Allah Kills Women, Infants & Animals! Pt. 3
I arrive at the final segment of my challenge: Allah Kills Women, Infants & Animals! Pt. 2.
Muhammad Catapults Women and Children
The Islamic reports claim that Muhammad had his jihadis learn to make and employ catapults to destroy the strongholds of his enemies:
Ibn Humayd–Salamah–Ibn Ishaq: When the defeated men of Thaqif came to al-Ta’if, they shut the gates of the city and made preparations for war. Neither ‘Urwah b. Mas’ud nor Ghaylan b. Salamah witnessed Hunayn or the siege of al-Ta’if [because] they were in Jurash learning the use of the testudo (al-dabbab and al-dubur) and the catapult (al-majaniq). (The History of al-Tabari: The Last Years of the Prophet, translated and annotated by Ismail K. Poonawala [State University of New York Press (SUNY), Albany, NY 1990], Volume IX (9), p. 20; emphasis mine)
… The Messenger of God besieged Thaqif and fought them bitterly. Both sides shot arrows at each other170 until the day when the wall of al-Ta’if was stormed (shadkhah).171 [That day] a number of the Messenger of God’s companions went under a testudo and advanced up to the wall [to make a breach in it].172 Thaqif showered them with scraps of hot iron, so they came out from under [the testudo], and Thaqif shot them with arrows, killing some of them. The Messenger of God then ordered that the vineyards of Thaqif be cut down, and the men fell upon them, cutting them down.
170. Ibn Hisham (Sirah IV, 126) adds: The Messenger of God shot at them with catapults. A person whom I trust related to me that the Messenger of God was the first to use the catapult in Islam, as he employed it against the people of al-Ta’if…
172. Addition from Hisch, Ibn Ishaq, and Waqidi. The testudo and the catapult were brought by the Muslims, cf. Waqidi, Maghazi, III, 923, 927; Baladhuri, Ansab, I, 366, 367. (Ibid., 23; bold emphasis mine)
Al-Waqidi stated, “The Messenger of God then turned his attention to the inhabitants of al-Akhbiyya, and of al-Watih and al-Sulalim two forts of Abu al-Huqayq. These they defended strenuously, having been joined by all those who had been defeated from al-Natat to al-Shiqq. These joined with the rest in defending al-Qamus and al-Katiba – a very strong fortress – and in al-Watih and al-Sulalim. Ultimately they stopped looking down and the Messenger of God erected a catapult to use against them. (Ibn Kathir, The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Al-Sira Al-Nabawiyya, translated by Professor Trevor Le Gassick, reviewed by Muneer Fareed [Garnet Publishing, 2000], Volume 3, pp. 269; bold emphasis mine)
Ibn Hisham stated that he also shot at them using catapults.
A trustworthy source related to me that the Prophet was the first in Islam to fire a catapult, using them against the people of al-Ta’if. (Ibid., pp. 472; bold emphasis mine)
Al-Waqidi quoted his elders similarly. It was his view that it was Salman al-Farsi who suggested using the catapult and that he himself operated it. It is said that he brought it forward, along with the two testudos. But God knows best. (Ibid., p. 473; bold emphasis mine)
An-Nizar was the most powerful fort, and the Jews came to the established conviction that it was too immune to be stormed, so they deemed it a safe place for their children and women. The Muslims, however, were not dismayed but dragged on the siege, but because standing at a commanding top, the fort was impregnable. The Jews inside were too cowardly to meet the Muslims in open fight but rather hurled a shower of arrows and stones on the attackers. Considering this situation, the Prophet ordered that catapults be used and these proved effective and caused cracks in the ramparts providing an easy access into the heart of the fort, where the Jews were put to rout and fled in all directions leaving behind their women and children…. When the Prophet, along with his army, moved to this part of Khaibar, Al-Katiba, he laid a heavy siege to it for fourteen days with the Jews barricading themselves inside their forts. When he was about to use the catapults, the Jews realized that they would perish, therefore, they asked for a negotiable peace treaty.” (Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri, Ar-Raheeq Al-Makhtum (The Sealed Nectar): Biography of the Noble Prophet Revised Edition [Darussalam Publications, January 2002], The Conquest of Khaibar, p. 438; bold emphasis mine)
“To be far from the arrow-range, the Muslims had to ascend to a higher location and camped on — i.e. to what is now called At-Ta’if Mosque.
