“We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses and the great Quran.” (Qur’an 15:87)
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“We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses AND the great Quran.” (Qur’an 15:87)
So it is true that a position held among some who follow the Umbrella Religion of Qur’an Only that they do indeed believe that Surah Al Fatiha is not a Surah at all. They do not believe that it is part of the Qur’an.
The answer is yes. Among the federation of sects that follow the Qur’an Only Religion, there are indeed those who believe that. So they would accuse the other sects of their religion of heresy and not believing what Allah (swt) says as per:
“It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will preserve it.” (Qur’an 15:9)
However, other sects of the religion would in turn quote the exact verse to throw back at the accusers of heresy, in turn accusing them of heresy.
This has been a long-standing issue among this religion is their lack of a coherent vision in regard to what actually constitutes the Qur’an.
Where we discussed the sects of their religion, he took out two verses of the Qur’an simply because it did correspond to his supposition of how an interlocking mathematical pattern should be.
Fortunately, as yet, it has not turned into open violence between these sects. However, some sects of the Qur’an Only Religion have certainly not been shy from extreme violence before in the past, even bringing themselves to burn children alive! Nasty!
Now a very quick and easy rebuttal to this business that the ‘seven oft repeated‘ as a definite reference to Al Fatiha comes in the form of Surah Al-Maun here: https://quran.com/ms/al-maun.
In fact, those of that religion(Qur’an Only Religion) have no internal evidence in the Qur’an to reference anything as ‘Al Fatiha’. The fact that the (Qur’an Only Religion) even accepts that the Qur’an we have today is in the order it should be is a huge admission that they have submitted to the authority and traditions of human beings.
Ask them to show you the internal evidence from the Qur’an that it should be in the order that it is in:Example chapter 2: Al Baqarah (with these amounts of verses and words), chapter 3 (with these amounts of verses and words) etc. and watch them flounder and gasp for air like a fish out of water.
So now there will come an even dicier debate between them: how do you determine what is or isn’t the Qur’an!
For a religion that has some very simple understanding of the Qur’an, such as: That the Qur’an is mubeen (clear), which is meant as a barb towards the Islamic religion, these folks sure leave so much unclear.
For example: using their naïve understanding, the Qur’an could say:
“We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses(insert al fatiha here)AND the great Quran.” (Qur’an 15:87)
Or: “We have certainly granted you the seven often-repeated verses: (insert Al-Ma’un here) AND the great Qur’an (Qur’an 15:87)
However, of course, this is not what has happened. Our issue is not leaving Islam to follow the Qur’an only religion to than find out which of its competing sects is correct.. Our issue is leaving Islam to follow another religion that has some of the most shallow understanding of the Qur’an one could ever come across. Not to mention trying to get any of them to recite very simple verses correctly.
Qur’an Only Religion: “You Muslims act as if the Qur’an has a special way in which it should be recited.”
Me: “Or a little more—and recite the Quran in a measured way.” (Qur’an 73:4)
So how do you recite it in a measured way? Certainly the Prophet (saw) did so?
Yet these people prefer lowly desires and their ego. They recite it based upon them.
We have never heard any of them even come close to this powerful and angelic eloquence! Absolutely moving!
If we had to do a public debate with one of them. We would give our opponent 2-3 hours and take :16 seconds. That 16 seconds would be this amazing soul! Some of you have heard about non-Muslims being moved to tears, to the point of taking shahada upon hearing such recitations. Hearts that are enlivened with the Qur’an can enliven other hearts.
Where as the dead hearts, you hear about as much enthusiasm for Allah’s revelation when they recite it (that is when they bother to even attempt it) as you would get from the average child being offered beetroots for dessert.
I have heard some people from the Qur’an only religion try and recite the Qur’an (that is those who can even be bothered to do so) and it was horrendous. To be fair, this goes to anyone who does not really invest in the Qur’an. They just invest in ‘head knowledge.’ Recently a Muslim reformist was debating Daniel Haqiqatjou. When Daniel asked the man to recite Al Fatiha, well, let us just say there was much to be desired. Imagine a whole religion that broke away from Islam, and not one among them that can fulfill what Allah (swt) says…recite the Quran in a measured way.
This is what we realized, and we hope that you too (the sincere truth seeker) will realize. That this religion that calls itself “Qur’an Only” is filled with head knowledge. We never saw any real love of the Qur’an among them.
“There has certainly been for you in the Messenger of Allah an excellent pattern of conduct for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day and [who] remembers Allah often” (Qur’an 33:21)
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One of the reasons that we know that the Sunnah of the Blessed Prophet (saw) is a source of revelation and guidance for us is that every aspect of his blessed life down to the minute minutia would be regulated and corrected by Allah (swt).
In other words, if there is something that the Blessed Prophet (saw) said, or did that was not approved by Allah (swt), there would be a revelation that would bring correction and guidance.
“And He found you lost and guided [you].” (Qur’an 93:7)
It is very clear that the Sunnah of the Blessed Messenger is an authoritative source of law for us as Muslims.
“He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah, but those who turn away-We have not sent you over them as a guardian.” (Qur’an 4:80)
So it is clear we are not seeking to dispute the Sunnah (words, deeds, actions, treaties) of the Blessed Messenger (saw) as a source of law.
We are simply saying that it is not equal to the authoritative weight of the Qur’an.
Let us start off with something very powerful from Allah (swt).
“This [Qur’an] is sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. If [the Prophet] had said anything against Us, We would certainly have seized his right hand and cut off his artery, and none of you could have defended him.” (Qur’an 69:43-47)
ALLAH!!!
Now can you imagine the Blessed Prophet (saw) being known as Rasūlullāh, Ḥabībullāh, Nabiyyullāh and Shafīʿullāh? That even this blessed being esteemed as He (saw) is that the Lord of the Worlds, the Lord of Might, did not leave out from his revelation that he would cut off his aorta valve!
This is if he said anything against Allah (swt). So we know from this verse that it is impossible for the Prophet (saw) to have said anything contrary to what Allah (swt) said! Nor would the Prophet (saw) act, or speak in a way that displeases Allah (swt). In fact, this article will show you that the life of the Blessed Messenger (saw) was regulated down to the most minute details. It also shows us that this is conclusive proof that the life of the Blessed Messenger(saw) is a source of divine guidance for Muslims.
“And follow that which is revealed to you from your Lord. Indeed, Allah is ever, with what you do, Acquainted.” (Qur’an 33:2)
There are four misunderstandings that are common among Muslims.
That everything that the Prophet (saw) said, or did is revelation.
That everything that the Prophet (saw) said, or did is not revelation.
That the Sunnah is equal in weight to the Qur’an as being authoritative.
The idea that the Sunnah can abrogate or override the Qur’an.
In fact, the above text (Qur’an 69:43-47) is sufficient to prove points 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 above.
This method is internally cogent and consistent and other methods in jurisprudence are hard-pressed to find any flaws in this methodological approach.
The next verse
“Nor does he speak out of desire.” (Qur’an 53:3)
I would honestly say this has to be the most abused text of the entire revelation.
It is this very verse that is unjustifiably used (and abused, might we add) to claim that every action, deed, saying, of the Blessed Messenger (saw) had divine sanction behind it.
We feel that the context of this verse is completely ignored by many fellow traditionalists.
“I swear by the star when it goes down. Your Companion is neither astray nor being misled Nor does he speak out of (l-hawa) desire. It is an inspiration (wahyun) that is inspired (yuha).” (Qur’an 53:1-4)
The ‘It’ is in the revelation is not definitive.
The ‘It’ can refer to the ‘words, deeds, actions, and treaties‘ of the Blessed Messenger (saw).
The ‘It’ can be a reference to the Qur’an itself.
The difference between divine inspiration (the Sunnah) and divine revelation sent down (Qur’an, Torah, Injil)
“And who is more unjust than one who invents a lie about Allah or says, “It has been inspired(uhiya) to me,” while nothing has been (yuha) inspired to him, and one who says, “I will reveal (sa-unzilu) like what Allah (anzala) revealed.” And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the overwhelming pangs of death while the angels extend their hands, [saying], “Discharge your souls! Today you will be awarded the punishment of [extreme] humiliation for what you used to say against Allah other than the truth and [that] you were, toward His verses, being arrogant.”(Qur’an 6:93)
Three categories: The one who invents a lie about Allah. The one who says it has been (yuha) inspired to me. The one who says I will (anzala) reveal like what Allah revealed.
“With truth have We sent it (anzalna) down, and with truth hath it (nazala)descended. And We have sent thee as naught else save a bearer of good tidings and a warner.” (Qur’an 17:105)
“And your Lord (ahwa) inspired the Bee to build its cells in hills, on trees, and in (men’s) habitations.” (Qur’an 16:68)
And the verse “He does not speak of his desire” is so badly abused and the claim is that every single thing that came out of the Blessed Prophets mouth was an inspired revelation.
Well, didn’t the Blessed Prophet (saw) have private conversations with his wives?
So if he said something like “Oh Aisha! I am thirsty, so could you give me some water?” Is this revelation?
Or if he said, “I need to go take care of something, and I’ll be back in 5 minutes.”
Is this revelation? Think about it! He was a human being as well as a Messenger of Allah. Surely he had daily conversations with people.
The real truth is everything the Prophet (saw) said or did is inspired revelation unless it was corrected and guided by Allah (swt).
Without a doubt, this misconception begins with the misunderstanding of the previous verses: (Qur’an 53:1-4)
The idea that the Sunnah can abrogate or override the Qur’an
You will never find any instance or example internally in the Qur’an (common agreed-upon point of reference) where the Blessed Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), overturned a decision of Allah (swt). There is not a single reference at all for this.
However, we do have the following internal evidence within the Qur’an (common agreed-upon point of reference) where Allah (swt) corrected the Blessed Messenger (saw), overturned a decision by the Blessed Messenger (saw).
“The Prophet is a friend (awla) to the believers more than they are to their own selves, and his wives are their mothers. Blood relations have more rights to one another, according to the Book of Allah, than do the believers and Muhajirun. Nevertheless, you may act kindly toward your (awla) friends. All this is inscribed in the Book.” (Qur’an 33:6)
The Blessed Prophet (saw) is the mawla (ally, protector) of the believers. Even in this capacity, Allah (swt) has given guidance or correction on where the Blessed Messenger (saw) went, of course.
“O Prophet! Why are you holding something to be forbidden which Allah has made lawful to you? You seek to please your consorts. But Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 66:1)
Anyone familiar with what is considered the historical context of this verse knows the Blessed Messenger (saw) swore off honey for a period of time to please some of his jealous and envious wives. Yet, Allah (swt) has reminded the Blessed Messenger (saw), telling him to not make forbidden that which Allah (swt) has made permissible!
We will never find a single example internally within the Qur’an in which the Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), advised Allah (swt), or overturned a decision given by Allah (swt). Not once!
Yet another example:
“Allah has indeed heard (and accepted) the statement of the woman who argues with you concerning her husband and carries her complaint (in prayer) to Allah and Allah (always) hears the arguments between both sides among you: for Allah hears and sees (all things). If any men among you divorce their wives by Zihar (calling them mothers), they cannot be their mothers: None can be their mothers except those who gave them birth. And in fact, they use words (both) iniquitous and false: but truly Allah is one that blots out (sins), and forgives (again and again). But those who divorce their wives by Zihar, then wish to go back on the words they uttered,- (It is ordained that such a one) should free a slave before they touch each other: You are admonished to perform: and Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that you do. And if any has not (the wherewithal), he should fast for two months consecutively before they touch each other. But if any is unable to do so, he should feed sixty indigent ones, this, that you may show your faith in Allah and His Messenger. Those are limits (set by) Allah. For those who reject (Him), there is a grievous Penalty.” (Qur’an 58: 1-4)
As many of you may know regarding what is considered the historical context of these verses, Khawlah bint Tha‘labah (ra) went to the Blessed Messenger (saw) to complain about her husband. Many times it is reported that the Blessed Messenger (saw) gave his verdict on the matter.
Now, this should give us pause.
Here we have the case of this woman who, even after hearing the decision of the Blessed Messenger (saw), continued to argue with him! In other words, the Sunnah of the Prophet (saw) wasn’t good enough for her! That’s right. She didn’t simply say, “Yes, Oh Messenger of Allah, thank you!” No! This woman went to the highest authority of justice and wisdom that there is. She took her pain directly to Allah (swt)!
So Allah (swt) took the side of the woman over the side of the Blessed Messenger (saw)!
That is why there is a distinction between:
When the Messenger decides a matter and when Allah and his Messenger decide a matter.
“It is not for a believer, man, or woman when Allah and His Messenger have decreed a matter that they should have any option in their decision. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has indeed strayed in plain error.” (Qur’an 33:36)
This is why we have:
“The only statement of the [true] believers when they are called to Allah and His Messenger to judge between them is that they say, “We hear and we obey.” And those are the successful.” (Qur’an 24:51)
Now in light of the above verses, if Khawlah bint Tha‘labah (ra) had not received a response in which Allah (swt) responded to her, she would have been sinful for disobeying the Messenger of Allah.
So this lets us know that when the Blessed Messenger (saw) decrees something, it is absolutely authoritative unless Allah (swt) has stated otherwise.
We will never find a single example internally within the Qur’an in which the Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), advised Allah (swt), or overturned a decision given by Allah (swt). Not once!
In fact, this historical narrative shows that the Blessed Messenger (saw) was/is indeed a Messenger of Allah (swt) and not a messenger of his own design and making.
“When you said to the one whom Allah has blessed and you have favored, “Keep your wife and be mindful of Allah” while concealing within yourself that which Allah was about to disclose. In doing so You feared people, whereas it is Allah whom you should fear. So, when Zayd divorced her, We married her to you. We do not want believers to have restrictions concerning their adopted sons’ wives after they divorce them, for Allah’s God’s command must be carried out.” (Qur’an 33:37)
Now while one may ultimately conclude from this that Allah gave to the Blessed Messenger (saw) that which was intended to give him, without this verse he would have no indication of this. The sunnah of the Prophet (saw) was to advise Zayd to stay with his wife. Allah (swt) has overridden the decision.
The Prophet (saw) was guided by Allah (swt) when he used his own ijtihad (his own understanding) in devising a strategy in giving dawah.
“He frowned and turned ˹his attention˺ away, simply˺ because the blind man came to him ˹interrupting. You never know ˹O Prophet˺, perhaps he may be purified, or he may be mindful, benefitting from the reminder. As for the one who was indifferent, you gave him your ˹undivided˺ attention, even though you are not to blame if he would not be purified. But as for the one who came to you, eager ˹to learn˺, being in awe ˹of Allah, you were inattentive to him. But no! This ˹revelation˺ is truly a reminder. (Qur’an 80:1-11)
Another example:
And say not of anything: Lo! I shall do that tomorrow without adding, “if Allah so wills!” But if you forget, then remember your Lord, and say, “I trust my Lord will guide me to what is more right than this.” (Qur’an 18:23-24)
This is an important reminder to the Blessed Prophet (saw) and to the believers.
We do not know if we will even be around the next day or if we will even have the ability to say things. If we ever find ourselves by mistake making a promise, we should remember Allah (swt) immediately with ‘Insh’Allah’
“Verily, you (O Muhammed) guide not whom you like, but Allah guides whom He wills. And He knows best those who are guided.” (Quran 28:56)
So the Blessed Prophet (saw) can make all the du’a and supplications for any person he wishes. Yet, if that person goes against what Allah (swt) has decreed and has gone against the Sunnah of the Blessed Messenger (saw) and has not reformed themselves, they would not be among the guided. Even if they are a beloved companion or a beloved family member.
“˹It does not matter˺ whether you ˹O Prophet˺ pray for them to be forgiven or not. Even if you pray for their forgiveness seventy times, Allah will never forgive them. That is because they have lost faith in Allah and His Messenger. And Allah does not guide the rebellious people.” (Qur’an 9:80)
“May Allah pardon you, [O Muhammed]; why did you give them permission [to remain behind]? [You should not have] until it was evident to you who were truthful and you knew [who were] the liars.” (Qur’an 9:43)
To usdear respected readers, those who have followed Prima-Qur’an: Ibadi perspectives on Islam for some time, this has to be a very big oversight on behalf of some of our respected scholars.
The inability of not being able to distinguish the following:
1) Muhammed (saw) the human being
&
2) Muhammed (saw) the Messenger of Allah (saw).
Take, for example, the following text:
Rafi’ b. Khadij reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) came to Medina and the people had been grafting the trees. He said:
What are you doing? They said: We are grafting them, whereupon he said: It may be good for you if you do not do that, so they abandoned this practice (and the date palms began to yield less fruit). They made a mention of it (to the Holy Prophet), whereupon he said: I am a human being, so when I command you about a thing pertaining to religion, do accept it, and when I command you about a thing from my personal opinion, keep it in mind that I am a human being. ‘Ikrima reported that he said something like this.
I and Allah’s Messenger (saw) happened to pass by people near the date palm trees. He (the Holy Prophet) said: What are these people doing? They said: They are grafting, i. e. they combine the male with the female (tree) and thus they yield more fruit. Thereupon Allah’s Messenger (saw) said: I do not find it to be of any use. The people were informed about it and they abandoned this practice. Allah’s Messenger (saw) (was later) informed (that the yield had dwindled), whereupon he said: If there is any use of it, then they should do it, for it was just a personal opinion of mine, and do not go after my personal opinion; but when I say to you anything on behalf of Allah, then do accept it, for I do not attribute lie to Allah, the Exalted and Glorious.
Anas reported that Allah’s Messenger (saw) happened to pass by the people who had been busy in grafting the trees. Thereupon he said:
If you were not to do it, it might be good for you. (So they abandoned this practice) and there was a decline in the yield. He (the Holy Prophet) happened to pass by them (and said): What has gone wrong with your trees? They said: You said so and so. Thereupon he said: You have better knowledge (of a technical skill) of the affairs of the world.
Unfortunately, many do not seem to make this distinction.
Recall the above verse:
“This [Qur’an] is sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. If [the Prophet] had said anything against Us, We would certainly have seized his right hand and cut off his artery, and none of you could have defended him.” (Qur’an 69:43-47)
Nor does he speak out of (l-hawa) desire. It is an inspiration (wahyun) that is inspired (yuha)(Qur’an 53:3-4)
“O you who believe, you shall obey Allah, AND obey the messenger. Otherwise, all your works will be in vain.” (Qur’an 47:33)
So we know that obey Allah AND obey the Messenger is a reference to the Qur’an and to the inspiration that Allah (swt) has given to his Messenger (saw).
In regard to the Qur’an, the Prophet (saw) is an expositor or muffasir. That means to explain via his Sunnah those instructions which are not spelled out in the Qur’an. Or to explain that which is not clear, if the message in and of itself is clear, then one would only need to deliver the message if the message contains data that needs to be spelled out or an expositor would need to explain it clearly.
“And obey Allah and obey the Messenger. But if you turn away, then Our Messenger is responsible only for conveying the message (l-balaghu) clearly(l-mubina). (Quran 64:12)
“But if you they turn away [Prophet], remember that your only conveying this message clearly.” (Qur’an 16:82)
We know that the Messenger (saw) spoke like a human being having normal human conversations in his day-to-day interactions with his wives and his companions. We also know that he spoke as an authority just as Allah (swt) informed us. He also spoke under divine inspiration and gave divinely inspired instructions that are not recorded in the Qur’an.
Just as in the time of the Blessed Messenger (saw) he has authority over us and would command us:
“˹Remember, O Prophet,˺ when you left your home in the early morning to position the believers in the battlefield. And Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” (Qur’an 3:121)
Or, for example, the appointment of the Qibla which is not mentioned at all in the Qur’an.
When the Muslims arrived in Madina, the Blessed Messenger (saw) commanded them to pray facing Jerusalem. This continued until Allah (swt) revealed:
“So turn your face toward al-Masjid al-haram.” (Qur’an 2:144)
Some of the non-Muslims criticized this order, and demanded to know why the Qiblah was originally Jerusalem, but had now been changed. So Allah revealed:
We did not appoint the Qiblah that you were on, except to distinguish the ones who follow the messenger from the ones who would turn back on their heels.” (Qur’an 2:143)
In other words, this was a trial from Allah. However, although Allah attributes the appointment of the previous Qiblah to Himself, this appointment is not found anywhere in the Qur’ān. It was the Blessed Messenger (saw) who told the believers to face Jerusalem, based upon revelation from Allah. This revelation was not part of the Qur’ān, but it was a revelation via the Sunnah which Allah (swt) revealed to the Prophet (saw).
Behold! Allah promised you one of the two parties, that it should be yours: You wished that the one unarmed should be yours, but Allah willed to justify the Truth according to His words and to cut off the roots of the Unbelievers.” (Qur’an 8:7)
Does anyone recall when Allah (swt) made this promise to the Blessed Messenger (saw)? Where is that statement at anywhere in the Qur’an?
Allah promised that the Muslims would either gain the caravan of Abū Sufyān, or defeat the army of Abū Jahl. However, this promise made by Allah is not found anywhere in the Qur’ān.
It was conveyed to the believers by the Blessed Prophet. However, the verse states ‘Allah promised you’ and not ‘the Prophet promised you’. Hence, the Blessed Prophet (saw) received the promise from Allah through unrecorded revelation that is not included in the Qur’an!
“With clear proofs and divine Books. And We have sent down to you the Reminder, so that you may explain to people what has been revealed for them, and perhaps they will reflect.” (Qur’an 16:44)
Where is this explanation at? If the Qur’an was a self-evident revelation, there would be no need for an expositor.
Those who reject the instruction to follow the Blessed Prophet (saw) are dumbfounded about how to carry out the following order:
“and bow down with those who bow down.” (Qur’an 2:43)
and
“and bow along with those who bow down.” (Qur’an 3:43)
They can only offer glibly it means to bow down with others. However, the Qur’an itself does not indicate how this is done or in what manner.
We then become like those whom Allah (swt) warned about in the Qur’an.
“Although they have no knowledge of this. They follow nothing but assumptions. And surely assumptions can in no way replace the truth.” (Qur’an 53:28)
“It is He who has sent among the unlettered a Messenger from themselves reciting to them His verses and purifying them and teaching them the Book and wisdom – although they were before in clear error.” (Qur’an 62:2)
The above verse becomes even more powerful when you reflect on the fact that the masses of people were illiterate at that time, and they were dependent upon oral recitation.
All the Qur’an is revelation but not all of Allah’s revelation is in the Qur’an.
Further proof that the Blessed Messenger (saw) received revelation other than the Qur’ān is that the compilation of the Qur’ān is not in its chronological order. Verses revealed in Makkah are found in Madanī chapters and vice versa. Likewise, chapters revealed in Madina come before the chapters revealed in Makkah. The arrangement of verses within surahs, and the arrangement of the surahs within the Qur’ān could only have been done by the Blessed Messenger (saw) based upon revelation from Allah. As Allah commands the Blessed Messenger (saw) to say:
“When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who do not expect to meet Us say ˹to the Prophet˺, “Bring us a different Quran or make some changes in it.” Say ˹to them˺, “It is not for me to change it on my own. I only follow what is revealed to me. I fear, if I were to disobey my Lord, the punishment of a tremendous Day.” (Qur’an 10:15)
So, following the Qur’an in the order that it is today, verse after verse everyone who calls themselves a Muslim is following the Sunnah, and not the Qur’an. The Qur’an does not give us the order and arrangement of its verses and surahs.
PRIMA QUR’AN OR PRIMA MUHAMMED?
It had occurred to us that in reality this website could very well be called: “Prima-Muhammed.” In what sense? In the sense that in reality the early community of Muslims had very little Qur’an and a great deal of the Blessed Messenger (saw).
Think about it. Who witnessed the Blessed Prophet (saw) receive the revelation in the Cave?
If Muhammed (saw) was not established as Al Amin (The Trustworthy), would the Qur’an even be accepted? From the seerah (life & history) of the Blessed Messenger (saw), we read how people became Muslim, more so because of the noble and honorable character of the Blessed Messenger (saw) and less so because they actually sat down and pondered over particular verses and chapters of the Qur’an. When these occasions do happen—as in the case of the conversion of Umar (ra)—they stand out and are noteworthy.
And We made them leaders guiding by Our command. (wa-awḥaynā) And We inspired to them the doing of good deeds, establishment of prayer, and giving of zakah; and they were worshippers of Us.” (Qur’an 21:73)
The Blessed and Noble Prophet (saw) his doing of good, his establishing of the Prayer and his method of giving Zakah are all revelation. Those who reject the clear verses of Allah (swt) are none but the disbelievers. The methodology to establish the prayer and the amount and methodology of giving the zakah are revelations not recorded in the Qur’an.
