Urmonotheismus: The Religion of our Ancestors 2/3
I will use this post to address evidence 1 (many tribes believing in monotheism) to support claim (monotheism developed independently from abrahamic faiths) from my previous post. Multiple independent occurances of monotheism should signal urmonotheismus. Now we will examine the aqeedah (belif) of various tribes around the world that are not influenced by Abrahamic monotheism.
NOTE: If you haven't read the first part of this series, click here!
Gikuyu
"Ngai or mwene-nyaga is the Supreme Creator and giver of all things. He created the first Gĩkũyũ communities, and provided them with all the resources necessary for life: land, rain, plants, and animals. Ngai cannot be seen but is manifested in the sun, moon, stars, comets and meteors, thunder and lightning, rain, rainbows, and in the great fig trees (Mugumo)."
"The Gĩkũyũ were – and still are – monotheists believing in an omnipotent God whom they refer to as Ngai. All of the Gĩkũyũ, Embu, and Kamba use this name. Ngai was also known as Mũrungu by the Meru and Embu tribes, or Mũlungu (a variant of a word meaning God which is found as far south as the Zambezi of Zambia)."
The Dinka
The Dinka people of modern South Sudan believed in 'nhialic aciek' and 'nhialic wa' which translated to God the creator and God the Father. In it, the author comments on how the Western perception of the word God ought to not be used in this context because the Dinkas' God was not the Christian God.
Lienhardt writes in his study of the Dinka religion in his book Divinity and Experience on pages 29-30:
"Nhialic is figured sometimes as a Being, a personal Supreme Being even and sometimes as a kind of being and activity which sums up the activities of a multiplicity of beings, while the word 'God' has no such extended meaning in our common speech. So the word Divinity, thus written with the capital letter and without the definite or indefinite article, is here used to translate nhialic."
It's worth mentioning that the literal translation of Allah in English is "The Deity/Divinity".
Maw-Maw and Neyam-Neyam
The Maw-Maw and Neyam-Neyam peoples of modern sub-Saharan Africa believe in monotheism. In the words of Fethullah Gulen (the guy tied with July 16 Turkish Coup):
"The observations of Professor Mahmoud Mustafa on two primitive African tribes confirm what has been said above. He notes that the Maw-Maw believe in God and call him Mucay. This God is One, He acts alone, He does not generate and is not begotten, and He has no partner. It is not possible to see Him or to feel Him, but only to know Him through His works. He dwells in the heavens, from whence He confers His commands to all. That is why the Maw-Maw raise their hands when they pray. Another tribe, the Neyam-Neyam, expresses similar ideas: the belief in One God who decrees and confers His orders to all, and what He says is absolute; Everything in the forest moves by His will, and punishes those who deserve it."
Now look at Surah Ikhlas:
Say: He is Allah, the One and Only;
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
The Chinese during the Shang
Emperor Cheng Tang of the Shang
The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China (1600-1046 BCE) believed that deceased ancestors could talk to smaller gods and influence what happens to the living family.They, by definition were not monotheistic, however were henotheistic. They used to also worship smaller deities as well, however the important bit was that they did recognize there was one powerful God. According to US History:
"In addition, the god worshipped by everyone during the Shang dynasty was Shang Ti, the "lord on high." Shang Ti was believed to be the link between people and heavenly beings. The souls of ancestors, it was thought, visited with Shang Ti and received their instructions from him. It was therefore very important to make sure that Shang Ti was happy."
Over time there was a shift from broken theism to pantheism. After the Shang dynasty, came the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE). Basically, they mixed God with something unseen that was also created by God, heaven. They began to call God, "Heaven" or Tian. Furthermore, the Zhou invented the mandate of heaven which meant that the gods approved of the Zhou dynasty rule. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:
"As a god, tian is sometimes perceived to be an impersonal power in contrast to Shangdi (“Supreme Ruler”), but the two are closely identified and the terms frequently used synonymously. Evidence suggests that tian originally referred to the sky while Shangdi referred to the Supreme Ancestor who resided there. The first mention of tian seems to have occurred early in the Zhou dynasty."
