Once the Jerusalem church was eliminated during the Bar Kokhba revolt in
135, the Ebionites gradually lost influence and followers. According to Hyamm Maccoby(1987) their
decline was due to marginalization and "persecution" by both Jews and Christians. However, some scholars
report that the Ebionites survived much longer, and that many migrated into the
Hijaz, Arabia.
The 12th-century historian Muhammad
al-Shahrastani mentions Jews living in nearby Medina and Hijaz who accepted
Jesus as a prophetic figure and followed traditional Judaism, rejecting
mainstream Christian views.
So, just outside of the reach of the Church of the Roman Empire, a man named Muhammad Ibn Abd'allah comes along. He revives the ancient teachings and sustains the
traditions of forgotten communities suppressed by the official orthodoxy. Many
have claimed that Muhammad founded a new religion but this was not his original
message.
H. Qur'an
[2.136] "Say: We have faith in Allah and (in) that which had been
revealed to us, and (in) that which was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and
Ishaq and Yacub and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to
Moses and Yeshua, and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their
Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them, and to Him do we
submit."
H. Qur'an [46:9] Say, "I am not something original (an innovation) among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner."
In the Hijaz region of Arabia, around 608 A.D., Muhammad began to travel to Mount Hira for solitude, fasting and
intense meditation. Muhammad was aware of the deep, hardening contentions and
divisions between Christianity, Judaism and the various other groups. He was
also aware of the many tribal gods in his region and sought a way to understand
the commonality they all shared in terms of origin and nature. One night, after
months and months of these periodic meditative retreats, sometimes lasting over
30 days at a time, Muhammad encountered an overwhelming, experience of enlightenment.
Deeply affected, he returned home and related to his wife Khadijah what had
happened. He thought he had gone mad. She consoled him, then brought him to her
cousin Waraqah ibn Naufal. Muhammad explained what he saw, a powerful figure of
light which filled the heavens. Wherever he turned, the figure was there, on
every horizon, inescapably present. Waraqah confirmed that what had appeared to
him in the cave was “the Keeper of Secrets (Gabriel) who came to Moses.” [Sahih
Bukhari 1:1:3].
Suprisingly, (or not surprisingly) Waraqah was an Ebionite. Far from establishing a new
religion Muhammad was continuing the tradition and practice of the spiritual
communities that existed since time immemorial. For the
next 23 years Muhammad attempted to translate his visions and experiences into
words and ideas, of course, within the cultural milieu of his time.
And in
doing so became a living testament to the state of the culture, scriptures and
traditions beyond the narrow constricted range of beliefs mandated by Rome.
Not only
was Mecca near Syria, Egypt and Palestine, it was also geographically and
culturally close to Ethiopia. And many of the scriptures he was exposed to were
still in circulation in Ethiopia and Nubia.
Orthodox muslims would like to believe that the Quran came
down from the sky (and would like to believe Allah is up there too.) Which is
why they have trouble explaining this passage from the Qur’an :
“And
certainly We created man, and We know what his mind suggests to him, and We are
nearer to him than his life-vein.” (HQ 50:16).
Muhammad was reviewing all the spiritual and scriptural information available
to him and made distinctions between the various traditions in terms of what
was most helpful and relevant, and where to draw the line in terms of wisdom,
judgment and balance. Rather than coming up with new information, he called the
Qur'an the Furqaan (the distinction, discrimination between true and false).
During
his mission, Muhammad was exposed to texts and oral histories of the Gnostics,
Ethiopians and the Essenes. For example, one large distinction between
so-called Christianity and Islam is that the Qur’an says Jesus wasn’t killed on
the cross.
[Holy
Quran 4:157]
“And
their saying: Surely we have killed the Messiah, Isa son of Marium, the
messenger of Allah; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it
appeared to them so (like Isa) and most surely those who differ therein are
only in a doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow
a conjecture, and they killed him not for sure.”
In some of the Gnostic texts found in Egypt we find a similar account:
“Second
Treatise of the Great Seth is an apocryphal Gnostic writing
discovered in the Codex VII of the Nag Hammadi codices and dates to around
the third century. The author appears to belong to a group of gnostics who
maintain that Jesus Christ was not crucified on the cross.