“Say, “If I should err, I would only err against myself. But if I am guided, it is by what my Lord reveals to me. Indeed, He is Hearing and near.” (Qur’an 34:50)
“O you who believe, you shall obey Allah, AND obey the messenger. Otherwise, all your works will be in vain.” (Qur’an 47:33)
“Say, “I am not something original among the messengers, nor do I know what will be done with me or with you. I only follow that which is revealed to me, and I am not but a clear warner.” (Qur’an 46:9)
“When the prayers are over, remember Allah—whether you are standing, sitting, or lying down. But when you are safe, establish regular prayers. Indeed, performing prayers is a duty on the believers at the appointed times.” (Qur’an 4:103)
If Allah revealed to the Prophet (saw) to do the prayer and the zakat, then what is that way that Allah revealed to him obligated upon the Prophet (saw) and not upon us?!
Why is that way preserved for that community and not for us?!
“And follow what is revealed to you, [O Muhammed], and be patient until Allah will judge. And He is the best of judges.” (Qur’an 10:109)
“Recite, [O Muhammed], what has been revealed to you of the Book and establish prayer. Indeed, prayer prohibits immorality and wrongdoing, and the remembrance of Allah is greater. And Allah knows that which you do.” (Qur’an 29:45)
So Muhammed (saw) had to follow prayer, but we do not?
As the Muslims have split into various theological and sectarian factions, we have no choice but to weigh the various oral traditions in light of the Qur’an. However, to dismiss the oral traditions outright is to dismiss the revelation given to the Blessed Messenger (saw) that is extraneous to the Qur’an.
“They are invited to the book of Allah to settle their dispute”. (Qur’an 3:23)
It is theQur’an that regulates and gives authority to the Sunnah; not the other way around.
“It is not for any human being that Allah should give him the Book, and the wisdom and the Prophethood that he should then say to men: ‘Be devoted to me rather than Allah, but rather (he would say): “Become men of Allah by spreading the knowledge of the divine writ, and by your own deep study of it.”(Qur’an 3:79)
You will never find any instance or example internally in the Qur’an (common agreed-upon point of reference) where the Blessed Prophet (saw) corrected Allah (swt), overturned a decision of Allah (swt).
TheQur’an totally dominates the Sunnah and regulates its characteristics and behaviors. It is never the other way around.
In fact, what we feel many Muslim and Christian theologians fail to recognize is that no human being, Prophet, or otherwise can truly be an example for us unless they make mistakes and errors in judgment and learn from them. It is, after all, part of the human experience. That is after all the teaching of Adam and Eve (upon them both be peace).
It is the teaching not of perfect infallible human beings devoid of human experience, so that we can achieve this idea of the Insān-i Kāmil — ‘The Perfect Man’, far from it. The teaching is about Allah (swt), a loving Creator that forgives when we err and guides when we stray. All this provided that we in turn do our part by obeying his commands and asking for repentance when we err.
Often our theologians have imposed their own ideas upon the text and made them say things they didn’t say to begin with.
An example (and in relation to this post). This example is for educational purposes, and it is not intended to slight any of our respected scholars.
“That Allah may forgive you of your errorsthat which is past and that which is to come, and may perfect His favour unto you, and may guide you on a right path,” (Qur’an 48:2)
This verse perhaps has been manipulated in the English translation as well.
*Mohammad Tahir-ul-Qadri* has translated the above as:
“So that Allah forgives, for your sake, all the earlier and later sins (of all those people) of your Umma ([Community]* who struggled, fought and sacrificed by your command), and (this way) may complete His blessing on you (outwardly and inwardly) in the form of Islam’s victory and forgiveness for your Umma (Community), and may keep (your Umma) firm-footed on the straight path (through your mediation).”
This seems like quite an abuse of the text.
* Note: We understand the people of Sufism to be lovers of Al-Haqq (The Truth) and not people who manipulate the religion. So I am suggesting that this is perhaps an oversight on behalf of our respected Shaykh Tahir-ul-Qadri.
Or it is perhaps that the apparent meaning is that the Blessed Messenger (saw) committed minor infractions. Perhaps due to the theological inclinations of respected Shaykh Tahir ul Qadri, it was his intention to have this be interpreted in another manner.
Once a person understands the theological underpinnings that some have concerning the infallibility of prophets, perhaps it becomes crystal clear why he would want to make the text conform to a certain understanding.
May Allah (swt) bless him and bless us. May Allah (swt) guide him and guide us.
The translation of the respected Shaykh clashes with translators from such diverse and disparate backgrounds as (Yusuf Ali, Pickthall, Muhsin Khan, Sahih International, Aisha Bewley, Dr. Ghali, T. B Irving, and Muhammad Asad)
The Arabic text is: Liyaghfira laka Allahu mataqadd
We leave that to you, the reader, to reflect upon.
“He who obeys the Messenger has obeyed Allah, but those who turn away-We have not sent you over them as a guardian.” (Qur’an 4:80)
Both the revelation of Allah revealed as the Qur’an and the revelation as inspiration revealed to the Blessed Messenger are authoritative as guidance for Muslims.
However, as the following verse shows Allah (swt) is in total control over all things.
“This [Qur’an] is sent down from the Lord of all the worlds. If [the Prophet] had said anything against Us, We would certainly have seized his right hand and cut off his artery, and none of you could have defended him.” (Qur’an 69:43-47)
“Allah wishes to make clear to you, and guide you to the traditions of those who were before you, and to accept repentance of you, and Allah is All-Knower, All-Wise.” (Qur’an 4:26)
We as Muslims ask in our five daily prayers in every rakat to follow the straight path.
“Guide us to the the straight path (ih’dina l-sirata l-mus’taqima)” (Qur’an 1:6)
That straight path is adhering to the Qur’an and the Sunnah.
“And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command. You did not know what is the Book or [what is] faith, but We have made it a light by which We guide whom We will of Our servants. And indeed, you guide to a (siratin mus’taqimin) straight path.”(Qur’an 42:52)
“And We have certainly made the Quran easy to remember. So is there anyone who will be mindful?” (Qur’an 54:40)
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Ramadan Day 28: How to form a meaningful relationship with the Qur’an.
*28th of Ramadan* ——————————– *Heart Illness: Obeying satan* Allah says: “Did I not command you, O Children of Adam, not to follow Satan, for he is truly your sworn enemy.” (Qur’an 36:60)
The scholars mention that satan has ways and openings to deceive people like: First the devil tries to drag the person to denying the existence of Allah, by saying: the universe happened by accident, you should take a medium between you and Allah…etc
If the devil couldn’t go through the previous opening he will try to come through innovations, which is by adding things to the religion that are not in the religion.
The third opening is the aspect of major sins, by convincing the Muslim that as long as he believes in Allah it’s fine to commit major sins.
If the person avoids major sins, the devil will try to come through the aspect of minor sins, by telling the person: you are a believer and you avoid major sins, so it’s fine if you do small minor sins like glimpsing at women or insulting others, so when it becomes a habit, it opens the door of major sins, *do not despise minor sins, as mountains are made up of stones*
If the Muslim has strong faith and avoids all sins, the next opening will be through increasing in permissible things, by convincing him for example that his car is old so he should buy a more expensive car…and so on…until this person is used to luxury and forgets to spend his wealth in obedience.
Instead of his thinking to be for the priorities of the Ummah and the might of Islam, you see him thinking about markets, perfumes, clothes and garments, and when these people meet, their speech is basically: “The fabric of your clothes is beautiful, where did you buy it from?” and the talk becomes about cars and clothes, is it Haram? No, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of more important things, until the mind is not busy with important things but busy with recreation, recreation and recreation.
“By men who are not distracted—either by buying or selling—from Allah’s remembrance, or performing prayer, or paying alms-tax. They fear a Day when hearts and eyes will tremble.” (Qur’an 24:37)
Finally if this person is righteous, the last resort for the devil is to try and lower the reward of the Muslim from doing the important to the less important.
*Walayah and Bara’ah of monotheism and worship* We have mentioned some issues related to walayah and bara’ah.
Today will see another classification in walayah and bara’ah based on the reason for walayah:
Walayah for the sake of monotheism: This type is a part of the creed of the Muslim, under this classification is walayat al jumlah and walayat al haqiqah, because these two types are obligated with a certain text so denying this type puts the person out of the circle of Islam because it means denying a certain text Walayah for the sake of obedience: This type is a form of worship which is walayat ad dahir, and it’s to ally with people based on their appearance to you, so it’s a practical demand, but whoever denys this type is on Kufr Ni’ma only unlike the previous type.
*prostration of recitation* Sujud tilawah: is a single prostration performed by a person who recites a verse of prostration in the Qur’an.
Its ruling: obligatory in the opinion of Shaykh Ahmed Al Khalili (h), recommended in the opinion of Shaykh Saeed Al Qannoobi (h), the latter is the opinion of most our scholars.
The verses of prostration: There is a difference of opinion between our scholars on the verses of (Annajm, Al inshiqaq and Al alaq) the opinion of the two shaykhs is that they include prostration, the second prostration in Surat Al hajj isn’t proven so in total there are 14 positions for prostration in:
When performing Sujud tilawah you should be upon Wudu’ and this is the safee opinion.
You should perform sujud tilawah if you recite a prostration verse or listen to it, when repeating the verse to memorize it, it’s enough to prostrate ones, it’s not necessary to perform the prostration when saying the verse with the intention of quoting it, for example in speeches. Allah knows best.
“My Lord! Increase me in knowledge.” (Qur’an 20:114)
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We have the principle of al-walāya (allegiance) and al-barā’a (disavowal), which are either general or specific. The specificity is either established by truth through a text from the Book of Allah and direct hearing from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him. Or apparent through observation, acknowledgment, testimony of just witnesses, or evident truth supported by proof. If someone’s status is unclear, one should refrain from including them in al-walāya or al-barā’a. No one is definitively assigned to Paradise or Hell except those who are in the state of true allegiance and true disavowal, as established by a text from the Book of Allah and direct hearing from the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.
The Companions and others are equal in this principle, except that the default for the Companions is al-walāya (allegiance) only.
Allah’s rulings encompass everyone, and no one is above the ruling of Allah Almighty.
The status of the companions of the Blessed Prophet (saw).
The position of our school is not in agreement with those who call themselves the people of the Sunnah. Their position is that all the companions are considered just and righteous.
However, our school is not built upon the praise of anyone other than the Blessed Prophet (saw). Nor is it built upon the cursing of anyone other than Iblis and his minions.
We can console ourselves with the noble verse of the Qur’an:
“That is a nation which has passed on. It will have [the consequence of] what it earned, and you will have what you have earned. And you will not be asked about what they used to do.” (Qur’an 2:141)
For the layperson and the laity, the default position is one of wuqoof. This means pausing or to stop on anyone we are not certain of. It is based upon insufficient data. This is the position of the vast majority of people in our school, as the vast majority are the laity.
That is to say they are in wuqoof with all those companions in which there is some dispute about their status in our school. Uthman, Ali, Talha, Zubayr, for example.
They need not concern themselves with these disputes that happened among the companions. However, the scholars or those who have studied under them take various positions based upon what they feel is sufficient data. That sufficient data may lead them to disavow a companion or to put a companion in guardianship.
What is also important is that everyone in our school ascribes to general friendship as well as general dissociation. So, no matter the conclusions we reach based upon apparent evidence, our friendship or dissociation is with people based upon reality.
What does this mean in a practical sense?
Example 1
You put person A in Bara’ah based upon some apparent evidence. Based upon the current condition of person A.
However, since you declared the Walayah al-Jumlah and that person had a good ending, they are in wilayah with you in reality.
You made an ijtihad based upon the conditions of the person that were apparent to you at the time.
Example 2
You put person A in Walayah based upon some apparent evidence. Based upon the current condition of person A.
However, since you declared the Bara’ah al-Jumlah and that person had a bad ending, they are in bara’ah with you in reality.
You made an ijtihad based upon the conditions of the person that were apparent to you at the time.
How to declare the intention for the general wilayah and the general bara’ah?
Walayah al-Jumlah – The general or common friendship.
One declares (you reading this can declare now.) “I ally with every single person among mankind and jinn who ever lived or ever will live that is righteous.”
Bara’ah al-Jumlah – The general or common dissociation.
One declares (you reading this can declare now.) “I disown every person among mankind and jinn whoever lived or ever will live that will be among the denizens of hellfire.”
It is to say in your heart: Anybody Allah loves, I love him. Anyone whom Allah hates, I hate them.
Thus, if Uthman, Ali, Talha, Zubayr fall into either category, we have already declared our love for them or a disavow of them based upon reality.
How many are those who declare with their tongues that which is not in their hearts?
“They were closer to disbelief than to belief on that day—for saying with their mouths what was not in their hearts. Allah is All-Knowing of what they hide.” (Qur’an 3:167)
How can an individual be both in walayah and bara’ah with the righteous?
Possible scenario.
Person A left Gwadar Port. The people of that place know person A to be upright and fair dealing. However, Person A, when he arrives in Port Bell, is known to swindle and cheat people.
The righteous people at Gwadar port judge based upon his outward actions. The righteous at Port Bell judge based upon his outward actions.
The actions of the person in Port Bell never reach the people of Gwadar port.
Walayah and Bara’ah are ultimately not about personal relationships.
Allah is always the focus!
Whether it is a relationship between yourself and another person. Or a relationship between person A and person B. You are neither person A nor person B.
Example: You have someone who is very close to you. Your mother, your father, or even your child. You love this person. You have familiar ties to that person. However, if this person is a sinner. They would be in bara’ah for the duration of the time they indulge the sin. It has nothing to do with your relationship to them at any given moment and everything to do with their relationship to Allah at any given moment.
Example: There is a tyrant ruler. This tyrant ruler gives everyone their full rights. This person prays the five daily prayers. However, he gets drunk. He drinks alcohol. In this case, do you ally with him or dissociate from him? Even though he treats you well and gives you your full rights. Because he drinks alcohol in that condition, he is an enemy of Allah (swt). He will be so for the duration of the time he spends doing so. Your relationship with this ruler may be cordial, but you disown him because it has nothing to do with your relationship to him at any given moment and everything to do with his relationship to Allah at any given moment.
Example: A fellow Muslim for whom, whatever reason, you do not like. Human beings can be fickle. Maybe it is the way they laugh or anything at all you personally find fault with. However, that person prays, fasts and does not commit any sins that you are aware of. No matter your personal feelings towards this person, you must ally with them. They are in wilaya with you, and you cannot put this person in bara’ah based upon personal feelings or a whim. That is because it has nothing to do with your relationship between him and you at any given moment and everything to do with his relationship to Allah at any given moment.
This is more about recognizing the rights of Allah (swt). Allah (swt) reigns supreme over all his creation.
You might be interested to read our other articles on the subject here:
“Woe! Unto those who write the Book with their hands then say, This is from Allah; so that they may take for it a small price. So woe! to them for what their hands write and woe! to them for what they earn.” (Qur’an 2:79)
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Question: What does unadulterated mean?
Answer: unadulterated -complete or pure:
Source: (Longman Active Study Dictionary by Addison Wesley Longman pg. 723)
The reason the word ‘unadulterated’ is used is due to possible misunderstanding among both Christians and Muslims.
What is this possible misunderstanding among Muslims and Christians?
For Muslims, the misunderstanding comes from believing that the Bible as a whole should either be accepted or rejected.
For Christians, the confusion comes from believing that the Injil is equivalent to the ‘New Testament’ and the ‘first five books of Moses‘ are equivalent to the Torah.
According to the Qur’an, is the ‘Bible’ as a whole completely untrustworthy?
Answer: No!
To say that ‘the Bible as a whole‘ is not the word of God is not true.
Question: How do we know?
“Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet who can neither read nor write, whom they find mentioned with them in the Torah and the Injeel.” (Qur’an 7:157)
Prima Qur’an Comment: It doesn’t say they used to find it. It says whom they find mentioned with them.
This very well could be a reference to:
“If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever” (John 14:15-16)
“Say, He is Allah the absolute One.” (Qur’an 112:1)
This is mirrored in the following: confirmed in
“Hear, O Israel the Lord, your God the Lord is One” (Deuteronomy 6:4)
Prima Qur’an Conclusion: The above passages are enough evidence to show the Qur’an does confirm some of the ‘what is in what could commonly be called in the English vernacular as the ‘Bible’ that came before it.
Thus, Muslims should not say we completely reject all the contents of the ‘Bible’—as a whole.
Does the Qur’an say that the ‘Bible’ as ‘a whole‘ is the word of God?
Answer: No!
How do we know?
“He begets not, nor was he begotten” (Qur’an 112:3)
This conflicts with:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have life everlasting.” (John 3:16)
“Allah, there is no God but He. The Ever-Living, the One Who sustains and protects all that exists. Neither slumber nor sleep overtake him.” (Qur’an 2:255)
This conflicts with:
“And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.” (Genesis 2:2)
“Say not Three (Trinity) desist for it is better for you. Allah is one.” (Qur’an 4:171)
This conflicts with:
“For there are three that bear record in heaven: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.” (1 John 5:7)
Note: In Latin the word three is Trinitas. This is what the above text would say when rendered in Latin.
Prima Qur’an Conclusion: From the above passages it can clearly be seen that the Qur’an does not accept the ‘Bible’ as ‘a whole‘.
The Qur’an: quality control over the previous revelation
Allah says, in the (Qur’an 5:48)
“And we have sent down to you The Book in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it and MOHAYMINAN over it. So judge by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging away from the truth that has come to you. To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way. If Allah willed, He would have made YOU ONE NATION, but that may test you in what He has given you; so strive as in a race in good deeds. The return of you is to Allah; then He will inform you about that in which you used to differ.”
Two major points should be highlighted.
1)Mohayminan, what does it mean? It means having quality control over that which went before it. To assess a thing. If the previous scriptures were intact in Toto, Allah would not need to be a Mohayminan over it.
If Allah willed, He would have made us ONE NATION, with one set of scriptures, one tongue, one color, etc., but Allah says he did not and states clearly it is to test us.
What scripture is discussed in the Qur’an?
Answer: The Qur’an discusses the scripture (revelation) of Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus.
The Scripture of Abraham.
“Verily! This is in the former scriptures, The SCRIPTURES of ABRAHAM and Moses.” (Qur’an 87:18-19)
Prima Qur’an comments: Do we know where that scripture of Abraham is?
Answer: No.
Question: Do we believe in the principle that he did contain such a scripture?
Answer: Yes, because Allah said so.
Question: Is there evidence of other lost scripture or books within the Bible itself?
Answer: Yes!
Examples of Lost Scripture and Lost Books in the Bible.
“And the sun stood still, and the moon stayed until the nation took vengeance upon their enemies. Is this not written in the book of Jashar?” (Joshua 10:13)
Another example:
“Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon?”(1 Kings 11:41)
And yet another example:
“Now the acts of King David, from first to last, are written in the Chronicles of Samuel The Seer, and In The Chronicles Of Nathan The Prophet, and in the Chronicles Of Gad The Seer.” (1 Chronicles 29:29)
Question: Does anyone know where these books are?
Answer: No!
Conclusion:
No one knows where these books are. No one knows where the “Writings of the prophet Nathan” are. However, Allah says in the Qur’an there existed the scripture of Abraham, so we believe in it. So Christians and Jews believe in lost books. I am sure they believe that Allah has some divine wisdom why they cannot go and check the above-mentioned quotes for themselves. Likewise, we do not know where the scrolls of Abraham are.
The Scripture of Moses
“Therefore remind in case the reminder profits. The reminder will be received by anyone who fears him. But it will be avoided by the wretched, Who will enter the Great Fire and make to taste its burning. Wherein he will neither die nor live. Indeed, whosoever purifies himself shall achieve success, And remembers the Name of his Lord, and prays. Nay, you prefer the life of this world, although the Hereafter is better and more lasting. Verily! This is in the former scriptures, The Scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” (Qur’an 87:9-19)
However, a grave misconception exists over what the scripture of Moses is.
It Is not the first five books of the Christian ‘Bible’. Also, it is not the first five books of the Jewish ‘Tanach’. Moses was given the Torah.
It was not something revealed after Him. Traditionally, both Christians and Jews regarded Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy as the words of Moses or author Moses.
This has to be rejected in light of the following evidence.
1)(Deuteronomy 34:7)
“Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died.”
2) As already mentioned above in (Genesis 2:2)
God rest and needs to be refreshed.
3) A careful reading of the Qur’an quotation above, coupled with a careful reading of the first five books of the ‘Bible‘ fails to show that such things are written there. There is no mention of eternal hellfire, nor mention of the life to come.
4) Internal evidence showing the Torah was lost and has been tampered with.
Point A)
“And Hiil-Kiah, the high priest, said to Shaphan, the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hil-kiah gave the book to sha phan, and he read it.” (2 Kings 22:8)
“The accession of Josiah and his eagerness to restore the worship of Jehovah led to the renovation of the Temple, and in the course of this, B.C 621, the book of Deuteronomy was discovered. The priest took it to the king, who joyfully welcomed it and set about putting its program of religious reformation into effect. The dramatic story is told in 2 Kings 22 and 23. Josiah put a stop to the idolatrous practice of the people.”
Source: (Edgar J. Godspeed: ‘How came the Bible?’ pgs 22-23)
point B)
“How can you say we are wise, and we have the law of the lord with us when, behold, the lying pen of the scribes have made it into a lie” (Jeremiah 8:8)
Conclusion: The Torah was given to Moses. Not an autobiography of the life of Moses. Moses did not write, “I was 120 years old when I died”. Moses also did not write things that are blasphemous in nature as to the divine might and power of God. The writings of Moses, if it were intact in ‘Toto’, would have had mention of hellfire and a life to come, as the Qur’an says.
Source: (Qur’an 87:9-19)
Lastly, the eternal evidence is that the Torah was lost and that it was also made into a lie by the lying pen of scribes.
The Scripture of David.
As already given above in (Qur’an 21:105), Allah gave David the Zabur…
Zabur is usually thought of as the Psalms of David. The Psalms are those writings contained in the Tanach of the Jews and the Bible of the Christians. There is not much in this collection of writings entitled Psalms that can be understood to be blasphemous or offensive to Islam.
However, we take issue with statements such as…
“I say, “You are gods, Sons of the Most High (GOD), all of you.” (Psalms 82:6)
Also
I will tell the decree of the Lord: He said to me,” You are my son, today I have begotten you.” (Psalms 2:7)
As already mentioned above…
“He begets not, nor was he begotten” (Qur’an 112:3)
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Prophet David never made such statements about Allah. The Psalms in ‘Toto’ are not the Zabur. Allah has no sons. To ascribe to him sons is a monstrous assault on the absolute oneness of God. To call people ‘gods’, even figuratively, has evolved into a lot of problematic theology within Christianity. See: Benny Hinn “Little God Theology.”
The Scripture of Jesus.
“And in their footsteps, We sent Jesus son of Mary confirming the Torah that had come before him, and We gave him The Gospel.” (Qur’an 5:46)
There is also quite a lot of misunderstanding among Muslims and Christians as to what the Injeel (Gospel) is in Islam.
Question: What does the word Gospel mean?
Answer: The Gospel means- the good news from angels.
The Christian missionaries (some honest, some not so) try to equate the Injeel (Gospel) with 22 or 27 books known as the ‘New Testament’. Some Muslims may even believe that the Injeel is the Gospel according to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, there is good reason to show this again not to be the case.
1) For example:
“And he went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.” (Matthew 4:23)
Prima Qur’an comment: Jesus obviously was not walking around with the ‘New Testament’ in his hands.
2) The following as well:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten son…” (John 3:16)
Prima Qur’an comments: The Qur’an clearly states that Allah does not beget a son (Qur’an 112:3) So we know that is not the Gospel Allah gave Jesus.
3)Accounts of Jesus in the Qur’an not found in the Christian ‘New Testament’.
“At length she brought the baby to her people, carrying him in her arms. They said: “Oh Mary! Truly an amazing thing have you brought!” “O sister of Aaron! your father was not a man of evil, nor was your mother an unchaste woman!” But she pointed to the baby. They said: “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?”
He said: “ I am indeed a servant of Allah: He has given me revelation and made me a prophet; “And He has made me blessed wherever Ibe, and has enjoined don me Prayer and Charity as long as I live; “He has made me kind to my mother, and not overbearing or miserable; “ So Peace is on me the day I was born, the day that I die, and the day that I shall be raised up to life again” (Qur’an 19:27-33)
“And to appoint him an apostle to the Children of Israel, with this message: “ I have come to you, with a Sign from your Lord, in that I make for you out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, and breath into it, and it becomes a bird by Allah’s leave: and I heal those born blind, and the lepers, and I quicken the dead, by Allah’s leave; and I declare to you what you eat, and what you store in your houses. Surely therein is a Sign for you if you did believe;” (Qur’an 3:49)
Prima Qur’an comment: The above-mentioned statements of Jesus are not to be found in any quote “canonical New Testament writings.”
These narratives of Jesus have proximity to ‘The Gospel of Thomas’ and “The Gospel of the Infancy of Jesus Christ”, both of which are 2nd-century apocryphal books. One of these is actually a part of the ‘P52‘ fragment. One of the earliest pieces of evidence that Christians like to boast about.
