Sam Shamoun

In his latest piece, one of the writers of Bismikaallahuma, Asif Iqbal, gleefully continues this site’s tradition of slandering the prophets of God. Accusing these men of God of being homosexuals seems to be their most favorite past time. Earlier they tried to charge the Apostle Paul with homosexual acts or at least homosexual tendencies (*); this time around they try to apply their perverted eisegesis on Daniel and David.

The first part of Iqbal’s short piece produces the allegation of Daniel being a homosexual who had an affair with a Babylonian chief or court official (*). It will be the focus of this paper to expose this slanderous lie against the true prophets of God.

Iqbal begins his lies (something permitted by Allah and his messenger, cf. this article) by saying:

The Bible endorses homosexual behaviour and we shall provide one such example which is exemplified in the story of the relationship between Daniel and the prince of the eunuchs.

He then claims:

The verse is:

"Vayiten ha-Elohim et-Daniyel leKHesed u'leraKHamim lifnei sar hasarisim" (Daniel 1:9)

[i.e., "Now God had brought Daniel into favor and tender love with the prince of the eunuchs" (KJV).]

The Hebrew words, which describe the relationship between Daniel and the prince of the Eunuchs, are "KHesed" and "RaHamim".

The first of these indeed means "goodness, kindness, faithfulness". The word "RaHamim", however, derives from the Semitic root R-H-M, which refers to a womb.¹ The KJV's rendering of "RaHamim" as "tender love" would therefore entail and indespensible[sic] element of physical love, or love which is manifested through physical contact.

RESPONSE:

Since Iqbal admits that chesed or Khesed can man goodness, kindness, faithfulness there will be no need for us to address this issue here. We want to focus our discussion on the word rahamim. In his comments and appeal to a Hebrew lexicon, Iqbal has committed what is commonly referred to as a Root Fallacy or Etymological Fallacy, which happens to be one of the fallacies more frequently committed by Muslims. This fallacy presupposes that every word actually has a meaning bound up with its shape or its components. Dr. William Campbell has an excellent discussion on this very topic in his book:

THE ETYMOLOGICAL FALLACY

Dr. Solomon discusses this common misconception in the following words:

"The etymological fallacy (is) the fallacy of holding that the earliest known meaning (perhaps even the meaning of the source word in Latin or Greek or Sanskrit) is the right one and all later meanings are regrettable impurities to be filtered out at the first opportunity."[8]

It is a fallacy to look for the meaning of a word in the root meaning—in the original meaning. Rather we must find it in the people who use the word. The original meaning of a word proves nothing about present usage, and present usage proves nothing about the meaning in former times. If a word occurs only once in a single document from 500 years ago, or on one clay tablet found in Babylon, then older (or younger) known meanings might help us to guess at a possible meaning, but that is all. It could not prove a meaning. To know what a word meant to the Christians in the first century or among the Muslims in the 7th century, we must examine its usage at that time.

Dr. Bucaille, however, does not agree with these specialists. In his latest book he writes as follows,

"There exists a general rule which I have never found wrong in regard to modern knowledge: the original sense of a word, the oldest sense, is the one which suggests most clearly, the reconciliation which can be made with scientific knowledge, while the derived meanings lead to a false sense or nonsense."[9]

Unfortunately Dr. Bucaille's rule can also lead to nonsense. As an example let us consider the Arabic word ta'ir used in the Sura of the Children of Israel (Bani Isra'il) 17:13 from 1 AH, where we read,

"And We (God) have fastened every man's fate on his neck..."

The root meaning, and one of the current meanings of this word translated fate, is bird. The Arabs, like the Romans, tried to read the future from the flight of birds, therefore the word came to mean evil omen or evil fate. To read this Quranic sentence with its root meaning that "God tied every man's bird to his neck" would lead us to absurdity.

As another example let us look at the Hebrew word rakhamah found in Deuteronomy 14:17 which comes from the root rakham meaning to love. We might expect the word to mean lover until we read an article which speaks of a rakhamah circling in the sky waiting to eat dead bodies.

The meaning turns out to be vulture, but the word was used, according to one dictionary, because these birds keep the same mate for life. In any case it is clear that the root meaning will not lead us to the present meaning, nor can one say that the root meaning is more correct scientifically. (Campbell, The Qur’an and the Bible in Light of History and Science, Section One - Prologue, Chapter I, "Some Basic Assumptions About Words", p. 8-9; online edition )

With the foregoing in mind we can now turn our attention to some Hebrew Lexicons to see how these sources define the term rahamim. Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon defines it as:

… (1) the bowels, ta splagchna, as the seat of emotions of the mind (see the root), Prov. 12:10; hence very tender affection, specially love, natural affection towards relatives, Genesis 43:30; Am. 1:11; 1 Ki. 3:26 (ta splagchna, 2 Cor. 6:12; 7:18).

