Cain and Abel

 Manslaughter has several degrees of seriousness depending on the victim, as exemplified through the story of Adam's 2 sons, whom the Quran does not name as it eloquently and concisely draws its audience's attention to the story's core precepts without distracting it with names of persons and places

5:27"And relate to them the story of the two sons of Adam with truth". 

It is interesting to note the repetitve stress on re-establishment of the truth, most often when the Quran recounts an incident already known for long by its addressees but transmitted in a convoluted and/or purposefully obscured manner.

As will be shown below, the Quran sheds light on at least 2 crucial events within the whole narrative that are strikingly absent from the HB. These details have important implications and ramifications not only for the protagonists but for all mankind; the reason for the rejection of one brother's offering, derogatorily referred to with al akhar. It means "remaining", he remains after first introducing the virtuous brother. The word also creates a kind of disdain and distancing between the sinful character and the audience/reader. The second issue the Quranic narrative tacles is the killing of the other brother, how it was unjustifiable from every possible angle.

For brevity's sake, the 2 brothers will be given their Biblical names.

Abel first sought reforming his brother. He pointed that the offering was rejected due to his sinfulness or lack of piety (the divine approval/disapproval might have manifested itself through inspiration, either to Abel or his father the prophet Adam). He should thus focus on his inner self, reassessing his spirituality and mend his ways instead of being envious 5:27. The nature of the offering in itself is not important, so long as it is done with sincerity and God-consciousness, hence the Quran's silence on the things both brothers offered

 22:37"There does not reach Allah their flesh nor their blood, but to Him is acceptable the guarding (against evil) on your part; thus has He made them subservient to you, that you may magnify Allah because He has guided you aright; and give good news to those who do good (to others)".

 

This is a major point driven through by the Quran. In the HB, God disdainfully rejects Cain's offering for no other reason that

Gen4:3"Cain brought the fruit of the soil" 

while Abel 

"brought the firstborn of his flocks and the fattest, and the Lord turned to Abel and to his offering"

This sacrificial rite is no more than a symbol of a conscious, selfless offering in God's name of something one cherishes as necessary and valuable. It is not an attempt to "appease" Him who is far above anything that resembles human emotion, nothing of His creation can disturb Him 35:44. Ultimately anything offered to Allah in God consciousness counts as of equal value and merit than a blood offering as stated in 22:37 above. The primary issue is to remain aware of Allah during this universal rite

 22:34"To every people did We appoint rites, that they might celebrate the name of God over the sustenance He gave them" 

The Quran recognizes the universality of this rite, and then restores it to the right, original course; glorifying God alone, first and foremost.

It is when one loses Allah's pleasure from sight in the process, such as by having one's intentions polluted with sinfulness as occurred to Cain, or by having other deities or motives in mind, that the offering is invalidated. The merit does not lie in the intrinsic value or nature of the offering. Even fasting for Allah's sake by the one who cannot afford an offering is a valid substitute 2:196. 

Although the HB echoes that reality when it says 

Ps50:8-14"..Will I eat the flesh of bulls or do I drink the blood of he-goats? Slaughter for God a confession and pay the Most High your vows". 

 Yet in other places, YHWH is depicted as physically delecting with the offering

Lev1:9"Then, the kohen shall cause to [go up in] smoke all [of the animal] on the altar, as a burnt offering, a fire offering, [with] a pleasing fragrance to the Lord". 

This is reminiscent of ancient mythologies, more particularily Babylonian, where the gods would partake in the offering together with the offerer. In the HB numbers18 the priests making the offering are the only ones allowed to eat from the dead animal. Gods do not sit on the same table as the laymen. The Quran in sharp contrast allows to

22:28-36"eat of them and feed the poor man who is contented and the beggar; thus have We made them subservient to you, that you may be grateful".

Finally, regardless of Cain's decision, Abel said he will not attempt murdering his brother in return, on account of his deep God-consciousness. Cain is now left with no reason to carry on with his death threats. Abel this way left the entire burden of manslaughter on his brother, not sharing any responsibility for having caused this action, for example by threatening Cain back with death, or fighting back so fiercely that he puts Cain's life in danger

5:28"If you will stretch forth your hand towards me to slay me, I am not one to stretch forth my hand towards you to slay you surely I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds". 

Cain apparently did not show any sign of reform, prompting Abel, despite his initial pleas, to openly declare his enmity towards his brother, making it clear to him what would be the eternal consequences of what he was about to commit

5:29"Surely I want that you should bear my sin and your sin, and so you would be of the inmates of the fire, and this is the recompense of the unjust". 

Abel wanted his brother to carry the burden of "my sin and your sin". It is speaking of 2 specific sins, in the singular. The context shows what these 2 specific sins are; Abel's unjust murder ie "my sin", and Cain's sinfulness, his refusal to reform himself despite the repeated pleas of his brother, leading to him being bent on murdering his brother ie "your sin". Certain commentators have erroneously assumed the word was in the plural, concluding that the murder transfered the victim's past sins to the criminal.

Again, Abel at no point denies he will defend himself and fight back if he sees Cain coming with the purpose of realizing his death threats. He didnt say "I wont defend myself and will let you do whatever you want with me" he only said "I do not intend, under any circumstances, to kill you".

 

Despite his brother's increased admonitions, from gentle pleas and pointing the wrong ways, to threatening him with hellfire should he commit the crime, Cain slew Abel. The victim was not only innocent of any wrongdoing, but did not even raise his hand with the intention of killing him while he defended himself. What made matters worse, Cain knew beforehand that Abel would never under any circumstance pose a threat to his life. With his crime, Cain had established an evil precedent among the sons of Adam. This precedent has found its way all throughout the history of mankind, down to our present days

"The Prophet said, "None is killed unjustly, but the first son of Adam will have a part of its burden." Sufyan said, "...a part of its blood because he was the first to establish the tradition of murdering". 

The hadith speaks of the concept of misleading others into sin. We will never establish the chain of events linking our current experiences and actions all the way to the first sons of Adam. But this hadith tells us the connection exists, so much so that whenever an unjust murder is comitted, Cain is burdened with SOME of that sin, not all of it. This is simple common sense as one cannot be held fully responsible for a crime he was enticed into comitting. It does not take away one's responsibility in the sin, rather determines the level of involvement of every individual.

God knows very well those who conceal or misconstrue the Truth 41:40 and such sin causes the rejection from God's grace, rejection by men and angels alltogether 2:161. This type of human and spiritual injustice is "fitna", not based on any reasonable evidence and knowledge but instead on inner desires, wordly interests, blind attachement to inherited ways, and the Quran logically explains that the misleaders shall bear their own burden of sins as well as the responsibility of misleading others -intentionally or not- into sin 4:85,16:25,29:12-13 without diminishing from the moral responsibility and consequent requital of those they mislead 14:21,43:36-9. Once more, misleaders do not take away the share of responsibility of a person in his sin, because none bears the burden of other people's sins 17:13-15,53:38-42. Misleaders share their own burdens in those specific sins which they enticed others into committing. Thus each one shares his full burden of responsibility within one and the same sin. This why the Quran keeps warning to guard

36:45"against that which is before you and that which is behind you"

  the "before" referring to the action one is about to perform and "behind" is the consequence of this action, referred to as the footsteps one leaves behind

36:12,37:69-70,43:22"they say: We found our fathers on a course, and surely we are guided by their footsteps". 

There is a reason why, in sura fatiha, we seek example from people of the past confirmed to have succeeded spiritually, hence the use of the past alladhina anaamta alayhim.

