The Big Criminals Are Always Featured on the Headlines
Published in April 30, 2020
Translated by: Ahmed Fathy
Firstly:
1- Today's social media networks have ushered in a new era within human history; i.e., the era of ordinary people about whom the ordinary 20th century media rarely cared; authors of the history books of the Middle-Ages also rarely cared about writing in detail about ordinary, common people; the focus of such historians at the time was to record the deeds of the big criminals in both annals and histories of sultans, caliphs, rulers, States, and dynasties. We can safely boast that social media networks in the cyberspace have forced satellite TV channels to copy and follow views expressed by ordinary people/citizens who comment on any events or pieces of news.
2- Ordinary, common people are rarely mentioned in history books; even when their stories are mentioned briefly, their names are intentionally overlooked by historians; we find only stories of some common people who fell as victims/preys of the big criminals. In such cases, historians would mention what occurred to such victims without mentioning their names. Examples of what we refer to here can be found in abundance in the book titled (Al-Solok) by Al-Makrizi, and we quote some of these examples later on, but we exemplify this phenomenon found in Middle-Ages history books from two other historians: one who was a contemporary of Al-Makrizi and one who emerged in a later era; namely, the supreme judge Ibn Hajar Al-Askalany and the judge Ibn Al-Sayrafi, respectively.
3- In his history-book titled (Enbaa Al-Ghumur Be Abnaa Al-Umur) or, roughly translated, "Historical Events from the Chronicle of the Years", Ibn Hajar writes the following about the events of 826 A.H.: (...In this year, a corpse of a murdered man was found in a village; the governor of the region where the village is situated arrested most men of this villages and he never knew if the murderer was among them or not. After much futile interrogations and investigations, the governor could never identify the culprit, and eventually, he had to send the arrested men to the sultan Barsbay who commanded chopping off the hands and noses of some of them and the rest of them were halved by the executioner also as per the decree of the sultan...). Thus, the cruel sultan Barsbay was too embarrassed because he and his policemen could not find out the culprit, and he had nothing left to do except to severely punish some suspects and to put the rest of them to death! This was done in the name of Sunnite sharia! In this tragic story, Ibn Hajar never mentions the names of the poor victims; he never condemns in any comments this sharia law of Satan; this is natural since he was a supreme judge and a fiqh scholar/sheikh who advocated such sharia! Ibn Hajar was among eh big criminals.
4- The judge and historian Ibn Al-Sayrafi recorded events of the reign of the Mameluke sultan Qaitbay; this historian was tutored by Ibn Hajar; he loved to imitate the style of his tutor; since Ibn Hajar wrote the history book titled (Enbaa Al-Ghumur Be Abnaa Al-Umur), his disciple Ibn Al-Sayrafi wrote his own history book titled (Enbaa Al-Hasr Be Abnaa Al-Asr) or, roughly translated, "Historical Details from the Chronicle of the Era". Of course, as expected, Ibn Al-Sayrafi never mentions stories of any ordinary, common people unless they were victims/preys of the big criminals; he also never mentions the names of such victims.
4/1: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following about the Mameluke prince Qanim who died in 873 A.H.: (...He was an unjust, evil drunkard who committed many grave sins; he raped and fornicated a lot; at one time when he got drunk after a session of excessive wine-drinking, he bit off the nose of a man and ate it!...Common people were glad because he died at last; only his death, by the will of Allah, relieved Muslims from his evil ways, savagery, brutality, and grave injustices...May Allah admit him into Hell for eternity...). Thus, he mentions the name of one of the big criminals and not the one of the victim who was among the common men.
4/2: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Saffar, 874 A.H.: (...During this month, the sultan – may Allah grant him victory – issued a decree to put a thief to death by hanging; this thief deserved it because when he stole earlier and got caught, one of his hands was cut off, and when he stole for a second time, his feet were chopped off; he was hanged when caught red-handed with the crime of thievery for the third time. A male child also had one of his hands cut off for theft though he was a pre-adolescent and has not come of age yet...). The judge and historian Ibn Al-Sayrafi never bothered to ask himself if such a poor man who was hanged was hungry or not and if he had to steal because he was starved or not; he never tell us how this unnamed man lived after chopping off one of his hands and both of his feet. We surmise that he was starving and had to steal some food; Ibn Al-Sayrafi does not mention the name of this poor, wretched man and what he stole exactly. The decree to hang this poor man was issued by one of the big criminals; namely, the cruel sultan Qaitbay who robbed everyone in Egypt and who believed in the Sunnite fiqh and sharia of Satan which allowed him as a ruler to massacre up to one-third of the subjects in order to reform the remaining two-thirds! This means that enthroned rulers within Sunnite sharia were given the 'right' to put anyone to death as per their whims – even starved poor men who stole only to find something to eat. Again, The judge and historian Ibn Al-Sayrafi never bothered to ask himself if it is OK to cut off a hand of a child even if he stole anything; how come that this penalty was applied to a non-adult?! Ibn Al-Sayrafi as a judge and historian cared only to supplicate to Allah to grant victory to the sultan Qaitbay! This means that Ibn Al-Sayrafi was among the big criminals.
