemned to death or imprisonment in Arab countries under the claim of uttering blasphemy and undermining and denigrating creeds!
4- We, the Quranists, in our Quranic methodology and line of thought, hold the Quran as the yard stick by which we measure all deeds and words of the Muhammadans (i.e., Shiite, Sunnite, and Sufis). We compare their deeds, notions, beliefs, and words to the Quranic verses that are absolute truths to us. We hope to reform the Muhammadans and their beliefs, and we consider their deeds and notions that contradict Quranic verses as blasphemy and heresy. We wait for God's judgment on us, the Quranists, and on the Muhammadans in the Day of Judgment in the Afterlife. God will judge in our differences. He is the Owner of the Day of Judgment, Paradise, and Hell. In contrast, the mortal gods of human-made creeds fashioned by clergy are owned by clergy who fabricated those creeds and imagine they own the Afterlife. God in the Quran urges us to adopt the stance of (either…or); the clergy does the same with people as the clergy consider themselves as gods.
Fourthly: The (either…or) stance is a right reserved for God alone:
1- The (either…or) stance exists in the true religion of God, the Quran, and in human-made creeds. But let us remember that this stance and warning is a right reserved for God alone, praised be His Name.
2- It is noteworthy that the word ''equate'' in the Quran comes in a positive context and in another negative context in the Quranic text: "Among the people of Moses is a community that guides by truth, and thereby does equate among people with justice."(7:159) "And do not follow the whims of those who deny Our revelation, and those who do not believe in the Hereafter, and those who equate others with their Lord."(6:150). Thus, equity ordained in the Quran among people in their dealings with one another: "God commands justice, and goodness, and generosity towards relatives. And He forbids immorality, and injustice, and oppression. He advises you, so that you may take heed."(16:90). But one ought not to equate between God and His mortal creatures; i.e., consider human beings as immortal divinities and therefore equal to God. This is absolutely forbidden by God in the Quran. How come to equate the creatures with their Creator?! "Praise be to God, Who created the heavens and the earth, and made the darkness and the light. Yet those who disbelieve ascribe equals to their Lord."(6:1) and "Or, who created the heavens and the earth, and rains down water from the sky for you? With it We produce gardens full of beauty, whose trees you could not have produced. Is there another god with God? But they are a people who equate."(27:60).
3- Seen from outer space, the earth seems a speck of sand among all countless galaxies and stars. How this majesty fashioned by our Creator could be compared to mortal deities, worshipped by some people, like Al-Hussein, Christ, Muhammad, and all other prophets and the so-called saints? One should tremble with devout fervor and fear while reading the following Quranic verse: "They disbelieve those who say, "God is the Christ, the son of Mary." Say, "Who can prevent God, if He willed, from annihilating the Christ son of Mary, and his mother, and everyone on earth?" To God belongs the sovereignty of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. He creates whatever He wills, and God has power over everything."(5:17). People cannot fully appreciate the stature and grandness of God: "O people! A parable is presented, so listen to it: Those you invoke besides God will never create a fly, even if they banded together for that purpose. And if the fly steals anything from them, they cannot recover it from it. Weak are the pursuer and the pursued.They do not value God as He should be valued. God is Strong and Powerful."(22:73-74)
4- The warning stance of (either…or) is a right reserved only to God in the Quran to warn all humanity. When this stance or warning is used by clerical gods of creeds fashioned by mortals, this is considered as a transgression against God. The testimony of Islam means also that there is no creator in the universe except God. We pose the following Quranic questions to our Shiite young man who wrote the ultimatum:-
4/1: "Is there a creator other than God who provides for you from the heaven and the earth?"(35:3). Our friend the Shiite would answer: there is no creator but God.
4/2: "Is He who creates like him who does not create? Will you not take a lesson?"(16:17) Our friend the Shiite would answer: The Creator is not equal with His creatures.
4/3: "Such is God's creation. Now show me what those besides Him have created. In fact, the wicked are in obvious error."(31:11). The question is the following: Did Al-Hussein created anything? Our friend the Shiite would answer: Of course not.