Why apocryphal? Because the ‘Catholic‘ church does not accept them as cannon. However, let’s look at some interesting statements in the ‘New Testament’.
Apocryphal literature quoted in the New Testament itself.
Jannes and Jambres, for example:
“Now as Jannes and Jambres withstood Moses, so do these also resist the truth: men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith.” (2 Timothy 3:8)
“There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
“Jesus began to preach at about 30 years of age.” (Luke 3:23)
Prima Qur’an comment: It is obvious from these texts that the ‘New Testament’ the Christians have today does not contain everything done or said by Jesus.
For 30 Jesus did not say or do anything? The Qur’an refutes this by saying that Jesus indeed spoke as an infant in defense of his mother’s chastity, long before the age of 30. We personally would want all the evidence possible of his sayings and deeds so we could come to a conclusion about what his Gospel truly was.
4) The Christians, for a very long time, never contained what is now known to be the entire ‘New Testament‘. Many churches only contained some documents. As there was no printing press at the time. The masses did not have access to their scriptures for some time.
There were Christians in the time of Muhammed (saw). for example. who did not believe that the books of James, Jude, Revelation, 1st, and 2nd Peter were to be included as Canon. These include the Syriac Christians among others.
5) Which Gospel: The Gospel of the Circumcision or the Gospel of the Uncircumcision?
Christians also tell us there is but one gospel. Unfortunately, that is not the case as internal evidence within the text of the Bible itself indicates otherwise.
“But Contra wise, When they saw that the Gospel of the Uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the Gospel of the Circumcision was unto Peter.” (Galatians 2:7-9)
“For if someone comes to you and preaches a different Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” (2 Corinthians 11:14)
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a different gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse!” (Galatians 1:8)
These texts all show there was deep early division among Christians. It is also proof to support the Muslim claim that there were indeed various gospels in circulation. Can you imagine if the Blessed Prophet Muhammed (saw) started to talk about a ‘different Qur’ an‘? Christians would have a field day.
Also, note the haughty tone of Paul. Can you imagine if God wanted to send an angel from heaven to preach a gospel different then the one Paul is preaching?
Conclusion: Within the text that Christians call the ‘Gospel‘ or ‘New Testament‘ is self-evident information about Jesus “preaching the gospel (Injeel).” Jesus obviously did not preach from a book or a gospel that came after him, or from an autobiography about him.
That the message of Jesus, when committed to writing, was not preserved in ‘Toto’ can be seen from references stating that Jesus is the ‘son of God‘ or the ‘begotten son of God‘. However, the Qur’an is emphatic in that Allah does not have a son, rather it is through adoption, ‘monogenes‘ or of any kind.
Another further proof is that the Christians themselves are confused as to what really comprises their ‘New Testament‘ Canon. Insha’Allah, this will be discussed shortly.
Lastly, what Muslims dispute is not that Jesus was given the gospel but what were the contents of that gospel. As can be seen from Biblical internal evidence, there were at least two gospels. Muslims believe the Gospel of Jesus was the one of circumcision.
WHAT ACTUALLY IS THE BIBLE?
Before we delve into the topic of ‘what actually is the Bible‘, let us quote some interesting passages from the Qur’an.
“Say If mankind and jinns were together to produce the like of this Qur’an, they could not produce the like thereof, even if they helped one another.” (Qur’an 17:88)
“And if you are in doubt concerning that which We have sent down to Our slave, then produce a Surah (Chapter) of the like thereof and call your witnesses besides Allah, if you are truthful. But if you cannot do it, and you can never do it, then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones prepared for the ungrateful.” (Qur’an 2:23-24)
Now, what actually is the Bible…
Question: What does the word Bible mean?
Answer: The word Bible itself comes from the Greek word Biblious, meaning – A library of books.
Just exactly what is to be constituted in this library is a matter of debate among sincere Christians themselves.
The Bible of the Catholic Church
For example, the Catholic Church, which has 1.1 billion followers worldwide, has 73 books in their Bible that their ‘non-traditionalist’ rivals do not have. Among them are Tobias, Judith, Ecclesiastes, Baruch, Wisdom, 1 Machabees, and 2nd Machabees.
In fact, in direct refutation of Martin Luther (the father of Protestant Christianity) and Protestant affirmations about what is and is not to be in the Bible, the Catholic Church had this to say:
“If any man does not accept sacred and canonical these books entire, with all their parts, as have customarily been read in the Catholic Church and are contained in the ancient common Latin edition… LET HIM BE ANATHEMA!”
Source: (Forth session of the council of Trent, April 8, 1546)
The Bible of the Syrian Church.
You also have the ‘Eastern Christians’ (Nestorian, Syrian) church who believe that there should only be 22 books in the New Testament. Excluding books were Revelation, Jude, 2 Peter, 2 and 3 John, and at times James.
Comments by Martin Luther, the father of Protestant Christianity.
Then you have the father of the Protestant Christians – Martin Luther.
Luther believed that the book of James should not have been included in the New Testament. He concluded it to be ‘an epistle of straw‘. The full quote is here:
Martin Luther writes: “In a word, St. John’s Gospel and his First Epistle, St. Paul’s Epistles, especially Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, and St. Peter’s First Epistle are the books that show you Christ and teach you all that is necessary and good for you to know, even though you were never to see or hear any other book or doctrine. Therefore, St. James’ Epistle is really an epistle of straw, compared to them; for it has nothing of the nature of the Gospel about it.“
Source: (In “Luther’s Preface to the New Testament,” published in 1522, revised in 1545, in the Works of Martin Luther, Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1932, copyrighted by the United Lutheran Church in America, vol. 6. pp. 443-444., translated by C.M. Jacobs)
The Letter of James is probably the oldest book in the New Testament, but it has a very poor reputation. Eusebius writes, around 325, that the authenticity of this letter is…
“doubted, since few early writers refer to it, any more than to Jude’s…but the fact remains that these two [James and Jude]…have been regularly used in very many churches.”
Source: (The History of the Church, Book 2.23.17)
Martin Luther writes in the sixteenth century of the letter that “I, therefore, refuse him a place among the writers of the TRUE CANON OF MY BIBLE…
Source: (Preface to the Epistles of St. James and St. Jude).
Why was Luther so adamant? Why shouldn’t this oldest of the Christian books be venerated?
Luther’s first reason is that the message of the letter is “in direct opposition to St. Paul and all the rest of the Bible” in ascribing Abraham’s salvation to his work of offering up Isaac.
The second reason is that “In the whole length of its teaching, not once does it give Christians any instruction or reminder of the passion, resurrection, or spirit of Christ. It mentions Christ once and again, but teaches nothing about Him; it speaks only of a commonplace faith in God.”
This is very interesting, seeing that Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Lithuania, along with 35 million Americans belong to the ‘Lutheran denomination’ of Christianity.
The Bibles of Evangelical Christianity.
Surprisingly, the greatest critique of the Bible comes from Evangelical Protestant Christianity!
Baptist, Church of Christ, Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witness, Methodist, and Lutherans: -you name them. In fact, the following passages and versions are very popular among the mentioned Christian sects. Not to mention the new versions of the Bible cast serious doubt on passages accepted canonical by all the aforementioned groups.
Examples from Evangelical Christian Bibles.
Mark (16:9-20) is contained in the King James Bible as well as many older Bibles.
However, since the discovery of more ancient manuscripts upon which the King James Bible has been based, serious doubt has been cast upon such passages as being spurious or at least very doubtful.
John (8:1-11) is yet another example of such a passage.
The above-mentioned passages are contained in the King James Bible.
Yet in the Revised Version of the Bible 1952, the preface states,
“Yet the King James Version has GRAVE DEFECTS. Pg v(5) of the preface states, “The {King James Version} of the New Testament was based upon a Greek text that was marred by mistakes, containing the accumulated errors of fourteen centuries of manuscript copying.” Pg vi(6) of the preface states, “We now possess many more ancient manuscripts of the New Testament, and are far betterequipped to seek to recover the original wording of the Greek text.”
Question: What are some of these GRAVE DEFECTS?
Answer:
Example 1
In the King James Version you have (1 John 5:7)
“For there are three that bare record in heaven: The Father, The Son, and the Holy Spirit, and these three are one.”
This was a big-time ‘proof-text’ for the Trinity. However, the following Bibles have it removed forever!
{New American Bible}
{Revised Standard Bible 1952}
{Revised Standard Bible 1971}
{New International Version}
Prima Qur’an Comment: They have footnotes that say, “There is no manuscript before the 16th Century that contains such a passage.”
One wonders how many other times commentary ‘slipped’’ into the text during copying.
Example 2
The King James Version has Mark (16:9-20) as part of its word of God.
However, about Mark (16:9-20) Edgar J Goodspeed Bible translator noted:
“The short conclusion connects much better with Mark (16:8) than does the long, but neither can be considered as the original part of the Gospel of Mark.”
Source: (The Goodspeed Parallel New Testament, 1944, p 127)
The following Bible Versions have them removed. If they are not removed, there is usually a (footnote) or a line before and after Mark (16:9-20) showing why it is doubted as the word of God.
{New American Bible}
{Revised Standard Bible 1952}
{Revised Standard Bible 1971}
{New International Version}
Prima Qur’an Comment: The text of Mark 16:9-20 has words attributed to Jesus which Christians for over 1600 years believed to be the words of Jesus. One wonders how many other words attributed to Jesus may be taken out next!
Example 3
The King James Version has John (8:1-11) as part of its word of God.
However, Christian scholars have this to say: “The spurious passages in John (7:53-8:11) have obviously been ADDED TO THE ORIGINAL TEXT of John’s Gospel. They are not found in the Sinaitic Manuscript or the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209, though they do appear in the sixth-century Codex Bezae and later Greek manuscripts. They are omitted, however, by most of the early versions. It is evident that they are not part of John’s Gospel. One group of Greek manuscripts places this passage AT THE END OF JOHN’S GOSPEL; another group PUTS IT AFTER LUKE (21:38), supporting the conclusion that IT IS A SPURIOUS AND UNINSPIRED TEXT.”
Source: (Revised Standard Bible 1971)
The following Bible Versions have them removed. If they are not removed, there is usually a (footnote) or a line before and after John (8:1-11) showing why it is doubted as the word of God.
{New American Bible}
{Revised Standard Bible 1952}
{Revised Standard Bible 1971} This version even has the material about where various manuscripts have placed it.
{New International Version}
Conclusion: We can see that there is no such thing as ‘The Bible’ among Christians. There are Bible(s) according to whose camp you belong to, or what church tradition one follows. We can all see that the Bible does not meet the standards of the Qur’an in the passages given at the beginning of this discussion.
The Christians themselves have been led into believing that certain books or passages are the words of God or inspired by him when they are not. Thus, people have made something like the Bible.
I will leave you with this following quotation from the book of Revelation for Christians to think about…
Revelation (22:18-19)
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book;if anyone adds to them, God will add to him plaguesdescribed in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of this Book of Prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of lifeand in the holy city, which are described in this book.”
THE AUTHENTICITY OF THE BIBLE
One of the reasons we didn’t name this topic “The Authenticity of the Bible” is because to be authentic you have to have a genuine original.
Christians never call their documents ORIGINAL. They call them ANCIENT AND MOST ANCIENT. The reason they do this is that they are simply being transparent. However, some of them make the masses feel that the Bible they have is an exact replica of the original manuscripts. However, when they are confronted with point-blank contradictions in the text, they usually resort to saying, “Well I believe those are not in the original autographs.”
“This is necessary to do with the books of the Bible, as with all literary documents of the ancient world, because the originals are no longer extant. Not only this, but of the more than five thousand manuscript copies of the Greek New Testament, no two of them agree completely. It is essential, therefore, that anyone who expounds the Word of God be acquainted to some degree with the science of textual criticism if he or she is to expound that Word faithfully.”- Daniel B Wallace.
If you look up the word Authentic in any dictionary, it has the following meanings: original, real, true, genuine, pure, accurate, reliable, legitimate, factual, actual, concrete, verifiable, authoritative, trustworthy.
So if, by their own admission, they don’t have an authentic original indeed what are they telling us?
This is unlike the Qur’an, in which states that it will be preserved.
“Verily, It is We Who have sent down the Dhikr (the Qur’an) and surely, We will guard it (from corruption) .” (Qur’an 15:9)
Note: Allah tells us that he will guard the Qur’an. This is unlike the previous scriptures. It was up to human beings to guard them.
“…and the rabbis and the priest (judged according to their Scriptures), FOR TO THEM WAS ENTRUSTED THE PROTECTION OF THE BOOK OF ALLAH, and they were witnesses to it.” (Qur’an 5:44)
So, two things can be seen from the viewpoint of the Qur’an.
1) The protection of the Qur’an is under Allah
2) The protection of the previous scriptures is under the religious establishment.
Does the Bible even claim to be from God?
The Qur’an claims to come from God.
“The Most Beneficent. Has taught the Qur’an. He created man. He taught him speech.” (Qur’an 55:1-4)
Again we have…
“Ha Mim. The revelation of the Book is from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.” (Qur’an 46:1-2)
Examining the Doctrine of Inspiration: The claim that it comes from God.
The reason for this investigation is simple. Why should a person consider scripture to have come from Allah if it doesn’t claim to come from him?
When we ask Christians a very pointed question. Does your book (scriptures) even claim to come from Allah? They say yes.
The two texts cited by them to prove that the Bible claims to come from Allah are
“All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction into righteousness” {King James Version} (2 Timothy 3:16)
“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)
If we look at the first text given of 2 Timothy (3:16) in context, he will see that it only certifies the Hebrew Scriptures.
2 Timothy (3:15), ” And from a child you have known the holy scriptures which are able to make the wise to salvation which is in Jesus Christ.”
We can see clearly in the context that IF this text is making a claim to anything, it’s the ‘Old Testament scriptures’.
Why? Because when Timothy was a child there were no ‘New Testament’ writings at that time.
We also know that this scripture DOES NOT verify everything in the Bible as being from Allah! How do we know?
When we get a correct translation. As already mentioned, the Christians have Bible Versions that are more accurate than those they previously possessed.
In the first {Revision Standard Version} of the Bible, the translation of (2 Timothy 3:16) is very revealing.
2 Timothy (3:16)(Revised Standard Version 1881, 1952)
“Every scripture inspired by God is profitable for teaching, forreproof, for correction, for training into righteousness.”
Also, the Douay Rheims Version and the Revised Standard Version 1971 have an alternative reading of this passage.
We hope that the difference above between ‘all scripture IS-inspired‘ and ‘all scripture inspired’, is understood.
For example, if I say ALL the apples are good, it means ALL the apples are good. However, if I say all the apples that are good it means some of them are not good.
Read the above passage once again…
“Every scripture inspired by God (not that all scripture IS inspired by God) is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training into righteousness.”
The Internal Evidence is that “not all scripture is inspired.”
We have internal evidence within the Biblical text that shows the above reading ‘All scripture inspired by God’ is correct.
“And unto the married, I command Yet not I, But the Lord Let not the wife depart from her husband: But if she departs, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother has a wife that believes not, and she is pleased to dwell with him, let him or put her away.” (1 Corinthians 7:10-12)
“Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord: yet I give my judgment as one that obtained the mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress. I say that it is good for a man so to be.” (1 Corinthians 7:25-26)
“But she is happier if she so abides. After my judgment, and I THINK (I’m not sure) I also have the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 7:40)
In the first text, it can be seen that in the first text Paul was going to say something and then catch himself. The second text is crystal clear in that Paul says that he doesn’t feel the Holy Spirit, inspiring him to say anything. However, since he does keep in contact with Paul, Paul feels he can give his own judgment. In the third text, Paul is not even sure if the Spirit of God is with him.
More examples of Uninspired scripture.
“One of themselves, even a prophet of their own said, The Cretians are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies.” (Titus 1:12)
This is not inspired scripture. Paul is quoting Epimenides, who was a 6th Century soothsayer. He was no prophet of God.
“For in him, we live, and move, and have our being; as certain of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.” (Acts 17:28)
This is not inspired scripture. Paul is quoting the poet Aratus from Cilicia Lycia and this guy is talking about the pagan deity ZEUS! He is then making a poem about a pagan deity that applies to God!
“Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13)
We know this is uninspired scripture because the teachings of the prophets are perfect. Jesus would never have uttered this statement.
The greater teaching is that ‘a man lay down his life for his enemies‘
A very candid presentation by the ‘author’ Luke.
“Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which have been accomplished among us, Just as they were delivered to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the truth concerning the things of which you have been instructed.” (Luke 1:1-4)
There are a lot of things to be said about this.
1) Where are the many accounts Luke is talking about?
2)Note: Luke said he was getting second information from ‘those who were eyewitnesses’ who ‘delivered them to us‘. He isn’t getting his information from God but from oral tradition.
3) Luke says ‘it seemed good to me also‘ to write ‘an orderly account’. If Luke thought the accounts already given were sufficient, he would not have felt the need to write his own account.
4) Finally, if Luke writes an ‘orderly account’’ are the other accounts disorderly? Would the Holy Spirit inspire disorder?
This is clearly different from the apostles of Jesus who said:
“For it seemed good to us AND the Holy Spirit to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things:” (Acts 15:28)
The Apostles said it seemed good to ‘us and the Holy Spirit’. However, Luke said it seemed good to him (only)
Prima Qur’an Comments: Because of these and other problems, the Evangelical Christians have adopted their position on inspiration.
We will now examine the four points Evangelicals have now adopted.
1) Everything inspired is not scripture.
2) Everything that is scripture is not inspired.
3) Everything that is scripturally inspired is not preserved.
4) Everything that is preserved is not scripturally inspired.
An example of point number 1
“I have a lot to write to you, but I do not wish to write with pen and ink. Instead, I hope to see you soon, when we can talk face to face.” (3 John 1:13)
Prima Qur’an Comment: This writer is clearly stating that everything inspired need not be written. He feels what he needs to say can be said in person “face to face.”
At the least, it shows that everything that is inspired is not necessarily scripture.
An example of point number 2
“Now concerning virgins, I have no commandment from the Lord: yet I give my judgment as one that obtained the mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good for the present distress. I say that it is good for a man so to be.” (1 Corinthians 7:25-26)
Two examples of point 3
“I wrote unto you in an EPISTLE not to company with fornicators:” (1 Corinthians 5:9)
Prima Qur’an Comment: Well, if everything Paul wrote was inspired by God, then where is this epistle at?
By the way. this is 1st Corinthians, not 2nd Corinthians.
“Or do you suppose it is in vain that the SCRIPTURE says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit which he has made to dwell in us”? (James 4:5)
Prima Qur’an comment: Where is this Scripture at? So does the Bible contain all of God’s scripture or not?
Examples of point 4
The ‘Catholics‘ would say that the book of Tobit has been preserved, but the Protestants would not agree to it being inspired. Many books of antiquity have come down to us today and Christians would readily agree that this is not necessarily a case for inspiration.
Further thoughts on inspiration. The following is taken from Daniel B Wallace. He is a very conservative Christian and has written an excellent essay on various viewpoints among Evangelicals. It is quite an eye-opening essay.
“Sturz gives some further helpful analogies (Byzantine Text-Type, 38): Preservation of the Word of God is promised in Scripture, and inspiration and preservation are related doctrines, but they are distinct from each other, and there is a danger in making one the necessary corollary of the other. The Scriptures do not do this. God has given the perfect revelation by verbal inspiration, was under no special or logical obligation to see that man did not corrupt it.”
“W.N. Pickering, “Identity of the New Testament Text,” 150. In Pickering’s theological construct, then, the doctrine of inspiration has no significance, for elsewhere he argued. “If we do not have the inspired words or do not know precisely which they be, then the doctrine of Inspiration is inapplicable.” (Burgeon, 88)
“Matthew 24:35 “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away,” is used in support of preservation. But once again, even though this text has the advantage of referring to Jesus’ words (as opposed to the OT), the context is clearly eschatological; thus, the words of Jesus have certainty of fulfillment. That the text does not here mean that his words will all be preserved in written form is absolutely certain, because (1) this is not only foreign to the context but implies that the written gospels were conceived at this stage in Heilsgeschichte decades before a need for them was apparently felt; (2) we certainly do not have all of Jesus words recorded either in scripture or elsewhere (cf John 20:30 and 21:25)”
“Wilbur Pickering, former president of the Majority Text Society, has continued this type of argument into the present debate. In his 1968 master’s thesis done at Dallas Seminary (An Evaluation of the Contribution of John William Burgon to the New Testament Textual Criticism)”
We have seen that Christians are claiming for the Bible what it does not even claim for itself, namely, that it is the inspired word of God. We have given clear proof text that shows many passages in the Bible are not inspired by God. Above all. Luke himself, a major Gospel writer, does not claim inspiration from God.
The Claims of Allah in the Qur’an about previous scripture.
“Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands and then say, This is from Allah,” to purchase with it a little price! Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn thereby.” (Qur’an 2:79)
In the sublime oral tradition we have:
Narrated Ubaidullah: Ibn ‘Abbas said, “Why do you ask the people of the scripture about anything while your Book (Quran) which has been revealed to Allah’s Apostle is newer and the latest? You read it pure, undistorted and unchanged, and Allah has told you that the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) changed their scripture and distorted it, and wrote the scripture with their own hands and said, ‘It is from Allah,’ to sell it for a little gain. Does not the knowledge which has come to you prevent you from asking them about anything? No, by Allah, we have never seen any man from them asking you regarding what has been revealed to you!”
“And verily, among them is a party who distort the Book with their tongues (as they read), so that you may think it is from the Book, but it is not from the Book, and they say: “This is from Allah,” but it is not from Allah; and they speak a lie against Allah while they know it.” (Qur’an 3:78)
Narrated Abu Huraira: The people of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and then explain it in Arabic to the Muslims. Allah’s Apostle said (to the Muslims), “Do not believe the people of the Book, nor disbelieve them, but say, ‘We believe in Allah and whatever is revealed to us, and whatever is revealed to you.’
2) Different schools of thought reporting in another language and twisting the meanings of the original wording.
Internal evidence shows that the Bible agrees with Allah on this.
“How can you say we are wise, and the ‘law of the lord'(Torah) is with us’? But BEHOLD, THE FALSE PEN OF THE SCRIBES HAS MADE IT (The Torah) INTO A LIE.” (Jeremiah 8:8)
“And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eli Eli lama sabach-thani?” which is being interpreted, “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?”(Matthew 27:46)
Prima Qur’an Comments:
1) In the first point, the Bible itself claims the Torah was corrupted by the pen of the scribes. Every time you see ‘law of the lord’ that word there is TORAH!
2) On the second point, this has puzzled scholars of the ‘New Testament‘. Why would someone leave the Aramaic statement of Jesus and then put the translation in Greek?
Why not just translate it?
Also, this is evidence that Jesus spoke Aramaic, not evidence that Jesus spoke Greek. So the ‘New Testament‘ documents are not in the language of revelation that Jesus spoke.
DOES THE BIBLE CONTAIN CONTRADICTIONS?
“Do they not consider the Qur’an carefully? Had it been from any other Allah, they would have surely found therein many contradictions.” (Qur’an 4:82)
Now, when talking with Christians, you may see the following positions taken.
1) The Bible is inerrant (error-free). This means being free from contradictions or problems of any kind. This position is usually taken among Evangelical Christians.
2) When you show them a contradiction (or error) they might say, “Well, it has nothing to do with my doctrine.”
They may say, “Well it’s ONLY ONE!” This position is usually taken by many mainstream churches, such as the Catholic Church.
3) They might even say, well, I BELIEVE in the ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPHS. It was error-free. This position is taken by Evangelical Christians when finally confronted with the daunting reality of a flat contradiction or error.
Let’s respond to the above going from 3 to 1.
3) It should be noted that there are NO ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS. They have ‘ancient‘ and ‘most ancient‘ as already discussed. They are just relying on BLIND FAITH.
The Christians do not have a dual preservation method in which people commit the revelation to memory as well as text.
2) If they say, “It’s only one,” it should be pointed out that their doctrine is that the BIBLE IS INNERANT.
Therefore, it’s a MAJOR PROBLEM.
Alas! How many holes does it take to pop a balloon?
What if you were on an airplane and a window was smashed out? Well, it’s only one!
One hole pops the balloon!
1) The fact is that there are flat contradictions and errors in the Bible. The following will give more than enough proof of that.
Question: Should a contradiction from a translation be sufficient to show the Bible has an error?
Answer: No!
When giving contradictions in the Bible, it should be noted that we should show such contradictions from the Greek and Hebrew Text.
Why? Because we as Muslims would not accept any ‘contradictions‘ from a translation.
The Qur’an is in the Arabic text. So we should not set about a double standard.
So surface (seemingly) contradictions will not do.
Question: What is surface contradiction?
Answer:
Example of a surface contradiction in the Bible.