4/3: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Muharram, 875 A.H.: (...The Mameluke prince Einal Al-Ashqar arrested an adolescent man owned by one of the Mamelukes because he stole a goose and some barley; he had him severely beaten in public and an arrow was pierced into his nose, and then, he was placed on a mule to roam the streets of Greater Cairo for public humiliation and also to serve as a warning to common people against the crime of theft...). We never know the name of this adolescent victim.
4/4: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Jamady Akhar, 875 A.H.: (...A Christian man was found slaughtered – his head was cut off – near a mill in the Cairene district of....Despite thorough investigations, the culprit was not identified...). We never get to know the name of this Christian Egyptian victim who was murdered!
4/5: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Shabaan, 876 A.H.: (...A corpse of a flayed man whose nose was cut off was found near one of the gates of the Cairo Wall; no one could recognize him; therefore, no relatives of him were to be found; his murderer was not identified...).
4/6: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Zu Al-Qaeda, 876 A.H.: (...A corpse of an identified murdered man was found in the desert outside Greater Cairo near one of the gates of the Cairo Wall; the criminal who murdered him was never identified, but one of the guards responsible for guarding the gate was arrested and beaten severely in public with a cudgel as a punishment for his sleep during his watch, which allowed the criminal to pass unnoticed to get rid of the corpse of the murdered man...). Again, we never know the names of the murdered victim and the penalized guard.
4/7: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Saffar, 877 A.H.: (...A ferry sank in the River Nile while it was carrying several men, women, and children who drowned; among the drowned persons was a servant who was among the followers who served the supreme judge Qutb-Eddine Al-Khodary, may Allah grant him more glory...). So, Ibn Al-Sayrafi never mentions the names of the drowned victims and the name of the drowned man who was merely a follower serving a supreme judge; he mentions only the name of the supreme judge Qutb-Eddine Al-Khodary who was among the big criminals!
4/8: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Saffar, 877 A.H.: (...Some merchants filed a complaint to the Mameluke prince Yashbak Ibn Mahdi, who works in the palace as the reader and scribe of the messages sent to or by the sultan, against a merchant who claims he went bankrupt and therefore renderedunable to pay his debts to them as he bought goods from them on credit; the Mameluke prince commanded that this bankrupt merchant be beaten severely in public; amidst his screams that he had no money at all, the Mameluke prince commanded him to settle his debts in any other means if he really did not have money; eventually, as per the command of Yashbak Ibn Mahdi, this merchant was to work as a guard and his wages would be sent regularly to his creditors until his debts are settled...). We never know the name of the merchant who went bankrupt.
4/9: Ibn Al-Sayrafi writes the following within the events of Rabei Awwal, 877 A.H.: (...Many commoners and peasants in Greater Cairo to arrested and were put in chains though they committed no crimes at all; they were sent by the Mameluke prince Azbek, the military higher leader, to work in the construction project of arches on the River Nile in Giza...They received good wages, but the flood and high level of water destroyed what they built; more money was lost and the sultan was furious; more workers were needed though about 2000 men worked in this construction project along with about 200 engineers and constructors...The Mameluke prince Azbek devised a plan to bring more workers by force: he brought a man and commanded his being nailed to a cross and the criers/callers roamed the streets of the Cairene district of Boulaq to invite people to see the outcome and penalty of a murderer who violate laws of Allah by killing a soul as the crucified murderer will be made to roam the streets as a warning for all; when many men gathered to watch this procession, the soldiers of Azbek arrested them and put them in chains; they were told they will work in the construction project in Giza in return for good wages; this plan devised by Azbek was very strange and indeed unprecedented...). It was a devilish plan to gather more workers within paid but forced labor; we never know the names of the victims and the name of the crucified, innocent victim who never murdered anyone. Ibn Al-Sayrafi never expresses any pity for this unnamed victim; this means that the historian and judge Ibn Al-Sayrafi was among the big criminals.