4/4: "Say, "Have you considered those partners of yours that you worship instead of God? Show me what they have created on earth. Or do they have any share in the heavens?" Or have We given them a book whose clear teachings they follow? In fact, the wrongdoers promise one another nothing but delusions." (35:40). The question is the following: Could you show us what Al-Hussein created in earth or in heaven? Our Shiite friend cannot but reply in the negative.
4/5: "Or have they assigned to God associates, who created the likes of His creation, so that the creations seemed to them alike? Say, "God is the Creator of all things, and He is The One, the Irresistible.""(13:16). The question is the following: Did Al-Hussein create creatures living with us to be known as his creatures apart from God's creatures? No one can answer this question in the positive.
Fifthly: Al-Hussein was created, and he was not a creator.
1- Worshippers of the deity called Al-Hussein would treble with ire and fear to discover the truth that Al-Hussein was a mortal human being and so were all prophets and their descendants, and so were and are all good, bad, evil, and pious people.
2- Our Shiite young man the worshipper of Al-Hussein would tremble with anger when we tell him that Al-Hussein was born due to the sexual desire of Ali Ibn Abou Talib who had sex with his wife Fatima the daughter of Prophet Muhammad. Accordingly, his penis entered her vagina, and all his sperm fluid entered into a race to her ovum. The embryo was created inside her womb like all women, following all stages of pregnancy. Al-Hussein was born from her vagina and used to cry like all babies for food, urination, defecation, and cleaning. Then Al-Hussein grew up and was trained to use the toilet. He grew up and married so many wives and had many slave girls. He used to have sex like all men. Like all mortals, he needed food that was eaten and defecated. He died like all mortals, and his soul returned to where it came from like all human beings. His corpse changed through all stages of rotting and decomposition. At the end, his dead body turned into dust. The same happens and will happen to all human beings, including prophets and their progeny, from Adam until the last human being by the end of the world shortly before Doomsday.
3- This was Al-Hussein: a mortal human being created from dust and water. Those who worship him as a deity refuse to accept this fact; they shudder in anger and curse us. Why? The answer is found in the following lines.
4- The answer is simply because we are talking about Al-Hussein as a mortal human being and a historical character. Any Shiite believes in a divine figure of mythical proportions called Al-Hussein. So, we have two 'Al-Husseins': the mortal creature and the divine god worshiped according to Shiite myths. All polytheists create their own mythology to deify things and people. Let us remember in the Quran what Abraham said to his people: "You worship idols besides God, and you fabricate falsehoods…."(29:17). God created everything but falsehoods and idols fabricated by men and devils. Devils and Satan managed to make people worship and deify tombs that contain the remains of mortal gods. The Quran says about that: "Those they invoke besides God create nothing, but are themselves created. They are dead, not alive; and they do not know when they will be resurrected" (16:20-21). That is why our Shiite young man will not believe us when we tell him that his idol/god Al-Hussein is a mortal human being. He is used to worshipping this mythological divine figure that is the figment of the imagination of his ancestors. God says in the Quran: "Your God is one God. As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter, their hearts are in denial, and they are arrogant."(16:22).
Sixthly: Al-Hussein between what justice and meritocracy:
1- As a historical figure, Al-Hussein had political ambition and thought he deserved to be a caliph and a ruler. He thought himself better than the caliph Yazeed. Let us acknowledge these historical facts. But justice is not sufficient, as we know from history, politics, and reality. Meritocracy had the upper hand in history of prophets and Arabs in general. Meritocracy here means practical power and authority in reality. For instance, Moses had justice, but the pharaoh who was unjust had more power on earth in comparison to Moses. Yet, God ordered Moses to speak gently to pharaoh of Egypt: "Go to Pharaoh. He has tyrannized. But speak to him nicely. Perhaps he will remember, or have some fear."(20:43-44). We cite another example: Prophet Muhammad had justice, but the unbelievers of the Qorayish tribe in Mecca had more power on the ground in Mecca and they managed to drive believers out of it and raid Yathreb where the believers lived in fear (see 8:26). The Quran deals with this meritocracy of the tribe by saying to it: "…Restrain your hands, and perform your prayers, and spend in regular charity…"(4:77). The Quran orders the faithful believers to acquire meritocracy, i.e.,, proper means of power to defend themselves against the aggression of unbelievers (see 8:60, 22:39-40, and 2:190). Accordingly, Al-Hussein should have completed his means of power on the ground especially in military means in order to defeat the armies of Yazeed. He simply did not do that. He refused to listen to any sort of advice, and that caused his death along with his family and descendants. He was not up to the responsibility and caused the death of his family members. How come he imagined being just in his claim to be a ruler, then?