“And Michael, the daughter of Saul, had no child until the day of her death.” (2 Samuel 6:23)
“The king took the two sons of Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoi and Mephiboseth; and the FIVE SONS OF MICHAL.” (2 Samuel 21:8)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
This would be a contradiction except that there is an alternative reading of MICHAL with the Hebrew word MERAB. Thus, as the Hebrew text can read ‘ FIVE SONS OF MERAB‘ we don’t have a contradiction.
Thus, the importance of establishing the evidence from the text in the original language is demonstrated.
EXAMPLES OF CLEAR CONTRADICTIONS IN THE TEXT
“When the evening came, they brought unto him MANY that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed ALL that were sick.” (Matthew 8:16)
“And at evening, when the sun did set, they brought unto him ALL that were diseased and them that were possessed with devils. And ALL the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed MANY that were sick of diverse diseases, and cast out MANY devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:32-34)
Prima Qur’an Comment: The Greek word for many is (pantas) and the Greek word for all is (pollous). Matthew saw some deficiency in a Jesus that only healed many, so he switched the Greek words around.
Another example:
“And there came a voice from heaven, saying YOU ARE my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11)
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, THIS IS my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
Prima Qur’an Comment: The Greek word for you is su and the Greek word for this is would be (outos). Mark held that Jesus was the adopted son of God, called adoptionist theology. Matthew felt Jesus already knew who he was because he was the son of God based on the Virgin birth and therefore did not need to be told who he was. He changes the wording of the voice, so the people are addressed.
Another example:
“And when he knew it of the Centurion, he gave the body to JOSEPH. And HE brought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulcher.” (Mark 15:45-46)
“And though THEY found no cause of death in him, yet desired THEY Pilate that he should be slain. And when THEY had fulfilled all that was written of him, THEY took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher.” (Acts 13:28-29)
Prima Qur’an comments: This goes back to the conflict over whether Jesus died and was then impailed on a Tree or rather he was nailed to a Patibulum (T tau or + cross-shaped fixture). Here it says the same Jews who desired his death put him in the tomb and not Joseph.
Another example:
“Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightaway you shall find an ASS tied, AND A COLT with her: lose THEM, and bring THEM unto me. And if any man says ought unto you, you shall say, The Lord hath need of THEM and straightway he will send THEM. All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King comes to you, meek, and sitting upon an ASS, AND A colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ASS, AND the COLT, and put on THEM their clothes, and they set him thereon.” (Matthew 21:2-7)
“And said unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as you be entered into it, you shall find a colt tied, whereon never sat; lose HIM, and bring him. And if any man says unto you, Why do you do this? Say you that the Lord has need of HIM, and straightaway he will send HIM hither. And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door without It a place where two ways met, and they lose HIM. And certain of them stood there and said, What are you doing losing the COLT? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. And they brought the COLT to Jesus, and cast their garments on HIM, and he sat upon HIM.” (Mark 11:2-7)
“Rejoice greatly, O’ daughter of Zion; shout, O’ daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass,” (Zechariah 9:9)
Prima Qur’an Comment: The Greek word for a colt (singular) is polos and for it (ayton). The Greek word for them is (vavtos). This contradiction is not really on Mark’s part, as it is Matthew’s lack of understanding of Hebrew or else using the Greek Septuagint. In Zechariah 9:9 the original Hebrew shows only one ass, the term even stressing that. However, Matthew didn’t look into the Hebrew text of the matter.
The New American Bible has the following commentary,
“The ass and the colt are the same animal in the prophecy, mentioned twice in different ways, the common Hebrew literary device of poetic parallelism. Matthew takes them as two is one of the reasons why some scholars think that he was a Gentile rather than a Jewish Christian who would presumably not make the mistake. Upon them: upon the two animals; a peculiar picture resulting in Matthew’s misunderstanding of Zechariah 9:9”
Source: (New American Bible pg 1043 commentary on Matthew 21)
Another example:
“And they arrived at the country of GERGESENES, which is over against Galilee. Then the whole multitude of the country of the GERGESENES round about sought him to depart from them; for they were taken with great fear: and he went up into the ship, and returned back again.” (Luke 8:26,37)
“And when he came to the other side into the country of the GADARENES, there met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding fierce, so that no man might pass by that way.” (Matthew 8:28)
Prima Qur’an Comment: This error in the Greek text is more due to a scribal gloss in the Greek text.
Another example:
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him A CENTURION, beseeching him,” (Matthew 8:5)
“And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, HE SENT UNTO THEM ELDERS OF THE JEWS, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.” (Luke 7:2-3)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
The Greek phrase for older men is (presbuteros). The Greek word for centurion is (hekatontarchos). The reason this exists has more to do with oral tradition than the ideas either of the writers had.
Another example:
“While he spoke these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is EVEN NOW DEAD: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.” (Matthew 9:18)
“And sought him greatly, saying, My little daughter LIES AT THE POINT OF DEATH: I pray thee, come and lay hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.” (Mark 5:23)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
The Greek term for the deceased is (teleute). Again, Matthew thought that a Jesus who could save a dead person was going to be more illustrious than a Jesus who merely saved a dying person. So this contradiction is the result of the developing theology surrounding the person of Jesus.
Another example:
“The first day of the week comes Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and see THE STONE TAKEN AWAY from the sepulcher. Then she ran, and came to Simon Peter, and to the other disciples, whom Jesus loved, and said unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid him.” (John 20:1-2)
“And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the Angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and ROLLED BACK THE STONE from the door, and sat upon it.” (Matthew 28:2)
Prima Qur’an Comment: The reason such an anomaly exists is that the writer John believed in a spiritual resurrection of Jesus in which the stone would be no barrier. However, Matthew believed in a physical resurrection and a stone would be a barrier to that.
“The fathers shall not be put to death for the children, neither shall the children be put to death for the fathers: every man shall be put to death for his own sin.” (Deuteronomy 24:16)
“Samuel said to Saul: “It was I the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel. Now, therefore, listen to the message of the Lord.
This is what the Lord of hosts has to say: “ I will punish the Amelek tribe did to Israel when he barred his way as he was coming up from Egypt. Go, now, attack Amalek, and deal with him and all that he has under the ban Do not spare him, but kill men and women, children and infants, oxen and sheep, camels and asses.” (1 Samuel 15:1-3)
Prima Qur’an Comment: One can make all the excuses they want about how infants took part in harming Israel on the way to Egypt, but it would be a real stretch. God did not command the killing of babies. This text here is a forgery. Bloodlust in the name of God is not scripture, and it contradicts God’s clear command in Deuteronomy that children will not be put to death for their father’s misdeeds.
Conclusion: It should be seen that the Bible has contradictions within the text. These contradictions also show that the Bible is not the word of God according to the criteria the Qur’an gave above.
THOSE AMAZING BIBLE ‘PROPHECIES’
If I had to pick THE reason why I think most Christians believe that the Bible is THE word of God, I would say because of the idea of prophecies.
Most Christians think the Bible is filled with amazing Bible prophecies about the future. ‘
However, what does the Bible say about such ‘prophecies’?
“If a prophet arises among you, or a dreamer of dreams, and gives you a sign or wonder, and the sign or wonder which he tells you comes to pass, and if he says, ‘Let us go after other gods ‘which you have not known,’ and let us serve them,’ you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or to that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord, your God is TESTING YOU, TO KNOW WHETHER YOU LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART and all your soul.” (Deuteronomy 13:1-3)
So the Bible admits even FALSE PROPHETS can make accurate prophecy fulfillment. However,We think there are better reasons than that to question the ‘amazing prophecies‘ belief held by Christians. Many Christians are not even aware of the following.
1) In the original CONTEXT, they were not even ‘prophecies‘ awaiting fulfillment!
2) Text quoted as ‘prophecy‘ is not even taken as a HOMOGENEOUS UNIT and the context is ignored.
3) Sometimes even the text supposedly quoted IS NOT EVEN TO BE FOUND.
4) Sometimes text from TWO DIFFERENT PROPHETS is attributed to ONE PROPHET.
5) Most importantly, these ‘proof-texts’ were only ‘prophecies’ in the WILD IMAGINATIONS of those that said so.
AN EXAMPLE OF NUMBER 1
An interpolated statement put in the mouth of Jesus
“He who believes in me, as SCRIPTURE SAID,” out of his heart shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
However, there is NO SUCH SCRIPTURE anywhere in the Tanach (Old Testament)! Yet {footnotes} will have the following passages.
“For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground I will pour my spirit upon your descendants.” (Isaiah 44:3)
“Lo, everyone one who thirsts come to the waters; and he who has no money come and buy wine and milk without money and without price.” (Isaiah 55:1)
” And the Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your desire with good things (Hebrew meaning uncertain) and make your bones strong and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.” (Isaiah 58:11)
All of the above passages are not the STATEMENT OF Jesus in (John 7:38). Their are no ‘prophecies‘ awaiting fulfillment.
AN EXAMPLE OF NUMBER 2
Another interpolated statement is put in the mouth of Jesus.
“The son of man does go as it is WRITTEN OF HIM: but one unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” (Mark 14:21)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
Again, there is NO SUCH STATEMENT in the Tanach (Old Testament)
However, {footnotes} will have the following passage.
“Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.” (Psalms 41:9)
There are two major points we would like to reflect on regarding this.
1) In CONTEXT this passage CANNOT refer to the life of Jesus. Why? Because of the following text.
“As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me, heal me, FOR I HAVE SINNED AGAINST THEE!” (Psalms 41:4)
So was Jesus sinless or not?
2) If there was a ‘prophecy‘ about a man betraying Jesus, this would mean Judas’ destiny was marked before the poor fellow was even born! So much for salvation!
“He stayed there until the death of Herod, that what the Lord had said through the prophet might be fulfilled, “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew2:15)
This is taken from:
“When Israel was a child I loved him, out of Egypt I called my son. The more I called them, the farther they went from me, Sacrificing to the Baals and burning incense to idols.” (Hosea 11:1-2)
Prima Qur’an Comment: This is only a prophetic fulfillment in the wild imagination of Matthew. Anyone can clearly see that Hosea 11:1-2 is no amazing prophecy awaiting fulfillment. Not only that but the context refers to Israel and not Jesus.
Only if you ignore the context could it refer to Jesus. Why?
Because a Muslim would never ever accept that Jesus “sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to idols.”
AN EXAMPLE OF NUMBER 3
“And he went and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, “HE SHALL BE CALLED A NAZARENE.” (Matthew 2:23)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
There is no such ‘prophecy‘ anywhere in the Tanach (Old Testament). The scholars of Christianity respond with the following two arguments. |
1) Matthew said SPOKEN not WRITTEN.
Response: Well, how can there be proof of divine inspiration in a ‘prophecy statement’ that may have never been made?
2) Those scholars that know better than to use the above ‘reasoning’
say it is fulfilled in (Isaiah 11:1).
Note: In your Bible it is quite likely that you will find a {footnote} will also have you look at (Isaiah 11:1) which says,
“There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.”
Response: It does not say, “He shall be called a Nazarene.”
Anyhow, in a last-ditch effort, they will say the word BRANCH (NESTER) is derived from the same Hebrew root as Nazareth, the town.
Wrong!
Branch (NSTR), Nazareth (NZRTH) and worse yet, Nazarene (NZRN) are not the same root words.
Strong’s Concordance says the name Nazareth is of “uncertain derivation.”
“Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightaway you shall find an ASS tied, AND A COLT with her: lose THEM, and bring THEM unto me. And if any man says ought unto you, you shall say, The Lord hath need of THEM and straightway he will send THEM. All this was done, that it might be FULFILLED WHICH WAS SPOKEN BY THE PROPHET, saying, Tell the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy King comes to you, meek, and sitting upon an ASS, AND A colt the foal of an ass. And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, And brought the ASS, AND the COLT, and put on THEM their clothes, and they set him thereon.” (Matthew 21:2-7)
“And said unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as you be entered into it, you shall find a COLT tied, whereon never sat; lose HIM, and bring him. And if any man says unto you, Why do you do this? Say you that the Lord has need of HIM, and straightaway he will send HIM hither. And they went their way and found the colt tied by the door without It a place where two ways met, and they lose HIM. And certain of them stood there and said, What are you doing losing the COLT? And they said unto them even as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go. And they brought the COLT to Jesus and cast their garments on HIM, and he sat upon HIM.” (Mark 11:2-7)
In light of:
“Rejoice greatly, O’ daughter of Zion; shout, O’ daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of an ass,” (Zechariah 9:9)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
This was only a ‘prophecy‘ in Matthew’s wild imagination. Here “Matthew” or whoever wrote it did not understand the use of Hebrew poetic parallelism and thus misunderstood the text. Or he was using the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew. In any case, it’s no amazing prophecy awaiting fulfillment.
Matthew’s mistake is unique in that it shows many things.
a) It contradicts Mark who says Jesus rode only one colt.
b) Shows Matthew that even in the most ancient manuscripts they have put words in Jesus’ mouth such as “untie THEM”, and “bring THEM.” Jesus had to ride two asses because Matthew thought this is what ‘prophecy’ fulfillment required from him.
“Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah the prophet, “ And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of a man with a price on his head, a price set by some of the Israelites, and they paid it out for the potter’s field just as the Lord had commanded me.” (Matthew 27:9-10)
Prima Qur’an Comment: This is another example of those prophecies the Christians keep telling us about. Try as one might, this statement is nowhere in Jeremiah.
The New American Bible had the following comment to say,
“Matthew’s attributing this text to Jeremiah is puzzling, for there is no such text in that book, and the thirty pieces of silver thrown by Judas ‘into the temple” recall rather Zechariah 11:12-13”
Source: (New American Bible pg 1058 commentary on Matthew 27)
AN EXAMPLE OF NUMBER 5
In the (King James Version) of the Bible we have.
“As it is WRITTEN IN THE PROPHETS, “Behold, I send My messenger before thy face, which shall prepare the way before thee. The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (Mark 1:2-3)
However, Christians can’t hide this error forever. So now the (Revised Standard Version), which is the (corrected King James Version), has the following.
“As it is WRITTEN IN ISAIAH the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before thy, face, who shall prepare thy way” (Mark 1:1)
When you read your {footnotes} to (Mark1:2) it has (Malachi 3:1) meaning THIS IS ACTUALLY IN (Malachi 3:1)!
So there we have someone attributing to Isaiah that which was spoken in Malachi. This is no amazing ‘prophecy‘, just a biblical error!
Conclusion: Making any text of the Tanach (Old Testament) into a ‘prophecy‘ the way the New Testament writers did is not really hard to do.
To show some examples, we will take some text IGNORE THE CONTEXT and make some ‘prophecies‘ of our own.
Ready?
MAKING BIBLICAL “PROPHECIES” IS FUN, CREATIVE AND EASY TO DO!
To show the reader that it is not very difficult to take passages out of context in the “Old Testament” and make them apply to Jesus, we decided to see if we were any good at it. You the reader be the judge.
“And Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man, thus fulfilling what was WRITTEN of him.” (Luke 2:52)
Well, we would then have a {footnote} that would say (Proverbs 3:4). You, the Christian wanting to see the amazing ‘prophecy’ fulfillment’ would turn to find.
“And you will find favor and understanding in the sight of God and man.” (Proverbs 3:4)
So that is fulfilled in Jesus. If not, why not?
“And they all forsook him and fled, thus fulfilling what was WRITTEN of him.” (Mark 14:50)
We would then have a {footnote} that would say (Isaiah 53:3). You, the Christian wanting to see the amazing ‘prophecy’ fulfilled, would turn to find:
“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” (Isaiah 53:3)
So that was fulfilled when the disciples all left Jesus. If not, why not?
“Jesus wept, thus fulfilling what the scripture said concerning him.” (John 11:35)
We would then have a {footnote} giving (Psalms 69:3). You, the Christian wanting to see this amazing ‘prophecy’ fulfilled, would then find:
” I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.” (Psalms 69:3)
So this was fulfilled when Jesus wept. If not. why not?
OVERALL CONCLUSION: THE BIBLE HAS BEEN ADULTERATED
The statements by Allah in the Qur’an about the Bible (as a whole) show it does not pass the test! The Bible did not meet the 5 points.
1) Anyone can make something like the Bible. The Christians are not even sure what is or what is not revealed. They have been duped into believing certain passages or books are God’s word(s) when they were not.
2) The Bible has not been preserved. The adding and taking away of books and passages show this. If it had been preserved, none of these arguments would have come up among Christians. The fact they don’t have the ‘authentic‘ Bible but just ‘ancient‘ and ‘most ancient’ proves the point as well.
3) The ‘scriptures‘ do not even claim to be of divine origin. They are very candid about the fact they are not.
4) Any book claiming to be from God should be free from contradictions; even one!
5) On the so-called ‘prophecies’ in the Bible, once again their own ‘scripture‘ indicts them on forging scriptures (Jeremiah 8:8) and making up prophecies (Deuteronomy 13:1-3) and attributing them to God.
Is it not time to look at the glorious Qur’an?
To put the Qur’an through the above criteria?
To consider it’s sublime divine guidance for all of humanity?
To consider, last of all, that it is a divine message for all mankind?
“And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth. They say, “Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses.”(Qur’an 5:83)
May Allah Guide the Christians to the truth so that they do not burn in hellfire.
“O People of the Book! Our Messenger has indeed come to you, making things clear to you after an interval between the messengers so you do not say, “There has never come to us a deliverer of good news or a warner.” Now there has come to you a deliverer of good news and a warner. And Allah is Most Capable of everything.” (Qur’an 5:19)
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The Shi’a, from the Zaydi and the Imami persuasions have told us that there are lines of Imams from the time of Ibrahim (as).
However, it has never been made clear to the public what role these Imams had in either being complicit in or bulkwarks against the corruption of the Torah and the Gospel.
In layperson’s terminology: Just what were these Imams doing when Allah’s revelations were being corrupted?
Allah informs us:
“Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture – those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse…” (Qur’an 2:159)
Islam is a faith based upon proof and evidence. Proof and evidence.
For example: From the time of Jesus (as) to Muhammed (saw), we have absolutely no historical data or information that even remotely suggest a line of Imams from the time of Jesus (as) until the time of Muhammed (saw) in the way that Shi’i suggest.
The Blessed Prophet (saw) never told us who the Imam that came before him? No one concurrent with the time of the Blessed Prophet (saw) seems to know anything about such an individual at all.
The “400 Silent Years“
For Christians, this is the most commonly referenced gap, occurring between the time of prophet Malachi and John the Baptist (as).
In terms of history, there is roughly a 1000-year gap between the Psalms (Zabur) and the time in which Jesus (as) received the Gospel (Injeel).
The 700 Silent Years.
Between the of Jesus (as) and the Blessed Prophet (saw) there is a 700-year gap.
If the Imām’s role is to guard divine truth, what is the practical meaning of that if divine revelation itself became corrupted in public form?
If the Imām was hidden or inaccessible for centuries, how does that differ from him being absent altogether?
“O People of the Book! Our Messenger has indeed come to you, making things clear to you after an interval between the messengers so you do not say, “There has never come to us a deliverer of good news or a warner.” Now there has come to you a deliverer of good news and a warner. And Allah is Most Capable of everything.” (Qur’an 5:19)
You may take a look at disparate translations here:
“And if You (Muhammed) are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto you, then question those who read the Scripture (that was) before you. Verily the Truth from your Lord has come to you. So be not of those who doubt.” (Qur’an 10:94)
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Before we get started, we would like to address you: the curious, the truth seeker, the student of comparative religion. The state of apologetics and polemics between Muslims and Christians today has reached a point that neither side wants to give an inch. It is up to you, the truth-seeker, to open your heart to the truth. We are not able to win any over We are simply able to try and convey the message to the best of my abilities.
Addressing the thought process of why Christians try to take this approach with Muslims.
In other words, even if Christians did manage to convince Muslims to accept one of their competing canons of the Bible, that does not automatically mean that the Bible itself is a revelation from Allah. Thus, the Muslim considers Christianity. Equally possible is that the Muslim would question why the Qur’an would endorse any competing Christian canon of the Bible that is riddled with errors. The Qur’an asking us to follow error for guidance would mean that the Qur’an itself is in error. Thus, rather than becoming a Christian, the Muslim might very well become an Agnostic.
“That is Allah—your True Lord. So what is beyond the truth except falsehood? How can you then be turned away?” (Qur’an 10:32)
So let us come to the matter.
Does the Qur’an teach that ‘The Bible’ was corrupted?
One of the amazing things that Muslims believe today, especially Muslim apologists, is that the Qur’an teaches that the Bible is corrupted. There could be nothing further from the truth.
Nowhere in the entire Qur’an will you find any of the following statements:
“The Bible has been corrupted.”
“The Vedas have been corrupted.”
“The Gospel was corrupted.”
“The Torah was corrupted.”
“The Book of Mormon was corrupted.”
These statements are just not there!
Does the Qur’an endorse the various Christian canons known as the Bible?
However, the following statements are also not there:
“The New Testament is from Allah.”
“The Bible is from Allah.”
“The Book of Tobit is from Allah.”
“The Book of Mormon is from Allah.”
“The Injeel equals the 22 books of the New Testament”
“The Torah equals the first 5 books known as the Pentateuch.”
“Mark 16:9-20 is canon.”
But do Muslims have the right to question the Bag Ga-vita, Book of Mormon, the Book of Tobit, The book of Jude, The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Mark 16:9-20, or the Zen Avesta?
Our answer to that is simply yes!
Based upon the Qur’an, Muslims have the right to view with skepticism any claim that a revelation is from Allah.
Before you proceed, you may also wish to read the following article:
We believe that Allah has sent a prophet to every people and thus has communicated to that prophet. However, not all of those communications sent by Allah to his prophets were preserved in their original or pristine forms.
“For We assuredly sent among every People an apostle,(with the Command), “Serve Allah, and eschew Evil”: of the People were some whom Allah guided, and some on whom error became inevitably (established). So travel through the earth, and see what was the end of those who were ungrateful” (Qur’an 16: 36)
“Of some apostles, We have already told you their story; of others, We have not;- and to Moses, Allah spoke direct;” (Qur’an 4:164)
“We did send messengers before you: of them, there are some whose story We have related to you, and some whose story We have not related to you. (Qur’an 40:78)
So one can readily see from the above that Muslims believe in the universality of the message of Islam. Every nation had a prophet sent to them. One of the proofs that Muslims would use to establish this is that every language on this earth has a word for Allah/God.
Specific types of revelations are mentioned in the Qur’an.
The Qur’an mentions four specific types of revelation in the Qur’an: The ‘Suhuf’ of Abraham. The ‘Taurat’ of Moses. The ‘Zabur’ of David and the ‘Injeel’ of Jesus.
Scrolls that Abraham had. (Which the Christians and Jews do not accept nor acknowledge)
We would now like to examine the use of the word ‘Suhuf’ in the Qur’an.
“The admonition will be received by those who fear(Allah):
But it will be avoided by those most unfortunate ones, Who will enter the Great Fire, In which they will then neither die nor live. But those will prosper who purify themselves, And glorify the name of their Guardian-Lord, and (lift their hearts) in prayer. Day (behold), you prefer the life of this world; But the Hereafter is better and more enduring. And this is in the earliest (Revelation),-The Suhuf of Abraham and Moses.” (Qur’an 87:10-19)
“Nay is he not acquainted with what is in the Suhuf of Moses-
And of Abraham who fulfilled his engagements?-Namely, that no bearer of burdens can bear the burden of another; He has promised a Second Creation (Raising of the Dead)..” (Qur’an 53:36-38 and verse 47)
Prima Qur’an Comments:
Now to our knowledge, there is no Christian or follower of Judaism who believes that Abraham was given a collection of scrolls that was a revelation from Allah.
They do not believe this, and we do not contain such a collection of scrolls today. This becomes a matter of belief. Now there are three pieces of information above that we have found to be very interesting.
Namely, the following:
Who will enter the Great Fire?
Mention of the Hereafter.
The promise of a Second Creation (Raising of the Dead).
Now, the Qur’an says that these three items are mentioned in the scrolls of Ibrahim and Moses.
However, a person can search the five books attributed to Moses and find nothing mentioned concerning the afterlife, the rising of the dead, or the hellfire. This is proof enough that the Torah today that Christians and Jews reference is not what Allah had in mind.
There are three possibilities:
A) Either the Qur’an is in error in making such an assertion.
B) This particular revelation is lost (either forever or somewhere at the bottom of the sea or in some temple waiting to be discovered).
C) The ‘Suhuf’ of Ibrahim and Moses today is mostly intact with some editing of the text.
As Muslims, We find it highly suspicious that the teachings about the raising of the dead and the hereafter would not be in the Torah. Especially since the Hebrew slaves came out of Egypt; a culture immersed in afterlife theology.
In fact, the jewishvirtuallibrary, which is to represent all things Jewish, accurately had the following to say:
“Jewish teachings on the subject of the afterlife are sparse: The Torah the most important Jewish text, has no clear reference to the afterlife at all.”
We would now like to look at the use of the word ‘Taurat’ in the Qur’an.
Torah/Tawrat: meaning teaching, instruction or law.