Instead the text says that Simon of Cyrene was mistaken for Jesus and
crucified in his place.” (Ehrman, Bart (2003). Lost Scriptures. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. pp. 82–86.)
Gospel of
Basilides - He appeared on earth as a man and performed miracles. Thus he
himself did not suffer. Rather, a certain Simon of Cyrene was compelled to
carry his cross for him. It was he who was ignorantly and erroneously
crucified, being transfigured by him, so that he might be thought to be Jesus.
Moreover, Jesus assumed the form of Simon, and stood by laughing at them.
Kelhoffer, James A. (2014). Conceptions of "Gospel"
and Legitimacy in Early Christianity. Mohr Siebeck. p. 80.
The Gospel of Peter stated that Jesus
was taken up before he died:
“And the Lord cried out,
saying, "My power, my power, you have abandoned me." When he said
this, he was taken up.”
~Gospel of Peter. "The Complete Gospels:
Annotated Scholars Version" edited by R. J. Miller (HarperCollins, 1994,
3rd edition).
One of the most noted examples of a tradition found in the Qur’an
but not found in the Bible is the account of Iblis or Shaytan (Satan) refusing
to bow down before Adam. (Qur’an 15:29-33.)
However, a similar story is found in the Coptic Life of Adam and
Eve and the Gospel of Enoch. The Gospel of Enoch is regarded as canonical by
the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo* Church and Eritrean Orthodox Tewahedo Church,
but not by any other Christian group. It is wholly extant only in the
Ge’ez language, with Aramaic fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls and a few
Greek and Latin fragments.(* Like the Arabic
Tawhiyd, Tewahedo (Ge'ez ተዋሕዶ) is
a Ge'ez word meaning "being made one".)
Keep in mind that with the discovery of the Nag Hammadi
scriptures, it becomes clear that the decision to include or exclude a
scripture in the 'Christian Bible' was not necessarily based on concerns about unknown authorship,
authenticity or credibility. Often books were left out because they were simply
not in line with the dogma and opinions Rome was trying to establish. For
example most scholars will tell you that whereas seven of the 13
letters that go under Paul's name are his, the other six are not. Their authors
merely claimed to be Paul.
What Was Muhammad Trying To Do?
Muhammad
was trying to express the principle of Tawhiyd (Oneness). This was the overwhelming understanding
he received in his enlightenment. This has been mistakenly translated as
monotheism, but rather Muhammad was trying to relate an ancient understanding,
that all is one. All the gods are one, there is unity in the diversity in
nature, and we as human beings are all one with each other. All is bound together. He called this oneness 'Allah', the ultimate reality. And the ultimate reality requires that we treat
each other with kindness and respect because we are connected in ways we don't
even fully understand.
He also
tried to teach his people how to draw near and tap into the Divine light he
experienced through, contemplation, remembrance (of their true source),
meditation, and prayer (without the need of priests or bishops.) He called the
way of life he taught 'Peace'- acceptance of the Divine reality, and the
submission of the ego to the Divine or the higher Self (within
and without). Nowhere in the Qur'an is the word religion mentioned. The word
translated as 'religion' is 'diyn'. Diyn means judgment, governance, self governance
or inner conscience. It is our nature, that innermost voice which governs our
upright conduct.
H. Qur'an
30:30 "Then set your face upright for religion
(diyn) in the right state-- the nature made by Allah in which He has made men;
there is no altering of Allah's creation; that is the right religion (diyn),
but most people do not know."
This was
the source of power. Coupled with the application of 'intention', it was the gateway to vast resources of creative,
dynamic human potential. But over time many have used this power and Muhammad's name
for political and economic gain. Muhammad died leaving few possessions having
given away all the material wealth he accrued to the needy over his life. His
successors, (after his only appointed successor Ali ibn Abu Talib), built empires
and conquered regions once controlled by Christian (Byzantine) Rome - and over
time took on the same administrative and religious structure as the Christian lands they conquered.
Eventually Islam became an empire and a religion. And as scholars, judges and
Caliphs became more involved in it, Islam became increasingly, 'orthodox' rigid and
authoritative.