This story of Adam's 2 sons establishes that in the next life, punishment is a matter of degrees, where a murderer can get a more severe punishment depending upon the person he killed. The one slain was innocent of any wrongdoing, even warned his brother that was about to kill him, tried reforming him, and finally pointed the grave consequences of his sins. But this familial tragedy was about to repeat itself, as the murderous Israelites were trying by all means to put an end to their Ishmaelite brother's life, despite his calls to reforms, there being no reasons for them to threaten and attack him, and his warnings of hellfire should they carry on with their deadly intentions. The Jews of the prophet's time were not only trying to kill a man innocent of any wrongdoing against them and in general, but were trying to kill a prophet of God as their forefathers tried doing and sometimes succeeded against the prophets raised from among themselves and who called them to adhere to their own Books which they had thrown behind their backs and forgotten. The story of the 2 sons of Adam ends with a reminder of a lesson they knew very well

5:32"For this reason did We write upon the children of Israel that whoever slays a soul, unless it be for manslaughter or for mischief in the land, it is as though he slew all men; and whoever keeps it alive, it is as though he kept alive all men".

Human actions are predetermined?

The Quranic concept of attributing to Allah the consequence of a man's actions, even for the most insignificant things like the clothes man wears, reminds man that the laws of the universe are caused then allowed by Him, He is the only Independent Cause 

11:56"there is no creature except that He is holding its forelock". 

He "causes" the spiritual senses to be sealed, as one often reads. In Quran terminology this means He has established and allowed a process in which willful, repeated transgression leads to a progressive dimming of the innate spiritual receptivity 

91:7-10"And (by) a soul and He Who proportioned it. And inspired it with its wickedness and its virtue. One has succeeded whoever purified it. And one has failed whoever corrupted it". 

This higher reality in terms of causality is similar to Allah "causing" physical death as a result of repeated auto-mutilation. God could, against their freewill, prevent people from sinning 18:65-82,6:107,112,137, force them to believe 2:253,5:48,6:35,149,11:118, let them live their sinful life 111:1-5 or interrupt the system of freedom of choice at anytime 11:36, and all is done according to His Knowledge, Wisdom and Justice.

 Even a person's sins can be said to be ultimately from Allah, but without precluding moral responsibility. Sins come in result of a chain of causality established, allowed and sustained at all times by Allah; Neglect and disobedience to one's innate virtuous potential leads to heedlessness of the external signs until transgression occurs. Allah "caused" the person to sin by allowing the process which fully integrates moral responsibility. 

Therefore nothing happens, good or bad, unless Allah wills it/allows it, and it is as a clear reminder of this supreme reality that in some instances speaking of human will, Allah's will immidiately follows 

81:28-29,76:29-30"Surely this is a reminder, so whoever pleases takes to his Lord a way, And you do not please except that Allah please, surely Allah is Knowing, Wise". 

This basically is one of the pillars of Quranic teachings, striking a balance between divine will and human effort. The sequence in the verses of sura takwir above make it clear, in the system of causality established, allowed and sustained at each instant by God, and which intricately integrates moral responsibility, humans need to be resolved upon an action, then God either allows or not that intent to be executed. Similarily it states in the HB in 

Prov16:9"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord prepares his step". 

God has decreed that man shall earn in this world and/or the next the consequences of his freechoices, while remaining ultimately subservient to His will, which is predicated upon justice, wisdom and mercy 

10:44"Allah does not do any injustice to men, but men are unjust to themselves". 

As similarily put by the prophet Elihu in the Hebrew Bible

 Job34:10-11"far be it for God [to commit] wickedness or for the Almighty to [commit] injustice. For He recompenses man for his deed, and according to man's way He causes him to find". 

Some reports depict the prophet as encapsulating that notion. When people came asking him whether it is right to inflict punishment in the hereafter when one acts upon a preordained evil deed 

"Thereupon, he said: Of course, it happens as it is decreed by destiny and preordained for them, and this view is confirmed by this verse of the Book of Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.." 

And the prophet went on quoting the main verse that epitomizes the Quranic concept of freewill and ingrained cognizance of God 

91:7-10"And (by) a soul and He Who proportioned it. And inspired it with its wickedness and its virtue. One has succeeded whoever purified it. And one has failed whoever corrupted it". 

The "wickedness" is the ability to do evil and the "virtue" is the opposite. Both potentials are within human power and will, as stated in the second part of the verse. Another hadith illustrates that point 

"Evil one is he who is evil in the womb of his mother and the good one is he who takes a lesson from the (fate of) others". 

One is ingrained with the ability for evil, right in the womb. This is the very essence of freewill. Once born, the person then either chooses to do good by "taking lessons" or refuses to do so by developing his evil potential instead. God has thus preordained that one should strive to purify one's soul, with the strength of one's inner positive potential.

God's foreknowledge of a volitional act includes that the act must be done freely; God knows that I will do a certain thing by my own free will. Since the knowledge of God does not fail, my action has to be a free action caused by my free will. Should my action prove to be a product of compulsion, the knowledge of God would fail.

In another hadith, the prophet reportedly says 

"Allah has written for the son of Adam his inevitable share of adultery whether he is aware of it or not: The adultery of the eye is the looking (at something which is sinful to look at), and the adultery of the tongue is to utter (what it is unlawful to utter), and the innerself wishes and longs for (adultery) and the private parts turn that into reality or refrain from submitting to the temptation". 

We see again, that God's foreknowledge of these different types of adultery includes man's freedom of choice. He either turns temptation into reality or refrains from it.

The prophet Solomon's sexual excesses?

The story that the prophet Solomon had vowed he would sleep with several of his wives in one night, is known for its internal incoherences. Various reports number his wives as much as 60, 90, 99 or even 100, with whom he all had sexual relations in one night. 

In hadith science, when multiple versions of a report having the same narrator chain give different numbers everytime, the understanding is that the number was remembered differently by the narrators because of it being insignificant to the purports of the prophetic saying. 

Abu Hurairah is the sole narrator of this hadith and there is no suggestion that he heard it from the Prophet on multiple occasions, meaning the latter cannot be the reason of the contradiction. What might have happenned is the prophet spoke on one occasion of Solomon's vow to sleep with an unspecified large number of his wives in one night, as well as the number of wives he had in total. The narrators might have mixed the 2 statements.

The prophet forgets to say "Inshallah"?

Reliance on Allah must be an established mindframe, in all endeavors 

18:23"And do not say of anything: Surely I will do it tomorrow, Unless Allah pleases". 

The phrase "In sha Allah" means that the action is predicated upon Allah's will. When an action is predicated upon Allah's will, it could either mean that Allah may or may not allow its fulfillement, or that the fulfillement of a certain action is willed by Allah but the WHEN is only known to Him 

48:27"Certainly Allah had shown to His Messenger the vision with truth: you shall most certainly enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah pleases, in security.."

Relying on Allah in all one's endeavours as well as in times of distress and fear, is the true spiritual attitude of every righteous believer 2:177,23:97,67:29 as exemplified with such eminent personalities as Nuh, Ismail, Jacob, Moses, Shuayb or Mary 2:67,11:47,12:67-8,19:18,28:27,37:102 as well as Muhammad who was taught the prayers of sura al-falaq and sura al-nas, sought refuge with God and relied on Him alone despite all outward preparations and precautions, knowing the outcome of things is utterly dependant on God.

The hadith quoted in some books of tafsir saying that the revelation of the sura 18 came much later than the prophet promised his opponents, as a reproof because the prophet did not utter the phrase "if God wills", presents several internal incoherences. 