2- After this above-mentioned historical analysis, which is true and tenable, we are astonished to find that the worshippers of Al-Hussein do not believe this. In fact, they do not worship the historical figure we talk about; they worship a divine mythical figure that has nothing to do with the historical figure.
Seventhly: The deification of Al-Hussein is a myth that makes anyone burst out laughing:
1- Historically, we are told that the headless corpse of Al-Hussein remained in the open field without anything to mark it among tens of dead bodies. Then a caravan of desert Arabs came and buried all the dead: Al-Hussein, his family members, and the Umayyad soldiers in an unknown place in the Iraqi city of Karbala. Shiites, to avenge his death, raided Yathreb to steal, rob, rape, kill, and destroy. Later on, the Kaabah in Mecca was sieged and stoned by the catapults by the Umayyad soldiers in the revolt of Ibn Al-Zubayr. After so many upheavals in Iraq by Shiites to avenge the death of Al-Hussein, all their revolts were quelled by the Umayyads, though they were busy invading other lands to form an empire. They crushed all revolts and uprisings in Egypt, North Africa, Persia, and Hejaz. When the Umayyad Dynasty fell and came instead of it the Abbasid Dynasty, no one had yet found the burial place of Al-Hussein.
2- For a century,, from 62 to 169 A.H., no one knew the burial place of Al-Hussein in Karbala. This city became important during the Second Abbasid Era. A shrine was built in the memory of Al-Hussein, but it was alter on destroyed by the Abbasid caliph Al-Mutawakil. Hence, any shrine in the city of Karbala built later on has nothing to do with the unknown burial ground of Al-Hussein. Hence, his shrine is a falsehood. Let us pretend that he were buried in this shrine, what difference does it make? There is no significance to us in that. What has Al-Hussein to do with faith? His life and death has nothing to do with Islam. Let us remember the Quranic verse addressed to Prophet Muhammad: "It is no concern of yours… "(3:128). Why the corpse of Al-Hussein might have magical powers if he had failed to defend himself and his family? Why Shiites ask for divine power and blessings from his remains? These silly practices are deemed un-Islamic and pagan.
2- This matter makes us burst out laughing: There are several shrines in several Arab countries that claim to be the burial place of Al-Hussein decapitated head! Revering such shrines is one of the silliest practices; they had better worship the sword that severed his head(s)!
3- Concerning the annual Shiite funeral ceremonies to commemorate the death of Al-Hussein, they are silly because he is not the only mortal man who died on earth! The practices of wounding oneself on such occasion shows how pagan Shiites in Iraq are. Some Sunnite fanatics and terrorists perform their terrorist operations during the ceremonies in Karbala. Shiites have borne persecution for 14 centuries since the times of Hajaj Ibn Yousef (the famous vizier of the Umayyads known for his massacres) to the times of the tyrant killer Saddam Hussein; yet, nothing stirs them except the death of their god Al-Hussein 14 centuries ago. What a shame! What a pity! How silly, indeed!
Lastly: God says in the Quran: "Say, "Have you considered those you worship instead of God? Show me which portion of the earth they have created. Or do they own a share of the heavens? Bring me a scripture prior to this one, or some trace of knowledge, if you are truthful. "Who is more wrong than him who invokes, besides God, those who will not answer him until the Day of Resurrection, and are heedless of their prayers? And when humanity is gathered, they will be enemies to them, and will renounce their worship of them. "(46:4-6). God says nothing but the Truth.