However Muhammad's
original spirituality and simple purity was never forgotten and survived in the
form of Sufism.
"There are as many paths to God as there are souls on Earth" ~ Sufi saying.
Who are
the Sufis?
The Sufis
are an ancient spiritual order whose origins have never been traced or dated;
nor do they themselves take much interest in such researches, being content to
point out the occurrence of their own way of thought in different regions and
periods. Though commonly mistaken for a Muslim sect, the Sufis are at home in
all religions. If they call Islam the "shell" of Sufism, this is
because they believe Sufism to be the secret teaching within all religions.
One of
the first to articulate the teachings of Sufism was the Nubian, Dhu’l Nuwn. He
was a link to a number of mystic traditions. His father Ibrahim was a Nubian
who had converted to Islam, becoming a master (mawla) among the Quraysh tribe
from which Muhammad himself descended. In brief, Dhu'l Nun was one of the
Egyptian mawali, a native of the Nile valley who learned Arabic culture and
language under Quraysh auspices.
Whatever
the precise details of his parentage, his cultural background was substantially
Coptic, and also featured architecture from the pre-Christian period.
His
birthplace Akhmim had a history going back to the Pharaonic Old Kingdom era
some three thousand years before. It is likely that Dhu'l Nuwn spoke Coptic in
addition to Arabic. Many sources credit Dhu'l Nuwn with a large number of
disciples in tasawwuf (Sufism) throughout Arabia, Palestine, Egypt and Syria.
“Whatever
you conceive with your imagination, God is other than that.” ~ Dhu'l Nuwn.
So what shall we call
this practice of self -discovery and self knowledge? And why is this important
for Black People?
Self-knowledge is an essential component to self -determination.
Cultivating the wisdom within us will help us reach a heightened
awareness grounded in the present; that intensified consciousness - the flash
of power experienced when you make determined choices rather than simply
react to external circumstances. It is finding the power to choose…balance.
"Have the wisdom to abandon the values of a time that has passed and pick out the constituents of the future. An environment must be suited to the age and men to the environment."
~ Proverb found in the inner temple of Karnak.
As shown in this overview- dates, names, histories become
blurred over time, but one reality stands, our Divine selves. So ultimately, no
one rules over us, and with this understanding no religion can control us. We
are taking over now.
"Never be enslaved to principles."
~Sufi Proverb
1. P. F.
Service, The Ancient African Kingdom of Kush (Cultures of the Past) (New
York: Benchmark Books, 1998) 35.
2. A number of Gnostics were called
Neo-Platonists. Neo-Platonism is the modern term for a school of Hellenistic
philosophy that took shape in the 3rd century, based on the teachings of Plato
and some of his early followers.
Many Greek philosophers had studied at Egyptian
schools. Iamblichus wrote that Thales of Miletus insisted that Pythagoras had
to go to Memphis to study because the Egyptian priests were a veritable source
of knowledge and wisdom, especially when it came to the natural sciences,
medicine and astronomy.
(See, “The Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library: An
Anthology of Ancient Writings Which Relate to Pythagoras and Pythagorean
Philosophy,”Kenneth Sylvan Guthrie, p.59-60.
Phanes Press (1987))
.
Plato was also reported to have studied in Egypt:
“And Plato does not deny that he procured
all that is most excellent in philosophy from the barbarians; and he admits
that he came into Egypt." The Stromata (Book I) Chapter 15.
Whence, writing in the Phœdo that the philosopher can
receive aid from all sides, he said: "Great indeed is Greece, O Cebes, in
which everywhere there are good men, and many are the races of the
barbarians." Thus Plato thinks that some of the barbarians, too, are philosophers. And
Pythagoras is reported to have been a disciple of Sonches the Egyptian
arch-prophet; and Plato, of Sechnuphis of Heliopolis; and Eudoxus, of Cnidius
of Konuphis, who was also an Egyptian." [Stromata, 1.15]
3.
The word as applied
in English and in the context of "Gnosticism" is a 19th-century
construction first made by Henry More, but is based
on the use of the adjective "of knowledge", (Greek γνωστικός)
by Irenaeus (c.185 AD)
to describe the school of Valentinus.