Prof. ERNEST RENAN: Now let us make mention of a French man of ideas: Ernest Renan was born in 1239 [C.E. 1923] in the Treguier city of France. His father was a captain. He was five years old when he lost his father. He was raised by his mother and by his elder sister. Because his mother wanted him to be a man of religion, he was sent to the church college in his hometown. Here he was given an eff...icient religious education. His strong interest in the oriental languages won him a full command of the Arabic, Hebrew and Syrian languages. Later he entered the university, where he studied philosophy. As he made progress in educational areas and carried on very minute comparative studies on the German philosophy and the oriental literature, he observed some flaws in Christianity. By the time he was graduated from the university in 1848, at the age of twenty-five, he was entirely defiant towards the Christian religion, and he compiled his thoughts in his book titled ‘The Future of Knowledge’. Yet, because the book was of a rebellious nature, no printhouse dared to print it, and it was only forty years later, in 1890, that the book was printed. Renan’s primary objection was against the belief that Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was the ‘Son of God’. When he was appointed as a professor of philosophy in the university of Versailles, he began to gradually explain his thoughts on this subject. However, it was not till after he was appointed as a professor of the Hebrew language for the university of Collége de France that he voiced his most vigorous protest. By the time he finished his first class he had had the courage to say, “Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was a respectable human being superior to the other human beings. Yet he was never the son of Allâhu ta’âlâ.” This statement had the effect of a bomb. All the Catholics, and especially the Pope, rose up. The Pope officially excommunicated Renan before the entire world. The French government had to dismiss him from office. Yet the world was already resounding with Renan’s statements. Great numbers of people sided with him. He wrote books, such as ‘Essays on the History of Religions’, ‘Studies on Criticism and Morals’, ‘Discourses on Philosophy’ and ‘Life of Jesus’, and his books sold like hot cakes. Upon this the French Academy accepted him as a member (in 1878). Also, the French government invited him back to office and appointed him as the director of Collége de France. Renan observed Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ as a human being in his work ‘Life of Jesus’. According to Renan, “Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ is a human being like us. His mother Meryem (Mary) was betrothed to a carpenter named Yûsuf (Joseph). Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ was a superior human being, so much so that, the statements that he made when he was only a small child were a source of astonishment for many a scholar. Allâhu ta’âlâ deemed him as worthy of prophethood and gave him this duty. Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ never said that he was the ‘Son of God’. This is a slander fabricated by priests.” The contention between Catholic priests and Renan continued for a long time. While the Catholics accused him of blasphemy, he in his turn indicted them for their mendacity and hypocrisy. Renan was saying, “The real Nazarene religion is based on the belief that Allâhu ta’âlâ is one and that Îsâ ‘alaihis-salâm’ is only a human being and a prophet.” Before Renan had died, he had prepared a written will enjoining from a religious ceremony in the church and prohibiting priests from attending his funeral procession. So, when he died in 1892, a crowded congregation containing only friends who loved him and people who admired him attended his funeral procession. LAMARTINE (Alphonso Marie Louis de): One of France’s universally known poets and statesmen, Lamartine (1204 [C.E. 1790]-1285 [C.E. 1869]) made official journeys through Europe and America, which gave him the opportunity to have been to Turkey, in the time of Sultan Abd-ulmajîd Khân. He was admitted in an utterly friendly manner by the Pâdishâh (Ottoman Emperor), and was also presented with a farm within the state of Aydın, (which is in the western part of Turkey). See what he says about Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’ in his book Histoire de Turquie (History of Turkey): “Was Muhammad ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wa sallam’ a false prophet? We cannot think so after studying his works and history. For false prophethood means hypocrisy. As falsehood does not have the power of trueness, likewise hypocrisy does not have convincing capacity. “In mechanics the range of something thrown depends on the power of the thrust. By the same token, the power of a certain source of spiritual inspiration is assessed with the work it accomplishes. A religion, (i.e. Islam), which has carried so heavy a burden, which has spread to such distances, and which has maintained its full power for such a long time, cannot be a lie. It has to be genuine and convincing. Muhammad’s ‘alaihis-salâm’ life; his efforts; his courage in attacking and destroying the superstitions and idols in his country; his bravery and valor in standing against the fury of a fire-worshipping nation; his thirteen year endurance to the various attacks, insults and persecutions inflicted on him in Mekka, among his own citizens; his migration to Medina; his incessant encouragements, preaches and admonitions; the holy wars he fought against overwhelmingly superior enemy forces; his spirit for victory; the superhuman confidence he felt at times of greatest afflictions; the patience and trust he displayed even in victory; the determination he showed in convincing others; his endless devotion in worships; his sacred communings with Allâhu ta’âlâ; his death, and the continuation of his fame, honour and victories after his death; all these factual events (and many others untold) indicate that he was by no means a liar, but, on the contrary, an owner of great belief ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wa sallam’. “It was this belief and this trust in his Creator that made him put forward a two-staged credo: The first stage consisted of the belief that ‘there is one eternal being, who is Allah;’ and the second stage inculcated that ‘idols are not gods.’ In the first stage he informed the Arabs about the existence of Allâhu ta’âlâ, who is one and whom they had not known until that time; and in the second stage he shook from their hands the idols which they had looked on as gods until that time. In short, at a single stroke with the sword he broke the false gods and idols and replaced them with the belief in ‘One Allah’. “This is Muhammad ‘alaihis-salâm’, the philosopher, the orator, the Prophet, the law-giver, the warrior, the enchanter of human thoughts, the maker of new principles of belief, the great man who established twenty gigantic world empires and one great Islamic empire and civilization ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wa sallam’. “Let all the criteria used by humanity for the judgement and evaluation of greatness be applied. Will anyone be found superior to him? Impossible.” ‘sall-Allâhu ta’âlâ alaihi wa sallam’. I wish to free myself from fancies and whims; My eccentric nafs[1] will not leave me alone. I wish to free what is good from the bad; My eccentric nafs will not leave me alone. I wish to discipline my essence; I wish to know what’s good for me, ’n what’s bad; I wish to come to my senses; My eccentric nafs will not leave me alone. [1] Nafs is a malignant force in human nature. It is recalcitrant, stupid, and evil. It always urges man to behave against the commandments of Allâhu ta’âlâ. It is the only creature whose all wishes are against itself.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 08:08:11 +0000
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