القصة بين ملك النصارى و الشيخ المسلم التي حرَّفها بابا الفاتيكان

القصة بين ملك النصارى و الشيخ المسلم التي حرَّفها بابا الفاتيكان

وهذه القصة مترجمة :

Basheer and The Shaikh

Prepared by Dr. Mohammad Ibn Rizq Tarhuni

Translated by Umar Salim (Andrew Hinds – formerly-) from Trinidad

Al-Hafidh Ibn Asaakir said in his book “ the greet history of Damascus city : Abu Muhammad Al-Akfaani and Abdul Kareem ibn Hamza and Abu Al-Hasan Ali Ibn Bakaat Al-Khushu’iy said that Abu Bakr Al-Khateeb said that Ibn Rizqawiegh said that Abu Amr ibn As-Samaak said that Ubaid ibn Muhammad Ibn Khalaf Al-Bazzaaz said that Al-Hasan ibn As-Sabah Al-Bazzaz said that Muhammad ibn Katheer Al-Masisiy As-Sanaaniy said that Mukhalid ibn Al-Husain said that Wasil said:

“Once a young boy of the children of the roman generals was captured. He was a handsome boy and when he was brought to the land of the Muslims, he ended up in the court of the Caliph. This was during the reign of the Ommiad Caliphs. The lad was called Basheer. Instructions were given to have him sent to school. He therefore, soon learnt to write. He also read the Quran, recited poetry, and studied Hadeeth. He even performed Hajj. When Basheer grew up however, the devil whispered to him and misled him. He whispered to him that Christianity was the religion of his forefathers. Consequently, Basheer fled the Muslim lands, a renegade from Islam, bound for the land of the Romans and his destiny. When he got to the Roman lands, he was brought before the evil King. The King asked him about his present and former ways of life and about his reason for wanting to enter Christianity. Basheer explained to him, the reasons behind his wanting to become a Christian. This elevated him, somewhat, in the eyes of the King. So the King made him a general and gave him a leading role among his other generals. It was by the decree of Allah and His power, that the Romans captured thirty men, of the Muslim army. These men were brought before Basheer. He asked them, one by one, about their religion. It so happened, that among the men captured, was a Shaikh (scholar), from Damascus, called Wasil. When Basheer questioned him, he refused to answer. Basheer then asked him, “What is the matter with you?” Why don’t you answer me?” The Shaikh answered, “I am not going to answer you about any law, today.” “I am going to ask you tomorrow,” said Basheer to the Shaikh, “so prepare an answer for me!” He then ordered the Shaikh to leave. The next day, Basheer sent for the Shaikh. He came quickly, and Basheer said to him, “All praise be to Allah, who existed even before there was anything, and who created seven heavens, one above the other, without any assistance from His creations. It is, therefore surprising of you Arabs, when you claim that indeed the likeness of Jesus in the sight of Allah, is that of Adam. He created him from dust, then said to him, “Be and he was.” The Shaikh remained silent. Basheer then said to him, “Why don’t you answer me?” The Shaikh said: “How can I answer you when I am a prisoner in your hands? If I tell you what you want to hear, my Lord would be displeased with me, and I would be destroyed. If, on the other hand, I say to you with what you didn't want to hear, I fear for myself. Therefore, give me a covenant by Allah, like that which Allah took with His Prophets and which the Prophets in turn took with the people, that you would not deceive me nor trick me nor desire to oppress me, and if you hear the truth, you would submit to it.” Basheer then said to him, “You have, from me, Allah’s covenant, that which He took with the Prophets and that which they took with the people, that I would not doublecross you, nor trick you, nor desire to oppress you. If I hear the truth, I shall submit to it.” The Shaikh then said to him: “Your description of Allah, is a good one. What is beyond your knowledge however, is even greater and Allah is even greater than your description of Him. He also cannot ever be fully described. On the other hand, you have distorted the description of Jesus and Adam. Didn’t they eat food, drink, urinate, and go to the toilet? Didn’t they sleep and wake? Weren’t they happy and sad?” “Of course they did.” Basheer replied. The Shaikh then asked, “So what then, is the difference between the two?” “The difference is that Jesus, the son of Mary, had two souls in one body,” said Basheer. “He had one soul by which he knew the unseen and what is in the depths of the oceans and what leaves of trees fall off, and another soul by which he healed the blind and the leper and gave life to the dead,” remarked Basheer. The Shaikh then said: “Did the