(2) pity, grace, favour, Isa. 47:6; especially of God, Psalm 25:6; Deu. 13:18 … to shew mercy to any one… to obtain any one’s mercy for any one, 1 Ki. 8:50; Ps. 106:46. (Gesenius’ Hebrew-Chaldee Lexicon to the Old Testament: A Dictionary Numerically Coded to Strong’s Concordance with an Exhaustive English Index [Baker Books, Grand Rapids, MI 1979], p. 766)

The Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament states:

rahamim. Tender mercy, compassion. This word shows the link between raham, "to have compassion" (Piel) and rehem/raham, "womb," for rahamim can refer to the seat of one’s emotions (Gen 43:30) or the expression of one’s deep emotion (1 Kgs. 3:26); (cf. J. Pedersen, Israel, 1936, pp. 309, 525).

rahamim recalls in various situations that God’s tender-mercy is rooted in his free love and grace. Hence, God’s punishment is more desirable than man’s wrath (II Sam 24:14). God’s mercy is often combined with his hesed "love," "kindness," and hen "grace," "unmerited favor," God’s anger and wrath are the opposite of his loving mercy (Deut 13:18; Zech 1:12; Ps 77:9). In times of captivity (esp. the exile, Dan 9:18) Israel is summoned to repentance on the grounds of God’s fatherlike compassion (II Chr 30:9), and God responds (Isa 54:7). The Psalmist often beseeches God for expressions of his tendermercies to relieve distress (Ps 51:1 [H 3]) or confesses that undeserved relief is due to God’s tendermercies and grace (Ps 103:4). The eschaton is to witness God’s unconditional and unbroken love and care (Hos 2:19 [H 21]); when Israel repents (Deut 30:3; Isa 55:7; Zech 12:10). (R. Laird Harris, Gleason L. Archer, Bruce K. Waltke [Moody Press, Chicago 1980], Volume II, pp. 842-843; underline emphasis ours)

Notice how this source differentiates between rehem/rahim and rahamim since, unlike Iqbal, it realizes that just because words may share the same root or originate from one another this doesn’t mean that they will carry over the same range of meaning in every instance.

Finally,

Strong's Number: 07356

Definition n m

• womb n m abs pl intens
• compassion

King James Word Usage - Total: 44 mercy 30, compassion 4, womb 4, bowels 2, pity 2, damsel 1, tender love 1 (Source)

Notice that rahamim is translated womb only four times in contrast to the thirty times it is rendered mercy. In fact, if we combine the total times it is rendered bowels and damsel with womb, we get 7 occurrences. Yet if we tally how many times it is rendered compassion and tender love along with mercy, the number becomes 35 times.

As one can see from the above references, rahamim can refer to compassion, mercy, grace, favor, love, pity towards another WITHOUT THIS INVOLVING A PHYSICAL, SEXUAL ACT. In fact, there is not a single instance where this word is ever used in reference to a sexual act! The closest one comes to finding such a text is the following:

"Are they not finding and dividing the spoil? -- A MAIDEN or two for every man; spoil of dyed stuffs for Sis'era, spoil of dyed stuffs embroidered, two pieces of dyed work embroidered for my neck as spoil?' Judges 5:30

As the reader can see from the context the word here means a woman, that the text is poetically describing a maiden taken captive as a womb. It does not refer to a sexual act.

We now quote the places where the word is used to mean compassion, mercy etc., without there being any sexual connotations whatsoever:

"may God Almighty grant you MERCY before the man, that he may send back your other brother and Benjamin. If I am bereaved of my children, I am bereaved." Genesis 43:14

"Then Joseph made haste, for his HEART yearned for his brother, and he sought a place to weep. And he entered his chamber and wept there." Genesis 43:30

"None of the devoted things shall cleave to your hand; that the LORD may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show you MERCY, and have compassion on you, and multiply you, as he swore to your fathers," Deuteronomy 13:17

"Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress; let us fall into the hand of the LORD, for his MERCY is great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.’" 2 Samuel 24:14

"Then the woman whose son was alive said to the king, because her HEART yearned for her son, ‘Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means slay it.’ But the other said, ‘It shall be neither mine nor yours; divide it.’" 1 Kings 3:26