It was during this time that Confucianism, Taoism were developed and Buddhism were spread. Confucianism is closer to the Shang religion, they believed in a God however ancestors are also worshiped. Taoism is closer to the Zhou religion and believes basically in pantheism and "following the Tao". Buddha as a figure is followed by both religions. Ideas with buzzwords, 'enlightenment', 'the path', 'tranquility', 'self-discovery', 'meditation', 'unity with the community' began to develop.
The Iroquois
Stereotypes have gotten to me
The Iroquois (Native American tribe of New York) in North America believed in monotheism The following is an extract written by David Ruvulo which is linked above.
"According to Lewis H. Morgan, their religion is characterized by a monotheistic belief in an all-powerful creator known as the "Great Spirit", or "Ha-wen-ne-yu." "The Iroquois believed in the constant superintending care of the Great Spirit. He ruled and administered the world, and the affairs of the red race." (1954,146). The Iroquois failed to see the need in developing a detailed conception of their creator."
"This knowledge was thought to be above and beyond their capabilities to understand. His power was administered to the material world through "a class of inferior spiritual existences, by whom he was surrounded." (1954,147). While divine attributes concerning the Great Spirit remained undeveloped, the Iroquois gave detailed descriptions of this lower class of spirits (angels) that interacted with the material world."
"According to Morgan, the Great Spirit does not have any type of positive authority over the Evil-minded, except for the power to overcome him when necessary (1954,148). The red race is left to choose either obedience to the Great Spirit or submission to the Evil-minded. It is important to note that the Iroquois developed the idea of an immortal soul. This soul was judged by the Great Spirit upon the death of the body. The threat of punishment in the afterlife increased morality concerns, which aided in the success of the Iroquois Nation."
The article also describes "Invisible Agents" known as Ho-no-che-no-keh sent by the Great Spirit (possibly angels). They believe in a brother of the Great Spirit that is evil and is called "Ha-ne-go-ate-geh". There exist agents of evil in the real world (i.e. shayateen). They believe in human agents that have a connection to the Great Spirit like prophets. The Iroquois also believed in an afterlife with a potential punishment or reward just like Muslims do. This is suspiciously Islamic concepts!
Tribes Among the Aboriginals
Many tribes among the Australian Aboriginals believed in monotheism. The aboriginal people were the native people of Australia and were spread all over the continent and had over 250 languages before colonization (more languages mean more cultures and possibly by extension diversity in religion). In the words of Erich Kolig who wrote in 1992:
"In the 19th century, ethnographers working mainly in south-east Australia, recorded a widespread belief among the Aborigines in a supreme male deity who seemed to surpass others in imporance and exaltedness. Aborinines knew of him by various names, such as Biaame, Nurrundere, Nurelli, Martumnere, Biamban, Bunjil, Daramulun, Mami-nga-ta, Mungan-ngaua, and countless others many of which mean "father", or "our father," or simple "elder." In the anthropological literature, subsequently, this deity was referred to as All-Father, Sky God, High-God (Hochgott), Supreme Spirit and Supreme Being and surrounded by such an ethnographic aura as to invest it with qualities of (almost) monotheistic proportions."
"Aborigines seem to have believed this divine character to dwell in the sky and to be, though somewhat otiose, of a benign disposition towards humanity. Basic creative deed, of both a natural and cultural kind, were attributed to him, such as having shaped basic features of the earth, having instituted initiation ceremonies and life-giving rituals, laid down laws and customs, and the like. On a more abstract level of exegesis, one might say that he represented the principle of good, having combated and triumphed over evil in some form or other. Having retreated from his sojourn on earth, he was believed now to live in the sky, aloof aloft, and according to some beliefs, sitting on a throne."
Now read this and let your mind melt:
An example of an approval of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which indicates that Allah is exalted and high is the hadeeth (report) concerning the young slave girl, to whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Where is Allah?" She said: "In heaven." He asked, "Who am I?" She said, "The Messenger of Allah." So he said to her master: "Set her free, for she is a believer."
The Kapauku
The Kapauku People of modern New Guinea were monotheistic. The following is from an extract from the book, The Kapauku Papuans Of West Guinea by Leopold Pospisil.
