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 [Begin training]

Tank: We're supposed to start with these operational
programs first. Let's do something a little more
fun... How about... combat training?

Neo: Jujitsu? I'm going to learn Jujitsu?

Apostate: The truth. You're going to learn the truth.
And as is often the case, it's right under our very
nose, but we don't ALLOW ourselves to see it.

[Begin cerebral upload]

Sahih Bukhari and Sahih Muslim are the two most
authentic collections of hadith. When hadith are cited
in this section, they come from Sahih Muslim, Book 41,
Chapter 17:
http://www.isna.net/library/hadith/muslim/041_smt.html#013_b41

Muhammad, believing that the Last Hour would come
within a 100 years or so of his prophethood, was ever
watchful for signs of his prophecies coming true. One
such prophecy was that of the Dajjal, i.e. the
Anti-Christ, who was to come before the Last Hour.
Muhammad had prophesied certain characteristics the
Dajjal would have, and that ONLY Jesus Christ would be
able to kill him. Jesus was to come AFTER the Dajjal
had already appeared and done some damage.

A very clever and witty boy named Ibn Sayyad (also Ibn
Sa'id), knowing full well that Muhammad was a false
prophet, decided to play along and have some fun by
making him and his followers look like complete fools.
Sayyad pretended to have the prophesied traits of the
Dajjal, and in the absence of Jesus, he was
INVINCIBLE, and could get away with anything. The
hilarity ensued, and each confrontation became a
farce.

Here we see the invincibility of Sayyad:

'Abdullah reported: We were along with Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) that we happened to
pass by children amongst whom there was Ibn Sayyad.
The children made their way but Ibn Sayyad kept
sitting there (and it seemed) as if Allah's Messenger
(may peace be upon him) did not like it (his sitting
with the children) and said to him: May your nose he
besmeared with dust, don't you bear testimony to the
fact that I am the Messenger of Allah? Thereupon he
said: No, but you should bear testimony that I am the
messenger of Allah. Thereupon 'Umar b. Khattab said:
Allah's Messenger, permit me that I should kill him.
Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)
said: If he is that person who is in your mind (Dajjal
), you will not be able to kill him. (Muslim, 41,
6990)

Here Muhammad, determined not to be outdone by a boy,
attempts to ascertain the true identity of Sayyad by
sneaking up on him while he sleeps. Muhammad, in true
Messenger of God form, hides behind a tree and tries
to listen to something Sayyad was muttering in his
sleep:

'Umar b. Khattab said :Allah's Messenger, permit me
that I should strike his neck. Therupon Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: If he is the
same (Dajjal) who would appear near the Last Hour, you
would not be able to overpower him. And if he is not
that, then it is no good for you to kill him.
'Abdullah b. 'Umar further narrated that after some
time Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) and
Ubayy b. Ka'b went towards the palm trees where Ibn
Sayyad was. When Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon
him) went near the tree he hid himself behind a tree
with the intention of hearing something from Ibn
sayyad before Ibn Sayyad could see him, but Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) saw him on a bed
with a blanket around him from which a murmuring sound
was being heard and Ibn Sayyad's mother saw Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) behind the trunk of
the palm tree. She said to Ibn Sayyad: Saf (that being
his name), here is Muhammad. Thereupon Ibn Sayyad
jumped up murmuring and Allah's Messenger (may peace
be upon him) said: If she had left him alone he would
have made things clear. (Muslim, 41, 7000)

Here, Sayyad leaves Muhammad and his companions
utterly humiliated and disgraced. To save face,
Muhammad says that he has confused the boy:

Abu Sa'id reported that Allah's Messenger (may peace
be upon him) met him (Ibn Sayyad) and so did Abu Bakr
and 'Umar on some of the roads of Medina. Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: Do you bear
testimony to the fact that I am the Messenger of
Allah? Thereupon he said: Do you bear testimony to the
fact that I am the messenger of Allah? Thereupon
Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) said: I
affirm my faith in Allah and in His Angels and in His
Books, and what do you see? He said: I see the throne
over water. Whereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be
upon him) said: You see the throne of Iblis upon the
water, and what else do you see? He said: I see two
truthfuls and a liar or two liars and one truthful.
Thereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)
said: Leave him. He has been confounded. (Muslim, 41,
6992)

Here Sayyad (now older) plays mind games by first
arguing that he isn't the Dajjal, and next by
suggesting that he is:

Abu Sa'id Khudri reported: Ibn Sa'id said to me
something for which I felt ashamed. He said: I can
excuse others; but what has gone wrong with you, O
Companions of Muhammad, that you take me as Dajjal?
Has Allah's Apostle (may peace be upon him) not said
that he would be a Jew whereas I am a Muslim and he
also said that he would not have children, whereas I
have children, and he also said: verily, Allah has
prohibited him to enter Mecca whereas I have performed
Pilgrimage, and he went on saying this that I was
about to be impressed by his talk. He (however) said
this also: I know where he (Dajjal) is and I know his
father and his mother, and it was said to him: Won't
you feel pleased if you would be the same person?
Thereupon he said: If this offer is made to me, I
would not resent that. (Muslim, 41, 6995)

Here Sayyad takes advantages of Muhammad's memory
lapses to ridicule him. Sayyad first asks him a
question about Paradise, then at a later time turns
around and gives the answer right back to Muhammad.
This suggests to Muhammad that Sayyad is indeed the
Dajjal, for how else could he have knowledge of
Paradise?

Abu Sa'id reported that Ibn Sayyad asked Allah's
Messenger (may peace be upon him) about the earth of
Paradise. Whereupon he said: It is like white shining
pure musk. (Muslim, 41, 6998)

This hadith has transmitted on the authority of Abu
Sa'id that Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him)
asked Ibn Sa'id about the earth of Paradise. Thereupon
he said: Abu'l-Qasim, It is like a fine white
musk,whereupon he (the Holy Prophet) said : 'You have
told the the truth. (Muslim, 41, 6997)

Here the believers are afraid of making Sayyad angry,
lest he transform into the Dajjal, not unlike the
Incredible Hulk:

Nafi' reported that Ibn 'Umar met Ibn Si'id on some of
the paths of Medina and he said to him a word which
enraged him and he was so much swollen with anger that
the way was blocked. Ibn 'Umar went to Hafsa and
informed her about this. Thereupon she said: May Allah
have mercy upon you, why did you incite Ibn Sayyad in
spite of the fact that you knew it would be the
extreme anger which would make Dajjal appear in the
world? (Muslim, 41, 7003)

[End cerebral upload]

Neo: Holy shit!

Tank: Hey, Mikey, I think he likes it."

Tank: How about some more?

Neo: Hell, yes... Hell, yeah.

[Begin cerebral upload]

The following account of Muhammad's first revelation
comes from Sahih Bukhari (Volume 1, Book 1, Number 3):
http://www.isna.net/library/hadith/bukhari/001_sbt.html

[start hadith]

Narrated 'Aisha:

(the mother of the faithful believers) The
commencement of the Divine Inspiration to Allah's
Apostle was in the form of good dreams which came true
like bright day light, and then the love of seclusion
was bestowed upon him. He used to go in seclusion in
the cave of Hira where he used to worship (Allah
alone) continuously for many days before his desire to
see his family. He used to take with him the journey
food for the stay and then come back to (his wife)
Khadija to take his food like-wise again till suddenly
the Truth descended upon him while he was in the cave
of Hira. The angel came to him and asked him to read.
The Prophet replied, "I do not know how to read.

The Prophet added, "The angel caught me (forcefully)
and pressed me so hard that I could not bear it any
more. He then released me and again asked me to read
and I replied, 'I do not know how to read.' Thereupon
he caught me again and pressed me a second time till I
could not bear it any more. He then released me and
again asked me to read but again I replied, 'I do not
know how to read (or what shall I read)?' Thereupon he
caught me for the third time and pressed me, and then
released me and said, 'Read in the name of your Lord,
who has created (all that exists) has created man from
a clot. Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous."
(96.1, 96.2, 96.3) Then Allah's Apostle returned with
the Inspiration and with his heart beating severely.
Then he went to Khadija bint Khuwailid and said,
"Cover me! Cover me!" They covered him till his fear
was over and after that he told her everything that
had happened and said, "I fear that something may
happen to me." Khadija replied, "Never! By Allah,
Allah will never disgrace you. You keep good relations
with your Kith and kin, help the poor and the
destitute, serve your guests generously and assist the
deserving calamity-afflicted ones."