Secondly:
Before they were brought to Egypt by the Ayyubids, the Mamelukes were children never known inside their respective countries; even the Jilban Mamelukes brought as adults into Egypt, and many of them were willingly sold into slavery for that purpose, were never known inside their original countries; they were common, ordinary people. The historians at the time never mentioned the names of any Mameluke soldiers who never aspired to climb the social ladder or who were not among power-seeking adventurers who struggled for the sake of the throne and the crown; the focus of historians at the time was on the names of Mamelukes who became among the big criminals: princes, leaders, viziers, high-rank officials/employees, and sultans. Such big criminals were Mamelukes ready for fighting their way to the top, as enthroned tyrants if they commit more bloodshed and crimes, or to the high-rank posts; they might get imprisoned many times; they might get promoted as princes afterwards; they amass and hoard ill-gotten money they stole; hence, historians at the time mentioned only the events and names of Mameluke sultans, the highest level of big criminals, and the events and names linked to their military wing big criminals (Mameluke princes/leaders) and their civil wing big criminals (judges/clergymen employed in religious and civil high-rank posts). In contrast, the names of the weak, oppressed ones on earth (in rural areas, in cities/towns, and in the capital Greater Cairo) are never given even when they have the 'honor' of mentioning their stories by condescending historians only when such common, ordinary people were victims of torture or murder (committed by the big criminals) within the context of recording events and the biographies of such big criminals who confiscated power, wealth, and authority.
Thirdly: the reason for mentioning the above facts:
History mostly consists of events of the lives of enthroned tyrants and big criminals; this fact applies to the sinful four pre-Umayyad caliphs (deified by Sunnites) and their successors (or caliphs of several dynasties); they are imams/leaders of the big criminals in all eras of the history of the Muhammadans; the four pre-Umayyad caliphs in particular are gods in the Sunnite pantheon. The problem is that when we discuss their history and crimes, recorded by Sunnite historians who worshiped them and believed in them as infallible deities, many Sunnites curse our person; we never about their curses. The problem on which we focus is the general misconception that companions/contemporaries of Muhammad were only the ones mentioned by historians; we have discussed and refuted this erroneous idea before; in the following points, we repeat briefly what we have mentioned before as a reminder to our readers.
1- There is a difference between the Quranic methodology within Quranic stories and the methodologies followed by historians; of course, historians mention times, places, events, and names. Sadly, the historians of the Muhammadans mention only details of times, places, events, and names only related to the big criminals and their followers.
2- In contrast, Quranic stories focus on moral lessons to be drawn; details of times, places, and names are intentionally unmentioned regarding the events in Quranic stories; this is because the Holy Quran is the Book of Guidance and not a book of history. Let us exemplify this in the following points.
2/1: "And cite for them the parable of the landlords of the town - when the messengers came to it. We sent them two messengers, but they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third. They said, “We are messengers to you.”" (36:13-14); we never know the era and location of this story; likewise, the names of the three messengers are not mentioned.
2/2: "Have you not considered the notables of the Israelites after Moses? When they said to a prophet of theirs, “Appoint a king for us, and we will fight in the cause of God.” He said, “Is it possible that, if fighting was ordained for you, you would not fight?” They said, “Why would we not fight in the cause of God, when we were driven out of our homes, along with our children?” But when fighting was ordained for them, they turned away, except for a few of them. But God is aware of the unjust ones." (2:246); the details in this Quranic story does not mention the era and region of the events; again, the prophet of the Israelites mentioned in 2:246 is unnamed.
2/3: "Destroyed were the People of the Trench. The fire supplied with fuel. While they sat around it. And were witnessing what they did to the believers. They begrudged them only because they believed in God the Almighty, the Praiseworthy." (85:4-8); in this Quranic story, the era and the region are not mentioned; again, the names of the victims and the big criminals are not mentioned in this Quranic context.
3- As for the so-called 'companions' of Muhammad or his contemporaries in the 7th century Arabia, we state the following Quranic facts about them.
