Evolution of the Surat-Al-Fatiha — The first chapter of the Qur’an.

One of the myths that Muslims are brainwashed with from birth is that the Qur’an was always pre-existing in heaven long before the universe was created.  In other words the Qur’an is co-equal with Allah, is Allah’s very word, and in fact, in a sense, is Allah himself since by definition the Qur’an is “uncreated” in the same sense that Allah is uncreated.

This is why any desecration of the Qur’an is equivalent to blasphemy.

This also means, by the way, that every single word in the Qur’an would also have had to have been “uncreated” i.e. always pre-existing side-by-side with Allah even before the universe was created.

Connected with this myth is another belief that Muslims are brainwashed with from birth, and that is that the Qur’an is nothing but the “pure Arabic.”

I previously demonstrated that the very word “Allah” (which is sometimes pronounced as “ilah”) is a term imported into Arabic from the Hebrew/Canaanite “El, “Eloh” and “Elohim” which in turn was/were derived from the Akkadian “Ellil/Anlil which was the Akkadian pronunciation of the Sumerian An lil, or Enlil, the Sumerian primary male deity.

Since the word “Allah” occurs multiple dozens of times in the Qur’an, its very existence in the Qur’an destroys both myths:  The myth that every word in the Qur’an is “nothing but the pure Arabic,” and the myth that the Qur’an (and every word in it) was pre-existing in heaven side-by-side with God before the universe was created.

Well, in this essay I will take the opening verse of the Qur’an and demonstrate how it was also derived from historical antecedents.

THE “OPENING”

Surat-al-fatiha, means “the opening sura” because it is the first sura (or chapter) given in the Qur’an, and Muslims are supposed to repeat it before reading, chanting, or signing any other portion of the Qur’an.  Therefore it is very basic to the entire Qur’an, and to Islam itself.

However, anyone raised in a Christian family who was taught the Lord’s prayer from infanthood, will instantly recognize the mirror image of it in the surat al-fatiah.

LORD’S PRAYER                                                       FATIHA

Our Father who art in Heaven,                              In the name of Allah the all

Hallowed be they name.                                          merciful, all compassionate one.

Thy kingdom come.                                                  Master of the day of judgment.

Thy will be done in earth, as it is                             It is you whom we serve, and it

in heaven.                                                                     is from you whom

Give us this day our daily bread.                              we seek help from.

And forgive us our trespasses,                                  Guide us along the straight path,

as we forgive those who trespass against us.          the path of those upon whom you

And, lead us not into temptation,                            are pleased,

but deliver us from evil.                                             and not the path of those upon whom

For thine is the kingdom,                                          your anger falls, nor the path of those who

The power, and the glory,                                          have gone astray.

For ever and ever.

And, of course, the Christian Lord’s prayer also has its antecedent.  Adad Guppi (648-544 B.C.), devotee to the Mesopotamian moon god Nanna Suen for 95 of her 104 years on this planet, and high priestess for most of those 95 years under no less than ten kings spanning two empires, the Assyrian and the Babylonian, composed a prayer to the moon god for her son Nabu Na’id upon his ascension to the throne of Babylon in 556 B.C.

LORDS PRAYER                                                ADAD GUPPI’S PRAYER

Let me entrust to you,                                        Nanna Suen, my Lord, my son,

Our Father, who art in heaven,

Hallowed by thy name.

Thy kingdom come.                                           Nabu Na’id, king of Babylon,

Thy will be done on earth                                 since you have looked upon me

as it is in heaven.                                                with favor and have

Give us this day our daily bread.                     given me such a long life.

He should not sin against you, as long

as he lives.  Assign to him the favorable

Shedu and Lamassu protective spirits

whom you have assigned to me and who have

made me reach ripe old age,

And forgive us our trespasses,                          Do not forgive him easily his trespassing and

as we forgive those who trespass                      sins against your godhead,

against us.

And, lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,                                    and may he always be in awe of your

the power, and the glory,                                     great godhead.

for ever and ever,

Amen.

Consequently, we also see similar match-ups when we compare the surat-al-fatiha with Adad Guppi’s prayer to the moon god–even it was much further removed in time.

SURAT-AL-FATIHA                                                ADAD GUPPI’S PRAYER

In the name of Allah, the all merciful,               Let me entrust to you, Nanna Suen,

the all compassionate one.                                    my Lord, my son,

Praise to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,            Nabu Na’id, king of Babylon.

the all merciful, all compassionate one.

Master of the day of judgment.

 

It is you whom we serve, and it is from             Since you have looked upon me with

you whom we seek help from.                             favor and have given me such a long

life.

Guide us along the straight path,                         He should not sin against you as long

the path of those upon whom you                       as he lives.  Assign to him the favorable

are pleased,                                                              Shedu and Lamassu protective spirits

whom you have assigned to me and who

have made me reach ripe old age.

and not the path of those upon whom               Do not forgive him easily his trespassing

your anger falls, nor the path of                        and sins against your great godhead, and

those who have gone astray.                             may he always be in awe of your great

godhead.

In other words, to sum up, there is a certain format, or formula, for all three versions of this prayer when one reduces them to their essentials.

First, there is an acknowledgement of Deity as supreme, and being responsible for kingship, whether on this earth, or in heaven.

Then, it is an acknowledgement, or gratitude, for favors that one might obtain from Deity.

Finally, there is the plea for Diety to provide guidance, and to prevent (XYZ) from committing sin, or going down “the wrong path.”

Therefore, we can safely make the claim that the Islamic surat-al-fatiha was absolutely not pre-existing in heaven along side of God before the universe was created, but, like the very word for “Allah,” it evolved out of forms that originally sprang up in ancient Mesopotamia thousands of year prior to Islam, but Billions of years after the world and the universe were created.

Finally, as one can see from the wording of the Islamic surat-al-fatiha, it is just as benign as are the Christian Lord’s Prayer, and Adad Guppi’s prayer to the moon god.  The Islamic surat-al-fatiha was “revealed” in the “Mecca,” or the very earliest stages of Muhammad’s career years before he went psychotic in Medina.

Unfortunately, many Muslims today believe that the final verse of the fatiha refers to the Jews as being those upon whom Allah’s wrath has fallen, and Christians as being those who have gone astray.  This twisted belief stems from an obscure hadeeth Muhammad was alleged to have uttered late in is life–long after he had gone psychotic in Medina.

This is why it is imperative that the few remaining civilized governments on this planet exert every effort possible to instruct their Muslim inhabitants, and the Muslim inhabitants of Muslim majority countries, where the surat-al-fatiha came from and what it originally meant.  Otherwise, all the Counter Terrorism efforts in the world will come to naught, and all the Obama-esque “Countering Violent Extremism” will only encourage ever more violent extremism.

When victims fail to identify the bully abusing them, it only encourages the bully to be even more of a bully.