It firstly has  unreliable and unknown narrators in its chain. Then it says for instance that once revelation came 15 days later, it contained a rebuke to the prophet. No such reproach exists in sura kahf. Nor are there any traces in any tradition, authentic or else, of the supposed rumors due to the prophet's incapacity to answer the following day as he had promised. Furthermore no link exists between the verse upon which the tafsir and narration are based (18:23-4) and the question asked later on concerning Dhul Qarnayn 18:83. The verse teaching to never plan anything before relying on God 18:23-4 and upon which the narration is based, is a parenthetical statement inserted in the flow of the discourse about the youths of the cave. It is connected to the previous verse which is about refraining to research into things known only to God, so in the same way one should not make plans for the future without acknowledging that certainty in all matters only belongs to God.

The Apostle Paul in the Quran?

After Jesus' salvation from his enemies, the Quran outlined the punishment to his rejectors, in line with the sunna of Allah on the destruction of the rejectors of His messengers sent with clear signs. A similar hypothetical scenario is given in 43:41 where the prophet is told that should he be taken away or even eventually martyred as happenned to previous prophets 36:26-32 the divine law of retribution against a rejecting nation will still be applied. But Allah desired otherwise with the prophet Muhammad 

43:42"We will certainly show you that which We have promised them; for surely We are the possessors of full power over them".

Among the punishements the Israelites had to face in this very world 3:56, they were subdued to the followers of Jesus until the Day of Resurrection 

61:14,3:55"and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the day of resurrection". 

Allah is addressing Jesus and is speaking of the dominion of those who follow him over his enemies. It isnt speaking in terms of proselytising success, as is alluded to in Acts with Jesus posthumously telling his missionaries they will have the power to disseminate Christianity in all corners of the world. The early gentile converts from around the region had no enmity towards Jesus nor his followers. The verse is speaking in terms of dominion of one group above another, through subduing them, not assimilation

 "So a party of the children of Israel believed and another party disbelieved; then We aided those who believed against their enemy, and they became uppermost". 

This dominance is granted to all those who claim to be his followers, whether they are from those who call themselves Christians, or from those ascribing to the beliefs of the earlier sects that believed in Jesus. The common denominator between all of them being, believing in Jesus and in Allah. Besides prevailing in a wordly sense, the followers of Jesus have also been granted spiritual victory. His teachings, despite the very few original adherents to them, regardless of the amount of falsehood that later were grafted unto them, were successfully disseminated, against the will of Jesus' enemies, whether contemporaries to him or those that still hate him today. This favor of God is an obvious reality of our times. 

The Israelites are condemned to the humiliating reality of being entirely dependant on Christian whims for their survival, reluctantly accepting "bribe" money and deceitful "love" from the followers of the one they bitterly rejected. All this for the sake of maintaining a state that is the shadow of what was once God's conditional favor upon them. Today, the evangelical zionist movement that finds its inspiration in Paul deceptive missionary methods, masks its real intentions towards the Jewish people by corrupting their audience with money. Probably no nation needs this money more than Israel for its survival, exactly as God prophecised when He stated in the Quran that the Israelites, those who were Jesus' enemies, will be under the Christians' dominion until the Resurrection. This bribe money serves the purpose of gathering Jews from all over the world so that a massive slaughter begins. Christian eschatology reveals the anti semitism of its gentile Greek writers to the fullest. Towards the end of days, 2/3 of Israel will be destroyed and damned for rejecting the man/god of the trinity. Their Armageddon theology is detailed in the book of Revelation -a Book not even considered God inspired until very late in Church history-. 

Those damned Jews, the Jews of the "flesh", labelled as such because of lacking spirituality and rejecting Jesus Rom2:28-9, those sons of Satan Jn8:44, worshipping in their satanic synagogues Rev2:9 will be made to bow down at the feet of the true Jews, meaning the Christians Rev3:9. This way Jesus’ beloved church is vindicated. After that humiliation they will be sent for eternal damnation.
It is these kinds of satanic association that helped produce a portrait for faithful Christians throughout the centuries of the “evil” Jew representing satan on earth. By persecuting those satanic Jews, the church and its faithful followers were in a way hastening the day when Jesus would fulfill his promise to 

“make them [the synagogue of Satan] come and bow down at your feet”.

What is ironic is that the contrary is depicted in the HB, with the non-Jews, including Christians, coming at the Jews' feet. Although the messianic prophecies in the HB agree that there will be mass slaughter of those that do not believe in the Jewish God, this war shall occur prior to the messiah's arrival and universal recognition Isa59:19-20. None will be required to "believe" in the Jewish messiah because his universal rule will be an undeniable fact. An utopic era will be ushered, where only one truth reigns supreme, that of the Hebrew Bible. Every other belief system will be abolished and erased, its people destroyed, by natural calamity or others means like God's jealous and furious fire of destruction. God is often likened in the HB as a smith selecting through fire the trash from the precious metal, concretely resulting in "purifying" the people's hearts and lips. Once purified, all those surviving non-Jews will prostrate to the One true God 

Zeph3:8-9,Zech14:9-17"And the Lord shall become King over all the earth; on that day shall the Lord be one, and His name one".

Some modern apologists have attempted to negate that idea of universal forceful conversion using Micah4:5. It is ironic that this same verse is used in rabbinic comentaries to prove the opposite. The context itself speaks of the streaming of nations into Jerusalem to learn Judaism, God's judgement of nations afar, in a time where "all peoples shall go, each one in the name of his god, but we will go in the name of the Lord, our God, forever and ever". The non-Jews "going" to their false gods implies "going for destruction" in contrast to the Jews who will go on "forever". This will usher a time not only of religious monopoly but of forcible, physical subjugation of all non-Jewish peoples, made to crawl like abject creatures to the Jews' feet, in fear of Micah7:17"our God", transfering in addition all their riches to their new masters Isa66:12"like a flooding stream", or be destroyed 

Zech14,Isa45:22"Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is no other" 

Isa49:23"And kings shall be your nursing fathers and their princesses your wet nurses; they shall prostrate themselves to you with their face on the ground, and they shall lick the dust of your feet, and you shall know that I am the Lord, for those who wait for Me shall not be ashamed" 

Isa60:"..And foreigners shall build your walls, and their kings shall serve you..For the nation and the kingdom that shall not serve you shall perish, and the nations shall be destroyed...And the children of your oppressors shall go to you bent over, and those who despised you shall prostrate themselves at the soles of your feet..".

The end of the book of Isaiah is repleat with such references of "glad-tidings" to the Jews towards the end of times, the messianic era, a time where Isa66:23"all flesh shall come to prostrate themselves before Me" and where the remaining lucky survivors will see all around them 

"the corpses of the people who rebelled against Me, for their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorring for all flesh". 

This represents, according to Zech13:8-9 roughly 2/3 of the world population, exterminated, with 1/3 remaining for having converted to Judaism. Following their subjugation and destruction, the wicked will be sentenced to gehinnom (see Rashi on Ps6:11).

The evangelical zionists often use 

Gen12:3"I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you" 

to justify their deceitful "support" to Israel yet not only is both the HB and NT full of the most harsh words of condemnation towards the Israelites not only when they broke divine law but also when they misbehaved or mistreated other humans, from Moses down to Jesus down to even Jewish and Israeli religious as well as human rights groups, not to mention God himself who sent them deadly curses and destruction after another throughout their history and scattered them away from the land He had granted them conditionally to righteousness, but the verse is also clearly addressed to one person, Abraham and the "you" is the 2nd person singular. If one wants to argue the blessing and promises of curse extends to Abraham as well as his descendants, then this would have to include not only Isaac but Ishmael and his sons, the Arabs. And in fact throughout Genesis, God promises to make a great, fruitful nation from Ishmael's descendants as well as bless it Gen17:20,21:17-18. God in the Torah makes it clear that the covenant of protection made with Israel is conditional 

Ex23:22"If you listen carefully to what he says and do all that I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and will oppose those who oppose you".