“The Prophet set up a catapult and shelled the castle. Eventually a gap was made in the castle wall, through which a number of Muslims managed to pass into the castle, sheltered by a wooden tank, with the purpose of setting fire into it. Anyway, the enemy poured down molten hot iron on them. Affected by this the Muslims stepped out of the tank and were again exposed to arrow shooting and consequently some of them were killed.” (Ibid., The Third Stage, The Tai’f Campaign, p. 482; bold emphasis mine)
Seeing that such places would include infants, children, women, and the elderly among them, this means Muhammad had no problem catapulting and killing them.
Jihadis have taken this practice of Muhammad as a license to catapult the strongholds of unbelievers:
“The sixth rule of this command has to do with the procedure to be followed in charging and fighting with the enemy. During a siege of the enemy, the army commander may set up large and small catapults, for the Messenger of God attacked the Ta’if population with the ram. He may also demolish their houses over their heads, and set them on fire. If he deems it better to cut down their date palms and other trees to weaken them and make it easier to vanquish them by force, or to seek a truce, he should do so, but he may not cut them down if there is nothing to be gained by such an action. When God’s Messenger had the vineyards of the people of Ta’if cut down, he prompted their conversion to Islam. In his war with the Banu al-Nadir, he ordered a certain kind of palm tree known as the ‘yellow’, the pit of which could be seen through the bark, to be cut down. As it was dearer to them than a slave, they were heartbroken and grief-stricken and said to them, ‘You have cut down some palm trees, and burnt others.’ … When the Messenger of God did that to them, Muslims found it hard to accept this action, and said to him: ‘O, Messenger of God, are we going to be rewarded for the trees we have cut down?’ Then God, Most High is He, revealed the verse: ‘Whatever tender tress (lina) you cut down or left standing upon their roots, that was by God’s leave, that He might confound the transgressors’ (Qur’an 59:5). … He [the commander] has the right to dam their water and cut it off from them, EVEN IF THERE WERE WOMEN AND CHILDREN AMONG THEM, because that is one of the most effective means of defeating them both by force and by truce. If one of them, suffering from thirst, asks for water, the commander has the option to give him or not to, just as he has the choice of killing him or letting him be. Those of them he kills, he should only hide from view, but does not have to shroud them, for the Messenger of God ordered the dead of Badr to be thrown into a dump site, and their shrouding was not necessary. None of them however may be burned alive or dead; said the Messenger of God, ‘Do not torture God’s creatures with God’s torture.’ Abu Bakr burned some apostates, probably because he had not yet learned of this ordinance.” (Al-Mawardi, The Ordinances of Government (al-Ahkam al-Sultaniyya w’al-Wilayat al-Diniyya), translated by Wafaa H. Wahba [Garnet Publishing Limited, 8 Southern Court, South Street Reading, RGI 4QS, UK: Paperback Edition, reprinted 2006], IV. On Appointing War Commanders, pp. 56-58: http://books.google.com/books?id=QbS28B08KcsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false; bold and capital emphasis mine)
To compound the problem, the so-called sound ahadith state that Muhammad didn’t know whether the children of believers or unbelievers who die would go to hell or not:
Abu Huraira reported Allah's Messenger as saying: No babe is born but upon Fitra. It is his parents who make him a Jew or a Christian or a Polytheist. A person said: Allah’s Messenger, what is your opinion if they were to die before that (before reaching the age of adolescence when they can distinguish between right and wrong)? He said: It is Allah alone Who knows what they would be doing. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, 6426: https://sunnah.com/muslim:2658e)
Abu Huraira reported from Allah's Messenger many ahadith and one amongst them is that he is reported to have said: An infant is born according to his (true) nature. It is his parents who make him a Jew, a Christian, just as a she-camel gives birth to its young ones. Do you find any deficiency in their limbs? You cut their ears (i. e. after birth). They (the Companions of the Holy Prophet) said: What is your opinion about him who dies in infancy? Thereupon Allah’s Apostle said: It is Allah alone Who knows best what they would be doing. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, 6428: https://sunnah.com/muslim:2658g)