stronger soul know the position of the weaker soul in relation to it? “May Allah‘s curse be upon you!” replied Basheer.” What would you say, if I said that it did not know, and what would you say, if I said that it did?” “If you say that it knew,” replied the Shaikh, “I would say, wasn’t its strength enough to repel the danger and terrible afflictions that befell it? And if you say that it did not know, I would say, how can it know the unseen, when it did not even know the position of another soul sharing the same body with it?” Basheer was silent. The Shaikh then said, “I ask you sincerely. Do you people worship the cross as a symbol of Jesus the son of Mary, that he was crucified?” “Yes,” replied Basheer. “Was this on the approval of Jesus or by his disapproval?” asked the Shaikh. At this Basheer said, “This question is the sister or the first. What would you say, if I say it was by his approval and what would you say, if I say that it was by his disapproval?” The Shaikh said, “If you say that it was by his approval, then you have said a great thing. Why is it then, that you blame the Jews? They have merely done what was required of them, and more! And if you say that it was by his disapproval, I would say, why then do you worship what cannot protect itself.” By Allah!” continued the Shaikh, “Didn’t Jesus eat food and drink, and fast and pray, and urinate and defecate, and sleep and wake, and was happy and sad?” “Yes,” said Basheer. “By Allah! To whom did he fast and pray?” asked the Shaikh. “To Allah,” said Basheer. “I swear by the one who can harm or benefit (i.e Allah), it is not fitting that you live except in Christianity. I see that you are a man who has studied the art of debate, and I am only a fighting man. But tomorrow, we shall bring you someone through whom Allah would put you to shame!” With that Basheer ordered that the Shaikh be taken away. The following day, Basheer sent for the Shaikh. When he entered, to his surprise, he saw a priest, with a huge beard, in the room with Basheer. “Indeed this is an Arab,” said Basheer, “who is gentle, intelligent, and has roots with the Arabs. He has a desire to enter our religion. Speak to him, therefore, so that you may make him a Christian.” The priest then prostrated to Basheer, and said to him, “You always bring good things for me, but this is the best that you’ve ever brought.” Drawing closer the Shaikh, the priest said, “You’re not that old that you’ve lost your mind, nor do you have a distorted understanding. You’re not a young person whose mind has not yet fully developed, and has not yet reached a level of understanding. Tomorrow, I’ll dip you in baptism water and baptize you, so that you can emerge as the day you were born.” “And what is this baptism water?” asked the Shaikh? “I blessed it myself, to make it holy,” replied the priest. “What then is the tradition regarding this,?” asked the Skaikh. “This is the tradition of Jesus, the son of Mary!” said the priest. “So what’s the story!” asked the Shaikh. “Verily, John, the son of Zacharia, baptized Jesus, the Son of Mary in the Jordan River,” explained the priest. “He dipped him in the water, anointed his head and prayed for him to be blessed.” So Jesus needed .. John ..to anoint his head and pray for him to be blessed,? asked the Shaikh. At this, the priest fell silent. Basheer laid back, but could not contain his laughter. He put his hand over his mouth and burst out laughing. “Stand up!” said the priest, “may the curse of God be upon you! I invited you to Christianity, but instead you have already entered Islam!!” Soon the news of the Shaikh spread. News of him reached to the King. He sent for the Shaikh and said to him, “What is this, that has reached me, about your belittling of my religion and status?” The Shaikh said, “Indeed, I have a religion, about which I was silent, until I was forced to defend it.” “And do you have proof?” asked the King. “Yes! Bring anyone to debate me, and, if the truth is with me, do not blame me for defending the truth. And, if the truth is with him, I would return to the truth.” The King then sent for the highest ranking Christian and a group of his associates. When the Christian entered, he prostrated to the King. “Oh King, who is this!?” asked the Shaikh.” “This is the leader of the Christians, through whom, you will accept Christianity,” said the King. “Does he have any children?” asked the Shaikh. “Does he have a wife, or does he have grandchildren?” “May God’s be upon curse you!” said the King. “He is wiser and purer, than to have a child associated to him. He is purer than to be stained by the impurity of