 It also is interesting to note the oft recurring statement whenever God decides to save the Israelite nation on the brink of total spiritual collapse and at the mercy of neighboring nations; it never was for "their" sake but rather to keep God's honor intact as the one true God, as well as for their righteous forefathers' sake, such as David 

2Kings20:6"and I will protect this city for My sake and for the sake of My servant David".

As God states in the Quran, the blessings promised to Abraham due to his devout obedience and faith, only extend to the righteous among his offspring, be it Israelites or Ishmaelites 

2:140-1"That is a nation that has passed away; theirs is that which they have earned and yours is what you earned; you shall not be questioned for what they had been doing". 

A nation should rely upon its own deeds, not on its past history.

But God's favoring of the current Christians above the disbelieving Jews does not mean they are absolved of their deviations in faith. It is for this reason that the very next verse addresses those same favored Christians, telling them 

3:57"And as to those who believe and do good deeds, He will pay them fully their rewards; and Allah does not love the unjust". 

It firstly clarifies that correct belief, joined with good deeds, are the only means for salvation in the hereafter. It seperates between "those who follow you" and "those who believe and do good deeds", emphasizing that among Jesus' followers from his contemporaries to present-day christians, Allah will pay fully their reward only to those of them who hold the correct belief and do good deeds. The unusual ending of this type of verse with "Allah does not love the unjust" is clearly directed at those followers of Jesus who strayed from the correct belief of their ancestors 

5:77"O followers of the Book, be not unduly immoderate in your religion, and do not follow the low desires of people who went astray before and led many astray and went astray from the right path". 

Verses with promises of mercy and paradise usually end with Divine Names of mercy and forgiveness, or on praises of those addressed in the verse but in this case it ends with a stern warning to the followers of Jesus who have deviated, they are being unjust to their own souls.

Islam Critiqued is intrigued by an individual; who is al samiri?

In answer to the video "The Lowing Calf: Mystical Background to Surah 20"

The samiri was thus the instigator and builder of the golden calf. When a person is given a designation ending with the letter "i" it is a known literary device aimed at creating a laqb/association, between that person and an entity, abstract or concrete such as a tribe, location, profession, mindframe or behavior.

The root s-m-r means to spend the night in conversation, with a negative connotation. This fits the Quranic context and the deceptive behavior ascribed to the samiri. See for example 23:67 where the word is used in a similar sense. Al samiri is thus associating a specific behavior to a person.

A person from Samerah is also called samiri, not because people from that location have an implicit connection with the meaning of the root but because following the arabization of the Hebrew Shomiron (Samaria in English) into Samerah, the only possible triliteral root of the word becomes s-m-r.

The association of samiri with samerah in certain Quran commentaries is purely arbitrary and devoid of contextual support. Going back to ibn Abbas, the commentators have had various opinions as regards the samiri's ethnicity; some have said he was an Egyptian immigrant from Kirman, others that he was from Bajarma. The fact is there is no indication the Quran makes reference to ethnicity by calling the person "al-samiri".

The parallel between samiri and a deceitful behavior, which happens to be the meaning of the root word as well as the description of the person in the direct context, is the more obvious intent. By speaking of the samiri, the Quran, in accordance with its self proclaimed function of being the muhaymin/guardian of the truth, is interested in exposing the reality of the golden calf incident to the Israelites that have unjustly and convolutedly blamed Aaron for it. It does so by describing the machinations that led to it, by a misleading individual that literally and in accordance with the meaning of the word, would hold conversations in the dark, away from Aaron's sight. The Quran is not even interested in the actual name of the individual, rather his behavior which it ascribes to him as a label.

Aaron had been given the responsibility of watching over the community in Moses' absence, the samiri had to conspire in secret, casting his suggestions, spreading rumours and falsehoods. He eventually deceived a portion of people that became bold and numerous enough to confront Aaron and those with him, with the latter fearing it was too late to react forcefully against them without risking the implosion of the whole community.

It seems, from his confrontation with Moses, that al samiri was seeking attention from the community and envied Moses' status as a hero, a prophet and leader. He seized the opportunity during Moses' absence to try and supplant him as a leader and prophet. The Israelites' decision to get rid of their precious ornaments was key in initiating his deception.

Jewish tradition agrees with this in so far as the foreigners that had left Egypt with them began spreading the word around that Moses would never return and that they should consequently choose another leader to be their intermediary with God. When the Israelites, at Aaron's behest, began gathering their precious ornaments, it was these same foreigners that began "through their knowledge of magic", as their tradition asserts, to make the melting pot assume the form of a golden calf.

In the Quran however, in light of what is said about the samiri, Aaron had no hand in contributing to the sin, neither from close or far. He was neither a passive and silent witness, nor the one to have fashioned the idol with his hands as in the Torah account. He was a prophet who never committed shirk in his life 6:84-90 and who was thus part of the righteous among Moses' people 7:159. The Israelites refused listening to his repeated and persistent calls to abandon the worship of the idol and had almost slain him for that so he finally stepped back along with those opposed to the practice, fearing not only for his life but for the cohesion of a community under his responsibility, that had just been forcibly pulled out of the crooked path of idolatry

20:99"Thus do We relate to you (some) of the news of what has gone before; and indeed We have given to you a Reminder from Ourselves".

As stated above, Harun, who was left to watch over them in Moses' absence, pleaded with them to renounce idolatry 20:90. While some came back to their senses and remorsefully asked God's forgiveness (not forgiven yet) 7:148-9 others violently resisted and refused to desist until Moses' return 7:150,20:91. 

Following his return and wrathful scolding, Moses announced 2 punishments, starting with the instigator, condemned to be a social outcast and who would himself have to warn people not to interact with him. The samiri himself admitted that his deed was no mistake, rather was premeditated, wilfully executed, conforming to his deepest inner desires

20:96"My soul commended me".

The same phrase is used by Jacob when he accused his sons of deliberately getting rid of Joseph 12:18,83. This brazen statement conforms to his attitude as wanting to present himself as an alternate leader, knowledgeable, aware of his conduct and justified for his behavior. He could not be left among the Israelites anymore and risk further corrupting the people. Moses might not have applied the Biblical capital punishment for idolatry as it is an ordinance to the Jews only. 

The second punishment was thus directed to the community, with the divine order of slaying those that insisted in their sin up to Moses' return. This put the resolve and penitence of those that had desisted prior to Moses' return, to the test. The others were disgraced in this world, as well as inflicted with God's wrath, executed by the hand of their own people and family 2:51-4,7:152-3. This was obviously no straight forward task to accomplish. Besides the heavy emotional factor, it would have taken time to designate, apprehend, execute one's own people. It was a mercy from Allah upon Moses and the repentent sinners that the process was interrupted at some point. Allah summoned Moses and 70 elders of the community (a reoccuring theme in the Torah Ex24,Num11) to seek forgiveness. At that point of meeting, Allah demonstrates His anger at the deed of their people 7:155 but follows by declaring that His Will, in terms of what He does with His creatures is free from any constraints. He may remove His decreed punishment at any point, in accordance with His boundless mercy 

7:156"but My mercy encompasses all things. So I will decree it [especially] for those who fear Me and give zakah and those who believe in Our verses". 

