Episode 65
Faith Embodied in Justice.
That’s the essence of Salah ad-Din’s name when you break it down.
True to his name, Saladin was renowned for his unwavering justice and devout faith.
It was said that his deep piety was the reason he showed respect to the hollowed-out Caliphate.
Unlike Philip Augustus, who had a cynical view of religion, Saladin was always a faithful servant of Islam.
So how should one interpret the phrase “deistic faith” in relation to such a man?
Deism is different from Christianity or Islam, which believe in a God who directly intervenes in the world.
Deism holds that God created the world but does not interfere with its workings.
For the first time, I almost doubted the credibility of the status window before me.
Logically, it doesn’t mean Saladin is a deist.
Deism only gained prominence after the Reformation and the Scientific Revolution.
Perhaps it’s a device to show that Saladin’s thinking aligns somewhat with deism.
And in the Islamic world, that would be a fatal flaw, one that could lead to immediate condemnation.
Saladin’s life as a devout believer might be his way of suppressing his own doubts.
If that’s the case, his thoughts on this situation might not be so different from mine.
“Isn’t it exactly what Your Majesty is thinking that disturbs this peace?”
Saladin, intrigued by my response, raised his hand.
Without a word, the people around us retreated.
It was a bold move, uncharacteristic of a king.
“Shall we discuss this in more detail?”
“Are you sure? If I wanted to, I could pose a threat to you right here.”
“If you’re planning to waste your life on killing an old man who might only have a few years left, then so be it.”
Saladin calmly rearranged the items before him.
It was the kind of reaction only someone utterly confident in their safety could display.
“Why did you send everyone away?”
“Because you piqued my interest. Even if what we discuss could be misunderstood by others, I wanted to hear it.”
Saladin pulled out a book alongside the Quran.
Familiar Latin phrases caught my eye immediately.
“The Quran and the Bible.”
I took a subtle breath, hiding my surprise.
It was the first time I’d seen an Islamic figure with a Bible.
Of course, he likely acquired it to understand his adversaries better, not for regular reading.
“Fascinating.”
“Can you read Latin?”
“Not quite. I had it translated. Baldwin IV of Jerusalem could speak both Latin and our language fluently, but this is my limit.”
“As a devout Muslim, didn’t you find the Bible’s contents offensive?”
I emphasized the word “devout,” and Saladin chuckled softly.
“To have a conversation, you must understand each other. How can any agreement be reached if you don’t even know what’s different?”
“You’re absolutely right.”
Achieving peace through dialogue assumes that both parties can communicate.
Islam and Christianity can only talk, not truly understand each other.
Just because we can exchange words doesn’t mean we can converse with aliens invading Earth.
We can’t understand or trust them.
From that perspective, Saladin is likely assessing whether I’m someone he can trust.
“Now that we’re alone, can you elaborate on what you think my thoughts are?”
I answered without hesitation.
“The two books in Your Majesty’s hands.”
”…….”
Saladin’s hand paused.
Not out of anger.
He simply looked at me with growing interest.
“It’s more surprising now than when the Christians proposed this council. Aren’t you a recognized saint and prophet in Christianity?”
“That’s correct.”
“And yet you can say such things?”
“It’s precisely because of who I am that I can.”
Saladin looked genuinely perplexed for the first time at my confident response.
“I don’t understand. I can see why you’d criticize the Quran, given your position. But to lump the Bible in as well—isn’t that blatant blasphemy?”
“Your Majesty, is the Quran flawless?”
Answering a question with a question is impolite, but this time, it’s necessary.
Saladin sighed softly at my question.
I looked at him and asked again.
“Is the Quran a perfect book, free of any errors?”
“All Muslims believe so. Isn’t it the same for Christians? They believe the Bible is infallible.”
“Indeed. But the meaning of ‘infallible’ differs slightly between the two. For instance, the great theologian Augustine, born in the 4th century, didn’t claim that every letter was an absolute fact.”
In the Middle Ages, the belief that “every letter of the Bible is absolute truth” was still prevalent.
However, many theologians accepted Augustine’s view that the Bible’s infallibility referred to the truth of salvation.