"and forgive your people who have sinned against you, and all their transgressions which they have committed against you; and grant them COMPASSION in the sight of those who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them." 1 Kings 8:50

"Then David said to Gad, ‘I am in great distress; let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for his MERCY is very great; but let me not fall into the hand of man.’" 1 Chronicles 21:13

"For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will find COMPASSION with their captors, and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him." 2 Chronicles 30:9

"‘O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name; and give success to your servant today, and grant him MERCY in the sight of this man.’ Now I was cupbearer to the king." Nehemiah 1:11

"you in your great MERCIES did not forsake them in the wilderness; the pillar of cloud which led them in the way did not depart from them by day, nor the pillar of fire by night which lighted for them the way by which they should go." Nehemiah 9:19

"Therefore you did give them into the hand of their enemies, who made them suffer; and in the time of their suffering they cried to you and you did hear them from heaven; and according to your great MERCIES you did give them saviors who saved them from the hand of their enemies. But after they had rest they did evil again before you, and you did abandon them to the hand of their enemies, so that they had dominion over them; yet when they turned and cried to you, you did hear from heaven and many times you did deliver them according to your MERCIES…Nevertheless in your great MERCIES you did not make an end of them or forsake them; for you are a gracious and merciful God." Nehemiah 9:27-28, 31

"Be mindful of your MERCY, O LORD, and of your steadfast love, for they have been from of old. Psalm 25:6

"As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain your MERCY from me; your steadfast love and your faithfulness will ever preserve me!" Psalm 40:11

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant MERCY blot out my transgressions." Psalm 51:1

"Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant MERCY, turn to me." Psalm 69:16

"Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his COMPASSION?" [Selah] Psalm 77:9

"Do not remember against us the iniquities of our forefathers; let your COMPASSION come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low." Psalm 79:8

"who redeems your life from the Pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and MERCY," Psalm 103:4

"He caused them to be PITIED by all those who held them captive." Psalm 106:46

"Let your MERCY come to me, that I may live; for your law is my delight." Psalm 119:77

"Great is your MERCY, O LORD; give me life according to your justice." Psalm 119:156

"The LORD is good to all, and his COMPASSION is over all that he has made." Psalm 145:9

"A righteous man has regard for the life of his beast, but the MERCY of the wicked is cruel." Proverbs 12:10

"I was angry with my people, I profaned my heritage; I gave them into your hand, you showed them no MERCY; on the aged you made your yoke exceedingly heavy." Isaiah 47:6

"For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great COMPASSION I will gather you." Isaiah 54:7

"I will recount the steadfast love of the LORD, the praises of the LORD, according to all that the LORD has granted us, and the great goodness to the house of Israel which he has granted them according to his MERCY, according to the abundance of his steadfast love." Isaiah 63:7

"Look down from heaven and see, from your holy and beautiful habitation. Where are your zeal and your might? The stirring of your inner parts and your COMPASSION are held back from me." Isaiah 63:15

"For thus says the LORD: Do not enter the house of mourning, or go to lament, or bemoan them; for I have taken away my peace from this people, says the LORD, my steadfast love and MERCY. Jeremiah 16:5

"I will grant you mercy, that he may have MERCY on you and let you remain in your own land." Jeremiah 42:12

"The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases, his MERCIES never come to an end;" Lamentations 3:22

"Thus says the LORD: ‘For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment; because he pursued his brother with the sword, and cast off all PITY, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath for ever.’" Amos 1:11

"Therefore, thus says the LORD, I have returned to Jerusalem with COMPASSION; my house shall be built in it, says the LORD of hosts, and the measuring line shall be stretched out over Jerusalem." Zechariah 1:16

"Thus says the LORD of hosts, Render true judgments, show kindness and MERCY each to his brother, do not oppress the widow, the fatherless, the sojourner, or the poor; and let none of you devise evil against his brother in your heart." Zechariah 7:9-10

All of these examples should sufficiently expose the sheer desperation and slander on the part of Iqbal as he tried to make Daniel 1:9 sound as if it is condoning homosexual relations. The text in Daniel is simply stating that God caused the chief eunuch to have compassion for Daniel thereby showing him kindness, nothing more and nothing less. We will have more to say about the context of Daniel 1 in the next section.

Iqbal has the audacity to even say:

Of course there is no "twisting" done to the sense or material of the verse, which are presented as they stand. Some may object that it is quite impossible for an eunuch to have any sexual contact. I would like to highlight this argument by pointing out an even more elementary matter: the deprivation of the testes or external genitals in a man or boy does not result in the change of sex of the same to a woman or girl. Hence the "tender love" between Daniel and the prince of the eunuchs would nonetheless remain a homosexual affair.