Here Allah explains to Moses and the 70 what is required of their people for the punishment to be suspended, and by extension, to interrupt their own trial of having to slaughter the apostates among their people. In the HB no reference is made of those that had repented prior to Moses' return, neither of the loving biblical God mercifully suspending the execution of the apostates, as eloquently found in the Quran. Instead God finishes off with a plague the remaining sinners that survived the sword of their brethren the day before.  At the golden calf incident, prior to Moses pleading for the community, God says 

Ex32:10"Now leave Me alone, and My anger will be kindled against them so that I will annihilate them, and I will make you into a great nation". 

Everyone besides Moses it seems, was implicated, from close or far with idolatry. God then reconsiders what He would have normally done, which is to wipe out everyone at once, leaving it to the Israelites themselves to purge their ranks from those more directly involved in the sin. 3000 apostates were slaughtered in a day, with many more marked for death pending execution. The second day, thinking enough was done to earn the remaining guilty forgiveness, Moses intercedes once more but is rejected, as the chapter ends with the statement that "the Lord struck the people with a plague, because they had made the calf that Aaron had made".

A similar situation occurs with the incidents of the scouts. The Israelites anger YHWH again, He decides to wipe everyone out, Moses intercedes, but only gets a delayed punishment. Instead of exterminating the whole nation right away, God decreed for them a 40 years desert wandering during which the land would be entirely prohibited to enter. The purpose was to eliminate the generation of guilty, making place for others that would in turn be tried with the privilege of entering the blessed land, together with those that had not shown distrust in God at the initial command Numb14:1-39. Through this 40 years "slow death" God caused a separation between the obedient and the defiant as reflected in Moses' prayer in the Quran 5:25. Although Moses accepted God's decree, understanding that the guilty only got what they deserved, it nevertheless grieved him to see them in that condition "grieve not for the iniquitous".

As a side note, the expression "aqtulu anfusaqum", Kill oneself does not necessarily mean suicide, but mostly the community killing members of the same community. The same for making oneself leave in 4:66 means making members of the same community leaver their houses or the territory or area where they are.

Interestingly, the HB states that those that sinned during the incident were never forgiven and consequently killed yet it is claimed that Aaron wasnt. Besides this, it is also stated that he was given the charge of the sanctuary and the office of priesthood Numbers18 yet he was the one, together with the foreigners among them, that allegedly made the calf that the idolaters requested. Talmudic scholars explain this by attributing his participation in the incident to his peace-loving character, constructing the idol in order to prevent dissension among the people and attempting to gain time until Moses' return. Why would anyone, let alone a prophet of God, think that reintroducing idol worship to a community that was in the process of abandoning it and whose hearts were deeply imbued with it, is a lesser harm than causing a separation between those prone to goodness (the vast majority according to the Bible) who would thus be clearly and unambiguously guided, and the guilty (a mere 1% of the whole) that persist in their wrongdoings despite all they had witnessed until now? This carried the risk of sinking the whole community back into idol worship.

Following the incident, Moses came back to his senses and picked up the tablets 7:154. They werent broken as in the HB account and hence no occasion for another 40 nights communion with God was necessary Ex34. At that second 40 nights communion with God, Moses would be taught how his people should make amends for their sin, through repentance and prayer. New tablets of the law will be handed to him Ex33:21,Ex34:1-28 and would later be preserved inside the Ark of the covenant 1Kings8:9.

At that point Aaron survives the divine wrath despite being the very builder of the idol as per the HB. Originaly the firstborn in a family was to serve as a priest, regardless of his tribal origin. But after the incident in which all Israelite tribes had been involved to different degrees, all were disqualified from this function, which was then given exclusively and as an everlasting ordinance to the only tribe that had no involvement in the sin, the Levites descendants from Aaron Ex27:21,28:1-43,Num3:12. Yet Aaron was was actively involved in the incident.

Islam Critiqued finds a Quranic passage hard to grasp; Moses, Aaron, Samiri and the mooing calf?

In answer to the video "The Lowing Calf: Mystical Background to Surah 20"

Moses had left his people hastily at the perspective of meeting the Almighty. He left them under the supervision of Aaron but warned his brother against their tendency to rebel, telling him to steadfastly maintain the position of truth in the face of potential opposition  7:142-3,20:83-4. As his 40 days of communion with God came to an end, he was told to go back to them to confront their rebellion Ex32:1,7-20,Quran2:51-2,7:148-156,20:85-97.

Upon seeing them, worshipping the idol, Moses was overtaken by anger and grief, threw down the tablets and, according to the Torah, broke them Ex32:19. In his rage, he grabbed his brother Aaron's head violently as if he was about to beat him, until Aaron pleaded with him and explained why he could not prevent them from rebelling 7:150,20:94.

Moses did not think that his brother, a prophet like him, had taken part in the sin, rather, on top of his moment of extreme anger, he was upset at what he assumed was his brother's lack of leadership and ability to abide by his prior warnings as regards the rebellious people. Once Moses heard Aaron's explanation, he sought Allah's covering/ghafr for him and his brother 7:150-2. No willful act of rebellion, or sin, is attributed to either Moses or Aaron in this passage. But Moses felt that as a leader, he and his brother may have come short in their responsibilities and thus asked to be forgiven for their potential shortcomings. God is described with the word "ghafur", stemming from Gh-F-R meaning covering something. That covering can be for the purpose of hiding, or protecting, as well as both. The implication is that God provides a covering upon the person to hide the sins of the past in case there were any 5:65 all the while providing a protection from the potential sins of the future, by increasing the person's spirituality. It is up to the believer to maintain that covering of protection throughout his life, elsewhere referred to as the garment of God-consciousness 7:26. If he loses it, he is again exposed to moral and spiritual failure. His past sins will remain hidden/forgiven but the future ones will have to be rectified 

14:10"He calls you to forgive for you OF your sins". 

This, as a side note, strikes at the notion of guaranteed salvation and forgiveness from sins -past and future- which is propounded by certain belief systems and more particularly Christianity.

The believers and prophets have always asked God to provide them with ghafr, the covering that hides and/or protects. It comes with merit as often repeated in the HB Ps23:1,85:3 but its implications far surpass in value the level of merit needed to obtain it. God only requires in exchange sincerity and resolve in walking aright. The correct mindframe, as exemplified with the prophets who constantly sought the ghafr from Allah, is to feel that one's righteous actions are defective, that they could always be improved since nobody can claim perfection of action besides God 47:19. As reported in the NT

 Mk10:18"“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone". 

By seeking the ghafr from Allah, the believer shows his humility so that Allah might accept one's imperfect deeds done with sincerity and to please Him, and cover their inherent shortcomings.

Following Moses' prayer, those guilty were pointed out by God as deserving of severe punishment, showing that Aaron and Moses had no direct responsibility in the incident 7:152.

The Torah blames the prophet Aaron whom Moses appointed over them during his absence Ex32, a prophet chosen by God per the Quran and the HB itself to assist Moses in his mission against Pharaoh and his oppressive tyrants, yet he supposedly does the exact opposite under the pressure of some Israelites. The Quran says the Israelites' own hidden love for idols that was ingrained in them during their captivity, was stirred and brought to light by a crafty and deceitful person whom it refers to as "the samiri", the true instigator of the incident.

In addition to hardening Pharaoh's heart so that he rejects the divine signs and is consequently destroyed and the enslaved Israelites set free, YHWH commands Moses to tell the Israelites to deceive every Egyptian they could reach, into "lending" them their precious belongings like silver, gold objects, as well as expensive garments, so that they "do not go empty handed". YHWH assures Moses that the Egyptians will not only be influenced into accepting the Israelites' request, but that they will also be eager to give out more than demanded "and you shall empty out Egypt" Ex3:21-22,11:2,12:35-36.