In simple terms, humans cannot fully grasp the intentions of an omnipotent God, and the Bible was written as an inspired work, not dictated word for word by God.
Thus, while the truth leading to salvation is without error, human errors can lead to minor scientific or historical inaccuracies.
In contrast, Muslims believe the Quran contains no contradictions or errors.
“The Quran is the unaltered truth, passed down through the mouth of the Prophet Muhammad. That’s the Islamic belief, correct?”
“I’m not deeply versed in the Bible, but are you saying you don’t think that way?”
“Of course. Both the Bible and the Quran were ultimately written by humans. How could they be without a single flaw?”
“The Quran is different from the Bible. The Bible doesn’t even have an original text to refer to, unlike the Quran.”
Saladin’s tone grew heavy.
He claimed not to be deeply knowledgeable about the Bible, yet he struck right at the core.
Perhaps his claim of limited understanding was just Saladin’s way of being modest. What a deceiver.
“That’s true. Only the oldest manuscripts exist; the original hasn’t been found.”
There are hundreds of Bible manuscripts discovered so far.
Naturally, when compared, there are quite a few differences even among the same manuscripts.
Thus, the claim that every letter is truth is untenable.
Fundamentalists’ arguments that the yet-to-be-found original is flawless are nothing more than desperate assertions.
When I readily admitted this, Saladin calmly continued to explain why the Quran and the Bible are inherently different.
“Though many versions of the Quran circulated, the third Caliph corrected this, ensuring only the original Quran was passed down. The Prophet Muhammad left the Quran because your Bible had been altered from its original form.”
“But you know, Sultan, that the Quran, like the Bible, contains minor contradictions.”
”……What nonsense.”
Saladin cut me off. He looked me straight in the eye and whispered softly.
“Consider the repercussions of your words.”
“I have no intention of bringing this up in the council. This is a conversation I can only have with you, Sultan.”
”…….”
Without waiting for Saladin’s response, I continued speaking calmly.
The contradictions in the Quran or the Bible are endless fodder for debates among medieval history enthusiasts.
Anyone who has studied even a little deeply has likely engaged in heated discussions on this topic in various forums.
I, too, have a mountain of evidence gathered from being thoroughly schooled by real experts after dabbling with my shallow knowledge.
“For example, Mary is recorded as the daughter of Imran, but Imran was Moses’ father. Yet Moses and Mary lived a thousand years apart. How can you claim there are no errors when even such historical facts differ?”
“That’s already been refuted…….”
“Of course, you could argue that there’s a tradition of referring to descendants as siblings. But since there’s no precedent for such usage in the Quran, and given that the father’s name is the same, shouldn’t we see it as a literal sibling reference?”
“Even as a Christian, you seem to have studied the Quran quite thoroughly.”
“Another point: the Quran mentions Aaron mingling with the Samaritans, but the classification of Samaritans didn’t exist in Moses’ time. While you could interpret this in various ways, the key is that the Quran also requires organic interpretation to avoid contradictions.”
Saladin listened with his chin resting on his hand, offering no objections.
In truth, someone with Saladin’s intellect would surely be aware of these basic issues I pointed out.
Medieval people were by no means fools.
They simply lacked the accumulated knowledge and scientifically proven facts of the modern era, but their wisdom was not so different.
The notion of modern genius is futile, as anyone living in this era for just half a year would realize.
You will come to understand it with your whole being.
After that, I laid out every contradiction in the Quran, leaving no stone unturned.
I occasionally threw in comments about the Bible to dilute the tension, so Saladin couldn’t get too angry.
He listened to me until the meal was nearly over, then clicked his tongue softly and shook his head.
“You speak of dangerous things so casually. Are you aware that if this conversation were to leak, no matter how much I protect you, you wouldn’t leave Jerusalem alive?”
“Of course.”
“And yet you still chose to say it?”
Saladin leaned forward slightly, genuinely intrigued.
This was proof that my provocation had hit its mark perfectly.
“I was instructed to do so.”
Unlike the slightly anxious Saladin, I remained calm.
His visible curiosity was so satisfying that I had to be careful not to let a smile slip.
“Because, my lord, you view religion with the same perspective as I do.”
Drawing out the reason dormant within Saladin—that was my intention from the start.