menstruation. No! Indeed, he is purer than this!” The Shaikh said, “So, is it that you dislike what is natural for all people, like faces, urine, sleep and wake, and sexual relations with women, and yet you claim that the Lord of the Worlds lived in the darkness of the womb and was defiled by menstruation??! “This is a devil from the devils of the Arabs!” said the priest. “Throw him into the sea! Throw him back from whence he came!!” Moving closer to the priest, the Shaikh said, “If it is that you worship Jesus, the son of Mary, because he had no father, then look at Adam. He had no father, nor did he have a mother. Allah created him with His hands, and the Angels prostrated to him. So, worship Adam along with Jesus, so that you would have two gods! And, if it is that you have worshipped him, because he showed you miraculous things, then look at Joshua, the son of Noon, who fought a people until sunset, then he said to the sun, “By Allah’s grace, go back!” So, the sun went back to midday. Then include Joshua, that he may be the third god. And, if it is that you worship him, because he was taken up to the heavens, then there are two angels with each individual by night, and two others by day, going up to the heavens. Why then don’t we go and count them, that there is no mistake in our minds, and our religion in not mixed up and that we do not add any perplexity to our religion.” “Oh priest!” continued the Shaikh, “Tell me if someone has conquered death, which is easier for him, to die naturally or to be killed?” “To be killed,” said the priest. “Why then didn’t he kill his mother?” asked the Shaikh, as this would have been better for her. “In that case, he was not kind to his mother,” continued the Shaikh. The priest said, “Take him into the Grand Cathedral, for indeed, no one has ever entered it without becoming a Christian.” “Then, take him to the Grand Cathedral,” said the King. “Indeed it is only one of the houses of your Lord, in which God’s name is mentioned.” “If that is the case,” said the Shaikh, “it’s alright.” The king said, “Then take him.” When the Shaikh entered the church, he placed his fingers in his ears, and, in a loud voice, began calling the Azan or Muslim call to prayer. This caused a great disturbance among the Christians. They started shouting. Then they took the Shaikh back to the King. “Oh King!” cried the Shaikh, “Where did they take me?!” “They took you to one of the houses of God,” said the King, “so that you may praise your Lord.” The Shaikh then said, “I entered and praised Him with my tongue, and glorified Him with my heart. So, if it is that every time I mention Allah in your church, it belittles your religion, then may Allah increase your humiliation.” “That is true,” said the King. Then ordering his officials he said, “Leave him alone!” “Oh King!’ they cried, “We wouldn’t be satisfied until we kill him.” “Oh King!” they cried, “We wouldn’t be satisfied until we kill him for you.” “If you all kill me,” protested the Shaikh, “and word of this gets back to our King, he would start killing all the priests and bishops and destroying the churches. He would also break the cross and prevent the bells from being rung in the churches!’ “Would he do such a thing!” they asked. “Yes, “said the Shaikh. “So don’t complain when this happens,” he warned. The Christians thought about this for a while, then they released the Skaikh. The Shaikh then said, “Oh king! What is it that the people of the Jews and the Christians hold against the Polytheists. “The fact that they worship what they created with their own hands,” replied the King. “And, likewise, you too worship what you created with your own hands,” said the Shaikh. “These statues that you have in your churches, if they can be found in the Bible, then we’ll have nothing to say about it. But, if not, then your religion is just like the religion of the Polytheists.” “That’s right,” said the King. Turning to the priests, the king asked “Do you find these in the Bible?” “N…N …No,” replied the priest. “So why does my religion resemble the religion of the polytheists!?” asked the King angrily. “Destroy the churches!” ordered the king. They started demolishing the churches and crying. The priest said, “Indeed this is a devil, form the devils of the Arabs, that the sea has thrown at you all. So, return him from whence he came, and don’t spill a drop of his blood on your land, because it would corrupt your religion!” Some men were then ordered to take him back o Damascus. The King then started killing all the priests, bishops and generals, because none of them were able to successfully debate the Shaikh. So, they fled to Syria.