RESPONSE:

Here is the entire context of Daniel 1 to see the point being made by the inspired author:

"In the third year of the reign of Jehoi'akim king of Judah, Nebuchadnez'zar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. And the Lord gave Jehoi'akim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the vessels of the house of God; and he brought them to the land of Shinar, to the house of his god, and placed the vessels in the treasury of his god. Then the king commanded Ash'penaz, his chief eunuch, to bring some of the people of Israel, both of the royal family and of the nobility, youths without blemish, handsome and skilful in all wisdom, endowed with knowledge, understanding learning, and competent to serve in the king's palace, and to teach them the letters and language of the Chalde’ans. The king assigned them a daily portion of the rich food which the king ate, and of the wine which he drank. They were to be educated for three years, and at the end of that time they were to stand before the king. Among these were Daniel, Hanani'ah, Mish'a-el, and Azari'ah of the tribe of Judah. And the chief of the eunuchs gave them names: Daniel he called Belteshaz'zar, Hanani'ah he called Shadrach, Mish'a-el he called Meshach, and Azari'ah he called Abed'nego. But Daniel resolved that HE WOULD NOT DEFILE HIMSELF with the king's rich food, or with the wine which he drank; therefore he asked the chief of the eunuchs to allow him NOT TO DEFILE HIMSELF. And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs; and the chief of the eunuchs said to Daniel, ‘I fear lest my lord the king, who appointed your food and your drink, should see that you were in poorer condition than the youths who are of your own age. So you would endanger my head with the king.’ Then Daniel said to the steward whom the chief of the eunuchs had appointed over Daniel, Hanani'ah, Mish'a-el, and Azari'ah; ‘Test your servants for ten days; let us be given vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then let our appearance and the appearance of the youths who eat the king's rich food be observed by you, and according to what you see deal with your servants.’ SO HE HEARKENED TO THEM IN THIS MATTER, and tested them for ten days. At the end of ten days it was seen that they were better in appearance and fatter in flesh than all the youths who ate the king's rich food. So the steward took away their rich food and the wine they were to drink, and gave them vegetables. As for these four youths, God gave them learning and skill in all letters and wisdom; and Daniel had understanding in all visions and dreams." Daniel 1:1-17

The context shows that Daniel and his companions were God-fearing Jews who didn’t want to defile themselves by eating food that was forbidden by God. As we had said, God rewarded Daniel’s faithfulness by causing the chief of the eunuchs to have compassion and grant Daniel’s request. This is actually similar to how rahamim is used in some of the texts cited earlier, in contexts similar to Daniel’s:

"For if you return to the LORD, your brethren and your children will find COMPASSION with their captors, and return to this land. For the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him." 2 Chronicles 30:9

"He caused them to be PITIED by all those who held them captive." Psalm 106:46

These texts speak of God causing Israel’s captors to show compassion to the covenant people. This next one is more similar to Daniel 1:9:

"‘O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name; and give success to your servant today, and grant him MERCY in the sight of this man.’ Now I was cupbearer to the king." Nehemiah 1:11

Much like what God did for Daniel, God caused the king to show Nehemiah compassion by granting the latter’s request to rebuild the wall and gates of Jerusalem (cf. Nehemiah 1-2).

Furthermore, it is common knowledge that one of the most heinous sins mentioned in the Law of Moses is homosexuality:

"You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination." Leviticus 18:22

"If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination; they shall be put to death, their blood is upon them." Leviticus 20:13

Iqbal wants his readers to believe that although Daniel had great concern not to defile himself by eating foods forbidden by the Law, he did not care about the Law’s explicit condemnation of homosexuality! It seems that Iqbal takes the mindless applause of his readers for granted, assuming that they will not check the context and won’t see through such petty arguments and desperate exegesis.