“But why do they come to you for a decision, when they have the Taurat before them?- therein is the (plain) command of Allah. yet even after that, they would turn away. For they are not (really) People of Faith. It was We who revealed the Taurat (to Moses): therein was guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed (as in Islam) to Allah’s will, by the rabbis and the doctors of law: for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah has revealed, they are (no better than) the ungrateful. We ordained therein for them: “Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, an ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.” But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah has revealed, they are (No better than) wrong-doers.
To you We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and assessing it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that has come to you. To each among you have We prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He has given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which you dispute. (Qur’an 5:43-45 and verse 48)
Prima Qur’an Comments:
In regard to verse 43 above, there is a sublime oral tradition or ‘hadith’ about the Prophet Muhammed (saw) that relates to us the following:
Narrated Abdullah Ibn Umar:
A group of Jews came and invited the Messenger of Allah (saw) to Quff. So he visited them in their school. They said: AbulQasim, one of our men has committed fornication with a woman; so pronounce judgment upon them. They placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah (saw) who sat on it and said: Bring the Torah. It was then brought. He then withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Torah on it saying: I believed in you and in Him Who revealed you. He then said: Bring me one who is learned among you. Then a young man was brought. The transmitter then mentioned the rest of the tradition of stoning similar to the one transmitted by Malik from Nafi'(No. 4431).
This whole account relates to what to do with married people who committed adultery. Do Muslims continue the practice that Allah revealed to Moses (as) or not?
Among the Jewish community in Madinah, this very issue came up. The charge was that the aristocracy committed adultery so much that the Jews dare not stone for every account of adultery. Muhammed (saw) had a man who could read, read the verse of the stoning, and it was applied.
The Qur’an says the following about the Taurat that Moses was given.
“By its standard have been judged the Jews.”
The Qur’an than goes on to say in verse 44 that If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah has revealed, they are (no better than) ungrateful disbelievers. We see that in this statement based upon verse 43 the Jews were chided for coming to Muhammed (saw) when they had the law before them.
Verse 45 states that it was revealed to them “Life for life, eye for eye, nose or nose, ear for ear, tooth for tooth, and wounds equal for equal.”
This statement of the Qur’an appears to also agree in principle with the statement found in Exodus 21:24-25. “Eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
However, the very curious thing is why do Christians/Perennialist/Pseudo-Islamic scholars only quote part of the verse of the Qur’an?
The verse in total says, But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself. And if any fail to judge by what Allah hath revealed, they are wrong-doers.
You do not find this statement: “But if anyone remits the retaliation by way of charity, it is an act of atonement for himself.” in the sacred text of the Jews and Christians!!
Anyone who does not assert that the Qur’an is affirming revelation sent before it is also missing the fact that the Qur’an itself is setting its own criteria for truth is just being dishonest. As Allah clearly says, “And if any fail to judge by what Allah has revealed, they are wrong doers.”
Notice that verse 48 states: “To you, we have sent Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and assessing it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah has revealed.
The scripture that is being assessed is that which came before is the Qur’an. If it was perfectly preserved, it would not be in need of assessment.
It is very tongue in cheek for a person, be they a Jew or a Christian, to say:
“Oh, the Qur’an is confirming the revelation before it, but the Qur’an itself is not revelation.”
The only authority given to any revelation that precedes the Qur’an comes from the Qur’an itself. Anyone who misses this point is either being deceitful or simply hasn’t thought about it deeply enough.
Note: The Qur’an never says that the Torah is the five books known today as (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
Note: The Qur’an never says that the Torah is the five books known today as (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy)
If we examine the above statement of an eye for an eye. One may wonder. What happens if a person is blind and that person now blinds someone else?
If we take a text at face value and literal interpretation, it can become very problematic.
This is why in Rabbinical Judaism there is an understanding that Allah gave Moses the Torah as a written revelation as well as an oral Torah.
An example of the Oral Torah being quoted by the Qur’an
“On that account: We ordained for the Children of Israel that if any one slew a person- unless it be for murder or for spreading mischief in the land-it would be as if he slew the whole people: and if any one saved a life, it would be as if he saved the life of the whole people.”
This could easily be a quote of/or something that predates Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5
This alone is enough to refute the ‘Kara-rite’ Jews and ‘Protestant’ Christian claims that Islam only validates and accepts a written Torah.
“Muhammed is the apostle of Allah. and those who are with him are strong against the Ungrateful, (but) compassionate among each other. You will see them bow and prostrate themselves (in prayer), seeking Grace from Allah and (His) Good Pleasure. On their faces are their marks, (being) the traces of their prostration. This is their similitude in the Taurat; and their similitude in the Injeel is: like a seed which sends forth its blade, then makes it strong; it then becomes thick, and it stands on its own stem, (filling) the sowers with wonder and delight. As a result, it fills the Ungrateful with rage at them. Allah has promised those among them who believe and do righteous deeds forgiveness, and a great Reward.” (Qur’an 48:29)
There is no such similitude that we know of in the sacred text of what the Jews and Christians would consider the Taurat or the Injeel.
So there are three possibilities for this:
A) The Qur’an is wrong that such a similitude exists.
B) The entirety of the Taurat and Injeel message is not with us today.
C) The Taurat and the Injeel are not with us at all.
As a Muslim, we would hold that option B would be our position. We use the Qur’an as the final criterion.
“Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet, the Unlettered, whom they find mentioned in their own (scriptures),- in the Taurat and the Injeel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who will prosper.” (Qur’an 7:157)
The verse above says that Muhammed (saw) is mentioned in the ‘Law’ and the ‘Gospel’. Now there are a few ways Jews, and Christians and Muslims can approach this.
A) When it says ‘The unlettered” it could mean that this prophet is not spelled out by name. Or there could be a reference to a person who is illiterate. It could be a form of what we know as metonymy. Jesus (as) is not mentioned by name in the TNCH, for example. We
It could also be that there are allegories about this Prophet in the Torah and the Gospel that are preserved therein.
B) His name is mentioned in black and white and since we do not see that in today’s Torah or Gospels, then obviously, today’s Torah and Gospels are not what the Qur’an has in mind.
C) The Qur’an is in error as today’s Torah and Gospel of Jesus are intact and mention nothing about Muhammed (saw).
We are inclined to go with option A, and we give our reasons and justifications for doing so with the following entry:
In the end, we do not believe that the Qur’an states, for Muslims in black and white terms, what the Taurat is. We do know for certain that the Qur’an, nor the sacred oral tradition, state that Taurat are the five books commonly attributed to Moses. No one has yet proved this to us.
Even in the above hadith, where the prophet Muhammed (saw) says to bring the Torah, the burden of proof could go either way. By calling it part of the ‘Taurat’, the Torah is as appropriate as calling Qur’an 2:256 the Qur’an, even though it is not the entire Qur’an.
However, one argument that is brought forward and that is easily debunked is the idea that: “Well, Allah hasn’t revealed anything to Muhammed (saw) yet.”
This cannot be a solid argument because of the previous verse we mentioned.
“But why do they come to you for a decision, when they have the Taurat before them?- therein is the (plain) command of Allah. yet even after that, they would turn away. For they are not (really) People of Faith”. (Qur’an 5:43)
One would be hard-pressed to believe that the Torah brought to Muhammed (saw) consisted of the five books commonly attributed to Moses. Let us argue that it could have simply been a scroll and that scroll is what we find in the book of Leviticus today. This would not argue that the entire book of Leviticus is endorsed; nor would it argue that the five books commonly attributed to Moses were endorsed either.
It would be a huge fallacy to assume, based upon today’s printing press, that every Jew and Christian had copies of their respective scriptures in one whole volume or corpus and took it with them everywhere they went.
This is wishful thinking indeed.
So on what basis could Muslims question the claims made about today’s so-called Taurat?
Muslims have a basis to question the claims made about today’s ‘taurat’ do to the internal evidence itself.
“How can you say, We are wise, and the Law of the Lord is with us’? But, behold, the false pen of the scribes has made it into a lie,” (Jeremiah 8:8)
Note (Whenever you see that term ‘law of the Lord’ the Hebrew word is Torah)
“And Hiil-kiah, the high priest, said unto Shaphan, the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hil-kiah gave the book to Sha phan, and he read it.” (2 Kings 22:8)
“The accession of Josiah and his eagerness to restore the worship of Jehovah led to the renovation of the Temple, and in the course of this, B.C. 621, the book of Deuteronomy was discovered. The priest took it to the king, who joyfully welcomed it and set about putting its program of religious reformation into effect. The dramatic story is told in 2 Kings 22 and 23. Josiah put a stop to the idolatrous practices of the people,…”
Source: (Edgar J. Goodspeed ‘How came the Bible?’ pgs. 22-23)
The Book of Deuteronomy is thought to be written by Moses.
“So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: but no man knows of his sepulcher unto this day. And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” (Deuteronomy 34:5-7)
Prima Qur’an Comments:
Does this mean that Allah, in His wisdom and power, could not choose to reveal to Moses the time of his death? It’s true Allah could have done so. Yet this response seems more like a theological response to what is plain to anyone who reads this.
It is most likely that Moses did not write, “I am 120 years old when I die.” The fact that the whole context refers to Moses in the third person supports this view.
Something fascinating and a step ahead may have been something like this. “The Lord revealed to me that I will be 120 years old when I die.”
Which 10 commandments?
You may hear many times people bring up the so called:
‘The 10 commandments’.
This might be an interesting challenge when engaging with our Jewish or Christian friends. It is not an exhaustive list to memorize. Ask your Jewish or Christian friend the next time you meet them to recite ‘The 10 commandments’.
Remember the Jews and Christians tell us that Allah gave Moses ‘The 10 commandments’. In fact, it is the only revelation known to be written directly by Allah. We are then told that Moses broke these the stones which the commandments were written on. So Allah said that he would re-write them.
And the LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.” (Exodus 34:1)
“Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for according to the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.”(Exodus 34:1)
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the Lord your God has commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your ox, your donkey or any of your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns, so that your male and female servants may rest, as you do. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day. “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery. “You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not set your desire on your neighbor’s house or land, his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Deuteronomy 5:6-21)
“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name. “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you. “You shall not murder. “You shall not commit adultery.“ You shall not steal. “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor. “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:2-17)
“Obey what I command you today. I will drive out before you the Amorites, Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land where you are going, or they will be a snare among you. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and cut down their Asherah poles. Do not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God. “Be careful not to make a treaty with those who live in the land; for when they prostitute themselves to their gods and sacrifice to them, they will invite you and you will eat their sacrifices. And when you choose some of their daughters as wives for your sons and those daughters prostitute themselves to their gods, they will lead your sons to do the same. “Do not make any idols. “Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread. For seven days eat bread made without yeast, as I commanded you. Do this at the appointed time in the month of Aviv, for in that month you came out of Egypt. “The first offspring of every womb belongs to me, including all the firstborn males of your livestock, whether from herd or flock. Redeem the firstborn donkey with a lamb, but if you do not redeem it, break its neck. Redeem all your firstborn sons. “No one is to appear before me empty-handed.“ Six days you shall labor, but on the seventh day you shall rest; even during the plowing season and harvest you must rest. “Celebrate the Festival of Weeks with the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the Festival of Ingathering at the turn of the year. Three times a year all your men are to appear before the Sovereign Lord, the God of Israel. I will drive out nations before you and enlarge your territory, and no one will covet your land when you go up three times each year to appear before the Lord your God. “Do not offer the blood of a sacrifice to me along with anything containing yeast, and do not let any of the sacrifice from the Passover Festival remain until morning.“ Bring the best of the first fruits of your soil to the house of the Lord your God. “Do not cook a young goat in its mother’s milk.” (Exodus 34:11-26)
And the LORD said to Moses, “Cut two tablets of stone like the first ones, and I will write on these tablets the words that were on the first tablets which you broke.” (Exodus 34:1)
What was written on the first two tablets which Allah gave and Moses broke? The book of Exodus doesn’t record it.
The two different sets of 10 commandments are also problematic for many people to accept.
Lost records and books according to the Bible?
“Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, And at the stream of the brooks that goes down to the dwelling of Ar, and rest upon the border of Moab.” (Numbers 21:14-15)
What is this ‘Book of the Wars of the Lord’?
Who wrote it, and where is it?
If Numbers is the Torah that was written by Moses, then is the Torah quoting a historical document no longer with us?
Is this document inspired?
If it is inspired, then the idea that inspired writing can be lost to posterity should no longer be unheard of among Jews and Christians.
If this document is uninspired, then it should be understood that one may be inspired to quote from uninspired documents.
A Look At The Zabur In the Qur’an
Here is a look at the mention of the ‘Zabur‘ in the Qur’an. The mention of ‘Zabur‘ to our knowledge comes in three places.
The word Zabur is: understood to be a song or music.
“And it is your Lord that knows best all beings that are in the heavens and on earth: We did bestow on some prophets more gifts than others: and We gave to David the Zabur” (Qur’an 17:55)
“We have sent thee inspiration, as We sent it to Noah and the Apostle after him: we sent inspiration to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Tribes, to Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, Solomon and to David We gave the Zabur.”(Qur’an 4:163)
“Before this, We wrote in the Zabur, after the Message: My servants the righteous shall inherit the earth.” (Qur’an 21:105)
Many people today, both Muslim and non-Muslim, wish to associate the Zabur with the Psalms that are mentioned in the Bible.
The reason many do this is probably due to the statement above in Chapter 21, “My servants, the righteous, shall inherit the earth.”
Some see a parallel to this statement in Psalms 37:29 that says,
“The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein forever.”
There is a huge difference in that the Qur’an does not state that the righteous will inherit the land ‘forever‘. The statement mentioned in the Qur’an in its exact form is nowhere to be found and is lost. The closest proximity would be the passage citation of Psalms 37:29
Other than the quote above, we have no idea why Muslims or non-Muslims would assume that Zabur is the Psalms of David in today’s Bible?
We do not believe that there is a statement anywhere in the Qur’an or the sacred Hadith literature that states that the Psalms of David contained in today’s Bible is or has been corrupted.
Likewise, we also do not believe that there is a statement in the Qur’an or the sacred Hadith literature that equates the Zabur mentioned in the Qur’an with today’s Psalms of David in the Bible.
We believe this is fanciful thinking.
Any Muslim or Christian who disagrees with our position is welcome to state their reasons for doing so and provide the evidence.
A Look At The Injeel In the Qur’an
Injeel means: The good news. However, the etymological reality means revelation from an Angel.
First, let us look at some of the instances and mention of the Injeel in the Qur’an.
“Then, in their wake, We followed them up with (others of) Our apostles: We sent after them Jesus the son of Mary and bestowed on him the Injeel, and We ordained in the hearts of those who followed him Compassion and Mercy. But the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them: only the seeking for the Good Pleasure of Allah. but that they did not foster as they should have done. Yet We bestowed, on those among them who believed, their (due) reward, but many of them are rebellious transgressors.”(Qur’an 57:27)
We believe that Allah had given Jesus the Injeel (Goodnews singular). We would repudiate the following attribution to Jesus:
“His disciples said unto Him, “If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not good to marry.” But He said unto them, “All men cannot receive this saying, save they to whom it is given. For there are some eunuchs who were so born from their mother’s womb, and there are some eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the Kingdom of Heaven’s sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it.”(Matthew 19:10-12)
Of course, we would repudiate this based upon what Allah has revealed: based upon what the Qur’an says above: ‘the Monasticism which they invented for themselves, We did not prescribe for them‘.
Now it can be argued that this only has Jesus recommending the practice, but Muslims would argue that this is an interpolation put in the mouth of Jesus based upon our presupposition, and our belief in what the Qur’an states. This was not ordered upon people. So the Qur’an would not confirm the above statement, but it would repudiate it.
“Then will Allah say: “O Jesus the son of Mary! Recount My favor to you and to your mother. Behold! I strengthened you with the Holy Spirit so that you did speak to the people in the cradle and in maturity. Behold! I taught you the Book and Wisdom, the Law and the Injeel and behold! You make out of clay, as it were, the figure of a bird, by My leave, and you breath into it and it becomes a bird by My leave, and you heal those born blind, and the lepers, by My leave. And behold! you bring forth the dead by My leave. And behold! I did restrain the Children of Israel from (violence to) you when you didstshow them the clear Signs, and the ungrateful among them said: ‘This is nothing but evident magic.” (Qur’an 5:110)
The Christians reject the above verse of the Qur’an because they say that this story of Jesus comes from apocryphal sources. This is a very dubious claim. They first want to assert that the Qur’an was an invention of Muhammed (saw), so they imagine that he retrieved this story from some Christians he had contacts with in Syria.
This would then beg the question. Wouldn’t those particular Christians find the story acceptable, and thus not apocryphal?
For example, let us imagine that Muhammed (saw) takes some source from the book of Revelation, Jude, or the book of James. There are many Christians of that time and era that would believe it to be spurious because those particular Christians only recognized a New Testament canon of 22 books.
For me, the Qur’an filling in some accounts of Jesus when he was a baby and his teenage years is very fulfilling and refreshing. I find it hard to believe that the ‘Son of God‘ walked around for 30 years of his life on this earth and didn’t do or say anything noteworthy?
For example, the New Testament says:
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.”(John 21:25)
We have dealt with this line of attack (used by skeptics, atheist, and agnostics) here:
So it seems rather odd that some Christians that are still disputing canon and scripture with other Christians would find it scandalous that a story of Jesus not found in one particular canon, oral tradition, or the other would be very similar to one found in the Qur’an.
The Bible itself says there are many things that Jesus did that are not written down, and the whole world would be filled with books if everything was to be written. To begrudge the Muslim revelation about Jesus’ early life when the New Testament is silent about 30 years of his life seems a bit self-refuting.
“Allah has purchased of the believers their persons and their goods; for theirs (in return) is the garden (of Paradise): they fight in His cause, and slay and are slain: a promise binding on Him in truth, through the Law, the Injeel, and the Qur’an: and who is more faithful to his covenant than Allah. then rejoice in the bargain which ye have concluded: that is the achievement supreme.” (Qur’an 9:111)
We have never found this statement anywhere in the Bible. As Muslims, this gives us pause that everything in the New Testament is the preserved word of God. The Qur’an specifically states that such a promise is made and binding. However, we have read the New Testament and have not found such a statement. As Muslims, it is a matter of self-evidence that the New Testament cannot contain all of Allah’s revelation given to Jesus, as the Qur’an states clearly that Jesus was given such a binding promise.
“And Allah will teach him the Book and Wisdom, the Taurat and the Injeel” (Qur’an 3:48)
If we look carefully, we will note that in the above verse the ‘Book‘, ‘Taurat‘ and the “Injeel‘ are all different.
“Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom.”(Matthew 4:23)
Now this piece of information above is interesting. We believe every Christian would readily agree that Jesus was not teaching from a book. Jesus was not teaching from the Gospel of Matthew or Mark. These are writings that came much later. The Gospel that Jesus is teaching is what Muslims call, ‘the Injeel’. What Christians and Muslims dispute is the contents of this Injeel.
“It is He Who sent down to thee (step by step), in truth, the Book, assessing what went before it; and He sent down the Taurat (of Moses) andthe Injeel (of Jesus) before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the criterion (of judgment between right and wrong)”. (Qur’an 3:3)
The verse above in the Qur’an states that Allah gave the Injeel to Jesus and that he sent down Al Furqan (The Filter) that is able to distinguish, and it is one of the names of the Qur’an.
The next verse is also quite interesting.
“People of the Book! Why dispute you about Abraham, when the Law and the Gospel Were not revealed Till after him? Have you no understanding?” (Qur’an 3:65)
Now, this is an interesting point the Qur’an is driving home. We know that Abraham was not a Christian because Jesus brought his message after him. We also know that he didn’t follow rabbinical Judaism as the Law also came after him. So here we come full circle.
Sometimes, Christians will argue as such: “Oh, you Muslims, are supposed to look to the New Testament for guidance.” However, the Qur’an is calling both Christians and Jews to look back to that which is primordial, original, and primary.
“Let the people of the Injeel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah has revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel”(Qur’an 5:47)
*Note this is nowhere saying that Muslims need to look at the Injeel.
It also does not tell the Jews to judge by the Injeel.
This nowhere says that Muslims are to turn to the Injeel for direction and guidance. This statement is made to the people of the Injeel. Whatever they believe that Allah has revealed in it, then let them make judgments based upon that.
It’s not for Muslims because the following verse makes it clear when it says ‘So judge between them by what Allah hath revealed‘.
By the way, this text is proof that Muslims do not force Islam upon Christians. The Jews and the Christians, as history testifies, were able to derive their own marriage, divorce, and other laws based upon what they feel was revealed to them by Allah.
People may well ask what was that ‘Injeel’ that they were supposed to judge by? Notice that it says ‘what Allah has revealed therein’. The thoughtful Christian might ask how are we to know what Allah has revealed therein?
Of course, the average Christian is not asked to do redaction criticism. However, when we look at 2 Timothy 3:16 we get the following:
“Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness.” (English Revised Version)
We have chosen this translation in English because it more accurately reflects the Greek. One must remember that the ‘Catholic’ and ‘Protestant’ factions of Christianity are in conflict over ‘Sola Scriptura’ meaning ‘scripture alone’.
Thus, the Protestant factions have mostly translated 2:Timothy 3:16 as ‘All scripture IS-inspired’.
For example, we have yet to receive a response from a Christian apologist of any sect about Paul’s First Corinthian Letter.
In 1 Corinthians 5:9, Paul said: “I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.”
While some would argue that Paul is referring to a previous section of 1 Corinthians (perhaps 5:1-8) rather than referring to a previous epistle, he then continued (in verse 10) to explain exactly what he meant by that statement, which is not what is said in 5:1-8. After explaining what the statement from the previous letter meant, Paul continued in 5:11 by showing the contrasting point, “But now I have written to you…”—explaining the difference between the statement from the previous epistle and the one from our 1 Corinthians.
So there are two ways to understand this.
That letter is inspired and thus not everything inspired by Allah is preserved.
Or, that letter is not inspired, and therefore everything written by Paul is not inspired by Allah.
The other matter is this curious statement at the end of John’s Gospel.
“Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written.” (John 21:25)
As Muslims, we are a bit troubled that for 30 years of his life Jesus didn’t say anything. That, as Christian theology would have it, that Alah would ‘be in the flesh’ for 30 years not doing much of anything seems incredulous.
This really should be a matter of reflection for our Christian friends. Because if you believe that all of it is from Allah, then live your life according to it, be true and faithful.
However, if you are not sure about what Allah has revealed, then it means you have doubts. Many Christians will read (5:47) of the Qur’an, and they will totally ignore (5:66) and (5:68) mentioned below because it does not suit their interest.
Let’s look at the verses in context.
“To you We sent the Scripture in truth, confirming the scripture that came before it, and assessing it in safety: so judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, diverging from the Truth that has come to you. To each among you have We prescribed a law and an open way. If Allah had so willed, He would have made you a single people, but (His plan is) to test you in what He has given you: so strive as in a race in all virtues. The goal of you all is to Allah. it is He that will show you the truth of the matters in which ye dispute.” (Qur’an 5:48)
“And this (He commands): Judge you between them by what Allah has revealed, and follow not their vain desires, but beware of them lest they beguile you from any of that which Allah has sent down to you. And if they turn away, be assured that for some of their crime it is Allah’s purpose to punish them. And truly most men are rebellious.” (Qur’an 5:49)
“If only they had stood fast by the Taurat, the Injeel, AND ALLthe revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course: but many of them follow a course that is evil.” (Qur’an 5:66)
It is admonishing to stand fast not only by the Injeel and Taurat, but by all the revelation given by Allah.
Say: “O People of the Book! you have no ground to stand upon unless you stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.” It is the revelation that comes to you from your Lord, that increase in most of them their obstinate rebellion and ingratitude. But sorrow you not over an ungrateful people.” (Qur’an 5:68)
Again, the people of the book, the Jews, are told to come to terms with the Christians. This means accepting John and Jesus and prophets sent to other nations. The Christians are told to come to terms with the Zoroastrians, and the other nations on this earth that were sent revelation, including the Qur’an. It says ‘all the revelation that has come from your Lord.”
“And dispute you not with the People of the Book, except with means better (than mere disputation), unless it is with those of them who inflict wrong (and injury): but say, “We believe in the revelation which has come down to us and in that which came down to you; Our Allah and your Allah is one, and it is to Him we bow (in Islam).” (Qur’an 29:46)
“We settled the Children of Israel in a beautiful dwelling-place, and provided for them sustenance of the best: it was after knowledge had been granted to them, that they fell into schisms. Verily Allah will judge between them as to the schisms amongst them, on the Day of Judgement.” (Qur’an 10:93)
“If you were in doubt as to what We have revealed unto you, then ask those who have been reading the Book from before you: the Truth hath indeed come to you from thy Lord: so be in no wise of those in doubt.”(Qur’an 10:94)
The Christians conveniently love to leave out the context of these verses. Verse 93 clearly states that the children of Israel fell into schisms.
