In Sura 53:19 we read Have you considered al Lat and al- Uzza and Manat the third other? This was once followed by the words Verily they are the exalted maidens (gharaniq, also translated cranes) and their intercession is to be hoped for (is approved in another version). The earliest authority on the life of Mohammed (i.e. Ibn Hisham) asserts that these words were uttered by Mohammed at the instigation of Satan. (Islam, page 189 and New Light in the Life ot Muhammad. page 38 by A. Guillaume). The Quran has made a slight alteration and a significant omission to the first text: instead of saying By al Lat, etc., it reads, Have you considered al-Lat, etc. and the sentence about the exalted maidens is dropped altogether. Subsequently Gabriel came to the prophet and denied that he had revealed the word to him. (Siratul Rasool as revised by Ibn Hisham, (vs. 239), Tabari pp. 1 192 ff, al Suhayli, p. 229, Guillaume). The polytheists of Mecca were delighted about this, for these words were those of the chant of the Quraish as they processed around the Kaaba, but some companions doubted and left Mohammed. Who were the three maidens? The three principle idols in the Kaaba of pre-Islamic Mecca. (ibid.). Strange as it may sound, Muslim theologians converted this rather embarrassing account of interpolation or abrogation (however one looks at it) into a story of the victory of light over darkness.
Posted on: Sun, 01 Jun 2014 08:55:09 +0000
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