Moreover, this isn’t the only reference to Daniel being a God-fearing Jew who tried to keep the Law of Moses:

"In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasu-e'rus, by birth a Mede, who became king over the realm of the Chalde'ans -- in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, perceived in the books the number of years which, according to the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet, must pass before the end of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. Then I turned my face to the Lord God, seeking him by prayer and supplications with fasting and sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and made confession, saying, ‘O Lord, the great and terrible God, who keep covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, we have sinned and done wrong and acted wickedly and rebelled, turning aside from your commandments and ordinances; we have not listened to your servants the prophets, who spoke in your name to our kings, our princes, and our fathers, and to all the people of the land. To you, O Lord, belongs righteousness, but to us confusion of face, as at this day, to the men of Judah, to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and to all Israel, those that are near and those that are far away, in all the lands to which you have driven them, because of the treachery which they have committed against you. To us, O Lord, belongs confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against you. To the Lord our God belong MERCY and forgiveness; because we have rebelled against him, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God by following his laws, which he set before us by his servants the prophets. All Israel has transgressed your law and turned aside, refusing to obey your voice. And the curse and oath which are written IN THE LAW OF MOSES the servant of God have been poured out upon us, because we have sinned against him. He has confirmed his words, which he spoke against us and against our rulers who ruled us, by bringing upon us a great calamity; for under the whole heaven there has not been done the like of what has been done against Jerusalem. As it is written in the law of Moses, all this calamity has come upon us, yet we have not entreated the favor of the LORD our God, turning from our iniquities and giving heed to thy truth. Therefore the LORD has kept ready the calamity and has brought it upon us; for the LORD our God is righteous in all the works which he has done, and we have not obeyed his voice. And now, O Lord our God, who didst bring thy people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast made thee a name, as at this day, we have sinned, we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all your righteous acts, let your anger and your wrath turn away from your city Jerusalem, your holy hill; because for our sins, and for the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and your people have become a byword among all who are round about us. Now therefore, O our God, hearken to the prayer of your servant and to his supplications, and for your own sake, O Lord, cause your face to shine upon your sanctuary, which is desolate. O my God, incline your ear and hear; open your eyes and behold our desolations, and the city which is called by your name; for we do not present our supplications before you on the ground of our righteousness, but on the ground of your great MERCY. O LORD, hear; O LORD, forgive; O LORD, give heed and act; delay not, for your own sake, O my God, because your city and your people are called by your name.’ While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the LORD my God for the holy hill of my God; while I was speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the first, came to me in swift flight at the time of the evening sacrifice. He came and he said to me, ‘O Daniel, I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding. At the beginning of your supplications a word went forth, and I have come to tell it to you, FOR GREATLY BELOVED; therefore consider the word and understand the vision.’" Daniel 9:1-23

Much like the other prophets had also done, Daniel takes responsibility for the sins that his fathers committed since he knew that being part of the covenant community meant that one shared in both the blessings and curses brought upon through the actions of the other members. Daniel realized that the reason why his people had been taken into exile is because of their failure to observe God’s Law which had been given through his servant Moses. After confessing the corporate sins of the people God sent the angel Gabriel to comfort him and tell him that he was highly loved by God.

Again, Iqbal would actually have us believe that Daniel was greatly beloved by God despite committing homosexual acts! More importantly, there is not a single word from God or his angelic envoys rebuking Daniel for his alleged erotic affair with a pagan chief!

Even assuming for the sake of argument that rahamim could refer to sexual love – something which Iqbal has not given the least bit of evidence for –, he reads entirely too much into the text:

And God gave Daniel favor and compassion in the sight of the chief of the eunuchs;

This verse doesn’t say that Daniel had rahamim for the chief of eunuchs, it only says that the chief had rahamim in regard to Daniel. Nor is there even one verse in the whole book that says that Daniel also had rahamim for this chief. So, if that chief had homosexual desires, there is no evidence that Daniel responded to them. Finally, the verse clearly says that it is God who caused the rahamim in the chief. Hardly something that Daniel can be accused of. The whole argument of Iqbal is exceedingly silly.

The rest of Iqbal’s points are not worth responding to, except for the following assertion:

Fourthly, it is also abundantly clear that this is not the only homosexual affair from the Bible. It is also believed that Jonathon and David too (according to the Biblical account) were more than just the "closest of friends"; they were passionate homosexual lovers.³

As if his example of Daniel wasn’t bad enough, Iqbal needed to bring up this old and pathetic argument. Instead of reinventing the wheel and respond to his nonsense, we simply recommend that the readers consult the following article: http://www.tektonics.org/gk/gaydavid.html

We also highly recommend the following book dealing with homosexuality in the Holy Bible titled:

The Same Sex Controversy: Defending and Clarifying the Bible's Message about Homosexuality
Dr. James R. White & Jeffrey Niell
Bethany House Publishers (April, 2002)
ISBN: 0764288741 (*)

Dr. White and Niell do a wonderful job of refuting the attempts made by many to distort what the Holy Scriptures really teach regarding homosexuality, as well as addressing issues such as the relationship between David and Jonathan. The readers can also purchase this book from Dr. White’s own website, www.aomin.org.