Therefore, the understanding that they would give Muhammed (saw) would be very divergent one from the other. This is one of the main reasons why Muhammed (saw) had to be cautious.
When we take verse 94 in context with verse 93, what would we ask ‘those‘?
For example, if we asked about Jesus being Allah. What would rabbinical Judaism say?
If we asked the Kara-rites about hellfire and an afterlife in the Torah, what would their understanding be?
If we asked rabbinical Judaism about John the Baptist, what would be the response?
What about the followers of Zoroastrianism? They are also ‘those who have been reading the Book from before you ‘.
Notice also that there is a conditional statement placed at the beginning of verse 94 the Christians conveniently look over, the word ‘If’. Could the Christians or anyone claiming that Muhammed (saw) doubted anything in the Qur’an prove that he even once deferred a matter to the Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians?
“Oh, you who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He has sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Anyone who denies Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messenger., and the Day of Judgement, has gone far, far astray.” (Qur’an 4:136)
It is a dubious claim to equate the word Injeel with the entire New Testament canon. It becomes dubious on many accounts. The word Injeel or Gospel has never come to mean in any dictionary, ‘The entire New Testament’. Any Christian making such a claim is being woefully uninformed. Second, even if the word Injeel would equate to the ‘New Testament’, which one would it be? The New Testament of 22 books or the New Testament of 27 books?
Again, who was the body that decided which books were ‘Inspired‘ by Allah and which were not?
Why are Christians still in dispute about 5 books? In reality, 12 books considering the ‘Catholic’, and ‘Orthodox’ ‘Old Testament’ canons are different from those accepted by ‘Protestants’.
We believe there are some other points that we will address here.
However, we believe what is given is sufficient for Muslims to give pause to the idea that what Christians today possess is the Word of Allah, in its entirety.
The following text is quite explicit in that not every time that Paul spoke was he being moved upon by the Holy Spirit.
“Now to the married I command, yet not I but the Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband. But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his wife. But to the rest I, not the Lord, say this: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.” (1 Corinthians 7:12)
“Now concerning virgins: I have no commandment from the Lord, yet I give judgment as one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy.” (1 Corinthians 7:25)
The above statements are contrasted below with where Paul was making decisions while concurring with the Holy Spirit.
“It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements.” (Acts 15:28)
“And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of age, being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli,” (Luke 3:23)
We are not comfortable with the fact that whoever is writing this has to guess the age that Jesus began preaching. Saying ‘about’. Though some may not find this very serious, we would hold inspiration from a deity to a different standard.
The next text is also troubling.
“Where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet “Out of Egypt I called my son.” (Matthew 2:15)
The above is quoted from Hosea 11:1-2.
“When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt, I called my son.
But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me. They sacrificed to the Baals and they burned incense to images.” (Hosea 11:1-2)
We see the statement of Matthew 2:15 as a completely fraudulent and a dubious fulfilled prophecy claim.
We do not see the name of Jesus anywhere in the text of Hosea 11:1-2. We see that Israel is whom the text is talking about. Also, we believe that whoever wrote the piece in Matthew 2:15 completely ignored the context. We do not believe the context allows for this to be Jesus in any way, shape or form particularly. The reason being is that this statement ‘They sacrificed to the Baals, and they burned incense to images.’
As Muslims, we would never allow Jesus to sacrifice to false idols and burn incense to graven images!
These teachings are not compatible.
“Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because your hearts were hard. But it was not this way from the beginning. I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman commits adultery.” (Matthew 19:8-9)
O Prophet! When you divorce women, divorce them for their (legal) period and reckon the period, and keep your duty to Allah, your Lord. Expel them not from their houses nor let them go forth unless they commit open immorality. Such are the limits (imposed by) Allah; and whoever transgresses Allah’s limits, he surely has wronged his soul. You do not: it is possible that Allah will afterward bring about a reunion. Then, when they have reached their term, take them back in kindness or part from them in kindness, and call to witness two just men among you, and keep your testimony upright for Allah. Whoso believes in Allah and the Last Day is exhorted to act thus. And whoever keeps his duty to Allah, Allah will appoint a way out for him.” (Qur’an 65:1-2)
Finally, to those who are utterly blind, if this does not make you come to your senses about the matter, we are not sure what will.
“They say: “(Allah) Most Gracious has a son!” Indeed you have put forth a thing most monstrous! At it the skies are ready to burst, the earth to split asunder, and the mountains to fall down in utter ruin, That they should invoke a son (like-kind) for (Allah) Most Gracious. For it is not consonant with the majesty of (Allah) Most Gracious that He should take a (like-kind) son.” (Qur’an 19:88-92)
There are too many verses in the New Testament that say Jesus is the son of God to make it compatible with the Qur’an.
So, since the Qur’an nowhere states that the Bible, Taurat, Injeel, Zabur or Suhuf are corrupted; then on what basis in the Qur’an do Muslims have the right to examine, investigate and question the Vedas, Book of Mormon, Infancy, Gospel of Thomas, Book of Revelation, Talmud, or book of Deuteronomy?
We as Muslims can do this based upon three verses in the Qur’an that tell us to be on our guard.
‘There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues: (As they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, ‘That is from Allah,’ but it is not from Allah: It is they who tell a lie against Allah…’(Qur’an 3:78)
This, of course, is because most people during that time were illiterate (be they Jew, Christian, Zoroastrian, Pagan, or Muslim). They obviously could not read a book for themselves, but were told to be on their guard because of people not being forthcoming about what the text says, possibly taking advantage of their ignorance of the original language (that the person did not understand) or the fact that they were illiterate and couldn’t verify it.
We see this happening today and this is why all Muslims are encouraged to learn to read and write Arabic.
Every time you read a translation of the Qur’an you are reading someone’s theological musings as well. Same with any sacred literature that claims to come from Allah.
‘But because of their breach of their Covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard: They change the words from their (right) places and forget a good part of the message that was sent…’(Qur’an 5:13)
Now some Christians may act in a very mischievous way by attempting to say that the Qur’an confirms the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, The book of Revelation, The Gospel of Barnabas, The Gospel of Mark 16:9-20, etc. will say that the above verse of the Qur’an is only talking about people who change things with their tongues.
Any truthful reader can see as obviously and plain as day that the Qur’an says, “that they forgot a good portionof what was sent”and they changed the words from their places. This can only happen if there is an oral tradition being passed along and some people willfully pervert this oral tradition before it becomes text/OR it is a reference to those who willfully change the text.
‘Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: “This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.’ (Qur’an 2:79)
No doubt this verse is directly related to the following man-made law that is attributed to Allah.
The following says that Jews can give interest to non-Jews but not to one another.
“Unto a foreigner you may lend interest; but not unto your brother you shall not lend interest, that Jehovah your God may bless you in all that you put your hand on, in the land wherever you go into possess it. When you shall vow a vow unto Jehovah your God, you shall not be slack to pay it: For Jehovah your God will surely require it of you; and it would be sin in you.” (Deuteronomy 23:20-21)
Allah (swt) says in relationship to those who made such scriptures and attributed to Him:
Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say: “This is from Allah,” to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby.’ (Qur’an 2:79)
This is the verse that conveniently is left out of the discussion. This verse does not say the Bible, or Injeel, Taurat, Zabur, etc. However, it does say that there are people who are in the habit of writing books and then saying, ‘this is from Allah‘. It is on this basis that Muslims have the right to be skeptical of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, The Book of Mormon, The Vedas, The book of Tobit, Hebrews, The Gospel of Barnabas, The Gospel of Mark 16:9-20, etc.
Another point that the Qur’an categorically rejects is that Solomon (as) was involved in shirk (association of partners with Allah). May Allah (swt) project us!
“They followed what the Shayatin (devils) gave out, in the Mulki Sulaymān (Kingdom of Solomon). Sulaymān did not disbelieve, but the Shayāṭīn disbelieved, teaching men magic and such things that came down upon the two Angels in Babylon, Hārūt and Mārūt, but neither of these two taught anyone, till they had said, “We are only a Fitnah (trial), so do not disbelieve.” And from these, people learn that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife, but they could not thus harm anyone except by the Leave of Allāh. And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And indeed they knew that the buyers of it (magic) would have no share in the Akhirah (Hereafter). And how bad indeed was that for which they sold their own selves, if they but knew!” (Qur’an 2:102)
“For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of his father David.” (1 Kings 11:4)
In the end, we have done our best to give an answer to the detractors of truth. If there are any mistakes, surely they belong to us. All the praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds!
“And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger, you see their eyes overflowing with tears because of what they have recognized of the truth. They say, “Our Lord, we have believed, so register us among the witnesses.” (Qur’an 5:83)
“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?” (Qur’an 47:24)
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To be sure, the Qur’an itself does not especially tell us why this particular word, which is etymologically Greek, is used. It is one of many loan words in the Qur’an that have become part of the Arabic language.
However, we do have this verse:
“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon their hearts?” (Qur’an 47:24)
This verse, as well as others like it, encourage Muslims to reflect upon the Qur’an. As the word Injeel is part of the Qur’an, we may reflect upon it as well.
First it is interesting that the Qur’an mentions the word injeel 12 times.
Christian scripture and tradition tell us that Jesus (as) had 12 disciples.
So it would be good to start first with what the Qur’an says about this Injeel.
What is the information supplied about the Injeel in the Qur’an?
“O People of the Scripture, why do you argue about Ibrahim while the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed until after him? Then will you not reason?” (Qur’an 3:65)
Here nothing of the content of the Injeel or its nature is revealed.
Only that it (The Injeel), like the Torah, came after Ibrahim.
Thus, Muslims would not accept the following from the Christians.
Galatians 3:8 Gospel unto Ibrahim?
“And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.” (Galatians 3:8)
The Qur’an is clear that the Injeel is something that was revealed after Ibrahim and not to him.
“He has sent down upon you,, the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel.” (Qur’an 3:3)
Allah revealed the Injeel.
“And Allah will teach him writing and wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel.” (Qur’an 3:48)
That Allah (swt) will teach Jesus (as) the Injeel. It is noteworthy that it says that Allah (swt) will teach Jesus (as) the Torah. Now this verse can be argued in two ways.
The Torah is not intact. If it was, Allah (swt) would not need to teach it to him as the Rabbis could do this.
The Torah is indeed intact, but Allah is going to teach Jesus (as) the Torah via the Rabbis.
Allah (swt) will teach Jesus (as) the truth about what is the Torah and what is not the Torah.
“And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus , the son of Mary, having authority over the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and having authority over that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.” (Qur’an 5:46)
Here we are supplied with more information about the Injeel.
It contained guidance and light.
It had authority over that which preceded it of the Torah.
It contained instruction and guidance for the righteous.
We know that what was given to Jesus (as) was authority over the Torah because Allah (swt) revealed in the Qur’an:
“And having authority over the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me.” (Qur’an 3:50)
“And let the People of the Gospel(ahlu l’injili) judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.” (Qur’an 5:47)
The People of the Gospel are to judge by what Allah has revealed therein.
Now when it says the People of The Gospel (ahlu l’injili)
It is understood that this is not the common people are not to judge by the Gospel for a number of reasons:
The average Joe at that time was illiterate, and they were people who put their trust in who/what?
“Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto. So do not fear the people but fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the disbelievers.” (Qur’an 5:44)
They put their trust in their scholars to derive the truths and evidence for them. In much the same way that Muslims put their trust in their scholars to derive the truths and evidence for them.
2. Also, this was way before the printing press, and it is obvious that people did not walk around with complete manuscripts and the whole text of their sacred writings. This is a point forgotten too easily.
3. Note that the verse says: What Allah has revealed therein. This presents a caveat much like the du’a of Ibrahim:
“And remember that Ibrahim was tried by his Lord with certain commands, which he fulfilled: He said: “I will make thee an Imam to the Nations.” He pleaded: “And also (Imams) from my offspring!” He answered: “But My Promise is not within the reach of evil-doers.” (Qur’an 2:124)
If the Gospel (Injeel) was in pristine the verse could have simply stated: “And let the Christians judge by the Gospel.” Yet it is drawling attention to People of the Gospel. (ahlu l’injili) to judge by what Allah has revealed therein.
“And if only they upheld the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to them from their Lord, they would have consumed [provision] from above them and from beneath their feet. Among them are a moderate community, but many of them-evil is that which they do.” (Qur’an 5:66)
The verse only tells us that they—the People of the Gospel—did not uphold the Injeel.
If the Injeel was sufficient, the verse would not say uphold the Injeel and“what has been revealed to them from their Lord.”
“Say, “O People of the Scripture, you are upon nothing until you uphold the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.” And that which has been revealed to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and disbelief. So do not grieve over the disbelieving people.” (Qur’an 5:68)
We are told here the Injeel has been revealed by the Lord.
We are told that if the Injeel is not sufficient because one must stand upon all that has been revealed by the Lord.
” When Allah will say, “O Jesus, Son of Mary, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother when I supported you with the Pure Spirit and you spoke to the people in the cradle and in maturity; and when I taught you writing and wisdom and the Torah and the Gospel; and when you designed from clay [what was] like the form of a bird with My permission, then you breathed into it, and it became a bird with My permission; and you healed the blind and the leper with My permission; and when you brought forth the dead with My permission; and when I restrained the Children of Israel from [killing] you when you came to them with clear proofs and those who disbelieved among them said, “This is not but obvious magic.” (Qur’an 5:110)
Here Allah (swt) mentions that he taught Jesus (as) the Injeel.
” Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered prophet, whom they find mentioned in what they have of the Torah and the Gospel, who enjoins upon them what is right and forbids them what is wrong and makes lawful for them the good things and prohibits for them the evil and relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So they who have believed in him, honored him, supported him and followed the light which was sent down with him – it is those who will be the successful.” (Qur’an 7:157)
This Injeel that they have has information about the unlettered Prophet (saw).
*note* The Arabic word ‘maktub’ does not necessarily mean written.
“O ye who believe! Fasting is prescribed (kutiba) to you as it was prescribed (kutiba) to those before you, that ye may (learn) self-restraint.” (Qur’an 2: 183)
This is similar to the following:
“Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)
There is no mention of the name Jesus in the Law of Moses nor in the Prophets.
“For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.” (Acts 18:28)
This individual was able to prove from the scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah without having to find the name Jesus in the scriptures (TNCH).
“If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me.” (John 5:46-47)
Moses (as) did not write the name Jesus a single time anywhere in the first books of the Bible, which Christians call the Pentateuch, also known as the Torah.
All the information that Christians derive about Jesus from the TNCH or Old Testament is via the process of analytical deduction.
Analytical deduction being: A deduction is information that we can determine whether is true or false based on other related pieces of information.
“Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties for that they will have Paradise. They fight in the cause of Allah , so they kill and are killed. A true promise upon Him in the Torah and the Gospel and the Qur’an. And who is truer to his covenant than Allah ? So rejoice in your transaction which you have contracted. And it is that which is the great attainment.” (Qur’an 9: 111)
The Injeel contains teachings about martyrdom. Fighting in the cause of Allah.
” Muhammed is the Messenger of Allah ; and those with him are forceful against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them bowing and prostrating in prayer, seeking bounty from Allah and pleasure. Their mark is on their faces from the trace of prostration. That is their description in the Torah. And their description in the Gospel is as a plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers – so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers. Allah has promised those who believe and do righteous deeds among them forgiveness and a great reward.” (Qur’an 48:29)
That the Injeel should at the very least contain the following information:
“A plant which produces its offshoots and strengthens them so they grow firm and stand upon their stalks, delighting the sowers – so that Allah may enrage by them the disbelievers.”
In other words that the Injeel that Jesus (as) brought would contain at the very least this parable.
“Then We sent following their footsteps Our messengers and followed [them] with Jesus, the son of Mary, and gave him the Gospel. And We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy and monasticism, which they innovated; We did not prescribe it for them except [that they did so] seeking the approval of Allah. But they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave the ones who believed among them their reward, but many of them are defiantly disobedient.” (Qur’an 57:27)
The verse above says that Jesus (as) was given the Injeel.
So these are all the relevant verses concerning the mention of the word Injeel.
So what does the word Injeel mean in Greek if it is a loan word from that language?
Why would that be important?
In trying to understand their sources, the Christian academics rely primarily upon Greek manuscripts to support their claims of preservation of the text.
We are often told that the word Gospel is to be translated as ‘Good News’ or ‘The Good News’.
However, there seems to be some obfuscation as to what the εὐαγγέλιον actually means.
εὐαγγέλιον is very legible Greek for εὐ άγγελος which actually means good angel. Or of a Good Angel.
Now this is very fascinating because it tells us as Muslims what Jesus (as) received from the Angel of Revelation. This is huge evidence that Jesus (as) is not God incarnate because the message/revelation would precede from himself!
If there are good angels, are there bad angels?
According to the sacred text of the Christians, Paul, one of their chief architects, claims he was hindered by an angel from Satan.
“Even though I have received such wonderful revelations from God. So to keep me from becoming proud(hyperairōmai), I was given a thorn in my flesh, a (ἄγγελος Σατανᾶ) an angel from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.” (2 Corinthians 12:7)
ἄγγελος Σατανᾶ (The Injeel of Satan) (Angel of Satan) (Gospel of Satan)
A form of this word that Paul used of himself as becoming very haughty is also used of the Anti-Christ in the following text.
“He will oppose and will exalt himself (hyperairomenos) over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.” (2 Thessalonians 2:4)
Anti in Greek actually means: In place of. It does not mean against.
Is there internal evidence with in the sacred sources of the Christians that claim there are different Injeels?
There are indeed Christians whom were alleging that those concurrent to their times were teaching things that were from negative angels? There is internal evidence stating that different angels from heaven could be giving us competing/conflicting Injeels!
“For if he that comes preach another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit, which you have not received, or another (εὐαγγέλιον) gospel, which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him.” (2 Corinthians 11:4)
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another(εὐαγγέλιον) gospel.” (Galatians 1:6)
“But though we, or an angel (ἄγγελος) from heaven, preach any other gospel (εὐαγγελίζηται) unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel (εὐαγγελίζεται) unto you than that you have received, let him be accursed.” (Galatians 1:8-9)
Question: What if God wanted to send an angel from heaven to teach something contrary to what Paul is teaching?
Answer: Paul says let that angel be accursed!
Prima Qur’an comments: This Paul is not educated about the angel of revelation. The angel of revelation is none other than Gabriel (as).
“Say, “Whoever is an enemy of Gabriel should know that he revealed this to your heart by Allah’s Will, confirming what came before it—a guide and good news for the believers.” Whoever is an enemy of Allah, His angels, His messengers, Gabriel, and Michael, then Allah is certainly the enemy of the disbelievers.” (Qur’an 2:97-98)
“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an, or are there locks upon [their] hearts?” (Qur’an 47:24)
So, by using this word Injeel, we believe that Allah (swt) wants to reflect on the use of this word to describe what it is that Jesus (as) was given from Allah.
By reflecting upon the etymological origin, we likewise reflect upon the obfuscation surrounding the word εὐαγγέλιον in Greek.
Again reflect upon what was said earlier:
“Now this is very fascinating because it tells us as Muslims that which Jesus (as) received from the Angel of Revelation.”
However, now rather than Jesus (as) receiving revelation from an angel. The book called: ‘Revelation’ in English now makes Jesus (as) the one sending angels!
“The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel (ἀγγέλου) to his servant John.” (Revelation 1:1)
The 7 lost letters to the Churches apparently authorized by Jesus to the angels?
For example: In one letter supposedly commissioned by Jesus, it states how Jesus tells various Christian Churches how they have fallen.
“Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.” (Revelation 2:5-7)
“Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality. Likewise, you also have those who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” (Revelations: 2:14-15)
Jesus apparently reprimands one Christian Church for following a false prophet.
” Nevertheless, I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet. By her teaching she misleads my servants into sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols.” (Revelation 2:20)
May Allah Guide the Christians to the truth so that they do not burn in hellfire.
“So for their breaking of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort (yuḥarrifūna) words upon delivery (mawāḍiʿihi) and have forgotten(wanasu) a portion of that of which they were (dhukkiru) reminded. And you will still observe deceit among them, except a few of them. But pardon them and overlook [their misdeeds]. Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.” (Qur’an 5:13)
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This article we will discuss the forceful argument of the Qur’an about the corruption of the previous revelations during the oral transmission process.
“Have you any hope that they will be true to you when a party of them used to listen(yasma’una) to the word of Allah, then used to (yuharrifunahu)change it, after they had understood(‘aqaluhu) it, knowingly.” (Qur’an 2:75)
This verse is quite explicit in the damnation of these people. That they actually would listen to the words of Allah (auditory hearing), they understood it, confirmed it and knowingly changed it — during the oral transmission process!
Received the revelation from Allah.
Understood it.
Knowingly distorted it during the oral transmission process.
One would have to be extremely vile to do such a thing.
Those Christians who accept the following text to be canon (approved by the Church as acceptable) — have something interesting in the following:
“I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.” (Revelation 22:18-19)
*note* keep in mind that there are Christian sects who do not accept the above as canon. As their particular Church did not approve of the book of Revelation as authoritative.
” Among the Jews are those who distort(yuḥarrifūna) words upon their delivery(mawadi’ihi) and say, “We hear and disobey” and “Hear but be not heard” and “Ra’ina,” twisting their tongues and defaming the religion. And if they had said [instead], “We hear and obey” and “Wait for us [to understand],” it would have been better for them and more suitable. But Allah has cursed them for their ingratitude, so they believe not, except for a few.” (Qur’an 4:46)
Again Allah (swt) says he has cursed them for their ingratitude. By use of their tongues, they change the truth during the oral transmission process.
“O Messenger, let them not grieve you who hasten into disbelief of those who say, “We believe” with their mouths, but their hearts believe not, and from among the Jews. [They are] avid listeners (sammāʿūna) to falsehood(lil’kadhibi), listening (sammāʿūna) to another people who have not come to you. They distort (yuharrifuna)words upon their delivery (mawadi’ihi), saying “If you are given this, take it; but if you are not given it, then beware.” But he for whom Allah intends fitnah – never will you possess [power to do] for him a thing against Allah. Those are the ones for whom Allah does not intend to purify their hearts. For them in this world is disgrace, and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment.” (Qur’an 5:41)
Because of their disbelief, Allah (swt) caused them to be in fitnah. There can be no greater fitnah than not having certainty about what Allah (swt) revealed. Note the above text states that they will claim belief by their tongues, because in their hearts there is no belief. That they already listen to those who lie. They take from people who lie. That in turn also distorts the oral transmission.
“So for their breaking of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort (yuḥarrifūna) words upon delivery (mawāḍiʿihi) and have forgotten(wanasu) a portion of that of which they were (dhukkiru) reminded. And you will still observe deceit among them, except a few of them. But pardon them and overlook [their misdeeds]. Indeed, Allah loves the doers of good.” (Qur’an 5:13)
People think that the above text is speaking about scribal alterations to a text. Not at all! The text speaks about something more sinister. The above text is speaking about the oral corruption of the revelation before it becomes committed to text.
So what we can see from the Qur’an 2:75 is that they received revelation and knowingly distorted it during the oral transmission process. We can also see from the Qur’an 5:13 that many of them forgot (wanasu) through the oral transmission process.
We see this same charge directed pointedly towards the Christians.
“And with those who say ‘We are Christians’ We took a covenant; and they have forgotten (fanasū) a portion(ḥaẓẓan) of that they were reminded of. So We have stirred up among them enmity and hatred, till the Day of Resurrection; and Allah will assuredly tell them of the things they wrought.” (Qur’an 5:14)
You can see that the Christians forgot (fanasu) similar to the Jews (wanasu) through the oral transmission process. In fact, it says immediately after, “So we have stirred up among them enmity and hatred.” — The Christians, due to these errors in their transmission process, became a point of strife among them.
For example:
“See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the cosmic spirits of this world rather than on Christ.” (Colossians 2:8)
So, in what has passed, there is nothing in those texts that would even remotely suggest to Muslims that the Jews or Christians possess sacred scripture that would not have been free from this. Every text (including the Qur’an) starts as an oral transmission.
ORAL TRANSMISSION IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled[a] among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (Luke 1:1-4)
There are a few things to unpack here.
This writer (whom tradition says is Luke) does not claim to be an eyewitness to said events that he is about to write about.
His book was based upon oral transmission that was given to him from those who were eyewitnesses.
He does not state if he is receiving information directly from the eyewitnesses or how many links there are in the chains of transmission. In Islam, such a person who transmitted oral reports from the Blessed Prophet (saw) would be known as Mudallas.
This individual, “Luke”, is aware of other written reports, of which he claims his will be ‘orderly’.
This individual, ‘Luke’, feels that his task in writing his document is to give an orderly account that will let this individual (Theophilus) to have certainty.
Most striking of all, this person is not making any claim to write under the inspiration or authority of God.