Khadija then accompanied him to her cousin Waraqa bin
Naufal bin Asad bin 'Abdul 'Uzza, who, during the
PreIslamic Period became a Christian and used to write
the writing with Hebrew letters. He would write from
the Gospel in Hebrew as much as Allah wished him to
write. He was an old man and had lost his eyesight.
Khadija said to Waraqa, "Listen to the story of your
nephew, O my cousin!" Waraqa asked, "O my nephew! What
have you seen?" Allah's Apostle described whatever he
had seen. Waraqa said, "This is the same one who keeps
the secrets (angel Gabriel) whom Allah had sent to
Moses. I wish I were young and could live up to the
time when your people would turn you out." Allah's
Apostle asked, "Will they drive me out?" Waraqa
replied in the affirmative and said, "Anyone (man) who
came with something similar to what you have brought
was treated with hostility; and if I should remain
alive till the day when you will be turned out then I
would support you strongly." But after a few days
Waraqa died and the Divine Inspiration was also paused
for a while.

Narrated Jabir bin 'Abdullah Al-Ansari while talking
about the period of pause in revelation reporting the
speech of the Prophet "While I was walking, all of a
sudden I heard a voice from the sky. I looked up and
saw the same angel who had visited me at the cave of
Hira' sitting on a chair between the sky and the
earth. I got afraid of him and came back home and
said, 'Wrap me (in blankets).' And then Allah revealed
the following Holy Verses (of Quran):

'O you (i.e. Muhammad)! wrapped up in garments!' Arise
and warn (the people against Allah's Punishment),...
up to 'and desert the idols.' (74.1-5) After this the
revelation started coming strongly, frequently and
regularly."

[end hadith]

It has already been established that Muhammad was a
false prophet, since his predictions about the future
did not come to pass. But there is much to be learned
about Muhammad the man from the account of his first
"revelation". For example, we learn that he was a
devout man who would worship Allah for days at a time.
Keep in mind that the Jews and pagans of Arabia
believed in the same Allah, so it comes as no surprise
that Muhammad had knowledge of Allah. However, since
he was utterly illiterate, all he knew was what he had
heard from others. Khadija and her cousin Waraqa
believed him, and subsequently encouraged him to
accept is experience as genuine. Thus, Mohammad
started believing that he was indeed a true prophet.
And the more one believes in something, the more the
mind makes it real for that person.

Waraqa mentions that their had been others claiming
similar visions before Muhammad,  and that they were
all rejected as false prophets. Despite this fact,
Kadija and Waraqa support Muhammad as a true prophet.
Why? One reason has already been mentioned: his piety.
Another would be that he was a relative. However, the
most important reason that people start accepting him
as a true prophet is that they can readily observe the
effects of receiving revelation on his body and mind.
Fear, first and foremost. The hadith states that "they
covered him till his fear was over", and he says, "I
fear that something may happen to me." Later when he
envisions the angel, he says, "I got afraid of him and
came back home."

Muhammad genuinely felt a great deal of fear with each
revelation. Fear is also our most primal instinct, the
very mechanism that allowed our hominid ancestors to
survive. Muhammad's natural fear level was amplified
by the fear accompanying revelations, resulting in an
abnormally high level of fear. Later hadith
corroborate this, where Muhammad states that of all
the believers, he's the one that fears Allah the most.
It is this abnormally high level of fear that shaped
his thoughts during his prophethood and shaped his
religion. Consequently, it is this same heightened
sense of fear that the Muslims feels. Islam is a faith
founded entirely on fear, our most primal instinct. As
such, it is the most successful in controlling the
minds of its adherents.

Christianity, also man-made, advocates that God is
love. Christians are not afraid because their faith
guarantees them Paradise. In sharp contrast, Muslims
KNOW God is fear. There not being guarantees of any
kind in Islam, with the exception of Paradise for
martyrdom, Muslims live in constant fear. Fear that
good deeds were not accepted. Fear that repentance was
not accepted. Fear that their worship was not
accepted. Fear that their fasting and prayers were not
accepted. Fear that their charity was not sincere.
Fear of going astray, and of their children going
astray. Fear of their cultures being eroded by western
influence. Fear of being placed in the hellfire, even
for a second. Fear of blasphemy and apostasy, which
are both punishable by death. Fear, Fear, Fear. Islam
makes a primal connection like no other belief system,
and it is for this reason that the Muslim mind is so
extremely difficult to set free.

 

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