"The universe itself and all existence was Ebijata, "designed by Ugatame", the Creator, Ugatame has a dual nature: He is supposed to be masculine and feminine at the same time, is referred to as the two entities, and is manifested to the people by the duality of the sun and the moon. To my enquiry whether Ugatame was the sun and the moon I received the answer a firm denial. The sun is conceived as the ball of fire, because it provides light and is warm; moon is believed to be a cold light like that of a firefly or the bacteria that infest rotting wood. Sun and moon are only manifestations of Ugatame who thus makes his presence known to the people. they definitely are not Creator himself..."
He continues in another passage:
"Ugatame is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, credited with the creation of all things and with having determined all events. Strangely enough, however, he is not believed to exist himself. When I questioned this contention, a Kapauku defended skillfully by a question: "But how can he exist when he created all the existence?" Obviously Ugatame is beyond existence, because to Kapauku all that exists must be of phenomenal nature; one must be able to see, hear, smell, taste or feel it. But the Creator is beyond this phenomenal dimension, because of the simple reason that He created it. because He is so to speak, in the fifth dimension and is not of phenomenal nature, He is able to be omnipresent."
They believed that the sun and moon were not the creator himself, as do Muslims. They questioned, "But how can he exist when he created all the existence?". This means that you cannot see Ugatame with a telescope directed at the cosmos. He exists outside of our reality. For such a primitive people, they seem to have a very intricate and suspiciously Islamic aqeedah (belief).
The Nation of Akhenaten
Akhenaten (supporter of Aten) was the ruler of Egypt and changed the state religion from an organized, institutionalized, ecclesiastical, polytheistic worship of a family of gods to the worship of one God, Aten. Aten was represented by a sun with rays coming down from it, but over time even that symbol was banned and Aten was only written phonetically. According to Ancient Egypt Online: "He also made it clear that the image of the Aten only represented the god, but that the god transcended creation and so could not be fully understood or represented." Akhenaten claimed that he had a connection with Aten just as the previous kings of Egypt claimed. Author Hamdi bin Hamza Al-Suraiseri Al-Johani makes a case claiming that Akhenaten was the Dhul-Qurnain mentioned in the Quran.
In the ninth year of his reign (1344/1342 BC), Akhenaten declared a more radical version of his new religion, declaring Aten not merely the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon but the only God of Egypt, with himself as the sole intermediary between the Aten and the Egyptian people. Key features of Atenism included a ban on idols and other images of the Aten, with the exception of a rayed solar disc in which the rays (commonly depicted ending in hands) appear to represent the unseen spirit of Aten. Aten was addressed by Akhenaten in prayers, such as the Great Hymn to the Aten: "O Sole God beside whom there is none". Aten's name is also written differently after the ninth year of the Pharaoh's rule to emphasise the radicalism of the new regime. Aten, instead of being written with the symbol of a rayed solar disc, now became spelled phonetically.
So even the symbol of the sun was destroyed and now only the name existed. Just like iconoclastic religion of Islam. Also, the phrase "O Sole God beside whom there is none" sounds like a familiar prayer with the Muslims, la ilaha illa anta... With the demise of Akhenaten, came the resurgence of the powerful polytheistic priesthood that preceded Akenaten.
How can it be possible that all of these nations have so similar monotheistic beliefs yet we some claim that they all developed independently? There are only two explanations: that all these nations had communication/common origin for religion or that monotheism is built in the societal fitra and monotheism truly can develop independently in multiple instances.
If they had a common origin, then that suggests that God did send prophets to each of these areas. If it is societal fitra, then this raises another question: what (or who) makes us practice circumcision? What (or who) makes us have the desire to worship, to adopt a religion?
Evidence 2: Not only did they practice monotheism, but other nations also independently practiced obscure Islamic traditions.
I'll try to keep this next bit a bit more brief. Basically there were traditions practiced by societies that can barely be explained with anthropological evolution and suggests common descent of religion (see what I did there?). I will take the example of the practice of circumcision.
Bukhaari and Muslim narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (SA) said: “Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) circumcised himself when he was eighty years old, and he circumcised himself with an adze.”
In fact, circumcision did not come into Islam from Judaism because it was already a custom of the Arabs (There’s a very relevant Christian history with circumcision and gentiles here).