“Different ways of reporting, e.g. (he narrated to us), (he informed us), (I heard), and (on the authority of) are used by the reporters of hadith. The first three indicate that the reporter personally heard from his shaikh , whereas the fourth mode can denote either hearing in person or through another reporter.”
Keep in mind that the type of attack against Islam on whether the Qur’an affirms the scriptures of Judaism or any number of competing Christian canons is an attack born of the Protestant tradition.Catholics and Orthodox Christians did not develop this line of attack. Nor do they employ them unless they are among the useful ‘idiots’.
Do note the position of the Roman Catholic Church.
“It is not from sacred Scripture alone that the Church draws her certainty about everything which has been revealed.Therefore both sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture are to be accepted and venerated with the same sense of devotion and reverence” (Dei Verbum 9)
“The first objection creates more questions than it answers. However, nowhere in scripture does Jesus command that all or part of what He said should be written down. Jesus Himself never wrote anything down, except in the sand.”
“Nor do the Scriptures make clear what was transmitted orally, so we have no way to know if some or anything of what was said was ever written down. John, at the end of his Gospel, makes the statement the world could not contain all the books that could be written about Jesus (John 21:25). Surely, there is much that was passed down orally that was never written down. Our Bible is simply too small to contain it all!”
except in the sand
“This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground.” (John 8:6-8)
What is striking and fascinating to Muslims is that the one place where Christ Jesus is said to have written anything is in a text that Christians now dispute as being an interpolation!
Your Bible likely has brackets around this story with a note that says something like “The earliest manuscripts do not include 7:53-8:11.” The majority of scholars believe a later Christian scribe inserted the passage into John’s Gospel at John 8:1-8:11
This is also interesting considering the following text:
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
So Christians have had to come up with alterative ways of understanding the above text beyond the obvious and apparent meaning.
Also, keep in mind that, according to Christians, Jesus, who is supposed to be God in the Human Flesh, was walking around on Earth for 30 years and the New Testament has very little to say about it at all.
“Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli.” (Luke 3:23)
So can you imagine that the Holy Spirit (God the Third of Three) is inspiring someone to write like this? That Jesus was ‘about’. That he was the son ‘so it was thought’.
What percent of 33 is 30? The answer: 90.91. So the New Testament leaves out approximately 91% of the life of Christ Jesus!
The New Testament holds oral traditions both in a positive light and not in a positive light. It seems to distinguish between those traditions given by men and those approved of by God.
“In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the traditions you received from us.” (2 Thessalonians 3:6)
So, here a command is given to this particular audience to actually ostracize and keep away from those people who do not hold fast to the traditions.
“Concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to him, we ask you, brothers and sisters, not to become easily unsettled or alarmed by the teaching allegedly from us—whether by a prophecy or by word of mouth or by letter—asserting that the day of the Lord has already come.” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-2)
So, here the early community is being warned to be careful of letters falsely penned in Paul’s name or oral transmissions that claim to come from authority but are not.
“So then, brothers and sisters, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions we passed on to you, either by our spoken word of mouth or by letter.” (2 Thessalonians 2:15)
“And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
“I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the traditions just as I passed them on to you.” (1 Corinthians 11:2)
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Timothy 2:2)
“That what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene.’” (Matthew 2:23)
There is no such prophecy written any where in the TNCH (what Christians call the Old Testament). Christians have tried and failed to deal with this. The most successful response is what the text says, spoken. In other words this came from an oral tradition.
There are examples where the oral tradition is not held in high esteem.
“They are not to ‘honor their father or mother’ with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.” (Matthew 15:6)
“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observe your own traditions!” (Mark 7:8-9)
“Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.” (Mathew 15:9)
So, for example, in the Qur’an we are told concerning the Christian tradition of celibacy and becoming Monks and Nuns.
“Then in the footsteps of these, We sent Our messengers, and We sent Jesus, son of Mary, and granted him the Gospel, and instilled compassion and mercy into the hearts of his followers. As for monasticism, they made it up—We never ordained it for them—only seeking to please Allah, yet they did not observe it strictly. So We rewarded those of them who were faithful. But most of them are rebellious.” (Qur’an 57:27)
This teaching is self-destructive, because if the whole of Christianity was to embrace it, it is quite conceivable that their numbers would diminish.
We can see the destructive cost of having low populations in places like Japan and the alarm bells are ringing in many countries to encourage their people to populate.
This goes against an earlier teaching that they claim is from God, namely: “God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it.” (Genesis 1:28)
Allah says, ‘yet they did not observe it strictly’ and we know this because when suppressing one’s natural sexual urges they end up violating small children, being involved in homosexual relationships etc.
So, when we hear that this is a teaching attributed to Jesus (as) we categorically reject it.
“For there are eunuchs who have been so from birth, and there are eunuchs who have been made eunuchs by men, and there are eunuchs who have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. Let the one who is able to receive this receive it.” (Matthew 19:12)
“Are you pledged to a woman? Do not seek to be released. Are you free from such a commitment? Do not look for a wife. But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this. What I mean, brothers and sisters, is that the time is short. From now on those who have wives should live as if they do not” (1 Corinthians 7:27-29)
“These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins. These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever he goes. These were redeemed from among men, being the first-fruits unto God and to the Lamb” (Revelations 14:4)
You see how the above verse makes women and sexuality something of the flesh, dirty and vile. Most unfortunate.
How did this tampering of the oral tradition start?
This is a rather straightforward in that tradition itself asserts that John the Baptist (Yahya) and Christ Jesus (Isa ibn Maryam) were killed.
Thus, those that, from the perspective of Muslims (The Prophets themselves) that could exercise authority over the process of what is /is not the Injeel were eliminated.
So, relying upon the oral tradition of which the Qur’an mentioned, there was faulty memory involved. This cannot be a ground upon which one places certainty and /or eternal security.
So, relying upon oral tradition, the Gospels, according to Mark and Luke, say some very embarrassing things about why women went to the tomb of Jesus (as).
“When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus’ body.” (Mark 16:1)
“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.” (Luke 24:1)
Why do Jewish women bring spices to anoint a dead body? This is absolute nonsense.
In Islam and in Judaism, men wash the bodies of men (even your own wife does not wash your body) and women wash the bodies of women (even your own husband does not wash your body).
That being said, the idea that women would be coming to anoint the dead body of Jesus (as) is ludicrous.
Bodies are not anointed or bound AFTER they have been buried or entombed! Bodies are anointed with spice BEFORE they are buried, in order to mask the smell during display.
Can you think of any example in history when a body was anointed with spice or fragrance after burial or entombment?
This is total and utter nonsense.
The TNCH itself gives an example of this:
“They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.” (2 Chronicles 16:14)
“And with those who say ‘We are Christians’ We took a covenant; and they have forgotten (fanasū) a portion(ḥaẓẓan) of that they were reminded of. So We have stirred up among them enmity and hatred, till the Day of Resurrection; and Allah will assuredly tell them of the things they wrought.” (Qur’an 5:14)
“And do not be like those who forgot Allah, so He made them forget themselves. It is they who are rebellious.” (Qur’an 59:19)
This word, fanasu -forgotten, comes to us by two meanings:
A type of forgetfulness—like when Adam ate from the tree.
An intentional neglect where you want to avoid something so you pretend to forget.
Those who forgot Allah. They forgot who he really is, did not appraise him with a proper appraisal, so Allah made them forget the straight path.
The Qur’an tells us that the Christians, because of his second type of fanasu in relating the revelation, it became a point of strife and hatred among them.
How many actual words attributed to Jesus are even in the New Testament?
Next you have to take into account, that according to the document of the New Testament (27 book canon and not the 22 book New Testament or the 35 book New Testament that rival Christians hold as canon; that the actual number of words attributed to Christ Jesus are (once you exclude the duplication of Jesus’s speeches in the four accepted gospels), the total number of words spoken by Jesus is 31,426.
So we have about 4 hours of reading the words attributed to Jesus.
In the 27 New Testament book canon accepted by Latin Roman Catholics, the Eastern Orthodox and most Protestants, the following words are attributed to Jesus outside the Four Gospels.
Acts 1:4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 1:5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 1:6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel?1:7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.1:8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
9:4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 9:5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.9:6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. 9:7 And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. 9:8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. 9:9 And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. 9:10 And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. 9:11 And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, 9:12 And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. 9:13 Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: 9:14 And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. 9:15 But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: 9:16 For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.
11:16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
18:9 Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: 18:10 For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city.
20:35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
22:7 And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice saying unto me, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 22:8 And I answered, Who art thou, Lord? And he said unto me, I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest. 22:9 And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spake to me. 22:10 And I said, What shall I do, Lord? And the Lord said unto me, Arise, and go into Damascus; and there it shall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do.
22:18 And saw him saying unto me, Make haste, and get thee quickly out of Jerusalem: for they will not receive thy testimony concerning me. 22:19 And I said, Lord, they know that I imprisoned and beat in every synagogue them that believed on thee: 22:20 And when the blood of thy martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by, and consenting unto his death, and kept the raiment of them that slew him.22:21 And he said unto me, Depart: for I will send thee far hence unto the Gentiles.
23:11 And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.
26:14 And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. 26:15 And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And he said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; 26:17 Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.
1 Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
2 Corinthians 12:9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Romans (no words of Jesus) Galatians (no words of Jesus) Colossians (no words of Jesus) 1 Timothy (no words of Jesus) 2 Timothy (no words of Jesus) Ephesians (no words of Jesus) Philippians (no words of Jesus) 1 Thessalonians (no words of Jesus) 2 Thessalonians (no words of Jesus) Hebrews (no words of Jesus) James (no words of Jesus) Titus (no words of Jesus) Philemon (no words of Jesus) 1 John (no words of Jesus) 2 John (no words of Jesus) 3 John (no words of Jesus) Jude (no words of Jesus) 1 Peter (no words of Jesus) 2 Peter (no words of Jesus)
Revelation
If we are to grant a 27 NT Canon as opposed to the 22 or 35 book New Testaments that were in dispute among Christians in the time of the Blessed Prophet (saw). 19/27 have absolutely no words of Jesus in them at all! 1 Cor 11:24 & 2 Cor 12:9 The rest of these two letters nothing.
This means only the Four traditional Gospels, the Apocalypse of John, and the Book of Acts are the only NT books that have words attributed to Jesus in them! (other than the 2 Corinthians citations) Most Christians do not stop to think about this.
So Muslims have very little to work with in terms of what is actually attributed to Christ Jesus. This becomes compounded by the fact that what we have to work with presents us with a plethora of contradictions and errors. The corruption of the revelation that took place during the oral tradition becomes evident.
“Then do they not reflect upon the Qur’an? If it had been from [any] other than Allah , they would have found within it much contradiction.” (Qur’an 4:82)
So how do we know what is from Allah or not? Is to apply for this test. A test that Christians often wish to quickly escape from or divert the topic away from.
We are personally not bothered by the issue of preservation. In the sense that if Christians want to imagine that their text has been preserved intact, we will offer little push back against such a claim.
Christian Circular Reasoning. Where is authority derived from?
Our first contention is that a certain text is actually a revelation to begin with.
“And how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.All Scripture God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:15-17)
Most translations are dishonest and will say something like the following:
“All Scripture is God-breathed.” However, this is not in the Greek text at all.
Lastly, how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures or the ἱερὰ -heira γράμματα grammata, could only be a reference to the TNCH. Because there were no New Testament writings when Timothy was an infant.
None of that substantiates the New Testament as authoritatively from God. Not only this, but one of the documents called ‘Hebrews’ the authorship is in dispute, (among Christians themselves!)
Of the 27 books of the New Testament (according to the West), not the 22 books of the New Testament (according to Churches in the East) nor the 35 books of the New Testament (according to the Oriental Orthodox Ethiopian Church), Paul wrote 13/14 of them.
So, according to the 27-book New Testament canon, Paul wrote 48% of the New Testament. According to the 22 book New Testament canon, Paul wrote 59% of the New Testament.
Paul’s Unconfirmed “Conversion”.
Question: Did Paul convert to the teachings of Jesus?
Answer: No!
The only testimony we have that Paul is a ‘disciple’ of Jesus is Paul’s own contradictory accounts in Acts chapters 9, 22 and 26.
Acts 9:7 says:
“The men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.”
Acts 22:9 says:
“And they that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they heard not the voice of him that spoke to me.”
Acts 26:14 says:
“And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice speaking unto me, and saying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul Saul why persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the pricks.”
Prima Qur’an Comment: All these instances in which Paul speaks about Jesus speaking to him for the first time are obviously flat lies.
Not only that but in Acts 22:9 it says the same people traveling with him “saw indeed the light“.
This is very strange because Paul also says in Acts 26:23
“At midday, O King, I saw in the way a light from heaven, Above the brightness of the sun, shining around me and Them which journeyed WITH me.”
Besides the above contradictions, Paul said this light was brighter than the sun and that those with him “saw indeed the light“ yet read the following:
“And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened he saw no man, but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink.” (Acts 9:8-9)
Prima Qur’an Comment: Now this light was “brighter than the sun,” yet his companions were fine! Paul’s whole “conversion” story is a fabrication.
Establishing testimony for yourself according to Christ Jesus.
“But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more that in the mouth of two or three witness every word may be established.” (Matthew 18:16)
Prima Qur’an Comment: According to the criteria set by Christ Jesus, Paul’s testimony of conversion is blatantly false. The only record we have of Paul’s so-called conversion is from the writer Luke. There is no testimonial of the men who traveled with Paul.
The above contradictory accounts of Paul’s conversion in Acts chapters 9,22 and 26 render his account baseless!
Two important points about Paul.
1) Paul never met the historical Jesus.
2) Paul only claimed to have met Jesus in a vision of light.
Paul’s ‘vision of light’ was none other than Satan?
“For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ And little wonder; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:13-14)
Ponder these text:
I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows—was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. “I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses. Even if I should choose to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will think more of me than is warranted by what I do or say or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Corinthians 12:1-9)
“For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you.” (1 Corinthians 11:23)
“I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” (Galatians 1:1-12)
So here Paul has bypassed the disciples and the eyewitnesses. He is claiming direct revelation from Jesus!
Muslims have good grounds to question these assertions of Paul.
My second contention is that what they have that is claimed to be preserved is filled with the errors and contradictions that obviously came from the oral tradition that was relied upon.
The Four Canonical Gospels are works of literary fiction
They are derived from disparate oral traditions, embellishments and outright errors.
Allah (swt) has opened the eyes of some Christians to this. Of recent memory was a Christian who debated many Muslims and skeptics and defended the Christian faith tradition. I am speaking of none other than Mike Licona.
“At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:51-54)
The fact that no one else (outside the New Testament) records this has certainly raised eyebrows. Because Dr. Licona was honest and wrote that he thought that this was basically fiction. His fellow Christians hammered him for it!
“Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.” (Luke 23:46)
“When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” (John 19:30)
We cannot know the so-called dying words of Jesus or, in light of these contradictions, that there were any at all.
Who was the father of Joseph, husband of Mary?
“And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.” (Matthew 1:16)
“Now Jesus himself was about thirty years old when he began his ministry. He was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph, the son of Heli.” (Luke 3:23)
Jesus descended from which son of David?
“And Jesse the father of King David. David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife, (Matthew 1:6)
“The son of Melea, the son of Menna, the son of Mattatha, the son of Nathan, the son of David.” (Luke 3:31)
“When the evening came, they brought unto him MANY that were possessed with devils: and he cast out the spirits with his word, and healed ALL that were sick.” (Matthew 8:16)
“And at evening, when the sun did set, they brought unto him ALL that were diseased and them that were possessed with devils. And ALL the city was gathered together at the door. And he healed MANY that were sick of diverse diseases, and cast out MANY devils; and suffered not the devils to speak, because they knew him.” (Mark 1:32-34)
Prima Qur’an Comment: The Greek word for many is (pantas) and the Greek word for all is (pollous).
Matthew saw some deficiency in a Jesus that only healed many, so he switched the Greek words around. A Jesus who can heal all is better than a Jesus that can only heal many.
Another example:
“And there came a voice from heaven, saying YOU ARE my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:11)
“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, THIS IS my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17)
Prima Qur’an Comment: The Greek word for you is su and the Greek word for this is would be (outos). Mark held that Jesus was the adopted son of God, called adoptionist theology. Matthew felt Jesus already knew who he was because he was the son of God based on the Virgin birth and therefore did not need to be told who he was. He changes the wording of the voice, so the people are addressed.
Another example:
“While he spoke these things unto them, behold, there came a certain ruler, and worshipped him, saying, My daughter is EVEN NOW DEAD: but come and lay thy hand upon her, and she shall live.” (Matthew 9:18)
“And sought him greatly, saying, My little daughter LIES AT THE POINT OF DEATH: I pray thee, come and lay hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.” (Mark 5:23)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
The Greek term for the deceased is (teleute). Again, Matthew thought that a Jesus who could save a dead person was going to be more illustrious than a Jesus who merely saved a dying person. So this contradiction is the result of the developing theology surrounding the person of Jesus.
Another example:
“And when he knew it of the Centurion, he gave the body to JOSEPH. And HE brought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulcher.” (Mark 15:45-46)
“And though THEY found no cause of death in him, yet desired THEY Pilate that he should be slain. And when THEY had fulfilled all that was written of him, THEY took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulcher.” (Acts 13:28-29)
Prima Qur’an comment: This goes back to the conflict on whether Jesus killed and was impailed on a tree or rather he was nailed to a Patibulum (T tau or + cross-shaped fixture)-while alive. Here it says the same Jews who desired his death put him in the tomb and not Joseph.
Another example:
“And when Jesus was entered into Capernaum, there came unto him A CENTURION, beseeching him,” (Matthew 8:5)
“And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear unto him, was sick, and ready to die. And when he heard of Jesus, HE SENT UNTO THEM ELDERS OF THE JEWS, beseeching him that he would come and heal his servant.” (Luke 7:2-3)
Prima Qur’an Comment:
The Greek phrase for older men is (presbuteros). The Greek word for centurion is (hekatontarchos) The reason this exists has more to do with oral tradition than ideas either of the writers had.
“In the prophet Isaiah it stands written: “Here is my herald whom I send on ahead of you, and he will prepare your way. A voice crying aloud in the wilderness, ‘ Prepare a way for the Lord; clear a straight path for him.'” (Mark. 1:2·3)
This quote is not directly the text of Isaiah, for he is clearly unaware that half his quotation, supposedly from lsaiah 40:3, is not from Isaiah at all, but is a misquotation of Malachi 3:1, which actually reads, “I am sending my messenger who will clear a path before me.”
These mistakes are typical for drawling from oral traditions.
On and on and on this goes. It is very clear that what Allah (swt) said about oral transmission being the cause of distortion is factual and indisputable.
If you are interested in reading more, we would recommend:
“For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the Words of Allah. That is what is the great attainment. “ (Qur’an 10:64)
“Messengers indeed have been denied before thee, and they were patient under the denial and the persecution till Our succor reached them. And no change is there in the Words of Allah. And there has certainly come to you some information about the messengers.” (Qur’an 6:34)
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Does Allah Preserve His Words?
The short answer to this question from a theological perspective is yes. The answer is yes, because all the amr’—meaning commands, edicts, prohibitions, injunctions are from the knowledge of Allah.
Allah does not increase or decrease in knowledge.
The question of Allah preserving his words is usually asked of Muslims by Christian polemicists, and we will address them in this article as well.
You will often find them quoting either of these two verses:
“Your Lord’s word has been fulfilled in truth and justice. No change is there in His Words. He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.” (Qur’an 6:115)
“Recite what has been revealed to you from the Book of your Lord. No change is there in His Words, nor can you find any refuge besides Him.” (Qur’an 18:27)
You will not really find them wanting to quote the following verses:
“For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. No change is there in the Words of Allah. That is what is the great attainment. “ (Qur’an 10:64)
“Messengers indeed have been denied before thee, and they were patient under the denial and the persecution till Our succor reached them. And no change is there in the Words of Allah. And there has certainly come to you some information about the messengers.” (Qur’an 6:34)
This is because the above verses are clear that what is meant are the decrees of Allah (swt). When he decrees it will be like this or that it will be so.
“And they were patient under the denial and the persecution till Our succor reached them.” (Q 6:34)
“For them are good tidings in the worldly life and in the Hereafter.” (Q 10:64)
Even the above verse indicates this as well:
“Your Lord’s word has been fulfilled in truth and justice.” (Q 6:115)
What is meant by ‘no change is there in his Words’ means basically the decree of Allah. Whatever Allah decrees concerning his Creation. What he promises will occur.
An example being:
“When Allah promised you one of the two groups – that it would be yours – and you wished that the unarmed one would be yours. But Allah intended to establish the truth by His words and to eliminate the disbelievers.” (Qur’an 8:7)
“No calamity befalls on the earth nor from among your selves, without being in a record before We make it (nabr-aha) manifest. This is certainly easy for Allah.S o that you may not grieve for what has escaped you, nor be exultant at what He has given you; and Allah does not love any arrogant boaster (Qur’an 57:22-23)
This word nabr-aha is often difficult to translate into English. You can see a list of disparate translations here:
We went with Maududi’s rendering of the text: to make it manifest as it is the most sensible rendering. Others have it as ‘brought into being’ or ‘brought into existence’.
“And certainly We sent messengers (to mankind) before you, and We appointed for them wives and offspring, and it was not (given) to any messenger that he should bring a portent save by Allah’s leave. For everything there is a time prescribed. Allah effaces what He will, and establishes (what He will), and with Him is the source of ordinance (ummu l-kitabi)” (Qur’an 13:38-39)
Look at what Allah (swt) says here. He will efface what he will, and he will establish what he will. This, for Muslims, is the record that the angels give to mankind. That record is fluid because the human being and their relationship with the Creator can be fluid.
We talked more about that when we refuted this foreign concept that has crept in among Muslims about us being weighed on some scale on the day of judgment.
“As for those who repent, believe, and do good deeds, they are the ones whose evil deeds Allah will change into good deeds. For Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.” (Qur’an 25:70)
“That is because they followed what angered Allah and disliked [what earns] His pleasure, so He rendered worthless their deeds.” (Qur’an 47:28)
However, let us say that this means the revelation of Allah, which would include the Qur’an, the Torah, the Injeel, the Zabur and the Suhuf of Ibrahim.
First, we know that the Qur’an is preserved in the lawhin mahfuz (preserved tablet). We can assume (though not specifically stated) that this is the case for other revealed revelations..
“In fact, this is a glorious Qur’an, in a Preserved Tablet.” (lawhin mahfuzin) (Qur’an 85:21-22)
What about the revelation when it descends from heaven to the Earthly realm?
At this point, one of two things can happen.
1) Allah (swt) can choose himself to preserve this revelation that is on this Earth.
“It is certainly We Who have revealed the Reminder, and it is certainly We Who will (lahafizuna) guard it.” (Qur’an 15:9)
2) Allah can entrust the revelation to someone other than himself.
“It was We who revealed the law (to Moses): therein guidance and light. By its standard have been judged the Jews, by the prophets who bowed to Allah’s will, by the rabbis and the learned: for to them was (us’tuh’fizua )entrusted the protection of Allah’s book, and they were witnesses thereto: therefore fear not men, but fear me, and sell not my signs for a miserable price. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) Unbelievers.” (Qur’an 5:44)
You can see that the word lahafizuna & the word us’tuh’fizua are etymologically from the same root in Arabic.
The problems for the Christian Polemicist are manifold.
1) How do they even determine what scripture is to begin with?
Now, in regard to the Christian polemic, before we even talk about preserving the words of Allah, they have yet to make clear to the world the process by which they even decide what words are Allah’s words and what words are not.
For example, when it comes to the Orthodox (Eastern/Oriental) and the Latin Roman Catholics, we get a very odd circular reasoning. The Protestants do not fair much better.
So this is a conundrum for Christians as a whole. The Latin Roman Catholics, Orthodox (Oriental/Eastern) point out to the Protestants that it was the Church that decided which books were to be considered canon of the New Testament.
However, if you were to ask where did the Church (tradition) get its authority from? It had to take its authority from somewhere?
For example, until this very day, Christians dispute the Canon of the Bible.
Not to mention the dispute among them concerning what they call the Old Testament, just to focus on the New Testament, we have the following proposed canons. A New Testament with 22 books (endorsed by the Assyrian Church of the East—Trichur India). They exclude: II Peter, II John, III John, Jude, Revelation of John. A New Testament with 27 books (which we assume most of the readers would be familiar with). A New Testament with 35 books (endorsed by the Ethiopian Orthodox Tawhedo Church). They include Sera’ata Seyon, Te’ezas, Gessewe, Abtelis, Mashafa Kidan, Mashafa Kidan II, Qalmentos, Dideqelya. Church.
For example: In an exchange between Dr. Bart Ehrman and Reformed Baptist Pastor Dr. James White, there were some thought-provoking questions.
Dr. Ehrman: ” So let me just say—the point is the earlier you go, the more different they are. So you just extrapolate that the earliest were probably the most different. Let me ask about P72 where you resonate with this particular text, you said, that has 2 Peter and Jude in it. What other documents are found in P72?”