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger was asked about the children of the polytheists who die young. Thereupon Allah’s Apostle (may peace be upon him) said: It is Allah Who knows what they would be doing. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, 6432: https://sunnah.com/muslim:2660)
‘A’isha, the mother of the believers, said that Allah's Messenger was called to lead the funeral prayer of a child of the Ansar. I said: Allah’s Messenger, there is happiness for this child who is a bird from the birds of Paradise for it committed no sin nor has he reached the age when one can commit sin. He said: 'A'isha, per adventure, IT MAY BE OTHERWISE, because God created for Paradise those who are fit for it WHILE THEY WERE YET IN THEIR FATHER’S LOINS and created for Hell those who are to go to Hell. He created them for Hell WHILE THEY WERE YET IN THEIR FATHER'S LOINS. (Sahih Muslim, Book 033, Number 6436: https://sunnah.com/muslim:2662c)
This means that Muhammad knowingly risked the lives of these children by condemning to hell infants who didn’t even enjoy this earthly life, who were now being sent to undergo eternal torture!
Allah Sanctioned the Wars of the Old Testament
Finally, Muhammad believed that it was Allah who commanded that the wars mentioned in the Old Testament should be carried out:
O my people! Remember Allah's favour unto you, how He placed among you prophets, and He made you kings, and gave you that (which) He gave not to any (other) of (His) creatures. O my people! Go into the holy land which Allah hath ordained for you. Turn not in flight, for surely ye turn back as losers: They said: O Moses! Lo! a giant people (dwell) therein and lo! we go not in till they go forth from thence. When they go forth from thence, then we will enter (not till then). Then out spake two of those who feared (their Lord, men) unto whom Allah had been gracious: Enter in upon them by the gate, for if ye enter by it, lo! ye will be victorious. So put your trust (in Allah) if ye are indeed believers. They said: O Moses! We will never enter (the land) while they are in it. So go thou and thy Lord and fight! We will sit here. He said: My Lord! I have control of none but myself and my brother, so distinguish between us and the wrong-doing folk. (Their Lord) said: For this the land will surely be forbidden them for forty years that they will wander in the earth, bewildered. So grieve not over the wrongdoing folk. S. 5:20-26 Pickthall
Here we have Muhammad relating the story of God commanding the Israelites to enter into the promised land and slaughter its inhabitants, without a negative word about the supposed injustice of God ordering them to do so. And:
Hast thou not Turned thy vision to the Chiefs of the Children of Israel after (the time of) Moses? They said to a prophet (That was) among them: "Appoint for us a king, that we May fight in the cause of God." He said: "Is it not possible, if ye were commanded to fight, that that ye will not fight?" They said: "How could we refuse to fight in the cause of God, seeing that we were turned out of our homes and our families?" but when they were commanded to fight, they turned back, except a small band among them. But God Has full knowledge of those who do wrong. Their Prophet said to them: "God hath appointed Talut as king over you." They said: "How can he exercise authority over us when we are better fitted than he to exercise authority, and he is not even gifted, with wealth in abundance?" He said: "God hath Chosen him above you, and hath gifted him abundantly with knowledge and bodily prowess: God Granteth His authority to whom He pleaseth. God careth for all, and He knoweth all things." And (further) their Prophet said to them: "A Sign of his authority is that there shall come to you the Ark of the covenant, with (an assurance) therein of security from your Lord, and the relics left by the family of Moses and the family of Aaron, carried by angels. In this is a symbol for you if ye indeed have faith." When Talut set forth with the armies, he said: "God will test you at the stream: if any drinks of its water, He goes not with my army: Only those who taste not of it go with me: A mere sip out of the hand is excused." but they all drank of it, except a few. When they crossed the river,- He and