-
Aboriginal Australians
-
All of Madagascar
-
Some Pasific Islanders
-
Western and Central and Eastern Africans (Tribal religions AND Abrahamic Faiths)
-
Muslims and Jews
-
The Xhosa in South Africa (Nelson Mandela tribe) and other southern African tribes
-
Jews (Jesus too)
-
South Koreans
-
Philippians
-
Really Ancient Europeans (38,000 to 11,000 BCE)
-
Pythagoras in Alexandria Egypt (before Jesus)
-
Ancient Egyptians 5000 years ago depicted it in hieroglyphs
-
The Aztecs
-
Pre-Islamic Arabs
Male Circumcision Prevalence Today (wikipedia)
There are some health benefits to it. It protects against infection and has sanitary properties. It seems really interesting that so many cultures are willing to perform such a painful surgery for the sake of health. Surely not all of the aforementioned cultures could have found the medical benefits to circumcision independent of each other.
But then you might question: well the only custom they shared was circumcision. The existence of the other religious ceremonies these other nations have, should refute your claim that a religious ceremony can be used as evidence to suggest urmonotheismus. Well, you’d be right, if this verse did not exist. Al-Hajj 67 says:
Unto each nation have We given sacred rites which they are to perform; so let them not dispute with thee of the matter, but summon thou unto thy Lord. Lo! thou indeed followest right guidance.
This implies that between nations of the past, it was possible for Muslims (i.e. monotheists who submitted to the will of their creator) to have differing rituals despite their theology remaining the same. For example, the Hajj was prescribed to the nation of Mohammad SAW and not to Musa AS.
So, could this behavior of circumcision be caused by religious reasons or is it simply societal fitra (natural societal disposition)? Punishments such as scalping (removing the scalp of a dead person as a trophy) developed independently between cultures as well, so does that mean it refutes my argument? Well, no. Scalping served a deranged purpose (as a trophy) whereas circumcision barely did.
The point is not that Islam is being practiced in all of the sites which practice circumcision. Rather, circumcision suggests that perhaps there were prophets whose messages degenerated over time or that there is a societal fitrah towards Islamic practices. I have discussed two evidences (prevalence of monotheism and obscure Islamic traditions) in support of the claim that there were messengers who proselytized people to Islam before Mohammad (SAW) to other nations. Now I will move on to my second claim in the next post which is "Monotheism is natural".
I will use this post to address evidence 1 (many tribes believing in monotheism) to support claim (monotheism developed independently from abrahamic faiths) from my previous post. Multiple independent occurances of monotheism should signal urmonotheismus. Now we will examine the aqeedah (belif) of various tribes around the world that are not influenced by Abrahamic monotheism.
NOTE: If you haven't read the first part of this series, click here!Gikuyu
"Ngai or mwene-nyaga is the Supreme Creator and giver of all things. He created the first Gĩkũyũ communities, and provided them with all the resources necessary for life: land, rain, plants, and animals. Ngai cannot be seen but is manifested in the sun, moon, stars, comets and meteors, thunder and lightning, rain, rainbows, and in the great fig trees (Mugumo)."
"The Gĩkũyũ were – and still are – monotheists believing in an omnipotent God whom they refer to as Ngai. All of the Gĩkũyũ, Embu, and Kamba use this name. Ngai was also known as Mũrungu by the Meru and Embu tribes, or Mũlungu (a variant of a word meaning God which is found as far south as the Zambezi of Zambia)."
The Dinka people of modern South Sudan believed in 'nhialic aciek' and 'nhialic wa' which translated to God the creator and God the Father. In it, the author comments on how the Western perception of the word God ought to not be used in this context because the Dinkas' God was not the Christian God.
Lienhardt writes in his study of the Dinka religion in his book Divinity and Experience on pages 29-30:
"Nhialic is figured sometimes as a Being, a personal Supreme Being even and sometimes as a kind of being and activity which sums up the activities of a multiplicity of beings, while the word 'God' has no such extended meaning in our common speech. So the word Divinity, thus written with the capital letter and without the definite or indefinite article, is here used to translate nhialic."
It's worth mentioning that the literal translation of Allah in English is "The Deity/Divinity".