Dr. White: “There’s some non-canonical documents in P72 My recollection was that 1,2 Peter and Jude were the only canonical documents in it.”
Dr. Ehrman: “Right, so I’m just wondering about you resonating with this document. Do you think this scribe thought that what he was copying was scripture?“
Dr. White: “Well, I don’t think that you can simply jump to the conclusion that because scribes included books in a single codex that meant that they believed that everything in that codex was necessarily Scripture. There are all sorts of works that were considered to be very beneficial for the reading of people that were included in codices that were not necessarily canonical.”
Dr. Ehrman: “Yeah, I just thought that it was odd that that particular manuscript was one that you resonate with because it’s the earliest attestation we have of the Protoevangelion Jacobi.”
Prima Qur’an comments: So these are the type of questions that need to be asked. What if the transmitter was under the impression that Protoevangelion Jacobi had the same authoritative weight as the other documents he was transmitting?
You can say what you want about the Church Tradition and the disputes had about the canon (that exist until today), but you cannot presume to speak on behalf of the transmitter themselves.
“But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from childhood you have knownthe holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
The conundrum, or the pickle here for the Christian, is that the only scriptures that were around when he was a boy were what Christians call ‘the Old Testament’ and even more problematic is the fact that the version he would have had is Septuagint 2.0. (A Greek translation from the Hebrew).
How are Gods words preserved according to Christians?
This is why, in recent years, Christians have developed an apologetic that the Qur’an asserts (one of their many competing New Testament canons) — why the Qur’an would weigh in on competing Christian claims we are never really told.
However, this claim has given much needed oxygen to the Christians involved in debates with Muslims. It deflects from the one thing they do not want to discuss — the Bible itself.
First, it is fascinating that Christians would bring up these verses of the Qur’an to establish (whichever canon they believe) is the preserved word of God.
It is interesting because Christians themselves do admit that we do not have the original writings. The original writings were not preserved. Why is that?
Listen to what Daniel B Wallace has to say on the matter.
“We don’t have the original manuscripts of the New Testament. They were they all disappeared within a century. I’m pretty convinced by copying and copying and copying copying frequent handling the early church was far more concerned to get the gospel out than they were to do exact copying of the New Testament. And that actually is a blessing. Because they didn’t have those kind of controls and consequently you get copies that are not through just one stream but tons of people all over the place are making these copies so here’s here’s a man who lives in Corinth he’s gonna be visiting Rome and he says hey I I heard Paul Paul wrote a letter to you guys too. I want to write that out. Do you mind if I copy it when I get there? Sure that’s no problem. This happened I’m sure dozens and dozens of times over. And those manuscripts would have lasted as much as 80-90 years but would fall apart from all these copies being made. So we don’t have the originals they disappeared. And all the copies that we have disagree with each other at some point. Sometimes it’s quite a few disagreements. But we have hundreds of thousands of textual variants among our manuscripts. So, a question to ask here is how badly did the scribes corrupt the New Testament? It’s absolutely proven that they did. No two manuscripts are alike, so unless one of them is pristine every single scribe made mistakes. So because the original manuscripts disappeared and because no two copies agree with each other completely we have to do textual criticism we can’t just rely on one it’s imperfect. So scholars have to reconstruct it on that basis. But when you look at the number of textual variants and there are hundreds of thousands of them as Bart Ehrman likes to say there are more textual variants than our words in the original New Testament. That’s actually an understatement. But you have to not just look at the number of variants you have to look at the nature of these variants. And the best estimates are that at least at least 99.8% of them affect nothing. Most are spelling differences, there’s different ways to spell John. There’s different ways to spell Mary. They’re not going to affect anything. But the 1/5th of 1% that do affect things are the one’s that scholars talk about and disagree over on a number of these issues. But the bottom line is it does not matter in some respects which New Testament you use because no essential doctrine is jeopardized by any of these textual variants. Even Bart Erhman who wrote: “Misquoting Jesus” can say the same thing. So that’s true on that end but at the same time we want to know what the original text said in all the details. And so the great majority of scholars have very few disagreements over these passages. For example most scholars would say the long ending of Mark’s Gospel: Mark 16:9-20 is almost surely not authentic. And they still put in their Bibles typically smaller print. Or in brackets or footnote the oldest authorities don’t have this. So there’s a wide consensus on the vast majority of textual variants. And again there’s no essential doctrine that’s jeopardized by any of these textual variants that is extremely comforting. It’s very important to know that.”
Christians, even like Daniel B. Wallace, are deliberately deceitful. We have yet to interact with a Christian that was sincere.
For example: Daniel B. Wallace quotes Erhman as saying:
“But when you look at the number of textual variants and there are hundreds of thousands of them as Bart Ehrman likes to say there are more textual variants than our words in the original New Testament.”
This is a flat lie!
In the debate with Bart Erhman here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MsVWFS9r9DY @25:19 “One thing we can say for certain is that there are more differences in our manuscripts than there are words in the New Testament.”
NOTE: Bart does not say the original New Testament.
In fact, during that very debate, Bart Ehrman took Daniel B Wallace to ask for his crazy assertions that biblical scholarship even speaks of getting back to the original. Something, Erhman mentions scholarship has given up on.
There are some other points that Christians play sleight of hand with their audience when it comes to the manuscript tradition. They don’t like to mention the dates of these manuscripts. So, when they become manic and start going on about thousands and thousands of manuscripts, we interject. “Slow down, take a deep breath. Let’s pause for a moment. Tell me about these manuscripts and their dates. For example, a fragment the size of a credit card dated 100 years after Jesus. What does it tell me about the rest of the contents dated 300 or 400 years later?
About 71% of the Greek New Testament manuscripts date after the 11th century. 84% after the 10th century and around 90% after the 9th century and 94% around the 8th century. So can you imagine that many of the manuscripts date from the Middle Ages, sometimes over 1000 years after what are thought to be the originals?
So Christians console themselves by saying. Alas! Even with us not having the original manuscripts, the manuscripts we do have show marginal differences that affect our core doctrines in insignificant ways. Will see this is not the hot cup of cocoa that Christians think that it is.
As regards what the original manuscripts said. Christians have no way of knowing.
For example, can Christians demonstrate to us that when a person is making a copy that the copy was read back to check it against the master document? How do we know that the manuscripts or copies before this are not changed?
This is what happens in the memorization of the Qur’an. Keep in mind that Muslims pray five times a day. In all five of those prayers, Surah Al Fatiha is read and transmitted from parents/teacher to children/students. In 3 of those five daily prayers, Surah Al Fatiha and any other portion of the Qur’an is read. In the month of Ramadan, the entire Qur’an is read by the Imam.
In Hadith transmission (though not all-inclusive) I will list three primary methods of transmission/reception.
Method of reception (al-Akhdh wa’l-Tahammul)
a) Direct hearing (al-Sama’) — A person hears directly from the Shaykh/Teacher.
b) Recitation or Rehearsal (Al-Qira’a ‘ala’l-Shaykh) — The person hears directly from the Shaykh/Teacher understands what is transmitted to them and repeats it back to the Shaykh/Teacher.
c) Permission (al-Ijaza) -Simply the Shaykh/Teacher trust the student without testing her/him.
By the way, to the Muslims reading this, be careful about your friends that boast about receiving many ijaza. Unless they reveal to you the specifics about what they learned and the level of mastery, Ijaza’s, in many cases today, amount to a ‘pat on the head’. Similar to saying: “Good job Tony!”
In fact, (imo) the most rigorous method of hadith transmission is one in which the student repeats back to the teacher what was said. Which would be transmission by Al-Qira’a ‘ala’l-Shaykh
We could bring a Christian scholar. It could be Oriental Orthodox, Eastern Orthodox, Latin, Roman Catholic, and we could ask them to recite from memory books of the New Testament, and we could check this method against our children.
Can you imagine the modern age when they had (what early Christians did not have) access to. What they imagine is a complete canon, and they still could not compete with our noble sister, Rafia Al Miskry (May Allah cover her with mercy).
Islam can give you demonstrable evidence of a well guarded, well-preserved transmission process. Can Christians do the same?
No major doctrines are affected by the differences in manuscripts?
What about the lynch pin doctrine of the Trinity? 1 John 5:7
For those people who think this is old hat and not important. Well, it is a major issue that divides Eastern Orthodox Christians when weighed against the majority of Protestant Christians.
If a Protestant Christian was weighing the issue of whether to join an Eastern Orthodox Church, they would have to wonder whether the Holy Spirit guided the Eastern Orthodox Church to hang on to 1 John 5:7. Are they truly guided in that decision?
Mark 16:9-20 Are the Churches that Include This Text in the Canon Upon Guidance?
Again, the Eastern Orthodox keep it as part of the canon.
What do the Vatican and the Latin Roman Catholic Church have to say about the text?
[9-20] This passage, termed the Longer Ending to the Marcan gospel by comparison with a much briefer conclusion found in some less important manuscripts, has traditionally been accepted as a canonical part of the gospel and was defined as such by the Council of Trent. Early citations of it by the Fathers indicate that it was composed by the second century, although vocabulary and style indicate that it was written by someone other than Mark. It is a general resume of the material concerning the appearances of the risen Jesus, reflecting, in particular, traditions found in Luke 24 and John 20. The Shorter Ending: Found after ⇒Mark 16:8 before the Longer Ending in four seventh-to-ninth-century Greek manuscripts as well as in one Old Latin version, where it appears alone without the Longer Ending. The Freer Logion: Found after v 14 in a fourth-fifth century manuscript preserved in the Freer Gallery of Art, Washington, DC, this ending was known to Jerome in the fourth century. It reads: “And they excused themselves, saying, “This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things dominated by the spirits [or, does not allow the unclean things dominated by the spirits to grasp the truth and power of God]. Therefore reveal your righteousness now.’ They spoke to Christ. And Christ responded to them, “The limit of the years of Satan’s power is completed, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who sinned I was handed over to death, that they might return to the truth and no longer sin, in order that they might inherit the spiritual and incorruptible heavenly glory of righteousness. But . . . .’ “
Which brings us back to Daniel B. Wallace and his statement above:
“For example most scholars would say the long ending of Mark’s Gospel: Mark 16:9-20 is almost surely not authentic. And they still put in their Bibles typically smaller print. Or in brackets or footnote the oldest authorities don’t have this..”
Which Christian is guided by the Holy Spirit in this matter?
In the Red Letter New Testament, where the words are reported to have come from Jesus are in red, we would have: And then he told them, “Go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone. Anyone who believes and is baptized will be saved. But anyone who refuses to believe will be condemned. These miraculous signs will accompany those who believe: They will cast out demons in my name, and they will speak in new languages. They will be able to handle snakes with safety, and if they drink anything poisonous, it won’t hurt them. They will be able to place their hands on the sick, and they will be healed.”
That is a huge chunk of words being attributed to Christ Jesus.
John 7:53-John 8:11 Are the Churches that Include This Text in the Canon Upon Guidance?
The Vatican, the authority for the Latin Roman Catholic Church states:
[7:53-⇒8:11] The story of the woman caught in adultery is a later insertion here, missing from all early Greek manuscripts. A Western text-type insertion, attested mainly in Old Latin translations, it is found in different places in different manuscripts: here, or after ⇒ John 7:36 or at the end of this gospel, or after ⇒ Luke 21:38, or at the end of that gospel. There are many non-Johannine features in the language, and there are also many doubtful readings within the passage. The style and motifs are similar to those of Luke, and it fits better with the general situation at the end of Luke 21:but it was probably inserted here because of the allusion to ⇒ Jeremiah 17:13 (cf the note on John ⇒ John 8:6) and the statement, “I do not judge anyone,” in ⇒ John 8:15. The Catholic Church accepts this passage as canonical scripture.
So, here you have the Latin Roman Catholic Church telling you that this is dubious in nature, and yet if the Church accepts this as canonical, you are bound to accept it as such too!
In a Red Letter New Testament where the words reported to have come from Jesus are in read we would have:
“Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”
“Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now go and sin no more.”
More words attributed to Jesus and put in his mouth of which he may have not said at all.
The Eastern Orthodox are on board with John 8:1-11 as well.
So, depending upon the type of Christian, these issues should be of major concern to them.
If you are a Christian that believes in the inerrancy of scripture, you have conservative Christian scholars asserting that there are errors. Thus, inerrancy is a major doctrine.
“Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.” (Matthew 24:35)
2. If you are a Christian that believes that the Church guides you into the truth and here (at least the Latin Roman Catholic Church) in front of God and everyone is telling you about the dubious nature of these passages, should that not make you want to reflect further?
What is the correct reading of John 1:18 The unique son or unique God?
.”No man has ever seen God; but now his only-begotten Son, who abides in the bosom of the Father, has himself become our interpreter.”
Some of the best manuscripts here read ‘God, the only-begotten’ instead of ‘the only-begotten Son’
“No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed him.”
The only Son, God: while the vast majority of later textual witnesses have another reading, “the Son, the only one” or “the only Son,” the translation above follows the best and earliest manuscripts, monogenes theos, but takes the first term to mean not just “Only One” but to include a filial relationship with the Father, as at⇒ Luke 9:38 (“only child”) or ⇒ Hebrews 11:17 (“only son”) and as translated at ⇒ John 1:14. The Logos is thus “only Son” and God but not Father/God.
Luke 23:34 Did Jesus really say:Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
“[Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.”]: this portion of ⇒Luke 23:34 does not occur in the oldest papyrus manuscript of Luke and in other early Greek manuscripts and ancient versions of wide geographical distribution.”
Titus 2:13 Is the Great God, Jesus or are Jesus and the Great God two separate things?
Is it that the “Great God” and “Jesus Christ” are separate beings?
Or
Is that the “Great God” is also “our Saviour Jesus Christ?”
“We were to look forward, blessed in our hope, to the day when there will be a new dawn of glory, the glory of the great God, the glory of our Saviour Jesus Christ; “ (Titus 2:13)
We may, with the Greek Fathers, understand St Paul to have written here ‘the glory of our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ’; or we may, by a slightly less natural interpretation of the Greek, render ‘the glory of the great God, and of our Saviour Jesus Christ’.
“as we await the blessed hope, the appearance of the glory of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ,” (Titus 2:13)
“The blessed hope, the appearance: literally, “the blessed hope and appearance,” but the use of a single article in Greek strongly suggests an epexegetically, i.e., explanatory sense. Of the great God and of our savior Jesus Christ: another possible translation is “of our great God and savior Jesus Christ.”
Which Latin Roman Catholic Source is Inspired By the Holy Spirit to give us the correct reading of Romans 9:5?
“The patriarchs belong to them, and theirs is the human stock from which Christ came; Christ, who rules as God over all things, blessed for ever, Amen.” (Romans 9:5)
‘Christ, who rules as God’; some commentators would translate, ‘Blessed be God who is above all things, for ever’, making this a distinct sentence; but they have not been able to suggest any plausible grounds for the intrusion of this irrelevant apostrophe, and the order of words in the Greek makes it almost impossible.
“Theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah. God who is over all be blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 9:5)
Some editors punctuate this verse differently and prefer the translation, “Of whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is God over all.” However, Paul’s point is that God who is over all aimed to use Israel, which has been entrusted with every privilege, in outreach to the entire world through the Messiah.
Notice the disharmony between the two Latin Roman Catholic sources?
Does the Gospel of Luke contain a doctrine of vicarious atonement? Luke 22:19-20
Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” (Luke 22:19-20)
Which will be given . . . do this in memory of me: these words are omitted in some important Western text manuscripts and a few Syriac manuscripts. Other ancient text types, including the oldest papyrus manuscript of Luke dating from the late second or early third century, contain the longer reading presented here. The Lucan account of the words of institution of the Eucharist bears a close resemblance to the words of institution in the Pauline tradition (see ⇒ 1 Cor 11:23-26). See also the notes on ⇒ Matthew 26:26-29; ⇒ 26:27-28; and ⇒ Mark 14:22-24.
The first and original Septuagint was only of the Torah, and it was translated from Hebrew into Greek to facilitate the needs of the Jewish Community.
Those who follow Judaism never translated the TNCH into Greek for their needs. Let us be clear about this. Among those Children of Israel, you have three types in terms of relationship to what the Christians call “The Old Testament.”
You have the Samaritans. They call themselves: Bene Yisrael (“Children of Israel) or Shamerim (“Observant Ones”). They only accept the Torah.
You Karaite Judaism. They follow the whole of the TNCH, but they do not follow the Oral Torah.
You have what may be termed Orthodox Judaism. They follow the TNCH and the Oral Torah.
Let us be clear. None of those groups accept 1 and 2 Maccabees, Judith, Tobit, Sirach, Baruch and Wisdom as authoritative scripture. Not at all!
The other peculiar feature of the Christian Septuagint 2.0 is that it is written in Koine Greek, and other parts use Classical Greek.
The Christian Septuagint 2.0, which includes the whole of the TNCH and includes 1 and 2 Maccabees, Judith, Tobit, Sirach, Baruch and Wisdom, is deemed authoritative by the Latin Roman Catholics, the Oriental Orthodox Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.
It is this Septuagint 2.0 that is the basis for the Christian New Testament. It is this Septuagint 2.0 that is referenced above: and how, from childhood, you have knownthe holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14-15)
It is this Septuagint 2.0 that Christians believe the Holy Spirit (The Third of Three) inspired the authors of various New Testament texts to quote from. This is folly, as we will see.
The popular Christian version of Isaiah 9:6 is not even in Septuagint 2.0!
“For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6)
“For a child is born to us, and a son is given to us, whose government is upon his shoulder: and his name is called the Messenger of great counsel: for I will bring peace upon the princes, and health to him.”(Isaiah 9:6 -The Septuagint 2.0 The Holy Spirit’s Fav Version)
Where are all these other names?
So who is upon the truth? Are Latin Roman Catholics, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox upon guidance for trusting a text that does not make Christological claims about Jesus, such as calling him (Jesus) ‘The Everlasting Father’? Claims that contradict the idea that Jesus is not the Father?
Or are those Protestants who trust in the Masoretic text (although they still give it a Christological bent). Are they upon the truth?
Only one person in the Jewish scriptures is referred to as “mighty god” and his name is Hizkiyyahu or, Hezekiah (mighty god). Jewish names, like many Muslims’ names, are what one may call a theophoric name. The 1st century Christians did not use Isaiah 9:6 for Christological purposes. Latter ones did though. Changing the Hebrew perfect tense to future tense.
The New Testament, frequently, with malevolent intent, deliberately corrupts the Hebrew Bible to advance Christological claims.
Examples:
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Luke 4:16-19)
“and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.”
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
So when we go to this Latin Roman Catholic website here:
The footnote says: [6] Is. 61.1, 2. So, this means this text from Isaiah that Jesus is allegedly reading is Isaiah 61:1-2 right?
So when we check this against the Septuagint 2.0(The Holy Spirit’s Fav Version)
We find the following: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me; he has sent me to preach glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken in heart, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind; to declare the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of recompense; to comfort all that mourn (Isaiah 61:1-2 Septuagint 2.0)
But wait a minute! Hold up! It says: ” He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written…”
Here is the rub: Jesus did not read from Septuagint 2.0. It says he was reading from the scroll! What would the Hebrew Isaiah 61 look like?
The spirit of the Lord God was upon me, since the Lord anointed me to bring tidings to the humble, He sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to declare freedom for the captives, and for the prisoners to free from captivity. To declare a year of acceptance for the Lord and a day of vengeance for our God, to console all mourners. (Isaiah 61:1-2)
“The spirit of my Sovereign GOD is upon me, Because God has anointed me. I have been sent as a herald of joy to the humble, To bind up the wounded of heart, To proclaim release to the captives, Liberation to the imprisoned; To proclaim a year of GOD’s favor And a day of vindication by our God; To comfort all who mourn.” (Isaiah 61:1-2)
“To give sight to the blind” That is no where there!
So are the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Latin Roman Catholics and Protestants justified to maliciously tamper with the text like this? Do they have the right to alter God’s words?
The Malicious tampering of Habakkuk 2:4 by the Christians.
“Behold, it is puffed up-his soul is not upright within him, but the righteous shall live by his faith.” (Habakkuk 2:4)
Another Satanic manipulation by Paul.
“Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because “the righteous will live by faith.” (Galatians 3:11)
“For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” (Romans 1:17)
Christians are fine with this! Because they are a people who are not sincere and do not mind if God’s scriptures are contorted and manipulated.
An Anonymous New Testament Book Alters the Words of Jeremiah!
The Book of Hebrews—according to church tradition—is ascribed to Paul. However, today, modern Christian scholarship has walked away from this claim.
Nonetheless, why would Christians trust a book by an anonymous author that deliberately and maliciously misquotes the Jewish Scriptures?
“It will not be like the covenant which I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand, to rescue them from Egypt; that they should break my covenant, and I (says the Lord) should abandon them.” (Hebrews 8:9)
Footnote states: [4] vv. 8 and following: Jer. 31.31.
“It will not be like the covenant which I made with their fathers, on the day when I took them by the hand, to rescue them from Egypt; that they should break my covenant, and I, all the while, their master, the Lord says.” (Jeremiah 31:32)
Jeremiah 31:31 in the Hebrew TNCH (Jeremiah 31:32 in a Christian Bible)
“Not like the covenant that I formed with their forefathers on the day I took them by the hand to take them out of the land of Egypt, that they broke My covenant, although I was a lord over them, says the Lord.” (Jeremiah 31:31)
“It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors, when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, a covenant that they broke, though I espoused them—declares GOD.” (Jeremiah 31:31)
The deliberate and malicious changes to the text are obvious to all those who do not have a veil over their eyes.
A huge difference between saying God abandoned his people or simply disregarded them and saying that God was like a husband or espoused or a watchful master/lord over them.
Another example of this anonymous author maliciously and deliberately altering the text of the Hebrew TNCH is the following:
“As Christ comes into the world, he says, No sacrifice, no offering was your demand; you have endowed me, instead, with a body. You have not found any pleasure in burnt-sacrifices, in sacrifices for sin.” (Hebrews 10:5-6)
“You have done great things, You, O Lord my God. Your wonders and Your thoughts are for us. There is none to equal You; were I to tell and speak, they would be too many to tell. You desired neither sacrifice nor meal offering; You dug ears for me; a burnt offering or a sin offering You did not request.” (Psalms 40:6-7)
“You, O LORD my God, have done many things; the wonders You have devised for us cannot be set out before You; I would rehearse the tale of them, but they are more than can be told You gave me to understand that You do not desire sacrifice and meal offering; You do not ask for burnt offering and sin offering.” (Psalms 40:6-7)
A huge difference between saying God prepared a body (meaning Christ) and saying that God opened up my mind to understanding. Yet, this is a shameful and deliberate misquotation and alteration of the text!
Paul once again deliberately and maliciously alters the understanding of the Hebrew TNCH to make it fit into his Christology.
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.” (Galatians 3:13-14)
“If any party is guilty of a capital offense and is put to death, and you impale the body on a stake, you must not let the corpse remain on the stake overnight, but must bury it the same day. For an impaled body is an affront to God: you shall not defile the land that your God יהוה is giving you to possess.” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)
“And all the men of his city shall pelt him to death with stones, and he shall die. So shall you clear out the evil from among you, and all Israel will listen and fear.If a man commits a sin for which he is sentenced to death, and he is put to death, you shall [then] hang him on a pole.” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)
Notice that Paul is using Deuteronomy 21:-22-23 as an ante-mortem suspension. However, it is very clear that Deuteronomy 21:-22-23 is speaking about a post-mortem suspension.
This is why we, in our school, know that the interpretations held by the Qadiani/Sunni/Nizari Ismail concerning Qur’an 4:157 are wrong. As Qur’an 4:157 does not speak about a cross or patibulum at all. If we believed even for a moment that the Sunni/Qadiani/Nizari Ismaili misunderstanding of Qur’an 4:157 was correct, we would have grounds to doubt the Qur’an. May Allah protect us! That is because Jews do not crucify anyone or put anyone on crosses. The Sunni/Qadiani/Nizari Ismaili misunderstanding makes our Creator ignorant of Jewish law. May Allah protect us!
The Torah explicitly mentions post-mortem suspension by impailment (Qur’an 4:157 “They did not kill him nor did they impail him) wa-ma qataluhu wa ma salabuhu.
If you want to read more on this, we would encourage you to read our article here:
The New Testament belittles the Torah and makes the fallacious claim that Moses received the Torah from the medium of angels rather than directly from God himself!
Where is the proof in the Torah that Moses was given the law by angels or by God while being accompanied by angels? It says God gave the law to Moses. There is no mention of angels being involved at all!
“For if the word spoken by angels was steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward.” (Hebrews 2:2)
“This is he (Moses), that was in the church in the wilderness with the angel which spoke to him in the mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.”(Acts 7:38)
“Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.” (Acts 7:53)
“Wherefore then served the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.” (Galatians 3:19)
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