Mr. Iqbal would do himself a favor if he purchased this book and began studying it carefully, since it would (hopefully) save him from having to be so severely embarrassed in the future.

And for those interested in knowing what Muslim scholars and historians believe about Daniel, we recommend that the readers consult The History of al-Tabari: The Ancient Kingdom, Volume IV, translated by Moshe Perlmann (State University of New York Press (SUNY) Albany, 1987). Al-Tabari refers to Daniel as a prophet and presents him and his three companions, which are mentioned in the book of Daniel, as righteous. He alludes to material found in the book of Daniel in his discussion of the Babylonian and Persian empires, and even refers to the book by name (cf. pp. 45, 50-51, 61-63, 106, 116).

What about Allah and his Messenger?

In this section we will be using Iqbal’s own arguments against his god and his prophet, just as we did the last time, when they attacked the Apostle Paul, see this section for the reason and a more detailed exposition. In his haste to slander God’s true prophets Iqbal apparently forgot that Arabic is a cognate language of Hebrew and has similar words such as rahman and rahim. Both of these terms come from the same root from which we get the Arabic word for womb, rahm. In fact, Muhammad is reported to have said:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
The Prophet said, "The word 'Ar-Rahm (womb) DERIVES ITS NAME FROM Ar-Rahman (i.e., one of the names of Allah) and Allah said: ‘I will keep good relation with the one who will keep good relation with you, (womb i.e. Kith and Kin) and sever the relation with him who will sever the relation with you, (womb, i.e. Kith and Kin). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 17)

Narrated 'Aisha:
(the wife of the Prophet) The Prophet said, "The word 'Ar-Rahm' (womb) DERIVES ITS NAME FROM 'Ar-Rahman' (i.e. Allah). So whosoever keeps good relations with it (womb i.e. Kith and kin), Allah will keep good relations with him, and whosoever will sever it (i.e. severs his bonds of Kith and kin) Allah too will sever His relations with him. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 73, Number 18)

The Quran begins every Sura except one (Sura 9) with the words, Bismillah Ar-Rahman Ar-Rahim, meaning "in the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate."

Muhammad is even called a mercy for mankind:

We sent thee not, but as a Mercy (rahmatan) for all creatures. S. 21: 107 Y. Ali

Applying Iqbal’s logic we must conclude that Allah and his messenger showed their mercy by having sexual relations with both male and female believers. Allah used Muhammad to show men his love by having his messenger engage in homosexual acts with them.

In fact, we can also apply Iqbal’s perverted eisegesis to this text:

Thus it is due to mercy from Allah (rahmatin mina Allahi) that you deal with them gently, and had you been rough, hard hearted, they would certainly have dispersed from around you; pardon them therefore and ask pardon for them, and take counsel with them in the affair; so when you have decided, then place your trust in Allah; surely Allah loves those who trust. S. 3:159 Shakir

And take it to mean that Muhammad was very gentle during his sexual exchanges with his companions in order to physically demonstrate to them just how merciful Allah truly is to believers.

Secondly, Muhammad wasn’t a eunuch by any means and even condemned castration:

Narrated Abdullah:

We used to participate in the holy wars carried on by the Prophet and we had no women (wives) with us. So we said (to the Prophet). "Shall we castrate ourselves?" But the Prophet forbade us to do that and thenceforth he allowed us to marry a woman (temporarily) by giving her even a garment, and then he recited: "O you who believe! Do not make unlawful the good things which Allah has made lawful for you." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 6, Book 60, Number 139)

This means that since Muhammad wasn’t a eunuch and was known to be very sexually active:

Narrated Qatada:
Anas bin Malik said, "The Prophet used to visit all his wives IN A ROUND, during the day and night and they were ELEVEN IN NUMBER." I asked Anas, "Had the Prophet the strength for it?" Anas replied, "We used to say that the Prophet WAS GIVEN THE STRENGTH OF THIRTY (men)." And Sa'id said on the authority of Qatada that Anas had told him about nine wives only (not eleven). (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 5, Number 268)

Narrated Anas bin Malik:
The Prophet used to pass by (have sexual relation with) all his wives IN ONE NIGHT, and at that time he had NINE wives. (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 62, Number 142)

He would have no problem showing mercy to his companions in a very physical manner, much like he did with a young slave named Zahir:

فى يوم خرج محمد إلى السوق فوجد زاهرا وكان يحبه فأحتضنه من الخلف
فقال له زاهر اطلقنى من انت؟ فقال له محمد انا من يشترى العبيد ورفض ان
يطلقه فلما عرف زاهر أنه محمد صار يمكن ظهره من صدر محمد

السيرة الحلبية ج 3 ص 441 وفتحي رضوان في (الثائر الأعظم) ص 140

Translation:
One day, Muhammad went to the market, there he found Zahir, whom he liked, so he hugged him from behind. Zahir said: let go of me, who are you? Muhammad told him: I'm the slave trader (literally, I'm the one who buys the slaves), and refused to let go of him so when Zahir knew it was Muhammad, he drew (stuck) his back closer to Muhammad's chest.