The Maw-Maw and Neyam-Neyam peoples of modern sub-Saharan Africa believe in monotheism. In the words of Fethullah Gulen (the guy tied with July 16 Turkish Coup):
"The observations of Professor Mahmoud Mustafa on two primitive African tribes confirm what has been said above. He notes that the Maw-Maw believe in God and call him Mucay. This God is One, He acts alone, He does not generate and is not begotten, and He has no partner. It is not possible to see Him or to feel Him, but only to know Him through His works. He dwells in the heavens, from whence He confers His commands to all. That is why the Maw-Maw raise their hands when they pray. Another tribe, the Neyam-Neyam, expresses similar ideas: the belief in One God who decrees and confers His orders to all, and what He says is absolute; Everything in the forest moves by His will, and punishes those who deserve it."
Allah, the Eternal, Absolute;
He begetteth not, nor is He begotten;
And there is none like unto Him.
| ||
The Shang Dynasty of Ancient China (1600-1046 BCE) believed that deceased ancestors could talk to smaller gods and influence what happens to the living family.They, by definition were not monotheistic, however were henotheistic. They used to also worship smaller deities as well, however the important bit was that they did recognize there was one powerful God. According to US History:
|
"In addition, the god worshipped by everyone during the Shang dynasty was Shang Ti, the "lord on high." Shang Ti was believed to be the link between people and heavenly beings. The souls of ancestors, it was thought, visited with Shang Ti and received their instructions from him. It was therefore very important to make sure that Shang Ti was happy."
Over time there was a shift from broken theism to pantheism. After the Shang dynasty, came the Zhou dynasty (1046-256 BCE). Basically, they mixed God with something unseen that was also created by God, heaven. They began to call God, "Heaven" or Tian. Furthermore, the Zhou invented the mandate of heaven which meant that the gods approved of the Zhou dynasty rule. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica:
"As a god, tian is sometimes perceived to be an impersonal power in contrast to Shangdi (“Supreme Ruler”), but the two are closely identified and the terms frequently used synonymously. Evidence suggests that tian originally referred to the sky while Shangdi referred to the Supreme Ancestor who resided there. The first mention of tian seems to have occurred early in the Zhou dynasty."
It was during this time that Confucianism, Taoism were developed and Buddhism were spread. Confucianism is closer to the Shang religion, they believed in a God however ancestors are also worshiped. Taoism is closer to the Zhou religion and believes basically in pantheism and "following the Tao". Buddha as a figure is followed by both religions. Ideas with buzzwords, 'enlightenment', 'the path', 'tranquility', 'self-discovery', 'meditation', 'unity with the community' began to develop.
|
| Stereotypes have gotten to me |
The Iroquois (Native American tribe of New York) in North America believed in monotheism The following is an extract written by David Ruvulo which is linked above.
"According to Lewis H. Morgan, their religion is characterized by a monotheistic belief in an all-powerful creator known as the "Great Spirit", or "Ha-wen-ne-yu." "The Iroquois believed in the constant superintending care of the Great Spirit. He ruled and administered the world, and the affairs of the red race." (1954,146). The Iroquois failed to see the need in developing a detailed conception of their creator."
"This knowledge was thought to be above and beyond their capabilities to understand. His power was administered to the material world through "a class of inferior spiritual existences, by whom he was surrounded." (1954,147). While divine attributes concerning the Great Spirit remained undeveloped, the Iroquois gave detailed descriptions of this lower class of spirits (angels) that interacted with the material world."
"According to Morgan, the Great Spirit does not have any type of positive authority over the Evil-minded, except for the power to overcome him when necessary (1954,148). The red race is left to choose either obedience to the Great Spirit or submission to the Evil-minded. It is important to note that the Iroquois developed the idea of an immortal soul. This soul was judged by the Great Spirit upon the death of the body. The threat of punishment in the afterlife increased morality concerns, which aided in the success of the Iroquois Nation."
The article also describes "Invisible Agents" known as Ho-no-che-no-keh sent by the Great Spirit (possibly angels). They believe in a brother of the Great Spirit that is evil and is called "Ha-ne-go-ate-geh". There exist agents of evil in the real world (i.e. shayateen). They believe in human agents that have a connection to the Great Spirit like prophets. The Iroquois also believed in an afterlife with a potential punishment or reward just like Muslims do. This is suspiciously Islamic concepts!