The Quran mentions the presence of ornaments in the Israelites' possession during their exile but doesnt give any credence to the story. One might ask why would God issue such an unpractical command and burden them with all sorts of unnecessary load as they set themselves out for a long and difficult journey in the desert? It is hard not to see yet again, the hand of the scribes giving a divine warrant to their own sinful decisions and actions. An interesting thing to note is that in some rabbinical commentaries of the Hebrew Bible, some see in Prov10:8 which says "The wise-hearted takes commandments, but he who talks foolishly will weary" an implicit reference to the incident, with Moses being the "wise-hearted", busy with the commandements while the rest of the Israelites were plundering their masters.

In the Quran, it precisely is that burdensome nature of all these belongings, that were actually loots, that is stated to have been among the factors that led to the golden calf incident. In Moses' absence, they felt

"loaded with the burdens of the [Egyptian] people's ornaments, so we cast them (in fire), and thus did the Samiri throw".

Besides obviously being a physical burden, these possessions were more so of a spiritual and moral burden that gradually dawned upon the Israelites, and so they decided to get rid of those sinfully acquired ornaments. They therefore did not initially throw the ornaments with the purpose of moulding a golden calf out of them, until the Samiri entered the scene and placed that idea in their mind, convincing them he would build the calf idol for them

"So he brought forth for them a calf, a (mere) body, which had a mooing sound, so they said: This is your god and the god of Musa, but he forgot".

As stated, the Samiri in addition craftily designed it so that a lowing sound would come out of it, probably produced by wind effects entering the hollow body in order to delude the ignorant and simple people. Ancient people tried giving a semblant of life to their idols, sometimes in a naive manner, simply carving in them eyes or ears

7:197-8"And those whom you call upon other than Him can neither help you, nor help themselves. And if you call them to guidance, they do not hear; and you see them looking towards you, but they do not see".

At other times they were very crafty at animating their idols and the Israelites were no exception, including the "foreigners" that left Egypt with them and that counted among them, according to the Zohar, all the magicians that were impressed and could not replicate Moses' miracles. The Hebrew Bible itself speaks of non-Jews during the exodus, described with a word evoking a vast number, "the multitudes", Ex12:37-38,Numb11:4,15:15-16,Deut1:16. Archeology has shown traces of Egyptians in Canaan and their presence is mentioned at the beginning of Israel's invasion of that land Josh8:35. They most probably were the non-Israelites who are depicted as having heeded Moses' warnings before the exodus, and feared the true God whom Moses spoke of Ex9:20.

The Quran too passively alludes to these non Israelites that followed Moses, in accordance with his function as a liberator not only to the Israelites but also to anyone living in spiritual bondage under Pharao. Among those non-israelites that believed in Moses, the Quran mentions a courageous man from Pharao's close circle, most probably Egyptian, and who was able to escape 40:38-45, as well as the magicians  who came from various cities of the kingdom 26:36-7. They are sentenced to death following their conversion, but given Pharao's immediate concern of chasing Moses and those that fled with him, as well as the Quran's silence on whether the sentence was carried out, whether fully, in part or not at all, one can conjecture that some of those repentent magicians were able to flee with Moses.

As regards the craftiness of ancient people in animating their idols, we read a passage in Ezekiel, where the prophet is transported to Jerusalem and made to see the pagan practices introduced into the Temple

Ezek8:14"And He brought me to the entrance of the gate of the house of the Lord that is to the north, and behold there the women were sitting, making the Tammuz weep".

Rashi explains that "There was an image that they would heat up from the inside, and its eyes, which were of lead, would melt from the heat of the fire, and it would appear as though it was weeping, and they would say,

“It is asking for an offering.” “Tammuz” is an expression of heating...ie making the heated [god] weep".

Similarly during the course of their history they had household gods called "teraphim" which were made to emit sounds that the diviners were able to decipher Ezek21:26,Zech10:2.

The samiri would later even claim divine authority, when confronted by Moses; he was visited by an unseen messenger and had sprinkled on the idol the dust collected from the ground on which he walked, a gesture which in his mind, and that of the mislead Israelites, gave divine sanction to the golden calf worship 20:95-6. IT is interesting noting that there is an old tradition among the Israelites ascribing special power to the dust in the footprints of a saintly individual

"a certain woman tried to take dust from beneath the feet of R. Hanina to cast a spell over him to kill him" (Rashi)

Regarding the sound, the Quran of course isnt saying it was emited at the idol's own behest

7:148"Did they not see that it could neither speak unto them nor guide them in any way?" 20:89"Did they not see that it could not return to them any saying and that it could not possess for them any harm or benefit?". 

This however immediately seduced the Israelites whose

2:93"hearts were soaked with the calf because of their disbelief". 

It is a well known fact even within their tradition, that the Egyptian religions (which included the worship of some bovines like the bull), superstitions, astrology and witchcraft had badly influenced them during their captivity. The adoption of these practices reflects in their writings and Talmudic tradition where for example they attribute Pharaoh's command to cast all newborn into the water the day Moses was born, to the Egyptian astrologers' statement that the savior of Israel has been born Ex1:22. In another oral tradition (believed to have been revealed at Sinai along with the Torah), astrologers are again credited for making a correct prediction following baby Moses' ripping a jewel off Pharaoh's crown; Moses will be a threat to the king's rule. Throughout their biblical history, many incidents are explained in their oral tradition, through the lens of witchcraft or sorcery, for example Rashi explains the reason for God's order to massacre the Amalekites as well as their "ox and sheep, camel and ass" because they were sorcerers with the ability to transform into the above mentioned animals.

Long after the exodus and in the times of king Saul down to Solomon and many generations later when the vast majority of them had reverted to polytheism, going as far as indulging in human sacrifice, the community was still involved in those kinds of occult sciences 1Sam28:3,2Kings17:15-17,Isa2:6,Ezek13:18 and the scriptures themselves give credence to some of those practices, like necromancy as in 1Sam28:14-20 where a witch is credited with the ability of summoning the souls of the dead, even the souls of prophets. Again the rabbinical commentaries state that during the time of Isaiah, the monthly prognosticators had a vision but not entirely clear of what was destined to come Isa47:13.

Just as the Quran in the context of the story, eloquently speaks of their hearts being soaked with the love of an idol, Aaron in the HB is aware of that pre-disposition

Ex32:22"Let not my lord's anger grow hot! You know the people, that they are disposed toward evil".

God Himself later on through the prophet Ezekiel would remind them of their ingratitude during the exodus when, despite the downpouring of divine favors after another

Ezek20:16"their heart went constantly after their idols".

The Quranic expression of their hearts being "soaked with the calf" becomes all the more appropriate when one considers how they quickly and eagerly abandoned, in great majority, their pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem and preferred bowing down to the golden calves built by Jeroboam, the king of Israel, who built them in 2 different temples away from the Jerusalem Temple of the kingdom of Judah with which he was in competition 1Kings12. Jeroboam originally used the crafty argument that the Jerusalem Temple was too far to many of them, yet their "soaking" with the love of the calf gave them enough courage to even travel till the furthest boundaries of the land, in Dan, to worship the golden calf built there, and perpetuated the practice for many generations after Jeroboam's death. The prophet Hosea would thus lament in that period, in reference to the heavy inclination of their hearts for idolatry

Hos8:4-5"..[with] their silver and their gold they made themselves idols..how long will they be unable to cleanse themselves?"  

