The previous episode affirmed that the Muslim view of paradise is largely informed by the pleasures of this world, and this emphasis is understandable, given Allah's unknowable nature. Another bi-product of Islam's unknowable god is the exaltation of Mohammed himself. Just as nature abhors a vacuum, so Muslims gravitate to knowable figures in Islam, since the knowledge of Allah is lacking. This episode looks at Muhammed, the example for Muslims of submission to Allah. A cursory reading of the Quran and Hadiths conveys Mohammed as an astute warrior and politician who used worldly means to attain worldly ends. Murdering, lying, assassination and pillaging mark Muhammed's rise to power in the Arabian peninsula. Christians and Jews either converted or "felt themselves subdued" in the form of a tax. Jihad, or holy war, was the obligation of every Muslim in combatting active resistance to Islam. Islam is fundamentally a religion of this world, and Muslims are given divine sanction in the example of Muhammed to advance the religion using worldly means, even violating ethical norms. Given the unknowable nature of Allah, who is both the author of good and evil, moral ambivalence in Muhammed and those who follow his example should not be surprising. Submitting to Allah's will, not His nature (since it cannot be known) is the goal of Islam. Since Allah himself is not tethered to "the good," and Muhammed himself set the example of setting aside moral boundaries in the name of Allah, the average Muslim can justifiably do the same.
Christianity and Islam: Starting Points and Goals
This episode contrasts Christianity with Islam in the themes of sin, salvation and ultimate goals. Muslims believe that all people are born without a propensity to sin (original sin) but are corrupted by the world when they engage in idolatry. Salvation then is renouncing idolatry by embracing Islam, the goal of which is submission to Allah. Christianity by contrast insists all mankind is born predisposed against God and the knowledge of God, and pursues a life of idolatry as a result of his rejection of the knowledge of God. (Romans 1:18-25) In salvation, the Christian repents of self-idolatry, putting his faith in Christ as the sin substitute who bore his sin and gave him His righteousness. He receives a new heart in regeneration, one that delights in the knowledge of God, as the Holy Spirit progressively conforms him into the image [knowledge] of Christ. Both Christianity and Islam renounce idolatry and promote total submission to God, but the starting points and end goals are very different, largely based on acceptance/rejection of original sin and the knowability of God Himself.