Many tribes among the Australian Aboriginals believed in monotheism. The aboriginal people were the native people of Australia and were spread all over the continent and had over 250 languages before colonization (more languages mean more cultures and possibly by extension diversity in religion). In the words of Erich Kolig who wrote in 1992:
"In the 19th century, ethnographers working mainly in south-east Australia, recorded a widespread belief among the Aborigines in a supreme male deity who seemed to surpass others in imporance and exaltedness. Aborinines knew of him by various names, such as Biaame, Nurrundere, Nurelli, Martumnere, Biamban, Bunjil, Daramulun, Mami-nga-ta, Mungan-ngaua, and countless others many of which mean "father", or "our father," or simple "elder." In the anthropological literature, subsequently, this deity was referred to as All-Father, Sky God, High-God (Hochgott), Supreme Spirit and Supreme Being and surrounded by such an ethnographic aura as to invest it with qualities of (almost) monotheistic proportions."
"Aborigines seem to have believed this divine character to dwell in the sky and to be, though somewhat otiose, of a benign disposition towards humanity. Basic creative deed, of both a natural and cultural kind, were attributed to him, such as having shaped basic features of the earth, having instituted initiation ceremonies and life-giving rituals, laid down laws and customs, and the like. On a more abstract level of exegesis, one might say that he represented the principle of good, having combated and triumphed over evil in some form or other. Having retreated from his sojourn on earth, he was believed now to live in the sky, aloof aloft, and according to some beliefs, sitting on a throne."
An example of an approval of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) which indicates that Allah is exalted and high is the hadeeth (report) concerning the young slave girl, to whom the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: "Where is Allah?" She said: "In heaven." He asked, "Who am I?" She said, "The Messenger of Allah." So he said to her master: "Set her free, for she is a believer."
The Kapauku People of modern New Guinea were monotheistic. The following is from an extract from the book, The Kapauku Papuans Of West Guinea by Leopold Pospisil.
"The universe itself and all existence was Ebijata, "designed by Ugatame", the Creator, Ugatame has a dual nature: He is supposed to be masculine and feminine at the same time, is referred to as the two entities, and is manifested to the people by the duality of the sun and the moon. To my enquiry whether Ugatame was the sun and the moon I received the answer a firm denial. The sun is conceived as the ball of fire, because it provides light and is warm; moon is believed to be a cold light like that of a firefly or the bacteria that infest rotting wood. Sun and moon are only manifestations of Ugatame who thus makes his presence known to the people. they definitely are not Creator himself..."
He continues in another passage:
"Ugatame is omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent, credited with the creation of all things and with having determined all events. Strangely enough, however, he is not believed to exist himself. When I questioned this contention, a Kapauku defended skillfully by a question: "But how can he exist when he created all the existence?" Obviously Ugatame is beyond existence, because to Kapauku all that exists must be of phenomenal nature; one must be able to see, hear, smell, taste or feel it. But the Creator is beyond this phenomenal dimension, because of the simple reason that He created it. because He is so to speak, in the fifth dimension and is not of phenomenal nature, He is able to be omnipresent."
They believed that the sun and moon were not the creator himself, as do Muslims. They questioned, "But how can he exist when he created all the existence?". This means that you cannot see Ugatame with a telescope directed at the cosmos. He exists outside of our reality. For such a primitive people, they seem to have a very intricate and suspiciously Islamic aqeedah (belief).
Akhenaten (supporter of Aten) was the ruler of Egypt and changed the state religion from an organized, institutionalized, ecclesiastical, polytheistic worship of a family of gods to the worship of one God, Aten. Aten was represented by a sun with rays coming down from it, but over time even that symbol was banned and Aten was only written phonetically. According to Ancient Egypt Online: "He also made it clear that the image of the Aten only represented the god, but that the god transcended creation and so could not be fully understood or represented." Akhenaten claimed that he had a connection with Aten just as the previous kings of Egypt claimed. Author Hamdi bin Hamza Al-Suraiseri Al-Johani makes a case claiming that Akhenaten was the Dhul-Qurnain mentioned in the Quran.
In the ninth year of his reign (1344/1342 BC), Akhenaten declared a more radical version of his new religion, declaring Aten not merely the supreme god of the Egyptian pantheon but the only God of Egypt, with himself as the sole intermediary between the Aten and the Egyptian people. Key features of Atenism included a ban on idols and other images of the Aten, with the exception of a rayed solar disc in which the rays (commonly depicted ending in hands) appear to represent the unseen spirit of Aten. Aten was addressed by Akhenaten in prayers, such as the Great Hymn to the Aten: "O Sole God beside whom there is none". Aten's name is also written differently after the ninth year of the Pharaoh's rule to emphasise the radicalism of the new regime. Aten, instead of being written with the symbol of a rayed solar disc, now became spelled phonetically.