The Quran relates how their eagerness to bow down before false gods manifested itself prior to the golden calf incident, at the beginning of their exodus, even while Moses was in their midst and before his 40 nights/days absence 7:138-148. This is in stark contrast to the Egyptian sorcerers summoned by Pharao to defeat Moses, who instantly declared their faith and persisted despite the cruel torments they were threatened with 7:120-6. They hadnt seen anything in terms of miracles, besides the staff into snake, as compared to the ungrateful Israelites.

When the Israelite nation had reached total spiritual collapse, prompting divine destruction through the hands of the Assyrians, the Hebrew Bible describes in very telling terms their spiritual condition; not only had they abandoned the straight path but they "despised" it and anything associated with it, going as far as doing 2Kings17

"what was evil in the eyes of the Lord, to anger Him"

The prophet Micah was among those sent to warn them of their impending doom, but he could not but lament over te spiritual state of his nation thus

Micah7:1-2"Woe is to me, for I am as the last of the figs, 

like the gleanings of the vintage; there is no cluster to eat; the first ripe fig my soul desires. The pious have perished from the land, and there is no upright among men".

In many other places it speaks of them acting "against" God or "provoking" Him knowingly Isa1:4,3:8-9,Jer7:18etc. The prophet Jeremiah used another imagery, just as strong as the Quran's "soaking of their hearts" to refer to their deep love for idolatry and all kinds of polytheistic practices

Jer17:1-2"The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, with a diamond point, engraved on the tablet of their heart. As they remember their children, [so do they remember] their altars, and their asherim by the green trees upon the high hillocks". 

As an interesting parallel, while the Quran speaks of their hearts, their innermost selves being figuratively filled or soaked with attraction for idolatry, and more precisely the calf, the HB narrates how following his confrontation with them, Moses, in his disgust of them made them to be physically filled with that very calf

Ex32:20"Then he took the calf they had made, burned it in fire, ground it to fine powder, scattered [it] upon the surface of the water, and gave [it to] the children of Israel to drink".

No matter the miracles God performed for the Israelites, they still never truly believed. They could hardly cleanse themselves from their inclination for idolatry as seen in Joshua's address to them as reported in the Hebrew Bible, long after Moses' death Joshua24. Jeremiah later confirmed this fact Jer2:8,8:8,7:18 and history proves their constant straying from monotheism, almost complete disregard for their covenant and scriptures, which started very early on and apparently continued up to the times of Hosea, long after Moses Hos8:5,10:5. The Quran in 5:78 echoed their scolding  by their prophets, from Moses to David Ps78 down to Jesus Matt12,23.

In his lifetime, this tendency caused Moses immense frustration

Deut29:4"You have seen all that the LORD did in the land of Egypt before your very eyes to Pharaoh and all his servants and to all his land; the great testings your own eyes have seen, and those great signs and wonders. But not even at the present day has the LORD yet given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear"

and God addresses them in a similar tone

Numb14:11"The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?".

Moses is reported to have said that despite witnessing all these signs

"But not even at the present day has the LORD yet given you a mind to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear".

"The Mosaic religion was initially a monolatrous religion; while the Hebrews are enjoined to worship no deity but YHWH, there is no evidence that the earliest Mosaic religion denied the existence of other gods. In fact, the account of the migration contains numerous references by the historical characters to other gods, and the first law of the Decalogue is, after all, that no gods be put before YHWH, not that no other gods exist. While controversial among many people, most scholars have concluded that the initial Mosaic religion for about two hundred years was a monolatrous religion. For there is ample evidence in the Hebrew account of the settlement of Palestine, that the Hebrews frequently changed religions, often several times in a single lifetime." (jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/Judaism/Monolatry.html).

Islam Critiqued gets trampled under a giant; Height of Adam?

In answer to the video "Quran and Mysticism: "Bow Down Before Adam!""

He is amazed when he reads about giants roaming this earth but in the HB, the nefilim, existed before and after the flood. This race of people had the peculiarity of counting giants among them, who even survived the flood Numb13:22,33,Josh12:4. In proportion, these giants were to the Israelites what a grasshopper is to a regular human being.

Disregarding the basic laws of physics making it impossible for such giants to even exist, some Islam critics misuse a hadith speaking of Adam's stature as measuring some 25m (60 cubits). However the reports say that height was in the garden, a special place that might have had different laws of physics. These reports dont say whether his height was reduced after he exited the garden. But it can be infered from the statements that humanity has not ceased living in a state of decreased height and will be increased to Adam's stature only if they enter in heaven. The literal rendering is

"the creation is still lacking after him until now"

meaning mankind has continued to be deprived of that height, or that mankind has not achieved this height since Adam’s left the garden. It is to be noted that many channels of transmission of that hadith do not include the part about Adam's progeny, leading some scholars to conjecture it might have been an inserted comment by the reporter.

There are in addition Quranic verses saying the physics of the universe, and the nature of humans themselves will be very different after the resurrection. This could allow certain phenomenon like humans reaching gigantic proportions. Other traditions inform us about the grandiosity of things in Paradise as a means of increasing our hope in Allah for these amazing rewards

"Verily, in Paradise there is a tree in whose shade a rider could travel for one hundred years".

The metaphorical understanding of such statements is thus not far fetched either. As a side note, the Talmud has 3 views on Adam's height; he was immeasurably tall with his head reaching the dome of heaven while he stood on earth, or his body length spanned the distance from East to West, or he had a ‘post-fall' height of some 150 feet.

Islam Critiqued finds a 7th century Arabian genius; sources of the Quran?

In answer to the video "Quran and Mysticism: "Bow Down Before Adam!""

The prophet Muhammad lived among his people for 40 years before the start of his prophetic mission, without anything from his speech foretelling either fully or partly a knowledge of the information and principles provided within the book

12:3,102,28:44,11:49"These are announcements relating to the unseen which We reveal to you, you did not know them-- (neither) you nor your people-- before this; therefore be patient; surely the end is for those who guard (against evil).".

The only thing distinguishing him from the majority of his people was his pure conduct and detachment from their ungodly habits

10:16"Say: If Allah had desired (otherwise) I would not have recited it to you, nor would He have taught it to you; indeed I have lived a lifetime among you before it; do you not then understand?".

As stated in 42:52, before his appointment to prophethood, he never had any idea that he was going to receive a Book, or that he should receive one. He was wholly unaware of the heavenly Books and the subjects they treated.

Likewise, although he believed in Allah, intellectually he was not aware of the requirements of the Faith.

In addition, from a strictly materialistic worldview, nothing indicates, neither from his character or the consequences upon himself and his loved ones, that he initiated his mission to satisfy any greed or lust. During the 40 years he lived among them, he was a person whose integrity they never questioned, and whom they considered to be an upright person just like Salih or Lut prior to the beginning of their preaching 11:62,162. Just like Jeremiah was inspired with warnings and glad tidings to his people for 23 years Jer25:3, the Quran was revealed over the span of 23 years. Practically speaking, the idea of a secret teacher following Muhammad for 23 years and in different locations and circumstances where revelation is known to have descended is completely untenable: while hiding with his companions in ravines, in his home with his family, on the battlefield etc. besides fulfilling every function and responsibilities of a statesman, husband, friend, teacher etc without ever being noticed.