3/1: The Lord God describes some of them believers without mentioning their names; this is exemplified here: "Your Lord knows that you stay up nearly two-thirds of the night, or half of it, or one-third of it, along with a group of those with you. God designed the night and the day. He knows that you are unable to sustain it, so He has pardoned you. So read of the Quran what is possible for you. He knows that some of you may be ill; and others travelling through the land, seeking God’s bounty; and others fighting in God’s cause. So read of it what is possible for you, and observe the prayers, and give regular charity, and lend God a generous loan. Whatever good you advance for yourselves, you will find it with God, better and generously rewarded. And seek God’s forgiveness, for God is Forgiving and Merciful." (73:20); "To the poor immigrants who were driven out of their homes and their possessions, as they sought the favor of God and His approval, and came to the aid of God and His Messenger. These are the sincere. And those who, before them, had settled in the homeland, and had accepted faith. They love those who emigrated to them, and find no hesitation in their hearts in helping them. They give them priority over themselves, even if they themselves are needy. Whoever is protected from his natural greed - it is they who are the successful." (59:8-9); "Of the believers are men who are true to what they pledged to God. Some of them have fulfilled their vows; and some are still waiting, and never wavering." (33:23); "But the messenger and those who believe with him strive with their possessions and their lives. These have deserved the good things. These are the successful. God has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great victory." (9:88-89).
3/2: The Lord God describes the stances, words, deeds, and sentiments of the overt, frank hypocrites of Yathreb also without mentioning their names; this is exemplified in the Quranic Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 33, 59, and 63.
3/3: The Quranic Chapter 9 mentions many details which form a sort of survey regarding the ranks/degrees of faith/belief among the Yathreb dwellers and desert-Arabs around Yathreb; this is exemplified here: "And among the Desert-Arabs are those who consider their contribution to be a fine. And they wait for a reversal of your fortunes. Upon them will fall the cycle of misfortune. God is Hearing and Knowing. Yet among the Desert-Arabs are those who believe in God and the Last Day, and consider their contribution to be a means towards God, and the prayers of the messenger. Surely it will draw them closer, and God will admit them into His mercy. God is Forgiving and Compassionate. The Forerunners - the first of the immigrants and the supporters, and those who followed them in righteousness. God is pleased with them, and they are pleased with Him. He has prepared for them Gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will abide forever. That is the sublime triumph. Among the Desert-Arabs around you there are some hypocrites, and among the inhabitants of the city too. They have become adamant in hypocrisy. You do not know them, but We know them. We will torment them twice; then they will be returned to a severe torment. Others have confessed their sins, having mixed good deeds with bad deeds. Perhaps God will redeem them. God is Forgiving and Merciful." (9:98-102); "Others are held in suspense, awaiting God’s decree, as to whether He will torment them, or accept their repentance. God is Aware and Wise. Then there are those who establish a mosque to cause harm, and disbelief, and disunity among the believers, and as an outpost for those who fight God and His Messenger. They will swear: “Our intentions are nothing but good.” But God bears witness that they are liars. Do not stand in it, ever. A mosque founded upon piety from the first day is worthier of your standing in it. In it are men who love to be purified. God loves those who purify themselves." (9:106-108).
3/4: The worst and most dangerous type of hypocrites of Yathreb included those adamant in hypocrisy who concealed their true stances and sentiments very well inside their souls and get closer to Muhammad and he did not know them (as per 9:101), and they ruled as caliphs once he died. Once they reached power, each of them (i.e., the four pre-Umayyad sinful caliphs) proved to be among the worst type of big criminals. During their reign of grave injustices, the true, pious monotheists among the companions/contemporaries of Muhammad distanced themselves and never participated in the heinous crimes of the Arab conquests; they never sought to spread corruption on earth and desired no superiority on earth; they sought only Paradise in the Hereafter; the Lord God says the following about them: "That Home of the Hereafter - We assign it for those who seek no superiority on earth, nor corruption. And the outcome is for the pious ones." (28:83). The four pre-Umayyad sinful caliphs Abou Bakr, Omar, Othman, and Ali and other sinful caliphs who succeeded them sought superiority on earth and spread corruption, bloodshed, and other heinous crimes; hence, they imposed themselves as figures in world history. History records only the deeds of the big criminals and events linked to their lifetimes; regarding this fact, there is no difference between the sinful caliph Abou Bakr and the Mameluke sultans Barsbay and Qaitbay as all of them belonged to one category of the enthroned big criminals.