Source:
Al Seera Al Halabya (Muhammad's Biography) by Al Halabya, volume 3, p. 441 and Fathy Rdwan in his book Al Tha'er al A'azam (The greatest rebel) (Quoted as found at http://f24.parsimony.net/forum54389/messages/20756.htm)

Muhammad’s mercy also extended to children, since he had no qualms sucking on the tongues of young boys:

Narrated by Hisham Ibn Kasim, narrated by Huraiz, narrated by Abdul Rahman Ibn Abu Awf Al Jarashy, and narrated by Mua’wiya who said,

"I saw the prophet – pbuh – sucking on the tongue or the lips of Al-Hassan son of Ali, may the prayers of Allah be upon him. For no tongue or lips that the prophet sucked on will be tormented (by hell fire). (Musnad Ahmad, Hadith Number 16245, Volume Title: "The Sayings of the Syrians," Chapter Title: "Hadith of Mu’awiya Ibn Abu Sufyan"; online source)

In mentioning the 10 specific qualities of the prophet, Al Zamakhshari mentioned that the prophet took charge of naming Ali and feeding him many days from his blessed saliva and having Ali SUCK ON THE PROPHET’S TONGUE.

For it was narrated by Fatimah Bint Asad, the mother of Ali – may Allah be pleased with her – who related that when she gave birth to her son, it was the prophet who named him Ali and the prophet spat in Ali’s mouth THEN ALLOWED HIM TO SUCK ON HIS TONGUE till he fell asleep.

She also said, "On a later day we requested a wet nurse for him (Ali) but he refused her breast so we called for Muhammad – pbuh – WHO PLACED HIS TONGUE IN ALI’S MOUTH and he fell asleep. This is the way it was as Allah willed it." (Al-Amin Al-Ma’moun, The Syrian Biography of Muhammad, Chapter Title: "The first people to believe in the prophet"; online source)

His mercy allowed him to appear naked before a man:

Narrated by Muhammad Ibn Ismail, narrated by Ibrahim Ibn Yahya Ibn Muhammad Ibn Abad Al Madany, narrated by Abu Yahya Ibn Muhammad, narrated by Muhammad Ibn Ishaq, narrated by Muhammad Ibn Muslim Al Zuhri, narrated by Urwah Ibn Al Zubair narrated by Aisha who said,

"Zaid Ibn Haritha came to Medina while the prophet – pbuh – was in my house. He (Zaid) came and knocked on the door so the prophet rose up and went towards him naked, dragging his garment behind him. By Allah I had not seen the prophet naked before this or after it (in front of people). Then the prophet embraced Zaid and kissed him."

Abu Issa stated that this was a sound hadith, THOUGH STRANGE, and that Al Zuhri was only known for (sound) hadith. (Sunan Al Tirmidhi, Hadith Number, 4412, Volume Title: "The Book of Permission and Manners of the Prophet," Entry Title: "What is Related About Kissing and Embracing". (Sunan Al Tirmidhi, Hadith Number, 4412, Volume Title: "The Book of Permission and Manners of the Prophet," Entry Title: "What is Related About Kissing and Embracing"; online source)

In light of Muhammad appearing naked before a grown man is it any wonder that some found this hadith strange?

Muhammad was so merciful that he let young boys go with him as he washed his private parts!

Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Whenever Allah's Apostle went to answer the call of nature, I along with another boy used to accompany him with a tumbler full of water. (Hisham commented, "So that he might wash his private parts with it.") (Sahih al-Bukhari, Volume 1, Book 4, Number 152; see also Numbers 153-154)

Thirdly, why should we stop there and assume that Muhammad would always be the active sexual partner? After all, wouldn’t common sense dictate that if he were truly merciful he would also have assumed the passive role in a relationship?