Besides the first short revelation which descended upon him as he had secluded himself in a cave to escape his sinful, idolatrous environment which he abhorred, all other revelations came to him openly with many times multiple witnesses present. The prophet was no mystic sitting in hope of being contacted by the divine. He was a righteous monotheist, a hanif among his people who searched for the truth using his inherited knowledge and observation of the nature around him. Many verses allude to his pre-revelational condition with words evoking how he had no expectation whatsoever of coming in contact with the divine realm and being chosen for prophethood.

This teacher of his, from the mass of informants proposed throughout the ages by the critics of Islam, from Waraqa b. Nawfal to ‘Ubayd Allah b. Jahsh and ‘Uthman b. al-Huwayrith, to the anonymous hanif communities or other monotheists such as Zayd ibn Amr, the hermit Bahira, some unnamed foreign slaves knowledgeable in Judeo-Christian oral and written traditions, to Zayd ibn Thabit's crucial role in originating the Quranic text, none of them could have done what is alleged that they did without being noticed, and without eventually coming out against that student or plagiarist who was taking all the credits for himself. So either that teacher was the most stealthy human to ever live, or it was another entity.

Supposing Muhammad's source was living outside the Hijaz, as some modern critics have opined. All historical records available show that Muhammad had made only three trips outside Mecca before his Prophethood: At the age of 9 he accompanied his mother to Medina. Between the age of 9 and 12, he accompanied his uncle Abu-Talib on a business trip to Syria. At the age of 25 he led Khadija’s Caravan to Syria. It is highly imaginary to assume that the Quran, a long term revelation that includes interactive passages with its addressees, where revelation answers a specific theological, social, economical etc matter, resulted from the occasional chats and meetings with the Christians or Jews from any of the above three trips. It is no less imaginary to assume there was any meaningful contact and religious dialogue between him and anyone, like Bahira, that led to the development of any of the Quran's intricately well knit discourse on any of the Christian themes and figures, conveniently discarding all the historical blunders and improbabilities of both canonical and apocryphal scriptures that allegedly were the subjects of discussion. And which testimonies are there to corroborate the conspiracy claim? Who witnessed the exchange and why did that private teacher equally recognize the prophet hood of Muhammad? Among the reasons why such conspiracy, and other similar false beliefs and revisionist ideas perdure despite the presence of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, is that the authors of these theories, and their supporters, find comfort in the feeling that at least a few propositions among many have some shade of truth in them, and that they receive enough approval by a certain public. Developmental psychologists have found that these 2 factors had a great impact on people's sense of self-certainty; the more one is convinced of knowing something, even though he doesnt, the less likely he will be curious enough to explore the topic further, failing to learn how little he actually knows. This way people remain stuck in their belief and thus will keep repeating it.

The Prophet's enemies kept a close watch on him, trying hard to prove him a liar. They could not point out even a single instance when the Prophet may have had a secret encounter. Tribal life in the desert was very open making it very hard to have regular secret meetings without being noticed. That is why the prophet's critics, even as reported in the Quran, would point to various suspects that were living in everyone's plain sight, although they could not prove any of their claims and neither did these individuals ever agree with these calumnies. And yet these intellectually bankrupt individuals of the past and today want to come and argue that the most intricate of human discourses came to be through occasional chatters and hearsay around a camp fire.

The Prophet did have religious discussions with the Jews and Christians but they took place in Medina more than 13 years after the revelation of the Quran had started. And they certainly werent going on in secret. The objective was to point their moral and spiritual errors as well as warn them of the consequences of their persistence in deviation. He met them as a teacher, not a student. Several of these Jews and Christians later embraced Islam, including some of their most learned figures. It should also be noted that the vast majority of verses relating the history of past prophets were revealed in Mecca, before these interactions with the people of the book occured. What insignificant Judeo-Christian community was the prophet interested in appeasing at point, as sometimes suggested by the mischievious critics? His relatives who surrounded him never questioned his truthfulness instead they gave their wealth and lives for his cause, contrary to some previous prophets, such as Jesus who was rejected and treated as a madman by his closest circle. The prophet Ibrahim himself was rejected by his father who almost stoned him 19:46.

His availability, his openness for inquiries and visits was such that towards an advanced stage of the prophetic mission, revelation came down to regulate the manners of those seeking to visit him, including spending in charity at first, as well as announcing themselves prior to entering his private quarters where his wives resided. The intricate manner in which his followers, in and out of the household, observed, memorized and safeguarded every aspect of his life, everyday and in all situations further dwarfs this already untenable proposition. So, because that idea of him having secret meetings was weak, his enemies instead resorted to character assassination. They resorted to all sorts of calumnies the likes of which previous prophets were victims of, including being a liar, sorcerer or a madman demon possessed.

The Quran would then plainly challenge them; if it is something man made then, with all their resources, including the riches they tried bribing the prophet himself with, the availability of masters of eloquence the likes of which the Arab world has rarely seen since then, in addition to all supposed teachers of his, they should be able to respond to the challenge without much difficulty. But the rest is history. To this day, the enemies of Islam have been conjecturing just as they had always been, trying hard to uncover the sources of the Quran. They certainly did and will continue pointing to a plethora of potential human, textual, traditional candidates. On the surface, these sources seem believable but immediately crumble when one compares them on a macro- as well as micro level to the Quran, let alone if one considers other historical facts the likes of which have been pointed to earlier. 

What is undeniable, as is evidenced by the recent trend of studies on the Quranic engagement with previous traditions, is that the Quran shows a very high degree of knowledge of Judaeo-Christian tradition, written and oral, canonized or not, factual or folklore, whether restricted to the religious elite or common among the layman. Such intricate awareness is in fact among the fundamental arguments the Quran uses in support of the divine inspiration of the messenger, the gentile, unschooled Arab, a man highly unlikely to have possessed such vast array of information, let alone able to assemble the details in the form of eloquent speech, whose life whether before or after his prophethood, was known and scrutinized from every angle, day and night, by his friends, family and foes.

It is interesting however that we do read in the ahadith of a man appearing out of nowhere on several occasions in the life of the prophet and the community. Including to teach the prophet and his followers, publicly, the daily prayers, as well as to command him and the Muslim soldiers, to besiege the treacherous tribe of Bani Qurayza. These are not trivial issues, whether from the point of view of the religion, or the life of the community, showing that the prophet, although the uncontested leader of his people, was not acting from his own accord in essential matters. The ahadith relate several other encounters with the same man, unknown to the closest companions, appearing in unlikely circumstances among the people, then disappearing, and always in slightly different physical shape. He would be identified as the angel Jibril whenever the people inquired to the prophet. This "man" was around the prophet and the community from the very beginning, as the prophet was taught the first revelation, to other instances where the companions witnessed him teaching the Quran to the prophet, to when they saw him visit the prophet when he became sick. In terms of resemblance, the prophet likened him to a companion named Dihya. Someone else once confused him with Dihya too. Dihya as a side note, was not influential in the community in any way, even after the prophet's death did not attain to any leading position, neither was he among the closest companions whose decisions were considered by the prophet, nor was he knowledgeable so as to contribute to the Quran. Despite this closeness of interaction, none among the community was able to get a hold of the mysterious visitor, or could interact with him once the purposes of his visits were over. Medina's population at the time was around 20.000, the type of social life was very open and each individual had a very large network of friends and kinsfolk. It would have been impossible for this man to escape the people's grasp, let alone the numerous hypocrites who were always on the lookout to discredit the prophet, had he been known or been living in or anywhere near Medina. Other appearances were observed during battles, with men dressed as the occasional visitor of the prophet was

 "Narrated Sa`d: On the day of the battle of Uhud, on the right and on the left of the Prophet were two men wearing white clothes, and I had neither seen them before, nor did I see them afterwards".