the faithful ones with him,- they said: "This day We cannot cope with Goliath and his forces." but those who were convinced that they must meet God, said: "How oft, by God's will, Hath a small force vanquished a big one? God is with those who steadfastly persevere. When they advanced to meet Goliath and his forces, they prayed: "Our Lord! Pour out constancy on us and make our steps firm: Help us against those that reject faith." By God's will they routed them; and David slew Goliath; and God gave him power and wisdom and taught him whatever (else) He willed. And did not God Check one set of people by means of another, the earth would indeed be full of mischief: But God is full of bounty to all the worlds. S. 2:246-251 Y. Ali
The Quran recounts the story of the people of Israel asking the prophet Samuel for a king, Saul’s appointment as a king, Saul’s wars, and David killing Goliath (cf. 1 Samuel 8-17). What is interesting about all this is that even though the Quranic narration presupposes the biblical account of God’s commission to wipe out the Amalekites it nowhere condemns this Divine decree. It does not say that Saul killing women and children was an evil thing or that the Israelites tampered with the story since this isn’t how it happened; nor does it deny that these things did happen. Its very mention in the Quran without any qualification presupposes that the author of the Quran had absolutely no problem with these wars since he believed that God sanctioned them. So why does Zaatari go against the teachings of his own book (as false as it is) and attack the Bible for something with which the Quran implicitly attests?
There is more.
Note what this next report says regarding Muhammad’s view of the prophet Joshua’s battles against the enemies of God:
Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "A prophet amongst the prophets carried out a holy military expedition, so he said to his followers, 'Anyone who has married a woman and wants to consummate the marriage, and has not done so yet, should not accompany me; nor should a man who has built a house but has not completed its roof; nor a man who has sheep or she camels and is waiting for the birth of their young ones.' So, the prophet carried out the expedition and when he reached that town at the time or nearly at the time of the 'Asr prayer, he said to the sun, 'O sun! You are under Allah's Order and I am under Allah's Order. O Allah! Stop it (i.e. the sun) from setting.' It was stopped till Allah made him victorious. Then he collected the booty and the fire came to burn it, but it did not burn it. He said (to his men), 'Some of you have stolen something from the booty. So one man from every tribe should give me a pledge of allegiance by shaking hands with me.' (They did so and) the hand of a man got stuck over the hand of their prophet. Then that prophet said (to the man), 'The theft has been committed by your people. So all the persons of your tribe should give me the pledge of allegiance by shaking hands with me.' The hands of two or three men got stuck over the hand of their prophet and he said, "You have committed the theft.' Then they brought a head of gold like the head of a cow and put it there, and the fire came and consumed the booty. The Prophet added: Then Allah saw our weakness and disability, so he made booty legal for us." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 4, Book 53, Number 353: https://sunnah.com/bukhari:3124)
Here Muhammad conflates several biblical stories, namely, Moses' instruction in Deuteronomy 20:1-9, and Joshua’s expeditions against Ai and the king of Jerusalem (cf. Joshua 7 and 10). These are the very expeditions where God commanded Joshua and the Israelites to wipe out everything that breathes!
Hence, if this hadith is to be accepted as reliable, and Sunnis do believe that it is authentic since it comes from the sahih collection of al-Bukhari, then this again shows that Muhammad had no problems with God’s orders to the Israelites to annihilate everything that breathes, including women, children, and livestock. So why should Sunnis have a problem?
This series of posts exposes the duplicity and dishonesty of Muslim apologists who condemn the Bible for ordering the annihilation of entire populations, while ignoring and/or justifying the Islamic sources which teach likewise. It also exposes their oft-repeated lie that Islam prohibits the killing of women, infants, and children.
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