Fourthly, it is abundantly clear that this is not the only homosexual affair which the Quran speaks of. It is also believed that Muslim men will enjoy the youths of Paradise which Allah promises to give them:

And round them shall go boys of theirs as if they were hidden pearls. S. 52:24 Shakir

Round about them shall go youths never altering in age, With goblets and ewers and a cup of pure drink; S. 56:17-18 Shakir

And round about them shall go youths never altering in age; when you see them you will think them to be scattered pearls. S. 76:19 Shakir

We wonder, what will Muslims be doing with these young boys, hold hands and sing together? These passages have led some Muslims to conclude that homosexuality and pederasty would be permitted in Paradise. New York Times columnist Judith Miller, while commenting on the reason Egyptian professor and columnist Farag Foda was assassinated, wrote:

"About two weeks before his murder, he mocked what passed for intellectual discourse among Islamists by citing a recent sermon by Egypt's most popular preacher, Abdel Hamid Kishk, a blind sheikh who constantly attacked both the government and its official religious establishment. Kishk had been telling his audience that Muslims who entered paradise would enjoy ETERNAL ERECTIONS and the company of young boys draped in earrings and necklaces. Some of the ulema, the religious scholars at al-Azhar, the government's seat of Islamic learning had disagreed. Yes, they said, men in paradise would have erections, BUT MERELY PROTRACTED, NOT PERPETUAL. Other experts disputed the possibility of pederasty in paradise. ‘Is this what concerns Muslims at the end of the 20th century?’ Foda asked in a column in October magazine. ‘The world around us is busy with the conquest of space, genetic engineering and the wonders of the computer,’ while Muslim scholars, he wrote ‘in sadness and pain,’ were worried about sex in paradise. In a column published just before he was killed, Foda reported that the Tunisian government had videotaped militant Islamic leaders on their prayer rugs, unwilling to await paradise, making love to beautiful women here on earth. Meanwhile, Egyptian militants in Assyut were ordering believers not to eat eggplants and squash because of their resemblance to sexual organs. ‘The Groups of Darkness are obsessed with sex,’ he wrote." (Miller, God Has Ninety-Nine Names [A Touchstone Book, published by Simon & Schuster, 1997], pp. 26-27; bold and capital emphasis ours)

Please note carefully here that not all of the experts disagreed with Kishk’s views regarding the permissibility of pederasty or of men having eternal erections in Allah’s sexcapade called Paradise.

In fact, there were some really good Muslims who put these Suras into practice by molesting young boys:

"The servants were almost all slaves recruited from non-Muslim peoples and captured by force, taken prisoners in time of war or purchased in time of peace. The white slaves (Mamluk) were mainly Greeks and Slavs, Armenians and Berbers. Certain slaves were eunuchs (khisyan) attached to the service of the harem. Others termed ghilman, who might also be eunuchs, were the recipients of special favour from their masters, wore rich and attractive uniforms and often beautified and perfumed their bodies in effeminate fashion. We read that ghilman in the reign of al-Rashid, but it was evidently al-Amin who, following the Persian precedent, established in the Arabic world the Ghilman institution for the practice of unnatural sexual relations. A judge under al-Mamun used four hundred such youths. Poets like abu-Nuwas did not disdain to give public expression to their perverted passions and to address amorous pieces of their composition to beardless young boys." (Philip K. Hitti, History of the Arabs from the Earliest Times to the Present, revised tenth edition, new preface by Walid Khalidi [Palgrave Macmillan, 2002; ISBN: 0-333-63142-0 paperback], p. 341; bold emphasis ours)

Writing on the reasons for the collapse of the Abbasid Empire, Hitti says:

Then there were the social and moral forces of disintegration. The blood of the conquering element became in course of centuries diluted with that of the conquered, with a subsequent loss of their dominating position and qualities. With the decay of the Arab national life, Arab stamina and morale broke down. Gradually the empire developed into an empire of the conquered. The large harems, made possible by the countless number of eunuchs, the girl and THE BOY SLAVES (ghilman), who contributed most to the degradation of womenhood AND DEGENERATION OF MANHOOD; the unlimited concubines and the number of half-brothers and half-sisters in the imperial household with their unavoidable jealousies and intrigues; the luxurious scale of high living with the emphasis on wine and song - all these and other similar forces sapped the vitality of family life and inevitably produced the persistently feeble heirs to the throne. The position of these feeble heirs was rendered still more feeble by their interminable disputes over a right of succession which was never definitely determined. (Ibid., 485; bold and underlined emphasis ours)

They obviously couldn’t wait for Paradise to rape young boys so they decided to create Paradise on earth!

Hence from this brief exposition, and paraphrazing Iqbal, it is inconceivable that the "word of God" would condone such horrible and unnatural sexual acts, as the Quran does and Muhammad obviously did.

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