So even the symbol of the sun was destroyed and now only the name existed. Just like iconoclastic religion of Islam. Also, the phrase "O Sole God beside whom there is none" sounds like a familiar prayer with the Muslims, la ilaha illa anta... With the demise of Akhenaten, came the resurgence of the powerful polytheistic priesthood that preceded Akenaten.
How can it be possible that all of these nations have so similar monotheistic beliefs yet we some claim that they all developed independently? There are only two explanations: that all these nations had communication/common origin for religion or that monotheism is built in the societal fitra and monotheism truly can develop independently in multiple instances.
If they had a common origin, then that suggests that God did send prophets to each of these areas. If it is societal fitra, then this raises another question: what (or who) makes us practice circumcision? What (or who) makes us have the desire to worship, to adopt a religion?
Evidence 2: Not only did they practice monotheism, but other nations also independently practiced obscure Islamic traditions.
I'll try to keep this next bit a bit more brief. Basically there were traditions practiced by societies that can barely be explained with anthropological evolution and suggests common descent of religion (see what I did there?). I will take the example of the practice of circumcision.
Bukhaari and Muslim narrated that Abu Hurayrah said: The Messenger of Allaah (SA) said: “Ibraaheem (peace be upon him) circumcised himself when he was eighty years old, and he circumcised himself with an adze.”
Aboriginal Australians
All of Madagascar
Some Pasific Islanders
Western and Central and Eastern Africans (Tribal religions AND Abrahamic Faiths)
Muslims and Jews
The Xhosa in South Africa (Nelson Mandela tribe) and other southern African tribes
Jews (Jesus too)
South Koreans
Philippians
Really Ancient Europeans (38,000 to 11,000 BCE)
Pythagoras in Alexandria Egypt (before Jesus)
Ancient Egyptians 5000 years ago depicted it in hieroglyphs
The Aztecs
Pre-Islamic Arabs
| ||
There are some health benefits to it. It protects against infection and has sanitary properties. It seems really interesting that so many cultures are willing to perform such a painful surgery for the sake of health. Surely not all of the aforementioned cultures could have found the medical benefits to circumcision independent of each other.
But then you might question: well the only custom they shared was circumcision. The existence of the other religious ceremonies these other nations have, should refute your claim that a religious ceremony can be used as evidence to suggest urmonotheismus. Well, you’d be right, if this verse did not exist. Al-Hajj 67 says:
Unto each nation have We given sacred rites which they are to perform; so let them not dispute with thee of the matter, but summon thou unto thy Lord. Lo! thou indeed followest right guidance.
This implies that between nations of the past, it was possible for Muslims (i.e. monotheists who submitted to the will of their creator) to have differing rituals despite their theology remaining the same. For example, the Hajj was prescribed to the nation of Mohammad SAW and not to Musa AS.
So, could this behavior of circumcision be caused by religious reasons or is it simply societal fitra (natural societal disposition)? Punishments such as scalping (removing the scalp of a dead person as a trophy) developed independently between cultures as well, so does that mean it refutes my argument? Well, no. Scalping served a deranged purpose (as a trophy) whereas circumcision barely did.
The point is not that Islam is being practiced in all of the sites which practice circumcision. Rather, circumcision suggests that perhaps there were prophets whose messages degenerated over time or that there is a societal fitrah towards Islamic practices. I have discussed two evidences (prevalence of monotheism and obscure Islamic traditions) in support of the claim that there were messengers who proselytized people to Islam before Mohammad (SAW) to other nations. Now I will move on to my second claim in the next post which is "Monotheism is natural".
The point is not that Islam is being practiced in all of the sites which practice circumcision. Rather, circumcision suggests that perhaps there were prophets whose messages degenerated over time or that there is a societal fitrah towards Islamic practices. I have discussed two evidences (prevalence of monotheism and obscure Islamic traditions) in support of the claim that there were messengers who proselytized people to Islam before Mohammad (SAW) to other nations. Now I will move on to my second claim in the next post which is "Monotheism is natural".
Comments