When the first human, that is, Adam – the father of all, was created, yet the special soul was not breathed into him, the angels asked God about the reason why He was creating something which will spread corruption and shed blood on Earth. The Qur’an does not tell about how the angels got to know this fact, perhaps because it is an unimportant detail for us, or perhaps it is so self-evident for us today.
Regardless of race, color, and time, human beings have always been involved in wars and crimes, corruption and destruction, oppression and persecution of one another, incomparably more than any other species. This is one of the most intrinsic and special qualities instilled within us: we kill and we murder for many reasons, not just for self-defense.
The Arab of pre-Islamic Ignorance, which is known as the Jahiliyah Time, were involved in an unspeakable crime. There were of them who used to bury alive baby girls out of shame. The Qur’an reports this social mindset, “He hides himself from the people because of the bad news he has received. Should he keep her in disgrace, or bury her alive in the ground? Evil indeed is their judgment!” [16:59]
The Arab were not stupid. There were brave and generous people. They were ready to start a war for honor and tribal pride. They were undoubtedly protective and people of poetry, love and values, yet they were involved in this type of crime.
Pharaoh of Egypt did even worse. Out of fear that a prophet will rise among the Children of Israel – who were oppressed and enslaved by the pharaonic rule, he gave the order to kill all the newly born baby boys. What a heinous crime?
Two decades ago, when I first read such historic descriptions in the Qur’an, I was shocked, specially about the concept of burying young girls alive out of shame or fear of disgrace, “and when baby girls, buried alive, are asked (in the day of Judgment), for what crime they were put to death.” [81:8]
Even though this was not that wide spread among the Arab, yet it existed. I couldn’t fathom this fact when I first read it. “How is it possible for a father to bury his young daughter alive?” – I would struggle to make sense of.
It turns out that human history, the ancient and the modern one, is but filled with all kinds of crimes, including the murder of children. What the Arab of Ignorance did was not at all incidental and an isolated case. It is a dark side of humanity that continues to be present in our societies.
What the Europeans did in North America over the last centuries, by murdering native children, what the American army has done in Muslim countries by killing young children and women, and what the Secular governments are doing – by legalizing and facilitating abortion, is no less of a crime than what the Arab did. Today, it is women themselves involved in this crime. That’s what happens when laws are written by charlatans and people who have no morality.
Sabri Lushi
